Agenda item

To receive reports from Cabinet Members on their portfolios.

Members are reminded that they may ask questions of the Cabinet Member on their reports and portfolio areas but should note that it is not a debate.

No member may ask more than one question plus a supplementary question, unless the time taken by members’ questions does not exceed 30 minutes in total, in which case, second questions will be taken in the order that they are received (Constitution, Chapter 2, part 2, section 12.2)

Cabinet members:

Cllr S Butikofer (Leader)

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett – Coast

Cllr W Fredericks – Housing & Benefits

Cllr V Gay – Leisure, Culture & Wellbeing

Cllr R Kershaw – Sustainable Growth

Cllr N Lloyd – Environment

Cllr E Seward – Finance & Assets

Cllr L Shires – Organisational Resources

Cllr J Toye – Planning & Enforcement

The Chairman said that as full written reports were included in the agenda, Cabinet members were only expected to provide a short oral update on any matters that had occurred since the agenda was published. There being none, she invited members to ask questions.

1.     Cllr C Cushing asked the Deputy Leader, Cllr Seward, for an update on the motion on social care which had been supported  at the meeting of Full Council on 16^th December 2020. He said that he had not heard about it since and wondered if any of the agreed actions had been implemented. Cllr Seward asked Cllr Gay, as Portfolio Holder for Wellbeing to respond. Cllr Gay said that she had provided updates on this matter in previous portfolio holder reports. She had also provided a reply to Cllr Dixon on this. She said that it was a County Council led project and it was difficult for the District Council to make a contribution. That said, there had been some actions, including the introduction of the ‘ carers’ employment scheme’. Regarding designated positions, she conformed that she was the lead member and that the Early Help & Prevention Manager was the lead officer. Cllr Cushing asked if a further update could be provided at the next meeting of Council. Cllr Gay agreed and said that she would also share the previous written updates with Cllr Cushing. 

2.     Cllr E Spagnola asked Cllr Fitch-Tillett, Portfolio Holder for Coast, if she could confirm when work would commence on the sea defences at Cromer. Cllr Fitch-Tillett replied that the Coastal team had been out to local liaison groups and the contract was now being finalised ahead of going out to tender in the new year. She said the intention was to start the work after the summer holiday season in 2022. She concluded by saying that as the materials were being brought in by barge, it was hoped that it would be a tourist attraction.

3.     Cllr J Rest said he wished to put a question to Cllr Fredericks, Portfolio Holder for Housing. As she was not in attendance, he said that he would accept a written response. He referred to page 19 of the agenda and the section on affordable homes, commenting that the first two figures (71 and 92)  and the second two (73 and 91) added up to 164. He asked for clarification on where the additional number came from as it was not clear.

4.     Cllr S Penfold asked Cllr Seward (in the Portfolio Holder’s absence) for clarification on the Council’s position regarding shared ownership schemes. Cllr Seward replied that the Council welcomed and encouraged such schemes as a source of affordable housing and which was an effective means of enabling lower income households to purchase a home. He went onto say that the housing market was currently broken. Recently there had been a number of household situations where they had not been able to access affordable housing and they had not been eligible for a mortgage. Following discussions with the Council’s housing officers, it became apparent that if a grant was provided to housing providers, then suitable homes could be provided in these particular cases. By converting some shared-ownership homes to affordable rental homes, some families which were facing homelessness were able to be accommodated. He concluded by saying that the Council remained supportive of shared ownership and it would continue to play a part in housing schemes that were coming forward for development in the next 12 months.

5.     Cllr G Mancini-Boyle said he wished to ask Cllr N Lloyd, Portfolio Holder for Environment, a question. He referred to the recent COP26 summit and the decision to phase out fossil fuels and the Government grant scheme which the installation of alternative heating systems. He asked whether the Council would be actively encouraging developers to phase out the installation of gas boilers and  would consideration also be given to using a green alternative for the running of the waste contract fleet of vehicles. Cllr Lloyd replied that the Council had been encouraging developers to switch to green heating systems for some time. He referenced the 350 houses being built by Hopkins Homes in North Walsham and said that they were all having ground source heat pumps installed. Regarding the waste collection fleet, Cllr Lloyd said that Serco had been trialling this and the outcome of this was awaited. He added that they were using electric vehicles now for grounds maintenance and the cleansing of public conveniences.

6.     Cllr N Pearce asked Cllr R Kershaw for his views on a recent report in the Eastern Daily Press, which stated that the naturalist Chris Packham had said that in order to help save the environment, NNDC should close its car parks to restrict vehicle movements. He said that not only would this impact heavily on the Council’s income it would also deter visitors to the District. Cllr Kershaw replied that he did not believe this was what Chris Packham had said. He said that it was not an approach that the Council would be adopting.

7.     Cllr Dr V Holliday asked Cllr Lloyd for an update on the installation of electric vehicle charging points (EVCP) at parish level. Cllr Lloyd replied that the Council had just completed installation of the final EVCP in North Walsham. He said that there was an action in the Corporate Plan to review car park EVCP provision in the wider areas of the District. He said that the Government had not been very forthcoming about providing support for this. The Council had been successful in obtaining an OLEV grant for the initial rollout but this was limited to populated areas. He added that there was the additional problem of the electricity supply not being able to support EVCPs in some areas. He concluded by saying that the Council was one of the first to instal EVCPs in its car parks. Cllr Dr Holliday thanked him for his comments and said that the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk were rolling out a scheme to some parishes where the cost was borne by other parties and perhaps consideration could be given to such an approach. Cllr Penfold informed Members that the North Norfolk Sustainable Communities Fund had received some applications for funding for EVCPs and consideration was still being given as to how to respond to these as it was anticipated that more would be coming forward.

8.     Cllr A Brown asked Cllr Lloyd about the Council’s Tree Planting Strategy and whether he welcomed its adoption. Cllr Lloyd replied that he was very pleased with the progress being made by the tree planting programme. It was hoped that 40,000 trees would be planted in the coming months – during the planting season. He thanked the officers for their hard work in supporting the project. The Chief Executive confirmed that the Tree Planting Strategy had been to Overview & Scrutiny Committee for pre-scrutiny and would be coming to Cabinet soon for formal adoption.