Agenda and minutes

Venue: Grey Room - York House - Windsor

Contact: Mark Beeley  01628 796345 / Email: mark.beeley@rbwm.gov.uk

Video Stream: Click here to watch this meeting on YouTube

Items
No. Item

146.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence received.

147.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 103 KB

To receive any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest received.

148.

Corporate Plan Challenge pdf icon PDF 5 MB

·       Introduction by the Chairman including outline of the procedures (2 min)

·       Officer Introduction (Head of Strategy) (10 min)

·       Public speaking (15 min)

·       Panel Member* questions to officers/discussion on goal setting (based on topics identified from pre-Panel questions) (1 hr 30 min)

·       Discussion of potential recommendations (30 min)

·       Vote on recommendations to Cabinet (5 min)

·       Chairman to close the meeting

 

 

*Please note that non-Panel Members will not have an opportunity to speak at the Panel meeting, as set out in the scoping document. Non-Panel Members can submit questions in advance to which a written response will be published. The deadline for submission of such questions is 10am Monday 4th October. The Chairman has agreed this approach using his discretion as set out in the constitution.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Rebecca Hatch, Head of Strategy, introduced the Corporate Plan and explained that this was an opportunity for the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel to challenge the plan. The plan impacted on all the council’s services, RBWM had currently been working to an interim plan while the main corporate plan was being developed. The meeting would be run as a challenge session, which would allow the Panel Members to check the assumptions which had been made in the plan and determine whether there was evidence to support these claims. The goals made needed to be realistic and achievable. Rebecca Hatch mentioned the consultation of the corporate plan and there were some key areas that had come to the fore as a result of the consultation. The Panel could put forward recommendations to Cabinet for consideration, should they wish to change any aspect of the plan. The corporate plan focused on the key issues facing the borough but it did not cover everything. There was also a focus on change, particularly within the resource constraints. There were three main objectives:

 

·         Thriving communities

·         Inspiring places

·         A council trusted to deliver its promises

 

There were also three priority outcomes which had been identified and were planned to be achieved during the corporate plan period:

 

·         A ladder of housing opportunity, to support better life chances for all.

·         Quality infrastructure that connects neighbourhoods and businesses and allows them to prosper.

·         Taking action to tackle climate change and its consequences and improving our natural environment.

 

There were three registered public speakers on the corporate plan. Dave Scarborough believed that the result of the consultation provided the council with a clear mandate to prioritise matters related to the environment, climate and biodiversity. He had noted that 192 respondents to the consultation had mentioned these areas being a concern and therefore there was clear support for this to be a key part of the corporate plan. Dave Scarborough felt that the evidence base in the corporate plan was not as comprehensive as it should be. He used the examples:

 

·         Number and percentage of leaky homes and community and commercial premises (EPC rated D and below).

·         Use of public transport and journeys by bike and foot.

·         Household water consumption.

·         Percentage of land set aside for nature.

·         Number of people employed in the low carbon economy.

·         Number of residents in fuel poverty.

·         Number of deaths due to air pollution.

·         Excess deaths due to extremes of temperature.

·         Susceptibility to flooding.

 

Dave Scarborough commented on the term SMART objectives, with the M and the T standing for measurable and time bound. The plan claimed that goals would be achieved by 2026, which was one year after RBWM had committed to a 50% reduction in carbon emissions. There was no sense of urgency and it was important to have a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) produced as soon as possible. Dave Scarborough concluded by asking the Panel to consider recommending that the title of the corporate plan was changed to ‘creating a sustainable borough of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 148.

Recorded Vote
TitleTypeRecorded Vote textResult
To propose a new goal that the council used its partnerships to have a SMART target on carbon neutral homes that was ambitious and also to increase the goal on the provision of social housing that was provided. Motion Rejected
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