·       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 4^th October. The Chairman has agreed this approach using his discretion as set out in the constitution.

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 opportunity and innovation’.

 

Adam Bermange focused his comments on two points; would the proposed goals deliver the outcomes set out in the plan and was there a clear pathway to those goals being achieved. Considering the feedback from the consultation, climate change needed to be embedded in all decisions that were taken on housing and new development. However, Adam Bermange did not feel this ‘golden thread’ was evident in the proposed approach in the corporate plan. He suggested that the ‘thriving communities’ goal should include reference to minimising energy requirements to address fuel poverty, reducing air pollution and encouraging 15 minute neighbourhoods that minimised the need to travel. For ‘inspiring places’, Adam Bermange suggested that it was missing any reference to the opportunities which could be presented by investing in jobs in a low carbon economy. Adam Bermange continued by commenting on the three quarters of the respondents to the consultation that said the draft framework did not meet expectations of the council’s direction. Adam Bermange concluded by arguing that there should be a further public consultation on the corporate plan before it was adopted. He agreed with Dave Scarborough that the title of the plan should include the word ‘sustainable’.

 

Councillor Clark joined the meeting (virtually).

 

Andrew Hill was the final public speaker. He said that there were many ideas presented in the corporate plan and was therefore surprised that only four councillors had chosen to submit questions to officers in advance of the meeting. On the figure for the number of women that felt safe in the borough, he asked why the figure was not more ambitious. On flooding, Andrew Hill had noted that £10 million had been identified and asked if this was a ring-fenced contingency fund within the budget. Considering young people, it was essentially impossible for RBWM to deliver on its affordable housing target. Andrew Hill felt that a lower target had been set by the council which did not show ambition, he asked if the Borough Local Plan should be withdrawn and the vision should be reimagined. On energy, there was a goal to increase renewable energy in the borough significantly by 2026. Solar panels only provided a small part of this target, Andrew Hill asked why RBWM was not using other sources of renewable energy, for example using the River Thames to generate energy. An RBWM green energy company should be created to focus on this as a priority.

 

The Chairman thanked the public speakers and explained that the session would be split into different sections so that the Panel could scrutinise each area of the corporate plan. The first area to be discussed would be health, inequalities and thriving communities.

 

 

Health, inequalities and thriving communities

 

Councillor Jones said that there had not been enough time to understand the full paper in the time that the Panel had been given. She wanted scrutiny to be done properly but due to the tight deadlines this had been difficult to achieve. On thriving communities, Councillor Jones asked where the goals were in the corporate plan to actually further the interests of communities, rather than just individuals. RBWM had moved away from services being accessible to all, to services that were targeted at specific communities. She asked how that helped communities, services should be accessible to all.

 

Rebecca Hatch explained that officers wanted to try and make sure that all goals were measurable. Work had been undertaken with Maidenhead Mosque and there was a strong relationship between the council and the Muslim community. Through the embedding community response project, things like the community orchard showed how the community had come together during the course of the pandemic. Rebecca Hatch said that this could be reviewed, particularly the benefits of working in this way and it could be a lot stronger in the corporate plan.

 

Councillor Jones said that the plan claimed the borough was working with communities to provide services. She asked what the borough was doing to support communities.

 

The Chairman asked if there were any examples or ideas that Councillor Jones had that she would like to see the borough do.

 

Councillor Jones used the example of when communities came together with an event or idea but RBWM said no, rather than looking at ways the event or idea could take place.

 

The Chairman said it was important to give examples of where RBWM was not achieving.

 

Councillor Jones said it was about looking forward, particularly at the goals in the plan and whether they could be achieved. Referencing the figure on loneliness, the corporate plan was effectively expecting the voluntary sector to step up to tackle the issue.

 

Rebecca Hatch explained that a thriving and active community could be measured by the amount of loneliness. RBWM wanted to help voluntary groups and organisations who worked to stop loneliness.

 

Councillor W Da Costa joined the meeting (virtually).

 

Kevin McDaniel, Executive Director of Children’s Services, said the ambition for these goals was about the impact on the residents. It was important that the way RBWM worked across the area encouraged growth. An example was that RBWM, in partnership with the integrated care system, had helped around 27 community groups receive funding to continue with their activities. Kevin McDaniel said that the council needed to use all of the resources that were available.

 

Councillor Werner said that climate change underpinned everything. It was important to encourage and grow thriving communities and this was not seen enough in the corporate plan. Universal services had been cut back and resources had therefore been focused on those that the council had already identified, this approach did not help the whole community. Children’s centres were now focused on particular individuals. Councillor Werner believed that this led to division, with some people getting help and others were not, this was working against the thriving communities concept. Councillor Werner said that he would like to see more on universal services in the corporate plan. He felt that the suburbs of Maidenhead were missing out, the town centre had a good number of different facilities and the rural areas had their own parish councils who ensured that communities were provided for.

 

Kevin McDaniel said that there was a significant number of children in the borough who needed intensive support every day. All children needed an equal opportunity and there was a goal for 95% of all schools to be rated good or outstanding. Education helped communities to get started and RBWM needed to work with them to allow them to thrive. The council needed to make sure that the signposts were in place so that those that needed help could receive it.

 

Anna Richard, Consultant in Public Health, said that one of the approaches in the corporate plan was about promoting health and wellbeing in all areas, with a focus on reducing inequalities. Services should be delivered proportionally depending on the scale of need. For example, there was a goal around Year 6 children who were overweight/obese. This goal was designed to improve communities as children who were obese were more likely to become adults who were obese, which could lead to future health problems. It was therefore important to offer universal services but to also ensure that services were targeted so that specific support could be given to those individuals that needed it.

 

Councillor Werner said that help given at an early age could help but it was not always clear who needed support. Improved interactions with parents would help but the council would not necessarily have all the correct information.

 

Councillor Sharpe asked how each of these measures would be recorded and tracked, for example the goal on the number of residents who smoked. He asked how the council would continue to support those residents who had dropped out of services being offered and how they would continue to be engaged with what the council could offer them.

 

Rebecca Hatch said that all of the goals within the corporate plan were measurable but had different baselines which the council was working towards.

 

Anna Richards said that the data which was commonly used was the public health outcomes framework, this was a large dataset which could measure outcomes in communities. There was a timing delay with the data, but it allowed RBWM to compare itself to other local authorities.

 

Councillor Sharpe asked if the data was generic.

 

Anna Richards said that some of the data could be broken down, for example it could be examined and analysed at a ward level.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that crime was an important area that should be prioritised, it was not just a police issue it was a social issue too. He asked how RBWM was planning to bring crime down.

 

Councillor Werner agreed with Councillor Sharpe and said that crime was not just for the police to deal with, it was in partnership with the local authority to bring crime down.

 

 

Housing

 

The Chairman commented on the enablement of over 3,000 new homes by 2026, with over 1,000 to be affordable. He asked if this was coming through the RBWM Property Company or through external developments.

 

Adrien Waite, Head of Planning, explained that this target was for the whole housing delivery across the borough, it was not just limited to the Property Company.

 

The Chairman said that there were some issues of viability when developers were asked to provide affordable housing. He asked if there was anything that could be addressed with this particular issue.

 

Adrien Waite said the biggest issue in previous years had been the lack of a Borough Local Plan with certain sites set out for housing, therefore most of the sites put forward had been windfall sites. Moving forward, RBWM was looking to adopt a Borough Local Plan where affordable housing sites would be set out, which should mean the council would be in a better place to meet these targets.

 

Councillor Werner said that there was lot of good information in the housing section of the corporate plan. Green housing should be a top priority, if the overall target of being a carbon neutral borough by 2050 was to be achieved then all housing should be built carbon neutral. Councillor Werner was pleased to see social housing included in the corporate plan, as this was the only form that was actually affordable. He felt that RBWM should try to stretch itself, he wanted to see rigorous targets for social housing and carbon neutral housing.

 

Ian Motuel, Planning Policy Manager, said that within the Borough Local Plan there was a 45% target for social rent. There was an ambitious target for affordable housing contained in the plan, which had been based on viability evidence. If the targets were set too high, no developments would come forward. The need for affordable housing was very high, RBWM was looking for a big increase in housing in future years with a significant proportion being affordable.

 

Chris Joyce, Head of Infrastructure, Sustainability and Economic Growth, said that one goal would be to adopt a best practice SPD on green housing.

 

Adrien Waite said that the Borough Local Plan set out a target for affordable housing, there was a planned SPD to look at that in more detail. There was intended to be a good mix of property types. Zero carbon homes were a nationwide effort, certain things could not be changed at a local level currently.

 

Councillor Werner said that the corporate plan was RBWM’s vision. He felt that the target in the plan on green homes was bland, development was done in partnership with the housing developers. Councillor Werner believed that this intention should be expressed in the corporate plan.

 

Adrien Waite explained that the corporate plan set out the council’s objectives for overall services. The Borough Local Plan period was significantly longer and officers did not want to duplicate the work done in the Borough Local Plan or a future SPD. The corporate plan set out the light level vision, other documents set out how that vision would be achieved.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that RBWM had already approved a whole range of housing developments which did not have eco measures as part of the planning permission and therefore would not be built to carbon neutral standards. The new Heatherwood hospital development would not be using the new boiler types, for example.

 

Adrien Waite said that there were limits set in national planning policy, RBWM was unable to insist on caron neutral developments through the planning system.

 

Councillor Jones asked what the difference was between the Borough Local Plan and the corporate plan on the number of homes that would be delivered. She felt that the SPDs should be in place to inform the corporate plan. There was a target in the plan to ensure that no one was sleeping rough in the borough through necessity, Councillor Jones asked about those who slept rough through choice.

 

Adrien Waite said the main difference was the timescales, the Borough Local Plan was a 13 year plan and was therefore more long term than the corporate plan. The first five years had a stepped trajectory for housing, where the number of houses was ramped up over time. The Borough Local Plan looked at the supply of housing coming forward, which could include a set number of units. The numbers were not exactly the same as the time periods and outcomes were different, but the corporate plan target was based on the five year housing trajectory at the beginning of the Borough Local Plan period. One plan needed to be set first, there was further work to be done on the SPDs. The corporate plan could then feed into the SPD.

 

Tracy Hendren, Head of Housing, Environmental Health and Trading Standards, said that homelessness was a complex issue. The ‘necessity’ wording in the target was to show that accommodation could be offered to individuals but they did not always take the offer up. The team sometimes had to encourage them to make the correct choices.

 

 

Transport, infrastructure and economic development

 

Councillor Jones was not sure if specific developments should be highlighted in the corporate plan. She believed that the development should be wherever it was needed at the time, she suggested that the narrative could be changed. Councillor Jones asked if CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) should be reviewed now, rather than in 2026 as had been suggested in the corporate plan.

 

Chris Joyce said that a number of outcome-based targets had been included in the corporate plan. Some specific major investment projects had been mentioned in the narrative, it was up to the Panel whether they felt they should recommend that these were removed. The review on CIL could potentially be brought forward, any changes to CIL would require an examination in public by an independent inspector.

 

The Chairman asked if the review of CIL was already on the work programme for the Infrastructure Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

 

Chris Joyce confirmed that it was on the list of suggested items, but it had not been defined to show what that specific piece of scrutiny by the Panel would involve.

 

Councillor Werner said that RBWM was limited in what it could do if contributions from CIL were not brought in. He wanted to see the review on CIL brought forward as quickly as possible. Considering the borough’s buses, Councillor Werner said that he wanted to see suburban buses improved as well as rural buses. There was one bus an hour from his ward in the suburbs of Maidenhead into town and Councillor Werner said that this needed to be increased to encourage residents to use the bus service. The targets on electric charging points also needed to be more ambitious, street charging should be introduced so that more residents were inclined to buy electric vehicles.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that he would like to see a target on walking included in the corporate plan. He felt that more residents were walking than cycling in his ward, the cycle racks never seemed to be used. A number of pavements were overgrown and Councillor Sharpe felt the simple things needed to be looked at to increase the amount of walking in the borough. Considering communications and 5G, Councillor Sharpe said that the rollout across the borough was unambitious. He argued that 5G should be rolled out as quickly as possible.

 

The Chairman asked officers if a walking goal had been considered in the corporate plan.

 

Chris Joyce responded by saying that officers had widened from the cycling action plan so that it included walking. It was easier for RBWM to measure cycling, walking was much more localised and it was difficult to measure if walking had been increased. A potential recommendation from the Panel to Cabinet could be to amend the wording of the goal so that it also included increasing walking. On 5G, Chris Joyce explained that the Berkshire Digital Strategy outlined how RBWM was planning to bring 5G into its communities.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that he had seen handheld devices used by polling company Ipsos Mori, so there would be data available on walking. Walking needed to be focused on, 5G should also be rolled out faster.

 

Chris Joyce said that it was a small scale roll out of 5G currently, making sure that the correct infrastructure was in place. There was a lot of national data on walking but at a local level in RBWM it was very limited.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that communities thrived when a lot of people lived within a 5 minute walk of the town centre, so that was something that should be considered.

 

Councillor Jones said that if specific names of projects were removed, all it would need was the council to provide adequate infrastructure to encourage walking. The goal could specify that a number of walkways were up to standard as a measurable goal.

 

Councillor Werner said that RBWM did a number of surveys, a question could be added to show how much residents walked.

 

 

Climate and environment

 

Councillor Sharpe said that RBWM needed to be ambitious on the environment. He was surprised to see that more Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space (SANG) was needed.

 

Councillor Werner said that this area of the corporate plan was a start but more needed to be done. The Panel had heard from the three public speakers at the start of the meeting about what could be improved in this section of the corporate plan. Renewable energy seemed to be focused on solar panels but there were other opportunities available, for example utilising weirs across the borough. Homes needed to be made renewable, RBWM was partners with a number of developers in Maidenhead and Councillor Werner felt that all avenues should be considered. He suggested that the title of the corporate plan could be renamed to include the word ‘sustainable’. In the consultation, climate change was regarded as the most important aspect of the corporate plan. Councillor Werner argued that all goals needed to be made SMART and have sustainability in mind.

 

The Chairman asked if RBWM had considered weir schemes or wind farms as sources of renewable energy.

 

Chris Joyce said that the renewable target was not just based around solar, a number of options from different sources would be considered around the borough.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that water retention should be prioritised, particularly the use of rainwater.

 

Councillor Jones said that the idea of a 15 minute community should be included in the goal as this would help to cut down on transport. The SPDs were not there and therefore there was no evidence base. On flood prevention, Councillor Jones suggested that RBWM should work with the Environment Agency and local communities to bring forward flood prevention schemes. The goal should be reworded so that it was outcome based.

 

Chris Joyce said the concept of a 15 minute community was a good one and he was happy to look at that, reducing travel was an important part of the climate strategy. The SPD would look to pick up the climate strategy and implement them in planning.

 

 

Engagement and consultation

 

Councillor Werner said that the corporate plan was an important document and therefore further consultation was needed. He believed that the corporate plan needed a proper consultation, rather than just ticking boxes.

 

Councillor Jones said that community groups should be consulted and RBWM should try harder to consult with groups, only around 12 had been consulted on the corporate plan. She asked where ‘the council trusted to deliver its promises’ fitted in. On outcomes, there was a goal to lobby government to provide funding to balance the budget over the lifetime of the corporate plan. Councillor Jones believed that this was an action rather than a goal.

 

Adele Taylor, Executive Director of Resources, explained that RBWM needed to actively lobby the government but was happy to look at the wording on this section.

 

 

Recommendations

 

The Panel moved to the final section of the scrutiny challenge session, where they would discuss and agree recommendations to be submitted to Cabinet for consideration.

 

Councillor Werner said that the title of the corporate plan should be amended to include the word ‘sustainable’. He wanted to see all the goals in the plan meeting SMART objectives, along with further consultation on the corporate plan. Councillor Werner wanted to see goals on thriving communities, in particular climate change, air quality and access to green spaces.

 

Emma Duncan, Monitoring Officer and Deputy Director of Law and Strategy, clarified that there needed to be a proposal put forward for each recommendation.

 

A motion was put forward by Councillor Werner to rename the main overarching aim of the Corporate Plan to “creating a sustainable borough of opportunity and innovation.” The aim currently read “building a borough of opportunity and innovation.” This was seconded by Councillor Jones.

 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: This motion was agreed by the Panel.

 

Councillor Werner suggested that the corporate plan needed to go back out for further consultation.

 

The Chairman said that the corporate plan had already been through a significant period of consultation, the Panel were now making recommendations to Cabinet.

 

Councillor Werner felt the corporate plan still needed to go back out for further consultation.

 

Councillor Jones said that the overarching objectives were consulted on, she asked if officers would find it useful if the goals were part of a consultation too.

 

Emma Duncan said a number of the goals were fairly technical so they would be difficult to consult on. Consulting on every part of the corporate plan was not something that she could recommend. Some councils did not consult on their corporate plan at all, some did. RBWM was trying a middle path, recommendations from the Panel looking forward would be more useful.

 

Councillor Werner put forward a minority comment that the Corporate Plan needed to go back out for further consultation.

 

Councillor Jones suggested that the corporate plan should come back to the Panel, so that residents could see how well it was working.

 

Emma Duncan said that the Panel would be monitoring RBWM’s performance against the corporate plan so there should be a clear trajectory of progress being made.

 

Councillor Sharpe asked if there was a process in place for the corporate plan to be considered by scrutiny in future.

 

The Chairman said that it came back to the Panel so that they could compare the performance of RBWM over the next few years.

 

A motion was put forward by Councillor Jones that the Corporate Plan was reviewed by the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel after two years, and recommended any changes being made to Cabinet, as appropriate. The motion was seconded by Councillor Haseler.

 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: This motion was agreed by the Panel.

 

Councillor Werner asked if the Panel was able to make changes after two years.

 

Emma Duncan said that officers did not want the corporate plan to be rewritten but it was an agile plan that could adapted as necessary.

 

Councillor Sharpe suggested that in the cycling goal, there should be reference made to increasing walking. Walking was important for the whole community.

 

A motion was put forward by Councillor Sharpe to increase both walking and cycling by 50%. This was seconded by Councillor Werner.

 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: This motion was agreed by the Panel.

 

Councillor Jones said that the specific names of projects that had been mentioned in the corporate plan should be removed. She also suggested that the lobbying government goal could be reworded.

 

Chris Joyce explained the logic behind these projects being mentioned in the goal was to ensure that the infrastructure was in place. The goal could be made more generic but it was important that the goal was still measurable.

 

A motion was put forward by Councillor Jones to remove reference to the name ‘Windsor public realm’ and the reference to the Desborough site. This was seconded by Councillor Werner.

 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: This motion was agreed by the Panel.

 

Councillor Werner suggested having goals in thriving communities to address wellbeing, improving air quality and the provision of green space.

 

Councillor Sharpe asked if all those targets were measurable.

 

Chris Joyce said that air quality could be measured. The borough had a lot of green space, therefore the goal could be around how accessible it was to communities.

 

Anna Richards said it would be useful to have the wellbeing aspect of the proposal clarified.

 

Councillor Werner said it could be something added to the end of a survey to test wellbeing.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that the proposal was too broad, it needed to be measurable.

 

Councillor Werner changed his proposal to only focus on air quality and green space.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that all developments and residents should have access to green space nearby.

 

Councillor Jones said that the 15 minute community needed to be referenced as part of this proposal.

 

Emma Duncan said that air quality and access to green space was measurable.

 

Councillor Jones suggested that the 15 minute community was added in.

 

Rebecca Hatch said that there was a good SMART objective for air quality, the green space proposal on access to green space and being within 15 minutes of a green space could be recommended.

 

Chris Joyce said both elements were already part of the climate strategy, they could be brought out within the corporate plan.

 

A motion was put forward by Councillor Werner to include a target to improve air quality and ensure that communities were able to access green spaces within a 15-minute walk. The motion was seconded by Councillor Jones.

 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: This motion was agreed by the Panel.

 

Councillor Werner suggested that a new goal was set in the corporate plan around preschool children having regular interaction with children’s services. Currently, they did not have regular interaction and Councillor Werner wanted to see RBWM put something in place.

 

The Chairman asked how that would be achieved.

 

Councillor Werner said that new children’s centres could be set up, new schemes could also be organised. The goal was designed to be part of the RBWM vision going forward.

 

Councillor Sharpe said that he would prefer to be led by officers on this.

 

Kevin McDaniel said that the team had a statutory duty to intervene if children were in harm. RBWM gave children support and they were visited frequently, in conjunction with a number of partners organisations. There were a number of services provided, including those in partnership with health colleagues. Children centres were effective now that they were targeted at specific children.

 

A motion was proposed by Councillor Werner to add a new goal in the Corporate Plan around preschool children having regular interaction with children’s services.

 

This was put forward as a minority comment.

 

Councillor Werner said that there should be a goal in the corporate plan where RBWM looked to work with its partner organisations to have a SMART objective on carbon neutral homes and also to increase the amount of social housing that was being provided.

 

Adrien Waite said there were set percentages of carbon neutral homes that RBWM could ask developers for, he was unsure of where the number would come from for a SMART goal on this.

 

Councillor Werner said that it would be easy to come up with a target but it could be difficult to achieve it due to the planning regulations. However, he argued that it should still be set as a target as the corporate plan was a vision.

 

Councillor Sharpe asked if it could be linked to lobbying government to enable it to happen. Planning regulations could change over time.

 

Councillor Werner said that he was happy to support this but wanted his suggestion to be included as a separate goal in the corporate plan.

 

Adrien Waite said there was no evidence base to support the goal being proposed. The proposal could have impact on other key infrastructure targets or affordable housing, it was not possible to guarantee that the proposal was achievable and measurable.

 

Emma Duncan said that the Panel needed to be careful around recommending goals that were not achievable. Part of the corporate plan was based around the council being trusted to deliver on its promises.

 

Chris Joyce said the borough wide carbon targets would not be possible without new housing being carbon neutral. Some of what had been discussed had already been captured in the plan.

 

A motion was put forward by Councillor Werner 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. This was seconded by Councillor Jones.

 

A named vote was taken.

 

 

 

 

Councillor Werner and Councillor Jones voted for the motion. Councillor Haseler, Councillor Muir and Councillor Sharpe voted against the motion, therefore the motion fell. This was recorded as a minority comment.

 

A motion was put forward by Councillor Jones to reword the goal on lobbying government over the lifetime of the Corporate Plan, with the Executive Director of Resources to decide on how the goal was reworded. The Monitoring Officer suggested that this went in the narrative rather than being a goal, with delegated authority granted to the Executive Director of Resources to refine the wording. This was seconded by Councillor Haseler.

 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: This motion was agreed by the Panel.

 

Councillor Jones said that she would like a minority comment considered that climate had been a huge part of the corporate plan. It should be an overarching objective and this should be looked at by officers.

 

Councillor Sharpe agreed with Councillor Jones and said that climate was a direction of travel for everything that the council did.