Agenda and draft minutes

Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Monday, 3rd March, 2025 4.00 pm

Venue: the Council Chamber - Council Offices, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services

Media

Items
No.	Item
OS.150	Apologies To receive any apologies for absence. The quorum for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee is 3 members. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.150 Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillor Gina Blomefield, Councillor Tony Slater and Councillor Michael Vann. Councillor Gary Selwyn chaired the meeting as Vice-Chair of the Committee in the absence of Councillor Gina Blomefield.
OS.151	Substitute Members To note details of any substitution arrangements in place for the meeting. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.151 Minutes: Councillor Len Wilkins substituted for Councillor Gina Blomefield, Councillor David Fowles substituted for Councillor Tony Slater and Councillor Patrick Coleman substituted for Councillor Michael Vann.
OS.152	Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered at the meeting. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.152 Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
OS.153	Minutes PDF 549 KB To approve the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held Monday 3 February 2025. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.153 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2025 were discussed. The Chair explained that these had been amended to make minor corrections after publication, prior to the meeting. Councillor David Cunningham proposed accepting the minutes and Councillor Lisa Spivey seconded the proposal. RESOLVED: To APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2025.
OS.154	Matters Arising from Minutes of the Previous Meeting PDF 279 KB To consider actions outstanding from minutes of previous meetings. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.154 Minutes: Members had sought clarification on the CDC pay inflation laid out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy. The explanation of the figures was circulated to members by the Chief Financial Officer. There were no further discussions. Members referred to the date proposed by the Interim Head of Planning Policy for the next Moreton-in-Marsh Working group. The proposed date of 31 March fell within the pre-election period for the County Council elections and as such the meeting was to be rescheduled. Members wanted clarification as to whether the meeting date could be brought forward and take place before the start of the pre-election period. The Chief Executive Officer explained the complications with the time restrictions but said he would provide feedback to Planning Officers and report back to Members as to whether the meeting could be brought forwards.
OS.155	Chair's Announcements To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.155 Minutes: Councillor Gary Selwyn announced that he was substituting for Councillor Blomefield as Chair in her absence.
OS.156	Public Questions A maximum of 15 minutes is allocated for an “open forum” of public questions at committee meetings. No person may ask more than two questions (including supplementary questions) and no more than two such questions may be asked on behalf of one organisation. The maximum length of oral questions or supplementary questions by the public will be two minutes. Questions must relate to the responsibilities of the Committee but questions in this section cannot relate to applications for determination at the meeting. The response may take the form of: a) A direct oral response (maximum length: 2 minutes); b) Where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or c) Where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.156 Minutes: There were no public questions.
OS.157	Member Questions A maximum period of fifteen minutes is allowed for Member questions. Questions must be directed to the Chair and must relate to the remit of the committee but may not relate to applications for determination at the meeting. Questions will be asked in the order notice of them was received, except that the Chair may group together similar questions. The deadline for submitting questions is 5.00pm on the working day before the day of the meeting unless the Chair agrees that the question relates to an urgent matter, in which case the deadline is 9.30am on the day of the meeting. A member may submit no more than two questions. At the meeting the member may ask a supplementary question arising directly from the original question or the reply. The maximum length of a supplementary question is one minute. The response to a question or supplementary question may take the form of: a) A direct oral response (maximum length: 2 minutes); b) Where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or c) Where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.157 Minutes: There were no Member questions.
OS.158	Report back on recommendations For the Committee to note the Cabinet’s response to any recommendations arising from the previous Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. Additional documents: Webcast for OS.158 Minutes: There were no recommendations to Cabinet arising from the previous Committee meeting.
OS.159	Publica Transition Plan - Phase 2 PDF 570 KB To consider the document Publica Transition: A Plan for Phase 2 of Council Services (“Phase 2 Transition Plan”), to note its contents and to approve the recommendations therein. Additional documents: Annex A - Publica Transition: A Plan for Phase 2 of Council Services , item OS.159 PDF 990 KB Webcast for OS.159 Minutes: The purpose of the report was to consider the document Publica Transition: a plan for phase 2 of the Council's services. The Chief Executive Officer, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation and the Interim Program Director for the Publica Transition program introduced the report and made the following points: Following the successful implementation of the Publica Transition Phase 1 in November 2024, planning for Phase 2 began. This process aligned with recommendations from the Human Engine and Local Partnerships reports. These reports had suggested a launch implementation date of 1 July 2025. An initial planning workshop identified key service areas for inclusion in Phase 2, including property and estates, leisure contract management, waste, project management, and Careline/Linkline services. Some areas, such as environmental regulatory services and performance/business intelligence, were excluded due to cost, fragmentation and lower impact. A detailed service-by-service review was conducted through the autumn to ensure clarity on service structures and council needs. Feedback from Phase 1 indicated smooth implementation, with no major TUPE transition issues and overall positive outcomes. Modelling began on 1 January 2025, leading to a transition plan that was presented for consideration. If approved, implementation was set to begin in April, including TUPE consultation and structural formation, with a target go-live date of 1 July 2025. That meeting was part of a series of discussions across three partner councils. Pending approvals, the implementation phase was scheduled to commence, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and financial strategies. Councillor Fowles left the meeting at 17:06 and returned at 17:42 Members discussed the report, raising the following points: Members asked about services that would remain within Publica and whether there were any plans for a Phase 3 transition. The Interim Program Director of the Publica Transition explained that the remaining services were fragmented across the different councils and would not be covered by TUPE and at present, Phase 3 was not being considered. Members raised concerns that the remaining staff within Publica had not been offered as good a pension as those transitioned to Cotswold Council. Members wanted clarification about possible issues arising if one council in the Publica partnership did not agree to proceed with the transition. The Interim Program Director of the Publica Transition explained that the plan was developed collaboratively from the start and whilst councils were sovereign and could make their own decisions, there had been a consistent approach across all councils. Members asked whether the Linkline and Careline service would continue to be provided after the Publica transfer and whether Forest of Dean District Council would continue to provide the service. The Deputy Chief Executive clarified that indications were that the Linkline and Careline services would continue to be provided at no extra cost to Cotswold District Council. Potential benefits included the improved recruitment of planning and enforcement officers. There was a request for an update report to be brought to the November 2025 Committee meeting to gauge performance improvements. Members asked for a costing for the whole of ... view the full minutes text for item OS.159
OS.160	Service Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter Three PDF 564 KB To provide an update on progress on the Council’s priorities and service performance. Additional documents: Annex A - Corporate Plan Action Tracker , item OS.160 PDF 537 KB Annex B - Council Priority Report , item OS.160 PDF 1 MB Annex C - Service Performance Report , item OS.160 PDF 2 MB Webcast for OS.160 Minutes: The Chief Executive Officer introduced the Service Performance Report for 2024/25 Quarter Three and highlighted the progress the Council had made in delivering its priorities. Some of the highlights of service performance were: Levels of customer satisfaction Planning applications determined within the agreed time Land charge searches completed within 10 days Increase in gym memberships and gym visits And the lowlights were: The number of affordable homes being delivered The number of missed bin collections. Concern was expressed about the accessibility of the reports. Members highlighted the importance of tackling the level of missed bin collections. Members were interested in whether there were further breakdowns of the performance indicators used to measure the waste collection service which would be more useful to the Committee. Members also highlighted the importance of tackling the level of missed bin collections. The Business Information and Performance Lead reported that they would be able to provide a further breakdown of the data for the Committee to consider. Members raised a reporting issue for missing bin collections on the Cotswold District Council website and asked for clarification as to whether one or multiple missed bins can be reported per postcode. The Business Information and Performance Lead agreed to check with the IT service. Members referred to the current rise in the amount of homelessness cases in the district and the increase in the use of B&Bs and hostels for emergency accommodation. It was recommended that the issue be added to the Committee workplan. Concerns were raised about the performance indicators regarding the delivery of the Local Plan. The Chief Executive introduced a review of the planning services by the Planning Advisory Service. It was envisaged that the findings would explore some of the planning amber status indicators and provide insights for improvements. It was expressed that further recruitment into key posts would hopefully lead to improvements. Members raised the importance of Agri technique in the Green strategy and the focus around farming and its impact on the economy and climate. Members discussed the need to maintain the programme of replacing worn or damaged street name plates. Members requested a briefing on the Cirencester Master Plan when it is available. Members asked for the deadline for the Local Plan update and whether the Council was on target to achieve the schedule. An update would be requested from the Interim Assistant Director- Planning and the Interim Head of Planning Policy and Infrastructure. The Committee resolved to submit the following recommendation to Cabinet: That a review be undertaken of the performance indicators used to measure the waste collection service with a view to supplying the Overview and Scrutiny Committee with additional data (already collected/measured by Ubico) that gives a more accurate picture of collection performance.
OS.161	Updates from Gloucestershire County Council Scrutiny Committees PDF 450 KB Purpose To receive any verbal updates on the work of external scrutiny bodies: · Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee – Cllr Angus Jenkinson · Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee – Cllr Dilys Neill Additional documents: HOSC report for March 2025pdf , item OS.161 PDF 29 KB Webcast for OS.161 Minutes: Gloucestershire Economic Growth and Scrutiny Committee The Chair thanked Councillor Angus Jenkinson for his written feedback. Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee Councillor Dilys Neill drew members’ attention to the National Review looking at the next 10 years of the National Health Service and would notify members of any forum meetings. A question was raised about the definition of ‘timely handover’ procedure.
OS.162	Work Plan and Forward Plan PDF 531 KB For the Committee to note and review its work plan and to select Cabinet decisions for pre-decision scrutiny at future committee meetings. Additional documents: Forward Plan - February 2025 - May 2025 , item OS.162 PDF 569 KB Webcast for OS.162 Minutes: It was agreed to add the rise of homelessness and the use of emergency accommodation to the Work Plan for scrutiny.

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