Venue: Virtual meeting
Contact: Caroline Breheny
No. | Item |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: There were
no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting. |
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Minutes - Overview and Scrutiny Board - 20 October 2021 PDF 497 KB Minutes: The minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 20 October were submitted and approved as a correct record. |
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Executive Forward Work Programme PDF 300 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Chief Executive submitted a
report which identified the forthcoming issues to be considered by the
Executive, as outlined in Appendix A to the report. The report provided the Overview and
Scrutiny Board with the opportunity to consider whether any item contained
within the Executive Forward Work Programme should be considered by the Board,
or referred to a Scrutiny Panel. NOTED |
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Executive Member Update: Executive Member for Environment and Finance and Governance PDF 169 KB Minutes: The Executive Member for Environment and Finance and Governance, Cllr
Barrie Cooper, was in attendance to update the Board on his aims and
aspirations, progress made to date and to highlight any emerging issues
relating to his portfolio. The Director of Environment and Community Services
was also in attendance. It was advised that given the depth of the Portfolio
the update to the Board would focus on the Environmental aspects of the
Portfolio. A further update would be given in respect of the Finance and
Governance aspects at a future meeting of the Board. As part of his update to the Board, the Executive Member for Environment
and Finance and Governance explained that the main areas of the portfolio were
as follows:- Environment Services Highways and Infrastructure Property and Commercial
Services In terms of Environment Services it was advised that this was the area
that was most visible to the public and included:- ·
Waste services and recycling – Domestic refuse, recycling
and green waste collections, collection of household bulky waste, Waste
Disposal Contract, Pest Control. ·
The Area Care Team was another important aspect of
Environment Services and the Team was focused on the Green Strategy, play areas
and alley cleansing, grounds maintenance and animals and needles, street, trees
and arboriculture, burials, parks maintenance. ·
School Catering was a further area of responsibility
within Environment Services. In terms of Highways and Infrastructure the main areas of focus were as
follows:- ·
Highway Engineers – Bridges and Structures, Highway
Maintenance, vehicle crossings, highway inspections and interventions, flooding
issues, beck maintenance, highway emergency response, winter maintenance
(includes gritting and snow clearance), Street Lighting. ·
Fleet services – Vehicle and machinery repairs, MOTs,
car hire, servicing of Middlesbrough Council vehicles, fuel In terms of Property and Commercial Services the main areas of focus
were as follows:- ·
Transporter Bridge ·
Metz Bridge Travellers Site ·
Building Maintenance and Project Management ·
Building Cleaning, Caretaking and Security Services ·
Operational Management for Bereavement Services ·
Integrated Transport Unit ·
Lead on Emergency Planning It was emphasised that in terms of the Transporter Bridge works had been
undertaken to ensure the safety of the Bridge and all options for the future
use of the Bridge remained. With regard to priorities the Board was advised that the following were
regarded as priorities within the Portfolio:- ·
Increased cleanliness of the town and its physical
environment ·
Development and Implementation of the Green Strategy ·
Tender for main Waste Disposal contract for post
2025/26 ·
Increased recycling ·
Transporter Bridge ·
Improved Highway Assets ·
Light up the Town ·
Provision of efficient and effective front line
services post pandemic Reference was made to the priorities for next year and the following
issues were highlighted:- ·
Explore outcomes of Environment Bill and its implications
for Middlesbrough ·
Improve A66 through Middlesbrough ·
Secure further highways investment to improve roads
and footpaths ·
Plant another 10,000 trees ·
Increase wildflower coverage across Middlesbrough ·
Expand wild spaces across the town to introduce more
growing spaces ·
Transported Bridge Investment ·
Light up key Buildings across the town Following the update in respect of the Environment ... view the full minutes text for item 20/47 |
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Chief Executive's Update PDF 1 MB Minutes: The Chief Executive was in attendance and provided an update to the
Board in respect of the following:- ·
COVID-19 update ·
Executive update ·
Performance Summary ·
Staff Survey: engagement In terms of the latest local COVID-19 data, as at 8 November 2021 the
rolling seven-day rate of cases per 100k of the Middlesbrough population was as
follows:
Reference was made to the COVID case rate by age group and it was
advised that the highest number of cases were amongst young people aged
0-19. In terms of vaccination
rates it was advised that 62.7 per cent of the populated had been vaccinated.
In terms of booster uptake amongst the eligible population to date 64.4 per
cent had received their booster vaccination.
In relation to the Executive decisions taken recently it was noted that a number of reports had been considered. These included; a report on the Medium Term Financial Plan; Strategic Town Centre Acquisition; Middlehaven Outwood Riverside development; Ambition for Children; Peer Review of Virtual School and Highways Infrastructure. Reference was made to the feedback received from the recent staff survey and it was noted that close to 800 responses had been received. Feedback was broken down by department and in respect of being well informed approximately 70 per cent of staff had agreed with this statement. In terms of having the opportunity to influence how the Council works over 65 per cent of staff had expressed this view. In terms of feeling valued over 80 per cent of staff felt valued by their Manager, however less than 40 per cent of staff felt valued by their Director. It was advised that a new corporate tool box was being developed for use by Managers, Heads of Service and Directors to improve how senior Managers within the organisation engaged and communicated with staff. In terms of corporate performance by discipline it was noted that at the end of October 73 per cent of Executive Actions had been achieved against an expected standard of 90 per cent; 45 per cent of Strategic Plan outcomes had been achieved against an expected standard of 90 per cent. It was of concern that despite 99 per cent of Strategic Workplan actions having been achieved at the end of October the expected level of desired outcomes had not been delivered. In respect of corporate performance by Directorate, Regeneration and Culture and Adult Social Care / Health, were the two directorates that had failed to achieve the expected standard by end of October 2021. Reference was made to the three strategic plan outcomes that were furthest away from target and these were focused on crime and antisocial behaviour, town centre vacancies and household waste recycling. Following the update, Members were afforded the opportunity to ask
questions. A Member of ... view the full minutes text for item 20/48 |
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Scrutiny Chairs Update Adult Social Care and Services Scrutiny Panel Councillor J. Platt (Chair) Children & Young People’s Learning Scrutiny Panel Councillor D. McCabe (Chair) Children & Young People’s Social Care and Scrutiny Panel Councillor D. Davison (Chair) Culture and Communities Scrutiny Panel Councillor C. McIntyre (Chair) Economic Development, Environment and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel Councillor S. Walker (Chair) Health Scrutiny Panel Councillor D. Coupe (Chair) Minutes: The Scrutiny Chairs provided updates
in respect of the work undertaken by their respective panels since the last
meeting of the Board. The Chair of the Children and Young
People’s Learning Scrutiny Panel was absent from the meeting and the Board
requested that given the importance of the work of the panel it was imperative
that a written update be circulated following the meeting. AGREED that a
written update in respect of the Children and Young People’s Learning Scrutiny
Panel be circulated to all Members of the Board following the meeting. |
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Minutes: The recommendations to be submitted to the
Executive were: A) Whenever
opportunities arose, and in line with the hierarchy of need identified in the
Local Implementation Plan (LIP), the Council should seek to ensure that it was
easier, safer and more convenient to walk, cycle or use public transport,
rather than travelling by car by: • Providing
additional cycle routes. • Implementing
traffic free zones. • Working with public transport
operators to increase local provision. • Reviewing existing road networks to
identify particular instances of traffic congestion at peak times and address
these through the LIP to encourage further economic growth. B) Whilst it was
acknowledged that there had been a number of impacts on the approval and publication
of Middlesbrough’s revised Housing Local Plan due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Scrutiny Panel asked the Executive to
ensure that the revised Local Plan was adopted as soon as practicable and by no
later than March 2022. C) In line with
the Middlesbrough Council’s ambition for the town to be net carbon neutral by
2039, the Middlehaven developments be used as an opportunity to explore,
promote and encourage the use of green renewable energy both with Developers
and as a selling point for potential investors. D) Consideration
should be given to extending the Urban Pioneers Scheme, or encouraging similar
developments, to provide more live/work accommodation in Middlesbrough, given
the shift to increased
home working during the Covid-19 pandemic. E) The Council should
ensure that green spaces around the Middlehaven developments were regularly
maintained and attractive to prospective new residents and businesses. One
suggestion was that hard-standing surfaces or laybys were built into
development masterplans rather having grassed verges. This could also save the Council expenditure
on maintenance of and/or repair of more traditional grassed surfaces next to
roadways. F) The Council
could consider collaborating with the local community to encourage ownership
and maintenance of public spaces (if appropriate) in Middlehaven to promote
pride in the area. G) By working
closely with Broadband Providers, the Council should seek to ensure that all
areas of Middlesbrough could have access to superfast broadband by 2025 at the
latest, and that residents and businesses were not disadvantaged by lack of
provision given the increased reliance on digital technologies post-pandemic. H) The Council
should consider developing a multi-purpose venue in the town, which could
accommodate entertainment. A venue which attracts the best entertainers in the
world would encourage people from across the UK to visit the area, stay and
spend, boosting the local economy. The
Captain Cook Shopping Centre would be an ideal location for an eSports gaming venue
as evidenced by the Culture and Communities Scrutiny Panel in a recent Final
Report on Cultural Events. AGREED that the findings and recommendations of
the Economic Development, Environment and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel be
endorsed and referred to the Executive. |