Agenda item

The Chairman invited the Portfolio Holder, Cllr Terry Turner, to give a statement on his current portfolio.  The Committee were keen to learn about his objectives for the next six months and to see which areas could potentially benefit from Scrutiny. 

The Portfolio Holder stated that the size of his Portfolio was significant and contained almost all of the major Council projects currently planned for the next 3-5 years.  When he became Portfolio Holder he realised the importance of setting priorities from the outset.  It was clear that the workload of the Directorate was already significant.  He was very pleased with the outcome of Keele Golf Centre and the JCB / Blue Planet project.  The Ryecroft development was a key priority and part of this work was the relocation of the main Council Offices.  He was working with commercial advisors to get the most out of the plan and then they could begin marketing the site.  A report would be coming forward for Council’s consideration on the 27 November.  With regard to the public realm, plans were in place, with works on the market stalls due to commence in the New Year.  Work was taking place on branding and making best use of the market.  The aim was to make the market the best in North Staffordshire.  Work was taking place on the Newcastle Housing Advice Service to find a new provider within a ten percent saving.  They had given contractors the flexibility of offering something different if it saved them money.  

The Portfolio Holder stated that there were some problems which need to be resolved with the private rented sector, particularly on some estates where there was a concentration of properties of this tenure.  This was not an easy task as some people had stopped reporting anti-social behaviour to the Police.  Stoke-on-Trent City Council had introduced a landlord licensing scheme.  He had started exploring the possibility of the Council having their own landlord licensing scheme and was trying to encourage improved working between various agencies.

The Portfolio Holder stated that a significant piece of work was taking place on the Asset Management Strategy.  Careful consideration was being given to what the Council should retain as an asset and what it should dispose of.  The Council needed to generate capital receipts.  The Asset Management Strategy was intended to be received by the Scrutiny Committee as part of its work programme.  Selling land was not necessarily a quick process and often the Council would have to go through a consultation process. 

The Portfolio Holder stated that a report on the process for preparing a new Local Plan would be received by Cabinet in December.  There was clearly a decision to be made on whether the Council should join in collaboration with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.  The Portfolio Holder advised that it was important to be mindful that all of the projects currently underway were taking place at a time when the Council were looking to make budget reductions. He suggested three areas for scrutiny in the future which included Ryecroft, Private Sector Landlord Initiatives and the two Town Centre Partnerships.  

The Chair invited the Committee to ask questions on the Portfolio Holders statement.   A Member asked if it would be possible to have a drawing of the vision of the Ryecroft development available at the Council meeting on the 27 November.  In response the Portfolio Holder stated that a drawing would not be available but there would be an outline business case presented for moving out of Civic Offices.  The principle objective was to ensure a robust business case and the rest would follow in time.  In response to a question from a Member about the nature of the Ryecroft development, the Portfolio Holder confirmed that it was intended to be retail led with a major food outlet to provide anchorage to any scheme.

A Member asked whether the Council still had a private landlord accreditation scheme.  The Portfolio Holder confirmed that the Council did have the scheme but it relied on the private landlord registering.  In reality it was the good landlords which registered with the scheme.  A landlord licensing scheme would be compulsory where a fee would be payable and the income generated would be used to employ staff to administer the scheme. It was however a difficult scheme to setup because certain conditions had to be demonstrated.  Evidence had to be available to justify the scheme in case of a legal challenge by a private landlord.  When the Council had kept a log their data showed considerable more crime and anti-social behaviour than the Police data for the same area.  He encouraged Members to keep a log of crime in their areas and suggested that this could potentially be co-ordinated through the LAP.  A Member stated that one of the problems with Police data was that they appeared to have multiple definitions for Anti-Social behaviour.  The Executive Director for Regeneration and Development stated that there was an obvious cost implication to the compilation of data and evidence to justify a landlord licensing scheme.  He suggested that Scrutiny could potentially look at the item in the future. 

A Member in reference to the Asset Management Strategy asked for a complete record of all assets owned by the Council to be brought to the Scrutiny Committee in the future including the expected capital that could be obtained and the future and potential use of the asset.  In response the Executive Director for Regeneration and Development stated that certain information regarding the assets would have to be held in exempt session.  It was important to note that some assets were seen as a liability and therefore were only valued at £1.00.  This burden of assets was an area which potentially the Scrutiny Committee could focus. The Portfolio Holder stated that the authority should continue to look at their assets on a consistent basis, keeping them under constant review.  Cllr Loades proposed, that during the Scrutiny meeting when the Asset Management Strategy would be discussed, that the Committee should consider the establishment of a Task and Finish Group.

A Member stated that skills needed to be improved within the Borough, which was essential for economic development.  He believed this to be a high priority and the Council should link in with the LEP.  He understood that funds were available from the European Union, it was important that the Council did not lose out through bad timing.  In response the Portfolio Holder stated that improving skills was part of the economic strategy and the Council was engaging with the LEP and Newcastle College.  Equipping people with transferable business skills was important.  He was pleased with the apprenticeship campaign the Council had helped run. 

A Member encouraged the Portfolio Holder to resolve the Local Plan as soon as possible, as it was causing concern for rural residents.

The Chair stated that Portfolio Holder Question Time had been particular useful because the Committee had been able to learn about areas for potential future Scrutiny and to learn about the early development of projects coming forward.  He thanked the Portfolio Holder for his contribution.