Agenda and minutes

There were none.

The Panel noted that a statement had been sent in by Ms Boater regarding the allocation of resources. A copy of the statement can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

Please find attached the minutes of previous meeting held on 14^th May 2012 to be approved by the Panel as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Briefing note attached on the ‘Approach to Allocation of Resources’.

Andrew Pate – Strategic Director for Resources, introduced the report, he explained that most aspects of resource planning do get considered but not necessarily at the same time. He explained that the big picture is presented in November in the Medium Term Plans, he also explained that there is an aspiration that resource planning is brought to the Panel’s only once for next year – i.e. for 2013/14 (rather to each panel than again and in more detail in January).

Councillor Rigby explained that she had asked for this report because she felt at the end of the last budget process, she had a good knowledge of how the money was being spent but little knowledge on how other resources were allocated.

Councillor Gerrish stated that he felt the report was constructive but that PDS (Policy Development and Scrutiny) Panel’s look at departmental budgets rather than judging the budget proposals against the corporate priorities. He asked if they could take a more strategic look in November. He added that the next budget would be the most difficult and that there was a need to look at overall priorities.

Councillor Macrae added that the Cabinet should give overarching guidance on priorities and then Panel’s scrutinize this. He asked if this Panel could receive its own resource plan information and the corporate information as separate reports in November.

Councillor Roberts stated that the Medium Term Plans (usually brought to Panel’s in November) do indicate a direction and there is a corporate plan to refer to and that the advantage for this Panel is that it can have a wider view.

The Strategic Director stated that he would aim to provide as much information as possible in November and separate out the plans for this Panel’s services from a report about the picture for the Council as a whole.

There will be a short presentation at the meeting. The presentation is attached.

David Trethewey - Divisional Director, Policy and Partnerships – gave a presentation on ‘Community Assets’ which covered the following:

·  What do we mean by Community Assets?

·  Changing Context

·  Community Right to Bid

·  Community Right to Challenge

·  Community Right to Build

·  Examples in Bath & North East Somerset

·  The Wiltshire Example

·  Current discussions

·  What assets do we have in B&NES

·  Further Assets

·  Taking things forward in B&NES

·  Key Issues

·  Potential roles for the Panel

Panel members raised the following points and asked the following questions:

There was some discussion over the definition of a community asset. Councillor Macrae stated that he would want the Cabinet to have a view on what they defined as an asset. The Divisional Director stated that it would be an issue of prioritisation and that a case would have to be demonstrated each time.

There was some discussion around the need for a sound process. Councillor Macrae stated that the authority should manage it well or a lot of people will be disappointed. Councillor Macrae stated that schools are often a community hub. He stated that there were a lot of issues to overcome.

Councillor Nigel Roberts stated that the Localism Bill should be seen as an opportunity. He stated that there was a key issue in that there may be some communities more able to organise their case than others. Tom McBain, Divisional Director, Property added that the Council has always had a passive role regarding its assets and that this legislation brought a great opportunity to help the authority get the best use out of its assets.

Councillor Gerrish stated that the legislation referred to Council assets and asked officers to look at the issue of other community assets. He stated that it was best to have two approaches, one for Council assets and the line we will take regarding community assets that are not controlled by the Council.

Councillor Roberts stated that there were limited resources to support this. He stated the need for a mapping exercise on communities as some may need more support in the process than others and there would be differences between communities that are parished and those who are not. He added that there should be a mechanism so that one person could not dominate the process. The Council must also consider whether it gives advice on becoming a charity, how to run meetings etc.

The Strategic Director reminded the panel that a key issue to discuss was how they would get involved. He explained that this topic affects many Council Services and many communities. He added that the Panel had a role in trying to shape future policy in their policy development role. He further explained that if this led to substantial policy change, it would be reported to full Council.

Councillor Rigby stated that in the policy development role, green targets and similar commitments should be remembered.

The Chair explained that as there was no available scrutiny support for a review until December 2012, a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

There is no report attached. This will be a verbal update.

Ian Savigar – Divisional Director for Revenues and Benefits – updated the Panel on developments since the presentation they received in their September 2011 meeting and the workshop in March 2012. He explained the following points:

Welfare Reform Change - Update

·  The timeline was still as it was previously. Any new claim after October 2013 is planned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to be a Universal Credit;

·  The DWP would start communicating with people about starting up their own bank accounts to enable direct payments;

·  In the lead up to Universal Credit, a lot of changes were being made to Housing Benefits such as how the rent is calculated and size criteria;

·  Roughly 50 families in this area would be affected by ‘Capping’ (no household should get more than £26k in benefits annually);

·  Landlords would in future no longer receive payments direct from the authority, claimants would be paid direct and some pilots are underway elsewhere to test this;

·  One of the concerns was the expectation that all claims will have to be made digitally, the officer had been in discussion with the DWP on this and the need for some face to face delivery. Some people would also need help in managing the money now that they would be paid monthly;

·  This authority had submitted an application to participate in a pilot for a face to face solution;

·  Finally that the Social Fund was being abolished (community care grants/maternity grant/cold weather grants) and that he wanted a policy that would pick people up who will lose out through this.

Panel members raised the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Macrae stated that this authority should be making a stand as changes will affect our residents and our staff. He wished to see changes that are people focused, not process focused.

Councillor Gerrish stated that Councillors on this Panel had raised the above points before. He stated that there was a danger that isolated people get overlooked and the authority should use the knowledge from smaller advice groups who should be brought up to speed as we progress otherwise the advice sector would not be able to provide support. The Divisional Director explained that he had a meeting with inter-agency groups the following day.

The Cabinet Member, Councillor Bellotti explained that this process is about coming out the other end with a fairer system and that, at present, a small section of families in Bath are drawing enormous amounts in benefits and others are working hard and not drawing such amounts. Councillor Bull disagreed and asked what would happen when they sought accommodation elsewhere and it was not available. Councillor Bellotti agreed that they would need help. He explained that it was about sending a message to people that it is worth going to work.

Councillor Macrae asked why the change to Universal Credit is being done at DWP level and not locally. The Cabinet Member explained that there has to be a national credit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

There will be a verbal update from the Cabinet Member for Community Resources – Councillor David Bellotti.

Councillor Bellotti – Cabinet Member for Community Resources - updated the Panel on the following:

·  He referred to his recent announcement on the levels of spending on adult social care, he hoped that the Government would address this issue;

·  He reported that the Keynsham Regeneration Scheme should be going to the Development Control (Planning) Committee in August and that  changes had been made in light of comments received in the consultation;

·  He referred to the Council papers which report an underspend for 2011/12 and reported that during the next budget round (2013/14), there would be three road shows rather than the usual one;

·  He reported that Victoria Hall was planned to be refurbished and an anchor tenant was sought, with the library was being considered;

·  In terms of the workplaces project, he reported that the Bath Street Offices were now closed and the Lewis House One Stop Shop was open, he recommended that members visit;

·  He reported that plans were going ahead for the business/co-working hub on the ground floor of the Guildhall;

·  On the issue of empty shops, he reported that there was not a problem in Bath.

·  Finally, on the issue of growth, the Cabinet Member stated that he thought growth could be about the quality of life in society, not just money. He gave an example of the jubilee where the GDP was down due to the extra bank holiday but the feel good factor was up.

Panel members raised the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Gerrish welcomed the announcement on the range of seminars for start-up businesses and hoped there would be good take up on this.

Councillor Myers asked that ‘Norton Radstock’ not be used but that the Cabinet Member instead refer to Midsomer Norton, Westfield and Radstock.

Councillor Macrae agreed with the Cabinet Member on the quality of life point made above. He reminded the Cabinet Member that, while empty shops were not a problem in Bath, there were still empty shops in Midsomer Norton, Westfield and Radstock and he wished for this area to be put back on the radar.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for his update.

Please find attached  the Panel’s future work plan.

The Panel noted the future workplan with the following amendments:

·  The September meeting of the Panel has been moved from the 10^th to 17^th and will be held in Keynsham;

·  The ‘Carbon Management Update’ item will move from September to the January 2013 meeting;

·  A new item was added to the September agenda ‘Implications of Pooling Business Rates in West of England Authorities’;