Agenda and minutes

Councillor Alan Hale gave his apologies and was substituted by Councillor Colin Barrett

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

The following people made statements to the Panel:

Adam Reynolds made a statement on ‘City of Bath Community Congestion Charge and Workplace Parking Levy Proposal’. A copy of this statement is attached to these minutes.

Councillor Turner queried the statement regarding deaths from pollution, Mr Reynolds confirmed that this referred pollution related deaths. Councillor Evans queried whether Nottingham was a good comparison with Bath, Mr Reynolds explained that it was about creating modal shift. Councillor Bull thanked Mr Reynolds and explained that the Panel were intrigued by his proposals but that there was no money to carry out a feasibility study at present. Mr Reynolds explained that he had contacted DEFRA.

Rosemary Naish made a statement regarding the Parish Charter, she explained that the parishes were happy with the review and wished to recognise the work of Councillor Myers and senior officers.

Nicolette Boater made a statement regarding Bath governance and the Parish Charter. A copy of this statement is attached to these minutes.

In response to a question from Councillor Barrett regarding the cost of a governance review, Ms Boater explained that she did not have figures for this. Councillor Butters mentioned that Swindon had gone through a similar exercise which appears successful.

The Panel noted a question from Mr Hal Macfie and the answer circulated. A copy of this document is attached to these minutes.

The Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chairman.

Note: Councillor Samuel raised the issue of the Air Quality Action Plan and the fact that the Scrutiny Panel would not get to see the outline business case before the 31st March 2018 deadline. He wished to register his disappointment at this. The Chairman suggested that the Panel be briefed on the issue before the end of March and asked the Democratic Services Officer to ask the relevant officers to set this up.

The Cabinet Member will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update provided.

The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment Councillor Mark Shelford updated the Panel on the following:

·  Public Transport – work continues with WECA including the development of a bus strategy.

·  Parking Services – The Parking Strategy has been approved by Cabinet, comments are welcome.

·  The ANPR Camera upgrade is being worked on for bus lane enforcement. Discussions are underway with Central Government via the Traffic Penalty Tribunal as currently private car parks can use ANPR for enforcement but not public car parks. This does not make sense and needs to be challenged.

·  Oddown Coach park work will commence over the next period.

·  Passenger Transport – there is an update on the agenda

·  Highways/Traffic – during the severe weather the team worked incredibly well, we were well prepared and covered 3, 500 miles with 530 tonnes of grit. The Parks and cleansing team shovelled snow, the emergency contingency plans worked well. Some lessons were learned but a huge thanks to all.

·  Somerdale, Keynsham – work on a new junction had started which would finish at the end of May.

·  The Highways maintenance contract expires at the end of March 2019 and the energy supply contract expires in September 2018 – both contracts would go through the re tendering process.

The Panel asked the following questions and made the following points:

The Chairman Councillor Bull asked that the Panel’s thanks also be sent to the teams who worked hard during the severe weather period.

Councillor Gilchrist explained that there were some issues in his ward during the severe weather period and some residents could not get to the RUH. He also asked about an update on the subway in his ward. Councillor Shelford said he would report back on this.

Councillor Evans asked for an update on the snow warden scheme. Councillor Shelford explained that he was waiting for a response on the scheme and was always looking for volunteers.

Councillor Anketell Jones asked about Park and Ride prices in relation to daily parking charges, Chris Major (Group Manager Transport and Planning) explained that a Park and Ride daily ticket was £3.40 per person and city centre parking charges for the day was £12.50 in Avon Street and £8.50 in Charlotte Street. He explained that there were options to increase daily parking charges to £15 in the parking strategy.

Councillor Butters asked about 20mph zones and pointed to the differing views on the benefits of this. He explained that a past report to this Panel had outlined some dis benefits but the recent report from Bristol was positive. Councillor Shelford explained that the government report was delayed and agreed there were differing views.

Councillor Barrett explained that some Weston residents were isolated for 4 days during the severe weather period and there were no snow ploughs in the area, he expressed concern especially regarding elderly people being isolated. Councillor Shelford explained that all ‘A’ roads were gritted and ploughed and ‘B’ roads were also treated by the end of the Friday night.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

A report is attached. There will be a presentation at the meeting – slides are attached.

Chris Major, Group Manager Transport and Planning, introduced the item to the Panel and gave a presentation on ‘Getting from A to B – Strategic Transport Review’ which covered the following:

·  Purpose

·  Approach

·  Outcomes

·  Barriers

·  Supported bus funding

·  Review – Home to School Transport

·  HTST – Hazardous routes review

·  SEND – Personal budgets

·  Fleet utilisation and back office

·  Still to do’s…

·  Next Steps

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

Councillor Butters asked how much SEN provision was provided when pupils came from other authorities. The officer stated that he would ask for a response from the Education Department. Councillor Butters asked if drivers had DBS checks for school buses, the officer explained that they did on contracted services but not on public buses.

Councillor Gilchrist explained that a Scrutiny Panel had done a lot of work on  home to school transport and hazardous routes 5 years ago which recommended that more children be encouraged to walk to school – he asked if this review is the first time this has been actioned. The officer explained that this review represented the second stage and added that there is now more online information for parents.

Councillor Anketell Jones asked if prioritising digital ways to gain information was the best way to save money, the officer explained that it was really important to get information and work with software providers is being done to help with costs.

Councillor Bull asked how it had been to work with WECA. The officer explained that there were a number of opportunities and challenges but work was being done with WECA to ensure the best outcomes.

The Chair thanked the officer for the update and asked that this issue be reported back to the Panel in 6 months.

A report on the Draft Parish Charter is attached.

The Cabinet Member for Economic and Community Regeneration – Councillor Paul Myers, Parish Councillor Rosemary Naish and Andy Thomas, Strategic Manager Communities gave a presentation to the Panel which covered the following:

·  Overview

·  Revised Draft Parish Charter

·  Consultation Summary

·  Common Issues Raised

·  Implementation

·  Decision making process

·  Web page

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

Councillor Butters expressed his thanks for all the work that had been done. He asked about the Parish Sweeper Scheme, Councillor Myers explained that he would ask Councillor Goodman to give specific advice to the Panel on this but that he hoped to invoke the spirit of the Parish Charter. He explained that the working group will present to the Parish Liaison Committee.

Councillor Butters asked about issues that cross parish borders. Councillor Myers explained that his role was to liaise with other bodies such as towns and parishes on the borders. Rosemary Naish explained that this issue could be raised at the next review meeting.

Councillor Butters asked if officers had regard for Parish Council views and asked if some education was needed for staff on this issue. Councillor Myers explained that this was about mutual respect and understanding on both sides. The officer explained that staff will be involved which will help as sometimes there can be a lack of knowledge on both sides.

Councillor Gilchrist asked about the role of the Council Chairman chairing the Parish Liaison Committee. Councillor Myers suggested that it might be an idea to consider rotating the Chair but also acknowledged that it was good to have a Chair who was neutral. Rosemary Naish added that the layout of the Parish Liaison meeting has now been changed so that groups sit together.

Councillor Anketell Jones stated that employment in rural areas has grown 5 times faster than predicted in the core strategy which was making Parish Council’s more important.

Councillor Bull stated that there was a need to monitor the Parish Charter especially with regard to devolved services such as libraries.

Councillor Simmons asked about the roles of the Parish Council and Community Forums. Rosemary Naish explained that some groups such as Julian House come along to Community Forums but may not attend Parish Liaison meetings as the meetings had a very different flavour.

The Chairman thanked members of the working group for updating the Panel and answering questions.

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting senior officers.

The Panel noted the workplan with the following suggested updates (subject to confirmation):

21^st May meeting:

·  Air Quality in relation to the A37

·  Waste Collection Review

·  ESP (Environment Sustainability Panel) Joint Vision Statement

16^th July 2018 meeting:

·  Anti-social behaviour policy (Police representative to be invited)

·  Bathscape Project – Update on Progress

17^th September 2018 meeting:

·  Transport Strategy – Getting from A to B (Update)