Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies were received from Cllr M Earl and Cllr D Farr

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications. 

Cllr D Brown substituted for Cllr M Earl

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interests for this meeting. 

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 17 May 2021.

The minutes of the meetings held on 17 May 2021 were approved as a correct record.

To note and comment on the attached action sheet which tracks decisions, actions and recommendations from previous meetings.

The Chairman reported on an outstanding action on the action regarding closed toilets at Poole Quay and advised that he had written to the Planning Department on this matter and would report back on any response received.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution, which is available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of a public question is 4 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

There were no public petitions, statements or questions

To consider the following Finance and Transformation related reports scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 23 June 2021:

·       Financial Outturn Report 2020/21

·       Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) Update

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor D Mellor, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Transformation.

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Financial Outturn Report 2020/21 – The Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Transformation and Finance introduced the report. A copy of which had been circulated to Board members and a copy of which can be found at Appendix A to these minutes in the minute book. The Leader outlined the key points from the report and the Board discussed a number of issues including:

·     Potential problems for the future in adult social care which were not being provided for. There was a changing profile of risk, the cost of expenditure going forward would be different from that seen recently. The Portfolio Holder indicated that the Council was in better position to deal with issues coming forward and further detail was included within the Medium Term Financial Plan Paper. The Chief Financial Officer advised that with the impact of Covid it was quite difficult to see in comparison to what would have been spent originally.

·     Part of the reason Council was in a good investment position was that the previous administration had provided sound foundation. The Leader noted that the previous administration had been more cautious, and the political preference of the current administration was that it was a good time to invest.

·     The previous year was unprecedented due to Covid. The impact of grant funding had meant a positive surplus at year end. However, there was lots of uncertainty around a number of issues, e.g. car parking. Board Members expressed their hope that this was being monitored and that future plans were being implemented for uncertain times. The investment strategy for the Council was part of the big plan.

·     The solutions that were being planned to deal with the overspend in care home placements as this was an issue which would continue. Adult Social Care was being more interventionalist in the market and technology would also be part of the solution. The Care Homes and Older People Strategy would be taken through Cabinet in September. Investment was also being made to help people live in their own homes for longer.

·     It was noted that the core part of the Poole Civic Centre would be retained. The Council would be looking to retain ownership as well. There were no plans to dispose of either asset.

·     East Cliff Lift was not included in the Town Fund spending as outlined in the report. It was suggested that this could be looked into further via the Futures Fund.

·     In response to a query the Chief Financial Officer advised that in relation to the collection of council tax and business rates, whatever the Council precepts for the year, this was received from the collection fund. However, this could put the collection fund into deficit which would then be adjusted.  It was confirmed that the £40 million referenced in the report was part of the Council’s share of relief, this would need to be paid back into the collection fund to account for deficit. As well as the deficit caused by retail relief,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

To consider the following Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning related reports scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 23 June 2021:

·       Approval of the 5-year rolling BDC Business Plan

·       High Street Strategy

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor P Broadhead, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Approval of the Rolling 5-year BDC Business Plan - 

The Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning introduced the report a copy of which had been circulated to Board members and a copy of which appears as Appendix C to these minutes in the Minute Book. In the ensuing discussion a number of issues were raised, including:

·       A Board member questioned why the BDC was not being expanded to take on further development instead of the new urban regeneration vehicle. It was noted that they were different entities and vehicles for regeneration in BDC. The previous authority was asset rich and resource poor in terms of both finances and people but there was more of a mixed model approach in terms of regeneration options and there were more in-house assets.

·       Whether the property and investment requirements for the winter gardens were changing due to changes in the property market and whether there was a fundamental change required in the overall strategy. It was noted that the options agreement was now 10 years old, previously the intention was to take surplus land which Bournemouth had, predominately car parks, and develop these with a partner.

·       The Board questioned how the decision was taken to add or remove sites from the options agreement and what the consequences were if no further sites were added. The Portfolio holder advised that this was a decision which needed to be taken by the Cabinet. Any decision would need Cabinet or Council approval as they would involve the transfer of land. If no further sites were to be added, then the company would be wound down. The Business Plan outlined how this would be done, this would also require Council approval.

·       A Board member noted that the sustainability section was weak and should be made stronger to include, excellence targets and commitments brought into BDC’s future development plans. The Portfolio Holder responded that improvements could be made on the sustainability agenda. However, this was focused on a project by project basis but may need more development to be embedded in.

·       A Board member raised concerns with viability issues on the Cotlands Road and Winter Gardens developments, if these were not able to be delivered it would bring into question viability of the partnership itself.  This was an important issue and it was also important to be providing housing for the local people. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that it was less about financial viability but what was proposed in the development for the Cotlands Road site needed to be considered. It was noted that finances for the Winter Gardens Site had not changed since October 2020 but suggested that a member briefing on this may be of benefit

·       In response to a question it was noted that external developers look at models which have been used elsewhere, targeting people who are able to access finance and maximise profit. None of which help address issues within the local area.

·       It was suggested that the format of the business  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

To consider and amend the Board’s Forward Plan as appropriate and to consider the published Cabinet Forward Plan.

This item was deferred to the 6.00pm meeting.