Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies were received from Cllr Vanessa Ricketts and Cllr Jackie Edwards.

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 Gillian Martin was substituting for Cllr Jackie Edwards.

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.

Cllr D’Orton-Gibson declared for the purpose of transparency in relation to agenda item 7, Scrutiny of Housing Related Cabinet Reports that he worked in housing and taught Local Authorities about housing, but not BCP and he also sat on Seascape Homes.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 9 July 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2025 were confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these 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 public questions is mid-day Thursday 2 October 3 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday Tuesday 7 October the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is Miday Tuesday 23 September 10 working days before the meeting.

No public petitions or statements were received. A public statement was received from …, who attended the meeting and read the statement as follows:

I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude for the publication of the draft Plant-Based and Reduced Meat and Dairy Position Statement and Action Plan, and to thank everyone involved for the work that has gone into producing it.

It’s encouraging to finally see progress in this vital area. Shifting towards more plant-based food is essential if BCP Council is to meet its carbon reduction targets and demonstrate real climate leadership.

However, I believe the action plan could be more ambitious. For example, the current target of 20% plant-based options in Council food outlets, and the requirement for licensed events to include at least 10% plant-based options, could and should be higher.

Raising these targets would send a stronger signal about BCP Council’s commitment to sustainability, public health, and a fairer food system for all.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Response, Environment and Energy presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. The Committee was informed that following questions to Council from several members of the public on the Council’s stance on plant-based diets in relation to climate change, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Environment & Place Overview & Scrutiny Panel requested a preliminary discussion paper on the issue in order to stimulate debate.

A review of the discussion paper by the Overview and Scrutiny committee on 11 September 2024, resulted in the committee requesting that officers review the suggested draft position statement and develop a set of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) actions to be considered by BCP Council aimed at encouraging and promoting plant-based diets.  The paper was tied mainly to the concessions and the offers they can put on their menus. Several issues were raised during discussion of the item, including:

• Definitions and clarity around “food types” in the plan, the plan mentions both Vegan and Plant-Based, which are different things, plant-based refers to dietary and vegan refers generally to where food comes from and ethical reasons.  It was agreed that as the paper was around diets that the word vegan would be replaced with plant-based throughout the paper.
• Concerns were raised around the costings of wasted food if the options were not taken up.  It was stated that there would need to be more good quality options that would entice people to try them and minimise wastage. There was an example given that there was a very good plant-based soft serve where you can not tell the difference which would like to be bought in but it would be how to promote it for customer to try, to minimise waste. 
• There were concerns about ultra-processed vegan foods and their health/climate impact, it was stated that this could be topic for a whole item on its own. Small concession would need to compete with larger places that could buy in bulk which was something that needed to be researched.
• The was a suggestion made to involve universities in research into processed foods.
• There was a suggestion to have research into how people eat across the conurbation, things that would impact what people buy.
• There was a discussion around whether a 20% target for plant based foods on menus was ambitious enough or if that needed to be increased as 20% was only 1 in 5 meals offered.  There was a discussion on whether it should be 30% offered but that was felt to be too high for the first try.  It was agreed to set the target at 25% and aim to achieve that target.  The first year would be about education around plant based food and maybe discounts on items to encourage people to try them.

RESOLVED that:

a)    All mentions of the word vegan be replaced with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Scrutiny of the 2 reports outlined below.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Regulatory Services presented 2 reports, BCP Homes Performance Update and BCP Homes Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report, copies of which had been circulated to each Member and copies of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

These reports were taken as 1 item as they were closely linked and covered performance information on how services were delivered to council tenants.

During discussion on the item the following points were raised:

• Satisfaction measured quarterly not annually for more responsive insights. Tenant satisfaction dropped slightly from 81.2% to 79% but remains in the national top quartile.
• Average void time increased due to property condition and nomination delays.
• Void days were discussed and it was explained that that they were counted cumulatively and reset at the start of the calendar year.
• The voids were only tracked from the date a property becomes empty until re-let.  The total days void in 24/25 was higher than 23/24 due to properties being in poorer condition and taking longer to get through nominations.

The second report provided information on the Council’s handling of complaints related to the provision of landlord services to council tenants and leaseholders. The report complied with the requirements within the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code that landlords must produce an Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement report for scrutiny and challenge.

164 complaints were received; 16% upheld.

310 were compliments noted.

• ASB was discussed and it was stated that it could escalate throughout the year and could only be measured accurately once a year.  It was recorded in the quarter it was reported in. 
• It was measured in line with government reporting and the tenant satisfaction survey gave more on the story.
• When safe homes were talked about t was normally the condition of the home but now ASB was included in this.
• The team had an improvement plan in place which addressed different issues they were responding to and how they could engage.
• The team reported that they had been awarded housing provider of the year for ASB.

The team reported strong performance in damp and mould responses with rapid response teams and proactive detection.  It was reported that there was a 7 – 8 day response time.

Use of Power BI for real-time tracking and reporting repairs was being tested.

It was reported that BCP homes compliance updates were reported to Cabinet and the compliance report would be provided in November or December.

A better insurance scheme had been implemented, the tenants had contents insurance and the Council had buildings insurance and the housing ombudsman was keen for tenant not to be told to go through insurance if any damages were made to property during repair.  The Council would pay if they were at fault without the need for the tenant to go through insurance.

The Portfolio Holder thanked the team for their work particularly during the time of inspection when there was a period of intense work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The Environment and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee is asked to consider and identify work priorities for its next meeting pending a wider review of its forward plan at a future meeting. 

The Chair presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Environment and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee is asked to consider and identify work priorities for its next meeting pending a wider review of its forward plan at a future meeting.

The Chair explained to the Committee that as per the email sent to the Committee the van life work had been postponed until the new year as not all stakeholders were able to make it round the table.

Due to an item on the work plan that needed to be moved due to a change to the Cabinet meeting it was going to there was a gap on the next meeting and there was a suggestion to have the inshore fisheries at the meeting.  It was agreed that they would attend the next meeting and give a presentation on what they did and answer any questions.

Cllr Rice as rapporteur updated the Committee on pedestrian crossings, there was a meeting outlining the good work and progress was being made on the changing of the times on the crossings and there would be a report circulated around Christmas.

It was suggested and agreed that Play Streets be added back onto the work plan for a future update.

The Chair asked for volunteers to scope items on the work plan that need scoping due to the work plannings sessions not being able to happen. Anyone wishing to volunteer was asked to contact the Chair.

The Committee agreed for the Chair and Vice Chair to agree future agenda items.

RESOLVED that

the Overview and Scrutiny Committee discussed and agreed work priorities as listed above, for its next meeting, for subsequent publication in the Work Plan.

Voting: Unanimous