Agenda and minutes

Members and officers must declare any pecuniary or personal interest in any business on the agenda.  They should also make declarations at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.  Consideration should be given to leaving the meeting if the nature of the interest warrants it.  If in doubt please contact Democratic Services before the meeting.

25.1     In accordance with the code of conduct the following personal declarations were made: -

·         Cllr Burrett in respect of item 5, Growth Deals Programme, as a member of Crawley Borough Council

·         Cllr Boram, in respect of item 5, Growth Deals Programme, as a member of Adur District Council

·         Cllr Elkins, in respect of item 5, Growth Deals Programme, as a member of Arun District Council

·         Cllr Hillier, in respect of item 5, Growth Deals Programme, as Cabinet Member for Economic Growth at Mid Sussex District Council

·         Cllr Sparkes, in respect of item 5, Growth Deals Programme, as a member of Worthing Borough Council

·         Cllr Turley, in respect of item 5, Growth Deals Programme, as a member of Worthing Borough Council

·         Cllr Waight, in respect of item 5, Growth Deals Programme, as a member of Worthing Borough Council

·         Cllr Walsh, in respect of item 5, Growth Deals Programme, as a member of Arun District Council

The Committee is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2021 (cream paper).

26.1     Formatting and spelling to be corrected in resolution 1 in paragraph 20.4.

26.2     Resolved – that with the corrections above, the minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2021 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

A report by the Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the corporate performance, finance, workforce, risk and capital programme positions as at the end of September 2021.

The Committee is asked to examine the data and supporting commentary for the Performance and Resources report and make any recommendations for action to the relevant Cabinet Member or Scrutiny Committee.

27.1     The Committee scrutinised the End of September 2021 (Qtr 2) Quarterly Performance and Resources report by Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Support Services (copy appended to the signed minutes).

27.2     Summary of responses to committee members questions and comments: -

·         Although the Council recognised the importance of making homes environmentally friendly, housing was the responsibility of the district and borough councils with the overall planning framework the responsibility of central government

·         The reported reduction in the Council’s carbon emissions was largely due to lower building occupancy and officers reducing their travel due to the Covid-19 situation – work was starting on a programme to embed carbon reductions in the way the Council carried out its functions going forward so that the reductions could be sustained

·         The rising costs due to inflation and pay awards was a risk that would be closely monitored

·         Although £10.1m from the covid grant was currently unallocated, there was a concern that this would not cover future costs attributed to covid – the Council was lobbying central government to allow covid grant money to be carried forward

·         One-off savings are regularly reviewed to see how and if they can be delivered, if they cannot, they will appear as growth in the following year’s budget

·         No West Sussex Children Looked After were in unregistered homes

·         Changes to the risk register can be highlighted in future reports

·         The Council is developing a programme of smarter ways of working including changes to flexible working arrangements and how to realise savings by reducing, or changing, the way buildings are used in future whilst also maintaining staff health and wellbeing as a priority

·         Economic recovery from the pandemic is a challenge - initiatives include: -

Ø  the skills accelerated programme and work with further education is helping to address the skills gap

Ø  the Research, Innovation in Sussex Excellence (RISE) project will help small and medium-sized enterprises

Ø  work around the Green Economy

·         the Fair Funding methodology when introduced would decrease the Council’s aggregate unit cost of services which was currently the second highest in its statistical group as defined by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy

·         A query was raised regarding the slippage in the Capital Programme relating to Orchard Street – Action: The Cabinet Member for Finance and Property to provide information on the property concerned

·         Following the forthcoming closure of Centenary House, Durrington, the Council’s offices are moving to Bridge House, Durrington which is being leased for five years and is in a good position geographically to provide local services

·         The Council’s offices in Littlehampton need around £1.1m spent on them before they can be used – the location of services will be reviewed towards the end of the Bridge House lease as the Council would like a presence in both Worthing and Littlehampton

·         The move from Centenary House will reduce the Council’s revenue expenditure and carbon footprint and be the main estate saving although more will come from smarter ways of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

A report by the Executive Director for Place Services, outlining  the progress of the programme.

Committee to consider the progress of the programme, achievement of the aims of the growth deals, and whether the programme meets the needs of the Economy Reset Plan.

28.1    The Committee scrutinised a report by the Executive Director for Place Services (copy appended to the signed minutes).

28.2    Summary of responses to committee members questions and comments: -

·       Some of the smaller schemes in Arun had not progressed as quickly as anticipated, but the main projects were on track

·       The Council did not have a way to measure type of road use and therefore the KPI measured new cycle paths in distance only rather than usage

·       Some aspects of the One Public Estate programme are complex and challenging. An example is Littlehampton which involves multiple partners and means projects take longer and are harder to make viable for all partners.

·       Consideration of the size or relocation of Littlehampton fire station would be part of the Fire Service’s review into its estate

·       Adur and Worthing councils were happy with a joint approach to growth deals in their areas when the scheme began but future reporting should separate the deals by council area

·       The Pond Road scheme in Adur needs £16m to complete, but only £2m is available for new Growth programme schemes in the capital programme. It is recognised that this is a complex site with multiple owners that has needed a lot of negotiation and discussion

·       New Monk’s Farm has been developed in Adur providing housing, land for commercial use, a new Gypsy & Travellers site and improvements to the A27

·       The County Council is willing to discuss with Adur District Council whether its growth deal could be refreshed at this point

·       In refreshing the growth deals long-standing schemes would be reviewed to ensure they are deliverable and provide the benefits originally envisaged. If they are no longer the right scheme for the area new options will be investigated

28.3     Resolved – that the Committee: -

                   i.        Welcomes the work in moving the Growth Deal projects forwards

                  ii.        Recognises the importance of working in partnership and the ability this brings to lever in additional funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership and other funding sources

                 iii.        Welcomes the levelling up funding for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton and the capital allocation from the County Council

                 iv.        Recognises that if a proposed scheme is not moving forwards due to partnership or viability issues that these should be re-visited and re-assessed. If a partnership is not working, then the County Council should consider progressing its elements of the scheme separately if appropriate.

                  v.        Welcomes the Cabinet Member and officers’ commitment to review the Adur growth deal to see how that can be progressed.

The Committee is asked to review its current draft work programme for the remainder of the County Council term.  The work programme attached reflects the changes to the work programme agreed at the previous meeting of this Committee.

The Committee is asked to review the extract of the Forward Plan of Key Decisions (Appendix A) and mention any items believed to be of relevance to the business of the scrutiny committee.  An update of any relevant changes to the Forward Plan will be tabled ahead of the meeting.

If any member puts forward such an item, the Committee’s role at this meeting is to assess, briefly, whether to refer the matter to its Business Planning Group (BPG) to consider in detail.

29.1        The Committee considered its work programme and possible items for future scrutiny. The Chairman suggested a possible Task & Finish Group on the Capital Programme.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on 31 January 2022 at 10.30am.  Probable agenda items include:

·         Draft Budget 2022/23

Any member wishing to place an item on the agenda for the meeting must notify the Director of Law and Assurance by 19 January 2022.

30.1     The Committee notes its next meeting will take place on 31 January 2022, commencing at 10.30am.