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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED – That the work programme as attached at appendix 1 to the report COGC/87/23 be agreed.
AGREED – The Committee thank Officers for bringing the report and the Committee looks forward to monitoring performance against the next Council Plan on a six monthly basis.
AGREED – (i) That the Committee recommend to the Chief Officer Education and Early Intervention that consideration be given to exploring the possibility of establishing links between schools and the agricultural industry and farming unions. (ii) That no changes are proposed to the current disposals policy in respect of the Council’s agricultural estate.
Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors William Baldwin, Jeremy Newton and Anthony Wedlake.
AGREED – To sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2023.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – That the work programme as attached at appendix 1 to the report COGC/87/23 be agreed.
The Chief Officer Governance and Customer submitted a report COGC/87/23 allowing Members to consider the work programme of the Customers, Performance, Resources & Governance Scrutiny Committee attached at Appendix 1. The scrutiny facilitator introduced her report and referred to the proposed changes which were subsequently approved. AGREED – That the work programme as attached at appendix 1 to the report COGC/87/23 be agreed.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – The Committee thank Officers for bringing the report and the Committee looks forward to monitoring performance against the next Council Plan on a six monthly basis.
The Lead Member for Finance and Performance submitted a report CE/21/23 which provided Members with a summary update on progress against the Council Plan as at year end 2022/23. In introducing his report the Lead Member drew Members attention to the main points for consideration. He responded to questions accordingly thereafter, with input from the Head of Service Performance, Improvement and Partnerships. During the debate reference was made to a number of issues including: · The improvement journey towards achieving the Council’s vision; the achievement towards the outcomes of the six council priorities. · As a whole, achievement against the Council Plan was judged to be yellow, meaning good progress had been made within all council priorities to deliver key milestones with evidence of improvement observed across several key performance measures. · Recognition of the high standard of work and delivery of service by Council employees during difficult circumstances i.e. Covid pandemic. · Detailed explanation of how the scores were converted to performance ratings within each category. · Confirmation of the rigorous process in place for challenging the ratings including a priority board, SLT and Lead Member approval. It was noted that these challenges did sometimes result in movement of score in either direction. · Suggestion that the scorecard would benefit from greater clarity in terms of indicating those that were truly indicative of the outcome and those that that referenced a smaller supporting role. · The Council was committed to continuing to promote diversity within the workforce. There was a need to improve data collection and to better understand the protected characteristics of the workforce. AGREED – The Committee thank Officers for bringing the report and the Committee looks forward to monitoring performance against the next Council Plan on a six monthly basis.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – (i) That the Committee recommend to the Chief Officer Education and Early Intervention that consideration be given to exploring the possibility of establishing links between schools and the agricultural industry and farming unions. (ii) That no changes are proposed to the current disposals policy in respect of the Council’s agricultural estate.
The Chair of the Council owned Farms and Land Task & Finish Group submitted a report (COGC/77/23) allowing Member to consider the report, conclusions and recommendation of the Council owned Farms and Land Task & Finish Group. In introducing his report the Chair of the Council owned Farms and Land Task and Finish Group referred to the work undertaken by the Group to review the asset disposal policy in respect of the Council’s agricultural estate. He advised that the Group had concluded that there should be no change to the current asset disposal policy in respect of the Council’s agricultural estate and referenced the key evidence which was taken into account by the Task and Finish Group when coming to this conclusion. The Chair welcomed Gwawr ?, National Farmers Union (NFU) to the meeting. She participated in the discussion and referred in particular to the importance of encouraging agriculture within schools. She stated that in addition to educating young people on where produce came from, agriculture also offered various options for a valuable career choice. During the ensuing debate, the following issues were referred to, in particular: · Disappointment at the time it had taken to review the asset disposal policy in respect of the Council’s agricultural estate. · Concern that the remit of the Task and Finish Group had been too narrow and that the history of the buildings had not been considered sufficiently. · Acknowledgement that the work of the Task and Finish Group had been impacted by events such as the financial budget. · Concern that some properties had been left empty for too long and these issues should have been addressed sooner. · The need to consider the capital receipts allocation in greater detail to ensure fair distribution. Reference was made in particular to 21st Century Schools. It was suggested that schools had received significant Local Authority contribution and that the current priority was investment in housing and infrastructure. · The need to consider utilising farm buildings and using as an educational resource. AGREED – (i) That the Committee recommend to the Chief Officer Education and Early Intervention that consideration be given to exploring the possibility of establishing links between schools and the agricultural industry and farming unions. (ii) That no changes are proposed to the current disposals policy in respect of the Council’s agricultural estate.
AGREED - That the press and public be excluded from the Meeting during consideration of the following item as it is likely that, if they were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). during consideration of the following item.
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