To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 July 2019, as a correct record.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee held on 16 July 2019 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any declarations not already registered

No additional declarations of interest were made.

There were none.

Members noted that Sencio Leisure Centre’s final accounts for 2017 and 2018 had been circulated. Members discussed the figures and expressed concern about the financial performance. Members requested a report be brought to the next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee with some additional information including more recent financial analysis.

Members considered the report which summarised performance across the Council as at September 2019. Members were asked to consider 8 performance indicators which were performing at 10% or more below their target with a commentary from Officers explaining the reasons and detailing any plans to improve performance. The report also provided key performance indicators relating to the Portfolio Holder in attendance.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Investment presented the report on the recent achievements and challenges ahead.  He expressed his thanks to Officers for all their work, particularly with the budget setting. Areas of concern were also mentioned including whether the government would proceed to a national standardised weekly waste collection, the unknown future of local government finance and managing expectations for investment returns.

In response to a question, the Portfolio Holder advised that the investment return for the property investment strategy was reviewed by Members each year. The Working Men’s club was tied in with plans for the delivery of White Oak Leisure Centre and options were being investigated for the site.

In response to a Members’ question regarding ‘Net Zero’, the Portfolio Holder advised that cost implications were a requirement for the environment statements. There were some potential incentives to encourage ‘Net Zero’ such as 100% Council Tax (Sevenoaks District Council element) discount for 1 year for certain types of low impact housing. It was hoped that by 2030 most homes would be built as a ‘passive house’ which reduces the building’s ecological footprint.

The Portfolio Holder advised that generally there was increasing use of electric vehicles where practical. This essentially was not possible with Refuse freighters due to the heavy loads, fuel consumption and waste weight. The electric cars that the Civil Enforcement Officers used were sourced for their best value for money and vehicle life.

Members asked questions regarding Brexit and how this could affect some of the services. Members were advised that one of the biggest implications could be for the refuse collection, as there could be an impact on fuel supply and the collection and delivery.

The Chairman thanked the Portfolio Holder and Chief Officer Finance & Trading for their attendance.

The Committee considered the report detailing a proposed in-depth scrutiny working group to consider the CCTV service to evaluate the effectiveness of the CCTV service in supporting the Community Safety theme and privacy impact within the Council Plan.

It was moved by the Chairman that an in-depth Scrutiny Working Group consist of 4 Members: Cllrs Pender, Ball, Kitchener and Purves to consider: the number and location of CCTV cameras provided across the District and their effectiveness in meeting the aims of the CCTV Service; the impact of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and recovery costs. A final report would be brought to the March or Summer meeting.

The motion was put to the vote and it was

Resolved: That

a)     an in-depth Scrutiny Working Group be set up consisting of Cllrs Pender (Chairman), Ball, Kitchener and Purves

b)     the working group consider the number and location of CCTV cameras provided across the District and their effectiveness in meeting the aims of the CCTV Service; the impact of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and recovery costs

c)     a final report be brought to the March or summer 2020 meeting.

(*As amended at the meeting on 30 January 2020)

Members discussed the work plan, it was noted that the Police would be in attendance at the next meeting. The Stag theatre/Sevenoaks Town Council would be invited to attend the March 2020 meeting. Members requested that Highways also be invited to attend a future meeting to cover works around the winter programme.