Agenda item

(a)       That the Improvement Plan be received with the following observations:-

(i)         that the rural areas of the County should receive more of an emphasis

(ii)        that the Council’s commitment to the Armed Forces Community Covenant should be specifically mentioned

(b)       That due to the importance of the superfast broadband roll out to the development of the local economy, that BT and Welsh Government representatives be invited to give a presentation at an all Member workshop to be held for that purpose.

(c)        That further information and interpretation on the changes made to the Improvement Plan be provided to Members to allow further responses before final approval by Cabinet and Council on 23 June 2015. 

The Leader of the Council & Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report and explained that adoption and publication of an Improvement Plan was a statutory requirement under the 2009 Local Government Measure. 

                        The Plan would allow the Council to concentrate on areas that needed attention and the current priorities and sub-priorities of the Plan had been reviewed and some areas that had been completed in 2014/15 had been removed from the 2015/16 Plan.  The key priorities had been broadened and the specific reference to the Deeside area had been removed from the sub-priority in relation to business sector growth so this now covered the whole of the County.  The Leader commented on the Deeside Enterprise Zone and referred to the Vibrant and Viable Places programme.  Flintshire Business Week had recently been launched and the Leader spoke of the small and medium sized businesses that were engaging and taking part in the initiative.  The continuation of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard work would provide significant opportunities for the Council to engage with the Housing Business Sector.  A Member workshop had been held on 29 May 2015 where the working draft documents had been considered along with the proposed targets and classifications for the statutory national performance indicators.  The Plan was to be considered at a Special Cabinet meeting on 23 June 2015 followed by a County Council meeting in the afternoon.   

                        The Chief Executive detailed the three documents in the report and explained that appendix 3 was a summary of the key issues from and responses to the consultations with Members at the workshop held on 29 May 2015.  In highlighting the budget, he said that it was important to look at future years revenue funding and capital programme alongside the priorities set out in the plan.  The Plan could be changed during the year.

                        In referring to appendix 3, the Performance Team Leader explained that the document included responses provided at the workshop or subsequently following the workshop.  General issues were reported first followed by issues raised on individual areas or sub-priorities and then on specific performance measures.  The Performance Team Leader advised that all of the amendments that had been requested at the workshop had been highlighted in blue in the Improvement Plan 2015/16 document. 

                        The Chair commented on the issue of broadband speeds and referred in particular to the fibreoptic link that had been laid by Welsh Government in 2010 near to Hawarden Business Park.  In response, the Chief Executive spoke of meetings with British Telecom (BT) and the Deeside Enterprise Zone Board about issues including ‘notspots’ and added that improvements had been made to broadband infrastructures at Hawarden Business Park as a result.  He advised that he would obtain an update on the concerns raised particularly about ‘notspots’ and suggested that BT be invited to attend a future meeting of the Committee. 

                        Councillor Richard Jones referred to the section on Economy and Enterprise and indicated that he had stated at the workshop that the priority in the original document concentrated on the area of Deeside and Deeside Enterprise Zone in particular.  These references had been amended but the document was not highlighted in blue as had been advised by the Performance Team Leader.  He also referred to the wording on the first bullet point under ‘Risks to manage’ and queried why the wording had been changed.  The Performance Team Leader advised that this had been changed following discussions with the Enterprise Manager and she provided details of the other minor changes that had been made following the workshop.  Councillor Jones felt that references to Deeside and the Deeside Enterprise Zone were still included throughout the document and therefore disagreed with the opening remarks of the Leader that all references had been removed.  In response, the Leader concurred that the local economy growth should benefit the whole of the county and not specifically Deeside and the Deeside Enterprise Zone.  The Chief Executive reiterated earlier comments about the broadband infrastructure for Hawarden and the Deeside Enterprise Zone, which was a prime business location of national significance. 

                        Councillor Jones referred to the importance of the Improvement Plan document and of the development of the Medium Term Financial Plan alongside it.  He felt that if one location was referenced then any revenue would also be restricted to that area. 

Councillor Jones raised a general concern at some of the sub-priorities that had either been changed or removed since the 2014/15 Plan. It was confirmed that in most instances this was because they were now business as usual.

Councillor Jones highlighted the sub-priority of Appropriate and Affordable Homes and in particular the achievement measure on the number of households where the Council had discharged its full statutory duty into private rented accommodation.  In response, the Chief Officer (Community & Enterprise) spoke of the new Housing Act for Wales which had come into effect in April 2015 and explained that the Council could now discharge the duty for homeless households to the private rental sector.  Work was ongoing with private landlords and an Environment Health Officer would ensure that the properties in the private rental sector were at the appropriate level.  She explained that the measure was new and therefore did not have any current target but added that a baseline would be established for 2015/16 to allow a target to be set for 2016/17. 

                        On the issue of homelessness Councillor Jones queried how the target of 90% for 2015/16 would be achieved for measure HHA/013 (homeless prevention) when it had not been met in preceding years.  The Chief Officer (Community & Enterprise) commented that there was now a requirement to work with those who were threatened with homelessness within 56 days rather than 28 days which was the previous requirement.  Officers were being more proactive and it was therefore anticipated that more potential homelessness could be prevented and that the target was realistic and could be achieved.  Flintshire had been awarded some transition funding from Welsh Government to support the implementation of the new legislation which made the prevention of homelessness a statutory duty.      

                        On the measure on Disabled Facilities Grants, Councillor Jones suggested that an explanation should be included about the issue of resources. 

In response to a query from the Chair, Councillor Jones explained that a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) would be a replacement for Section 106 Agreements on planning applications.  He also raised a concern that the CIL was being challenged by developers and may not provide any benefit but may also limit funding available for any one project.      

The Leader of the Council hoped it was recognised that Deeside was one of only six areas that was part of the ‘Vibrant and Viable Places’ project and the delivery of the programme was at a critical stage.  He felt that it was relevant to include this as a sub-priority to ensure that the scheme was on track as it would be scrutinised carefully by Welsh Government. 

                        Councillor Jones also highlighted the Flint regeneration programme and in referring to the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), said that it was important that rural areas were not forgotten and were protected.  He felt that it was unfair that Deeside and Flint were so heavily mentioned in the plan.  The Chief Executive understood the concerns raised by Councillor Jones but reminded Members that the Council had formally adopted the plans for the Deeside and Flint regeneration areas.  The majority of funding was being provided from national sources and other partners and could not be used elsewhere.  National support was area specific based on business potential and indices of deprivation.  The Leader added that regeneration of Flint had been a commitment from the previous Administration.  

Councillor Arnold Woolley indicated that the criteria to receive the funding had been set by Welsh Government and added that it was difficult to obtain funding for areas that did not qualify.  He reminded Members that £5m had been received for rural development and £10m for improvements to the Deeside strip. 

                        On the issue of the road infrastructure, Councillor Jones referred to page 63 and the target for the percentage of roads that were in overall poor condition.  He queried why the target figures were increasing and whether this meant that the same condition could not be maintained.  The Chief Executive advised that it was impossible to keep the roads in the same condition as the amount of resources available for road maintenance had been reduced.  He said that it was appropriate that the priority was included in the plan and spoke of the importance of utilising the funding well in line with the Highways Asset Management Plan (HAMP).  Councillor Jones felt that only targets that were aspiring to improve should be included in the plan and questioned whether the measure should be removed.  The Performance Team Leader suggested that a sentence be included reflecting that whilst the targets had reduced due to funding reductions these were still ambitious targets.            

                        The Chief Executive advised that if officers present at this meeting could not fully answer the questions asked by Members, then a response would be provided in writing following the meeting.  It was agreed that Councillor Jones would forward any additional questions on to the Chief Executive and the Performance Team Leader. 

                        Councillor Carolyn Thomas welcomed the inclusion of tourism in the Improvement Plan and she highlighted rural areas and the provision of funding through the Rural Development Plan.  She raised concern that rural areas were being forgotten and suggested that the priority should be stronger and should include the identification of alternative funding streams.  Councillor Thomas and Councillor Marion Bateman welcomed the earlier suggestion for BT to attend a future meeting of the Committee.  The Leader also indicated that WG officials had been made aware of the issues raised to do with broadband and suggested that they also be invited to attend the meeting.  The Chief Executive felt that it would be appropriate to hold an all Member workshop rather than a formal meeting and this was welcomed.      

                        Councillor Marion Bateman concurred with the comments of Councillor Woolley and said that she felt that the rest of the county would benefit from the funding received for the areas of Flint and Deeside.  In referring to page 15, she queried whether the development of extra care provision in Holywell would still be included in the Improvement Plan as the application for planning permission had been refused at a recent meeting of the Planning and Development Control Committee.  The Chief Executive confirmed that extra care was still a priority but reminded Members that national grant funding for the scheme was no longer available.  However, he added that Flint extra care scheme had been self-funded which should be welcomed as there were very few examples of self-funding such schemes in Wales.     

                        Councillor Andy Dunbobbin requested that the Council’s commitment to the Armed Forces Community Covenant should be specifically mentioned in the plan.  Councillor Peter Curtis commented on the extra care scheme in Holywell and also on the issue of tourism in the area being a significant feature in the future.  He spoke of the emphasis on the development of the Deeside area and felt that the funding being put into the Deeside Enterprise Zone would benefit the whole of the county. 

                        In response to a query from Councillor Nigel Steele-Mortimer, the Chief Executive suggested that older drivers would be those over the age of 75, as defined by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and that he was not aware of the criteria for taking part in the driving assessment. 

                        On the issue of Deeside, Councillor Robin Guest agreed with the comments made, but because of the close location of the Deeside Enterprise Zone to the Wirral and Chester, he disagreed that there would be an economic benefit to the whole of Flintshire.  He felt that this could mean that some rural areas would struggle to survive and commented that even though Mold was currently a thriving town, it could not be guaranteed that this would continue.  He also felt that it could not be assumed that all successful businesses that were located in areas such as Holywell, Buckley and Saltney would continue to survive because the Deeside regeneration was successful. 

                        The Chair referred to the costs of occupied office accommodation and queried whether the Council would benefit from reduced business rates if some offices were unoccupied.  The Chief Executive confirmed that the Authority would not qualify for reduced rates and added that all accommodation was being reviewed to support more agile working and to encourage open plan office areas as these were more cost effective.  Once part or all of a building was vacated, non-domestic rates would still need to be paid by the authority.  In response to a query from the Chair about whether the Council would discuss a reduction in business rates for County Hall and the Unilever building in Ewloe, the Chief Executive advised that the issue would be raised with the Rateable Value Agency.  The Leader of the Council advised that the Council’s assets fell in the remit of the Organisational Change Overview & Scrutiny Committee and added that this was an issue that could be explored by that Committee.     

                        Councillor Richard Lloyd welcomed the 0% commercial vacancy rate in Saltney and sought assurance that investment in Saltney would continue.  The Chief Executive commented on the work that had been undertaken for a pharmacy within the Morrison’s store in Saltney.         

            RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Improvement Plan be received with the following observations:-

(i)         that the rural areas of the County should receive more of an emphasis

(ii)        that the Council’s commitment to the Armed Forces Community Covenant should be specifically mentioned

(b)       That due to the importance of the superfast broadband roll out to the development of the local economy, that BT and Welsh Government representatives be invited to give a presentation at an all Member workshop to be held for that purpose.

(c)        That further information and interpretation on the changes made to the Improvement Plan be provided to Members to allow further responses before final approval by Cabinet and Council on 23 June 2015.