Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Habib Patel  Tel: 01772 536099 Email:  habib.patel@lancashire.gov.uk

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Items
No. Item

CC David Westley replaced CC David O'Toole for this meeting

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Tributes were paid to County Councillor Richard Newman-Thompson who sadly passed away in the early hours of Monday, 22 February.

 

Richard, who was 53, was elected as the county councillor for Lancaster East in May 2013. During his time as a county councillor he served as Lead Member for Health and as Deputy Chair of the Development Control Committee, as well as holding a number of other special responsibilities. He was also a councillor on Lancaster City Council where he was Cabinet Member for Finance, and a valued member of the Scrutiny Committee.

 

Although Richard worked hard to remain active as a councillor, including participating in the Full Council budget meeting on 11 February, he had been ill for some time.

 

No other apologies were received.

 

2.

Disclosure of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests

Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

Minutes:

None were disclosed.

3.

Minutes of the Meeting held on 15 January 2016 pdf icon PDF 101 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2016 were agreed to be an accurate record.

4.

Syrian Resettlement Programme pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced Saulo Cwerner (Equality and Cohesion Manager) who delivered a presentation regarding the Syrian Resettlement Programme.

 

The Committee was informed that the Government had committed to settle 20,000 Syrian Refugees over the next five years and that, following a series of discussions between Lancashire Chief Executives Group, it was agreed that Lancashire would resettle up to 500 refugees over the same period as a proportionate contribution to the overall national programme.

 

It was explained that the Home Office had communicated funding arrangements and noted that this would be supplied for a total of five years. Saulo conveyed that the funding provided had been more generous than previous resettlement programmes and it was anticipated that it would cover all costs of integrating refugees into the community. Members were informed that the financial contribution towards support of each individual was approximately £8,520, and additional funds would be added to the standard tariff for children (for children aged 3-4, £2,250; for children aged 5-18, £4,500).

 

Regarding how funding was provided by the Home Office, it was highlighted that 22% of the total funding per year for a refugee would be received on their day of arrival, followed by six equal installments every two months. Moreover, it was noted that social care costs would be paid separately to this funding and would be paid on an incurred basis, or from an individual's assessment outcome.

 

Reference was made to property with it stated that this was required to be fully furnished prior to a refugees arrival to ensure housing was fit for purpose. It was elaborated that refugees would be welcomed and assisted at the airport, supplied with a package containing groceries and some cash to enable them to avoid any financial difficult prior to receiving the money they were entitled to. Regarding benefits, it was explained that refugees would be entitled to receive mainstream benefits which were separate from the local authority funding package.

 

Saulo informed the Committee about integration support, stating that the funding would be utiltised to cover the cost of English language tuition and to fund interpretation and translation services to enable refugees to communicate adequately. It was explained that the refugee's support would be fully managed and staff involved with the programme would receive training, and also a formal reporting system would be put in place to account for any incidents that required attention.

 

It was noted that all 15 local authorities in Lancashire were participating in the programme. Involvement, it was conveyed, would be on a 'rota basis' to enable efficient delivery and to ensure an equal dissipation of refugees in the various areas, therefore five local authorities in Lancashire would be participating in each year of the programme and this would be coordinated by the county council as the lead authority. 

 

The Committee was informed that a planning group had been set up between the participating local authorities, the first of which to take place on 10 March, 2016, where a delivery model and timeline would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Interim Report of the Planning Matters Task Group pdf icon PDF 95 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair introduced Andrew Mullaney (Head of Planning & Environment) and CC Liz Oades, the Chair of the Task Group, who delivered the report to the Committee.

 

CC Liz Oades explained that the Task Group investigated several issues relating to planning including education, highways, flooding, archaeology and ecology. It was noted that the outcome of the investigation had led to the derivation of the draft recommendations at Appendix 'A', which had been sent to consultees to ascertain their views.

 

The Committee was informed that the report was an interim report as not all district council planning committee Chair's and portfolio holders had provided their responses to the consultation process. Therefore, it was anticipated that the final report would be before the Committee at the next meeting on, 8 April, 2016.

 

CC Liz Oades voiced that member's attendance throughout the Task Group meetings had been below par and therefore urged political groups to carefully consider their nominations to future Task Groups as continuity had been an issue. CC Clare Pritchard suggested that Group Whips be informed to address the issue.

 

The Chair noted that seven district councils had responded to the consultation, however five had not yet been received and urged members to raise this with district councils in their area.

 

Andrew Mullaney noted that he felt that the scrutiny process had strengthened relationships between the county council and district councils, particularly at an officer level, and that discussions held had been extremely useful to aid understanding of each other's pressures, concerns, how timing was managed and how responses could be provided in a more productive manner.

 

Andrew Mullaney noted that both district councils and the county council had been under pressure to turn around applications within certain timescales, with performance monitored by the Government. It was noted that the Task Group process had highlighted ways in which the process could be streamlined and prioritised with improved communication.

 

The Chair thanked Andrew Mullaney and CC Liz Oades and invited questions and comments from the Committee.

 

CC George Wilkins asked if the county council's role with district councils regarding planning could be expanded to ensure that developers adhered to rules and regulations. Andrew Mullaney explained that the county council had to operate within the limits of the national planning policy framework/planning policy guidance and therefore, there was limited flexibility in terms of demands upon developers. However, Andrew assured the Committee that the county council's responses were always put forward to achieve the best for Lancashire's communities.

 

CC Vivien Taylor stated that many residents in Lancashire were worried that the infrastructure was not in place to sustain the developments that were in the planning process and therefore stressed that the county council needed to provide valid responses that met the needs of developments and not only developers. Andrew Mullaney stated that a report was presented to the Task Group regarding this issue which set out what the county council performed in its role in the process. Andrew suggested that he would share the report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Work Plan and Task Group Update pdf icon PDF 48 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Resolved: That;

 

The work plan and task group update be noted.

 

7.

Urgent Business

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency. Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member's intention to raise a matter under this heading.

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.

8.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee will be held on Friday, 8 April 2016, at 10:00am at the County Hall, Preston.

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee will take place 8 April, 2016 at 10.00 in Cabinet Room B (The Diamond Jubilee Room) at the County Hall, Preston