Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Beales and Sandell.

To approve the minutes from the Corporate Performance Panel meetings held on 16^th October 2024 and the additional meeting held on 30^th October 2024.

RESOLVED: The Minutes from the previous meetings were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on any item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

There was none.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposed to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was none.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman.

Councillor Lintern for item CP75 as she was a Member of the Informal Working Group.

There were none.

There were none.

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The Panel were provided with an update on Cycling Development and the Cycle Hire Centre at Lynnsport which had been funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.  It was noted that funding had been awarded for cycle hire and cycling development and an outline of the schemes progressed had been set out in the report, which included learn to ride sessions and a Halloween event.  It was noted that development work had been positive, but the cycle hire take up had been poor.

The Chair thanked the Director of Business Development at Alive West Norfolk for their report and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

Councillor Spikings commented that ensuring that cyclists were safe, especially at night and over the winter, was important and she asked if some of the remaining funding could be used to promote cycle safety, including purchase of high-vis and lights.  Councillor Spikings also commented that the provision should be rolled out into communities and not limited to Lynnsport.  The Director of Business Development, Alive West Norfolk acknowledged that Lynnsport was perhaps not the right place for the hire scheme and other areas would be explored to increase take up as the scheme was not sustainable in its current form.  In relation to promoting cycle safety and the provision of safety equipment, it was explained that this was not prescribed as part of the current funding arrangement, but could be investigated.

Councillor Sayers promoted the importance of active travel and safety.  He noted that investigations were ongoing into procuring a disabled cycle and he asked officers to be mindful of the turning circle on some disabled bikes and how some narrow streets and cycle paths were currently unable to accommodate them.  Councillor Sayers commented that infrastructure to support the types of cycles being used was required.  The Director of Business Development explained that a variety of models of cycles were being looked at.

Councillor Collingham commented that the cycle hire scheme was a good scheme to support, however other locations needed to be considered to increase take up and she suggested Hunstanton and Sandringham.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Councillor Morley commented that he had concerns about the use of the funding and advised the Panel to have a wider look at the scheme and see if it could be provided elsewhere.

Councillor Spikings felt that the scheme had potential and would like to see other options explored.  In response to a question from Councillor Spikings it was confirmed that there had been no loss of cycles.

Councillor Ryves commented that alternative locations needed to be explored to enhance the tourism offer of the area.

RESOLVED: 1. The Corporate Performance Panel noted the report.

2. Officers to explore alternative venues for the cycle hire scheme and keep the Panel updated as required.

3. Officers to investigate if the remaining funding could be used to promote cycle safety, and the Panel  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP73

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The Corporate Performance Officer presented the report which updated on progress against the Council’s Corporate Strategy and key performance indicators up to the period 30 September 2024.  Information was provided on the actions which had been completed and the indicators for which ratings had changed.

Members of the Senior Leadership Team were present at the meeting to provide detail on their indicators which were currently not meeting target and the Chair invited each Assistant Director to present their update.

The Assistant Director for Environment and Planning provided the following update in relation to the indicators which were not meeting target:

-        % of new enforcement cases actioned within 12 weeks of receipt (red).  It was noted that a new target had been proposed by the previous Government as a way of measuring enforcement performance.  Although just below the target work was ongoing to improve in this area, and performance this quarter was currently above target.

-        Number of new homes delivered in the Borough to meet the housing need target (red).  It was explained that the Council had a limited amount of influence over this although the council was building homes, but it was also dependent on private developers delivering.

-        % of non-major planning applications provided with an extension of time (amber).  It was explained that this was not formally a national target but had been brought in by the organisation to try and speed up processes.  Although just below target in Quarter 2, in the current quarter the target was being met.

In response to questions from Councillor Spikings, The Assistant Director for Environment and Planning explained that the target relating to determination of non major planning applications within eight weeks referred to mainly delegated decisions.  About 92% of those decisions were estimated as being delegated, with the remainder of decisions made by Planning Committee.

Councillor Spikings praised the staff in the Planning Department and noted that vacancies and issues recruiting staff meant that officers were working hard and she was impressed with the Team.  The Chair reiterated the positive comments made by Councillor Spikings.  He also referred to the targets relating to enforcement action and commented that it was important that the public knew that the Council were taking action and he looked forward to seeing the target improve.

The Assistant Director for Health, Wellbeing and Public Protection provided the following update:

-        % of housing adaptations completed within time (red).  It was explained that the team were still working through the backlog due to the Covid Pandemic, but the waiting list had been halved during the last year, so significant progress had been made.  It was noted that urgent cases were still being prioritised.  The Assistant Director commented that he did not feel the target would be met by the end of year, but it was moving in the right direction.

The Chair acknowledged that it was important that urgent adaptations were prioritised to  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP74

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Councillor Ryves, Chair of the Informal Working Group provided an overview of the work of the Group, including the meetings held, issues found and support provided by officers.  He provided information on the recommendations which the Corporate Performance Panel were asked to consider for onward recommendation to Cabinet.

Councillor Ryves and Councillor Long thanked the officers for supporting the Informal Working Group.

Councillor Lintern, Member of the Informal Working Group, addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34 and commented that the Group had reviewed systems and processes and hoped that their recommendations would provide for a robust mechanism for awarding the next contract.

Councillor Nash thanked the Procurement and Contracts Manager and Executive Director for supporting the group and felt that the Informal Working Group had provided common sense recommendations that would improve accountability.  He also hoped that the recommendations from the Group would be considered during other contract processes.

RESOLVED: The Corporate Performance Panel support the recommendations from the Informal Working Group for onward recommendation to Cabinet in terms of preparation for the next taxi testing contract:

1. The Informal Working Group make the following recommendations to the Corporate Performance Panel (“CPP”) for onwards recommendation to Cabinet in terms of preparation for the next taxi testing contract:

a.     The new tender to be advertised on Delta E-Sourcing and Find-A-Tender, and the Council’s own website.  Any contractor wishing to apply shall be advised to register on Delta.  Direct invitations from the Delta tender box shall not be sent.

b.     All correspondence after the competition is opened to be sent through the Delta portal.  All enquiries received outside the portal are to be redirected through Delta.

c.      To consider and discuss with the legal team, including in the Contract Standing Orders, the ability to invite bidders to tender.

d.     In line with the new Procurement Act 2023 for under threshold procurements, checks would be put in place to ensure that businesses were bona fide businesses.  Financial information could be requested, but businesses showing a loss in accounts would not be excluded from then being awarded a contract.  The reason for requiring financial information was purely to evidence that the business was legitimate. 

e.     Questions and criteria to be included in the tender process would need to be agreed with officers, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Licensing.

f.       It would not be left to the discretion of one officer if additional stations were brought forward to become testing stations after the initial contract was awarded.  Consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Licensing would be required.

Whilst not strictly falling within the terms of reference of the IWG, this additional recommendation was made for CPP’s consideration:

g.     Should an external review of Council processes be required, it should be instructed in writing by an officer independent of the originating matter and not involved in any previous internal review.

2. The Taxi Testing Informal Working Group  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP75

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The Assistant Director presented the report which provided information on the Council’s use, or non-use of its powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000.  It was noted that there had been confirmation from the Commissioners Officer that the Councils procedures were robust and appropriate.

In response to a question from the Chair, it was explained that CCTV was not covert and therefore not included in the powers, however other agencies did make use of the Councils resources and this was monitored by the Council to ensure it was appropriate.

The Chair was reassured that the Council had received confirmation from the Commissioner that the processes used were acceptable.

RESOLVED: The Panel considered the details of the report and noted the effectiveness of the RIPA Policy.

The Panel noted that written responses from Assistant Directors who were not present to provide detail of Corporate Performance Monitoring would be sought and circulated to the Panel.

RESOLVED: The Panel’s Work Programme was noted.

RESOLVED: The Cabinet Forward Decisions List was noted.

RESOLVED: The Shareholder Committee Work Programme was noted.

To note that the next meeting of the Corporate Performance Panel is scheduled to take place on 7^th January 2025 at 4.30pm in the Town Hall.

A Joint Panel meeting is also scheduled to take place on 3^rd December 2024 at 4.30pm in the Town Hall.

The next meeting of the Panel was scheduled to take place on 7^th January 2025 at 4.30pm in the Town Hall, King’s Lynn.

A Joint Panel meeting was also scheduled to take place on 3^rd December 2024 at 4.30pm in the Town Hall, King’s Lynn.