AT A MEETING of the ENVIRONMENT POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE held on Wednesday 5 March 2003 at The Castle, Winchester.

PRESENT:

Councillors: J.K. Glen (Chairman); Mrs P.G. Banks; Mrs E.S.M. Barron; F.J. Bright; J.E. Coles; C.R.H. Davidovitz; Mrs P.M. Devereux; Mrs P. Dickens; W.J. Filer; M.S. Geddes; Mrs K. Heron; K. House; R.J. Kimber; T.G. Knight; P. Luffman; R.H. Price, JP; M.J. Roberts; Sir James J. Scott; J.D. Shaw; J.K. West; Miss J.D. Wride

Also in attendance: Councillor K. B. Estlin, Executive Member for Environment.

116. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of the debate declare their interest, and having regards to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

117. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2003 (Item 2 in the Minute Book) were confirmed by the Committee as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Arising thereon:-

Minute 114 & 115: Revenue Budget 2003/04 and Capital Programme 2003/04 to 2006/07: in response to questions from some Members, the Director of Environment and the County Treasurer amplified the consultation process for the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme. In addition it was confirmed that regular budget monitoring reports would be submitted to the Committee to ensure Members were kept fully up-to-date of changes to the revenue budget and also to the Capital Programme.

The County Treasurer confirmed to Members decisions made by the Cabinet and the County Council on the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme as follows:-

Revised Revenue Budget 2002/03

Areas spending above the cash limit:

£300,000 Bus subsidies

£ 90,000 Abandoned vehicles
________
£390,000

This sum would be provided from extra balances set aside centrally in 2002/03. The £400,000 expenditure on fridges in excess of government funding made available would be charged against the contingency for waste management.

Revenue Budget 2003/04

In response to budget/service pressures identified in the Environment Policy Review Committee/Executive Member for Environment report, additional funding of £4.850m above guidelines was allocated for:

Natural Resources Initiative £150,000

Bus contracts shortfall £500,000

Fridges £700,000 (added to contingency)

A one-off addition of £3.5m would be made for maintenance of non-principal roads and footways.

Capital Programme

A single capital pot allocation of £400,000 was made towards funding the relocation of the Winchester Household Waste Recycling Centre to Bar End.

118. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman welcomed Councillor J. D. Shaw who had been appointed to the Committee in place of Councillor A. P. Collett.

The Chairman also drew Members' attention to a recent press release confirming the appointment of the Environment Department's new management team following the restructuring of the former County Surveyor's and County Planning Departments to form one single department. The Director of Environment, Alison Quant would be assisted by the Deputy Director of Environment, David Tarrant and three Assistant Directors - Alan Mills (Management); Merrick Denton-Thompson (Performance and Innovation) and Stuart Reynolds (Design and Implementation).

119. MEMBERS' QUESTIONS

No questions were submitted to the Executive Member for Environment.

120. DEPUTATIONS

No request to make a deputation had been received.

121. ENVIRONMENT POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE - FORWARD PLAN

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive and Director of Environment (Item 6 in the Minute Book) setting out issues which the Committee may wish to discuss at future meetings. To assist with the development of the Committee's Forward Plan, the report's appendix detailed topics for future discussion that had been submitted by Members of the Committee. The following points were noted:-

(a) that budget monitoring reports would be added to the Committee's Forward Plan in due course;

(b) how the performance of waste management was monitored and the role of the Committee in this important process. It was noted that Project Integra, the strategic partnership for waste management in Hampshire, did have a Scrutiny Panel. The County Treasurer reported that a very sound system for managing the waste contract was in place, which was subject to regular audit checks and was continually reviewed to ensure the County Council's Best Value requirements were being met;

(c) review effectiveness of travel plans and Safer Routes to School programme; and

(d) flooding: item 18 of the report's appendix requested input from Members on how wide-ranging any future discussions on the subject of flooding should be. It was noted that discussions should extend to encompassing the wider environmental issues and risks for Hampshire caused by climate change.

RESOLVED:

(i) that the report be noted;

(ii) the items listed in the report's appendix be included in the Committee's Forward Plan; and

(iii) items (b) and (c) above be considered by the Chairman, in consultation with officers, for inclusion in the Committee's Forward Plan.

122. HAMPSHIRE, PORTSMOUTH AND SOUTHAMPTON MINERALS

AND WASTE LOCAL PLAN REVIEW

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 7 in the Minute Book) detailing the current progress with the Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste Local Plan Review (HPSMWLPR) and examining the implications for Hampshire of the proposed Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill. Members' attention was drawn to the Project Brief attached to the report detailing the background to, and the development of, the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework (HMWDF). Further progress reports would be submitted to the Committee in due course.

In response to Members questions, the Director of Environment reported that the amount of internal resource available to carry out the required work was limited and hence it would be necessary to engage consultants to do some of the work.

RESOLVED:

That the Executive Member for Environment be advised that the Environment Policy Review Committee:-

(i) supports the preparation of an integrated Hampshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework and endorses the Project Brief as the work to be undertaken up to Deposit stage;

(ii) supports the approach to involve the community in the preparation of the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework; and


(iii) supports the further discussion of this approach with Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils, the Government Office for the South East and the South East England Regional Assembly.

123. ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT - BEST VALUE PROGRESS

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) outlining progress made during the last year on the Best Value reviews and Best Value improvement plans of services in the Environment Department.

Attention was drawn to the introduction of Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPAs) as a supplement to the existing process of improvement under Best Value. In respect of paragraph 2.3 of the report, it was noted that the outcomes arising from the cross-cutting review of passenger transport could be useful in terms of the County Council's pursuit of achieving modal shift.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

124. OPTIONS REPORT OF THE BEST VALUE REVIEW OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) detailing the purpose of, and background to the Best Value Review of Policy Development in the Environment Department. Members were asked to consider the options, as detailed in paragraph 4.1 of the report, and offer a steer to officers as to which was the most appropriate option thus providing the basis for the preparation of a Best Value Improvement Plan for the service.

The Chief Executive highlighted two major points which had influenced the review:

(i) major restructuring of the Environment Department


(ii) change to the Best Value process which had been introduced since the review had started

Four delivery options had been identified by stakeholders as key areas of service development, as detailed in paragraph 5.1 of the report. Option 2 was the preferred option, with option 3 being considered as viable, where applicable.

Members expressed disappointment that only two out of five authorities had responded to the County Council's questionnaire seeking information to provide comparisons on a number of policy areas for which plans were prepared. The Director of Environment clarified that all local authorities record financial information in different ways and to receive comparator data in the form that we requested may have posed difficulties. Therefore, the absence of a response did not necessarily mean that other authorities were unwilling to help.

It was noted that Members appreciated the quality of the work that had been done to date.

RESOLVED:

(i) the Policy Development Best Value review team develops an Improvement Plan based on option 2, with consideration of option 3 where applicable and in collaboration with the Environment Department Strategy Branch.

(ii) That Councillors Mrs P.M. Devereux and P. Luffman be appointed to support the review team with drawing up the Improvement Plan for the agreed option, with a third nomination to be received from Councillor House subsequent to the meeting.

125. PARISH LENGTHSMEN

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 10 in the Minute Book) prompted by the reinstatement of Parish Lengthsmen in the neighbouring county of Wiltshire. The Director of Environment reported that the current arrangements in Hampshire, particularly in rural areas, were similar to those in Wiltshire. Members agreed that any enhancements to the existing arrangements that would create better liaison with Parish Council's was to be commended.

RESOLVED:

That the Executive Member for Environment be advised that the following arrangements should be put in place:-

(i) producing formal guidelines as to what parishes can expect from routine maintenance;

(ii) formalising contacts with parishes, who would be asked to nominate a local coordinator, to channel the information on works needed by the local Supervisor;

(iii) ensuring that parish coordinator and Highway Supervisor meet formally every quarter;

(iv) working with the parishes on issues they can assist with - these could include provisional historical information and putting peer pressure on locals to clear ditches/cut hedges;

(v) providing help and advice to parishes to assist them to deal directly with local land owners;

(vi) formalising the supervisor/contractor record keeping arrangements to show more easily works carried out in particular parishes, demonstrating the level of maintenance already in place and the time spent working in each parish;

(vii) working with the Hampshire Association of Parish and Town Councils to devise a simple set of performance indicators for measuring customer satisfaction with the highway maintenance works carried out in the towns and parishes; and

(viii) review the benefits of these arrangements in approximately 18 months time.

126. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES: "BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE" - STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 11 in the Minute Book) summarising the key proposals put forward in the statement by the Deputy Prime Minister on 5 February 2003 in publishing `Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future' also known as the Communities Plan. This report had been considered by Members of the Cabinet on 24 February 2003 and had recommended that a fuller report be submitted to both the Policy and Resources and Environment Policy Review Committee and also to the meeting of the Strategic Planning Joint Advisory Panel to be held on 2 April 2003. It was anticipated that the fuller report would be submitted to the Committee's 7 May meeting.

The Deputy Director of Environment confirmed that additional copies of the Communities Plan were being downloaded from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website. In the meantime, Members could access the relevant webpage using the address www.odpm.gov.uk/communities/index.htm

During the ensuing discussions, Members emphasised that the Communities Plan contained some wide-ranging and important issues which should be fully debated in due course.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee recommends that the Executive Member for Environment advises the Cabinet that a formal objection be made in respect of bringing forward to 1 April 2003, the change to the Local Government Housing Grant

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