Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors H.I. Jones, S. Matthews and H.B. Shepardson together with Councillor L.M. Stephens – Executive Board Member for Human Resources, Efficiencies and Collaboration.

The Chair welcomed Councillor D.O. Thomas to his first meeting following his recent appointment as a member of the Committee.

The Chair referred to Councillor H.I. Jones’ recent ill-health and extended his wishes for a speedy recovery.

There were no declarations of personal interests.

There were no declarations of prohibited party whips.

No public questions had been received.

The Committee received a list of forthcoming items to be considered at its meeting to be held on the 5^th December, 2016.

The Committee received a presentation on the ‘Transform, Innovate and Change’ (TIC) Programme and noted that since its establishment in 2012, in response to the significant financial challenges being faced by the Local Authority, it had assisted in identifying, or was helping to deliver, over £7m of efficiency savings. The Committee also received an overview of a review undertaken by the Planning Division on the operation of the Development Management System.

The following issues were discussed during consideration of the update: 

·         Reference was made to the £7m savings achieved since 2012, and clarification sought on the approximate breakdown thereof and to whether the majority of savings achieved related to staffing reductions which could have implications for the retention of expertise within departments.

The TIC Programme Manager advised that approximately 60% of the savings were non staff related and covered a diversity of council functions that included savings of £165k (since 2013) on external mail by reducing the number of letters sent first class, £45k by reducing the number of franking machines from 17 to 5, over £400k on reducing printing costs together with £2m on vehicle costs. With regard to staffing reductions, those related to staff who had expressed a preference to leave the authority’s employment under its severance scheme, which had only been progressed following the submission and approval of detailed business cases. In some instances, staff numbers had increased in order to achieve additional savings/ income/ debt recovery.

With specific regard to the Planning Department, £65k of savings had been achieved via three members of staff leaving under the severance scheme following the introduction of new working practices.

·             An area of complaint frequently received by elected members related to the length of time taken to process planning applications. Information was sought on how the Planning Department had addressed that issue.

The Development Management Manager advised that previously, the processing of applications was target driven with the majority being processed within 52-55 days. The department had now introduced a system whereby applications were pre-validated prior to registration, resulting in the average processing time having reduced to between 28-33 days. Opportunities for further reducing that time frame were, however, limited by legislation that required a 21 day consultation period on planning applications.

·             In response to a question on the prioritisation of projects for inclusion within the TIC Programme, the Committee was advised they were submitted via a number of sources e.g. requests from service departments, Corporate Management Team and Member Seminars. Those requests were placed before the TIC Programme Board for assessment on their inclusion and prioritisation within the Programme.

·             With regard to the £7m of savings already achieved, the TIC Programme Manager confirmed those were utilised by departments as contributions towards the annual efficiency savings they were required to identify as part of the budgetary process.

RESOLVED that the presentation be received.

The Chair referred to the limited time available to the Committee to debate all of the agenda items before it for consideration that day, and suggested that consideration of the Annual Performance Report 2016 (Planning) be deferred to a future date.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that consideration of the Annual Performance Report 2016 (Planning) be deferred to a future meeting of the Committee.

The Committee received for consideration the 2015/16 Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) on the operation of the Carmarthenshire Local Development Plan. It was noted that the plan had been produced in accordance with the requirements of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 that required its submission to the Welsh Government by the 31^st October 2016. The report represented a base line on which the department could monitor the Plan’s implementation and identify any long term trends that may require consideration to be given to possible future amendments. The AMR was also available as part of an informal consultation, outside of statutory requirements affording an opportunity for views to be submitted which, where appropriate, may inform the content of subsequent AMR’s.

The following issues were raised on the report:-

·        Reference was made to the 17% retail vacancy rate within Llanelli Town Centre and clarification sought on how the adoption of a Local Development Order (LDO) could influence that rate.

The Forward Planning Manager confirmed that the Authority had recognised the high vacancy rate, which to some extent had been skewed by the success of the Elli Shopping Centre. A Task Force has been established to address ongoing issues within Llanelli town centre bringing together a co-ordinated approach to its regeneration including, tackling vacancy and vitality. The adoption of a LDO could be used as a tool to influence the operation of Permitted Development Rights by adopting a flexible approach to facilitate an easier passage for the potential change of use of retail units. That could include changing the planning use for upper floors of retail units from storage to residential, and to allow a wide range of commercial usage for ground floor units rather than limiting their use to retail.

He further advised that another influencing factor on Llanelli Town Centre was the success of the out of town shopping centre at Trostre, and Pemberton, and one of the aims of the Task Force was to assist the Town Centre in responding to such pressures. The introduction of the LDO could assist that process by allowing the suggested changes of use referred to above to be undertaken via the notification process, as opposed to the submission of a formal planning application. In essence, the LDO could be tailored to meet an area’s specific requirements. However, its operation would need to be monitored and reviewed to ensure desired outcomes were being achieved.

·        In response to a question on the provision of sites for travellers, the Head of Planning confirmed that Welsh Government placed a statutory duty on all local authorities to assess the need, and make provision for such sites within their areas. The LDP had identified the need for further information to be gathered in that regard.

·        Arising from the above, clarification was sought on the position whereby a person could acquire a plot of land for the purpose of providing a site for travellers. The Head of Planning advised that, as with all developments, any person undertaking such  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Committee received for consideration the report on the review of Access to the Council’s Social Housing Policy following widespread consultation which had included the Council’s political groups, Registered Social Landlord Partners, Shelter, Wallace, 50+ Forum, tenant network and via e-mailing some 6,000 tenants on the Council’s Social Housing Register. It was noted that the main changes to the policy were:

·        to make the policy simpler,

·        Priority was to be afforded to people from within Carmarthenshire and to those who had a connection with the County;

·        Reducing the number of qualifying bands from four to two

·        Removal of the points system.

The following issues were raised during consideration of the report:

·        Reference was made to bands A and B and to the provision therein for the housing of homeless persons. Concern was expressed that regardless of within which band homeless persons were categorised, they were still homeless.

The Committee was advised that the reason for the inclusion of a homeless category within both bands was to simplify the process. Band A dealt with applicants assessed under Part 2 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and a Section 75 duty had been accepted. Those included applicants with children, pregnant women, those suffering domestic abuse, armed forces personnel and for those ex-offenders who, whilst no longer being classified as having a priority, were deemed as being vulnerable and suffering from mental health or medical conditions. Band B dealt with applicants who were homeless or threatened with homelessness but were not in priority need.

·        Reference was made to the U.K. Government’s £20k cap on benefits and to the potential impact that could have on people becoming homeless. The Committee was advised that officers were currently working on the cap’s potential impact via a holistic Housing advice service which would utilise all means at its disposal to help and advise persons who may be affected by the cap. That could include downsizing tenants to a smaller property thereby, releasing their home for allocation to a larger family.

Additionally, officers within the Council’s Revenue and Benefit’s Division were undertaking a modelling exercise on how many families may be affected by the cap, and the outcome thereof could be shared with members of the Committee. Nationally, Shelter Cymru had estimated approximately 400 families could become homeless as a consequence of the cap’s introduction.

·        Reference was made to the policy’s emphasis on housing persons currently living within the county, or those wishing to re-locate to the county who had a connection with the area. Clarification was sought on whether the policy would exclude all other persons not falling within those categories from applying for social housing with the council, which may be detrimental to economic sustainability.

The Committee was advised that the policy would not preclude any person from applying for inclusion onto the Council’s social housing register, but their application would be assessed against the criteria detailed therein. Persons seeking to move to Carmarthenshire and having secured employment within the county were catered for within band  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Chair referred to the limited time available to the Committee to debate all of the agenda items before it for consideration that day, and suggested that consideration of the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report 2016/17 be deferred to a future date.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that consideration of the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report 2016/17 be deferred to a future meeting of the Committee.

The Committee received for consideration the Authority’s Half yearly Complaints and Compliments Report for the period 1st April to 30^th September, 2016 and paid particular regard to the issues relative to its remit i.e. Section 9.4 Leisure and Housing and Section 9.5 Planning and Property Services

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

At 1.00 p.m. during consideration of Minute 11 above the Committee’s attention was drawn to Corporate Procedure Rule 9.1 “Duration of Meeting” and CPR 23.1 “Suspension”. As the meeting had been underway for three hours it was,

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to suspend the Council Procedure Rules to enable the remaining business on the agenda to be considered.

The Committee received a report detailing the progress achieved in relation to actions, requests or referrals emerging from previous meetings.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Committee considered the explanation provided for the non-submission of a report.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the non-submission report be noted.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 29^th September, 2016 be signed as a correct record.