Agenda and minutes

County Councillor J. Prosser declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest under the Members’ Code of Conduct in relation to agenda item 5, due to involvement in the Agri-Urban Project as an Abergavenny Town Councillor.

It was agreed any further declarations would be raised under the relevant agenda item.

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 11^th February 2016 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

Context:

Members were presented with a report from the Princpial Environmental Health Officer in order to inform Members of the options for revising the Authority’s Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy prior to consideration by Cabinet.

Key Issues:

The Authority has duties under Part 11A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to inspect its area for contaminated land in line with statutory guidance, which includes the development of an inspection strategy. In 2002 the Council approved a Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy setting out its plans for identifying potentially contaminated land and prioritising any identified sites for remediation action.

The report provided a summary of the current position of the work undertaken to date and the options for consideration in revising the Authority’s Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy and Members were advised of the following key points:

·         2480 potentially contaminated sites in the authority have had an initial desk top risk assessment, which has enabled sites to be placed into risk category bands. Of the 2480 identified sites, 44 are categorised as ‘very high’ or ‘high’ risk.

·         Identifying these potentially contaminated sites enables effective consultation between the Development Control Section and Environmental Health.

·         If a site is identified as contaminated, the land has to be declared as ‘Contaminated Land’ and be placed on public register. The legislation allows for the Council to serve notice on the original polluter to require remediation, but in the quite likely event of the company no longer being in existence, the options remaining would be to serve notice on the current property owners to remediate or for the council to undertake

the work. Remediating land is very expensive, although the costs do vary widely according to the nature of the site. Property depreciation and anxiety for the property owner(s) is a likely consequence of a declaration of ‘Contaminated Land’ until remediation is completed.

·         From 2005 to 2011 Welsh Government provided Capital Support to local authorities to fund intrusive investigations at potentially contaminated sites and towards the cost of remediation. This funding stopped in April 2011.

The Options presented in the report for a revised strategy were:

·         Option A. Dealing with land contamination through the planning regime.

·         Option B. Limited intrusive site investigations.

·         Option C. Full site investigations.

·         Option D. Further desktop studies to refine the prioritisation of sites in readiness for limited / full site investigations.

Members Scrutiny

Following a request for clarification regarding the risk register, the Specialist Environmental Health Officers explained that it was the responsibility of the Authority to carry out inspections from time to time which would be defined by having an Inspection Strategy.  The majority of work regarding the prioritisation of sites had been done and it was now time to decide whether to move on to the highest risk sites and carry out detailed inspections.

Members questioned if the risk register also covered Asbestos issues.  It was confirmed that the register would only cover land.  If a building had asbestos it would not necessarily mean the ground is contaminated.  Asbestos should be removed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Context:

Members received a report from the Head of Economy and Enterprise in order to provide the Committee with a performance update on the activities of Monmouthshire Business and Enterprise (MBE).

Key Issues:

In line with one of the Council’s four priorities of ‘Supporting Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Job Creation’, Cabinet approved the Monmouthshire Business Growth and Enterprise Strategy in November 2014 and endorsed the associated Action Plan. The Strategy hinges on three pillars namely ‘Supporting Business Growth’, ‘Enabling Inward Investment’ and ‘Growing

Entrepreneurs’ and addresses customer needs through the provision of a programme of business support, networking and facilitation to help unlock the potential for growth in the County. In 2015/16 activities are targeted towards achieving these key priorities and maximising funding opportunities to reduce the financial burden on the Council.

Further to this the Vale of Usk Local Development Strategy approved by Cabinet in June 2015, is a key tool in drawing down £2.79M from the new 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme (RDP), expanded to include the rural wards of Newport. This Council is the Administrative Body for the programme holding overall responsibility and activities are directed through the Vale of Usk Local Action Group (LAG) – a local partnership based on the three thirds principle of representatives from the community, private and public sector.

In addition MBE also delivers the external strand of the Council’s iCounty Strategy which includes the coordination of broadband infrastructure and ICT exploitation activities.

Members Scrutiny:

The Chair advised the Committee that issues surrounding iCounty and Rural Development Plan would be addressed at a special meeting in early April 2016.

A Member queried if the targets for employment were achievable, as the jobs created were currently at 110 rather than the annual target of 200 set in the LDP.  It was noted that many suggested areas of employment were not near completion, or even started.  The Head of Economy and Enterprise responded that the target was based on information received from businesses the authority works with.  Unfortunately it was out of the officers hands, as the Council do not create the jobs.  It was acknowledged that where there were delays, this would be forwarded to next year’s plan.  The Chief Officer for Enterprise added that ideally it would be preferable to scrap annual targets as there was no direct control.  It was suggested that with the new economy emerging, there would need to be more robust frameworks in place.

In response to a question from the Chair we heard there would be a wider regional framework particularly in terms of the City Deal, where an audit of the South East Wales economy is being undertaken.

A Member commented that with new technology and new types of businesses being established we must remain focused on the sustainability of existing businesses, particularly agricultural.  Clarification was requested on the types of RDP projects in the pipeline.  The Head of Economy and Enterprise explained the RDP was not a job creation programme but provided funding for innovation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Context:

Members received a report from the Finance Manager in order to receive information on the forecast revenue outturn position of the Authority at the end of reporting period 3 which represents month 9 financial information for the 2015/16 financial year.

The report would also be considered by Select Committees as part of their responsibility to:

·         Assess whether effective budget monitoring is taking place,

·         Monitor the extent to which budgets are spent in accordance with agreed budget and policy framework,

·         Challenge the reasonableness of projected over or underspends, and achievement of predicted efficiency gains or progress in relation to savings proposals.

Members Scrutiny:

The Chief Officer highlighted that at month 6 we had been in a much different position and had now brought down an overspend of over £500,000 to £127,000, a significant adjustment in light of the huge challenge faced this year.  It was noted that 14% of the budget had been lost and credit was given to the officers involved.  Alternative methods of delivery would be looked at as current methods were no longer sustainable

A Member thanked the Finance Manager for the clear and concise presentation.  A question was directed to the Chief Officer regarding the timescales in terms of refocussing, and if there were adequate resources in place to accommodate the plans. The Head of Tourism, Leisure and Culture advised that in terms of timescales officers were currently working to deliver a new delivery process, and Members had been briefed on a timetable.  It was hoped the new model would go live in April 2017, but there was still a lot of work to be done, as well as political decision making.

A Member requested an update on the situation with the Hub in Abergavenny.  We were advised that any necessary reports and information had been shared through a variety of different mechanisms.  It was hoped the Hub would go live in three to six months but there was still building and structural work to be done.  Further reports would be brought to Select Committee.

A Member questioned the accuracy of fostering figures.  We were advised the Chief Officer for Social Care and Health had taken a recovery plan to Cabinet and would be best placed to advise further.

Concerns were aired surrounding the costs of hosting the Eisteddfod and whether all areas were contributing to the funding.  It was thought that not all areas were embracing the idea and the County should pull together.  We heard that with regards to costs the Eisteddfod was so far on budget, with more events and activities to come.

There were concerns surrounding the deficit position of schools, particularly Mounton House and Chepstow School.  We heard issues had been noted at Children and Young People Select Committee and a report called-in had been referred back to Cabinet.  Audit Committee were addressing issues surrounding Chepstow School.

Context:

The Event Manager provided M0embers with an update on the work and achievements of the Events team for 2015-2016 and on the progress of plans for events within 2016-2017.

Highlighted areas included:

·         Monmouthshire’s National Eisteddfod 2016

·         Monmouthshire’s area at the National Eisteddfod 2016

·         Status Quo live at Caldicot Castle

·         Velothon 2016

Member Scrutiny:

The Chair expressed that volunteers were a huge asset in terms of supporting events and questioned if the volunteers were being recognised by way of accreditation. The Event Manager advised that the Events team worked closely with the Programme Lead through the County that Serves programme for volunteers and currently certificates/thank you were issued but in terms of forward thinking it was hoped to hold an awards evening at the end of the year to recognise the input of volunteers. It was agreed that volunteers were the back bone in holding such big events.

A Member expressed congratulations on the progress to date.  It was questioned if there were adequate resources in place as the Events Team became more busy and successful.  In response we heard there were 2 full time roles but it was important to note that it was not the Events Team staging the events but Monmouthshire County Council.  The role of the team was to support and coordinate the natural resource, working across leisure and tourism department.  Volunteer teams were fundamental. Where necessary professional skilled freelance contractors were used.

The Chief Officer pointed out that the budget was cost-neutral.

The Chair questioned what proportion of income comes from outsourcing services and staff to third party events and projects.  The Event Manager explained it was not as much as would be likes and this financial period had brought £5,000 to £8,000.  It was hoped to increase this figure next year.

A Member brought attention to the 200^th Anniversary of the Wye Bridge, and asked how this would feature in the statistics.  We heard that Whole Place were looking at the project.

A Member raised a concern that the Monmouthshire Eisteddfod may be attracting publicity but to the detriment of the Abergavenny Eisteddfod.

With regards to the Abergaveeny Eisteddfod Members stressed that the town should be in top quality condition with excellent facilities.  We heard that the Waste and Street Services Teams were prepared.

There were concerns surrounding costs of the Eisteddfod and Members would welcome a cost benefit analysis.  We heard that other areas had benefitted from a £6 to £8 million return on investment.  The budget was being delivered and it was forecast to be maintained.  Eisteddfod organisers did not foresee any problems.  It was noted that fundraising would continue to the end of 2016.

The Chair noted that a Return on Investment report would be brought to Committee following the Eisteddfod

A Member questioned why Status Quo had been chosen in particular for the event at Caldicot Castle.  The Event Manager explained that there were many reasons for the event:

·         We had been being presented with the opportunity from an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee noted the future work programme, in doing so it was noted that a special meeting would be held on 16^th March 2016 at 2.00pm to discuss the Circuit of Wales.

A special meeting would be arranged for early April 2016 to address iCounty, Skutrade and SRS.

The date of the next meeting was agreed as Thursday 14^th April 2016 at 10.00am.