Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 11 July 2024 were agreed and signed as a true record.

Cllr Joe Whibley had sent apologies for the meeting and had requested a short statement to be read out on his behalf.  The Democratic Services Officer read the statement which expressed Cllr Whibley’s concern at the inappropriateness of asking 15 Members of the Committee, plus Officers, to drive across the District to attend a meeting to discuss climate change targets.  Cllr Whibley considered that a virtual meeting would have been more appropriate to reduce impact on the environment.

Guidance is available online to Councillors and co-opted members on making declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest.

Information on public speaking is available online

A member of the public, Mrs Anne Membery, had registered to speak but was unable to attend in person.  Mrs Membery had submitted a statement which was read out by the Democratic Services Officer. 

The statement questioned whether the fees paid to the consultants, WSP, to produce the 10 year strategic plan for Exmouth were justified.  Mrs Membery considered that the strategic plan contained suggestions for Exmouth which were not feasible.  Mrs Membery had also made a statement at the meeting of the Placemaking in Exmouth Town and Seafront Group on 9September 2024 and had been advised that the matter has gone to consultation. 

Mrs Membery requested that the online consultation be scrutinised as it was difficult to complete and asked how many people had completed the consultation, and when the results would be made known.

A response had been provided by the Corporate Lead, Major Projects and Programmes and was read out by the Democratic Services Officer.

The response advised that the Exmouth Placemaking Plan was currently being reviewed internally and that this would include the deliverability and consideration of the funding for each of the projects.  This work would be considered by the Placemaking in Exmouth Town and Seafront Group in the next 3 to 4 months.

The consultants, WSP, were engaged following a formal procurement exercise, as the Council does not have the necessary in-house expertise for the extensive technical work involved.  Costs are carefully monitored to ensure value for money.

With regards to the consultation, Officers work with communications colleagues to ensure that consultations are accessible and Officer support is available for respondents who are finding it difficult to engage. 

Information on matters of urgency is available online

There were no matters of urgency.

To agree any items to be dealt with after the public (including the press) have been excluded. Thereare no itemswhich officersrecommendshould be dealtwithin thisway.

There were no confidential / exempt items.

There are no items identified

There were no decisions made by Cabinet called in by Members for scrutiny.

The Portfolio Holder, Climate Action, was unable to attend the meeting but had submitted a written statement which was read out by the Democratic Services Officer.

The statement included the following points:

·        2024 is the final year of the original Climate Change Strategy,

·        The Climate Change Team had been reviewing the strategy for 2025 onwards to ensure that the related Action Plan would deliver the required carbon reductions,

·        The Carbon Descent Plan [attached to the report] had been produced in partnership with the South West Energy and Environment Group (SWEEG) and provides a theoretical road map to reduce carbon emissions by 2040,

·        SWEEG met with all EDDC services in 2024 and this work is integral to the on-going review of both the Strategy and the Action Plan,

·        79% of EDDC emissions relate to 2 areas:  the Council’s housing stock and procurement,

·        Comparisons with other authorities can be misleading: some councils fail to include scope 3 emissions in their calculations.  The report noted that removing scope 3 emissions would show an approximate reduction of 20% from 2018 – 2024, however, the result would be disingenuous and, therefore, this approach had not been adopted by EDDC,

·        Table 1 of the report summarises delivery to date and the Portfolio Holder was pleased to note that 67% had either been completed, or was on-going.  No actions had been assessed as not achieved and 10% were no longer relevant,

·        Section 4 of the report highlighted significant achievements during the plan period and the Climate Change Officer and services were thanked for their work in delivering such a wide range of results,

·        The recruitment of a Climate Change Manager was welcome as all services continue to implement the changes needed to move towards the Council’s net zero goal.

The Assistant Director, Environmental Health, introduced the report which provided a review of the Climate Change Action Plan 2020 – 2040 and looked at actions achieved and impact on carbon emissions.  Key points covered in the presentation included:

·        The current position with regard to carbon emissions between the years 2020/21 and 2023/24, showing an increase in emissions arising from procurement.  It was noted that carbon emissions are allocated to procurement solely based on cost,

·        Carbon footprint excluding social housing and scope 3 emissions,

·        A review of the 82 actions in the Action Plan,

·        An explanation of the Carbon Descent Plan carried out with SWEEG at the end of 2023, which is the basis of the new draft strategy and will underpin the next Action Plan,

·        The findings of and actions arising from the Carbon Descent Plan,

·        The theoretical carbon descent, should all the measures in the Carbon Descent Plan be implemented,

·        Key achievements across the Council’s services,

·        Lessons learnt including the fact that carbon reduction has been inconsistent despite the Action Plan being followed and, most notably, that SMART targets had not previously been set,

·        Moving forward SMART targets would be set alongside annual reporting to the Scrutiny Committee.

In response to a question from a Councillor unable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

The Democratic Services Officer read out the update from the Democratic Services Manager on progress with the Scrutiny Action Plan and member training. 

The following points in the Action Plan were highlighted:

·        The Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the three scrutiny function Committees had met to discuss the Terms of Reference.  The preferred option is to meet four times per year with other scrutiny work carried out through Task and Finish Forums and briefings.  It is proposed to align the membership of the Overview Committee and Scrutiny Committee to 13 members.  Revised Terms of Reference would be considered by the Constitution Working Group as part of its work programme,

·        With regard to resources, a draft job description had been prepared for a Scrutiny Officer role, which was subject to the job evaluation process,

·        Senior Officer support for the three scrutiny Committees was now in place,

·        Scrutiny training for Members would be provided by the Centre for Governance & Scrutiny on 28^th November,

·        Chairs and Vice-Chairs to meet quarterly to review the work programmes for each Committee, including increasing links with the Audit and Governance Committee,

·        Cross party pre-meeting briefings would be arranged as and when required,

·        Training for officers on scrutiny processes would be provided in January 2025,

·        A new performance management system had now been procured which would assist with tracking outcomes and regular updates on Overview and Scrutiny Committee work would be included in the Councillor Newsletter.

The update would be circulated to Members following the meeting.

1.     Scrutiny work programme

2.     Cabinet forward plan of key decisions 1 November 2024 – 28 February 2025

The Chair noted that not enough items for scrutiny were being submitted to add to the work programme.  Members were requested to complete a scrutiny proposal form so that the Committee could consider whether to add items to its work programme.

It was noted that a scoping report is still required for consideration of the Exmouth sea wall item, and further information is required as to whether a South West Water Sewage TaFF is still appropriate, given the Devon wide involvement in this matter.