Agenda and minutes

To issue a welcome to those present, and to confirm if there are any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr O’Neill.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Members were asked to disclose any pecuniary or other interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on  31^st  July 2024 have been circulated, and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

Members had been updated on actions from the previous meeting via email.

It was noted that the Executive Members (The City Mayor and Councillor Malik) and Youth Representatives had been omitted from the attendance on the previous minutes.

Councillor Porter clarified that his question regarding the Lothbury Fund was more specifically about how much of the £3.2m had been lost.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 31 July 2024 be confirmed as a correct record subject to corrections as detailed above.

The Chair is invited to make any announcements as they see fit. 

The Chair reported on the site visits to the site of Jewry Wall Museum and to Leicester Museum and Art Gallery (LMAG) that had been undertaken my members to observe the developments taking place.  He noted that:

• At the Jewry Wall site, Councillors were shown where the new walkway will be, as well as the new reception, shop, café and meeting & learning facilities will be.  Members were also briefed on the Digital and Physical interactives.
• At LMAG, members were shown where the new café will be and were also briefed on the revamp of the reception and shop, the relocation of the Victorian Art Gallery Stage and the closing down of Wildspace which was no longer fit for purpose.

The Officers involved in arranging the visits were thanked.

The Chair further announced that the next meeting of the Workforce Representation informal Scrutiny would be 3 December.  He encouraged those present to take part.

The Chair welcomed the new members of the Committee.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations and statements of case had been submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any petitions received.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer submits a report that updates Members on the monitoring of outstanding petitions. The Committee is asked to note the current outstanding petitions and agree to remove those petitions marked ‘Petitions Process Complete’ from the report.

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report which provided an update on the status of outstanding petitions against the Council’s target of providing a formal response within three months of being referred to the Divisional Director.

It was noted that none were marked as ‘red’.

AGREED:

That the status of the outstanding petitions be noted, and to remove those petitions marked ‘Petition Complete’ Ref: from the report.

The City Mayor will answer questions raised by members of the Overview Select Committee on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

The Chair reminded members that he would prefer for all questions to be provided in advance, which can help in providing more detailed responses at meetings.

The Chair accepted the following questions to be asked to the City Mayor:

1. The Chair noted that it was disappointing that Marks and Spencer (M&S) had moved out of their premises in Leicester and asked the City Mayor what plans there were for the site.

The City Mayor responded that City Centres were changing, and M&S were also changing in that they were increasingly moving out of city centres, moving online and to out of town shopping.  They were also focussing more on their food stores rather than the clothing stores.  It had been explored as to whether the clothing and household section of M&S could move out, but the food store could remain, however, this had not been amenable to them at this time.

It was further noted that other chains had previously moved out of Leicester, such as C&A, Littlewoods and Fenwicks, which were replaced by Primark, TK Maxx and the Gresham respectively.

The City Mayor explained that the ownership of the areas traded from was in two different hands and the section on Humberstone Gate was leased separately to the section on Gallowtree Gate.  Therefore, it was possible that separate interests could be expressed in the separate sections.

The premises were good places to trade from and the city centre had been invested in.  Footfall in the city centre was still good despite the loss of Marks and Spencer.

The City Mayor remarked that it was sad that Marks and Spencer had left, but it was noted that the departure of large traders gave good opportunities for other businesses.

2. Councillor Porter drew attention to the leasing of the Travelodge above the Haymarket centre, and asked what the return on this was.

The figures would be shared following the meeting.

3. Councillor Kitterick raised flooding and drainage issues and noted that whilst the Highways team had a list of high risk locations where procedures such as gully cleaning took place, the Street Cleansing team did not prioritise the cleaning of leaves in the same way that Highways prioritised the cleaning of gullies.  If drains were at risk of causing flooding, it would be good for them to have leaves cleaned from them on a weekly basis.  It was asked whether Highways and Street Cleaning could be better aligned in their priorities.

The City Mayor acknowledged that it was important for priorities to be lined up and coordinated, and that flooding was an important issue, particularly due to climate change.  It was important to make sure that communications with the public, before, during and after heavy rainfall, were right.  The City Mayor agreed to consider the issue and raise it with the relevant officers.

4. Councillor Rae Bhatia also raised the issue of flooding and noted that officers had previously advised that flood prevention and management was the responsibility of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

The Director of Finance submits a report providing early indications of the significant financial pressures the Council is facing this year and also providing an update on progress to control costs in demand-led social care budgets.

The Director of Finance submitted the first report in the monitoring cycle, providing early indications of the significant financial pressures the Council was facing this year and also providing an update on progress to control costs in demand-led social care budgets.

The Committee was recommended to consider the overall position presented within this report and make any observations it saw fit.

Key points included:

• This was the first report of the financial year, based on the budget set by Council in February.
• Some pressures continued from the previous year, such as around temporary accommodation with £8.4m overspent, including the use of the contingency budget.  SEND home-to-school transport and disabled payments were also pressures.
• Positives included:
  • Work with Adult Social Care (ASC), where it had been proposed to reduce the budget.
  • The costs of Children Looked After was coming down, which was offsetting transport costs.
  • A VAT refund had been received following a court case this is proposed to be transferred to the managed reserve to support the budget.

In response to comments and questions from members, the following were stated:

• It was clarified that the variance under Housing was so high as it was the forecast figure to the end of the year.  There had been a £45m decision in affordable homes aimed at moving families out of temporary accommodation, however, it was recognised that it took time to acquire properties.  Without mitigation, the forecast overspend would be higher (£13m).  It was hoped that the forecast overspend would come down as more properties were purchased and more families were moved out of temporary accommodation.
• It was clarified that the original budget was the budget as set in February, the current budget was the budget as things currently stood, the forecast was where it was thought the outturn would be at the end of the year, and the variance was the difference between what the forecast and current budget.
• Housing would be a pressure area next year.  The Housing department had done a report on this area.
• In response to a query about the costs involved with buying houses to reduce pressures around homelessness, it was clarified that there had been a mistake in the capital report on how much had been planned to spend.  It was further clarified that there was a plan to spend £10m this year of the £45m decision and this would progress as soon as possible.  It was a difficult housing market, but the team were working hard to identify properties.  The Director of Housing would clarify costs and the Committee could consider the issue.
• It was clarified that all people coming to the city for housing, must have a local connection based on family or work for over a year.
• With regard to pressures from Section 21s, increased numbers of asylum seekers and prisoners released early going into temporary accommodation, it was acknowledged that this would be an issue, but early indicators suggested that these were relatively small number.  The Director of Housing could also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

The Director of Finance submits a report the position of the capital programme at the end of June 2024 (Period 3).  

The Director of Finance submitted a report on Capital Budget Monitoring for period April – June 2024/25. The Director noted a mistake as the report does not show the forecast spend on temporary accommodation which should detail a planned expenditure of £10,000,000.

 It was recommended that the Committee consider the overall position of this report and make any observations it saw fit. Questions were welcomed and addressed as follows.

• A point was clarified on the Jewry Wall improvements, the figures discussed were for the remaining 2024/25 budget, rather than the earlier outturn position.
• It was acknowledged that there was a difficulty with reporting on the environmental impact on housing. Considerations were made within the overall budget, but there were not separate reports on decarbonisation and climate emergency impact work within the capital programme.
• The Director of Finance explained that figures queried for housing allocation were for Housing Revenue Account housing, which was not part of the general fund.
• In response to a query regarding the shops capital programme, The Director of Finance advised that an update would be provided.
• Regarding the railway station works, the City Mayor advised that the levelling up was expected to remain within budget and commented on the positive relationships with the respective rail agencies.
• The Leicester Market scheme was ongoing and the City Mayor would engage further with traders over the following weeks.
• Councillor Dempster would share an upcoming report on multi-use games areas with members once it was complete, she noted there were significant investments across the city in this area.  
• In response to concern raised about the way that information was disseminated regarding the contractor for the Jewry Wall Project going into administration, A statement was made about the Jewry Wall contract. Notable dates for the contractor’s liquidation were clarified and it was explained that the Council were limited in what information they could disclose whilst they were in contract. In response to further discussion, the Chair suggested writing to the Monitoring Officer for further information.

AGREED

1) That the report be noted.

2) That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account by the lead officers.

The current work programme for the Committee is attached.  The Committee is asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as it considers necessary.

The Committee was asked to consider the current work programme and to make comments and/or amendments as it considered necessary.

It was requested that the Customer Services report come to the Committee.

It was requested that the Committee look into housing allocation and property purchase, perhaps as part of the Annual Corporate Estate Report 2024/25.

It was noted that the next meeting would be 12 December 2024.

AGREED:

That the current work programme be noted.

There being no other items of urgent business, the meeting closed at 19:38