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 Councillor O’Neill and Councillor Rae Bhatia with Councillor Westley attending as substitute for Councillor Rae Bhatia.

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

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

Councillor March declared an interest in the Council Tax Support Scheme item and agreed to leave the meeting for that item.

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

The Chair advised that the informal scrutiny on Workforce Representation would need to be reconsidered due to increased OSC membership. It was suggested that a meeting would take place in the New Year.

Members were reminded to submit questions to The City Mayor in advance where possible to ease the flow of the meeting and allow for considered responses.

The Chair informed that agenda was substantial so a break could be available if required.

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on  Thursday 26^th September have been circulated, and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

Councillor Porter asked for an amendment to be made to the minutes of the previous OSC meeting held on 26th September 2024. The minutes had reflected a request for a Customer Services item to come to scrutiny. It had been recorded that The City Mayor asked for this item when it had been Councillor Dempster who made the request. This was noted and Governance Services staff provided a timescale for the item to come to scrutiny.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2024 be confirmed as a correct record.

To note progress on actions agreed at the previous meeting and not reported

elsewhere on the agenda (if any).

No queries were made in respect of progress on actions agreed at the previous meeting.

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.

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 invited members to raise questions for The City Mayor.

• The attending Youth Representative commented on discussions with peers and asked for information on how the City Mayor and Executive were looking to engage with the City’s young people. The City Mayor welcomed this question and advised that he and his colleagues had visited schools over the years and sought to continue this engagement where invites were received.
• It was asked as to whether the City Mayor or representatives could attend a joint visit to Castle Mead Academy. This was received positively by the City Mayor.
• A question was raised referencing the Lothbury Property Trust Fund and Haymarket Consortium and the subsequent communications to local residents. The City Mayor advised that investment decisions were made by the relevant professionals. Further communications to residents were not deemed to be necessary at that point.
• Figures for home schooling within the city were requested and it was clarified that this question was in line with the current national news events. The City Mayor advised that home schooling statistics would be circulated to the commission. He discussed how this case highlighted problems with the national system disabling traceability when children were taken out of mainstream schooling. Further discussions would need to take place together with communicating with central government.   

The Director of Housing submits a report providing an update on homelessness in the City and progress in relation to the delivery of the Full Council Decision on the 21^st March 2024 to invest £45m into additional Homelessness accommodation and services.

The Director of Housing submitted a report providing an update on homelessness in the city and progress in relation to the delivery of the Full Council Decision on the 21st March 2024 to invest £45m into additional Homelessness accommodation and services.

The Deputy City Mayor for Housing, Economy, and Neighbourhoods introduced the item and noted that:

• The housing crises and subsequent increasing financial pressure, particularly concerning temporary accommodation, was highlighted as being a main contributing factor for Local Authorities facing a Section 114.
• A decision had been taken in March 2024 at Full Council to invest £45m into accommodation and support services. The focus was on prevention of homelessness and also providing better types of accommodation.
• Homelessness figures had peaked in May 2024 with record numbers of homeless people being placed in hotels and Bed and Breakfast establishments, but this had reduced by 50% since that peak.

The Director of Housing gave an overview of the report which gave an update on homelessness in the City and progress in relation to the delivery of the Full Council Decision on the 21st March 2024 to invest £45m into additional Homelessness accommodation and services.

The following was noted:

• The National picture of homelessness showed that there had been a rapid rise in the number of rough sleepers, a big rise in those approaching homelessness services and a sharp rise in the numbers of people being placed in temporary accommodation. 
• The increased staffing levels had lead to a reduction in case loads and more proactive approaches to prevent homelessness.
• Leicester’s performance compared favourably to the national average with an increase to a 67% prevention rate, the national figure was 51%.
• At the beginning of November 2024, the council had committed £22.5M of the £45m secured and there had been a total of 181 new purchases of temporary accommodation units. At the time of the OSC meeting, the Council had now committed just over £30m and secured the 225 properties.
• There was ongoing partnership work across the city.
• The Council remained on target to deliver the target of over 1500 new permanent affordable homes.
• Significant works were ongoing to deliver the action plan.
• As of 5th November 2024, there were 517 families in temporary accommodation, this was a 30% reduction from the June 2024 peak.
• The number of families in bed and breakfast had reduced by almost 50% since June 2024.
• The average length of stay in bed and breakfasts still breeched the law but had reduced by 50% to less than 90 days.
• The Full Council decision of March was forecast to save the Local Authority £6m that financial year, £27m next year and £45m in 26/27
• Based on projected figures, it is expected that there will not be any single people in bed and breakfast by early 2025. Families in temporary accommodation should reduce to 288 families by August 2026.
• Looking forward though, it was clear that there was a need for more accommodation across the City.
• Further capital proposals had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

The Director of Finance submits a report providing an overview of the proposed simplified “banded” council tax support scheme and the consultation results.

Due to an interest declared, Councillor March left the meeting prior to this item being considered.

The Director of Finance submitted a report providing an overview of the proposed simplified “banded” council tax support scheme and the consultation results.

The Strategic Policy Lead presented the attached slides outlining the issues with the previous scheme and informing members of how the new scheme would work.

The Committee were asked to comment and note this report and presentation prior to a decision being made on the scheme at Full Council on 16^th January.

Members were invited to ask questions and make comments.  Key points included:

• Concern was raised that it was difficult to express an opinion without fully knowing what alternative schemes would entail.
• It was explained that the reason it needed to go to Full Council on 16^th Jan was because the tax base needed to be set and the bill would need to be calculated before the scheme was rolled out.
• It was suggested that under the current scheme, people were accruing debt, which put the Council and households in an untenable position.
• Alternative schemes could not deviate too much from what was consulted on as there would be a legal risk.
• The deadline for the implementation of the second week of March was a statutory deadline for the Local Authority to confirm a scheme for the following year.  Once a base was set, the only alternative would be to revert to the current scheme. 
• As tax bases would be affected, it would be necessary to inform the police and fire service by the end of January 2025.
• The current scheme had been made unworkable by the introduction of Universal Credit due to the flux in payments.
• Legislation dictated that the consultation was relevant to the time period that this was done in.
• If a re-consultation was conducted next year, it would mean that there was a round of 4-6 months of people getting billed.
• Two briefings for members would be held on 16^th December to help them understand the scheme.
• In response to the concern raised, it was suggested that a paper be sent to members before Full Council detailing the scheme including details of alternative schemes.  Also that further briefings be offered in the new year in addition to those on 16^th December, and the possibility of recording these sessions be considered.
• Concern was raised that some residents would miss out on support under the proposed scheme.
• In response to concern raised about public support for the scheme, it was clarified that ‘Don’t Know’ was not classified he same as ‘No’, and if there was a judicial review, they would take the same view.
• Concern was raised about difficulty in understanding the report and the new scheme.

AGREED

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

2)    That a paper be sent to members before Full Council detailing the scheme including details of alternative  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

The Director of Finance submits a second report in the monitoring cycle for 2024/25 and updates the forecasts presented to this committee in September.

The Director of Finance submitted a second report in the monitoring cycle for 2024/25 and updates the forecasts presented to this committee in September.

No questions or comments were made.

AGREED

That the report be noted.

The Director of Finance Submits a report providing the position of the capital programme at the end of September 2024 (Period 6).  

The Director of Finance submitted a report providing the position of the capital programme at the end of September 2024 (Period 6).

Members were invited to ask questions and make comments. 

A question was raised as to whether the Council was still paying to light empty buildings.  This would be looked into.

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 Director of Finance submits a report detailing progress made in collecting debts raised by the Council during the first six months of 2024-25 together with debts outstanding and brought forward from the previous year. It also sets out details of debts written off under delegated authority that it has not been possible to collect after reasonable effort and expense.

The Director of Finance submitted a report detailing progress made in collecting debts raised by the Council during the first six months of 2024-25 together with

debts outstanding and brought forward from the previous year. It also set out details of debts written off under delegated authority that it had not been possible to collect after reasonable effort and expense.

No questions or comments were made.

AGREED

That the report be noted.

The Director of Finance submits a report to update the Commission on the Mid-Year Review of the Treasury Management Activities 2024/25.

AGREED:

That the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following reports in accordance with by virtue of paragraph(s) 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 because they involve the likely disclosure of 'exempt' information, as defined in the Paragraphs detailed below of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and taking all the circumstances into account, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the information as exempt outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Paragraph 3

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the Authority holding that information.

Exempt minute circulated to Councillors separately.

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.

AGREED:

That the current work programme be noted.

The Chair thanked the Director of Finance and other officers.

There being no other items of urgent business, the meeting closed at 8:40pm