Agenda item

SCRUTINY OF THE LEADER

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Colin Smith, attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Committee.  Councillor Smith gave a brief introduction highlighting the following issues:

 

  • The Member Induction was now complete and new Members were settling into their new role.
  • Work was on going around the Children’s Services agenda and it was hoped that the forthcoming Ofsted Inspection would recognise the good progress was being made.  The Leader thanked Members who had attended the successful Corporate Parenting Fun Day.
  • In relation to Adults Services, issues arising from the poor Ombudsman report were being closely reviewed to ensure that lessons were learnt.
  • Within the Renewal, Recreation and Housing Portfolio, work was being undertaken to identify how more housing could be secured across the Borough.  It was essential to look at reducing levels of homelessness which if not properly managed would have an adverse impact on the budget.
  • The Local Plan continued to evolve and would provide a solid basis for planning decisions.  The Leader reported that over the Autumn the Council would be considering the Mayor of London’s Plan.
  • Turning to Traveller Incursions; a Borough-wide injunction had now been put in place with the aim of addressing the recent surge in incursions.  The Leader thanked Councillor Kate Lymer, the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Enforcement, for her contribution to this.
  • Policies across the Environment Portfolio were being reviewed.
  • The main challenges for the Local Authority continued to centre around resources.  Work was underway to address the future budget deficit.
  • The Leader highlighted the financial challenges facing other Local Authorities such as Northamptonshire, Somerset, and East Sussex.
  • The Leader reported that he was broadly optimistic that the message regarding the pressures facing Local Government was slowly getting through to Central Government and as a result of this additional, targeted funding (especially around Adult Social Care) would be provided.

 

Councillor Smith then responded to questions, making the following comments:

 

·  The issue of Traveller incursions had been recognised as a national issue and raised with MPs.  It was recognised that stronger legislation was required which recognised the limited resources available to Local Government to deal with the issues.

 

Members expressed their thanks to the Director of Corporate Services and his Team for the work that had been done in this area.

 

·  In terms of the provision of transitory land, detailed consideration would need to be given to whether there would still be high clean-up costs and whether there was sufficient evidence to suggest that transitory land would be utilised if it were to be provided.

·  The issues highlighted in the Ofsted report of Children’s Services had not been a result of poor resourcing and the Commissioner’s report had made this clear.  It was noted that a number of Local Authorities had not taken difficult revenue funding decisions early enough and the affect of this were now emerging.

·  Currently the Local Authority was debt free.  Senior Leaders at the Council continued to engage around fairer funding as it was clear that the situation in relation to local government funding was getting desperate.

·  In relation to funding the Aeronautical College at Biggin Hill, London and South East Colleges was capable of borrowing money if it wanted.  As a result of the merger of the College, if the Council were to provide funding it would be de facto funding Bexley and Greenwich residents attending the college.  The Council had made an offer of a loan to the College and no response had yet been received.

·  In relation to Westcamp at Biggin Hill, the Leader recognised that this was a wasted asset and all options would need to be considered in relation to the site.

·  Turning to housing, the Local Plan had provision for 641 housing units per year.  The Borough would not be able to sustain the 1400 units advocated by the Mayor of London.  It was possible that if the Mayor continued to press for such high levels of housing provision year-on-year it was possible that he would face a legal challenge from outer-London Boroughs.  This threat to the character of outer-London boroughs was at the top of the agenda and there would be an interesting debate over the next 3 to 4 years.

·  In terms of transport infrastructure, it was hoped that the DLR would be extended to Bromley North.  It was important that the existing connectivity remained unchanged, what was needed was greater connectivity for Bromley and to this end, going forward it would be important to highlight the regional benefits of increased connectivity in Bromley.

·  A robust communications strategy was in place for Children’s Service’s.

·  Further integration with health services was under consideration and in recent months there appeared to be increased appetite from health partners to further engage with the Local Authority.  If there were to be further integration with health services it would have to be clear that the Local Authority would not share risks around finances as any such risk was unquantifiable.  As Members and Officers considered future options they would need to be focused on the legal implications of what was under consideration.

 

The Chairman thanked the Leader for his presentation to the Committee.