Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

Councillor R Blunt presented the report to members, outlining the key highlights in performance from the previous year.

Councillor M B Wyatt expressed concerns in respect of the reference to the management of leisure services and sought clarity on the scope of that reference. 

Councillor K Merrie commended the report and the focus on businesses and jobs.  He made reference to the industrial development in Ellistown and the   woodland park which had received a national award.  

Councillor N Smith welcomed the heritage aspects of the report and the promotion of Coalville.

Councillor J Clarke welcomed the Green Footprints section of the report and the free trees and bulbs given away which he would like to see increased.  He commented however that litter remained a major problem.

Councillor J Bridges made reference to the LEAP programme case study highlighted in the report and recalled the pride he felt meeting Mr Pollard and hearing his story. 

Councillor T Eynon commented that the document really sold the Council as good value.  She expressed disappointment that the document had not been considered by scrutiny.  She requested that a functioning scrutiny system be put in place to enable members to wholeheartedly support documents such as this.

Councillor J Geary welcomed the private sector housing stock survey as he felt it was important to understand the condition of all housing stock.  He thanked the Council for taking this initiative.  He made reference to the scheme to replace solid fuel heating in non-gas areas and he hoped the advice would be made available to the private sector once the best solution was known.

Councillor M Specht welcomed the celebration of volunteers event and clarified that there were far more than 90 volunteers in the district.

Councillor R D Bayliss highlighted the ongoing work in respect of the decent homes programme and the high rates of tenant satisfaction.  He also made reference to the excellent work of the Tenant Scrutiny Panel, the high rate of rent collection and the reduction in the re-let time of empty properties. 

Councillor J Legrys commented that he would have liked to have seen a significant improvement in the housing repairs service demonstrated in this document.  He highlighted that the business photographed in the document in respect of the shop fronts scheme had subsequently closed.  He commented that there had been a lot of effort put into bringing jobs into the town which many people could not access due to a lack of public transport.  He stated that he would have preferred a focus on where things could have been done better and some comment on engagement with the community and elected members of all levels.  He referred to recent comments made in relation to poor Council Tax collection rates and added that he would have liked to have seen some statistics on this issue. 

Councillor R Ashman commended the report. He welcomed the focus on value for money.  He commented that in his experience the housing department was very responsive and he was not surprised to see the satisfaction rates.

Councillor T Gillard commended the report and thanked the Business Focus Team who worked exceedingly hard in supporting small businesses to provide jobs in the district.  He clarified that the shop pictured in the report did not take up a grant from the shop fronts improvements scheme and had not closed.  He also thanked Steve Bambrick for all his work, particularly in respect of the Green Wedge and he wished him all the best in his new venture.

Councillor D Everitt commented that the statistics in the report might be accurate but they did not show the true picture.  He added that tenants got very frustrated when they felt the housing officer and staff did not respond sympathetically and there was still a lot of work to be done.

Councillor N Clarke commended the efforts of residents in respect of recycling and congratulated the resident involvement team.  He also welcomed free car parking after 3pm in Coalville.

In response to Councillor M B Wyatt’s question, Councillor R Blunt emphasised that the possibility of building a new leisure centre was being investigated and if this did happen, some staff who were directly related to the running of the leisure centres would transfer to the new employer through the TUPE procedures, however some relating to the cultural services aspect of the leisure service would be retained.  He added that and a business case would be consulted upon. 

Councillor R Blunt stated that the document was not intended to sell the Council but was an aide memoire to remind people of what had been achieved in the previous year.  He stated that time and resources would be invested to improve the performance of Policy Development Group and he added that the performance report would certainly be considered by Policy Development Group under the new structure.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor A V Smith and

RESOLVED THAT:

The End of Year Performance Report 2016/17 be received and noted.