Policy and Resources Committee - 7 December 2020
POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
NOTICE AND AGENDA
For a virtual/remote meeting to be held on Monday 7 December 2020 at 7.30pm
Members of the Policy and Resources Committee:-
Councillors:
Sarah Nelmes (Chair) (Local Plan)
Matthew Bedford (Vice-Chair) (Resources and Shared Services)
Stephen Cox
Steve Drury (Infrastructure and Planning Policy)
Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Transport & Economic Development)
Alex Hayward
Paula Hiscocks
Chris Lloyd (Leisure)
Reena Ranger
Andrew Scarth (Housing)
Roger Seabourne (Community Safety & Partnerships)
Alison Wall
Phil Williams (Environmental Services & Sustainability)
Joanne Wagstaffe Chief Executive
27 November 2020
(The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 made under the Coronavirus Act 2020 enable Council/Committee meetings to be held in a virtual format and enables remote attendance.
The meeting starts at 7.30pm and will be virtual/remote meeting in that it will be conducted at no specific location and all participants are at various locations, communicating via audio and online.
The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public to its discussion on Part I agenda items at Committee meetings. Contributions will be limited to one person speaking for and one against each item for not more than three minutes. Please note that in the event of registering your interest to speak on an agenda item but not taking up that right because the item is deferred, you will automatically be given the right to speak on that item at the next meeting of the Committee. Details of the procedure are provided below:
Members of the public wishing to speak will be entitled to register and identify which Part I report they wish to speak on from the published agenda for the remote meeting. Those who wish to register to speak must do so by notifying the Committee Team by e-mail 48 hours before the meeting. The first 2 people to register (1 for and 1 against) will be sent a link so that they can join the meeting to exercise that right. This will also allow the Committee Team to prepare the speaker sheet in advance of the remote meeting to forward to the Chair of the meeting.
In accordance with The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 any matters considered under Part 1 business only of the meeting may be filmed, recorded, photographed, broadcast or reported via social media by any person.
Recording and reporting the Council's meetings is subject to the law and it is the responsibility of those doing the recording and reporting to ensure compliance. This will include the Human Rights Act, the Data Protection Act and the laws of libel and defamation.
Please note that the meeting is being held virtually. The business of the meeting will be live streamed at – (link archived)
The virtual meeting protocol can be found below:
protocol-for-virtual-committee-meetings-sept-20201. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
2. MINUTES
To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting held on 2 November 2020.
20-11-02-pr-final-draft-mins3. NOTICE OF OTHER BUSINESS
Items of other business notified under Council Procedure Rule 30 to be announced, together with the special circumstances that justify their consideration as a matter of urgency. The Chairman to rule on the admission of such items.
4. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
To receive any declarations of interest.
POLICY
5. BUSINESS RATES POOLING
To seek approval to enter into a business rates pool with Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) and a number of other Districts within the County for 2021/22.
-05-20-12-07-pr-i-business-rates-pooling-report-05-20-12-07-pr-i-business-rates-pool-agreement-herts-2021-22-signed-version-redacted6. PROPERTY STRATEGY
-06-20-12-07-pr-i-property-report-06-20-12-07-pr-i-property-strategy-appRESOURCES
7. EXEMPTION FROM PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE RULES – WATERSMEET EXTERNAL ROOF ACCESS
To advise Members that an exemption to the Procurement process was approved by the Director of Community and Environmental Services under the Exceptional Circumstances exemption as permitted by the Council’s Constitution
-07-20-12-07-pr-i-watersmeet-external-staircases-tender-exemption-report8. EXEMPTION FROM PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE RULES – FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
To advise Members that an exemption to the Procurement process was approved by the Chief Executive and Director of Finance under the Exceptional Circumstances exemption as permitted by the Council’s Constitution.
-08-20-12-03-pr-i-exemption-from-procurement-procedures9. STRATEGIC, SERVICE AND FINANCIAL PLANNING 2021-2024
This report enables the Committee to comment on its draft service plans and the growth bids from the Service Committees.
Service Plans to be received:
-09-20-12-07-pr-i-service-plans-reportLegal
app-1_legal-service-plan-2021-24-draftCommittee
app-1_committee-services-service-plan-2021-24-draftElections
app-1_elections-service-plan-2021-2024Corporate Services
app-1_corporate-services-service-plan-2021-2024_draftCustomer Service Centre
app-1_customer-services-centre-service-plan-2021-24_draftFinance
app-1_finance-service-plan-2021-24_draftProperty Services
app-1_property-services-service-plan-2021-24_v2_draftRevenue and Benefits
app-1_revs-and-bens-service-plan-2021-24Economic Development and Sustainability (local plan matters)
app1-eco-sust-dev-service-plan-2021-24_draftPIDs
-09-20-12-07-pr-i-pid_w3rt_2021-22-app2-09-20-12-07-pr-i-pid_outdoor-fitness-zones-app2-09-20-12-07-pr-i-pid-gisv2-2021-22-app2app-3_pid-scoring-sheet-2020_consensusand
scheme-for-prioritising-revenue-growth-2018.pdf (pdf)10. WORK PROGRAMME
To receive the Committee’s work programme.
-10-20-12-07-pr-i-work-programme-report-10-20-11-02-pr-i-work-programme-app11. MOTIONS UNDER PROCEDURE RULE 11
To agree the amended motion below from the Local Plan sub-committee held on 3 December 2020.
Councillor Sara Bedford, seconded by Councillor Peter Getkahn had moved under Notice duly given the amended motion (amendments in italic below) at the sub-committee meeting on 3 December.
Space standards in permitted development housing
Council notes that on 30 September 2020 the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that in future all new homes delivered through Permitted Development Rights will have to meet space standards. This will mean that all new homes in England delivered through these rights will in the future have to meet the Nationally Described Space Standard.
Details of the Space Standards are contained in this document: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-housing-standards-nationally-described-space-standard
Council notes the poor size and living conditions of many homes constructed under permitted development, in particular the site at Shannon House, Kings Langley, for which the appeal decision was received today.
Whilst welcoming the overdue commitment to better housing, Council deplores that the Government waited until 16 November to announce that the relevant regulations would be changed for applications submitted from 6 April.
Council therefore agrees to write to the Housing Secretary, regretting the delay in introducing the regulations and requesting that they be introduced before the end of 2020.
12. OTHER BUSINESS – If approved under Item 3 above
13. EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC
If the Committee wishes to consider the remaining item in private, it will be appropriate for a resolution to be passed in the following terms:-
“that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined under paragraphs 1 to 7 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act. It has been decided by the Council that in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”
(Note: If other confidential business is approved under item 3, it will also be necessary to specify the class of exempt or confidential information in the additional items.)