Councillor Imran Uddin expressed his interest in item 7 as trustee of Morden Park Community Trust.

None.

RESOLVED:  Panel agreed the Minutes as a true record of the meeting.

RESOLVED: Panel agreed the Minutes as a true record of the meeting.

Councillor John Sargeant asked about the status of the response from Pauline Ford at CHMP on the ambience reports and if the question could be raised on the possibility of sharing the results of the independent audit of Keep Moat that was discussed at the meeting of the Panel on 29^th September 2014. Rebecca Redman explained that Pauline Ford had responded and was looking into whether ambience reports could be shared and that she would follow up with Pauline Ford on the Keep Moat audit and update the Panel at the next meeting.

Panel agreed to re-order the agenda to the following:

Item 8 – 20mph zones and limits

Item 6 – Adult Skills and Employability Task Group

Item 7 – Morden Leisure Centre Update

Item 9 – Business Plan Update 2015-2019

Item 10 – Performance Monitoring (Verbal Update)

Item 11 – Co-option

Item 12 – Work programme

RESOLVED: Rebecca Redman to follow up on queries raised with CHMP.

Christine Parsloe introduced the report which outlined the first decisions that Cabinet had been asked to take on 10 November 2014 which were all agreed at that meeting. The roll out of the project for Morden Leisure Centre is at the early stages of development, Christine Parsloe asked what involvement scrutiny would like in this process.

Councillor Ross Garrod stated that he was happy with the development and that Cabinet had accepted a two site solution and asked what the existing site would be used for when the development was complete. He also asked if this site could be utilised for affordable housing.

Christine Parsloe explained that this was not possible on this site for planning reasons. This site is defined as metropolitan open land and it is required to be returned back to open public space upon completion of the project. The Friends of Morden Park Playing Field expressed its interest in being involved in the restoration of the site to its historic features.

Councillor John Sargeant asked if the costs of returning this site to its original state were planned into the capital costs for the project and if the funds for this work had been ring fenced. He added that the council should work closely with the Community Trust in this process and consult residents in the area.

Christine Parsloe explained that the cost of the reinstatement of this land was accounted for within the project budget. This fund will be ring fenced to enable the developer to do so and the costs of demolition are included in the £11 million budget for the project. Christine Parsloe added that the council are in discussion with the Community Trust but that wider agendas would need to be managed so as not to impact negatively on the project scope, timescales and budget.

Councillor Russell Makin asked about the two site solution and when a decision would be taken on the actual site for the leisure centre. Christine Parsloe informed the Panel that site surveys would be undertaken in due course and that some surveys were already underway. The fact that only two sites have been prioritised means that the cost of these surveys is reduced and the findings can then be discussed with developers.

Councillor Janice Howard asked if flexibility had been built into the project as the funds allocated to the project may not be sufficient as the development progresses or if issues arise that need to be responded to. In addition, if an additional stage would be put in place within the project to negotiate on the features within the leisure centre that were requested by residents, if funding allowed at that stage.

Christine Parsloe informed the Panel that the council would be seeking external funding and is in conversation with Sport England as there is an understanding that a leisure centre needs to be built for the future. Flexibility will be built into the development to ensure that future expansion and customer requirements of the leisure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Caroline Holland introduced the report that included the updated Medium Term Financial Strategy and accounted for changes to major items, price inflation, issues regarding the pension fund and the grant settlement received. There has been a reduction in the grant expected as well as a review of council tax and an increase in the council tax base and collection rates. The revised capital programme was also presented alongside early service plan drafts. Further revisions to the service plans will be brought to the next round of scrutiny meetings for consideration.

Alternate proposals have been brought forward where there have been difficulties in generating savings agreed. New targets have been produced based on the council wide budget gap of £32 million. These savings will be brought to scrutiny in January for consideration.

Councillor David Dean asked why the savings target was so significant and the impact on the total budget. Caroline Holland explained that there had been an increase in the population which had impacted on the amount of dedicated schools grant received. There have also been additional responsibilities to be accounted for in public health and also in nursery provision. Legal shared services, regulatory shared services and the costs of transfer of staff have also resulted in additional costs and pressures. There is a downward trajectory with savings, however, there are increasing pressures resulting from demographic change. Caroline Holland added that one of the recommendations on Morden Leisure Centre was to rephase the capital programme. In this the costs would be spread over a greater number of years. This update will appear in the budget report in January 2015.

Councillor John Sargeant asked about structural changes to services that Cabinet were considering, for example, the MAE options appraisal. The budget and service implications did not appear to be outlined in this report. He added that the potential impact should be considered by the Panel at their January 2015 meeting. Chris Lee explained that the impact would only need to be considered from April 2017 onwards and that the service and budgetary implications would be reflected in the 2017 budget. 

Caroline Holland added that the MAE options appraisal and outcomes of the consultation could be brought to scrutiny in due course. Similarly, decisions to be taken on the waste contract would need to be factored into the budget in 2017 at the earliest when the contract is envisaged to start.

Councillor John Sargeant added that performance monitoring alone doesn’t give an opportunity to get into the detail of the structural changes proposed and that the panel should have an opportunity to comment to enable them to deliver on their duties to their residents.

Councillor Imran Uddin asked what discretion the council had over the restricted spending outlined. Caroline Holland explained that the council had no discretion over the dedicated schools grant as it was a demand based grant.

Councillor Peter Southgate joined the meeting and proposed that the Panel hold a special meeting to consider the MAE options appraisal in more  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Chris Lee provided an introduction to the item and highlighted that the majority of reds on the performance data were linked to an increase in volumes of waste over the last year. The council have subsequently had to send more waste to landfill. The proportion of waste however remains stagnant. There has also been an increase in fly tipping. This is a national trend and a report from DEFRA shows this to be the case. In addition there is a customer satisfaction issue as there is a perception amongst residents about cleanliness.

Councillor Stan Anderson asked if an increase in bulky waste collection might tackle the increase in fly tipping. Chris Lee explained that it would be difficult to state what the impact would be. Councillor Russell Makin asked what was being done to try to reduce residents fly tipping. Chris Lee informed the Panel that advice and guidance had been issued to households to try and change behaviour and where this persists the council will take action.

Councillor Abigail Jones asked what the turnaround time was between a resident requesting a bulky waste collection and the actual collection. Cormac Stokes explained that there had been problems in the early summer and extra vehicles were put on to respond to demand. The council is now back to its regular collection schedule. Bulky waste is collected on the same day as other waste and the turnaround time is normally within a week.

Councillor David Dean added that we need to be clear with residents about all types of waste collection, including recycling, to encourage them not to fly tip and to increase the rates of recycling. He also asked if putting all waste in a black bag to be sorted was the answer. Cormac Stokes explained that whilst the council would like to encourage people to recycle, they would have difficulty enforcing what people put into black sacks and there would be an additional cost for officer time sorting this waste.

Councillor Ross Garrod asked about the target relating to outdoor events income and why performance in this area didn’t appear to be on track due to the income standing at £2023.00 only. Chris Lee explained that the income for the service can come in at different times each month and therefore this is not reflective of the actual income to date. The department do achieve this income target annually.

Councillor Ross Garrod asked about the income target for Merton Adult Education. Yvonne Tomlin explained that there had been changes to the funding method for the service and that the income profile did not reflect the income achieved this year. However, a slight underachievement of income was expected due to issues regarding match funding.

Councillor Ross Garrod asked if the reduction in the grant for the service had been scaled back nationally. Yvonne Tomlin confirmed that this was the case.

Councillor John Sargeant stated that he was aware that the underperformance against the indicators for planning was reflective of a service  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Rebecca Redman introduced the report and sought the Panels views on co-option to the Panel, for the municipal year, on one off items on Panel agendas or on task group reviews.

RESOLVED: Panel agreed to consider co-option at appropriate intervals on task group reviews or for one off items, in line with advice from the Scrutiny Officer.

Rebecca Redman informed the Panel that the Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel had held a Performance Monitoring Training session for its members which had been a useful introduction to performance management relating to their remit. A session was to be arranged for the Panel in due course covering their areas of responsibility.

Rebecca Redman reminded the Panel that they had been invited to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 25 November 2014 to consider and comment on the Financial Resilience item.

Rebecca Redman reminded the Panel that a member development session was being held on questioning and analysis skills for scrutiny members on 26^th November and asked members to confirm their attendance.

Rebecca Redman informed the Panel that the Housing Supply Task Group was due to meet on 1^st December to scope the review and that a scoping report would be presented to the Panel at its 8^th January 2015 meeting to formally endorse.

RESOLVED: Rebecca Redman agreed to report back with a date for the performance monitoring training session.