Agenda and minutes

In accordance with rules detailed within the Council’s constitution terms of reference for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Councillor nominated to chair this meeting should be a Member of a political group not forming part of the ruling administration.

Members were advised that neither the Chair nor the Vice Chair would be chairing this particular meeting, due to consideration of an item of business on the agenda with which they had previously been involved in making a decision.

Councillor Gemma Monaco proposed that Councillor Chris Holz be elected to chair the meeting. This was seconded by Councillor Holz.

Councillor Joanna Kane proposed that Councillor Claire Davies be elected to chair the meeting. However, clarification was provided that as per the Council’s constitution, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee needed to be chaired by a member of a political group not forming part of the administration. Whilst Councillor Davies was not a member of the administration, it was also noted that she was not a Member of a political group and therefore was not eligible to chair the meeting. Following this clarification, the nomination was withdrawn.

Following a vote it was

RESOLVED that

Councillor Chris Holz be elected to Chair the meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 25^th July 2024.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Matthew Dormer, Craig Warhurst, Wanda King, and David Munro. Councillors Dormer and Warhurst were substituted at the meeting by Councillors Gemma Monaco and Chris Holz respectively.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and / or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests, and any Party Whip.

There were no declarations of interest nor of party whip.

The minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee from 14^th March 2024 and 8^th July 2024 will be considered at this meeting.

The minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 14^th March 2024 and 8^th July 2024 were submitted for Members’ consideration.

During the consideration of the minutes, a correction was requested to the typographical error in the minutes of the meeting of 8^th July 2024, minute number 6, replacing ‘Himalayan Blossom’ with the correct species name referred to in the meeting, ‘Himalayan Balsam’.

RESOLVED that

Subject to the amendment detailed in the preamble above, the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings held on 14^th March 2024 and 8^th July 2024 be approved as correct record of these meetings and signed by the Chair.

To invite members of the public who have registered in advance of the meeting to speak to the Committee. Please note that the deadline to register to speak at this meeting is 12 noon on Tuesday 23^rd July 2024.

There were no public speakers registered to speak at this meeting.

The Executive Committee Work Programme was submitted for Members’ consideration. It was noted that many of the finance-related items on the Work Programme would be pre-scrutinised at meetings of the Budget Scrutiny Working Group.

RESOLVED that

the Executive Committee’s Work Programme be noted.

The Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme was submitted for Members’ consideration.

RESOLVED that

the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme be noted.

  “That, under S.100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following matter(s) on the grounds that it/they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs (to be specified) of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act”.

These paragraphs are as follows:

Subject to the “public interest” test, information relating to:

·       Para 1 – any individual;

·       Para 2 – the identity of any individual;

·       Para 3 – financial or business affairs;

·       Para 4 – labour relations matters;

·       Para 5 – legal professional privilege;

·       Para 6 – a notice, order or direction;

·       Para 7 – the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime;

and may need to be considered as ‘exempt’.

RESOLVED that

Under S100 A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following matters on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 of the said act, as amended.

Minute Item No. 18 – Pre-Decision Scrutiny – Update Report on the Town Hall Hub.

This report will follow in an Additional Papers pack once the report has been published on the Executive Committee agenda (due for publication by end of Friday 19 July).

The Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer presented an update report on the Town Hall Hub.

The Committee was reminded that two years’ previously, following the closure of the cashiers at the Town Hall, the decision had been taken to introduce a community hub in the Town Hall. Some work had been undertaken in liaison with partner organisations, including Worcestershire County Council (WCC) and their library subtenants as well as the NHS to explore potential options for use of space in the community hub. The NHS had entered into a 15-year deal with the Council to lease two floors in the building and a new entrance had been introduced for the use of the NHS. In March 2024, final lease terms had been agreed with Worcestershire County Council, which would have involved the move of the library in the town centre into the community hub at the Town Hall.

It was noted with respect to progress on the Town Hall hub, that the NHS had taken a lease of and subsequently refurbished the ground and first floors to the west side of the Town Hall building which were to be used to deliver mental health services. The NHS had fully self-funded these works.

Following the local elections in May 2024, Officers had been asked to review options available for the community hub that would not involve moving the library into the building from its existing location in the town centre. Members were asked to note that if the library did not relocate into the community hub,  the library’s subtenant would also not be able to move into the building at this time.

Officers highlighted the proposals for the Town Hall in relation to the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), and it was noted that in 2022/23 the Council had been anticipating £400,000 in budget savings arising from the move of the library into the community hub from 2025 onwards.  The Council was already receiving some income from the NHS but there was also due to be a loss of income from Bromsgrove District Council as a result of a reduction in the use of office space at the Town Hall to accommodate staff working in shared services.  Therefore, as a result of a decision to not move the library and their subtenants into the Town Hall Hub, the Council would need to take action to address a £400,000 gap in the budget. The Council would also need to write off as revenue expenditure amounts that had already been spent on the existing design to allow the library and their subtenant to move into the building, which were presently capital in nature.

Discussions had been held with the former Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) about the options available to the Council moving forward in terms of using Town’s Funding previously allocated to Redditch for the project. The Council had been advised about the following options if the Council were not to proceed with the library relocation:

·             Invest  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.