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The Chair announced that he had agreed to consider the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Panel at its meeting on 5 July 2022 in respect of Council Tax Rebate, Haven Road Flooding and Bus Service Provision. The urgency arose from the need to consider the recommendations before the next scheduled meeting of Cabinet on 7 September 2022.
Councillor Willetts, Chair of the Scrutiny Panel, attended and with the consent of the Chair addressed Cabinet to introduce the recommendations.
Council Tax Rebate
Councillor Willetts explained that the Panel had looked in detail at the processes around the scheme for payment of the Council Tax rebate and it was working very well. Of the £10 million pounds available, 82% of claims had been processed. There were three categories of claims:
• Those who paid by direct debit, for whom the Council could pay the rebate direct into their back account. 97% of such payments had been made;
• Those who had a Council Tax account who paid by another method and for whom the Council needed to obtain back account details. 25%% of this group had received their rebate payment and the project to identify and pay this group was well under control.
• The hardest to reach group were those who paid Council Tax but whose details were not known. It was estimated that this was approximately 2000 people. It would take considerable effort to identify this group and it was payments to this Group that the Panel was most concerned about.
The Panel had also looked at the discretionary scheme which covered some of the more difficult issues, such as payments to those in Houses of Multiple Occupation.
The overall funding had to be reconciled and reported back to government by the end of September and any unspent funding returned to government, so it was important the Cabinet ensured progress continued at a pace. It was important that all the funding was used in the interests of those in real need. The Panel were satisfied this was likely to happen and were satisfied that the processes used by officers to identify those eligible for payment were robust. The Panel had recommended to Cabinet the crediting of eligible Council Tax accounts as a last resort.
Councillor King, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, thanked Councillor Willetts for his comments and the Panel for the scrutiny and challenge it provided. Councillor Cory, Portfolio Holder for Resources, welcomed the support for the Council’s policy of getting payments to those in need as quickly as possible. Cabinet was content to accept the recommendation from the Scrutiny Panel.
RESOLVED that
(a) Cabinet acknowledges and continues to approve of the measures being used by officers to identify those eligible for Council Tax rebates and to pay out these rebates, in line with the robust assurances provided to, and accepted by, the Scrutiny Panel
(b) Cabinet approves of the crediting of eligible Council Tax accounts, as a last resort and where other options for payment of a rebate have been exhausted.
Haven Road Flooding
Councillor Willetts explained that the Panel had looked at the long and complex history of this issue. Whilst the Council was not the responsible authority for flooding but it did have land interests in the area. The Member of Parliament had established a Task Force of interested groups which had identified the problem but there was no ownership of the solution. The Panel believed that what was needed was a co-ordinator with project management skills to provide guidance and co-ordinate the delivery of a solution. Whilst the MP’s office did not have those skills, the Borough Council did.
Councillor Luxford Vaughan, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Infrastructure, explained that the Task Force was making progress. A pump had been identified and the Council had allocated funding towards the purchase. It would be more appropriate to have further discussion with the Task Force to establish their views on what was needed to successfully resolve the issue before agreeing to a course of action.
Councillor Fox, Portfolio Holder for Local Economy and Transformation explained that he was a member of the Task Force. He welcomed the work of the Scrutiny Panel on the issue. The Council needed to be mindful that Essex County Council was the responsible authority, and they had the experience of managing large infrastructure projects such as this. Colchester Borough Council was a willing partner but needed to recognise the skills across all the agencies involved.
Councillor King explained that the recommendation was welcomed and whilst the Council was content to contribute towards a solution, it needed to recognise that it was not the lead authority and should not cut across the work of the responsible authority. However, it was willing to make it clear that it was content to look afresh at how it could work with partners to help find a solution.
RESOLVED that Cabinet explore afresh how it can assist the multi-agency Hythe Task Force on project management and in other ways.
Summary of previous Scrutiny Panel reviews into bus service provision
Councillor Willetts explained that the Panel at looked at issues relating to bus services on two previous occasions. It was not minded to scrutinise directly the work of the bus companies again at this stage. However, the Panel had noted that there were major strategies and projects being formulated presently and it was important that improved bus service provision be considered as these were developed. For example, the different levels of provision across the borough needed to be considered as part of the Levelling Up agenda and the Town Centre Masterplan.
Councillor Luxford Vaughan explained that bus services would be addressed by the Town Centre Masterplan, but this was limited by the funding, which was coming from the Town Deal fund and Levelling Up funds and was specific to the town centre. Therefore, this work would not address some of the more borough wide issues on bus services identified by the Panel. This would need to be looked at it in due course. Councillor King indicated that Cabinet would accept the recommendation and look at how these issues could be looked at further.
RESOLVED that Cabinet conducts work to consider and examine the potential ways in which the Council can push for improved bus service provision through the Borough, and promote its use by the public, in the context of the Council’s current and emerging strategic plans and policies