Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were tabled by Councillor Peter Bedford, Councillor Stephen Woodliffe substituting.

Further apologies were tabled by Councillors Yvonne Stevens and Alison Austin and also Portfolio holder Councillor Tracey Abbott.

To sign and confirm the  minutes of the previous meeting.

With the agreement of the committee, the Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 September 2022

To receive declarations of interests in respect of any item on the agenda.

Councillor Katie Chalmers declared in respect of the Housing Standards Item No. 3 within the agenda in that she acted as an agent for rented properties within the borough.

To answer any written questions received from members of the public no later than 5 p.m. two clear working days prior to the meeting – for this meeting the deadline is 5 p.m. on 18 November 2022.

None tabled.

A report produced by the Scrutiny and Policy Panel

Councillor Edward Mossop ELDC and Chairman of the Task and Finish Panel presented the report confirming that the Overview and Scrutiny Committees of Boston Borough Council, South Holland District Council, and East Lindsey District Council had commissioned a joint Scrutiny Task & Finish Panel to undertake a review of the progress on the opportunities identified in the approved business case for the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership.The report would be presented to each of the Partnership Councils’ relevant sovereign scrutiny committee and the scrutiny being undertaken was required under the Partnership’s Memorandum of Agreement and was an annual commitment.

The review had undertaken a large consultation exercise initially with the executive boards from each council and their respective senior management and following on from those discussions, the group had felt it would be beneficial to speak to a wider range of people.  Further investigations took place with the staff forum and that had enabled the group to identify additional recommendations including the last one, which was to ensure that the pace of change was realistic and achievable.  Whilst it was obvious that the changes had been implemented quickly, it was agreed that moving forward communications with staff and the public needed to be improved in the understanding of how the partnership worked and the pace of change needed to slow down and be impactful rather than do too much too soon. The review had worked independently of the recent Peer Challenge but it had been interesting to note that a number of the nuances the review group had returned had been echoed by the Peer Challenge.  PSPS had also been key in establishing the partnership and a recommendation tabled sought to include them at an earlier stage in the development of the Annual Development Plan, to try to encourage a better working relationship with them.

Significant member comment and questioning followed which included:

(Councillor Mossop’s responses along with those of the portfolio holder are noted at the end of all the comments)

Noting the recording of Lord Gary Porter within the report a request was made that the correct recording of his title be amended to Lord (Gary) Porter

Referencing the changes to IT and the move to Outlook 365 and iPad a member asked that all Councillors be involved in making the final decision and that they be accorded the option of having whichever device they feel is best for them be it Windows or Apple.   

Agreeing the practicality of one constitution across the three authorities, a member asked how the process was developing as it had been addressed by the previous Monitoring Officer who had indicated a timeline for implementation around the current time.  It had been expected that an outside body would undertake the significant piece of work and an update on the position was requested.  

Referencing the possibility of further single policies across the partnership, the member cited planning officers working across three authorities with two local plans and the benefits of one set  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

A report by the Markets Manager

The Markets Manager presented the report confirming they were new to the post having taken up the position on 25^th July 2022 and stressed how committed they were in the new role and to the future of the markets.

The manager confirmed he was gradually building relationships with the traders and that a full service review was being undertaken which would save money, improve the markets provision and hopefully sustain them moving forward. The outcomes of the review would be reported back to the committee, along with quarterly updates on the progress of the markets.  Members were advised that actions had taken place in respect of broken cobble stones within the market place which would be replaced and also the issue of the broken bollard at Bank Street was under repair, although with utility cables having been discovered underneath the site, temporary fold down bollards would be in place for the interim.  

Working alongside the events team, it was hoped to introduce events on market days to encourage greater footfall to benefit market traders and town businesses and a number of ideas had been identified. An overview of the events for Christmas 2022 was also provided.

Occupancy on the Wednesday market remained consistently higher than on the Saturday market but moving forward there would be a push to attract new traders across all the markets with significant consideration being given to the Bargate Green market which had potential for a variety of markets, but which to date had proved difficult in attracting and sustaining regular traders. 

Another area being explored was youth markets for younger traders which had proved very successful elsewhere within the county.  The average age of traders nationally was over 40 years of age so the importance of encouraging younger traders to sustain the markets could not be ignored.

A number of ongoing problems had been identified including the ad-hoc timetables of buses including cancelled services due to a lack of drivers which impacted on visitors.  

Concluding the Markets Manager advised he had recently attended a seminar alongside colleagues nationally and whilst he recognised the work needed to improve the current market provision, he felt optimistic that if managed well it would succeed.  He also advised that he was building relationships with traders from other areas within the county encouraging them to stand at Boston when they were not on their regular markets.

Significant member debate followed which included the following:

Additional information was requested in respect of the revenue of each of the markets to establish the current position of revenue against expenditure with a view to drive traders and not to be concerned about revenue.  A further request was made for a copy of the Markets Charter to allow a full understanding of the rules therein. Members were advised that there was a split of 50/50 with traders using their own stalls and using the Council ones.

There was recognition from a number of members at the impact of Stickney Car Boot on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

A report by the Safer Communities Services Manager

The Safer Communities Service Manager presented the report confirming the review had been convened following significant concerns by many members at the quality of some private rented housing within the borough.   The rationale for the review was to investigate whether officers were being provided with the appropriate regulatory power in order to improve the quality of living for many residents within the rented sector in the Borough of Boston, to hold landlords accountable for the condition and standard of their properties and if applicable to introduce / look at the possibility of alternative licensing options for rented accommodation. It was anticipated that the outcomes would improve housing standards in private rented accommodation, improve the health of the residents within the Borough and reduce incidents of environmental crime and improve the appearance of the Borough

Under the Housing Act officers from the Housing Standards Team utilised two primary sections to carry out enforcement work.  The Housing Health and Safety Rating Scheme – Assessing the 29 hazards that may be present in a home and determining whether the risk to the occupant(s) warrants the intervention of enforcement action, e.g. improvement notice, prohibition orders, emergency remedial action and, the Mandatory House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licensing Scheme – requiring landlords of larger HMOs, rented out to 5 or more people who form more than 1 household, to register with the Local Authority, provide relevant certification, co-operate with programmed inspections and maintain the property to the standards contained within the guidance of the act. Under a Selected Licensing Scheme a Local Authority can define a geographical area, covering some or all wards, which would be subject to specific requirements of the Housing Act. Under such a scheme all landlords of private tented properties, regardless of whether they are a single household or multi-occupied, would be required to register their property with the Local Authority, provide proof of specific detailed documentation e.g. gas safety, electrical safety, energy performance etc. and cooperate with the requirement for regular checks to be carried out by the Housing Standards Team. The cost of administering such a scheme would be covered by licensing fees, paid by the landlord of the registered property. Any set up costs for the scheme, for the evidence gathering, rationale and stakeholder consultation could also be recuperated through the licence fee.

The evidence gathered had been wide ranging with most in person, some via written representation with a few refusing to attend at all.  The meetings had been scheduled to allow a cross-section between attendees which had proved positive with a meeting with representatives from two other authorities where selective licencing had been trialled, one meeting with the police, fire and council officers and others with letting agents, with immigrant communities and with the councils own housing team.

On considering the representation in respect of selective licensing it was recognised that an area of the town would need to be defined and within that area all private rented property would need to be registered.  Although  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

A report by the Head of Public Protection.

Deferred until next meeting.

To include quarter performance monitoring.

Deferred until next meeting.