To receive apologies for absence, including notifications of any changes to the membership of the Board.

It was reported that, in accordance with the wishes of the Conservative Group, the membership of the Board had been amended to include Councillor Barbara Lewis in place of Councillor Hutchings for this meeting.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on  8 January 2025.

The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 8 January 2025 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To consider the Budget Monitoring Report for Quarter 3 (to include Revenue Budget and Capital Budget monitoring together with financial and delivery details of the Capital Programme) and make recommendations to the Cabinet.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Finance, Councillor Tyerman, outlined the submitted Budget Monitoring report for 2024/2025 which set out the quarter 3 position in respect of the Council’s Revenue and Capital Budgets.  Cabinet Members and Directors also attended the meeting and responded to questions as well as Councillor Tyerman.

The Board asked questions in relation to paragraph 4.8 showed an overspend of £175k on budgets for disabilities – overnight short breaks, what was the reason for overspend in this area; what was driving the overspend in Legal Services; was there a specific area driving Children’s Section 17 spend; paragraph 4.23 showed an overspend of £380k in relation to shortfalls for Development Control, planning applications and land charges income as well as an overspend of £135k in Building Control, what was the reason for the reduced levels of fees coming in; paragraph 4.22 showed an overspend of £220k within the Waste Disposal Budget which referred to disposal volumes, what was driving the increase; Torre Abbey was facing budgetary pressures, was it covering the costs for the pitch and putt and when was Torre Abbey expected to start to break even; paragraph 4.24 showed a £275k underspend in Concessionary fares, what action was being taken to encourage greater use of buses; paragraph 5.1 does not refer to a percentage against the target, how it sat against the target and how it compared to previous years, what were the rates; Paignton Library Heat Decarbonisation was benefiting from Public Sector Decarbonisation Funding and Climate Initiatives Funding which was one off funding, how was this sustainable; what was the current position regarding Edginswell Railway Station; Edginswell Business Park had funding for enabling works, was the Council actively marketing the two business plots; what was the reason for £0 identified for investment in car parks; what progress had been made for the two solar farms; what was the reason for no investment in sports facilities within the Capital Programme; what was the position in implementing the current Playing Pitch Strategy; what was the reason for the delay for the Capital Coastal Defences and Flooding Schemes; there was an underspend in the school capital programme for repairs, could more detail be provided on this and was the Council at risk from any Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Funding (a written response would be provided); why was temporary accommodation showing as a closed project; green waste bins had £409k in the budget that was not expected to be spent during 2024/2025 was the Council no longer providing green waste bins (a written response would be provided).

In response to questions around Legal Services, Members were advised that there had been staffing pressures in Legal Services for a number of years due to pressures in the market, with costs increasing significantly for locum and full time members of staff, which was more than the average staff rises.  The Council had been able to fill some vacant posts, through use of market supplements, but there was still a backlog of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

To review the Council’s key performance indicators and make recommendations to the Cabinet.

The Cabinet Member for Tourism, Culture & Events and Corporate Services, Councillor Jackie Thomas, outlined the submitted performance monitoring report for quarter 3 2025/2026 and responded to questions.  Other Cabinet Members and Directors also attended the meeting to respond to questions.

The Board asked questions in relation to BP19 the call centre reported an improvement and had recruited two extra call handlers, how many call handlers do we have and what consideration was given to the programming of communications/mailings e.g. single person discount letters and the impact on capacity of the call centre (a written response would be provided); BP20 the target for Community Fund Spent was 20.6% against a target of 80%, what was the reason for this and was there a dedicated person responsible for co-ordinating the Fund; was there a breakdown of the adult figures of people needing safe housing for escaping domestic abuse particularly LGBTQ+ (a written response would be provided to this question); the report covers data up to December, was there an update on the take up figures for MyBay, including those who have received the free card for Carers (it was noted that take up had been good from Carers and it was also helping the Council to identify people who were Carers, a written response would be provided); there were 648 open enforcement cases compared to a target of 450, the Overview and Scrutiny Board has previously done a deep dive into this area, how confident was the Cabinet that the Council was moving towards the 450 target; what was the reason for BP04 percentage of contacts to Children’s Services progressing to early help services in the period being much worse than target; BP47 percentage of weed spraying schedule due achieved during the period was much worse than target, what was the reason for this and had it been impacted by the amount of leaves in the gutters; nine out of thirteen targets for the Planning Department were much worse than target, to what extent was that due to long term sickness and how would this be alleviated; and CP14 percentage of former cared for children who are now aged 19-21 and in employment, education or training was much worse than target, what were the actual numbers and what were the numbers for those who were not former cared for children (a written response would be provided).

In response to questions around the Community Fund, Members were advised that there was a nominated person but part of the delay was due to the delay in applications being submitted, some Councillors waited for the money to be rolled over to a future year to fund larger projects.  It was accepted that some delays were due to a lot of the work involving SWISCo staff who were busy on other projects over the Summer with a lot of works being carried out towards the end of the financial year.  Members expressed frustration over the amount of time that some of the projects took to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To consider the revised Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and make recommendations to the Cabinet.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor David Thomas and the Partnership and Inclusion Manager, Laura Hill outlined the submitted report which set out the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy which was currently out to consultation and responded to questions.

The Board asked questions in relation to which groups the consultation had been circulated to; what additional support would be given for young Carers e.g. the MyBay card gives free access to parking, would they be able to get a free bus pass through the scheme; was there a section for Muslim burials within Torbay’s Cemeteries; was the workshop being advertised widely and were there any concerns about certain groups causing disruption; who would be on the Torbay Inclusion Partnership Board; and how was the Council trying to reach out to hard to reach communities.

In response to questions, Members were advised that the consultation had been shared with the normal corporate list of anchor institutions, equalities groups, through the Learning Disabilities Team and some other targeted Groups.  The Partnership and Inclusion Manager had also reached out and welcomed conversations with groups that wished to engage further.  Paper copies of the consultation were in the libraries and a drop-in session was being held next later this month.  Members noted that the workshop session was advertised through Business Newsletter, on staff news and on Linked in and if they were made aware of any concerns over potential attendees to report them to the Partnership and Inclusion Manager.

The Board was advised that there would be various representatives on the Torbay Inclusion Partnership Board and it was agreed that a list of the proposed draft membership would be shared with all Councillors to enable them to provide feedback on the final membership.

The Partnership and Inclusion Manager informed Members that she was trying to engage with hard to reach groups that she was aware of and requested any Councillors who had connections with people in hard to reach groups to let her know so that she can try to engage with them as the Council does not necessarily know who they were.

Resolved (unanimously):

That the Cabinet be recommended to approve the draft Inclusion Strategy for Torbay for 2025-2030 subject to the following:

1.         to consider how the MyBay benefits can be expanded to help young Carers who do not drive, for example a free bus pass; and

2.         to request the Director of Adult Services to liaise with the local cemeteries providers to see how they have considered providing suitable provisions for all religious communities.

To consider the Rent and Service Charge Setting Policy and proposed changes to Social Housing Rents following the transfer of housing from Torvista to Torbay Council and make recommendations to the Cabinet.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Finance, Councillor Tyerman, outlined the submitted report which set out the Rent and Service Charge Policy and proposed changes to Social Housing Rents, including Temporary Accommodation.  The Rent and Service Charge Policy had previously been the responsibility or TorVista Homes with scrutiny carried out by their Board and this responsibility had now transferred to the Council and Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Members asked questions in relation to if the rents were really affordable at 80% of the average of the market rent due to rents being higher in Torbay and if there was any flexibility; last year the rate set an increase of Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1% which equated to 7.7%, what was the proposed increase for 2025/2026; and some of the charges where housing benefit and universal credit were applicable, there was a national campaign over social charges as social tenants in other housing associations/authorities were not able to look at what their landlord was charging, was this the case for Torbay.

In response to questions, Members were advised that the Council would follow how the Government set the rents through the rent formula and would be open and transparent about the amount of rent for Council owned properties.  The increase for this year was 2.7% which was as a result of inflation being at a low level. 

Members noted that the technical definition of affordable rent was 20% below market value.  There was a lot of affordable rent within the registered provider housing market and the Council was trying to avoid that for Council owned schemes to keep them below the local housing allowance for our properties.

Resolved (unanimously):

That the Cabinet be recommended:

1.         that the Rent and Service Charge Setting Policy set out at Appendix 1 to the submitted report be approved;

2.         that Council on 27 February 2025 be recommended to approve as part of the Revenue Budget Fees and Charges the proposed rent increase for 2025/2026 whereby all Social Housing rents are increased by 2.7% (CPI+1%); and

3.         that rent reviews take place on all Service Occupancy properties and those rents be increased up to open market value. 

To consider a report on the Torbay Council Climate Change Action Plan and make recommendations to the Cabinet.

The Cabinet Member for Place Development and Economic Growth, Councillor Chris Lewis, outlined the submitted report which set out the draft Torbay Council Climate Change Action Plan and responded to questions.  The Divisional Director of Planning, Housing and Climate Emergency, David Edmondson, the Principal Climate Emergency Officer, Jaqui Warren and the Climate Strategy and Project Officer, Alex Carter also attended the meeting for this item and responded to questions.

Members asked questions in relation to what happened if the Council did not secure the funding to decarbonise Sherwell Valley Primary School; what was the running costs of the heat pumps at Torre Abbey and Torbay Leisure Centre compared to other sources (a written response would be provided); over 2,000 trees had been planted, how many more trees were planned to be planted (a written response would be provided including costs); how was the Council engaging with the public on carbon reduction; how could the Council help businesses to provide biodegradable waste such as cardboard cups and cutlery and ensure that there were suitable bins for recycling; how was carbon neutral work being linked in with the refresh of the Torbay Local Plan to ensure that they complement each other; how embedded were the Council’s procurement processes to challenge suppliers to provide evidence to reduce their carbon emissions; there were dual bins in Upton Park for rubbish and recycling but there was an issue with the recycling being contaminated so all the waste was going for disposal, what action had SWISCo taken around education to ensure the bins were used correctly; why was the flood tool developed by Exeter University not being promoted and used (a written response would be provided); and why was there no mention of the two solar farms in the Action Plan.

In response to questions, Members were advised that it was likely that the Council would secure the funding for the decarbonisation of Sherwell Valley Primary School, but that if this was not achieved a robust business case would need to be developed and submitted to the Capital and Growth Board as there were no other suitable grants available.  It was noted that the Climate Team had been very successful in securing grants and bringing in new money to support climate change.

Members discussed the Miyawaki forests which involved high density planting the size of tennis courts and their benefits.  The Council was working with SWISCo to identify suitable sites for these forests in Torbay.

Members were informed that the Climate Change Partnership, led by the community, was taking the lead on wider public and business engagement in respect of climate change and carbon reduction, through the Greener Way for the Bay Strategy, which had also been signed off by the Place Leadership Board on behalf of key statutory partners.  Torbay Communities was working through the Imagine This Group who work with young people and subject to funding would be looking at the natural environment and engaging with their families, which could then be rolled out  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.