The minutes of the meeting held on the 25 January 2024 were submitted and the Deputy Chair was authorised to sign them as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Brett, Keene, Fabry and Clarkson.

Councillor Keenan was a substitute for Councillor Keene and Councillor Boniface was a substitute for Councillor Brett.

Disclosure by councillors of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the councillor regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

There were none.

Items not on the agenda which the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances as defined in Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972. A Supplementary Report will be circulated at the meeting to update the main Reports with any late information.

There were none.

To deal with written questions from councillors pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 12.3 (page D8 of the Constitution).

There were none.

The Chair, Councillor Baah, introduced the item which was an update on the Lewes Farmers Market petition.

Members were advised that work was still ongoing towards compiling a survey and when the work was finished, an update would be made available to the Committee.

Resolved to note the update.

It was agreed by the Committee that all reports on the agenda due for presentation to the 14 March Cabinet would be considered.

Steve Houchin, Deputy Chief Finance Officer, introduced the report which provided an assessment of the Council’s financial performance against it approved 2023-24 budget, incorporating key financial risks, issues and opportunities identified since 2 April 2023 for the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). During discussion, the following points were highlighted:

·       The forecast net-spend under ‘Head of Customer First’ included a combination of salary cost, and supply and services expenditure. A detailed overview of the figure could be provided.

·       The Council had implemented a new revenues and benefits system, with its implementation supported by members of the Business Strategy Performance Team. Part of the Council’s financial regulations allowed the capitalisation of part of the costs in relation to the staff members’ time.

·       The increased Legal Services income related to requests from other local authorities and organisations to provide commercial work, such as reviews of contracts (and associated documentation) or composing and obligations of legal agreements.

·       It was not unusual for capital programmes to have levels of underspend in a particular period, as there were sometimes elements of planned schemes that were not within the Council’s control and impacted on the projected spend. It was anticipated that the forecast spend would be carried over to the following year. Capital programmes were constantly reviewed to ensure that the schemes included remained relevant.

Resolved to support the recommendations in the Cabinet report, in full.

Oliver Jones, Housing, Homelessness & Community Safety Lead, presented the report which detailed the 2023/24 performance of the Eastbourne & Lewes Community Safety Partnership (E&L CSP).

Chief Inspector Di Lewis was in attendance and highlighted the following points:

·       The percentage increase in trafficking drugs reflected the Police’s ability to locate and trace the drugs and remove the threat from the street. Additionally, there had been an incident of drugs washing up on the coast which may have filtered further inland.

·       The Team for Lewes was at full strength to meet local policing needs, including a compliment of police community support officers (PCSO’s), some of whom, it was anticipated, would go on to take up roles as police officers.

·       Although Lewes was a relatively low crime area, it was recognised that any crime had an impact on individuals and communities. Although there had been a small increase in overall crime numbers, the figure over the previous three months had decreased. There were no trends to report. and no reporting of prolific offenders.

·       There had been an increase in shoplifting reporting, but again, in terms of the reporting of crime, this had a positive element. The Business Crime team

·       was working on the targeting of prolific offenders and ensuring that, where necessary, a body of evidence was available to make arrests and have a positive impact. The Co-op chain of stores was one example where there had been a dedicated drive towards dealing with shoplifting, with staff being provided with the necessary resources to report incidents. Every incidence of shop staff being assaulted was fully attended by Sussex Police. In cases where offenders were not remanded, significant bail conditions were imposed.

·       The reporting of serious violence (which included domestic abuse) had increased and Sussex Police were proactive in providing safeguarding for victims.

·       An operation was currently running that tackled anti-social driving, an in particular motorbikes. Working with the local authority and the introduction of public space protection orders (PSPO’s), as part of the operation, was being considered. Bike thefts across the entire division had increased and a particular suspect had been identified.

·       Sussex Police was supporting the UK Border Force and the Crime investigation team from the Home Office in relation to a recent incident that involved 7 illegal immigrants being trafficked into the Country through Newhaven Port. One of the illegal immigrants had sustained significant injuries as a result of the incident.

·       Drug dealing and drug misuse in the Seaford area had been identified and Sussex Police were working diligently to try and mitigate the impact on the community and residents. The key message for people in the District was to continue reporting incidents of crime.

During discussion, the following points were highlighted:

·       The cost-of-living crisis would have had an impact on areas such as increases in shoplifting incidents, however, in cases of prolific offenders, it was often drugs or alcohol dependency that were the root cause.

·       Lewes district had a compliment of three teams, with a warranted officer, a sergeant and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57b

Luke Dreeling, Performance Lead, presented the report which detailed the Council’s progress and performance in respect of service areas for the Third Quarter of the year (October-December 2023) as shown in Appendix 1 of the report. During discussion, the following points were highlighted:

·       Agency staff had been employed to back-fill positions left by internal staff, whose expertise was needed to implement the IT elements of the changes associated with the new revenue and benefits NEC system.

·       With regard to the performance indicator for customer complaints logged at stage 2 and resolved within 20 working days, a number of the complaints were around housing and housing repairs. There were delays between complaints being received and resourcing materials and implementing the work needed. A new code of practice was being introduced in April which would necessitate a more rigorous checking of the complaints being responded to within timescales.

·       It was recognised that the performance indicator for the percentage of appeals allowed against the authority’s decision not to grant planning permission was potentially out of date. The Planning team and the Portfolio Holder for Planning were working towards providing more relevant data.

·       Further detail on the performance indicator for the of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting would be provided. Members noted that the data was provided by East Sussex County Council as the responsible authority for waste disposal.

Resolved to support the recommendations in the Cabinet report, in full.

The Chief Executive considers that discussion of the following items is likely to disclose exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and may therefore need to take place in private session. The exempt information reasons are shown beneath the items listed below. Furthermore, in relation to paragraph 10 of Schedule 12A, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. (The requisite notices having been given under regulation 5 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.)

Resolved to enter into an exempt part of the meeting for items 7d - Housing Development and Property Update and item 9 - Housing Development and Property Update exempt appendices 2 and 3, as it was considered that public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Exempt reason 3 - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

Nathan Haffenden, Assistant Director, Property and Development and Marc Stephens, Head of Developments and Acquisitions, presented the report which provided an update on the housing delivery programme, and also provided a brief context to the current challenges in maintaining the existing social housing stock.

Members discussed the points highlighted in the report and appendices and officers responded to questions.

Resolved to support the recommendations in the Cabinet report, in full.

Exempt reason 3 - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

This item (and attached appendices) was dealt with as part of item 7d – Housing Development and Property Update.

To receive the Forward Plan of the Council.

The Chair, Councillor Baah, introduced the Forward Plan of Cabinet decisions, which outlined those reports due for consideration by the Cabinet its future meetings.

Members were advised that the Chair of the Committee would be provided with an updated version of the Forward Plan ahead of the next meeting and would liaise with Democratic Services when considering which reports needed to be included on the agenda.

Resolved to note the Forward Plan of Cabinet Decisions.

To receive the Policy and Performance Advisory Committee Work Programme.

The Chair, Councillor Baah, introduced the Committee’s work programme, which outlined those items previously requested for inclusion on future agendas.

Members were advised that the following items would be retained on the work prohramme:

·       The Council’s Ground Maintenance Contract

·       The report from the Emergency Climate Change Panel

·       Report from the Southern Water Panel.

To be confirmed following the following the meeting of the 19 February 2024 Full Council.

Resolved to note that the next meeting of the Policy and Performance Advisory Committee is scheduled to be held at 5pm on the 30 May 2024 at The Marine Workshops, Railway Quay, Newhaven, East Sussex, BN9 0ER.