Agenda and minutes

[To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutions]. 

An apology for absence was received from Cllr John Reynolds.

Cllr Zee Russell was substituting for Cllr John Reynolds. 

[To receive any declarations of interest]. 

There were no declarations of interest.

[To consider the Scrutiny Annual Report May 2022 – May 2023 before it is received by Full Council on 8 November 2023]. 

The Chief Operating Officer introduced the Scrutiny Annual Report May 2022 – May 2023.  He remarked that a mark of good governance was to have good and effective Scrutiny as a Council.  The report was cross-party, with quotes from the Chairs and Vice-Chairs.  The report set out an extensive number of really important issues that had been considered by Scrutiny.  He cited the work on the Wolverhampton Pound as having achieved good outcomes.  A report was in fact due to be received by Scrutiny Board shortly again on the very latest progress from the recommendations made by the Select Committee. 

The Chief Operating Officer stated that originally 31 Scrutiny meetings had been scheduled in the Municipal calendar and by the end of the Municipal year May 2022 – May 2023, 43 meetings had taken place.  Ultimately no matter how challenging some of the meetings may had been, they had taken place to improve the lives of the City’s residents.  He was personally very pleased to see that Scrutiny regularly reviewed performance, budget and risk. 

The Chief Operating Officer remarked that it was his professional view that the Council was complying well with the Statutory Scrutiny Guidance.  He felt Scrutiny was working well within the authority, which was of utmost importance.  When Scrutiny did not work well in other authorities, that was when problems arose.  Scrutiny and Audit were two critical functions within any Council for good Governance to ensue.  Important and wide-ranging issues were scrutinised at the Council which directly impacted on people’s lives.  He commended the report to Scrutiny Board and paid a personal tribute to the Scrutiny Team, describing the team as a real strength for the authority. 

The Chair of Scrutiny Board gave a statement on the Scrutiny Annual Report May 2022 – May 2023.  He said that looking forward and looking back was what the excellent Annual Scrutiny Report May 2022 – May 2023 was successful in achieving, which mirrored his vision for Scrutiny Board going forward.  It was always important to bring fresh new items to Scrutiny.  It was equally important that the Council did not lose sight of the impact Scrutiny had made through recommendations.  There could be great value in evaluating recommendations and reviewing the status of important services, policy and strategy. This was why in the last Municipal year Scrutiny Board had continued to monitor the recommendations from the Wolverhampton Pound Select Committee.  Another great example was the work on evaluating the Blue Badge Service. 

The Chair of Scrutiny Board commented that he was very pleased that there would be two Scrutiny Task and Finish groups in the current Municipal year.  There would be one on flooding and one on the night-time economy, as agreed at the last meeting of the Scrutiny Board.  The Scrutiny Work Programme came to almost every meeting of Scrutiny Board and he was always keen to have Members comments on the agenda for the forthcoming meetings.  Member led Scrutiny was always best practice.  Asking pertinent questions and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

[To receive a presentation on the evening about the latest position on the Wolverhampton Local Plan]. 

[Slides will be sent out in advance of the meeting]. 

The Lead Planning Manager (Regional Strategy) gave a presentation on the Wolverhampton Local Plan, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes.

Members debated the information contained within the presentation and asked questions to the Lead Planning Manager.

The Vice-Chair commented that it had been a useful update presentation and that the Local Plan was something which the Board should continue to monitor progression.  He asked about the process for “call for sites” and how housing need was calculated.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that there was a permanently open “call for sites”.  This information was available on the planning section on the website.  This was unlike some authorities which had clear cut off dates.  Government informed the authority on the formula that should be used to calculate housing need for the City.  The first stage was based on population projections produced by the Office for National Statistics.  Government, for the 30 largest cities in England, then increased that number by 30%. 

A Member stated that the green belt amount of land in Wolverhampton administrative area was less than 11% of the total area, which she understood to be the smallest percentage amount out of all the other Black Country authorities.  Many residents appreciated the green belt in Wolverhampton and in South Staffordshire.  The Lead Planning Manager confirmed that the Member was correct in her figure of 11%.  The Leader’s statement in January confirmed how serious the Council took the green belt land in Wolverhampton and the importance to local communities. 

A Member asked if the statistics on housing need could be challenged.  The Lead Planning Manager responded if it was clear there were issues with the Office for National Statistic figures, then there would be justification to challenge the target.  There was however no evidence of an issue in Wolverhampton.  Coventry had some issues as there had been errors in the census date.

A Member asked if social housing waiting lists was taken into consideration for housing need and adult children who were unable to leave the parental home due to a lack of housing provision.  The last time they had checked Wolverhampton Homes had over 10,000 people on the waiting list for a home.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that adult children living with parents was taken into account in the modelling.  There was not a direct connection on waiting lists for social housing, but the modelling was based on strategic housing needs for the City. 

A Member asked what would happen when there was no longer any land left to build homes in Wolverhampton.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that it would leader to higher house prices, multiple households effectively living in the same household and an impact on the local economy.

A Member asked if high rise apartment blocks would be built, when land became in short supply.  She also raised the importance of local infrastructure where new homes were built.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that increasing density of new development was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

[To consider the Scrutiny Work Programme]. 

The Vice-Chair commented that he had one item he would like seen added to the Scrutiny Work Programme.  It was the last night of the Wolves Speedway on 23 October 2023, following the decision of the stadium owners not to allow any more Speedway Racing events.  He knew the Council had been involved in detailed discussions with the club and other interested parties about how Speedway could be kept in the City.  It had been confirmed that there would not be a Wolverhampton Speedway Team for next season.  He asked if there could be an item on the Scrutiny Work Programme on the Council’s involvement in the discussions.  He wanted it to cover the current situation and any potential future plans. 

The Chair supported the Vice-Chair’s proposal for Speedway to feature as an item on the Scrutiny Work Programme and he suggested the most appropriate Panel was the Enterprise and Growth Scrutiny Panel, Chaired by Cllr Jacqueline Sweetman. 

A Member raised the importance of mental health and particular children’s mental health.  The Scrutiny Team Leader remarked that the last Health Scrutiny Panel had considered acute adult mental health services following the downgrading of the Trust by the CQC in the service area.  The Health Scrutiny Panel  would also be having a further meeting on the Trust’s Action Plan relating to adult acute Services.  Children’s mental health services was scheduled to be considered by the Panel in March 2024.  Scrutiny Board had also agreed to consider mental health from a strategic Council approach.  This item was to be scheduled but was likely to take place next calendar year.

A Member stated that she had personally asked the issue of waiting lists for children’s mental health services to be considered by Corporate Parenting Board.  The item would be considered by the Board in the next few weeks. 

[To consider the latest Forward Plan of Key Decisions]. 

[Report is marked: To Follow, in order to ensure the latest version is considered which will be published next week]. 

The Scrutiny Team Leader introduced the Forward Plan of Key Decisions. 

Members received the Forward Plan without further comment. 

The meeting concluded at 7:29pm.