Members are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest. Members are reminded that they should also declare whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangements.

Members were asked to consider whether they had any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they were.

No declarations were made.

(Following on from the meeting of the Decision Review Committee on 29 July 2021 which was adjourned)

Chair’s opening remarks (5 minutes)

The Chair will open the Committee meeting convened to review the decision referred and set out the remaining procedure as follows:

Officer witnesses

To allow Committee Members to question officers on the decision and background.

Summary of the lead signatory Cllr Mountney (5 minutes)

The Chair will invite the lead signatory to summarise the key points of evidence given in support of their case.

Summary of the lead signatory Cllr Gilchrist (5 minutes)

The Chair will invite the lead signatory to summarise the key points of evidence given in support of their case.

Summary of the decision-taker (10 minutes)

The Chair will invite the decision-taker to summarise the key points of evidence given in support of the initial decision.

Committee Discussion

The Chair will invite comments, observations and discussion from members of the Committee. The Chair and Spokespersons can also elect to call witnesses, this is usually for officers.

Committee Decision

The Chair will invite a proposal to be moved that falls under one of the five possible outcomes, together with their reasoning. This may include a short adjournment for the mover and seconder to clarify wording with officers or other committee members. This may then be amended and debated in the normal way.

The Chair outlined the Decision Review Procedure to the Committee. The Committee was reminded of the process that had taken place at its previous meeting on 29 July 2021, where it had heard from the two lead signatories who had submitted notices of referral for review, the decision makers and a number of other witnesses. The previous meeting ended at the point where the Committee had started to hear from officers, and the Chair therefore outlined that the Committee would continue from this point in the review process.

Following on from the previous meeting, members were invited to ask questions of the officers involved. The Director of Resources was asked to introduce the financial statement again, where it was outlined that the Council needed to ensure it could set a balanced budget without calling upon the capitalisation directive whilst also demonstrating its long-term sustainability. It was also reported that the budget proposals were agreed unanimously at Council on 1 March 2021, and that in the event car parking charges were not implemented at all in the current financial year, the Policy and Resources Committee would need to recommend what other areas of the Council could achieve the £1m target. The Director of Resources was therefore of the view that the decision should be implemented as agreed.

A number of questions were raised by members of the Committee. It was queried whether the Council was running a deficit on car parking charges, where it was confirmed that the cost of delivering car parking including enforcement and other associated costs was approximately £2.8m, with the income generated in 2019 being £1.8m, with the shortfall having been subsidised from other budgets to date therefore the proposal was to standardise parking charges intended to generate an additional £1m to make up the shortfall.

A further concern was raised in relation to the displacement of vehicles and the potential impact on residential areas close to shops. Officers reported that there was a Traffic Regulation Order process with statutory consultation to be undertaken, and work would be completed to determine the appropriate mitigations to deal with displacement. Members sought further information on what the mitigation may be and were informed it would depend on the exact location but could include residents parking schemes. Further clarity was also sought on the consultation process, where the Director of Law and Governance informed the Committee that the standardisation of existing charges required no formal consultation, but the introduction of new measures would be subject to a Traffic Regulation Order and a mandatory consultation process with the responses to be reported back to the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee before implementation.

The Committee discussed the timescales associated with Traffic Regulation Order consultation, where officers confirmed that without objections it would take 3-6 months, with objections adding a further 3 months onto the process. Members therefore queries whether the original timescale would have allowed the £1m to be generated in the 2021-22 financial year in any case. In response, the Director of Resources informed members that it was acknowledged that there would be a delay as part of the Traffic Regulation Order process, but that there were temporary mitigations in the 2021-22 budget through vacancies to mitigate that initial delay, however any further delay would result in the need for further savings proposals to be considered by the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee.

Lead Signatory Summary – Councillor Simon Mountney

Councillor Simon Mountney summed up his contribution. He raised concerns with the comments from Councillor Chris Cooke  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.