Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 2022.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 13 June 2022 were approved as a correct record and signed by the chair.

At this stage in the proceedings, the Chair permitted Councillor Gribbon to clarify that notwithstanding information circulated as part of a political press release after the last meeting of the scrutiny committee, the selection of the scrutiny review topic agreed as part of Agenda Item 7 had been approved by the committee as a whole, and not as purported, solely by representatives of the Liberal Democrat Group. 

The Chair concurred with this interpretation of events, but expressed her ongoing concern that insufficient profile was being given to the issue of tackling inequalities that had been proposed as an alternative topic for review.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

The following interest was declared:-

To consider call-in items (if any).

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider a report of the Director for Place Management.

The report sets out the draft 2022/23 Portfolio Agreements for the Communities & Housing, Climate Change & Environment and Highways, Parks & Leisure Services Portfolios, the portfolio priorities, delivery plans and budgets for the current year.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Mark Glynn, mark.glynn@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Strategy submitted a report of the Director of Place Management (copies of which had been circulated) detailing the draft 2022/23 agreements for the Communities & Housing, Climate Change & Environment and Highways, Parks & Leisure Services Portfolios for consideration by the Scrutiny Committee.

Policy priorities for 2022/23 were set out within the Council Plan, which was adopted at the Budget Council Meeting in February. This incorporates the shared outcomes from the Borough Plan alongside specific priorities of the Cabinet. These priorities are articulated within the Portfolio Agreements, which form the basis for regular in-year reporting.

The Cabinet Member for Communities & Housing (Councillor Helen Foster-Grime), Climate Change & Environment (Councillor Mark Roberts) and Highways, Parks & Leisure Services (Councillor Grace Baynham) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

Communities & Housing

·         Proposals were in the process of being brought forward to assist residents through the winter period including the development of a ‘warm spaces’ project.

·         The warm spaces project would include the development of digital mapping and leaflets to assist with the dissemination of this information in the wider community.  Members of the scrutiny committee requested that details of the proposed facilities included in the scope of the project be circulated to members.

·         The increased robustness of the data being provided by Greater Manchester Police was welcomed.  It was stated that it was important that the police were held to account for their performance, but that this needed to be done in such a way as to not incentivise poor recording practices.  In response, it was commented that the police were challenged and supported at meetings of the Safer Stockport Partnership, and police attendance at local area committee meetings in the Borough was being reintroduced.

·         A discussion took place in relation to the decision-making process for the pause in the consultation on the Local Plan.

·         It was commented that Greater Manchester Police had recently undertaken activities in relation to Operation Lioness within the Marple area that was designed to tackle violence against women and girls.  It was suggested that the community rooms in place at many fire stations throughout Greater Manchester could be used as a safe space to support this initiative.

·         In response to a question regarding the administration’s prioritisation of district centres, it was stated that the Institute of Place Management were due to submit their report on the borough’s district centres which would be brought to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.

·         It was suggested that the performance of Greater Manchester Police should be measured in their ‘clear-up’ rate rather than the simple number of crimes that were being recorded.

·         It was noted that the Mayor of Greater Manchester had recently rolled out a fare reduction initiative and residents were encouraged to take advantage of this to ensure that this remained sustainable into the future.

·         Concern was expressed in relation to the capacity of the town centre to provide ever increasing volumes of housing.

·         It was suggested that the official count of rough sleepers in the borough did not accurately represent the extent of the problem in the town.

Climate Change & Environment

·         It was suggested that the target around the rate of recycling was insufficiently ambitious.  In response, it was stated that the proposed figure took account of the scarring from the covid-19 pandemic that had inflated levels of residual waste.

·         It was noted that some authorities collected materials for recycling that Greater Manchester did not.  In response, it was stated that some of this material was turned into pellets for incineration as there wasn’t the market for the materials being collected.

·         There had been a reduction in the weight of paper materials collected resulting from a reduction in newspapers and magazines.  While waste from boxes and wrapping materials had taken up some of the volume, this was insufficient to compensate for the reductions elsewhere.

·         It was noted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider a report of the Director for Place Management.

The report details the refreshed Housing Plan for Stockport which is a statutory requirement for the Council to have a strategy for housing in the borough which is informed by the Housing Needs Assessment and sets out clear priorities. The supporting delivery plan to the One Stockport Borough Plan, the Stockport Housing Plan will play a vital role in setting out how the priorities of the Borough Plan will be achieved and will also inform the development of the Local Plan by identifying the key housing priorities for the borough. 

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to review, comment on and endorse the report.

Officer contact: Andy Kippax on Tel: 0161 474 4319 or by email on

andy.kippax@stockport.gov.uk.

A representative of the Director for Place Management submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing the refreshed Housing Plan for Stockport fulfilling the statutory requirement for the Council to have a strategy for housing in the borough which was informed by the Housing Needs Assessment and setting out clear priorities.

The supporting delivery plan to the One Stockport Borough Plan, the Stockport Housing Plan will play a vital role in setting out how the priorities of the Borough Plan would be achieved and would also inform the development of the Local Plan by identifying the key housing priorities for the borough.

The Cabinet Member for Communities & Housing (Councillor Helen Foster-Grime) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Clarity was requested in relation to the statement in the report that 20,000 new homes were needed following the pausing of the consultation on the Local Plan as a result of a need for further information on Stockport’s assessed housing need.

·         The report identified a housing requirement, but did not provide any explanation of how this was achieved.  In response, it was stated that it was not the function of the strategy to identify where those houses needed to be developed but rather the type of housing that was required.

·         There was a significant challenge around the energy efficiency of private housing stock in the borough.

·         Concern was expressed in relation to the number of families that had been housed in town centre tower blocks.

·         Central Stockport Area Committee had previously passed a resolution in relation to the introduction of an Article 4 Direction to regulate the conversion of properties into houses of multiple occupation.  It was noted that discussions had taken place on this issue as part of work on the development of the Local Plan.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a joint report of the Director of Place Management and the Strategic Head of Service (Legal and Democratic Governance).

The report details a proposal to transfer certain responsibilities within the Right to Buy (RTB) service from the Council to Stockport Homes Limited.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Vicki Bates on 0161 474 3219 or email: vicki.bates@stockport.gov.uk

(NOTE: The Chair was of the opinion that this item, although not included on the agenda, should be considered as a matter of urgency in accordance with Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 in order that the matter was able to progress onto the Cabinet for a determination on 28 September 2022 with the benefit of the input of the Scrutiny Committee).

A representative of the Director for Place Management submitted a joint report of the Director of Place Management and the Strategic Head of Service (Legal and Democratic Governance) (copies of which had been circulated) detailing a proposal to transfer certain responsibilities within the Right to Buy (RTB) service from the Council to Stockport Homes Limited.

The Cabinet Member for Communities & Housing (Councillor Helen Foster-Grime) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Director for Place Management.

The report sets out the proposals for the Stockport Council Annual Flood Resilience Plan and describes the various roles and responsibilities of the Council with regard to flooding and flood resilience including its roles as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), Highway Authority and landowner both of greenspace and working with Stockport Homes its significant housing assets.

This report is the second annual report providing an update on activities since April 2021 and also provides a response to the Council Motion in July 2022 on highway blocked drains, grids and gullies.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to comment on and note the progress and the proposed future works.

Officer contact: Mark Glynn, 0161 474 3700, mark.glynn@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Director of Place Management submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the proposals for the Stockport Council Annual Flood Resilience Plan and describing the various roles and responsibilities of the Council with regard to flooding and flood resilience including its roles as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), Highway Authority and landowner both of greenspace and working with Stockport Homes its significant housing assets.

This report was the second annual report providing an update on activities since April 2021 and also provided a response to the Council Motion in July 2022 on highway blocked drains, grids and gullies.

The Cabinet Members for Climate Change & Environment (Councillor Mark Roberts) and Highways, Parks & Leisure Services (Councillor Grace Baynham) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         It was stated that the report provided insufficient detail on the proposed plan for grid and gully cleansing and maintenance.  In response, it was stated that the gully cleaning programme had been published on the Council’s website.

·         It was stated that residents were now able to report requests for the reactive maintenance of gullies, however these needed to be investigated and acted upon otherwise residents would lose confidence in all of the Council’s online reporting tools.

·         Work had taken place to assess how much material was being removed form gullies to better understand the maintenance requirement and that the gully wagons operated by the Council were more effectively and efficiently used to work through the planned maintenance programme than driving across the borough to attend to individual reports of blocked gullies.

·         It was noted that there was period when only one of the Council’s two gully cleansing vehicles was in operation due to national issues with the recruitment and retention of HGV drivers.  The backlog in the maintenance programme was now being worked through.

·         A discussion took place in relation to the flooding of the A555 and the work that had taken place to try to address this including repairs to drainage outlets and the capacity of attenuation ponds.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and the Corporate Director of Corporate & Support Services.

The report provides an overview of the key achievements of the Stockport Armed Forces Covenant Steering Group during 2021/22.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to comment on and endorse the report for submission to Cabinet.

Officer contact: Kirsteen Roe, kirsteen.roe@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Deputy Chief Executive and the Corporate Director for Corporate & Support Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an overview of the key achievements of the Stockport Armed Forces Covenant Steering Group during 2021/22.

The Cabinet Member for Communities & Housing (Councillor Helen Foster-Grime) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         The work to support and appropriately prioritise veterans into housing was welcomed.

·         The work of the Armed Forces Covenant Partnership was highly valued.

·         Amy private companies now provided support for veterans into employment opportunities.

·         The Stockport Local Fund had been used to support a number of initiatives that benefited armed forces veterans.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Strategic Head of Service (Legal and Democratic Services)                                                       

The report sets out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the information in the report and put forward any agenda items for future meetings of the Committee.

Officer contact: Damian Eaton on 0161 474 3207 or email: damian.eaton@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Strategic Head of Service & Monitoring Officer (Legal & Democratic Governance) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and any relevant Forward Plan items.

It was requested that the following items be programmed for inclusion on the agenda of future meetings of the Scrutiny Committee:-

·         Outline Business Case – Review of the Future Redevelopment of Central Library

·         Support Fund and Holiday Activities and Food Initiatives.

·         Public car parking post-covid

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.