Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Barum Room - Brynsworthy. View directions
Contact: Corporate and Community Services 01271 388253
Media
No. | Item | |
---|---|---|
Apologies Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Spear and Williams. |
||
To approve as correct records the minutes of the following meetings: PDF 597 KB Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED, that the minutes of the meetings held on 2nd July and 18th July 2024 (circulated previously) be approved as correct records and signed by the Chair. |
||
Declarations of Interest. Please telephone the Corporate and Community Services team to prepare a form for your signature before the meeting. Interests must be re-declared when the item is called. A declaration of interest under the Code of Conduct will be a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, an Other Registrable Interest or a Non-Registrable Interest. If the item directly relates to your interest you must declare the interest and leave the room for the item, save in the case of Other Registrable Interests or Non-Registrable Interests where you may first speak on the item as a member of the public if provision has been made for the public to speak. If the matter does not directly relate to your interest but still affects it then you must consider whether you are affected to a greater extent than most people and whether a reasonable person would consider your judgement to be clouded, if you are then you must leave the room for the item (although you may speak as a member of the public if provision has been made for the public to speak) or, if you are not, then you can declare the interest but still take part).
Minutes: There were no declarations of interest announced. |
||
Items brought forward which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered as a matter of urgency. Minutes: Councillor Spear: The Committee sent their best wishes to the Chair of the Committee and wished her well in her recovery.
Cyber Security training – Boxphish: The Chair reminded Members that as part of the Members Agreement that all Members signed up to following the elections in 2023, all Members had now been enrolled onto the Council’s Cyber Security training platform.
Courses would be issued on a monthly basis and Members had already received their first two emails, which each contains a short video that they must watch and then complete the five multiple choice questions.
Each course takes a total of 10 minutes to complete and Members need to achieve 80% to pass each course.
The Committee was advised that training was ongoing and compulsory for each elected member and linked directly to their role as a North Devon Councillor and also had the full support and endorsement of the Senior Management Team.
|
||
Performance and Financial Management Quarter 1 of 2024/25. PDF 146 KB Report by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive to Strategy and Resources on 5th August 2024 (attached).
Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee considered a report by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (circulated previously) regarding the Performance and Financial Management for Quarter 1 of 2024/25 together with Minute Extract of Strategy and Resources on 1st July 2024 (circulated previously).
The Finance Manager highlighted the following:
|
||
Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered and discussed the ongoing progress of actions from the special meetings of the Committee.
The Chair advised that there was a requirement for a more structured and focussed way to manage and report upon progress of each special meeting.
a) Water quality within the North Devon area held on 29th February 2024:
The Committee considered the previous update provided by Councillor Jones on 2nd July 2024.
Councillor Jones advised that since his last update there had not been a huge amount of progress. The meeting with members from Torridge District Council was delayed due to the General Election. He added that if any additional Members wished to be part of the working group they were more than welcome to join.
He advised that he would organise a meeting with the working group to catch up on the progress made to date and to discuss a proposed way forward. He added that he would be attending a Westcountry Rivers Trust conference that forthcoming weekend together with a few fellow Members.
He was also due to meet with the local MP to discuss water and pollution issues within the North Devon area.
Councillor Jones provide an update in relation to the following:
· Regular testing had continued on Little Dart catchment and the samples had continued to indicate the presence of phosphates. The Environment Agency had investigated the findings and whilst there had been no follow up response, he had observed that there was now a cover over the slurry pit in the valley and the most recent tests were now running clear. · There had been challenges regarding the detection of phosphates from testing undertaken beneath Rackenford Sewage Treatment works. South West Water had investigated the findings but had concluded that there was no issue. However, their testing processes were designed to detect ammonia, whilst the kits that had been used to detect the issue were designed to look for phosphates.
This issue would be followed up with the Westcountry Rivers Trust.
· On 26th October 2024 there was a “March for Clean Water” being held in London, which Councillor Jones would be attending. · Pharmaceutical levels in rivers up on Exmoor were the highest in the country. · The outcomes of the special meeting held on 29th February 2024 should be feed into the development of the new Local Plan and the actions from the meeting should be sent to the Local MP.
In response to concerns regarding planning applications that were grant depended and farmers concerns that they would lose their grants due to delay. The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that any applications that were grant dependent should be clearly stated on the application. He added that by making this clear on the application the team could ensure that any applications of that nature were drawn out and dealt with accordingly.
b) Agriculture within the North Devon area held on 23rd May 2024: To consider the impact of agriculture within the North ... view the full minutes text for item 35. |
||
To consider the work programme for 2024/25 (attached). PDF 118 KB Minutes: The Committee considered the work programme for 2024/25 (circulated previously).
Councillor Wilson, Lead Member for the GP Surgeries and Health Inequalities working group advised that she would convene a meeting of the working group within the next two weeks to discuss a way forward.
The Committee agreed that the meeting would be held sometime in November 2024.
The Members noted that the special meeting regarding transport and infrastructure would be held in March 2025 and was to be led by Councillor Worden.
The Clerk advised that in addition to the contact details for the person that she had already received, in order to begin arrangements for the special meeting in relation to GPs and Health Inequality she would require a full list of contacts for those witnesses that the working group wished to invite.
RESOLVED, that the work programme for 2024/25 be noted. |
||
PART B (CONFIDENTIAL RESTRICTED INFORMATION) Nil. |