Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Packman, Pope, Worrow and W. Scobie for whom Councillor H. Scobie was present.

To receive any declarations of interest. Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest advice attached to this Agenda. If a Member declares an interest, they should complete the Declaration of Interest Form

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 21 January 2025, copy attached.

Councillor Davis proposed, Councillor Austen seconded and the Panel agreed the minutes to be a correct record of the meeting held on 21 January 2025.

To approve the Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 11 February 2025, copy attached.

Councillor Austen proposed, Councillor Currie seconded and the Panel agreed the minutes to be a correct record of the meeting held on 11 February 2025.

The presentation is on "The potential benefits and challenges to TDC of contemporary business practices such as hot desking, working from home, customer relationship management and artificial intelligence."

Colin Carmichael, Chief Executive, gave a presentation to the Panel covering the following topics: contemporary business practices such as hot-desking, working from home, customer relationship management and artificial intelligence (AI). Please see attached.

In response to questions from Members, it was noted:

·  A balance was needed between officers working remotely and in the office. Officers working from home should not make it more difficult for Members to make contact.

·  Work station assessments are completed by officers and this is monitored to make sure officers have appropriate work stations.

·  Officers were still expressing the ‘tribal’ desire to sit and work together and the office was near to capacity midweek. Work was being undertaken to manage the demand for desk space, making sure that officers were benefiting from flexible working.

Councillor Bright, Chair of the Youth Services Provision Review Working Party updated the Panel. A full report was to be brought to the next meeting.

Councillor Duckworth, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Property, was to be invited to present to the Panel on the management of TDC’s assets.

Councillor Keen, Cabinet Member for Community, was to present to the Panel regarding issues around poverty and impact of the Cost of Living Crisis on Thanet residents.

Members agreed to note the work programme for 2024-2025.

Louise Askew, Head of Regeneration and Growth, introduced and outlined the report.

Further to questions and comments from the Panel, it was noted:

·  It was felt that the programme had transformed TDC’s relationship with the voluntary and social enterprise sector.

·  Further work was being undertaken to look at how TDC could help young people move into employment from being NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training). Some programmes of delivery coming forward would create jobs so the team would be looking at creating pathways to these roles.

·  Aspects of the programme were still being delivered and therefore, there had not yet been a full impact and evaluation report. The timings made it challenging to use the feedback to inform the following year’s proposed use of funding. However, where there had been a dedicate resource for the delivery of the programme and therefore, the team had been able to note where things had worked well in the previous year.

·  The focus for the previous year had been on community and the coming year was getting people into work and on enterprise.

·  It was hoped that the Teenage Market was to continue into the coming year. The Teenage Market had happened in Margate but work was being undertaken to expand it to other town centre locations in the district. Other locations for young people to sell goods, such as shop areas in cafes were being considered.

·  Members were advised that a funding bid had been made for play equipment which was for all age groups and for parks across Thanet.

Members agreed to note the report.

Chris Gunn, CCTV Supervisor, introduced and outlined the report.

Further to questions and comments from the Panel, it was noted:

·  The reason for the increase in cost for lease lines (internet cables) was not known but the increase had come from Openreach. Costs for this will decrease in time because more wireless connections will be used and there will be less reliance on Openreach services.

·  Recordings on external cameras are kept for one calendar month unless they are downloaded.

Members agreed to note the report.

Tony Marmo, Head of Coastal and Public Realm, introduced and outlined the report.

In response to questions and comments from the Panel, it was noted:

·  HVO was an acronym for “hydrotreated vegetable oil”.

·  It was recognised that hot foam machine was not as effective for stopping weeds as glyphosate but glyphosate should not be used. It was considered that the hot foam machine was the best solution out of those options available and the purchase of a mini sweeper was being looked into, which would be used in areas to ‘double up’ with the hot foam machine.

Members agreed to note the report.

Bob Porter, Director of Place, introduced and outlined the report.

Further to comments and questions from the Panel, it was noted:

·  There needed to be a long lease of 999 years in place to ensure the viability. However, if conditions of a lease were not fulfilled, there would be remedies for TDC as the freeholder. The lease could not be sold without TDC’s permission.

·  The use of the building was restricted and the leaseholder would have to comply with statutory requirements. Members had sight of the template grant agreement which would include explicit milestones in the refurbishment and release of funds.

·  Westwood One, the preferred commercial partner, proposed to match the grant funding from TDC. Westwood One’s funding would be from two different sources, spreading the risk.

·  A ‘peppercorn’ rent was proposed for 50 years and set at nil for a period, to ensure the investment in the building.

·  As TDC had wanted the building’s use to remain as for leisure and entertainment, that limited the scope of interest. It was explained that design and cost risks could not be completed eliminated but the partner would have first liability.

Members agreed to note the report.

Sally O’Sullivan (Head of Tenant and Leaseholder Services) introduced the report.

The Panel found the format of the report easy to understand and thanked Ms O’Sullivan.

Members agreed to note the report.

Ashley Jackson, Head of Housing and Planning, introduced the report.

Further to questions and comments from the Panel, it was noted:

·  The site was to accommodate 19 units. This included the accommodation of the Rise Team, and 1-bed pods. The team were in the building to provide support to those accommodated in the units.

Members agreed to note the report.

The Panel noted the Forward Plan and Exempt Cabinet Reports list.