Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C L Strange and G E Cullen.

The Head of Paid Service reported that having received notice under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, she had appointed Councillor Mrs J E Killey as a replacement member of the Committee in place of Councillor G E Cullen for this meeting only.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED

            That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2019 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Executive Councillor for Economy and Place reported that work on the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone had commenced that day.

It was reported that announcements had been made in relation to the Towns Fund before the election was announced.  The Executive Councillor had spoken with each of the district leads and each area would have a separate board set up by the end of January 2020.  It was expected that portfolio holders would have a formal role on these Boards going forwards.  It was important to support the districts to draw down maximum amount of funding possible, so that the towns agenda could be driven forward.

A digital conference had taken place the previous week.  The digital economy was worth over £1bn per annum to Lincolnshire, and there was a need for the authority to support this in any way possible.

The Executive Councillor provided an update of the recent trip to China that had taken place, and it was reported that the focus of the trip had been around education and had included representatives from both Lincoln universities.  It was hoped that there would be studying opportunities for Lincolnshire students.  Opportunities around modular house building were also being investigated.  A local estate agency was planning a return trip early in 2020 to look into these opportunities further.

It was queried how much Hunan Province was representative of China due to concerns which had been raised regarding human rights issues.  It was reported that Hunan had a population of around 70 million people, and its economy was on a similar level to the UK.  It was commented that there was a need to be mindful of political systems in other parts of the world.  Regional relationships were strategically important.

It was queried whether a report on the modular housing could be brought to the Committee at a later date.

(To receive a report by Matthew Harrison, Senior Commissioning Officer, in connection with the Joint Lincolnshire Flood Risk & Water Management Strategy 2019-2050.

This decision is due to be considered by the Executive on the 07 January 2020. The views of the Committee will be reported to the Executive as part of the consideration of this item)

Ivestock and horticultural markerslOutreach Consideration was given to a report regarding the Joint Lincolnshire Flood Risk & Water Management Strategy 2019 – 2050.  The updated version took a more holistic approach by combining the management activities of the Council and its partners with a strategic view of water supply and resource management, and a stronger emphasis on the additional economic benefits this could deliver for Lincolnshire.  It was noted that the Strategy had been considered by the Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee on the 25 November 2019.

Officers thanked the members of the Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee for their help in shaping the final version of the Strategy.  The Committee was provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         Members were pleased to see that a reasonable amount of space in the Strategy had been given to the inclusion of issues around sewage sewerage, including issues of flood water getting into the sewage sewerage system.

·         It was commented that there had been a really good debate on this at the Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee.

·         The Environment Agency was taking a firm stance in relation to raw sewage coming out of the drainage system and running into fresh water.

RESOLVED

            That the Committee support the recommendations to the Executive in relation to the Joint Lincolnshire Flood Risk & Water Management Strategy 2019 – 2050.

(To receive a report by Jill McCarthy, Investment Team Manager, which provides an update on the Team Lincolnshire Ambassador Programme's activity to date and further information about the plans going forward regarding the investment strategy which covers our messages for inward investment)

Consideration was given to a report which provided an update on the Team Lincolnshire Ambassador Programme's activity to date and further information about the plans going forward regarding the investment strategy which covered the messages for inward investment.

Team Lincolnshire was a public/private sector partnership brought together to champion Lincolnshire as a place to live, work and invest.  It now had over 100 members and this growing group was helping to shape the economic future of the region, and encouraging businesses to flourish and creating a sustainable, attractive and healthy environment for businesses, residents and visitors.

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

• It was queried what the role for members was, and whether new businesses were being recruited, and what the benefit for businesses was.  Members were advised that Team Lincolnshire was keen to get many more businesses involved.  Businesses were able to share information and could make a lot of connections.  It also provided local businesses with a voice in Whitehall and with decision makers centrally.
• Vanessa Strange advised that she would ask Jill McCarthy to contact Cllr Mrs Austin regarding businesses in her area.  She also advised that Team Lincolnshire were able to follow up with any businesses which were interested in finding out more.
• It was highlighted that East Lindsey was the least represented of the districts.  There were some very significant businesses in Alford.  It was thought that there was a need for coastal representation.  It was acknowledged that Team Lincolnshire was not where it wanted to be in terms of coastal representation.
• It was also acknowledged that the representation in South Holland was not as good as it could be.
• It was commented that one of the reasons Team Lincolnshire had been set up was to give the private sector a closer relationship with the Authority.  This vehicle was now getting recognition in government, and was being seen as a model on how business relationships should be conducted in rural areas.
• It was noted that there were a lot of international companies in South Holland and so they may not feel there was a lot of value they could gain from being part of Team Lincolnshire.
• The Chairman suggested that this should be looked at again by the Committee in six months' time.
• It was confirmed that businesses were approached and asked if they would like to be involved.  If members' were aware of any businesses that would benefit, then to let officers know.

RESOLVED

1. That the work of the Team Lincolnshire Ambassador Programme be noted;
2. That the Committee support the continuation of the Team Lincolnshire Ambassador Programme.

To receive a report by John Coates, Head of Waste, in connection with the impact of the Government's Resources and Waste Strategy on Waste and Recycling in Lincolnshire)

Consideration was given to a report which set out the impact of the Government's resources and waste strategy on Waste and Recycling in Lincolnshire.  It was reported that the Government intended that the policy changes within their Resources and Waste Strategy which was published in late 2018 and would take effect from 2023.  The proposed policies would affect both the Districts as statutory collection authorities and the County Council as the statutory disposal authority.  The report presented outlined the policy changes proposed by the Government and considered their impact on the objectives of the Lincolnshire waste Partnership.

Members were provided with an opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

• P.155 highlighted the different types of packaging which could be recycled in Lincolnshire and it was queried when everything would be uniform, for example, glass was still collected separately in East Lindsey.  It was noted that South Holland had its own collection methodology, as did East Lindsey which had a major network of bottle banks. 
• It was noted that East Lindsey was looking to follow the rest of the districts in terms of glass collection, but it would cost a lot of money to implement.  Residents could still put bottles into their black (residual) bin, however, it was preferred that this did not happen.
• The visual nature of the leaflet made it unnecessary for it to be printed in multiple languages as residents could easily see what could go in each bin.
• It was confirmed that districts had already started rolling out the poster to residents, and was being used in their own publications.
• It was highlighted that there were two versions for Boston, and it was queried whether this was related to the paper and card trial taking place in some parts of the town, and it was confirmed that it was, as the paper and card needed to be separated from the rest of the recycling.
• It was queried whether there was an alternative word to use in place of 'contaminated' for bins within the trial area that contain paper and card which should have been separated.  However, it was highlighted that this was an industry recognised term.
• Participation of the paper and card trial had been good at 96%.
• In terms of waste from short term holiday lets, it was noted that there were 24,000 on the east coast.  It was queried what the distinction was between business waste and domestic waste from holiday lets.  It was acknowledged that this was one of Defra's areas to look at.  The next round of consultations would be coming out in 2020.  It was hoped that when an update report was produced for the Committee, there would be some further information on this.
• It was noted that by law a business was responsible for organising the appropriate disposal of any waste.
• There was a need to get uniformity in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

(To receive a report by Ruth Carver, Commissioning Manager (LEP), which invites the Committee to consider and comment on the direction and focus of the Draft Local Industrial Strategy. Appendix A is to follow)

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Committee with an opportunity to comment on the direction and focus of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Industrial Strategy.  It was reported that Local Industrial Strategies (LIS) were being developed across the UK with the aim of addressing issues affecting low productivity (in terms of business efficiency) and regional disparities to create growth and improve living standards across the country.

The current priorities and highlights from the evidence were included in the LIS circulated to the Committee.  Members were reminded that the emerging storyboard was discussed at the meeting of the Committee in October 2019, and comments incorporated.

A central aim of the Strategy was to put the area in a strong position for the future.  It was a long-term strategy to support Lincolnshire's growing business sectors.  This meant taking account of how the economy would evolve in the future, and how trends such as technological change, globalisation and demographic change were likely to impact on the economy.

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

• The new towns fund had the potential to bring £25m into Skegness and other areas.  There was a need to think about how this could be used as a framework for all six of the towns, and to support those emerging opportunities.  However, there was a slightly different timetable.
• It was noted that the document presented was not the finished article, and Lincolnshire was not the first LEP to go through this process.
• It was noted that four of the priorities were important for East Lindsey and so looked broadly right.  There were some very big RAF bases in East Lindsey.
• One member commented that it was their understanding that Coningsby and Waddington were expanding rather than reducing, and Scampton was programmed to close.  There was a suggestion that it could become a domestic base for the others.
• Tourism was an important part of the Lincolnshire economy, with the heritage aspect as well as the agri-food.

RESOLVED

            That the comments made in relation to the direction and focus of the Draft Local Industrial Strategy be noted.

(To receive a report by Daniel Steel, Scrutiny Officer, which invites the Committee to consider and comment on its work programme)

Consideration was given to a report which enabled the Committee to comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year to ensure that scrutiny activity was focused where it could be of greatest benefit.

It was suggested that the Committee may want to look at some of the work funded by the LEADER programme, and also take the opportunity to talk to some of the businesses involved.

It was also noted that the Committee had been offered a visit to the Beeswax Dyson farm, as it was a particularly large agricultural business and was doing a lot of innovative work, particularly around robotics.

RESOLVED

            That the work programme as presented be noted, and that discussions regarding opportunities for visits by the Committee would take place in the new year.