The report updates the Joint Committee on the current forecast for the 2025/2026 financial year and gives details about the progress of the objectives of the Business Plan 2025/2026.
Minutes:
Discussion:
The Director of South Thames Gateway Building Control Partnership introduced the report. She highlighted that three surveyors had left the Partnership in the period. In response, there had been a successful recruitment campaign for two posts, however, three vacancies, including one management post remained. Salary remained the principal cause of staff leaving with the private sector able to offer significantly higher salaries and this was experienced by other local authorities as well. The Partnership strategy was to provide a clear career path and structured training for staff which included a dedicated training officer.
The Director added that fee applications had risen by 8.9% and a balanced budget may be achieved. Performance remained strong, with all service standards met.
The following issues were discussed:
Budgets – The Committee discussed the current budget, the Partnership Director stated that fees had risen 4.6% in the period and a balanced budget or indeed a small surplus remained a possibility. What would be done with the surplus would be a decision for the Committee, however, any surplus would usually be retained by the Partnership as part of a reserve for future years.
The Partnership had received some additional work due to other private firms going into administration during the last quarter. It was a complex process to take over ongoing work so this added to the workload. Some of the work undertaken had been of variable quality which had caused some complaints, so although the additional work was welcome it was not without risk.
Training – it was asked whether the costs of training staff who subsequently left the Partnership were recouped. The Partnership Director confirmed that where the Partnership had paid for specific training courses this was done on a sliding scale, however, much of the training was on the job, the costs of which could not be recouped.
It was asked whether training could be offered to the private sector as a business opportunity. The Partnership Director stated that it would not be a realistic proposition given the additional supervision and mentoring work required.
Staffing – Members discussed ongoing staffing issues across the local government sector, it was agreed that the Chairperson would write to the relevant government minister outlining the difficulties faced by local authorities.
Consultation – The Partnership Director updated the Committee on the ongoing national consultation regarding the future of the industry. She had responded to the consultation highlighting issues regarding salaries and the additional administrative burden placed on the authority including work that authorities were required to undertake but for which, it could not recoup its costs.
Inspection – it was asked whether any lessons could be learned from authority inspections which had taken place prior to an expected inspection of the Partnership in the next year. The Partnership Director stated that recent inspections had found a common theme in the lack of capacity and resources across a number of authorities. Some areas had been required to suspend work for a period this financial year due to a lack of resourcing. She added that she was confident that the partnership was in a good position and looking forward to development to meet the challenges in the industry. There was also an ongoing issue of continued professional development and training in the public sector, however, the partnership was confident it provided a strong training and development programme. Some small policy changes had been made in response to issues raised by auditors across the country. Finally, inspections had identified a lack of strong governance oversight in some authorities, the Director stated that the Committee provided strong oversight in this area.
Enforcement notifications – the committee discussed the drop in enforcement notifications, the Partnership Director stated that they were reliant on notifications from the public which had reduced. Enforcement remained an issue in the industry with too many poor builders in the region which left homeowners responsible for the cost of fixing substandard work. The Committee agreed that the letter to government should also draw attention to the need to deal with rogue builders which were not up to UK standards including consideration of a licensing scheme.
Decision:
a) The Chairperson to write to the Government Minister regarding difficulties faced by Local authorities in the sector and problem building firms.
b) The Committee noted the contents of the report.
Supporting documents: