Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 14 July 2015 (attached).

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 14 July 2015 were unanimously accepted as an accurate record and signed by the Leader.

At each Cabinet meeting, up to 15 minutes shall be allocated for questions from and discussion with, non-Cabinet members.  Members wishing to speak during this session should if possible, give notice in advance.  Who speaks and for how long will be at the complete discretion of the person presiding.

No non-Cabinet Members in attendance wished to speak under this item.

Members of the public who live or work in the District are invited to put one question/statement of not more than 3 minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only.  If a question is asked and answered within three minutes, the person who asked the question may ask a supplementary question that arises from the reply.

A person who wishes to speak must register at least 15 minutes before the time the meeting is scheduled to start.

There is an overall time limit of 15 minutes for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chairman’s discretion.

There were no questions/statements from members of the public.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/040

Portfolio Holder: David Bowman               Lead Officer: Mark Walsh

RESOLVED:

That:-

1.           The contents of Report No CAB/FH/15/040, be noted.

2.           A further six-week period of public pre-application consultation be approved, to give an opportunity for suggestions for alternative sites and provide information for public scrutiny including the:

(i)      case for a shared waste hub.

(ii)     site selection criteria.

(iii)    process of site selection.

(iv)   sustainability appraisal

       and

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL (14 October 2015):

That:-

3.           Funding of £220,000 (£112,000 FHDC and £108,000 SEBC), as detailed in Section 3 of Report No CAB/FH/15/040, be approved and for this to be allocated from the respective Council’s Strategic Priorities and Medium Term Financial Strategy reserve to enable the project to progress.

(Note: Council approval is needed for Resolution 3. above before Resolution 2. above can be implemented).

(Repot No CAB/FH/15/040)

The Portfolio Holder for Operations presented this report which sought approval for a further period of pre-planning applications consultation and also recommended to Council, the approval of a further total allocation of £220,000 (£112,000 FHDC and £108,000 SEBC) funding to enable the project to progress.

A second six-week pre-application consultation was planned which would make further documents available for public scrutiny.  These documents included a sustainability appraisal, the case for co-locating facilities into a single site, site selection criteria and the process to-date of site review and selection.  This background detail would provide further opportunity for interested parties to consider putting forward credible, available alternative sites.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

          That:-

1.           The contents of Report No CAB/FH/15/040, be noted.

2.           A further six-week period of public pre-application consultation be approved, to give an opportunity for suggestions for alternative sites and provide information for public scrutiny including the:

(i)          case for a shared waste hub.

(ii)         site selection criteria.

(iii)        process of site selection.

(iv)       sustainability appraisal

          and

          RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (14 October 2015)

          That:-

3.           Funding of £220,000 (£112,000 FHDC and £108,000 SEBC), as detailed in Section 3 of Report No CAB/FH/15/040, be approved and for this to be allocated from the respective Council’s Strategic Priorities and Medium Term Financial Strategy reserve to enable the project to progress.

(Note: Council approval is needed for Resolution 3. above before Resolution 2. above can be implemented).

Report No: CAB/FH/15/041 (TO FOLLOW)

Portfolio Holder: David  Bowman              Lead Officers: Mark Walsh and

                                                          Mark Christie

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL (14 October 2015):

That:-

1.           The exclusion of food/kitchen waste from the brown bin scheme – to commence following procurement of the new treatment contract, be agreed.

2.           A subscription charge of between £35 and £50 per year for the brown bin service, as detailed in Section 1.4.3 to 1.4.8 of Report No CAB/FH/15/041 be introduced.

3.           A future report be received outlining the results of the procurement exercise and the Suffolk Waste Partnership’s agreed actions, to deliver Resolutions 1. and 2. above.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/041)

The Portfolio Holder for Operations presented this report which sought approval for changes to the current brown bin collection scheme in West Suffolk, which was in response to revisions to the organic waste service provided across Suffolk.

The report provided background information and how the Suffolk Waste Partnership, which co-ordinated, managed and integrated waste collection and disposal services across the county, had been considering options for the future of organic waste service for the past two/three years, including the reasons for this change. 

Option 3 was the preferred option of Officers, which was to introduce an annual subscription charge and exclude food/kitchen waste, which would potentially generate an income to ensure that the service was cost neutral.  If the brown bin scheme continued in its current format, West Suffolk would be faced with an estimated budget increase of £498,000 per year, in comparison to current costs.  This amount would need to be found in savings from elsewhere, with potential impacts on services across the Councils.

As part of delivering Option 3, Officers would prepare detailed costs, a revised policy, method of delivery and mobilisation plan.  It was expected that a revised scheme would commence in April 2016 or at an agreed date, thereafter.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (14 October 2015)

That:-

1.           The exclusion of food/kitchen waste from the brown bin scheme – to commence following procurement of the new treatment contract, be agreed.

2.           A subscription charge of between £35 and £50 per year for the brown bin service, as detailed in Section 1.4.3 to 1.4.8 of Report No CAB/FH/15/041 be introduced.

3.           A future report be received outlining the results of the procurement exercise and the Suffolk Waste Partnership’s agreed actions, to deliver Resolutions 1. and 2. above.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/042

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Liz Watts

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/042)

The Cabinet received and noted this report which provided an outline of the issues discussed by the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee at its meeting held on 10 June 2015.

On 10 June 2015, the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee considered the following substantive items of business:

(1)     Fraud.

(2)     2014-15 Year End Out-turn and Approval of the Small Bodies Return.

(3)     Performance Report.

(4)     ARP Website.

(5)     ARP Risk Register.

(6)     Bailiff Update.

(7)     ARP Trading Company Restructure.

(8)     Welfare Reform.

(9)     Forthcoming Issues.

The Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/043

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards                      Lead Officer: Christine Brain

Chairman of the Committee: Colin Noble            

RESOLVED:

That the content of the report be noted.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/043)

The Cabinet received and noted this report which informed the Cabinet of the following items discussed by the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee on 30 July 2015.  The first four items were considered jointly with St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee:

(1)     Balanced Scorecard and Quarter 1 Performance Report 2015-2016.

(2)     West Suffolk Risk Management Approach and Principles.

(3)     West Suffolk Strategic Risk Register Quarterly Monitoring Report – June 2015.

(4)     Work Programme Update.

(5)     Financial Performance Report (Revenue and Capital) – Quarter 1 (April to June 2015)

(6)     Annual Treasury Management Report 2014-2015.

The Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, drew relevant items to the attention of the Cabinet, including that separate reports would be considered next on this Cabinet agenda in respect of Items (2) and (6) above.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

          That the content of the report be noted.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/044

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

Chairman of the Committee: Colin Noble

RESOLVED:

That the West Suffolk Risk Management Approach and Principles, attached at Appendix 1 and the Supporting Flowchart attached at Appendix 2 to Report No PAS/FH/15/017, be adopted.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/044)

The Cabinet considered this report which sought approval for the West Suffolk Risk Management Approach and Principles.

The Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that the document, which was attached as Appendix 1 to Report No CAB/FH/15/044, was a new positive approach to risk, based on context, proportionality, judgement and evidence based decision-making that was considered on a case-by-case basis.

Appendix 2 was a flowchart which provided a summary of the various tools and documents that supported this evidence-based approach.  It was these documents and tools that would enable the Council to achieve a learning culture which supported staff and Members, enabling managed risk-taking through positive relationships.

The Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee had scrutinised both Appendix 1 and 2 in detail and had recommended that these be adopted.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the West Suffolk Risk Management Approach and Principles, attached at Appendix 1 and the Supporting Flowchart attached at Appendix 2 to Report No PAS/FH/15/017, be adopted.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/045

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

Chairman of the Committee: Colin Noble

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL (14 October 2015):

That the Annual Treasury Management Report 2014-2015, attached as Attachment 1 to Report No PAS/FH/15/021, be approved.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/045)

The Cabinet considered this report which sought approval for the Annual Treasury Management Report for 2014-2015.

The Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including the Annual Treasury Management Report for 2014-2015, (attached at Attachment 1 to Report No PAS/FH/15/021) which summarised the interest earned during 2014-2015 on the various treasury investments held by the Council; investment activity during the year and the investments held as at 31 March 2015.

The budgeted income from investments in 2014-2015  was £372,418, interest actually earned during the year totalled £472,511, an overachievement of £100,093.  The overachievement was mainly due to increased cash flow/money available for investment as a result of the timing of large value transactions (such as NNDR receipts and payments and capital programme).

Although the interest earned during the year was over budget, the continuing low base rate and subsequent low rates of return available in the marketplace had had an impact of the level of income from investments during 2014-2015, compared to various years.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (14 October 2015)

That the Annual Treasury Management Report 2014-2015, attached as Attachment 1 to Report No PAS/FH/15/021, be approved.

To consider the most recently published version of the Cabinet’s Decisions Plan

Report No: CAB/FH/15/046

Portfolio Holder: James Waters                Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

(Report No CAB/FH/15/046)

The Cabinet considered Report No CAB/FH/15/046, which was the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period September 2015 to May 2016.

Members took the opportunity to review the intended forthcoming decisions of the Cabinet.  However, no further information or amendments were requested on this occasion.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/047

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

RESOLVED:

That the write-off of the amounts detailed in the exempt Appendices be Report No CAB/FH/15/047, be approved as follows:

1.           Exempt Appendix 1: Council Tax totalling £11,296.31.

2.           Exempt Appendix 2: Business Rates totalling £8,425.09.

3.           Exempt Appendix 3: Housing Benefit Overpayments totalling £18,375.05.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/047)

The Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance presented this report, which sought approval for the write-off of uncollectable amounts in respect of Council Tax, Business Rates and Housing Benefit overpayments.

The Portfolio Holder also referred to paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3 of the report which set out the collection rates for both National Non Domestic Rates (NNDR) and Council Tax as at 31 August 2015 and congratulated the ARP Team on these collection rates, which were on target.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the write-off of the amounts detailed in the exempt Appendices to Report No CAB/FH/15/047, be approved as follows:

1.           Exempt Appendix 1: Council Tax totalling £11,296.31.

2.           Exempt Appendix 2: Business Rates totalling £8,425.09.

3.           Exempt Appendix 3: Housing Benefit Overpayments totalling £18,375.05.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded during the consideration of the following items because it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the items, there would be disclosure to them of exempt categories of information as prescribed in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and indicated against each item and, in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

See Minute No 110. below.

Exempt Appendices 1, 2 and 3 to Report No: CAB/FH/15/047

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

(These exempt appendices are to be considered in private under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as it contains information relating to an individual9s) and information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual)

(No representations have been received from members of the public regarding this item being held in private)

(Report No CAB/FH/15/047)

The Cabinet received Exempt Appendices 1, 2 and 3 to Report No CAB/FH/15/047.  However, as not reference was made to specific detail, this item was not held in private session.