Agenda, decisions and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Andy Drummond.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 1 September 2015 (Informal Joint with SEBC Cabinet) and 15 September 2015 (copies attached).

The minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 1 September 2015 and 15 September 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 three 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 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/15/049

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Interim Lead Officer: Davina Howes

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted, including the decision taken under delegated authority, as detailed in Section 1.2 of Report No CAB/FH/15/049, with regard to moving to a Single Member Joint Committee.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/049)

Councillor Stephen Edwards, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance presented this report which provided an outline of the issues discussed by the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee at its meeting on 17 September 2015.

On 17 September 2015, the Joint Committee considered the following substantive items of business:

(1)     Performance Report.

(2)     Moving to a Single Member Joint Committee.

(3)     Welfare Reform Update.

(4)     Enforcement Agency Update.

(5)     Forthcoming Issues.

The Portfolio Holder also drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that the Joint Committee had recommended to the Partnering Authorities that it should move to comprising a single Member and two substitutes per authority, with the option for one of the substitutes to attend and take part in the debate (but not vote).

The report explained that on 2 June 2015, during the consideration of the report on the ‘Annual Review of Cabinet Working Parties, Joint Committees/Panel and Other Groups: 2015/2016’ (Report No CAB/FH/15/025 refers), the Cabinet had resolved that:

‘…the potential requirement to only have one full Member representative from each of the Councils represented on the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee, as set out in Section 1.5.2 of Report No CAB/FH/15/025, be noted.  Any required changes to the Council’s representation on the Joint Committee be delegated to the Service Manager (Legal) and the Leader of the Council to action accordingly.’

As delegated authority had already been granted to make changes to the Council’s representation on the Joint Committee, there was no requirement to seek separate approval of the recommendation provided by the Joint Committee.  The equivalent had also been resolved by St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s (SEBC) Cabinet on 28 May 2015 and, therefore, action would be taken to implement the changes to the membership from the District Council and SEBC before the Joint Committee’s next meeting in December 2015, in accordance with the resolution provided above.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted, including the decision taken under delegated authority, as detailed in Section 1.2 of Report No CAB/FH/15/049, with regard to moving to a Single Member Joint Committee.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/050

Chairman of the Committee: Simon Cole   

Lead Officer: Christine Brain

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/050)

Councillor Simon Cole, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee presented this report which informed the Cabinet of the following items discussed by the Committee on 10 September 2015:

(1)     Presentation by the Cabinet Member for Planning and Growth.

(2)     Presentation on the role of Newmarket Vision and Discover Newmarket.

(3)     Local Air Quality Strategy Progress Report 2014-2015.

(4)     Decisions Plan: September 2015 to May 2016.

(5)     Work Programme Update.

Councillor Cole also drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, in relation to the above items.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/051

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards

Chairman of the Committee: Colin Noble    Lead Officer: Christine Brain

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/051)

Councillor Colin Noble, Chairman of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee presented this report which informed the Cabinet of the following items discussed by the Committee on 24 September 2015:

(1)     Ernst and Young – Presentation of 2014/2015 ISA260 Annual Results Report to those Charged with Governance.

(2)     West Suffolk Annual Governance Statement 2014/2015.

(3)     2014/2015 Annual Statement of Accounts.

(4)     Delivering a Sustainable Budget 2016/2017 (a separate report was included on this Cabinet agenda under Report No CAB/FH/15/052).

(5)     Annual Corporate Environmental Performance 2014/2015.

(6)     Work Programme Update.

The report highlighted that no significant governance issues had been raised, which had resulted in the successful completion of the West Suffolk Annual Governance Statement 2014/2015.  In addition, no significant issues had been identified during the completion of the 2014/2015 Annual Statement of Accounts.  Both sets of documentation had, therefore, been approved by the Committee.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/052

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Joanne Howlett

Chairman of the Committee: Colin Noble

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL

(9 December 2015):

That the proposals, as detailed in Section 5 and Table 2 at paragraph 5.1 of Report No: PAS/FH/15/025, be included, in securing a balanced budget for 2016-2017.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/052)

Councillor Colin Noble, Chairman of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee presented this report which sought approval for proposals to assist with the securing of a balanced budget for 2016/2017.

Paragraph 1.1.4 of the report drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that a number of budget saving proposals had been considered by the Committee, as set out in Section 5 and Table 2 at paragraph 5.1 of Report No PAS/FH/15/025. 

Paragraph 1.1.5 of the report also explained that the Committee had supported the proposals for continuing the current scheme of gradually phasing out the Local Council Tax Support Grant by April 2017.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (9 December 2015)

That the proposals, as detailed in Section 5 and Table 2 at paragraph 5.1 of Report No PAS/FH/15/025, be included, in securing a balanced budget for 2016-2017.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/053

Portfolio Holder: Robin Millar          Lead Officer: Davina Howes

RESOLVED:

That the allocation of funding from the Community Chest be as approved follows:

1.           Unit Twenty Three: £5,000

2.           Suffolk West Citizens Advice Bureau: £23,286 (in two phases)

3.           Sharing Parenting: £23,214 (in two phases)

4.           Suffolk Digital Cinema Network: £5,500

(Report No CAB/FH/15/053)

Councillor Robin Millar, Portfolio Holder for Families and Communities, presented this report which updated the Cabinet following the review of applications for Community Chest funding in the transitional year (2015-2016) and recommended the approval of funding allocations.

The Community Chest Fund had only been established this year, therefore, funding for existing Service Level Agreements (SLA) had been moved into the Community Chest.  All previous agreements had been honoured, all of which finished at the end of March 2016.  As such, the remaining Community Chest funds available for allocation in 2015/2016 is £57,000.

Five applications, totalling £58,874.50 had been received and each application had been assessed by the Portfolio Holder against the agreed Community Chest criteria and the detail of these applications were set out in paragraph 1.7 of the report.

The Portfolio Holder also explained that the Community Chest budget for 2016/2017 was £185,240.  The closing date for applications had been 30 September 2015 and he would be making recommendations relating to this funding at the Cabinet meeting on 22 December 2015.  This would ensure that organisations would be aware of funding arrangements well in advance of the next financial year.

Whilst considering this report, the Cabinet also noted that it was being proposed that no Community Chest funding for 2015/2016 be awarded to Catch 22, Suffolk Positive Futures, but that Officers would work with them to seek alternative, external funding sources.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the allocation of funding from the Community Chest be approved, as follows:

(a)     Unit Twenty Three: £5,000.

(b)         Suffolk West Citizens Advice Bureau: £23,286 (in two phases).

(c)         Sharing Parenting: £23,214 (in two phases).

(d)        Suffolk Digital Cinema Network: £5,500.

Cabinet Member: James Waters     Lead Officer: Steven Wood

Summary and Reason for Recommendation:

Section 4.3 of the West Suffolk Contract Procedure Rules state that: Between £50,001 and the EU Threshold any exemption must be approved by the Officer and Head of Service in consultation with the Head of Resources and Performance. The Officer must produce evidence to support the request for any exemption and the Head of Service shall prepare a report for the next Cabinet to support the action taken, hence this agenda item.

The exemption, being a Contracting Decision on this occasion, the reason for it (together with support evidence) has been be forwarded to the Head of Resources and Performance.

This exemption was exercised on 6 October 2015 for a contract to IDOX Systems Company valued at £49,000 each year for three years for the renewal of the maintenance and system support contract for the Lalpac and Uniform suite. The system supports the service delivery of Planning, Local Land Charges, Building Control and Licensing systems for both St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Forest Heath District Council.  IT have been able to achieve a £40,000 saving from the previous maintenance and system support costs, which represents value for money. The exemption was made under the following exemption criteria, as stated in Section 4.5 of the Contract Procedure Rules:

·         The items to be supplied consist of goods or services which are currently in use and are required for the purposes of standardisation;

on the basis that:

·         the current contract expiring on the 23 October 2015 and taking advantage of a price reduction; and

·         the critical nature of these systems to the services listed.

Recommendation:

The Cabinet is requested to NOTE this exemption to the West Suffolk Contract Procedure Rules, as contained in the Constitution.

RESOLVED:

That the exemption to the West Suffolk Contract Procedure Rules, as contained in the Constitution, be noted.

The Cabinet received a narrative item which provided an exemption to the West Suffolk Contract Procedure Rules of the Constitution, relating to the renewal of the maintenance and system support contract for the Planning and Licensing IT systems.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the exemption to the West Suffolk Contract Procedure Rules, as set out in the agenda, be noted.

Report No: CAB/FH/15/054

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

Portfolio Holder: James Waters                Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

(Report No CAB/FH/15/054)

The Cabinet considered Report No CAB/FH/15/054, which was the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period October 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/15/055

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Joanne Howlett

For information only – no decision required.

(Report No CAB/FH/15/055)

Councillor Stephen Edwards, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance explained that since the agenda had been published, it had been brought to his attention that the NNDR write-off listed within this report had previously been approved by the Cabinet on 15 September 2015. 

Therefore, the Portfolio Holder only reported on the updated collection rates, as at September 2015, as set out in paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3 of the report.

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. 130. below.

Exempt Appendix 1 to Report No: CAB/FH/15/055

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Joanne Howlett

(This item is to be considered under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as it contains information relating to an individual(s) 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/15/055)

As set out in Minute No. 128. above, the NNDR write-off listed within this report had previously been approved by the Cabinet on 15 September 2015.