Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 5 April 2016 (attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 April 2016 were unanimously approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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 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/16/017

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Jill Korwin

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

(Report No CAB/FH/16/017)

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 22 March 2016.

On 22 March 2016, the Joint Committee considered the following substantive items of business:

(1)     Performance Report.

(2)     Welfare Reform Update.

(3)     Enforcement Agency Update.

(4)     Forthcoming Issues.

(5)     Exempt Item: Risk Based Verification.

(6)     Exempt Item: Commercial Update.

(7)     Exempt Item: Shareholders’ Agreement and Presentation.

The Portfolio Holder also 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/16/018

Chairman of the Committee: Simon Cole    Lead Officer: Christine Brain

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

(Report No CAB/FH/16/018)

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 21 April 2016:

(1)     Presentation by the Portfolio Holder for Families and Communities.

(2)     Monitoring of Community Safety Activities, including Western Suffolk Community Safety Partnership.

(3)     Review and Revision of the Constitution.

(4)     Director Surveillance Authorised Applications (Quarter 4).

(5)     Decisions Plan: May 2016 to May 2017.

(6)     Work Programme Update.

Councillor Cole also drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, in relation to the above items and, in particular, commended the Portfolio Holder for Families and Communities on his presentation to the Committee.

With the vote being unanimous, it was:

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

Report No: CAB/FH/16/019 (TO FOLLOW)

Portfolio Holder: James Waters                Lead Officer: Alex Wilson

RESOLVED:

That the Development Brief for the Mildenhall Hub, be adopted as non-statutory planning guidance.

(Report No CAB/FH/16/019)

The Director and Councillor David Bowman, Chairman of the Steering Group both presented this report, which set out the recommendations of the Group emanating from its meeting held on 10 May 2016.

On 10 May 2016, the Steering Group considered the following substantive item of business:

(1)     Mildenhall Hub: Development Brief

In January 2016, the Group had approved the draft Mildenhall Hub Development Brief for public consultation.  The formal consultation process had commenced on 7 March 2016 and ran until 25 April 2016 and had also included a drop-in event for neighbours and interested parties.  In addition, a separate meeting had been held with a local residents’ group, at their request.

There were two distinct themes arising from the consultation.  The first related to the principle of grouping facilities together on a single site and whether Sheldrick Way was the appropriate site and the second theme related to concerns and issues arising from the development of the site at Sheldrick Way.  The detail of these themes were set out in paragraphs 1.4 to 1.6 of Report No CAB/FH/16/019.  Following the consultation exercise, the Masterplan had been amended to take account of the many comments and suggestions.

Immediately prior to their meeting on 10 May 2016, the Steering Group had undertaken a site visit to Sheldrick Way, to assist with their understanding of the principle of the development.  The Steering Group also considered the consultation responses, as had been set out in Appendix B to Report No JGG/JT/16/004, along with the amended Development Brief, as had also been set out in Appendix A to that report and had recommended that the Brief be adopted as non-statutory planning guidance.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the Development Brief for the Mildenhall Hub, be adopted as non-statutory planning guidance.

Creation of a Vision for the Regeneration of RAF Mildenhall

Portfolio Holder: James Waters                 Lead Officer: Jill Korwin

Summary and Reason for Recommendation:

On 18th March the MOD advised the Council that they will be making an internal decision in the Summer about the future of the RAF Mildenhall site.  There is a tight window of opportunity for Forest Heath District Council to prepare a vision prospectus for the future of the site to encourage government to take a wider view of the site’s potential.  The Council has completed the work to develop the specification for this visioning contract and that has shown the specialist nature of the support needed with a consultancy needing experience of MOD disposals and aviation use. 

A procurement process will mean that a contractor would be appointed until mid June at the earliest and so would be unable  to complete the Vision work  before the Summer and so miss the opportunity  to influence government decision making. 

The Council has been awarded £230,000 funding from Cabinet Office for the OPE programme.  The Cabinet Office have instructed the Council to use up to £100,000 of this money to develop a vision and prospectus for the future of the site.  As part of OPE process, government appointed Cushman and Wakefield (C&W) to advise local authorities on their submissions and worked with West Suffolk Councils on our successful OPE submission.  The Council then worked with C&W to developed the consultancy brief and they have demonstrated their ability to grasp the issues and the specialist nature of the development work we needed.  Through developing the brief they have also gained an understanding of the issues meaning that the timescale for developing the Vision would be shorter than appointing a company that has no previous information on the site.

Time is imperative as the sooner we get this information to government the greater chance we have of influencing one of the most significant decisions for FHDC area.

The estimated total value of the exemption is £90,000 and was made under the following exemption criteria, as stated in Section 4.5 of the Contract Procedure Rules:

Recommendation:

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

Creation of a Vision for the Regeneration of RAF Mildenhall

RESOLVED:

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

Creation of a Vision for the Regeneration of RAF Mildenhall

The Director explained that on 18 March 2016, the MOD had advised the Council that they would be making an internal decision in the Summer about the future of the RAF Mildenhall site.  There was a tight window of opportunity for Forest Heath District Council to prepare a vision prospectus for the future of the site to encourage Government to take a wider view of the site’s potential.  The Council had completed the work to develop the specification for this visioning contract and that had shown the specialist nature of the support needed with a consultancy needing experience of MOD disposals and aviation use. 

A procurement process would mean that a contractor would not be appointed until mid June 2016 at the earliest and so would be unable to complete the Vision work  before the Summer and so miss the opportunity to influence government decision making. 

The Council had been awarded £230,000 funding from the Cabinet Office for the OPE programme.  The Cabinet Office had instructed the Council to use up to £100,000 of this money to develop a vision and prospectus for the future of the site.  As part of OPE process, the Government had appointed Cushman and Wakefield (C&W) to advise local authorities on their submissions and worked with West Suffolk Councils on our successful OPE submission.  The Council then worked with C&W to develop the consultancy brief and they have demonstrated their ability to grasp the issues and the specialist nature of the development work needed.  Through developing the brief they have also gained an understanding of the issues meaning that the timescale for developing the Vision would be shorter than appointing a company that had no previous information on the site.

Time was imperative as the sooner this information was provided to the Government, the greater chance of influencing one of the most significant decisions for the Forest Heath area.

The estimated total value of the exemption was £90,000 and was made under the following exemption criteria, as stated in Section 4.5 of the Contract Procedure Rules:

‘The specialised nature of the goods, services to be supplied or the works to be executed means that only one suitable supplier has been identified or is available; and

Unforeseen works where delay will adversely impact on the service delivery for the Council(s).’

With the vote being unanimous, it was

          RESOLVED:

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

Report No: CAB/FH/16/020

Portfolio Holders: James Waters and David Bowman

Lead Officers: Steven Wood and Mark Walsh

RESOLVED:

That the recently revised Suffolk Flood Risk Management Strategy (SFRMS) as contained in the Appendix to Report No CAB/FH/16/020, be adopted.

(Report No CAB/FH/16/020)

The Portfolio Holder for Operations presented this report which sought approval for the recently revised Suffolk Flood Risk Management Strategy.

This was a statutory requirement for Suffolk County Council as Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) to produce the Suffolk Flood Risk Management Strategy (SFRMS) document, in partnership with other flood risk management authorities (which included Forest Heath District Council (FHDC) and St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC)).  Adoption of the Strategy by the flood risk authorities would ensure that all parties were working to a common flood risk management approach across Suffolk.

Adoption of the Strategy was also being sought by the SEBC’s Cabinet (FHDC’s shared services partner) at their meeting on 24 May 2016.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the recently revised Suffolk Flood Risk Management Strategy (SFRMS) as contained in the Appendix to Report No CAB/FH/16/020, be adopted.

Report No: CAB/FH/16/021

Portfolio Holder: James Waters               

Lead Officers: Karen Points and Steven Boyle

RESOLVED:

Current Cabinet Working Group: Forest Heath District Council Membership only

1.       That:

(a)     The Local Plan Working Group continues to operate at the present time in accordance with its current Terms of Reference, as detailed in Appendix A to Report No CAB/FH/16/021.

(b)     The future direction of the Local Plan Working Group, as outlined in Section 1.2.3 of Report No CAB/FH/16/021, be noted.

Current Joint Panels and Steering Group: Joint Membership with St Edmundsbury Borough Council

2.       That:

(a)     The West Suffolk Joint Growth Steering Group, West Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Panel, West Suffolk Joint Health and Safety Panel and the West Suffolk Joint Staff Consultative Panel continue to operate in accordance with their current Terms of Reference contained in Appendices B, C D and E to Report No CAB/FH/16/021 respectively.

(b)         Meetings of the Joint Panels set out in Section 1.3.1, continue to be scheduled as and when required, but with regard to the discussion outlined in Section 1.3.4.

Political Balance

3.       That:

(a)     The Interim Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) be given delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, Members and substitute Members to the Working Group, Joint Panels and Steering Group for 2016/2017, as set out in Sections 1.2.1 and 1.3.1, on the nominations from the Group Leaders.

(b)         Such re-appointments/appointments be made on the basis of political balance requirements, where applicable and identified in Report No CAB/FH/16/021.

Joint Committees: Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee

4.       That the Interim Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) be given delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, one full Cabinet Member and two substitute Cabinet Members to the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee for 2016/2017, on the nomination of the Leader of the Council.

Other Informal Working Groups

5.       That:

(a)     The Cabinet’s existing informal Working Groups be retained or disbanded as indicated in Section 1.6.2 of Report No CAB/FH/16/021.

(b)     Provided that resources are available to support them, further informal task-and-finish working groups continue to be established to consider specific issues as required throughout 2016/2017.

Re-appointment of Representatives to Outside Bodies

6.       The Members stated in Section 1.7.2 of Report No CAB/FH/16/021 (Addendum) be re-appointed as ‘Observers’ to the respective outside bodies listed and that the Leader or ex-officio appointments to the project or partnership groups listed in Sections 1.7.3 and 1.7.4, be noted.

(Report No CAB/FH/16/021)

The Cabinet considered this report which presented the annual review and re-appointment of Cabinet Working Group, Joint Committees/Panels and Other Groups for 2016/2017.  An addendum to this report had also been circulated which set out further information and an amended recommendation (6) in relation to Section 1.7 of the report (Re-appointment of representatives to outside bodies).

Councillor James Waters, Leader of the Council drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that the Cabinet was required to review the membership and Terms of Reference of its Working Group, Joint Committees/Panels and other Groups for 2016/2017.  The existing Terms of Reference for the relevant bodies were attached as Appendix A to E inclusive.

No changes were recommended to the majority of the existing arrangements, with the exception of a proposal to disband the West Suffolk Joint Diversity Working Party.  Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council were now in a position across the West Suffolk organisation where, instead of diversity and equality being considered in isolation, it was now mainstreamed into the way in which the Councils worked and was reported to Members through the Annual Report.

Together with the other recommendations contained in the report, the Cabinet supported this proposal and with the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

Current Cabinet Working Group: Forest Heath District Council Membership only

1.       That:

(a)     The Local Plan Working Group continues to operate at the present time in accordance with its current Terms of Reference, as detailed in Appendix A to Report No CAB/FH/16/021.

(b)     The future direction of the Local Plan Working Group, as outlined in Section 1.2.3 of Report No CAB/FH/16/021, be noted.

Current Joint Panels and Steering Group: Joint Membership with St Edmundsbury Borough Council

2.       That:

(a)     The West Suffolk Joint Growth Steering Group, West Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Panel, West Suffolk Joint Health and Safety Panel and the West Suffolk Joint Staff Consultative Panel continue to operate in accordance with their current Terms of Reference contained in Appendices B, C D and E to Report No CAB/FH/16/021 respectively.

(b)         Meetings of the Joint Panels set out in Section 1.3.1, continue to be scheduled as and when required, but with regard to the discussion outlined in Section 1.3.4.

Political Balance

3.       That:

(a)     The Interim Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) be given delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, Members and substitute Members to the Working Group, Joint Panels and Steering Group for 2016/2017, as set out in Sections 1.2.1 and 1.3.1, on the nominations from the Group Leaders.

(b)       Such re-appointments/appointments be made on the basis of political balance requirements, where applicable and identified in Report No CAB/FH/16/021.

Joint Committees: Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee

4.       That the Interim Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) be given delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, one full Cabinet Member and two substitute Cabinet Members to the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee for 2016/2017, on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 193.

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

Report No: CAB/FH/16/022

Portfolio Holder: James Waters                Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

(Report No CAB/FH/16/022)

The Cabinet considered Report No CAB/FH/16/022, which was the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period May 2016 to May 2017.

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

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 196. below.

Exempt Appendix A to Report No: CAB/FH/16/017

Portfolio Holder: Stephen Edwards            Lead Officer: Jill Korwin

(This exempt Appendix is to be considered in private under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as they contain information relating to the financial and business affairs of a particular organisation)

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

(Report No CAB/FH/16/017)

The Cabinet received and noted Exempt Appendix A to Report No CAB/FH/16/017.  However, as no reference was made to specific detail, this item was not discussed in private session.