Extraordinary
(Informal
Joint) Cabinet
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Notes of informal
discussions of the SEBC/FHDC Cabinets held on
Tuesday 9 January 2018 at
6.20 pm in the
Conference Chamber West, West Suffolk House, Bury
St Edmunds, IP33 3YU
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Present:
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Councillors
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St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC)
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John Griffiths (in the Chair for the informal
discussions)
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Carol Bull
Robert Everitt
Sara Mildmay-White
Ian Houlder
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Alaric Pugh
Joanna Rayner
Peter Stevens
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Forest Heath District Council
(FHDC)
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James Waters
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David Bowman
Andy Drummond
Stephen Edwards
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Robin Millar
Lance Stanbury
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By invitation:
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Sarah Broughton
(SEBC)
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Chairman of SEBC’s
Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee
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Louis Busuttil
(FHDC)
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Chairman of FHDC’s
Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee
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In attendance:
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Susan Glossop (SEBC)
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David Nettleton
(SEBC)
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Prior to the formal meeting,
informal discussions took place on the following substantive
items:
(1)
Tackling Rogue Landlords: Civil Sanctions Policy; and
(2)
Report of the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint
Committee: 5 December 2017.
All Members of Forest Heath
District Council’s Cabinet had been invited to attend St
Edmundsbury Borough Council’s Offices at West Suffolk House,
Bury St Edmunds to enable joint informal discussions on the reports
to take place between the two authorities, prior to seeking formal
approval at their respective separate Cabinet meetings, immediately
following the informal discussions.
The Chairman/Leader of St
Edmundsbury Borough Council, welcomed all those present to West
Suffolk House. The Service Manager
(Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officerfirstly advised on the
format of the proceedings for the informal discussions and
subsequent separate meetings of each authority.
Under their Constitutions, both
Cabinets listed as standing agenda items: an ‘Open
Forum’, which provided the opportunity for non-Cabinet
Members to discuss issues with Cabinet and also ‘Public
Participation’, which provided the opportunity for members of
the public to speak. Therefore, as any
matters arising from the discussions held during these agenda items
may have some bearing on the decisions taking during the separate
formal meetings, non-Cabinet Members and members of the public were
invited to put their questions/statements prior to the start of the
joint informal discussions.
1. Open
Forum
No non-Cabinet
Members in attendance wished to speak during the informal joint
discussions.
2. Public Participation
There were no members of the
public in attendance.
3. Tackling
Rogue Landlords: Civil Sanctions Policy (Report Nos: CAB/SE/18/001
and CAB/FH/18/001)
The Cabinets considered the
above report, which sought endorsement of a proposed approach to be
taken for developing a new Civil Sanctions Policy.
Under the Housing and Planning
Act 2016, new powers were available to councils for tackling rogue
landlords. The new legislation helped
regulate the worst unsafe properties and landlords in the private
rented sector, which included providing a streamlined alternative
to prosecution, albeit with the same level of evidence and an
appeals process in place. Options included the imposition of civil
penalty fines, rent repayment orders and banning orders for
non-compliance with certain Housing Act 2004 offences, further
details of which were contained in Appendix A attached to the
report.
Councillor Sara Mildmay-White,
West Suffolk’s Lead Member for Housing, drew relevant issues
to the attention of both Cabinets, including that the development of the new policy would assist with
tackling the small number of rogue landlords in West Suffolk,
improve the wellbeing of tenants and protect the interests of
compliant landlords. An engagement process would shortly be
undertaken on the draft policy with landlords, tenants, interested
groups and other stakeholders, following which the final policy
would be presented to each Cabinet for adoption (with new delegated
powers to officers for incorporation into their respective
Constitutions being presented to each Council for approval).
The Cabinets fully endorsed the approach and
the recommendation set out on page 1 of the report
was unanimously supported by both Cabinets.
4. Report
of the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee: 5
December 2017 (Report Nos: CAB/SE/18/002 and
CAB/FH/18/002)
The Cabinets received and noted
the above report, which informed Members of the following
items discussed by the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership
Joint Committee on 5 December 2017:
(1) Highlight Report, Balance
Scorecard, Finance Report and 2018/2019 Budget;
(2) Information about
Directors of the ARP Trading Company and Operational Improvement
Board Report;
(3) Service Delivery Plan and Risk Register;
and
(4) Welfare Reform
Update.
Councillors Stephen Edwards (FHDC) and Ian
Houlder (SEBC), Portfolio Holders for Resources and Performance,
drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinets, including
that the Joint Committee had set its budget for the 2018/2019 year
and approved a revised Service Delivery Plan and Risk Register.
Both Members expressed their thanks to Jill
Korwin, Director and the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership
(ARP) team for the manner in which the West Suffolk councils were
mitigating the effects of being slightly below target for business
rates collection, as set out in paragraph 1.1.10.
Councillor Edwards commended the success of
the ARP Enforcement Agency and subsequently explained that in
contrast to the information reported in paragraph 1.4.1 (a) of the
report, the roll-out of the full Universal Credit service for
Forest Heath District Council had now been delayed from September
2018 to December 2018.
The item was duly noted by both
Cabinets.
(With the agreement of the Chairman, the following matter was
considered at this point during the informal
discussions.)
5. Review
and Appointment of the Cabinet’s Working Parties, Joint
Panels and Other Groups (Report Nos: CAB/SE/18/004 and CAB/FH/18/005)
The Cabinets considered the
above reports, which presented an interim review of each
Cabinet’s Working Parties, Joint Panels and Other
Groups.
Whilst there remained
differences between the two reports as each Cabinet
appointed some Working
Groups/Parties and implemented arrangements that were individual to
the separate authorities, the Cabinets were
asked whether they wished to jointly discuss the common elements of
the reports, namely the review undertaken on the following
bodies:
(a)
Growth and Innovation Group (which had been proposed to replace the
existing West Suffolk Joint Growth Steering Group);
(b) Future Governance Steering
Group;
(c) West Suffolk Joint Health and
Safety Panel;
(d) West Suffolk Joint Staff
Consultative Panel; and
(e) Joint Member Development
Group.
The Cabinets were content with
the proposed joint arrangements set out in the reports and
considered each paper in further detail during their separate
formal meetings.
On the conclusion of the
informal joint discussions at 6.35 pm, the Chairman then formally
opened the meeting of St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s
Cabinet at 6.36 pm in the Conference Chamber West, which upon
conclusion at 6.47 pm, was immediately followed by Forest Heath
District Council’s Cabinet, also in the Conference Chamber
West.