Agenda, decisions and minutes

Immediately prior to the start of the formal business, Councillor Griffiths, Leader of the Council wished to formally welcome Councillors Ian Houlder and Jo Rayner to their first meeting of Cabinet as Portfolio Holders.  The other re-appointed Portfolio Holder, Councillor Robert Everitt, had given his apologies for this meeting.

As announced at the Annual Meeting of Council on 19 May 2015, Councillor Everitt would be responsible for the Families and Communities portfolio; Councillor Houlder for Resources and Performance and Councillor Rayner would be responsible for Leisure and Culture.

Councillor Griffiths also wished it to be placed on record his thanks to former Portfolio Holders for their sterling work in previous years: Councillors Clements and Stamp and former Members, Anne Gower and Dave Ray. This sentiment was supported by other Cabinet Members present.

Formal business then commenced.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Everitt.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on 17 March 2015 (Extraordinary meeting) and 24 March 2015 (copies attached).

The minutes of the meetings held on 17 March (Extraordinary meeting) and 24 March 2015 were confirmed as correct records and signed by the Chairman.

Cabinet Member: Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Heritage      

Lead Officer: Liz Watts

Grant Approved for Victory Sports Ground 2015/2016

Summary and Reason for Recommendation:

On 10 February 2015, the Cabinet considered the awarding of a revenue support grant to Victory Sports Ground in 2015/2016, subject to the budget setting process (Report No: CAB/SE/15/007 refers).  The recommendation in the report sought a reduction of £2,500 in grant to the sum of £45,250, which was subsequently approved by the Cabinet.  The proposed reduction was supported by Cabinet, including proposed reductions for future years’ funding, as reflected in the minutes of the meeting:

‘It was therefore proposed that in 2015/2016, the Victory Sports Ground would receive a reduction in grant of £2,500 to £45,250 with a view to reducing this grant to zero within a number of years, as previously agreed by Cabinet’.

It has however, transpired that Victory Sports Ground received a grant of £45,250 in 2014/2015, therefore with the application of the intended reduction of £2,500, the grant that awarded in 2015/2016 should be £42,750.

Victory Sports Ground have been advised of the oversight and acknowledge that it was the Cabinet’s intention to reduce its grant by £2,500 and are therefore expecting to receive £42,750 in 2015/2016.

Recommendation:

The Cabinet is therefore asked to ENDORSE its original intention to reduce the revenue support grant to Victory Sports Ground in 2015/2016 by £2,500 to £42,750 and not £45,250 as printed in Report No: CAB/SE/15/007.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet’s original intention to reduce the revenue support grant to Victory Sports Ground in 2015/2016 by £2,500 to £42,750 and not £45,250 as printed in Report No: CAB/SE/15/007, be endorsed.

The Cabinet considered a narrative item which sought an endorsement of a previous decision.

Councillor Rayner, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that on 10 February 2015, the Cabinet had considered the awarding of a revenue support grant to Victory Sports Ground in 2015/2016, subject to the budget setting process (Report No: CAB/SE/15/007 refers).  The recommendation in the report had sought a reduction of £2,500 in grant to the sum of £45,250, which was subsequently approved by the Cabinet.  The proposed reduction had been supported by Cabinet, including proposed reductions for future years’ funding, as reflected in the minutes of the meeting:

‘It was therefore proposed that in 2015/2016, the Victory Sports Ground would receive a reduction in grant of £2,500 to £45,250 with a view to reducing this grant to zero within a number of years, as previously agreed by Cabinet’.

It had however, transpired that Victory Sports Ground received a grant of £45,250 in 2014/2015, therefore with the application of the intended reduction of £2,500, the grant awarded in 2015/2016 should have been £42,750.

Victory Sports Ground had been advised of the oversight and acknowledged that it was the Cabinet’s intention to reduce its grant by £2,500 and were therefore expecting to receive £42,750 in 2015/2016.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet’s original intention to reduce the revenue support grant to Victory Sports Ground in 2015/2016 by £2,500 to £42,750 and not £45,250 as printed in Report No: CAB/SE/15/007, be endorsed.

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 are invited to put questions/statements of not more than 3 minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only.

No members of the public were in attendance.

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/034

Cabinet Members: Portfolio Holders for Planning and Regulation, and Economic Growth and Portfolio Holder with responsibility for Haverhill

Lead Officer: Chris Rand

RESOLVED:

That the draft Haverhill Town Centre Masterplan document, contained in Appendix A to Report No: CAB/SE/15/034, be approved to go out to consultation (from 8 June to 17 July 2015).

(The following item was considered in a different order to that published in the agenda.)

The Cabinet considered Report No: CAB/SE/15/034 (previously circulated), which sought approval for the draft Haverhill Town Centre Masterplan for consultation.

The Chairman introduced Matthew Lappin of David Lock Associates, who were the specialist team of planning and design consultants appointed by ONE Haverhill to develop the Haverhill Town Centre Masterplan.

Mr Lappin undertook a presentation on the draft Masterplan, as attached as Appendix A to the report, which subject to approval, would be going out to consultation from 8 June to 17 July 2015.  At the conclusion of his presentation, Mr Lappin duly responded to questions raised.

Councillor Pugh, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that he was extremely pleased with the draft that had been prepared in response to the consultation on the Issues and Options document.  David Lock Associates had fulfilled the brief provided by ONE Haverhill and he looked forward to the outcomes of the consultation.

Other Members also supported the content of the draft Masterplan and agreed that whilst the Masterplan contained exciting prospects for the town centre, the aspirations identified needed to be both realistic and deliverable.

RESOLVED:

That the draft Haverhill Town Centre Masterplan document, contained in Appendix A to Report No: CAB/SE/15/034, be approved to go out to consultation (from 8 June to 17 July 2015).

(Mr Lappin left the meeting at the conclusion of this item.)

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/030

Chairman: Ian Houlder (outgoing Chairman)                   Lead Officer: Christine Brain

The Cabinet received and noted Report No: CAB/SE/15/030 (previously circulated, which informed the Cabinet of the following items discussed on

by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 22 April 2015:

(1)     Update on On-Street Parking, Skyliner Way, Bury St Edmunds;

(2)     Quarter 4 Directed Surveillance Authorised Applications; and

(3)     Work Programme Update.

In the absence of the Chairman, Councillor Houlder, outgoing Chairman of the Committee, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that the Committee had asked the Head of Planning and Growth to provide further information on specific issues connected with the Skyliner Way matter, as detailed in the report.

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/031

Cabinet Member: Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance

Lead Officer: Liz Watts

The Cabinet received and noted Report No: CAB/SE/15/031 (previously circulated, which informed the Cabinet of the following substantive items discussed by the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee on 19 March 2015:

(1)   Performance Report;

(2)   SFIS and Counter Fraud;

(3)   Enforcement Agency Update;

(4)   Electronic Document Management System;

(5)   Universal Credit;

(6)   Forthcoming Issues;

(7)   Strategic Review; and

(8)   Risk Based Verification.

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

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/032

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council     

Lead Officers: Fiona Osman and Joy Bowes

RESOLVED

That:

(1)     for the reasons given in paragraph 1.2.2 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/032, further consultation be carried out with all councillors and partners on the future of the Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Rural Area Working Parties with the outcomes and potential way forward being reported back to Cabinet on 8 September 2015.

(2)

(a)    the Grant Working Party continues to operate in accordance with its amended Terms of Reference, as detailed in Appendix A of Report No: CAB/SE/15/032; and

(b)    the Service Manager (Legal) be given delegated authority to appoint Members and substitute Members to the Grant Working Party, in line with the political balance requirements (see Section 1.4 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/032), on the basis of nominations from the Group Leaders.

(3)

(a)    The Sustainable Development Working Party continues to operate at the present time in accordance with its current Terms of Reference, as detailed in Appendix B to Report No: CAB/SE/15/032, as amended to delete reference to the Policy Development Committee;

(b)    the Service Manager (Legal) be given delegated authority to appoint Members to the Sustainable Development Working Party, in line with the political balance requirements (see Section 1.4 below), on the basis of nominations from the Group Leaders; and

(c)    the future direction of the Sustainable Development Working Party, as outlined in Section 1.2.9 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/032, be noted.

(4)

(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 C, D, E and F to Report No: CAB/SE/15/032 respectively;

(b)     the Service Manager (Legal) be given delegated authority to appoint Members and substitute Members to the Joint Panels and Steering Group, as set out in Section 1.3.1 above, on the basis of political balance requirements, where appropriate (see Section 1.4 below) and on the nominations from the Group Leaders; and

(c)     meetings of the Joint Steering Group and Panels set out in Section 1.3.1 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/032, continue to be scheduled as and when required but with regard to the discussion outlined in Section 1.3.4.

(5)

(a)    The Service Manager (Legal) be given delegated authority to appoint two full Members and one substitute Member to the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee, on the nomination of the Leader of the Council;

(b)    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/SE/15/032, 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; and

(c)    following the adoption of the Joint Development Management Policies Document and subject to the approval of Forest Heath District Council, the Joint Development Management Policies Committee be disbanded, with any  ...  view the full decision text for item 74.

The Cabinet considered Report No: CAB/SE/15/032 (previously circulated), which presented the annual review of Cabinet Working Parties, Joint Committees/Panels and Other Groups: 2015/2016.

Councillor Griffiths, 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 Parties, Joint Committees/Panels and Other Groups for 2015/2016.

The existing Terms of Reference (ToR) for the relevant bodies were attached as Appendix A to F inclusive.

An amendment to the ToR of the Sustainable Development Working Party contained in Appendix B.  This made reference to membership being drawn from several committees, including the Policy Development Committee.  As this Committee no longer existed, this needed to be deleted from the ToR and the recommendation amended accordingly.

A discussion was then held on the proposed review of the Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Bury St Edmunds Area Working Parties, as detailed in Section 1.2.2 of the report.  It was proposed that the consultation period should be extended and the outcomes of this and a potential way forward would not be reported until the Cabinet meeting on 8 September 2015.  Councillor Thorndyke asked whether during this review period, the Area Working Parties could be re-appointed.  In response, the Leader explained that he could, if necessary, convene an informal meeting of relevant ward councillors to advise the Cabinet on any urgent locality issue which could not be dealt with by another committee, working party or panel, or by alternative means of consultation. 

Other Cabinet Members supported this approach and considered that greater use could be made of twin and triple-hatted Members for bringing matters to the fore, rather than duplicating work across a number of similar forums operating across the three tiers of local government and partnering bodies.   

RESOLVED

That:

(1)     for the reasons given in paragraph 1.2.2 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/032, further consultation be carried out with all councillors and partners on the future of the Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Rural Area Working Parties with the outcomes and potential way forward being reported back to Cabinet on 8 September 2015.

(2)

(a)    the Grant Working Party continues to operate in accordance with its amended Terms of Reference, as detailed in Appendix A of Report No: CAB/SE/15/032; and

(b)    the Service Manager (Legal) be given delegated authority to appoint Members and substitute Members to the Grant Working Party, in line with the political balance requirements (see Section 1.4 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/032), on the basis of nominations from the Group Leaders.

(3)

(a)    The Sustainable Development Working Party continues to operate at the present time in accordance with its current Terms of Reference, as detailed in Appendix B to Report No: CAB/SE/15/032, as amended to delete reference to the Policy Development Committee;

(b)    the Service Manager (Legal) be given delegated authority to appoint Members to the Sustainable Development Working Party, in line with the political balance requirements (see Section 1.4 below), on the basis of nominations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/033

Cabinet Member: Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance       

Lead Officer: Karen Points

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

That the West Suffolk Joint Pay Policy Statement for 2015/2016 contained in Appendix 1 to Report No: CAB/SE/15/033, be approved.

The Cabinets considered Report No: CAB/SE/15/033 (previously circulated) which presented the West Suffolk Joint Pay Policy Statement 2015/2016.

Section 38/11 of the Localism Act 2011 required local authorities to produce a Pay Policy Statement annually.  Councillor Houlder, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet.  He stated that a Joint Pay Policy Statement for 2015/2016, attached as Appendix 1 to the report had been produced, reflecting a shared workforce, and the single Pay and Reward Strategy now in place for St Edmundsbury Borough and Forest Heath District Councils.  It also incorporated the outcomes of the 2013 collective agreement which established a modern reward framework for the integrated workforce.

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

That the West Suffolk Joint Pay Policy Statement for 2015/2016 contained in Appendix 1 to Report No: CAB/SE/15/033, be approved.

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

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/035

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council      Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

The Cabinet considered Report No: CAB/SE/15/035 (previously circulated), which was the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period May 2015 to May 2016.

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