Agenda for Shadow Executive (Cabinet) on Tuesday 8 January 2019, 6.00 pm

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Conference Chamber West, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3YU

Contact: Claire Skoyles (Democratic Services Officer)  Email: claire.skoyles@westsuffolk.gov.uk

Note: **Please note that this meeting has been arranged in place of the previously scheduled Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee meeting** 

Items
No. Item

32.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Ian Houlder.

33.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 200 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 27 November 2018 (copy attached).

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 November 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

34.

Open Forum

At each Shadow Executive (Cabinet) meeting, up to 15 minutes shall be allocated for questions from and discussion with, non-Shadow Executive 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.

 

Minutes:

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

35.

Public Participation

Members of the public who live or work in the area of the Shadow Council are invited to put one question or 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.

 

Minutes:

There were no members of the public in attendance.

36.

Recommendations of the Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committees: 28 November 2018 - Approach to Delivering a Sustainable West Suffolk Budget 2019-2020 and Medium Term Plan (Report No: EXC/SA/19/001) pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Report No: EXC/SA/19/001

Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Members: Stephen Edwards and Ian Houlder

Chairmen of the Committees: FHDC Cllr Louis Busuttil and SEBC Cllr Sarah Broughton                  

Lead Officer: Christine Brain

Decision:

RECOMMENDED TO SHADOW COUNCIL: (19 February 2019):

 

That, subject to the approval of Shadow Council as part of the budget setting process, the proposals detailed in Section 2 and Table 1 and Table 2 of Report Nos: PAS/SE/18/ 035 and PAS/FH/18/039, be included in securing a balanced budget for 2019/2020.

Minutes:

The Shadow Executive (Cabinet) considered the above report, which sought approval for budget proposals for inclusion to secure a balanced budget for 2019/2020.

 

Councillor Stephen Edwards, one of the Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Members with the responsibility for Resources and Performance drew relevant issues to the attention of the Shadow Executive, including that a range of budget proposals had been assessed and updated following previous consideration by both Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committees and the Shadow Executive in September/October 2018. The update was to reflect developing trends and revised information as it became available as far as possible.

 

Table 1 and Table 2, that had been considered by the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committees and reproduced in Report No: EXC/SA/19/001, provided a set of proposed actions and solutions to reduce the identified budget gaps between 2019-2023.   

 

Work would continue to monitor the trends included in Table 1, including driving to agree the assumptions that would close the remaining budget gap for 2019/20 and 2020/21 for presentation to Shadow Council on 19 February 2019. The budget assumed no change to the seven-year council tax harmonisation plan between Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury.

 

 

RECOMMENDED TO SHADOW COUNCIL: (19 February 2019):

 

That, subject to the approval of Shadow Council as part of the budget setting process, the proposals detailed in Section 2 and Table 1 and Table 2 of Report Nos: PAS/SE/18/ 035 and PAS/FH/18/039, be included in securing a balanced budget for 2019/2020.

37.

West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy 2019-2022 (Report No: EXC/SA/19/002) pdf icon PDF 113 KB

Report No: EXC/SA/19/002

Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Members: Susan Glossop and Lance Stanbury

Lead Officer: David Collinson

Additional documents:

Decision:

RECOMMENDED TO SHADOW COUNCIL: (19 February 2019)

That:

 

(1)     the West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy 2019-2022, attached at Appendix A to Report No: EXC/SA/19/002, be adopted; and

 

(2)     the Cumulative Impact Assessments for Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds as contained within the West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy, be adopted.

Minutes:

The Shadow Executive (Cabinet) considered the above report, which sought approval for a new West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy to cover the period 2019-2022.

 

All councils were required to have a Statement of Licensing Policy and to update it at least every five years. Forest Heath’s Statement of Licensing Policy was last renewed in December 2018; St Edmundsbury’s was last updated in December 2017. The policy content of both documents was identical.

 

The Shadow Council needed to adopt a Statement of Licensing Policy for West Suffolk Council before 1 April 2019. The document attached at Appendix Acontained the same wording as the Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury Council documents, but with proposed changes set out in paragraph 1.1.2 of the report.

 

Councillor Lance Stanbury, one of the Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Members with the responsibility for Planning and Growth, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Shadow Executive, including that in order to abide by the requirement for Statements of Licensing Policy to be renewed every five years, West Suffolk Council would need to adopt a new policy by December 2022. This would be preceded by consultation, allowing consultees in St Edmundsbury the opportunity to give comments and feedback within five years of the previous policy covering the area being adopted.

 

Attention was also drawn to the revised guidance, adoption and publication of the two Cumulative Impact Assessments in West Suffolk, namely Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds, which were required to be renewed every three years.The Bury St Edmunds Cumulative Impact Assessment was adopted in December 2017, and would therefore require renewal in December 2020.

 

 

RECOMMENDED TO SHADOW COUNCIL: (19 February 2019)

 

That:

 

(1)     the West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy 2019-2022, attached at Appendix A to Report No: EXC/SA/19/002, be adopted; and

 

(2)     the Cumulative Impact Assessments for Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds as contained within the West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy, be adopted.

38.

Interim West Suffolk Street Trading and Vending Policy (Report No: EXC/SA/19/003) pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Report No: EXC/SA/19/003

Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Members: Susan Glossop and Lance Stanbury

Lead Officer: David Collinson

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:

That:

 

(1)     the harmonised interim Street Trading and Vending Policy for West Suffolk Council, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: EXC/SA/19/003, be adopted; and

 

(2)     it be agreed that the West Suffolk Council reviews the Street Trading and Vending policy within two years to ensure there is a consistent approach to consent areas across West Suffolk.

Minutes:

The Shadow Executive (Cabinet) considered the above report, which sought approval for an interim Street Trading and Vending Policy for West Suffolk Council.

 

Members noted the background to street trading (selling goods on the street) and vending (serving at tables and chairs on the public highway) and the need to have a street trading and vending policy in place to ensure such definable activities could be appropriately licensed by the licensing authority (the Council.)

 

Forest Heath District Council (FHDC) and St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC) recognised the importance of street trading and vending and valued the contributions of businesses that sought licences for such activities to the local economy.

 

The Street Vending and Trading Policy was one of a number of policies that were being reviewed and harmonised in advance of the creation of West Suffolk Council on 1 April 2019. 

 

Councillor Lance Stanbury, Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Member with the responsibility for Planning and Growth, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Shadow Executive, including that differences in the policies covering street trading and vending presently existed between the two policies covering FHDC and SEBC.  The new interim policy for the West Suffolk Council, as attached as Appendix A to the report which had been subject to consultation, was considered to adequately align these differences where they were minor and could be changed without significant impact. 

 

Members agreed this was a sensible approach and also considered it pragmatic to retain the different approaches that currently applied in the different geographical areas so as to minimise disruption until a more fundamental review could be undertaken by the new Council within two years, as summarised in Section 1.3 of the report.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That:

 

(1)     the harmonised interim Street Trading and Vending Policy for West Suffolk Council, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: EXC/SA/19/003, be adopted; and

 

(2)     it be agreed that the West Suffolk Council reviews the Street Trading and Vending policy within two years to ensure there is a consistent approach to consent areas across West Suffolk.

39.

West Suffolk Council Overarching Enforcement Policy (EXC/SA/19/004) pdf icon PDF 123 KB

Report No: EXC/SA/19/004

Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Members: Susan Glossop and Lance Stanbury

Lead Officer: David Collinson

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

That the West Suffolk Council Enforcement Policy, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: EXC/SA/19/004, be adopted to take effect from 1 April 2019.

Minutes:

The Shadow Executive (Cabinet) considered the above report, which sought approval for an overarching Enforcement Policy for West Suffolk Council.

 

Members noted the background to the West Suffolk Councils currently operating as regulator and enforcement agency for a wide range of legal duties and powers in order to protect the public, individuals and the environment.

 

The Enforcement Policy was one of a number of policies that were being reviewed and harmonised in advance of the creation of West Suffolk Council on 1 April 2019.   The new policy detailed overarching enforcement actions across services with enforcement duties.

 

Councillor Lance Stanbury, Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Member with the responsibility for Planning and Growth, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Shadow Executive, including that the proposed new policy for West Suffolk Council, which was attached as Appendix A to the report, aimed to align the key principles across West Suffolk, as outlined in paragraphs 1.1.4 and 1.1.5,  and included similar principles to those of the current Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury policies.

 

Members acknowledged the good practice covered within the proposed policy, which included reducing the regulatory burden, risk-led enforcement and supporting the local economy. The policy proposed to follow a new structure which aimed to guide the reader through the key principles and enforcement actions where consistency was desired to all council services. This included the omission some details summarised in paragraph 1.3.3, alongside the rationale.

 

The draft policy, which had been subject to consultation, details of which were provided in Section 2 and Appendix B, was supported by the Shadow Executive (Cabinet) for adoption.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the West Suffolk Council Enforcement Policy, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: EXC/SA/19/004, be adopted to take effect from 1 April 2019.

40.

Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Decisions Plan: 1 January 2019 to 6 May 2019 (EXC/SA/19/005) pdf icon PDF 111 KB

To consider the most recently published version of the Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Decisions Plan.

 

Report No: EXC/SA/19/005

Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Member: James Waters               

Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

Minutes:

The Shadow Executive (Cabinet) considered the above report, which was the Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Decisions Plan covering the period 1 January 2019 to 6 May 2019.

 

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

 

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