Agenda, decisions and minutes
Venue: Conference Chamber, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3YU
Contact: Claire Skoyles: Democratic Services Officer
Email: democratic.services@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Items
No. |
Item |
449. |
Apologies for absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillors Carol Bull and John Griffiths.
|
450. |
Minutes PDF 186 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
7 February 2023 (copy attached).
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 7 February
2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the
Chair.
|
451. |
Declarations of interest
Members are reminded of their responsibility
to declare any pecuniary or local non pecuniary interest which they
have in any item of business on the agenda, no later than when
that item is reached and, when appropriate, to leave the
meeting prior to discussion and voting on the item.
Minutes:
Members’ declarations of interest are
recorded under the item to which the declaration relates.
|
452. |
Open forum
At each Cabinet meeting, up to 15 minutes
shall be allocated for questions or statements from and discussion
with, non-Cabinet members. Members wishing to speak during this
session are encouraged to give notice in advance. Who speaks and
for how long will be at the complete discretion of the person
presiding.
Minutes:
There were no non-Cabinet members in
attendance.
|
453. |
Public participation
Members of the public who live or work in the
district 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.
This can be done online by sending the request to democratic.services@westsuffolk.gov.uk
or telephoning 01284 757176 or in person by
telling the Committee Administrator present at the meeting. We
would urge anyone who wishes to register to speak to notify
Democratic Services by 9am on the day of the meeting so that advice
can be given on the arrangements in place.
There is an overall time limit of 15 minutes
for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chair’s
discretion.
Minutes:
No members of the public in attendance had
registered to speak; however, at the Chair’s discretion,
under agenda item 9, a member of the public raised a
matter.
The member of the public was advised to speak
with officers following the meeting on a proposed way forward to
address the matter.
|
454. |
Western Way project (Report number: CAB/WS/23/014) PDF 480 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/23/014
Portfolio holder: Councillor
Joanna Rayner
Lead officer: Alex
Wilson
Decision:
Resolved:
That:
1. subject to
completion of heads of terms with Suffolk County Council for their
elements of the phase 1 scheme, it be agreed that the Western Way
project proceeds to second stage tendering, and its final gateway
test, on the basis that all of the financial tests and safeguards
required by Council in December 2022 are still capable of being
met; and
2. the final budget for
the phase 1 Western Way scheme and for interim works to the
remainder of the site, including enabling works, remain as agreed
by Council in December 2022.
Minutes:
The Cabinet considered this
report, which provided details on whether the Western Way project
was deemed to have passed the first of two gateway tests. Approval
was sought to proceed to second stage tendering, and its final
gateway test.
In December 2022, Council
approved an updated business case for phase 1 of the Western Way
(WW) project in Bury St Edmunds and agreed that Cabinet could
deliver the scheme provided it passed two further gateways.
Report number: CAB/WS/23/014 covered the first of those two
gateways. The second gateway, and the final decision to proceed
with the scheme, would not be considered until late summer 2023 at
the earliest.
Councillor Joanna Rayner, Portfolio Holder for
Leisure, Culture and Community Hubs, drew relevant issues to the
attention of Cabinet, including that it was not proposed at this
meeting to revisit earlier decisions taken by Council on the
project, and neither to discuss phase 2 which as agreed by Council
in December 2022, would be an entirely separate project requiring a
new business case in 2024 and a new decision by councillors.
Following Council’s approval of a new
budget framework in December 2022 for the WW project to reflect a
new phased delivery, section 2.1.1 of the report provided a summary
of the tests that must be met to proceed with the delivery of phase
1 of the scheme. The phase 1 scheme must now:
a. cost no more than
£65 million in total (excluding the £10 million of
interim works to the remainder of the WW frame/site as set out in
paragraph 2.1.3);
b. not increase the
Council’s existing Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)
provision of £724,000 for Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre;
and
c. in relation to other
ancillary elements of the new hub, be capable of achieving at least
a break-even position over the whole life of the borrowing (40
years).
The remainder of section 2.1 provided details
that addressed the above points, culminating in requesting Cabinet
to consider as part of gateway 1:
a.
whether the budget approved by Council was still
sufficient, that is, whether the financial tests were still being
met; and
b.
whether it was reasonable to proceed to second stage
tendering and, ideally, to gateway 2.
Detail provided in the report
assisted Cabinet in its deliberations on the above matters, which
were reiterated by Councillor Rayner at the meeting.
Discussion was held on the
proposed provision of the health and wellbeing centre and the level
of service it would provide. The benefits of a similar facility at
the Mildenhall Hub were recognised. Engagement with the NHS on this
matter was continuing.
Members spoke positively on the project and
having considered the contents of the report in detail, they
concluded that:
·
benchmarking suggested the budget was both
reasonable and value for money;
·
the cost plan was already within three percent of
the target budget with lots of options to control it through the
mitigation plan;
·
the preferred contractor was confident they could
hit the budget given ...
view the full minutes text for item 454.
|
455. |
Revenues collection performance and write-offs (Report number: CAB/WS/23/015) PDF 133 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/23/015
Portfolio holder: Councillor
Sarah Broughton
Lead officer: Rachael
Mann
Decision:
Resolved:
That the write-off of the amounts detailed in
the exempt appendices to Report number: CAB/WS/23/015, be approved,
as follows:
1. Exempt Appendix 1:
Council Tax totalling £14,079.44
2. Exempt Appendix 2:
NNDR totalling £87,969.26
Minutes:
The Cabinet considered this report, which
provided the collection data in respect of Council Tax and National
Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) and sought approval for the write-off of
the amounts contained in the exempt appendices attached to the
report.
Councillor Sarah Broughton, Portfolio Holder
for Resources and Property, drew relevant issues to the attention
of the Cabinet, including the current performance of both council
tax and business rates collection, as set out in Section 2 of the
report.
Members noted that there was an
extensive and supportive recovery process prior to the engagement
of an enforcement agency. The Council currently used the services
of the ARP Enforcement Agency to assist in the collection of
business rates and council tax and also had online tracing
facilities. Every effort was made to recover a debt before reaching
the point of seeking approval to write it off. In the event that a written-off debt became recoverable, the
amount was written back on, and enforcement procedures would be
re-established.
Resolved:
That the write-off
of the amounts detailed in the exempt appendices to Report number:
CAB/WS/23/015, be approved, as follows:
1. Exempt Appendix 1:
Council Tax totalling £14,079.44
2. Exempt Appendix 2:
NNDR totalling £87,969.26
|
456. |
West Suffolk Food Safety and Health and Safety Service plan (Report number: CAB/WS/23/016) PDF 151 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/23/016
Portfolio holder: Councillor
Andy Drummond
Lead officer: Jen
Eves
Additional documents:
Decision:
Resolved:
That the Food Safety and Health and Safety
Service plan 2023 to 2024, as contained in Appendix A to Report
number: CAB/WS/23/016, be approved.
Minutes:
The Cabinet considered this report, which
sought approval for the West Suffolk Food Safety and Health and
Safety Service plan
2023 to 2024.
The Food Safety and Health and Safety Service
plan outlined the Council’s commitment to protect public
health and safety and the environment, by conducting programmed and
reactive interventions, investigations, and research to detect,
eliminate and control hazards by applying fair, transparent, and
proportionate enforcement.
The plan, which was a statutory requirement
set out in the code of practice for food safety, was attached as
Appendix A to the report, and was considered in detail by the
Cabinet.
Councillor Andy Drummond, Portfolio Holder for
Regulatory and Environment, drew relevant issues to the attention
of Cabinet, which included summarising progress made against the
2021 to 2022 plan, and the key challenges identified that would
affect the implementation of the 2023 to 2024 plan, as set out in
sections 2.1 and 3.1 of the report respectively.
The Cabinet supported approval of the plan and
acknowledged the extensive amount of work undertaken by officers in
this service area.
Resolved:
That the Food
Safety and Health and Safety Service plan 2023 to 2024, as
contained in Appendix A to Report number: CAB/WS/23/016, be
approved.
|
457. |
Decisions Plan: 1 March 2023 to 31 May 2023 (Report number: CAB/WS/23/017) PDF 172 KB
To consider the most recently published
version of the Cabinet’s Decisions Plan
Report number: CAB/WS/23/017
Portfolio holder: Councillor
John Griffiths
Lead officer: Ian
Gallin
Minutes:
The Cabinet considered this report which was
the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period 1 March 2023 to 31
May 2023.
Members took the opportunity to review the
intended forthcoming decisions of the Cabinet; however, no further
information or amendments were requested on this occasion.
|
458. |
Exclusion of press and public
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.
Minutes:
See minute number 459. below.
|
459. |
Exempt appendix: Western Way project (paragraph 3) (Report number: CAB/WS/23/014)
Exempt Appendix to Report number:
CAB/WS/23/014
Portfolio holder: Councillor Joanna Rayner
Lead officer: Alex Wilson
(This exempt appendix is to be considered in
private under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government
Act 1972, as it contains information relation to the financial or
business affairs of any particular
person (including the authority holding that
information))
Minutes:
The Cabinet considered the exempt appendix to
this report. However, no reference was
made to specific detail and, therefore, this item was not held in
private session.
|
460. |
Exempt appendices: Revenues collection performance and write-offs (paragraphs 1 and 2) (Report number: CAB/WS/23/015)
Exempt appendices 1 and 2 Report number:
CAB/WS/23/015
Portfolio holder: Councillor Sarah
Broughton
Lead officer: Rachael Mann
(These exempt appendices are to be considered
in private under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Local
Government Act 1972, as they contain information relating to an
individual and information which is likely to reveal the identity
of an individual)
(No representations have been
received from members of the public regarding these item being held
in private.)
Minutes:
The Cabinet considered the exempt appendices
to this report. However, no reference
was made to specific detail and, therefore, this item was not held
in private session.
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In this section
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