Agenda for Cabinet on Tuesday 21 July 2020, 6.00 pm

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting - Facilitated by MS TeamsLive Meeting Platform

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

Media

Items
No. Item

131.

Welcome and Meeting Facilitation

Minutes:

The Chair formally opened the meeting and welcomed all persons present including those that were viewing the meeting externally via the live broadcast.

 

Alex Wilson, one of the Directors, was acting as facilitator for the meeting and, upon being invited to do so by the Chair, detailed the housekeeping matters and guidance as to how the meeting would operate within the virtual setting.

132.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

No apologies for absence were received.

133.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 119 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 23 June 2020 (copy attached).

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 June 2020 were confirmed as a correct record.

134.

Open Forum

At each Cabinet meeting, up to 15 minutes shall be allocated for questions or statements from and discussion with, non-Cabinet members.  As this meeting is being held virtually, Members wishing to speak during this session must notify Democratic Services by 9am on the day of the meeting that they wish to attend.  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.

135.

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.

 

As the meeting is taking place virtually, a person who wishes to speak must register by 9am on Monday 20 July 2020 to ensure that there is time to brief them on how they can speak at the meeting.  This can be done by sending the request to democratic.services@westsuffolk.gov.uk or by telephoning one of the numbers provided on the Public Information Sheet at the start of this agenda.  Members of the public will either be set up as a ‘Guest Speaker’ or be provided with a telephone number they can call when prompted to do so during the meeting to enable them to participate.

 

If a member of the public cannot attend the meeting remotely, they may submit a written question or statement to Democratic Services by midday at the very latest on the day of the meeting and this will be read out on their behalf during the meeting.

 

There is an overall time limit of 15 minutes for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chairman’s discretion.

Minutes:

The following member of the public spoke under this agenda item:

 

1. Laura Williams, a resident of the district, asked a question in connection with the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy and specifically, where a driver wished to purchase a hybrid or electric vehicle for private hire use whether it could be made that they were any age on first grant rather than the proposed five years as hybrid and electric vehicles were on average three times more expensive than conventional petrol or diesel vehicles.

 

In response, Councillor Andy Drummond, Portfolio Holder for Regulatory, stated that the Council was sensitive to the concerns raised by the Taxi industry and had endeavoured to reflect this through its consultation and review process in relation to the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy.  

 

The proposed policy provided a framework of requirements and conditions through which West Suffolk Council wished to regulate the licensing of vehicles and drivers. However, this did not prevent drivers from approaching the Council with a scenario such as the wish to licence an electric vehicle greater than five years old accompanied by an appropriate evidence base that it could meet the aspirations of the Council. These would be judged on a case by case basis as other exceptions would be.

 

The Council was seeking to reduce emissions as much as possible and the introduction of the 10-year maximum age of vehicle proposal supported this objective. As measures and vehicles were continued to be assessed in the context of supporting the Council’s response to its declaration of a climate emergency, this issue would be included for future review.

 

In response to Mrs Williams’ supplementary question, Councillor Drummond drew attention to paragraphs 35.5, to 35.8 of the proposed policy, which set out the proposed exceptions to the policy in respect of age of the vehicle.

136.

Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee: 9 July 2020 (Report No: CAB/WS/20/042) pdf icon PDF 156 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/042

Chair of the Committee: Cllr Ian Shipp               

Lead Officer: Christine Brain

Minutes:

The Cabinet received and noted this report, which informed Members of the following substantive items discussed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting held on 9 July 2020:

 

1.       Council response to COVID-19;

2.       Cabinet Decisions Plan: 1 July 2020 to 31 May 2021; and

3.       Scrutiny Work Programme 2020-2021.

 

Councillor Shipp, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet.

 

137.

Financial Impact of COVID-19 on West Suffolk Council (Report No: CAB/WS/20/043) pdf icon PDF 353 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/043

Portfolio Holder: Cllr Sarah Broughton                 Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:

That:

 

1.       the financial impacts of COVID-19 on the council finances, be noted; and

 

2.       the next steps and principles for future planning at section 8 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/043, be supported.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered this report, which presented the financial impacts of COVID-19 on the Council’s finances and sought endorsement of the proposed next steps and principles for future planning.

 

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the UK, a number of events had occurred which had had a significant impact on West Suffolk Council’s financial position. Some of these had been restrictions imposed by Government that had affected West Suffolk Council’s investments, assets and services; and others had been announcements of Government financial support. These were summarised in the timeline attached to the report at Appendix A.

 

The Council had responded to COVID-19 in respect of supporting businesses and the most vulnerable in West Suffolk communities as well as running essential services. This support was (covering the current financial year 2020/21) expected to cost £2.2 million. Equally, the money expected to be generated by the Council in the current financial year, through income, was expected to reduce by £8 million. The money so far allocated by Government (£1.8 million) did not cover this gap which, with Government funding so far, was a total of £8.4 million, a loss of 15% of the Council’s gross budget for the current financial year 2020/21.

 

Councillor Sarah Broughton, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet, including the implications, and managing the effects of, COVID-19 on the Council’s finances as set out in the report.

 

Having acknowledged and noted the significant financial impact COVID-19 was currently having on the Council’s finances, the Cabinet was in support of the proposed next steps and principles for future planning, as set out in section 8, in order to balance this year’s budget, and for making revisions to the medium term plan.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That:

 

1.       the financial impacts of COVID-19 on the council finances, be noted; and

 

2.       the next steps and principles for future planning at section 8 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/043, be supported.

138.

Recommendations of the Grant Working Party: 24 June 2020 - Overview of Community Chest 2020/2021 and proposed changes to the 2021/2022 scheme; and Locality Budgets 2019/2020 (Report No: CAB/WS/20/044) pdf icon PDF 208 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/044

Portfolio Holder: Cllr Robert Everitt                     Lead Officer: Davina Howes

Chair of the Working Party: Cllr Jim Thorndyke

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:

That due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic:

 

Community Chest: 2020/2021

 

1.       In these exceptional circumstances, the £3,500 allocation of Community Chest funding in 2020/2021 to Our Special Friends now be used to pay core costs for one year only, as detailed in paragraphs 3.6 and 3.7 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/044;

 

2.       the following nine organisations that received Community Chest funding in 2020/2021, be given an extension to fulfil the outcomes and outputs of their projects which were committed to as part of the award for 2020/21, as set out in paragraphs 3.7 and 3.8:

 

a.       Bury Drop in

b.       Haverhill Community Trust

c.       The Befriending Scheme

d.       Second Chances Support Group

e.       Suffolk Mind

f.       Bury Theatre

g.       Turner Hall

h.       Newmarket Day Centre

i.        The Erskine Centre

 

3.       The ways in which some organisations have adapted their approach in response to COVID-19 in order to continue to offer a service be noted, as set out in section 4 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/044.

 

Community Chest: 2021/2022

 

4.       The amended timeframe for applicants and decision-making process, as set out in paragraph 5.2 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/044, be noted to allow applications to be submitted by a deadline of 30 October instead of the usual 30 September; and

 

5.       the proposed revised guidance for applicants to Community Chest in 2021/2022, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: CAB/WS/20/000, be approved for the reasons set out in paragraph 5.3.

 

Councillor Locality Budget Scheme: 2020/2021

 

6.       In these exceptional circumstances, the Council’s Councillor Locality Budget Guidance be amended to enable projects awarded funding in 2019/20 and the early part of 2020/2021 to be completed beyond the current deadline, which currently required funding to be spent within a 12-month period, as detailed in paragraph 6.1 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/044.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered this report, which sought approval for a number of recommendations presented by the Grant Working Party following its meeting held on 24 June 2020.

 

Community Chest funding supported many voluntary and community organisations in West Suffolk each year. In January 2020, Cabinet agreed with the recommendations of the Grant Working Party and financially supported 22 organisations for 2020/2021.

 

Following a brief introduction by Councillor Robert Everitt, Portfolio Holder for Families and Communities, Councillor Jim Thorndyke, Chair of the Grant Working Party was invited to bring matters to the attention of Cabinet.

 

At its meeting, the Working Party had noted the headline data that had emerged via Community Action Suffolk COVID-19 Impact Survey (at Appendix A to its report) which indicated the critical nature of the voluntary and community sector across Suffolk. The CAS report recognised that many organisations were having to make some difficult decisions about the services they offered as a direct result of COVID-19 and how they could operate in the future.

 

At the start of this crisis the Families and Communities team proactively made contact with all of West Suffolk Council’s Community Chest funded organisations, along with other organisations which supported the communities. Support and guidance had been provided, together with signposting to additional funding resources where needed. In addition, organisations had been linked into the wider work that had been undertaken around new volunteering opportunities, safeguarding and working differently.

 

As a result of the engagement exercise, officers had ascertained that only 15% of organisations had paused their projects but had every intention of working with the Council to find a practical and safe way to deliver their projects, once further clarity was provided by Government on the next phase.  This left one organisation feeling unable to fulfil the project to which they originally committed, this being Our Special Friends (OSF) which was awarded £3,500 for an Animal Companionship Practitioner. They had requested the Community Chest funding be used to pay core costs, so they could survive this challenging time and continue with the support they currently offered.

 

The Working Party had considered it appropriate to recommend that the funding be allocated towards funding OSF’s core costs for one year only as it recognised these were exceptional circumstances. Emphasis was placed on not setting a precedent for funding core costs and whilst the scheme was flexible, the principal purpose of Community Chest was to provide funding towards specific projects.

 

The Working Party had also considered whether to allow a number of organisations that had received Community Chest funding in 2020/21, an extension of time to achieve the outcomes and outputs to which they originally agreed. These nine organisations were listed in the report.

 

Given the current circumstance the Working Party had considered it was reasonable to honour this. The Council would still expect quarterly performance returns and would continue to have open dialogue to offer support.  Members also considered that an interim update on progress of the nine organisations’ projects should be presented to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138.

139.

West Suffolk Environment and Climate Change Taskforce - Final Report (Report No: CAB/WS/20/045) pdf icon PDF 764 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/045

Portfolio Holders: Cllrs John Griffiths and Andy Drummond

Chair of the Taskforce: Cllr Rachel Hood

Lead Officer: Jill Korwin

Decision:

RESOLVED:

That:

 

1.       the Council be committed to working towards achieving net zero greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions by 2030 as set out in section 4 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/045; 

 

2.       the high-level road map to achieve net zero, be approved, as set out in section 4 and Appendix 2 noting it will need to develop as technologies and funding opportunities change;

 

3.       a carbon budgeting approach be introduced to support the net zero ambition, as set out in section 5; 

 

4.       the immediate actions the Council can take to support its journey to net zero, be agreed, as set out in section 3;

 

5.       the longer term actions the Council could consider as part of 2021/22 service and budget planning process, be noted, as set out in section 6; and

 

6.       the communications plan, be approved, as set out in section 7.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered this report, which presented the first of two reports from the West Suffolk Environment and Climate Change Taskforce. This report provided the majority of the final recommendations of the Taskforce, with a separate report presenting its recommendations specifically focussed on environment and biodiversity issues and associated actions (Report No; CAB/WS/20/046).

 

At the inaugural Annual Meeting of West Suffolk Council in May 2019, the new Leader announced that he proposed to set up two taskforces, one of which would be requested to look at ways in which the Council could improve on its current and previous actions taken to mitigate the effects of adverse environmental factors and climate change.

 

In September 2019, West Suffolk Council declared a climate emergency, having already established the West Suffolk Environment and Climate Change Taskforce in June 2019. The aim of the Taskforce was to make recommendations on the Council’s future role in protecting and enhancing the environment, both in the way in which it carried out its operations and through specific initiatives.

 

Following a brief introduction from Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the Council, Councillor Rachel Hood, Chair of the Taskforce was invited to report on the work of the Taskforce.

 

It was upon the Council’s (and predecessor councils) existing strong environmental performance foundation as summarised in section 1 of the report, that the Taskforce first met in August 2019. Taking an evidence-led approach, it agreed that recommendations to Cabinet should take account of the key features of West Suffolk and continue to embed environmental considerations into future decision-making. This report of the Taskforce set out:

·         the approach;

·         achievements following the interim report (January 2020);

·         rationale and opportunity to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030;

·         immediate actions the Council could take to further improve 2020/21 environmental performance;

·         longer term actions the Council could consider as part of its 2021/22 budget and service planning process.

 

Councillor Hood explained how the Taskforce refined it’s work to focus on actions that were ‘meaningful, measurable and achievable’, and these had been explored through the development of seven themes, as set out in paragraph 2.3 of the report. The Cabinet then noted the rationale behind the making of the recommendations, which included setting out the opportunity for the Council to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. An indicative roadmap for this had been produced that should find the Council at least breaking even after 10 years but it could also deliver a financial return.  This was set out in section 4. It was however, important to note that the Cabinet was being asked to commit to working towards achieving net zero greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions by 2030, and not to the individual projects listed.

The report also recommended the creation of, and reporting against a carbon budget to ensure that the Council could effectively plan and track its progress to net zero, as set out in section 5.

 

Councillor Hood expressed with confidence that with the existing processes the Council had in place,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 139.

140.

Report of the West Suffolk Environment and Climate Change Taskforce: Environment and Biodiversity Emergency in West Suffolk (Report No: CAB/WS/20/046) pdf icon PDF 434 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/046

Portfolio Holders: Cllrs Andy Drummond and Joanna Rayner

Chair of the Taskforce: Cllr Rachel Hood             

Lead Officer: Jill Korwin

Decision:

RESOLVED:

That:

 

1.       the Council’s Climate Emergency declaration be updated to specifically state Climate and Environment Emergency, as referred to in paragraph 4.1 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/046;

 

2.       the work that can be progressed within existing resources, outlined in the report as the phase one actions, be approved (section 3.3); and

 

3.       the potential longer-term initiatives proposed as being phase two actions, be noted, which have additional resource and budgetary implications, and it be agreed they will be considered as part of the 2021/22 service and budget planning process (section 3.4).

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered this report, which presented the second of the final reports from the West Suffolk Environment and Climate Change Taskforce. This report specifically made recommendations in connection with environment and biodiversity issues and associated actions.

 

Councillor Rachel Hood, Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Taskforce, had during the presentation of the previous item on the agenda (see Minute 139. above), set out the issues that had been looked at in connection with the evidence-based impact on the environment and biodiversity and the rationale behind the Taskforce’s short and longer term recommendations. These largely focused on improving the Council’s parks and green open spaces and aimed to help mitigate the challenges currently faced.

 

Councillor Andy Drummond, Portfolio Holder for Regulatory, drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet, including making reference to Councillor Hood’s introductory report during the previous item (see Minute 139. above) where an alternative option to the Taskforce’s recommendation of declaring an Environment and Biodiversity Emergency was mentioned.

 

The alternative option, which was set out in paragraph 4.1 of the report was considered by the Cabinet to be more appropriate. Having regard to the fact that the original remit of the Taskforce was to consider wider environmental issues over and above just looking at reducing the Council’s carbon emissions, and that in declaring the Climate Emergency the Cabinet was of the understanding that all Members already had regard for these wider issues, an amendment to the original declaration was considered to satisfactorily address this.

 

Together with proposing the other two recommendations set out in the report, Councillor Drummond proposed an amendment to the first recommendation, that the Climate Emergency declaration should be updated to specifically state “Climate and Environment Emergency”. This was duly seconded by Councillor Joanna Rayner.

 

The Cabinet agreed this was a sensible approach, and upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried unanimously.   

 

RESOLVED:

 

That:

 

1.       the Council’s Climate Emergency declaration be updated to specifically state Climate and Environment Emergency, as referred to in paragraph 4.1 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/046;

 

2.       the work that can be progressed within existing resources, outlined in the report as the phase one actions, be approved (section 3.3); and

 

3.       the potential longer-term initiatives proposed as being phase two actions, be noted, which have additional resource and budgetary implications, and it be agreed they will be considered as part of the 2021/22 service and budget planning process (section 3.4).

141.

Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy (Report No: CAB/WS/20/047) pdf icon PDF 185 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/047

Portfolio Holder: Cllr Andy Drummond               

Lead Officers: David Collinson and Fiona Quinn

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

DEFERRED:

Consideration of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy has been deferred by the Cabinet to give officers an opportunity to review the new Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards issued by Government to licensing authorities. Although it is anticipated the Council’s proposed new Policy contains the expected standards, which have been issued to improve the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, it is considered appropriate to allow additional time to carry out these checks before final approval of the Policy is sought.

Minutes:

This item was withdrawn from the agenda by officers, as set out in the decision below. The Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards were issued on the day in which the Cabinet was due to make its decision on the proposed Policy. The item will now be considered by Cabinet at a later date.

 

DEFERRED:

 

Consideration of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy has been deferred by the Cabinet to give officers an opportunity to review the new Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards issued by Government to licensing authorities. Although it is anticipated the Council’s proposed new Policy contains the expected standards, which have been issued to improve the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, it is considered appropriate to allow additional time to carry out these checks before final approval of the Policy is sought.

142.

Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan Regulation 16 Submission Consultation: Local Planning Authority Response (Report No: CAB/WS/20/048) pdf icon PDF 451 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/048

Portfolio Holder: Cllr David Roach            

Lead Officers: Julie Baird and Marie Smith

 

Decision:

RESOLVED:

That:

 

1.       the Local Planning Authority’s response to the Regulation 16 Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan submission consultation, as set out in section 3 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/048, be approved; and

 

2.       delegated authority be given to the Service Manager (Strategic Planning), to make minor non-material consequential changes to the response, as necessary.

Minutes:

(Councillor Sarah Broughton declared a pecuniary interest as she and her husband owned a parcel of land within the area covered by the Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan. She left the meeting during the consideration of this item and therefore did not take part in the debate or the vote.)

 

The Cabinet considered this report, which sought approval for the proposed West Suffolk Council response to the consultation on the Regulation 16 Submission of the Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan.

 

The Local Planning Authority (LPA) recognised that a significant amount of work had gone into the development of the Plan with extensive community involvement and the LPA commended the Parish Council for all the hard work to reach such an advanced stage in the neighbourhood plan making process.

 

This consultation opened on 10 June and would close on 19 August 2020.  The Council had responded to the previous Regulation 14 consultation stage which had raised concerns around the conformity of some of the Neighbourhood Plan policies and the Council’s identified local strategic planning policies. The LPA comments and the Neighbourhood Plan Group’s response to these comments were attached as Appendix A.

 

The Council’s response to the Regulation 16 consultation was attached at Appendix B, which was outlining three principal areas of concern where tensions arose between the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the LPA’s Strategic Policies and the Neighbourhood Plan, as summarised in section 3 of the report.

 

Following the close of the consultation, officers would reflect on the outcomes of the consultation process to ensure confidence in progressing to the next stage.  All comments received would be considered by an Examiner who would decide whether the basic conditions had been met and that the Plan could proceed to a Referendum.  However, it was noted that currently, no Referendums could take place earlier than May 2021.  It was anticipated that the Examination would take place in September 2020, following which the Examiner’s report would be received and the Council could then decide whether the Plan should proceed to Referendum.

 

The Cabinet agreed it was appropriate at this current Regulation 16 stage for the LPA to reiterate the previously identified issues to ensure a consistency of approach and to ensure consistency of response and reiteration of the concerns previously raised to the Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan Group and the Examiner.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That:

 

1.       the Local Planning Authority’s response to the Regulation 16 Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan submission consultation, as set out in section 3 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/048, be approved; and

 

2.       delegated authority be given to the Service Manager (Strategic Planning), to make minor non-material consequential changes to the response, as necessary.

 

(Councillor Broughton returned to the meeting.)

143.

Decisions Plan: 1 July 2020 to 31 May 2021 (Report No: CAB/WS/20/049) pdf icon PDF 276 KB

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

 

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/049

Portfolio Holder: Cllr John Griffiths           Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered this report which was the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period 1 July 2020 to 31 May 2021.

 

Councillor Griffiths, Leader of the Council, explained that since the publication of this version of the Decisions Plan, there would no longer be an opportunity to carry out formal engagement with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as part of the review of Public Space Protection Orders within West Suffolk towns due to the timing of the public consultation process that would be undertaken as part of the review.

 

This would be amended on the Plan, prior to its next publication in August 2020.

 

No further information or amendments were requested on this occasion.

144.

Revenues Collection Performance and Write-Offs (Report No: CAB/WS/20/050) pdf icon PDF 144 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/050

Portfolio Holder: Cllr Sarah Broughton                 Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

 

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

That the write-off of the amounts detailed in the Exempt Appendices to Report No: CAB/WS/20/050, be approved, as follows:

 

1.       Exempt Appendix 1: Council Tax totalling £11,864.83

 

2.       Exempt Appendix 2: Housing Benefit       

          Overpayment totalling £5,324.25

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 Performance, 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. She reiterated that it was always frustrating to write-off any outstanding debts.

 

Members noted that reliefs introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had reduced the amount to be collected by £1 million, which had affected the collection rate.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the write-off of the amounts detailed in the Exempt Appendices to Report No: CAB/WS/20/050, be approved, as follows:

 

1.       Exempt Appendix 1: Council Tax totalling £11,864.83

 

2.       Exempt Appendix 2: Housing Benefit Overpayment totalling £5,324.25

145.

Abbeycroft Leisure COVID-19 Loan Facility (Report No: CAB/WS/20/051) pdf icon PDF 301 KB

Report No:   CAB/WS/20/051

Portfolio Holders: Cllrs Jo Rayner and Sarah Broughton            

Lead Officer: Jill Korwin

 

Decision:

RESOLVED:

That:

 

1.       the business case to create a £1,000,000 loan facility for Abbeycroft Leisure, funded from the Investing in our Growth Agenda Fund, be agreed, as set out in section 5 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/051;

 

2.       delegated authority be given to the Council’s Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Resources and Performance, and Leisure, Culture and Community Hubs, and the Director, to agree the final details of the loan and enter into a loan agreement(s) with Abbeycroft Leisure; and 

 

3.       it be agreed for the Council’s Section 151 Officer to make the necessary changes to the Council’s prudential indicators as a result of recommendation 2. above.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered this report, which sought approval for a business case to create a £1 million loan facility for Abbeycroft Leisure.

 

Due to COVID-19, the Council’s leisure provider partner, Abbeycroft Leisure was required on 20 March 2020, to close its leisure centres resulting in a loss of all its income (other than the management fee the Council paid). Abbeycroft furloughed the majority of its workforce, maintaining a skeleton team to oversee operations.

 

Councillor Joanna Rayner, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Community Hubs, including that, although following a recent Government announcement, leisure centres were expected to re-open within the next few weeks, the offer would be notably different with social distancing and hygiene measures put in place and some facilities would not be operational for some time yet.

 

The Council could choose not to support Abbeycroft with the provision of a £1 million loan facility; however, if a loan facility wasn’t available and should Abbeycroft then fail, the service would become the responsibility of the Council and a costly transfer and remobilisation exercise would have to take place.  Staff would have to be transferred to the Council, and the Council would not have the financial and operational benefits the Trust model provided. Since transferring leisure services to Abbeycroft (and previously Anglia Community Leisure that delivered services to Forest Heath District Council up to 2015) the costs of that service had reduced from over £1.8m (2009/10) to £275,000 in 2020/21.

 

Having considered the strategic, financial, economic and social and community cases, as detailed in the report, the Cabinet was fully supportive of providing a £1 million loan facility to Abbeycroft Leisure to enable them to remain viable, the terms of which were detailed in section 5 of the report.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That:

 

1.       the business case to create a £1,000,000 loan facility for Abbeycroft Leisure, funded from the Investing in our Growth Agenda Fund, be agreed, as set out in section 5 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/051;

 

2.       delegated authority be given to the Council’s Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Resources and Performance, and Leisure, Culture and Community Hubs, and the Director, to agree the final details of the loan and enter into a loan agreement(s) with Abbeycroft Leisure; and 

 

3.       it be agreed for the Council’s Section 151 Officer to make the necessary changes to the Council’s prudential indicators as a result of recommendation 2. above.

146.

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 minutes 147. and 148. below

147.

Exempt Appendices: Revenues Collection Performance and Write-Offs (paras 1 and 2) (Report No: CAB/WS/20/050)

Exempt Appendices 1 and 2 to Report No:     CAB/WS/20/050

Portfolio Holder: Cllr Sarah Broughton       Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

 

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.

148.

Exempt Appendix: Abbeycroft Leisure COVID-19 Loan Facility (para 3) (Report No: CAB/WS/20/051)

Exempt Appendix 1 to Report No:        CAB/WS/20/051

Portfolio Holders: Cllrs Jo Rayner and Sarah Broughton            

Lead Officer: Jill Korwin

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.

149.

Conclusion

Minutes:

On conclusion of the meeting, the Chair thanked all present for their attendance at this virtual meeting.  The live broadcast subsequently ended at this point.

 

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