Decisions

The Cabinet will be asked to consider and approve a revised Air Quality Action Plan for Great Barton.

Resolved:

That the proposed update of the Great Barton Air Quality Action Plan, for the period January 2024 to January 2029, as set out in Appendix A to Report number CAB/WS/24/012, be adopted.

The Cabinet will be asked to consider and approve an updated West Suffolk Council Contaminated Land Strategy, which forms part of a framework affecting the quality and use of land locally.

Resolved:

That the draft West Suffolk Contaminated Land Strategy for the period January 2024 to January 2029, as set out in Appendix A to Report number CAB/WS/24/023, be adopted.

The Cabinet will be asked to consider the recommendations of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee regarding seeking approval for the financial resilience activities between 1 April 2023 and 31 December 2023.

Recommended to Council: (20 February 2024)

That the Treasury Management Report (December 2023), as contained in Report number FRS/WS/24/001, be approved.

The Cabinet will be asked to recommend to Council, approval of the Strategy Statement 2024 to 2025 and Treasury Management Code of Practice for West Suffolk Council, which must be undertaken before the start of each financial year.

Recommended to Council: (20 February 2024)

That:

1.           The Treasury Management Statement 2024 to 2025, as set out in Appendix 1 to Report number FRS/WS/24/002, be approved.

2.           The Treasury Management Code of Practice, as set out in Appendix 2 to Report number FRS/WS/24/002, be approved.

The Cabinet will be asked to consider the proposals for the 2024 to 2025 budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024 to 2028 for West Suffolk Council, prior to its approval by Council.  This report includes the Minimum Revenues Provision (MRP) Policy and Prudential Indicators, and also the outcomes of the Council’s review of its fees and charges.

The fees and charges have been reviewed in accordance with the Council’s Fees and Charges Policy, which has resulted in proposed increases to some. Where the proposed increase is greater than five percent, this constitutes a Key Decision. The Cabinet will consider the proposals as part of its consideration of this report. 

26 January 2024

Issue of Special Urgency Notice (Inclusion of Exempt Appendices)

The Cabinet will be asked to consider the proposals for the 2024 to 2025 budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024 to 2028 for West Suffolk Council, prior to its approval by Council.

The inclusion of exempt Appendices are the business cases for new projects under the Capital Programme and are required to be included

to enable the Council to have access to all relevant information.  It has not been possible to provide 28 days’ notice for the reporting of these Appendices being considered in private session, as it was not known that exempt Appendices would be attached to the consideration of this report.

Under the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Council’s Constitution, paragraphs 16.1 and 17.2, which requires that where the normal procedure cannot be followed in respect of the consideration of matters in private, agreement is to be sought from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as to why the matter cannot be reasonably deferred.  This has been undertaken accordingly.

(Note: This item constituted a Key Decision in part where proposed increases in fees and charges contained in the report were greater than five percent (Attachment D, Appendix 6a).  Other decisions emanating from the report would require final approval by Council on 20 February 2024.  This was reflected in the Decisions Notice accordingly).

Recommended to Council (as part of the budget setting process)

(20 February 2024):

That:

1.           The revenue and capital budget for 2024 to 2028, plus 2023 to 2024 capital projects that subsequently require to be carried forward at the year end, attached at Attachment A and as detailed in Attachment D (Appendices 1-6), Attachment E, and Attachment F to Report number CAB/WS/24/010, be approved.

2.           Having taken into account the conclusions of the Director’s (Resources and Property) report on the adequacy of reserves and the robustness of budget estimates (Attachment C) and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) (Attachment D), particularly the Scenario Planning and Sensitivity Analysis (Attachment D, Appendix 5) and all other information contained in Report number CAB/WS/24/010, the Cabinet recommends the level of council tax for 2024 to 2025 be established at £197.82 for an average band D property (the level of council tax beyond April 2025 will be set in accordance with the annual budget process for the relevant financial year).

3.           The Director (Resources and Property), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Resources, be authorised to vire funds between existing Earmarked Reserves (as set out at Attachment D, Appendix 3) as deemed appropriate throughout the medium term financial planning period.

4.           The Director (Resources and Property) in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Resources, be given delegated authority to formulate and implement in full, Government grant, discount or relief schemes (examples include but not limited to those set out in paragraphs 3.14-3.16 and 4.7-4.10 of Report number CAB/WS/24/010), so long as they are as a minimum, revenue cost neutral to the Council.

5.           The change to the Second Home Premium, set out in paragraphs 4.7 to 4.10 of Report number CAB/WS/24/010, be approved.

Resolved:

That:

6.           The fees and charges price increases (as set out in Attachment D, Appendix 6a of Report number CAB/WS/24/010) be approved.

Recommended to Council (as part of the budget setting process) (20 February 2024):

7.           The Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy (as set out in Attachment F of Report number CAB/WS/24/010), be approved.

The Cabinet will be asked to consider recommendations of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee for recommending to Council on proposals for achieving a sustainable budget in 2024 to 2025 and in the medium term.

Recommended to Council (as part of the budget setting process):

(20 February 2024)

That:-

1.           The proposal as detailed in Section 2 of Report number PAS/WS/24/001 and Appendix A (budget assumption changes) be included in the 2024 to 2025 Revenue Budget.

2.           The capital programme, as set out in Appendix C of Report number PAS/WS/24/001, be included in the 2024 to 2025 budget setting process.

The Cabinet will be asked to consider the recommendations of the West Suffolk Grant Working Party in respect of the levels of funding (if any) to be awarded to applicants to the Community Chest funding scheme for 2024 to 2025.

Resolved:

That:

A.   The allocation of Community Chest funding for 2024 to 2025, be approved, namely:

B.   For the reasons set out in paragraph 3.4.3 of Report number: CAB/WS/24/011, no Community Chest funding for 2024 to 2025 be awarded to:

The Portfolio Holder for Resources will be asked to implement the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) 2024-2025 allocations to interventions E1, E11, E13, E37, E38 and E39, as set out in Report number: CAB/WS/24/015.

Resolved:

That the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocations for 2024 to 2025 be implemented as follows, in line with the Council’s UKSPF investment

plan:

1.       £192,662 for a competitive grant process for improvements to town centres and high streets, including better accessibility for disabled people, including capital spend and running costs (UKSPF intervention E1)

2.       £68,106 for community projects to support capacity building for local civil society and community groups (UKSPF intervention E11)

3.       £34,053 for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector organisations working with the new Community Food Partnership Officers to enable support to be available to the food banks, groups supporting sustainable food and the establishment of a food network (UKSPF (intervention E13)

4.       £20,000 allocation to West Suffolk College (the Council’s strategic partner for skills) to create a new post to engage with employers with under-employed staff and offer skills training and qualifications to enable them to take up full-time jobs, with a focus on those likely to be leaving or not returning to the workplace (UKSPF intervention E37)

5.       £100,000 to West Suffolk College to create new skills training opportunities to enable local people to access local skilled jobs, particularly in areas of shortage and growth (UKSPF intervention E38)

6.       £25,000 to West Suffolk College to extend the access and availability of green skills courses to both employed and unemployed utilising newly created training facilities and qualifications (UKSPF intervention E39)

The Chief Executive, in consultation with the relevant ward members, has made a decision to make changes to the scheme of polling districts and polling places for Haverhill West ward and Moreton Hall ward, as set out in the attached Officer Decision Record.

At its meeting on 19 December 2023 West Suffolk Council approved the amended scheme of polling districts and polling places, as set out at Appendix A to Report number: COU/WS/23/023. They also authorised the Chief Executive, to amend the scheme of polling districts and polling places for Moreton Hall Ward and Haverhill West Ward following completion of the necessary assessments, as detailed in the Report number: COU/WS/23/023 and in consultation with relevant ward members.

In accordance with the delegation, the Chief Executive has taken the decision to approve the amended scheme of polling places with the changes set out in the attached Officer Decision Record.