A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Council and councillors

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Catmose

Contact: Natasha Brown  01572 720991

Items
No. Item

628.

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND/OR HEAD OF THE PAID SERVICE

Minutes:

There were no announcements from the Chairman or Head of Paid Service.

629.

Declarations of Interest

 

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are required to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

630.

RECORD OF DECISIONS

 

To confirm the Record of Decisions made at the meeting of the Cabinet held on

Minutes:

The Record of Decisions made by the Cabinet on 14 February 2017, copies of which had been previously circulated were confirmed by Cabinet.

631.

ITEMS RAISED BY SCRUTINY

To receive items raised by members of scrutiny which have been submitted to the Leader (copied to Chief Executive and Democratic Services Officer) by 4.30 pm on Friday

Minutes:

The Chairman had been formally notified of three matters relating to the Quarter 3 Financial and Performance Management reports raised at the Resources Scrutiny Panel.  These would be dealt with under the relevant agenda items.

632.

QUARTER 3 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REPORT pdf icon PDF 59 KB

(KEY DECISION)

 

Report No. 37/2017

 

(Circulated under separate cover)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(KEY DECISION)

 

Report No. 37/2017 from the Director for Resources was received.

 

The purpose of the report was to inform Cabinet and all Members of the full year forecast position as at Quarter 3 for 2016/17 and to alert them to issues that may impact on the Medium Term Financial Plan to enable them to maintain sound financial management of the Council’s operations.

 

Cabinet considered Appendix H to Report No. 37/2017: Adverse variances over £50k.

 

During discussion the following points were raised:

 

i)                  That paragraph 3.8 of Report No. 36/2017 summarised the key areas where performance had deteriorated compared to the previous 12 months.  It was noted that actual figures concerned were low.

ii)               The Council would look to work with Job Centre Plus to encourage employers to become Disability Confident Employers.

iii)              The Director for Places (Development and Economy), Mr Phillipson and the Portfolio Holder, Mr Clifton, to form a scoping group to address the problems encountered in the county due to the low numbers of claimants claiming the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Incapacity Benefits, following the shortlisting of providers in April 2017.

iv)             The increase in the number of days lost to sickness: It was acknowledged that the number of days lost was lower than the national average.  The Director for Resources, Mrs Mogg, undertook to provide further analysis of sickness absence.

v)               The way that IT was supplied had changed since the Audit recommendation concerning the finalisation and communication of the ICT Disaster Recovery Plan with LiquidLogic and Agresso now provided externally.  Plans were being finalised to move the system backup site.

vi)             Safeguarding: When inspected by Ofsted the completion rate for single assessments was 100%.

 

DECISION

 

1)    That Cabinet APPROVED:

i)                 The use of £23k from the Invest to Save reserve as requested in Appendix B to Report No. 37/2017, note iii; and

ii)               The release of £46k from the Integrated Transport Block funding for the design works for Oakham Town Centre.

 

2)    That Cabinet NOTED:

i)                 The 2016/17 revenue and capital outturn position as at Quarter 3 (Appendix A to Report No. 37/2017, section 1 and section 2);

ii)               The proposed transfers from earmarked reserves as shown in the table in Appendix A to Report No. 37/2017, para 1.6.3 (to be finalised and agreed in the 2016/17 outturn); and

iii)              The changes to the Approved Capital Programme as outlined in Appendix A to Report No. 37/2017, para 2.2.1 (to be finalised and agreed in the 2016/17 outturn)

 

Reason for Decision

The Council was required to make savings over the medium term, the Q2 position was positive as, despite a number of significant variances, the Council was still forecasting a surplus and contributing to general reserves.

633.

QUARTER 3 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT REPORT pdf icon PDF 164 KB

Report No. 36/2017

 

(Circulated under separate cover)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No. 36/2017 from the Chief Executive was received.

 

The purpose of the report was to provide Cabinet with strategic oversight of the Council’s performance for Quarter 3 of 2016/17.  Members were accountable for the delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan and this monitoring information reported on progress and highlighted any key challenges.

 

During discussion the following points were raised:

 

i)                 That paragraph 3.8 of Report No. 36/2017 summarised the key areas where performance had deteriorated compared to the previous 12 months.  It was noted that actual figures concerned were low.

ii)               The Council would look to work with Job Centre Plus to encourage employers to become Disability Confident Employers.

iii)              The Director for Places (Development and Economy), Mr Philipson and the Portfolio Holder, Mr Clifton, to form a scoping group to address the problems encountered in the county due to the low numbers of claimants claiming the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Incapacity Benefits, following the shortlisting of providers in April 2017.

iv)             The increase in the number of days lost to sickness: It was acknowledged that the number of days lost was lower than the national average.  The Director for Resources, Mrs Mogg, undertook to provide further analysis of sickness absence.

v)               The way that IT was supplied had changed since the Audit recommendation concerning the finalisation and communication of the ICT Disaster Recovery Plan with LiquidLogic and Agresso now provided externally.  Plans were being finalised to move the system backup site.

vi)             Safeguarding: When inspected by Ofsted the completion rate for single assessments was 100%.

 

DECISION

 

1)    Cabinet NOTED the overall position in relation to performance for the third quarter of 2016/17 and the actions being taken to address areas of underperformance.

 

Reasons for decision

1.     81% of indicators measured during Quarter 3 were on or above target, with 66% either improving or unchanged when compared to the previous quarter.  14% of indicators were below target and main areas of concern had been highlighted in the report and the remedial action being undertaken to improve performance had been identified.

2.     Overall performance based on activity in the third quarter was satisfactory.

634.

GREETHAM NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN SUBMISSION DRAFT pdf icon PDF 5 MB

Report No. 42/2017

Minutes:

Report No. 42/2017 from the Director for Places (Development and Economy) was received.

 

The purpose of the report was to seek Cabinet’s authorisation to carry out consultation on the Greetham Neighbourhood Plan followed by submission to an independent examiner and holding of a local referendum.

 

DECISION

 

1)    That Cabinet AUTHORISED:

1)    Publication of the Submission Draft Greetham Neighbourhood Plan in Appendix A to Report No. 42/2017, for consultation with the local community and key stakeholders;

2)    Submission of the document and supporting information to an examiner appointed by the Council to carry out an independent examination of the plan;

3)    The Director for Places (Development and Economy) to:

i)                 Undertake the statutory consultation required as part of the submission procedure and on completion of that consultation prepare a post-submission Statement of Consultation for consideration by the independent examiner; and

ii)               Prepare the necessary documentation to accompany the Submission Draft Document through the local referendum process, including consultation and publicity material.

iii)              Appoint an examiner to carry out an independent examination of the Greetham Neighbourhood Plan and, following receipt of the examiner’s report, to organise a local referendum to consider the Neighbourhood Plan.

 

4)    The Director for Places (Development and Economy), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Places (Development and Economy) and Resources to:

i)                 Identify, in consultation with Greetham Parish Council, any such minor changes to the Submission Draft Neighbourhood Plan that may be required in response to representations received and submit them to the independent examiner;

ii)               Seek to determine, in consultation with Greetham Parish Council, any modifications identified in the independent examiner’s report before it can proceed to the referendum; and

iii)              Agree any changes to the referendum area if recommended by the independent examiner.

 

Reason for Decision

The Submission Draft Greetham Neighbourhood Plan was considered to comply with the statutory requirements for submission of a neighbourhood plan to a local authority.  It was recommended that it be publicised and submitted for independent examination as required by the legislation and regulations.

635.

ANY ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS

To receive items of urgent business which have previously been notified to the person presiding.

Minutes:

No items of urgent business had previously been notified to the Chairman.