There were no apologies for absence.

There were no announcements from the Chairman.

Mrs Helen Briggs, Chief Executive, confirmed with reference to the recent announcement from Carillion declaring itself insolvent, that Rutland County Council had no contractual agreements with the company.  Ministry of Defence partners, however, did have significant contractual agreements with Carillion.

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.

No declarations of interest were received.

To confirm the Record of Decisions made at the meeting of the Cabinet held on 19 December 2017.

The Record of Decisions made by Cabinet on 19 December 2017, copies of which had been previously circulated were confirmed by Cabinet.

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 12 January 2018.

The Chairman had not been formally notified of any items raised by Scrutiny.

(KEY DECISION)

Report No. 7/2018

(Report to follow)

(KEY DECISION)

Report No. 8/2018 from the Director for Resources was received.

Mr O Hemsley, Acting Leader, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to present a draft budget for consultation prior to the budget being formally set in February 2018.  The Council was required to set a balanced budget and agree the level of Council tax for 2018/19.

During his introduction, Mr Hemsley highlighted that reductions in government funding would continue to put pressure on provision of services for Rutland.  Mr Hemsley noted that only 20% of funding per head in Rutland comes from Local Government, but that nationally the average was 40% and that Members and Officers would continue to lobby to try to redress this inequality.  The proposed increase in Council Tax would go some way to replacing a reduction in funding (£1.5m), but would not be sufficient to help the Council respond to increasing pressures and demand for services.  In spite of continuing work on keeping costs low, demand for adult social care and children’s services will necessitate the use of reserves to balance the budget.  Following the Cabinet decision, the Draft Budget would go to consultation with the public; the business community; and Parish Councils, as well as being presented to Special Budget Scrutiny Panels in January.

During discussion the following points were raised:

1. Members agreed that the Budget was well defined, but raised concerns regarding the impact on reserves in the future due to the current uncertainty around Government Funding.   Mr Della Rocca, Assistant Director – Finance, confirmed that the Government was conducting a series of consultations looking at fairer funding and the needs of Local Authorities.  However, every Local Authority would be looking for a better allocation of funding and although the Council would continue to lobby for a better share for Rutland, given that funding per head in Rutland was below the National Average, the Medium Term Financial Plan assumed there would be no increases in funding from Central Government. The outcome of the Government Green Paper on Social Care may result in increased funding in this area but again this is unclear;
2. The potential of investments such as Oakham Enterprise Park, should be maximised;
3. Decisions should continue to be made in an open and transparent way to ensure that members of the public were fully informed;
4. The Chief Executive, Mrs Briggs, confirmed that Senior Officers kept the savings target under constant review and implemented changes in order to reduce costs wherever possible throughout the year;  and
5. Members agreed that the recommendation in Report No. 8/2018 should be amended to reflect a Council Tax increase of 4.99% in order to minimise the impact on Reserves, in light of the discussion regarding future funding from Central Government.

DECISION

1)    Cabinet APPROVED for consultation:

·       The General Fund Budget for 2018/19 detailed in Appendix 1 section 3 (Report No. 8/2018),

·       The savings proposals set out in Appendix 6 (Report No. 8/2018),

·       The service pressures contained within Appendix 7 (Report No. 8/2018),

·       The Directorate budgets  ...  view the full minutes text for item 516.

(KEY DECISION)

Report No. 6/2018

(Report to follow)

(KEY DECISION)

Report No. 6/2018 from the Director for Resources was received.

Mr S Della Rocca, Assistant Director – Finance, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to set out the expected treasury and capital investment operations for 2018/19, linked to the Council’s budget, Medium Term Financial Strategy and Capital Programme. It delivered on key legislative requirements and incorporated requirements introduced in recent updated guidance.

During his introduction, Mr Della Rocca confirmed that the focus remained on short term investments at present and that the Council would continue to look to repay borrowing where there was a financial business case.  The Report looked for approval for a £10m fund for commercial investments, along with £50k start-up fund for such potential investments from the Invest to Save reserve.  These funds would be subject to the Commercial Investment Policy contained within the report (Appendix 2).  It was envisaged that such investments would assist in closing the funding gap highlighted in the Budget report.  In order to facilitate this fund the Prudential Indicators would be increased in the Treasury Management Strategy as detailed in the recommendations.  The Report brought together a number of plans and policies.

During discussion the following points were raised:

1. It was confirmed that investments would initially be made within Rutland and/or for the benefit of Rutland residents.  This would be kept under review should there be no suitable opportunities; and
2. The skills and knowledge required in order to ensure the successful implementation of the Capital Strategy were listed at item 9 of the Strategy (Appendix 2) and had been incorporated into the recruitment criteria for the post of Strategic Director for Places which was currently in progress.

DECISION

1)    Cabinet RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL to approve:

a)    The Treasury Management Strategy in Appendix 1 to Report No. 6/2018 including the Investment Strategy, Borrowing strategy, Minimum Revenue Provision statement and Capital Expenditure Prudential indicators.

b)    The Capital Investment Strategy in Appendix 2 to Report No. 6/2018.

c)    The establishment of a £10m fund for commercial investments to be used in accordance with Commercial Investment Policy in Appendix 2, Annexe B1 to Report No. 6/2018.

d)    An increase in the Authorised Borrowing Limit to £33m (previously £28m) and the Operational Boundary to £28m (previously £23m).

e)    Use of £50k as a start-up fund from the Invest to Save reserve (as required) to fund any pre acquisition costs associated with potential investments.

Reasons for decision

1.    The Council was required to approve a Treasury Management Strategy and Capital Strategy.

2.    Investment interest rates were expected to remain low in the short term and in order to maximise the returns available, various changes had been recommended including approval of a Capital Investment Policy for Non Treasury investments.

3.    The Council was not planning to repay existing borrowing but was asked to approve increases in borrowing to fund investments which would yield a positive impact on the MTFP.

(KEY DECISION)

Report No. 1/2018

(Report to follow)

(KEY DECISION)

Report No. 1/2018 from the Director for Resources was received.

Mr S Della Rocca, Assistant Director – Resources, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to approve the 2018/19 council tax base, as required by section 33 of The Local Government Finance Act 1992 in accordance with The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2914/2012); and to seek delegated authority for the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Places to undertake the calculation and approve the council tax base for the financial year 2019/20 and subsequent years.

During discussion the following points were raised:

1. Clarification was provided that the figure of 15,312.9 in Recommendation 1) of the Report was the Band D equivalent figure used as the basis for setting Council Tax.

DECISION

1)    Cabinet APPROVED:

1. Rutland County Council’s tax base for the year 2018/19 as detailed in Appendix A to Report No. 1/2018 equating to a Band D Equivalent figure of 15,312.9.
2. That the collection rate for Council Tax was set at 99%.
3. That the tax base for each of the parishes and town councils be set as detailed in Appendix B to Report No. 1/2018.

2)    Cabinet AGREED that authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance to approve the council tax base annually from 2019/2020 onwards.

Reason for the decision

1.    The Council had to meet the statutory requirements to set a tax base for 2018/19.

(KEY DECISION)

Report No. 144/2017

(KEY DECISION)

Report No. 144/2017 from the Director for Places (Environment, Planning and Transport) was received.

Mr D Brown, Director for Places (Environment, Planning and Transport), introduced the report, the purpose of which was to consider proposals to change speed limits.

During the discussion the following points were raised:

1. There had been strong community support for the changes to Harrier Close and it met the requirement for support from the Police in that it would be self-enforcing (The mean speed was recorded at 16mph);
2. Parish Councils generally funded requests put forward and approved; and
3. Cabinet agreed that recommendation 3) in relation to Oakham Town Centre would be withdrawn pending the conclusions of the Task and Finish Group on Oakham Town.

DECISION

1)    Cabinet APPROVED, subject to funding by the Parish Councils:

a)    That the speed limit be reduced from 30mph to 20mph at Harrier Close, Cottesmore, as shown on Drawing SLR-06 (Appendix B to Report No. 144/2017).

b)    That the speed limit be reduced from 60mph to 40mph on the A606, Stamford Road/Bunkers Hill, Empingham, as shown on Drawing SLR-09 (Appendix B to Report No. 144/2017).

c)    That the speed limit be reduced from 60mph to 40mph on the A606, Stamford Road, as shown on Drawing SLR-10 (Appendix Bn to Report No. 144/2017).

2)    Cabinet AGREED that authority be delegated to the Director for Places (Environment, Planning and Transport) in consultation with the Ward Members and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Places (Highways, Transport and Market Towns) to consider any objections to the statutory consultation notices for the traffic regulations orders (TROs); along with the authority to modify the proposed TROs.

Reason for decision

1.    Requests for changes to speed limits had been assessed in line with DfT guidance and consultation had been carried out.  The recommended changes were generally those that meet DfT guidance and had the support the Parish Council, Ward Members and the Police.

--o0o--

Mr R Clayton joined the meeting.

--o0o--

Report No. 9/2018

Report No. 9/2018 from the Chief Executive was received.

Mr G Brown, Portfolio Holder for Sport & Recreation, Culture and the Environment, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to present for Cabinet approval a list of artefacts from the Rutland County Museum collections for disposal.  The artefacts had been identified by the Museum Collections Manager as not being of value in promoting and preserving the heritage and traditions of the County, and whose continuing preservation did not represent effective use of resources allocated to protect the heritage of the County.  The Museum Collections Development Policy required the Governing Body to authorise disposals.  The paper also presented a revised Museum Collections Development Policy, which covered priorities for future museum acquisitions, disposals and ethical collections issues (such as not collecting items resulting from spoliation).

During discussion the following points were raised:

1. Any proposal to dispose of items would be subject to a report to Cabinet and formal consultation (Section 2.9 Report No. 9/2018); and
2. Valuable feedback and information had been received from the Local History Society which would be taken into consideration.

DECISION

1)    Cabinet APPROVED the disposal of the surplus artefacts identified in Appendix A to Report No. 9/2018, presently held by Rutland County Museum, in accordance with the existing Museum Collections Development Policy.

2)    Cabinet APPROVED the revised Museum Collections Development Policy 2018 (Appendix B to Report No. 9/2018) noting that any future proposals for disposal would also require a separate report and authorisation by Cabinet.

Reasons for decision

1. Cabinet was recommended to approve the disposal of the Museum artefacts identified in Appendix A to Report No. 9/2018, and to approve the revised Collections Development Policy attached as Appendix B to Report No. 9/2018.

2. Approval for the following steps as outlined in the policy would help to ensure that Rutland County Museum was able to retain its status as an Accredited Museum, which was a quality standard for the service.

3. The ongoing assessment of the collection will enable the Council to review the best use of the Museum footprint in the future, in line with the corporate strategy of optimising space occupied by the Council.

4. Any future proposals for disposal of artefacts would be presented to Cabinet for consideration, following review and consultation.

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

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