Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 11 September 2018 were signed by the Leader as a correct record.

The Cabinet also received the minutes of the meeting of the Priory Road Community Hub Project Sub-Committee held on 20 September 2018.

(Where a Councillor has a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest the Councillor must declare the interest to the meeting and leave the room without participating in any discussion or making a statement on the item, except where a Councillor is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of dispensation.)

There were no declarations of interest.

No questions were raised under the Council’s Constitution (Standing Orders).

There were no matters subject to call-in.

There were no matters arising from the Policy Development and Performance Monitoring Panels.

To consider a Revised Street Naming and Numbering Policy and accompanying new charging regime (report of the Executive Director Place enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Place, which considered a revised Street Naming and Number Policy and accompanying new charging regime.

There was some discussion on historic names and non acceptable suffixes and it was agreed that where these issues arose, they should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

DECISION:

That the revised Street Naming and Numbering Policy and the accompanying proposed new charging regime, detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, be adopted.

(Other options considered:

·         To do nothing;

·         To adopt the revised Street Naming and Numbering Policy and the accompanying proposed new charging regime, contained in Appendix 1, with revisions.

Reasons for decision:

·         There have been no changes to the Council’s responsibilities in respect of street naming and numbering.  The Council is still required to provide this service and to ensure there is no confusion over addresses of properties in the District.

·         There are limited changes to the policy in terms of procedure.  The main proposed change is to charge for this service and generate income for the Council.  Other Councils are know to be charging for these works.  It is therefore reasonable for South Holland to explore this opportunity further;

·         The current Street Naming and Numbering Policy was originally adopted in 2005.  It is therefore timely to review its contents.)

To provide Members with the details of the current car parking options available in order to agree the scope of the statutory consultation that will propose changes to the car parking order (report of the Portfolio Holder Place enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Portfolio Holder for Place, which provided members with details of the current car parking options available in order to agree the scope of the statutory consultation that would propose changes to the car parking order.

Options available to the Cabinet were 1) card only machines; 2) card and cash machines; or 3) to do nothing.

It was suggested that car parking charges should be reviewed in order to encourage users to pay by card rather than cash.  Members were advised that a report would be brought forward to the Cabinet next year, following a complete review of fees and charges, and that this suggestion could be included within the report.

DECISION:

a)    That consultation be undertaken on card and cash payment machines (option 2) for the car parks at:

              i.        Sheep Market - Spalding, PE11 1BE

            ii.        Victoria Street - Spalding PE11 1EA

           iii.        Holland Road - Spalding PE11 1UL

           iv.        Westlode Street - Spalding PE11 2AF (on behalf of Broadgate Homes)

            v.        Winfrey Avenue - Spalding PE11 1DA

           vi.        The Vista - Spalding PE11 2RA

          vii.        Swimming Pool - Spalding PE11 1QD

b)    That it be agreed, in principle, that the South Holland District Council  (Off Street Parking Places) (Civil Enforcement) Order 2012 be amended so as to allow payment of parking charges by ‘any means advertised’ such as coin, card and mobile phone;

c)    That officers be authorised to undertake the necessary consultation and equality impact assessment in relation to the proposed amendments to the car parking order and report back to a future meeting following completion of the consultation process;

d)    That the draft notice of proposals and the draft statement of reasons attached as Appendices B and C to the report be approved in principle; and

e)    That the request for the additional capital costs for altering the machines (associated with option 2) be completed, and a further report be submitted to a future meeting proposing amendments to the current car parking charges due to the additional costs associated with this option.

(Other options considered:

·         Option 1 – Card only machines; or

·         Option 3 - To do nothing.

Reasons for decision:

·         Cash payments would be incorporated with the new card payment function – this would mitigate the potential risk of a high number of objections as part of the consultation which, if they could not be appropriately justified, could result in the machines needing to be converted to cash and card post consultation;

·         Although not the cheapest option, option 2 may be the quickest in terms of getting the new machines fitted and in use as there was a lower risk of objections during the consultation, which would cause a delay in fitting the machines; and

·         That the order is made future proof by consulting on allowing the provision of ‘any payment method as advertised; to allow for changes in technology and include current options such as mobile phone payments for car parking as part of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

To provide members with the details of the current car parking options available in order to agree the scope of the statutory consultation that will propose changes to the car parking order (report of the Deputy Leader, Councillor Malcolm Chandler enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Deputy Leader, which provided members with details of current car parking options available, in order to agree the scope of the statutory consultation that would propose changes to the car parking order.

Members commented that although the Authority had no control over car parks operated by Parish Councils, it was currently liaising with three Parish Councils and would assist them where possible.

DECISION:

That should the Council introduce electric vehicle only spaces (once the necessary budgets and formal decision have been made to do so), and that in order to ensure that enforcement can be undertaken immediately ,within electric vehicle only spaces (currently anticipated to be within car parks at Vine Street, Spalding, Victoria Street, Spalding and Fishpond Lane, Holbeach), the following be undertaken:

a)    That in principle, the South Holland District Council (Off Street Parking Places) (Civil Enforcement) Order 2012 be amended so as to allow electric vehicle parking bays to be used only by electric vehicles;

b)    That officers be authorised to undertake the necessary consultation and equality impact assessment in relation to the proposed amendments to the car parking order and report back to a future meeting following completion of the consultation process;

c)    That the draft notice of proposals and the draft statement of reasons attached as Appendices B and C to this report be approved in principle

(Other options considered:

·         Option 2 – Not to change the current car parking order until the Council agrees to install electric vehicle charging points within its car parks; or;

·         Option 3 - Do nothing.

Reasons for decision:

·         Option 1 allows for any future electric vehicle charging units to be installed quicker as the car parking order would already be amended, allowing for enforcement related to non-electric vehicles using parking spaces served by charging units .)

To consider and approve the new Safeguarding Policy for South Holland District Council (report of the Portfolio Holder Strategy, Governance and Transformation and the Executive Director Strategy and Governance enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Portfolio Holder for Strategy, Governance and Transformation and the Executive Director Strategy and Governance, which asked the Cabinet to consider and approve the new Safeguarding Policy for South Holland District Council.

DECISION:

a)    That the Safeguarding Policy be adopted; and

b)    That delegated authority be given to the Executive Director for Strategy and Governance in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Strategy, Governance and Transformation to make minor amendments to this policy.

(Other options considered:

·         To do nothing.

Reasons for decision:

·         Under section 11 of the Children Act, the Authority has a duty to ensure its functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;

·         The Care Act 2014 requires the Authority to work with other agencies to prevent and stop the risk and experience of abuse or neglect, and ensure that adults wellbeing is promoted;

·         A policy is an essential part of meeting this requirement, and the Authority would be criticised by the Children and Adults Safeguarding Boards for failing to adopt and follow such a policy.)

To provide an update on Council performance for the period 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018 (report of the Executive Director,  Strategy and Governance enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Strategy and Governance which provided an update on Council performance for the period 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018.

The Corporate Improvement and Performance Manager reported that Housing Void Re-Let times continued to be reviewed, and improvement of the turnover of voids was being sought.  At the request of the Performance Monitoring Panel, who had recently considered the report, members were also provided with high level figures on staff turnover for the last 12 months, although it was clarified that this covered a period when service reviews had been undertaken.  The percentage of leavers was as follows – Housing 50%; Environmental Services 23%; Planning 7%; and Corporate Team 5%.

The following issues were raised:

·         Missed collections were sometimes due to vehicle access issues, rather than them simply being missed.  It was important that this information was captured in order that a correct representation of the issue was reflected in the performance figures.  The Environmental Services Manager advised that she was currently working with the Corporate Improvement and Performance Team to consider how this information was reported.

·         There had been some improvement in the performance of housing void re-let times, and work was underway to identify those properties that were easier to re-let.  Members questioned whether the improvement in performance was due to this, and requested that a report be available at the next meeting showing historic performance.  The Executive Director Place was confident that improvement was not purely as a result of re-letting easier to let properties, but agreed that a comparison against historic targets was needed.

·         The Portfolio Holder Governance and Customer also commented that she was working with the Corporate Improvement and Performance Manager to consider ways of improving reporting and measurement.

·         Freedom of Interest requests were important however, consideration needed to be given to prioritising genuine requests from the public and the information given within the Authority’s responses.  The Chief Executive responded that this was being addressed, and further training on responding to requests was to be undertaken.

DECISION:

a)    That the content of the report be noted; and

b)    That the proposed amendment to the staff turnover performance measure target, to bring it in line with the national average for 18/19, be agreed.

(Other options considered:

·         To do nothing.

Reasons for decision:

·         In order that the Authority can show a healthy staff turnover rate in line with all other authorities.)

To seek a Cabinet decision on the final proposals for the 2019/20 Council Tax Support Scheme, to be presented to Council for approval on 28 November 2018 (report of the Portfolio Holder Finance enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Portfolio Holder Finance, which sought a Cabinet decision on the final proposals for the 2019/20 Local Council Tax Support Scheme, to be presented to Council for approval on 28 November 2018.

At its meeting on 11 September 2018, the Cabinet approved consultation on continuation of the current Council Tax scheme, uprated in line with DWP’s annual update of allowances and premiums for housing benefit, and the introduction of a new class for Care Leavers aged 18-21 years, providing up to 100% discount.  The consultation exercise ran between 14 September and 2 November 2018, and the consultation report was attached at Appendix A to the report.

DECISION:

That the report be noted.

RECOMMENDATION TO FULL COUNCIL:

a)    That the current Council Tax Support scheme be continued for 2019/20, along with uprating in line with the DWP’s annual update of allowances and premiums for housing benefit;

b)    That a new class for Care Leavers, aged 18-21 years be introduced; and

c)    That delegated authority to the Executive Director Commercialisation, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance be agreed, to approve the final scheme policy in line with the report.

 (Other options considered:

·         Continuation of the current scheme into 2019/20, uprated in line with the DWP’s annual update of allowances and premiums for housing benefit, but no introduction of a new class for Care Leavers aged 18-21 years, providing up to 100% discount.;

Reasons for decision:

·         The recommended option would provide continuity for customers at a time when they might be experiencing change through the introduction of Universal Credit, and it would also provide for a new class for Care Leavers into the main Council Tax Support scheme;

·         This approach would continue to see South Holland’s scheme modelled on the previous national Council Tax Benefit scheme, keeping administration of working age applications broadly consistent with administration of Housing Benefit and pensioners Council Tax Support. However with the implementation of Universal Credit in 2018/19, there will begin a reduction in working age Housing Benefit claimants over the next few years, and in turn a reduction in government funding.  It is therefore timely that whilst consulting on a proposal for no change to the Council Tax Support scheme for 2019/20, that work begins on looking to develop a simplified scheme.

·         Exploratory work will begin in 2018/19 to consider various scheme options and approaches, with a view to recommendations coming to Cabinet early in 2019/20 followed by consultation and then final decision making to achieve implementation of a new, simplified scheme for introduction in 2020/21.)

To provide information on Quarter 2 (to 30 September 2018) and forecast full year financial position of the Council (report of the Portfolio Holder Finance and the Executive Director Commercialisation (S151) enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Portfolio Holder Finance and the Executive Director Commercialisation (S151), which provided information on Quarter 2 (to 30 September 2018) and forecast full year financial position of the Council.

DECISION:

a)    That the report and Appendix A be noted;

b)    That the estimated position with regard to the contributions to and use of Reserves be noted; and

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

c)    That the following increase in the HRA Capital Programme be approved in accordance with paragraph 5.6.2 of the report:

·         Included in the Q1 report was a potential scheme for the replacement of 12 CSU vehicles.  This project had now been evaluated and it was proposed that Council approved an increase of £260,000 in the approved capital programme, which would be funded from the Major Repairs Reserve.

(Other options considered:

·           To note the report and not approve the recommendations detailed in Appendix A;

·           To do nothing.

Reasons for decision:

·           To provide members with information on the Council’s overall financial             performance to date in 2018-19 and to provide an updated financial      position on reserves for 2018-19.)

To seek approval for the write off of uncollectable debt (report of the Portfolio Holder Finance enclosed).

Please note that the appendices associated with this report are not for publication by virtue of Paragraphs 1 (Information relating to any individual), 2 (Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual) and 3 (Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)) in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and are therefore attached to this agenda as item 17).

Consideration was given to the report of the Portfolio Holder, Finance which sought approval for the write off of uncollectable debt. 

Members noted that the report contained details of individual debts within the confidential appendices (Appendix A – Council Tax and Appendix B – Business Rates).  A copy of the Operational Debt Write-Off Policy was also provided for reference at Appendix C.  These appendices were not for publication by virtue of Paragraphs 1 (Information relating to any individual), 2 (Information which is likely to reveal the identity of any individual) and 3 (Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

Members agreed that only the principles of the report would be discussed and there was therefore no need for the meeting to go into private session.

DECISION:

That the following debts be written off:

Council Tax                                                    £2,360.36

Business Rates                                             £2,848.24

Total:                                                                £5,208.60

(Other options considered:

·         Do nothing; or

·         Approve the recommendations with amendments

Reasons for decision:

·         All recovery methods available had been considered and where appropriate pursued before making the decision to write off;

·         Officer time can be maximised on greatest returns, at the same time as ensuring robust procedures for debt management are in place across all revenue streams.)

Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone Local Development Order – To formally agree to adopt the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone Local Development Order and to subsequently notify the Secretary of State to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) through the National Planning Casework Unit (NPCU), of the Council’s decision (report of the Portfolio Holder for Growth and Commercialisation enclosed).

Please note that the Leader is of the opinion that this item should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances.

Consideration was given to the report of the Portfolio Holder for Growth and Commercialisation which requested that the Cabinet formally agree to adopt the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone Local Development Order, and to subsequently notify the Secretary of State to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), through the National Planning Casework Unit (NPCU) of the decision.

The Leader had agreed that this report be considered as an urgent item as legal advice had been received confirming that the decision had to be made by the Cabinet and not the Council, and a decision was required before the next scheduled meeting of the Cabinet.  

DECISION:

a)    That the Cabinet formally agrees to adopt the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone Local Development Order 2018;

b)    That within 28 days of adoption the Council notifies the Secretary of State to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), through the National Planning Casework Unit (NPCU), of the Council’s decision;

c)    That within 14 days of adoption a copy of the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone Local Development Order 2018, and its Statement of Reasons, is placed on the Planning Register.

(Other options considered:

·         Not to agree the recommendations.

Reason for decision:

·         The Local Development Order would provide an incentive for food and related businesses to locate on the Food Enterprise Zone, would contribute to the delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan, would mesh with the over-riding vision and ambitions of the emerging South East Lincolnshire Local Plan, and would meet with the wider economic objectives of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership as set out in the Greater Lincolnshire Agri-Foods Sector Plan).