Agenda Item 2__
CABINET
Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on Monday 09 September 2013 at the
Council Offices, Holt Road, Cromer at 10.00am.
Members Present:
Mr B Cabbell Manners
Mrs A Fitch-Tillett
Mr T Ivory
Mr T Ivory
Mr R Oliver
Mr W Northam
Mr R Wright
Also attending:
Mrs L Brettle
Mrs A ClaussenReynolds
Mr P High
Miss B Palmer
Officers in
Attendance:
41.
Mr R Reynolds
Mr E Seward
Mr B Smith
Mr N Smith
Mr G Williams
The Chief Executive, the Head of Economic & Community
Development, the Head of Finance, the Head of Organisational
Development, the Housing Team Leader (Strategy) and the
Democratic Services Team Leader.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Mr J Lee and Mr T FitzPatrick
42.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 2013 were confirmed as a correct record
and signed by the Chairman.
43.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
None received
44.
ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS
None
45.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None
46.
Cabinet
JOINT STAFF CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
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09 September 2013
RESOLVED
To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee held
on 17 May 2013.
47.
CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION WORKING PARTY
RESOLVED
To receive the minutes of the meeting of the CCTV Working Party held on 04 July
2013.
48.
BIG SOCIETY FUND GRANTS PANEL
RESOLVED
To receive the draft minutes of the meeting of the Big Society Fund Grants Panel
held on 8th July 2013.
49.
BUDGET MONITORING REPORT 2013/14 – PERIOD 4
Mr W Northam, Portfolio Holder for Finance introduced this item. He explained that
the report summarised the budget monitoring position for the revenue account to the
end of July 2013. Mr Northam drew members’ attention to the Dual Use Sports
Centres. He said that a delay had been caused by the lease having to go to the
County Council solicitor and a response was still awaited. Regarding work on
Briggate Mill, he explained that the owner had been traced and an invoice for
payment had been sent.
The Chairman proposed that recommendation 3 was amended to refer to ‘upgraded
mobile devices’ instead of laptops.
It was proposed by Mr W Northam, seconded by Mr R Wright and
RESOLVED
1. To note the contents of the report and the current budget monitoring position
2. To agree and recommend to Council the updated budget as set out in section
5.1, Table 3
3. To agree and recommend to Council a budget of £65,000 for PC and
upgraded mobile devices as outlined in paragraph 6.4 of the report.
Reasons for the decision:
To ensure that Members were updated on the current budget monitoring position for
the Council
50.
FINANCIAL STRATEGY 2014/15 TO 2016/17
Mr W Northam, Portfolio Holder for Finance, introduced this item. He explained that
the report presented the financial forecast for the period 2014/15 to 2016/17 and
provided a summary of the key issues facing the Council in relation to local
government finance. He explained that the report outlined the impact of the changes
to the New Homes Bonus (NHB) from 2015/16 which would see the top-slicing of an
element potentially between 18.9% and 35.09% which would be used to fund the
National Growth Fund. Mr Northam concluded by stating that the current financial
Cabinet
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09 September 2013
forecast presented a funding gap for the next 3 years of just over £1m by 2016/17,
and reminded Members that there would be an opportunity for further discussion on
this item when it was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
It was proposed by Mr W Northam, seconded by Mr R Wright and
RESOLVED to recommend to Council:
a) Continuation of the current Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2014/15;
b) That the Local Council Tax Support Scheme grant for parishes be offered to those
parishes that accepted the grant in 2013/14 and the total amount available is
reduced in line with the Council’s relative funding reductions as outlined at section
2.9.15;
c) The reallocation of £400,000 from the general reserve to the Restructuring/Invest
to Save Reserve;
d) The updated minimum level of General Fund balance to be £1.75 million for the
reasons outlined in the report at section 5;
e) Delegated authority is given to the Chief Executive to release funds from the
restructuring/invest to save reserve up to £100,000, as outlined within section 5 of
the financial strategy;
f) The revised reserves statement as included at Appendix F to the financial strategy
(with the revisions of recommendations 2 c) above;
g) Pending further review of the financial limits within the constitution, an amendment
to the virement limits for Heads of Service and Corporate Leadership team as
outlined at reference 5.16.
Reasons for the decision:
To update members with the current financial position of the authority and the current
financial strategy for addressing the funding shortfall and also to ensure timely
decisions can be made to inform the detailed work on the budget for 2014/15 which
will be commencing in the coming months.
51.
LOCAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY – PROVISION OF LOANS TO REGISTERED
PROVIDERS
The Portfolio Holder for Housing, Mr T Ivory introduced this item. He explained that
approval was sought to issue loans to Registered Providers to support the delivery of
new housing across the District as part of a Local Investment Strategy. The loans
would be on a commercial basis generating a rate of return which would be greater
than the return currently being achieved on the Council’s short term treasury
investments.
It was proposed by Mr T Ivory, seconded by Mr W Northam and
RESOLVED to recommend to Council:
1. the Council provides loan funding as detailed in this report to Registered
Providers and/or their wholly owned subsidiaries to facilitate the provision of
more housing in North Norfolk. Initially funding of up to £3.5million to be made
available.
2. the Treasury Management Strategy is amended to:
 Allow for the provision of loans to Registered Providers and/or their wholly
owned subsidiaries
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09 September 2013

Change the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy to allow for Capital
Receipts from principal repayments on loans made on an Equal Instalment of
Principal (EIP) basis to be applied to finance the Capital Financing Requirement.
3. £3.5 million be included in the 2013/14 capital programme for loans to
Registered Providers to be funded partly (£1,168,478) from a virement from the
Housing Associations capital budget and £2,331,522 from internal borrowing or
external borrowing as required.
Reasons for the decision:
To increase the provision of housing, including affordable housing across the district
which supports the aims set out in the Corporate Plan.
The Meeting closed at 10.08 am
_______________
Chairman
Cabinet
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09 September 2013