Agenda Item no _________2________
CABINET
Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 28 November 2011 at the Council
Offices, Holt Road, Cromer at 10.00 am.
Members present:
Mrs H Eales (Chairman)
Mrs A Fitch-Tillett
Mr T FitzPatrick
Mr T Ivory
Mr K Johnson
Mr J Lee
Mr W Northam
Also attending:
Mrs L Brettle
Mrs A Claussen-Reynolds
Ms V Gay
Mr P High
Mr N Lloyd
Mrs B McGoun
Mr E Seward
Mr R Shepherd
Mr B Smith
Mrs A Sweeney
Mr G Williams
Officers in attendance:
The Deputy Chief Executive, the Deputy Chief Executive, the
Strategic Director – Information, the Strategic Director –
Community, the Coast and Community Partnerships Manager,
the Acting Financial Services Manager, the Technical
Accountant and the Democratic Services Officer (AA).
57
CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Chairman expressed sympathy to Mrs V Uprichard on the recent loss of
her husband.
The Chairman informed the meeting that Mr J Perry-Warnes was in hospital
having suffered a heart attack. He should be able to leave hospital later that
week. He was wished a speedy recovery.
58
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
None.
59
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 31 October 2011 were
approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
60
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
None.
Cabinet
1
28 November 2011
61
ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS
None.
62
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Member(s)
Mr T FitzPatrick
63
Minute
No.
11
Item
Interest
Revenues and Benefits
Shared Service
Personal and nonprejudicial as an IT
Consultant
JOINT STAFF CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
RESOLVED that
the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee held on
18 July 2011 be received.
64
RECOMMENDATION FROM THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY
COMMITTEE: 18 OCTOBER 2011: MINUTE 62: COMMUNITY
INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY
RESOLVED to
65
a)
recommend to Cabinet that the Council investigates Community
Infrastructure Levy and that the Planning Policy and Built Heritage
Working Party progresses the detailed work in relation to infrastructure
planning, viability testing, and preparation of a Draft Charging
Schedule.
b)
form a task and finish group to give progress on this matter and bring
a report back to Cabinet in due course.
2011/12 REVISED BUDGET
The base budget for 2011/12 was approved by Full Council on 23 February
2011. The budget was then updated as part of the Final Accounts process for
2010/11 to take account of roll forwards of previously unspent budgets. The
report presented for approval the revised budget for 2011/12 for both capital
and revenue.
Mr W Northam presented the report. He informed Members that, since the
last meeting, Mr D Young had contacted the monitoring officer concerning the
way in which the report on the Council’s capital programme was presented as
he considered it was not a very user-friendly presentation.
A Member asked why there was an underspend in the revised coast
protection capital programme as coast protection was paramount. The
Deputy Chief Executive responded that this was dependent upon central
Government funding, but the slippage would hopefully be agreed to by
Cabinet
2
28 November 2011
Members. The Council was waiting for funding to be approved. The
Council’s profiling was often dependent upon external funding.
RECOMMENDED to Full Council
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
66
The revised revenue budget for 2011/12;
The revised transfers to and from reserves included at Appendix C;
The transfer of the forecast surplus of £172,488 to the Organisational
Development reserve;
The revised capital programme and associated financing as included
at Appendix E;
The scale of fees and charges from 1 April 2012 included at Appendix
D;
Delegated authority for setting the fees and charges for waste be
given to the Strategic Director for Environment, Deputy Chief
Executive and relevant Portfolio Members.
PROPOSED SAVINGS REPORT – 2012/13 BASE BUDGET
The recent update of the Corporate Plan which was presented to Cabinet in
October 2011 was accompanied by an appendix entitled ‘Financial Plan
Update 2011/12 – 2014/15, Strategic Context and Organisational
Workstreams’. This paper identified a projected funding gap of £0.9 million for
2012/13 and just under £1.1m for 2013/14. This report provided an update on
the progression of two of the Council’s workstreams and identified a number
of savings and additional income streams that would help to address the
funding deficit.
In response to Members’ questions, it was explained that the issue of
transport was part of the Big Society fund which included a community fund.
Clarification was given concerning the cut in £5,000 to the North Norfolk
Business Forum which was that the Community Partnership had agreed a
further £20,000 for funding other sustainability administration costs.
RECOMMENDED to Full Council
a)
b)
Cabinet
The savings and additional income as identified within Table 1 of the
report.
Note the updated position in relation to the management structures
and prioritisation workstreams.
c)
To fund any ‘one-off’ costs in relation to staff restructuring through the
use of the Restructuring and Invest to Save Proposals reserve.
d)
A new reserve is established for the ‘New Homes Bonus’ and that the
allocation for 2012/13, estimated to be £595,700 is transferred to this
reserve.
3
28 November 2011
67
TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY STATEMENT AND INVESTMENT
STRATEGY 2011/12 TO 2013/14 - AMENDMENT
The report set out a proposed amendment to the minimum credit rating
criteria required for investment counterparties within the current Treasury
Management Strategy.
RECOMMENDED to Full Council that
the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy
2011/12 to 2013/14 is amended by reducing the minimum long-term credit
rating for investment counterparties form A+ (or equivalent) to A- (or
equivalent).
68
REVENUES AND BENEFITS SHARED SERVICE
The report updated members on progress to date on the shared service work
for Revenues and Benefits. The realisation of savings and efficiencies from
working in partnership could only be delivered if the two authorities operated
on the same application software. The decision therefore on the software
upgrade was crucial to any development of shared working and the
development of a fully operational shared service. There were a number of
interdependent decisions which were required to be made linked to the
software procurement. The report considered these areas and their
dependencies.
The Chairman presented the report and asked that the proposals be
amended to include £72,000 for back fill. She added that the ICT link would
be reported to Full Council.
A Member welcomed the proposals but expressed concern over whether the
project would run over budget and asked for regular updates and reporting.
The reference to delegated powers to be given to the Portfolio Holder for
Revenues and Benefits and the Deputy Chief Executive (to continue to
develop the Partnership Agreement) in recommendation (b) was deleted.
RECOMMENDED to Full Council
a)
b)
c)
Cabinet
To agree the revised financial information within the business case as
updated verbally at the meeting regarding an additional £72,000 set
up for back fill.
For the Portfolio Holder for Revenues and Benefits and the Deputy
Chief Executive to continue to develop the Partnership Agreement for
which the Heads of Terms will require approval by Council. Delegated
authority to the Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for
Revenues & Benefits and the Deputy Chief Executive, to develop a
shared service model and following full consultation and report back to
Cabinet.
That Council, following discussion by the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee, agrees to entering into a contract with Civica for the
provision of a software system; an outline of the legal obligations to be
presented to Council.
4
28 November 2011
d)
e)
f)
69
To continue to explore the infrastructure requirements with BT and
BCKLWN (Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk) and
recommend to Council the infrastructure requirements and associated
costs.
Approve the proposals for BCKLWN to host the ICT infrastructure and
business system and for NNDC to host any proposed shared
management structure.
Delegate authority to the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holder for
Revenues and Benefits and the Deputy Chief Executive, to agree
proposed service level agreements with customer services and other
support services.
SHERINGHAM LITTLE THEATRE BUSINESS PLAN AND GRANT
A report to inform Cabinet of the new Business Development Plan for
Sheringham Little Theatre which seeks to increase levels of earned revenue
enabling the theatre to maintain the level of service to the local community
while reducing dependence on public sector funds.
The Arts Officer and volunteers of Sheringham Little Theatre were thanked for
their hard work on this report. Reassurance was given that, under the new
Business Development Plan, Sheringham Little Theatre would continue to be
able to support the local economy and the outreach worker as in the past.
RECOMMENDED to Full Council that
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
70
Cabinet support the priorities and actions and note the financial
projections within the SLT business plan.
Cabinet confirm £48,000 financial support to the Sheringham Little
Theatre in 2012/13, £43,000 for 2013/14 and £38,000 for 2014/15.
a three year service level agreement is drafted to aid the monitoring of
the grant.
a progress report is brought back to Cabinet in October 2012 for
further consideration.
Cabinet approves £45,000 being placed into the capital programme to
cover the cost of property works on this Council asset.
THE COUNCIL’S APPROACH TO LOCALISM AND THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF A BIG SOCIETY FUND
The report detailed the Council’s new approach to Localism, made
recommendations in relation to the Local Strategic Partnership and
established the principle of the Big Society Fund.
Mr T Ivory updated Members on the status of the Local Strategic Partnership
(LSP). The Local Strategic Partnership Board had met the previous week to
consider the organisation’s future following the removal of the statutory
requirements previously imposed on it and Norfolk County Council’s decision
to cease funding all the LSPs in Norfolk from the end of the current financial
year. Consequently, the LSP reconfigured itself to become a standing
conference that would offer a vehicle through which key stakeholders,
including this Council, could come together and coordinate their priorities for
the District.
Cabinet
5
28 November 2011
Mr Ivory said that he and Mr K Johnson had asked Officers to approach Holt
Town Council to suggest that the town consider becoming an early pilot of the
new neighbourhood planning system introduced under the Localism Act. The
Town Council had supported the suggestion and so a joint proposal had been
submitted to the Department for Communities to seek to have Holt included
within the Government vanguard pilot project. If successful, funding would be
made available by the Government to assist with the process. Mr Ivory asked
that it be made clear that the Council was willing to support Holt in a
neighbourhood plan pilot even if it was not possible to secure central
Government funding and that the recommendation be amended accordingly.
He added that at a recent meeting between the Cabinet and representatives
of most of the District’s town councils, there had been significant interest in
the potential of neighbourhood plans. Discussions on this matter would be
progressed in the coming weeks and expanded to include parishes as well. It
was hoped that any lessons learned from the Holt pilot would be of benefit
across the District. He thanked Norfolk County Council for the decision to
transfer the money previously provided to the LSP directly to the districts.
Should the proposals be agreed to, a detailed policy would be brought
forward on the operation of the fund. It was important to ensure that the
Council maximised the impact which the fund would have on communities
and so options for administering the fund internally as well as considering
external options were being explored. A future report would be making
recommendations on this issue.
Assurance was sought that community transport would not lose out because
of this. Mr Ivory responded that anyone wanting to secure funding would be
able to seek to do so.
Concern was expressed that the report lacked detail of what the issues were
and the evidence used. It was suggested that it would have been better to
include more detail in the report to enable the reader to make a sound
judgement on it.
It was confirmed that the £68,000 rate relief and £20,000 community transport
would be met out of the Big Society Fund.
RESOLVED that
Cabinet
a)
Cabinet support the proposal for North Norfolk Community Partnership
to be reconfigured from being a formal committee to become a
standing conference with an annual summit for the strategic partners
operating in North Norfolk and a 6 monthly review meeting.
b)
the Council support Holt Town Council in becoming a pilot for a
neighbourhood plan, regardless of whether or not the Town Council is
able to secure central Government funding, with any funding coming
from the Council’s resources if necessary.
c)
a Big Society fund is established from the return of the second home
council tax income and any uncommitted funds from this year
allocated to this fund through the establishment of an earmarked
reserve.
6
28 November 2011
71
d)
the principles of the Big Society fund are agreed as outlined within
Appendix L and a policy developed which will provide more detail on
the operation of the grant scheme.
e)
the fund is split between revenue and capital based upon an indicative
allocation of £500,000 for revenue and £200,000 for capital projects.
NORTH NORFOLK SHORELINE MANAGEMENT PLAN: KELLING TO
LOWESTOFT NESS
The Shoreline Management Plan (SMP6) covered the frontage from Kelling to
Lowestoft Ness, thus including frontages in Great Yarmouth Borough Council
and Waveney District Council. This plan was first subject to public
consultation in 2004/5 and as a result of considerable public concern the plan
had not yet been adopted. Major amendments were made to the plan in 2007
to reflect these concerns and a revised version was subject to consultation in
2009, with the version now before Cabinet finalised in November 2010.
Mrs A Fitch-Tillett read out a statement in support of the report. She
considered that the Council should support the recommendations. She also
considered that the Local Development Framework should be revisited.
Ms V Gay read out a statement from Mrs L Walker, the local Member for
Happisburgh ward. She considered that the SMP had caused much concern
since 2004. It was crucial that justice was sought for communities living along
the coast and there was a need to take measures to protect the future of the
coastline.
RECOMMENDED to Full Council that
a)
b)
72
the provisions in SMP6 relating to North Norfolk District Councils
Coast Protection responsibility (Kelling Hard to Cart Gap) be approved
and that delegated authority be given to the Cabinet Portfolio Holder
for the Coast and the Chief Executive to adopt the full SMP6 following
its approval by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Waveney District
Council and the Environment Agency.
an Integrated Coastal Management Plan process be commenced to
be overseen by the Council’s Coastal Management Board.
FAKENHAM CONSERVATION AREA: ADOPTION OF CHARACTER
APPRAISAL AND MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS
The report concerned adoption of the Fakenham Conservation Area Appraisal
and Management Proposals for statutory planning purposes: report on further
community consultation.
Mrs A Claussen-Reynolds, a local Member for Fakenham (North) said she
and Mr R Reynolds, also a local Member for Fakenham (North) wished to
thank the Cabinet for allowing further consideration to be given to the views of
Fakenham Town Council. Officers were also thanked for all their hard work.
Cabinet
7
28 November 2011
RESOLVED that
the Fakenham Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Proposals
document, as amended following further consultation with Fakenham Town
Council, is formally adopted and that it becomes a material consideration in
the planning process.
73
REVIEW OF THE DISCRETIONARY COMPENSATION POLICY FOR
STAFF
The report proposed changes to the current Discretionary Compensation
Policy to reflect the continuing need to have a policy which was workable,
affordable and reasonable for the Council.
It was noted that a formal response to the report was awaited from UNISON.
RECOMMENDED to Full Council that
(subject to consideration of the formal consultation of the formal consultation
response from UNISON) to amend the Discretionary Compensation Policy as
outlined within the report.
The meeting closed at 11.00am.
_________________________
Chairman, 9 January 2012
Cabinet
8
28 November 2011