Agenda and minutes

Up to 15 minutes are allowed for public participation.  Participants are restricted to 3 minutes each.

There was no public participation.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meetings: -

(a)       Meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee – 15 June 2017

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee held on 15 June 2017 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

(b)       Special Meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee – 11 July 2017

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee held on 11 July 2017 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

(a)       Meeting of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee – 6 July 2017

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee held on 6 July 2017 be noted.

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 19 July 2017.

Members gave consideration to the Matters Arising Schedule which set out the current position of all previously agreed actions as at 19 July 2017.

Making reference to the action entitled “Discretionary Rate Relief”, Members welcomed the report’s inclusion into the Work Plan and also wished to place on record their thanks to the Team for resolving the majority of the matters previously brought to their attention.

RESOLVED that progress on the Matters Arising Schedule, as set out in the report be received and noted.

Members may make declarations of Interest at this point or may make them at any point in the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made at this stage in the meeting.

The Chairman indicated, that with Committee’s approval, he wished to vary the order of the agenda, taking agenda item 6 (f) (Budget Consultation Proposal for 2018/19) as the first item, after which the remaining items would be considered as per the order of the published agenda.

RESOLVED that the order of the agenda be varied as detailed above.

Consideration was given to a report which provided Members with proposals on how the budget consultation for the 2018/19 budget would be undertaken, including use of an online budget simulator.

In presenting the report the Director of Resources outlined the principles any formal consultation must adhere to, and the multiple routes which were being proposed to ensure as wide a range of views as possible could be sought.  This included holding 3 events across the District, an online tool, social media question and answer session and a survey to businesses.

Further detail on each consultation route was provided, together with timescales on when the consultation would be undertaken.

It was noted that the use of budget consultation software was being proposed in response to previous feedback to make the consultation more interactive, Members were then given a demonstration of the software, the features it offered and the questions and options respondents would be asked and given.

Debate ensued and Members welcomed the use of the software.  Whilst accepting the software was still in development, Members urged Officers to ensure the introductory wording and language used on each page was as understandable and as relevant as possible to the public. 

In response Officers indicated that prior to the consultation software going live, they would share the proposed final version with all Members of the Committee in order that they could comment and feedback on issues such as wording and layout.

Members recognised the extra dimension this tool provided to engage the public, and commented that it was likely to attract different people to take part.  Consultation events had their place in any consultation process, however it was important that consultation was offered in new, modern and engaging ways also, and this software appeared to have that ability.

In response to the suggestion that other subjects could be consulted on whilst seeking views on the budget, namely green waste charging, Officers indicated that this matter would require its own consultation and the two would likely overlap, hence why it had not been included.

It was also suggested that the budget consultation event could offer an opportunity to raise awareness of rural funding issues.  The Leader indicated he was considering submitting a motion to Full Council on this matter.

A Member sought detail regarding the basis on which the software had been procured, indicating that a number of large parishes, if possible, may welcome the opportunity to share its use.  Engaging residents in consultation was important, yet often difficult to gain a range of views and this tool had the potential to attract wider responses.

Officers advised this had been bought on a licence basis costing around £1,000 pa and if parishes wished to share its use this could be investigated.

In response to a Member question Officers advised that it was being proposed that through the budget simulator, residents would not be offered the opportunity to increase budgets in service areas, the reason being that if consultation responses of this nature were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Consideration was given to a report which aimed to provide Members, Strategic Leads, Managers and Employees with information on how health and safety had developed and performed over the previous year.

The role of Safety Champions was highlighted, showing how they assisted managers by carrying out inspections, identifying health and safety concerns, investigating accidents and assisting in provision of solutions.

The purpose of the report was to:

1.               Give Members and leadership team reassurance and confidence that health, safety and welfare is being properly managed within the organisation by sharing of information on progress and delivery.

2.               Maintain health, safety and welfare at the front and centre of the organisation as a corporate priority.

3.               Demonstrate the transparent, proactive management and control of corporate risk, legal compliance and reputation.

4.               Provide an auditable trail of engagement with Members and senior leadership that would contribute to demonstrating compliance to external enforcement agencies.

The report showed that accidents were recorded on Minerva (“Keep me Safe, Keep me Well’’ page) and accidents which were reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) were reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by the Health and Safety Co-ordinator. There were four reportable incidents in 2016-17. They were all over seven day injuries in Operational Services.

There had been an increase in recorded incidents in the last year but the incidents reported had not shown any clear trends.

Training was continually improving as was work on the Round Risk Assessments.

Members placed on record their thanks to the former Health and Safety AdvisorKim Leith, who had recently left the Authority, for all her hard work.

It was noted that the Team Manager for Regulatory Services, who had presented the report to Members, would also shortly be leaving the organisation and again Members thanked her for the work she had undertaken on behalf of the Authority.

RESOLVED that the Health and Safety Annual Report be supported and noted.

Members gave consideration to a report which sought approval of the revised Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIPA) Policy.

RESOLVED that: -

(a)          the revised Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIPA) Policy, as attached to the report be approved; and

(b)          the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Chairman of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee, be granted delegated authority to undertake any future housekeeping amendments required to the Policy as and when necessary.

Members gave consideration to a report which assessed the performance of the Council’s services and key projects through agreed performance measures.  A revised set of measures was appended to the report for approval.  Members were asked to review performance and recommend areas where improvements should be made, having regard to any remedial measures already included within the report.

The report summary was structured to highlight those areas that were performing above expectations, those areas where there was a risk to either performance or delivery and those areas where further work was required to either improve the quality of the information provided to Members or where work was already underway to address poor performance.

Areas described as performing well included: The Budget, Building Control and Local Land Charges.

Those areas described as risks included: Enforcement; Food Safety (Regulatory Team), Gainsborough Markets and Homelessness.

Future work would be undertaken regarding the measurement of customer satisfaction.

Further information was given on each of the above. 

Debate ensued and a number of Members expressed dissatisfaction at the market’s performance and the continued delay of the options paper for this service, despite the poor performance.

Concern was also expressed at the performance within Enforcement, particularly at the initial response time which could often be weeks as opposed to days.  This was not creating a positive image for the service.  Furthermore non response often meant Members were becoming involved in issues that should be for Officers to resolve.

Members were keen that further progress was made with the tenant passport scheme, in order that Selective Licensing achieved all it had intended to.  It was important that Selective Licensing offered benefits and support for those responsible landlords and the tenant passport scheme would go some way to achieving this. 

The current position with regard to Food Inspections was considered unacceptable with Members acknowledging that this was an important service function, with serious implications if it was not running effectively.

With regard to the dip in performance for the indicator “cost of Trinity Arts per user”, it was noted that the figures for the period, included some one-off annual costs and thus this was a financial profiling issue.  The indicator was expected to resume its normal position in the next period.

In responding Officers acknowledged Members’ concerns regarding Food Inspections and advised that this was the first quarter that the service appeared to be at risk of poor performance, this was thought to be as result of a number of short term absences, however a review of the service was planned for early August to ensure the service remained effective.

Officers were accepting of the comments around the performance of the Enforcement service.  In response to previous concerns, new resource had been allocated to the service since February 2017 and it was anticipated the benefits and impact of this additional resource would soon be evident.  It was expected that the indictors would be showing an improved position by the end of the next period.

Officers confirmed that progress  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

Members gave consideration to a report which set out the revenue, capital and treasury management activity from 1 April 2017 to 31 May 2017.

The current position was summarised as follows:-

The final out-turn position had seen a contribution of £1.059m to General Fund Balances.

The draft revenue forecast out-turn position for 2017/18 was currently reflecting a net contribution to reserves of £50k as at 31 May 2017, this was after approved carry forwards of £19k, further details were contained in Appendix A of the associated report 

The items with significant variances were detailed within the report at section 2.2.

The capital out-turn position for 2017/18 was £19,354k

Average investments for the period were £20,280k with an average rate of 1.23%.

There had been no breaches of Treasury or Prudential Indicators to report and the Authority had again out-performed its benchmark in relation to investment yields.

A Member of the Committee queried why market stall take up appeared be down and yet income received in this area appeared to be up.

In the absence of the Financial Services Manager, the Director of Resources undertook to further investigate and report back to Members outside of the meeting.

RESOLVED that: -

(a)          the forecast out-turn position of a £50k net contribution to reserves as at 31 May 2017 (2.1) be accepted;

(b)          the use of Earmarked Reserves during the quarter approved by the Director of Resources using Delegated powers (2.1) be noted;

(c)          the forecast Capital out turn position of £19,254k be accepted;

(d)          the capital expenditure on land acquisition be approved;

(e)          the Commercial Income position be accepted; and

(f)           the Treasury position to 31 May 2017 be accepted.

Note:         Councillor Giles McNeill joined the meeting during consideration of the above item at 7.21pm

Consideration was given to a report which provided Members with a financial review of 2016/17.

The financial positions was summarised as follows: -

The revenue out-turn position resulted in a Net Contribution to the General Fund Balance of £1,059k, resulting in an overall balance of £4,048k.  £115k had been earmarked to the Business Rates Volatility Reserve.

The items with significant variances in 2016/17 which could have an impact on the future Medium Financial Plan were detailed at paragraph 1.1 of the associated report.

The capital out-turn position for 2016/17 was as previously reported at £2,584k.

The Council had remained in a good financial position due to the following factors;

·         A surplus revenue out turn position

·         A General Fund Balance in excess of the minimum balance

·         Revenue Reserves in excess of the annual Budget requirement providing assurance at this time of our sustainability.

·         Availability of Earmarked reserves for future investment in Corporate Priority objectives and for mitigating budget risks/volatilities.

·         Assets exceeded  liabilities, which was a positive position when considering the value of the Pension Fund Liability

·         Evidenced economic growth, generating additional taxation income.

RESOLVED that: -

(a)         the out-turn position and the net contribution to the General Fund Balance of £1,059k be accepted;

(b)         the final position in relation to Useable Reserves of £21,221k be accepted;

(c)         the financial analysis and positive financial management be welcomed; and

(d)         £450k of the 2016/17 surplus to the Revenue Budget 2017/18 be allocated as follows;

·         £150k to support the Customer First Programme

·         £150k to support revenue costs of development of Regeneration and Growth Schemes

·         £150k to support Invest to Save initiative

Members gave consideration to the Committee Work Plan.

Members welcomed the inclusion of the “Discretionary Rate Relief – share of £300m” item to their November meeting.  However it was noted that Public Houses with a rateable value of £100k+ could claim rebates now, the Vice Chairman urged Members to make such establishments within their Wards aware of this.

A brief discussion ensued as to whether there would be exceptions to this Policy, with Members naming establishments that struggled and repeatedly failed due to the considerable business rates requirements placed on them. 

In response it was confirmed that such rebates were not available to chain public houses.  Rateable value was based on turnover, however turnover was not re-assessed on a regular basis.

Members expressed concern at the way rateable values were set and the difficulties this caused some businesses, however, in response it was stressed that the setting of rateable values was a function of the Government’s Valuation Office.

RESOLVED that the Work Plan as set out in the report, be received and noted.

To resolve that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Committee gave consideration to a report which sought support from Members to approve a RECOMMENDATION from the Prosperous Communities Committee for the granting of a commercial loan of £200,000 to support the redevelopment of a site and creation of new business units within Caistor.

Providing support and infrastructure for start-ups and the micro-business sector was a priority for WLDC and was clearly identified within the West Lindsey Economic Growth Strategy.

In presenting the report, Officers outlined the opportunities associated with the regeneration of the site, as detailed in Section 1.7 of the report.  It was also noted that the project proposal had had support through the Caistor Neighbourhood Plan, had been granted planning permission, and had received a LEADER grant of £39k and would be seeking a further amount of circa £80k, totalling £119,000 The reasons why the applicant had approached the Council were outlined, together with the associated risks and mitigating measures which it was proposed would be in place to ensure any monies released were safeguarded.

This matter had been considered twice previously by Members of the Prosperous Communities Committee who had deferred the decision at their meeting on 6 June 2017, pending further information regarding the Business Plan in order that they could be assured that the Project was likely to deliver as expected.

Officers indicated that all those concerns previously raised by Members of that Committee had been further investigated and the outcome of each, and further re-assurance was reported in the table included within the Executive Summary of the report.

It was noted that when the proposal had last been considered by the Prosperous Communities Committee a number of drafting errors within the legal agreement had been identified, these were outlined to the Committee and Officers gave assurance these would be rectified, should the proposal be agreed.

Officers also clarified why the interest rate for the loan had not been definitively set within the report but offered assurance on how this would be calculated and the percentage margins which would be achieved.

Debate ensued and a number of Members’ were supportive of the proposals and recognised the benefit and need for such development in the area.  Members did query why assistance was being sought from the Local Authority as opposed to a bank.  The applicant’s financial situation was outlined with Members, noting that the loan would cover the build.

In response to Members concerns, the Director of Resources again outlined the mitigations which would be put in place to safeguard the loan and offered assurance that all of these would be referenced within the legal agreement if the loan was agreed.

The total size of the site was clarified, together with how residual site valuation was calculated.  Members considered any charge made should be on all land in ownership.  Officers indicated personal guarantees could be considered as part of due diligence.

Having noted that the Loan would be drawn down against expenditure and on completion of each build stage, Members sought and received  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

Consideration was given to a report which reviewed and updated the current Gainsborough Car Park Strategy to ensure that the supply of car parking was responsive to both current and future demand; and to ensure it aligned to the regeneration programme of the town.

The primary aim of the review was to support town centre viability and local traders, demonstrating that the Council had listened and responded to concerns in this regard.

The review had appraised the current charging tariffs and permit prices to ensure that the proposed improvements to town centre car parking was affordable and self-financing in line with the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan. This strategy would include a communication plan and a consultation exercise to ascertain local business and shoppers’ views on the effectiveness of the “Free after 3pm” policy on viability, as opposed to an alternative, of “One hour free at any time”. 

An addendum had been included within the report, which primarily related to the Roseway Car Park, its refurbishment and the financing of such, the content of which superseded recommendation two, bullet point 3.

To aide Members understandings of the proposals, a short power point presentation was given, during which Members were provided with information in respect of the following: -

·         The current position, noting that in December 2016, with the loss of two large private car parks, demand outstripped supply;

·         The details of Phase 1 recommendations relating to new supply generation and when this supply would become available as a result;

·         The other recommendations associated with Phase 1 and the costs to the Council or income generated to the Council, as a result;

·         The business case regarding the Roseway Car park and the rationale for this being delivered in an alternative way, as per the information included in the addendum;

·         The new supply which would be generated by Autumn 2018;

·         Details of those recommendations it was proposed would be implemented with immediate effect;

·         Details of the Phase 2 recommendations and the current sites which were under consideration.

It was noted that the matter had been considered earlier in the month by the Prosperous Communities Committee, and arising from that meeting they had made a number of recommendations for consideration relating to the financing of the review recommendations. 

Since that meeting further amendments were being proposed to those recommendations, namely: -

·         that the requested capital budget of £40,000 for the construction of the Bridge Street extension, funded by prudential borrowing be increased to £50,000.  This was in light of current tender prices received todate.

·         the use of permits be prohibited in both  Roseway and Ship Court to facilitate an increased turnover of parking to benefit town centre businesses.  This was in response to concerns raised by Members of the Prosperous Communities and having been able to assess the impact of the suggested change. In light of the additional car park being included in the prohibition, implementation would also be delayed until November, allowing time for the new supply to come on-line and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

In connection with the Matters Arising entitled “Commercial Project” detailed on the schedule considered earlier in the meeting, the Director of Resources circulated the more detailed cost breakdown as requested by Members previously.

RESOLVED that the information be received and noted.