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 meeting.

Corporate Policy and Resources Committee meeting 9 November.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 November were agreed as a correct record.

Joint Staff Consultative Committee meeting on 23 November.

The minutes of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee meeting held on 23 November were noted.

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

Councillor Ian Fleetwood declared an interest in item 75 for all Members as all Councillors use the garden waste service.

Councillor John McNeill declared a personal interest in item 83 as he had a close friend who operated a business out of the antiques centre at Hemswell Cliff.

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 6 December.

The Matters Arising schedule was noted.

Members considered a report recommending the setting of a charge for the garden waste service from 1 April 2018.

The Strategic Manager for Services introduced the item, and highlighted the following points to Members:

·         On 5 December 2017 Prosperous Communities Committee agreed to discontinue free kerbside collections of garden waste;

·         Prosperous Communities recommended to Corporate Policy and Resources Committee that a charge of £35 for a fortnightly service between April and November be introduced;

·         There would be £77,000 of ongoing new costs for this service including administration, in cab technology, postage and call centre resources.  The total operational cost would be £676,000, and the cost in total would be £853,000;

·         The service underperforming could lead to council tax payers picking up some of the cost.  If it over performed, then the service would make a profit and this is not allowed by current legislation.  The proposal was to have a service that covers its costs;

·         No incentives or cost savings are being offered;

·         £35 is the average price across Lincolnshire.  £41 is the average charge nationally.  Other authorities in Lincolnshire do run the service over more months of the year, but West Lindsey was more rural;

·         Following the consultation, over 40% of consultees decided they wanted the service to remain inclusively between April and November. This was the most popular response from the consultation.

RESOLVED that:

(1)  Members accept the recommendation from Prosperous Communities Committee on 5 December 2017, and approve that the annual subscription for receiving the Kerbside Chargeable Garden Waste Service be set at £35 per year;

(2)  Members agree that the charge should be reviewed in December 2018.

Note: Councillors Boles, Rollings and Young asked that their vote against the recommendations be recorded.

Members considered a report on a Disciplinary Rules document which supports the Discipline at Work Guidance document.

Members considered a report on the review of the Relocation Allowances Policy.

Members considered a report on the local Council tax support scheme for 2018/19.

The Revenues Team Manager outlined the following points:

·         Universal credit claimants whilst in employment can have a number of adjustments to their claim every month.  This results in a recalculation of the Council Tax reduction entitlement.  This scheme makes it difficult for claimants to budget for Council Tax and makes it difficult for West Lindsey District Council (WLDC) to collect it.  More responders to a consultation on this issues favoured fixing the assessment period to 4 months;

·         A second amendment related to bereavement support paid to claimants who have suffered a loss.  By disregarding this support WLDC were ensuring claimants were not disadvantaged by the additional financial support they were given.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Note the contents of the report; and

(2)  Recommend to Full Council the adoption of Option 3 of the report for the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for West Lindsey District Council for 2018/19.

The Democratic Services Officer informed Members that the only change to the published work plan was that the Gainsborough Green Corridor item scheduled for January 2018 will now be reported later in the year.

The Committee work plan was noted.

To propose a change to the date of the meeting in July 2018, from Thursday 26 July, to Thursday 19^th July.

RESOLVED to change the date of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee meeting from July 26 2018 to July 19 2018, at 6:30pm in the Council Chamber.

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 it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1,2 and 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 paragraphs 1,2 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Revenues Team Manager presented the report for Members’ information and for approval to write off those debts listed in the appendices.

The Committee asked a number of questions around specific cases which were answered by the Revenues Team Manager.

                                    RESOLVED to:

(1)  Agree to write off arrears of National Non Domestic rates to the value of £447,929.13;

(2)  Agree to write off arrears of Housing benefit Overpayments to the value of £4,446.92;

(3)  Agree to write off arrears of Council Tax to the value of £14,217.84.

Members considered the ‘Hemswell Cliff Stabilisation and Normalisation Strategy 2017 – Estate Management Programme’ report.

RESOLVED to approve the recommendations as set out in the report.

Note:      Councillor John McNeill declared a personal interest in the above item of business as he had a close friend who operated a business out of the antiques centre at Hemswell Cliff.

Members considered a report on a commissioning exercise, which had been run by Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), for the provision of a countywide Wellbeing Service.  The overall aim of the Service is to support vulnerable adults to maintain their independence and wellbeing, therefore preventing the escalation of need and reducing demand on Hospital and Adult Social Care.

The procurement exercise has now been completed by LCC, and a new contract will be in place from 1 April 2018.  A number of District Councils had worked in partnership to bid to deliver the Service.

Led by East Lindsey District Council (ELDC), the District Partnership produced a number of written submissions and engaged in an extremely intensive competitive dialogue. The District Partnership was notified on Friday 8 December that they were the preferred bidder, subject to the ‘standstill’ period that ends on Monday 18 December.

A formal partnership agreement with ELDC, with a sub-contract in place would allow WLDC to deliver a specific strand of the Service.  WLDC have engaged solicitors to ensure that any partnership agreement protects its interests as an authority.

Members congratulated the Wellbeing and Health Manager on this report, and also asked where the defaults on the contract lie.  The Wellbeing and Health Manager responded that the overall contract responsibilities lie with ELDC as the lead bidder.  In relation to specific performance indicators, ELDC would look to share risk with their partners.  WLDC have a 12.4% share of the overall contract, and would look for a proportionate share of that overall risk.  There would be a small surplus that would apply to the partnership, and this would be used first before any default payments.

The first 6 months of the Service would be used to benchmark performance.

RESOLVED that authority be delegated to the Director of Resources to enter into a partnership agreement with East Lindsey District Council to enable West Lindsey District Council to be sub-contracted as a delivery partner of the Wellbeing Service, ensuring due diligence and legal advice is in place.  This is subject to the partnership bid being successful in the Lincolnshire County Council procurement process.

Members considered a report containing a revised proposal for workspace provision at Saxilby, based on an alternative model of delivery and financial forecast.

Note: At this point in proceedings, Councillor Ian Fleetwood raised a potential interest as Chair of the Planning Committee.  The Monitoring Officer outlined to members of the Planning Committee that were present that no decision made during this item would preclude Planning Members from taking part in any planning application, as long as this report was declared as an interest at the relevant Planning Committee.

The site is a prominent position visible from the A57, offered on a freehold, rather than a leasehold basis for 20 years.  With it being freehold, it was likely that the asset would have a value beyond the 20 year period.

There was also a 6 month option on a new site beyond the railway line opposite the Saxilby Enterprise Park; this was an opportunity to test the market with a smaller scheme on a prominent site.  If it were to prove successful, the Council could then trigger a second phase and acquire additional space on the Enterprise West Lindsey site.

The Enterprise Park was an allocated site within the Saxilby Neighbourhood Plan and was earmarked for employment growth.

                                    RESOLVED that:

(1)  Members approve a capital budget and expenditure of £670k to be funded from the Investment for Growth Earmarked Reserve for the freehold purchase of 6,000 sq ft of workspace on the Riverside Enterprise Park, with a 6-month Option to purchase further workspace of circa 12,000sq ft on the Enterprise West Lindsey site on a freehold or leasehold basis.  Lincolnshire Legal will advise on the mechanism and terms of this agreement;

(2)  Members agree to delegate the final signing of the legal agreement for this proposal to the Director of Resources in consultation with the Chairman of Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.

Note:  Councillor Ian Fleetwood requested that his abstention from voting be recorded.

Members considered a report on increasing the funding envelope for Market Street Renewals Limited (MSRL).

                                    RESOLVED that:

(1)  Members agree to increase the funding envelope by £50k for Market Street Renewals Ltd.

(2)  Members agree Option B as detailed in section 1.5 of the report as the means of providing these additional funds;

(3)  Members approve a capital budget of £125k to be funded from borrowing.