| Place: | (Budget) Shield Room, Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland, PR25 1DH |
| Present: | Councillor Mrs M R Smith (Leader of the Council) (Chairman), Councillors Mr P Mullineaux, (Deputy Leader and Neighbourhoods and Street Scene), Councillor P Hamman (Shared Services and Corporate Support), Mr C Hughes (Strategic Planning and Housing), Mr S M Robinson (Finance and Resources), Mr P J Smith (Regeneration, Leisure and Healthy Communities) |
| In attendance: | Chief Executive, (Mike Nuttall), Head of Shared Financial Services (Susan Guinness) and Democratic Services Manager (Martin O?Loughlin) |
| Public attendance: | 6 members of the public were present. |
| Other Members and Officers: | 17 other Council members and 8 officers were present. |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPEN ITEMS | ||||
| 41 |
Apologies for Absence No apologies were submitted. |
Noted | ||
| 42 |
Minutes of the Last Meeting Minutes attached RESOLVED: (Unanimous) That the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 8 February 2011, be signed as a correct record. |
Agreed | ||
| 43 |
My Neighbourhood Improvement Plans Report (54K/bytes) attached Central (292K/bytes) attached Eastern (283K/bytes) attached Leyland (2M/bytes) attached Penwortham (707K/bytes) attached Western (2M/bytes) attached Meeting Venues (253K/bytes) attached The Leader of the Council introduced this report reminding Members that in September 2011 the Council approved the establishment of five My Neighbourhood Forums which covered the whole Borough. This was a new way of involving communities in the decision making process and was Member led following the recommendations of a cross party Community Involvement Member Working Group. Each of the five My Neighbourhoods were asked to draw up plans which were drafted after consultation with the public. Since October 2011 there have been meetings across the Borough with members of the public to help identify priorities for their area. The meetings had been extremely well attended and the people that attended were from a good cross section of the community. Attached to the report were the drafts of the five My Neighbourhood Plans which were a mixture of projects, high and low cost, long and short term delivery, and a mix of capital works and community based non capital schemes and which covered a two year period. Members recognised the hard work put in by officers in developing these plans which had given residents a chance to shape the future of their communities. RESOLVED: (Unanimous): 1. That the My Neighbourhood Plans be approved. 2. That the Capital estimates attributed to the My Neighbourhood Plans for inclusion in the Capital Programme be noted. |
Agreed | ||
| 44 |
Financial Strategy, Budget and Council Tax 2012/13 Report (527K/bytes) attached Appendix B (48K/bytes) attached Appendix D (50K/bytes) attached Appendix E (31K/bytes) attached Appendix F (52K/bytes) attached The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources introduced this report which provided the background information that needed to be taken into consideration in determining the Council?s forward financial strategy and, specifically, budget and council tax for 2012/13. The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) recognised the priorities set out in the Corporate Plan and risks identified through the corporate risk assessment processes. The MTFS recognised the significant uncertainty surrounding government grant funding beyond the first two years of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The Council?s Corporate Plan had also been put together in a way that acknowledged this and allowed for priorities to be adjusted in the light of available funding in 2013/14 and beyond. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources explained that under the government?s Comprehensive Spending Review, South Ribble Borough Council?s grant settlement for 2011/12 was ?5.387m, ?1.041m less than the previous year (-16.19%). It had been reduced by a further 699K to ?4.647m for 2012/13 (-13.08%) and this Council was the hardest-hit council in Lancashire in percentage terms over the last two years. The Council was also facing a considerable number of uncertainties as detailed in the report and including continued economic uncertainty, and unknown levels of core funding in years beyond 2013. As a result Cabinet would be proposing South Ribble Borough Council?s share of council tax be increased for the first time in three years, from ?203.30 per year for a band D property to ?208.38 in 2012/13. This meant that band D householders would pay an extra 10p a week for services from waste collection and recycling to environmental health and maintenance of our award-winning parks. This represented a rise of 2.5% and would enable the continued protection and further investment in our front line services. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources informed Cabinet that it was also intended to include in the budget a one off contribution to be funded from reserves of ?20,000 to community funding to enable the work on domestic violence and the CCTV to continue for 2013. In response to a question the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources explained that it was not in the long term interest of the Council to accept the Governments offer of one year?s funding for not increasing council tax in 2013 given the uncertainties of future years. In addition, the council was one of only two district authorities in Lancashire to be contributing to, rather than benefiting from, the local government grant ?damping pool?. South Ribble Borough Council must pay 181K into the pool in 2012/13 (in addition to 115K in 2011/12), which will be used to compensate other district councils and it was perhaps no surprise that these two Councils were proposing Council Tax increases. The Leader of the Council thanked Members and Officers for the continued hard work put in during the budget process. RESOLVED: (Unanimous): 1. That the Council's projected out-turn estimates for 2011/12, the original estimate for 2012/13 and indicative original estimates for 2013/14 through to 2015/16, summarised at Appendix A to the report be approved 2. That Appendix E to the report and the proposals designed to further improve efficiency/increase income and reduce the forecast budget deficit, noting they have already been incorporated into the draft budget proposals for 2011/12 and future years be approved. 3. That Council be recommended to address the forecast residual revenue funding deficit (projected out-turn) 2011/12 (?0.305 million) and original estimate 2012/13 (?0.437 million), through making appropriate contributions from the General Fund Reserve. 4. That a Borough Council Net Expenditure requirement for 2012/13 (including parish/town council precepts) be recommended for approval at the council meeting on 29 February 2012. 5. That the reserves, which are adequate to support the delivery of the medium term financial strategy as detailed in the report, be retained by the council 6. That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, and in her absence the Deputy Leader, and the Cabinet member with responsibility for Finance and Resources and other relevant Cabinet Members, be authorised to deal with all staffing issues arising from the report within the agreed budget and in accordance with council?s human resources policies. 7. That Cabinet recommend the Borough Council?s Band D equivalent council tax for 2012/13, for approval at the council meeting on 29 February 2012, be increased to ?208.38 from the current year?s level of ?203.30 (an increase of ?5.08 p.a. 10 pence per week) or 2.5%). 8. That as in previous years the Council?s share of additional council tax levied through the reduction of the discount on second homes be continued to be used to support the South Ribble Partnership. 9. That the Capital Programme as set out at Appendix F of the report along with the proposed funding be approved. |
Agreed | ||
| 45 |
Treasury Management Strategy Report (160K/bytes) attached The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources presented this report which provided the prudential indicators and the treasury strategy for the years to 2014/15. The report had already been considered by Governance Committee (on February 1) but since then a single change, concerning Sovereign ratings, had been necessitated by the possibility of further reductions in Sovereign Ratings, including that of the UK. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources drew attention to the downgrade of two major countries, the United States and France and that to maintain the current minimum rating of AAA, and the policy of restricting investments to the UK, could become impossible. In light of this it was proposed that the minimum Sovereign Rating be reduced from AAA to AA-. RESOLVED: (Unanimous): 1. That the Prudential Indicators for 2012/13 to 2014/15, as set out in the report be approved. 2. That the Treasury Management Strategy for 2012/13, incorporating the Treasury Prudential Indicators? be approved. 3. That the Annual Investment Strategy 2012/13 which retains the limit of 3 months on investments in all financial institutions other than the part nationalised banks be approved. 4. That the Annual MRP Policy Statement 2012/13 be approved. |
Agreed | ||
| 46 |
Corporate Plan and Risk register 2012/13 Report (50K/bytes) attached Corporate Plan (144K/bytes) attached Risk Register (103K/bytes) attached The Leader of the Council introduced this report on the Council?s Corporate Plan which had been agreed by the Council in September 2011 following extensive engagement with Councillors after May?s elections. A copy of the plan was attached as Appendix 1, and progress on the Corporate Plan has been monitored by Scrutiny and Cabinet at the six-monthly stage and on a quarterly basis. The Corporate Plan was a two-year plan to reflect the local government finance settlement and as the Corporate Plan was relatively recently agreed, it was not proposed to make any major changes to it as it remained focussed on the delivery of our agreed priorities. The Scrutiny Committee has been consulted on this approach and had suggested that following the Scrutiny review of external communications being agreed at full Council on 29 February 2012, communications be added as a key action to the corporate plan for 2012/2013 however it would be premature to include this in the Corporate Plan at this stage as the Committee?s conclusions are only due to be reported to Council next week (29 Feb) following which Cabinet could give the recommendations due consideration. An updated Corporate Risk Register (CRR) for 2012/13 was attached at appendix 2 which sat alongside the Corporate Plan, and was presented to the Scrutiny Committee on a quarterly basis and monitored biannually by Governance Committee. The Corporate Risk Register was revised in September 2011 in tandem with the development and adoption of the new Corporate Plan. Outcomes from the key actions contained in the Corporate Plan mitigated the risks identified in the Corporate Risk Register. RESOLVED: (Unanimous): That the Corporate Plan (appendix 1 of the report) and Corporate Risk Register 2012/2013 (appendix 2 of the report) be approved. |
Agreed | ||
| 47 |
Vehicle Procurement Report (61K/bytes) attached The Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Street Scene presented this report which proposed that the vehicle replacement capital programme include the replacement of six refuse vehicles in 2012/13 and sought approval for the proposed contract award procedure and evaluation criteria and weightings. The report also requested approval to incur capital expenditure and include a mini sweeper in the capital programme for 2011/12. In response to a question proposing contract hire it was explained that the report was proposing the award procedure and evaluation criteria and not the method of procurement but that although contract hire may be an option it was unlikely to be advantageous due to different rules relating to the public sector. RESOLVED: (Unanimous): 1. That, subject to Council?s approval of the proposed vehicle replacement capital programme, the use of the proposed contract award procedure and evaluation criteria as detailed in the report be approved. 2. That a mini sweeper be included in the capital programme for 2011/12 and authority be granted under section 3(3) of the Financial Regulations to incur capital expenditure of ?60,000 for its purchase. |
Agreed | ||
| 48 |
The Cabinet's Forward Plan Forward Plan (135K/bytes) attached The Leader of the Council informed Cabinet that it was intended to take the ?Authorisation of Expenditure for Schemes within the Capital Programme 2012/13 Windows and doors at the Civic Centre? at the Cabinet meeting to be held on 21 March 2012. RESOLVED: (Unanimous): That the Forward Plan submitted under section 22 of the Local Government Act 2000, as amended, be approved |
Agreed | ||