Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Susan Jones submitted her apologies for the meeting.

Minutes of the last meeting held on Wednesday 19 June, 2019 attached to be signed as a correct record.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That subject to the amendment of minute 2. The former Chair, Councillor Margaret Smith……the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 19 June 2019 be approved as a correct record for signing by the Leader of the Council.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That subject to the amendment of minute 2. The former Chair, Councillor Margaret Smith……the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 19 June 2019 be approved as a correct record for signing by the Leader of the Council.

Members are requested to indicate at this stage in the proceedings any items on the agenda in which they intend to declare an interest. Members are reminded that if the interest is a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (as defined in the Members’ Code of Conduct) they must leave the room for the whole of that item. If the interest is not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, but is such that a member of the public could reasonably regard it as being so significant that it is likely that it would prejudice their judgment of the public interest (as explained in the Code of Conduct) then they may make representations, but then must leave the meeting for the remainder of the item.

Councillor Michael Green declared a personal interest in Items 5 and 8 in his role as a Cabinet Member for Lancashire County Council.

Cabinet Forward Plan attached.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That the Cabinet Forward Plan be noted.

Report of the Deputy Section 151 Officer attached.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Head of Paid Service and Monitoring Officer to enter into a legal agreement between South Ribble Borough Council and Lancashire County Council (as accountable body for Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Ltd) which will formalise the payment growth in business rates in relation to Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone to the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.

The Cabinet Member (Finance, Property and Assets), Councillor Matthew Tomlinson presented a report of the Deputy Section 151 Officer that requested approval to enter into an agreement with Lancashire County Council in relation to the payment over a business rates growth from the Enterprise Zone.

It was explained that the proposal was to sign the Enterprise Zone Business Rate agreement between South Ribble Borough Council and Lancashire County Council to formalise the arrangement for payment over of the Business rates which relates to growth in the Enterprise Zone.

At the end of the 2018/19 financial year, the amount of retained business rate income in relation to the Designated Area was £418,171. This amount included back dated rates receivable for 2016/17 and 2017/18. The Council’s business rate baseline excludes any business rates income for this site and as such the full amount is payable to LCC, as the accountable body for the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

From 2019/20 onwards, South Ribble will continue to collect relevant business rates growth and make payment to the LEP during the year based on the forecast for the year. There will be an annual reconciliation at the end of the financial year and a reconciliation payment will be paid to/recovered from the LEP.

It was proposed by Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, seconded by Councillor Mick Titherington and

Decision made (Unanimously):

That Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Head of Paid Service and Monitoring Officer to enter into a legal agreement between South Ribble Borough Council and Lancashire County Council (as accountable body for Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Ltd) which will formalise the payment growth in business rates in relation to Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone to the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.

Reason(s) for the decision:

This is a key decision as the business rates income to be paid over is greater than £100,000 and therefore requires Cabinet approval. There are no budget implications as this income is earmarked for this purpose.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

None.

Report of the Assistant Director of Property and Housing attached.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That:

1.    Cabinet approves the land at Croston Road North (Site W) to be acquired for Community Leisure use value for £77,095 plus VAT.

2.    Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Director of Planning and Property in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Assets to conclude the deal for the site prior to the 1 September deadline.

The Cabinet Member (Finance, Property and Assets), Councillor Matthew Tomlinson presented a report of the Assistant Director of Property and Housing that sought approval to acquire an area of land being offered to the Council by Homes England as part of a Section 106 Agreement for Site W in the Local Plan for a Community Leisure value of £77,095.

It had been initially considered by officers that the land in question was no longer required for leisure/community use and had negotiated a deal with Homes England whereby the Council would accept a sum of money (£295,000) rather than acquire the land. In order to proceed with this option, a variation of the Section 106 agreement was required and a report was presented to Planning Committee for its consideration.

However, at its meeting on 26 June 2019, the Planning Committee took a view not to vary the Section 106 agreement and resolved to ask Cabinet to consider acquiring the land as originally intended as the purchase of this land would be more in line with the Council’s commitment to environmental protection and improving air quality.

The Leader of the Council commented that this was a wonderful initiative and that if purchased, this land would be developed and maintained under the Green Links programme.

It was proposed by Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, seconded by Councillor Aniela Bylinski Gelder and

Decision made (Unanimously):

That:

1.    Cabinet approves the land at Croston Road North (Site W) to be acquired for Community Leisure use value for £77,095 plus VAT.

2.    Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Director of Planning and Property in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Assets to conclude the deal for the site prior to the 1 September 2019 deadline.

Reason(s) for the decision:

The recommendations provide Cabinet with an opportunity to acquire land for community leisure use and safeguard its use for that purpose over the longer term.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The Council could have received a payment of £295,000 had it chose not to acquire the land. It was clear that there was not support for this position and that the acquisition of land for Community Leisure Use is in line with the Council’s commitment to environmental protection and improving air quality.

Report of the Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods attached.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That

1.    Cabinet approves the capital spend budget of up to £1,450,000.

2.    Cabinet approves the evaluation criteria as follows:

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Paul Foster presented a report of the Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods that sought approval to spend the allocated budget of up to £1,450,000 and agreement of the procurement evaluation criteria.

The Council’s approved vehicle and plant replacement programme for 2019/20 includes for the replacement of fifteen vehicles and plant.

The Council is committed to develop the greenest possible fleet to deliver services to our residents, and although the current electric/hybrid versions of the vehicles due for replacement on this occasion are still in development stage and not readily available on the open market, these vehicles will be considered as they become available.

In the meantime, all replacement vehicles purchased will be equipped with a minimum Euro 6 compliant or hybrid power units which will result in greater fuel efficiency and greatly reduce the amount of pollutants produced.

The procurement of the replacement vehicles would be through a variety of different methods and an explanation was provided as to the use of a waiver process for the purchase of the two mini sweepers, along with the merits of capital purchasing against leasing.

Tenders will be invited by companies identified within the ESPO framework 215 and would be evaluated on an 80% cost, 20% quality basis which was broken down into the agreed weightings listed in the decision.

Upon completion of the tender process, a further report would be brought back to Cabinet for approval and Members asked for more information that would include whole life comparable costs and disposable income. The Interim Chief Executive assured Members that a financial assessment would be undertaken along with the consideration of all financing options.

It was proposed by Councillor Paul Foster, seconded by Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, and

Decision made (Unanimously):

That

1.    Cabinet approves the capital spend budget of up to £1,450,000.

2.    Cabinet approves the evaluation criteria as follows:

Reason(s) for the decision:

To enable the continued delivery of services to residents of the borough by the provision of effective and suitable vehicles.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

As part of the development of these proposals the following options were considered.

Purchase of replacement vehicles from within the borough – the Council has expressed the desire to whenever possible procure goods and services from companies based within the borough, this will not be possible on this occasion due to the specialist nature of the equipment and a lack of suitable suppliers and manufacturers within the borough.

Retention of existing vehicles – consideration was given to the retention of existing vehicles and equipment, however the likelihood is that these vehicles would over time become unreliable leading to deterioration in the delivery of services. It would also remove the opportunity to reduce current levels of particulates released in to the atmosphere and reduce air pollution within the borough.

Report of the Director of Customer and Digital to follow.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That

1.    Cabinet notes the proposals detailed in the report.

2.    Cabinet notes and approves the process and timeline for consultation on Option 2.

3.    Cabinet notes and approves for further work to be undertaken in relation to the empty homes premium.

4.    Cabinet request that officers look into the detail of producing a Standard Financial Statement and consider its introduction from April 2020.

The Cabinet Member (Community Engagement, Social Justice and Wealth Building), Councillor Aniela Bylinski Gelder presented a report of the Director of Customer and Digital that updated on the current situation and sought agreement as to how to proceed with a formal consultation exercise which would inform the proposals for the introduction of an amended scheme in 2020/21.

The Cabinet Member set out the background and rationale for the council needing to address this issue. Councillor Aniela Bylinski Gelder also asked officers to look into the production of a Standard Financial Statement for April 2020.

The Interim Chief Executive also agreed to bring a report to the next Cabinet meeting on the implications of the Stop the Knock Campaign.

The Council’s previous intention was to consult and implement a new scheme in 2019/20. However, following Government changes to Universal Credit (UC) in the Chancellor’s Budget on 29 October 2018, meant there was a need to review the potential impact of the changes in relation to any local scheme that might have been implemented in April 2019.

The report provided further analysis as the basis for future consultation and measures that would be taken to proactively promote the scheme. The amended scheme is to be renamed the Local Support Scheme.

In response the Members questions in the audience, the consultation arrangements were outlined in detail. Clarification was also sought on the number of claimants on passported benefits as opposed to those who were not, but would still qualify for the payment.

It was explained that the introduction of the Empty Homes Premium could provide additional income that would offset the changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme. Empty homes can often be a blight in the community and this premium can encourage home owners to keep their properties tidy.

It was proposed by Councillor Aniela Bylinski Gelder, seconded by Councillor Paul Foster and

Decision made (Unanimously):

That

1.    Cabinet notes the proposals detailed in the report.

2.    Cabinet notes and approves the process and timeline for consultation on Option 2.

3.    Cabinet notes and approves for further work to be undertaken in relation to the empty homes premium.

4.    Cabinet request that officers look into the detail of producing a Standard Financial Statement and consider its introduction from April 2020.

Reason(s) for the decision:

1.     To assess the impact of the Council Tax Support Scheme in light of the introduction of Universal Credit.

2.     The adoption of a revised Council Tax Support Scheme has been agreed as a priority in the five year Corporate Plan (2018-23).

3.     To ensure that any future, new or revised scheme is intended to address the potential administrative burden of the rollout of Universal Credit and satisfy the statutory requirement within the localisation of Council Tax Support that consultation mast take place with major preceptors and residents.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The alternative options are detailed in the proposals section of the report.