Agenda and minutes

To receive declarations of personal or prejudicial interests arising from business to be transacted at this meeting from:

(a)               all Members of the Cabinet; and

(b)               all other Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:

Agenda Item 9 – Response to Scrutiny Standing Review of the Budget (Report from Phase 2)

Councillor Brian Gate declared a personal interest in that he had been a Member of the Scrutiny Review of the Budget.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Agenda Item 12 – Introductory and Demoted Tenancies

Councillor Bob Currie declared a personal interest in that he attended the Eastcote Lane Tenants’ Meetings on a monthly basis.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor Barry Macleod-Cullinane declared an interest in that he had chaired the meeting of the Tenants’ and Leaseholders’ Consultative Forum when this matter was first discussed.  He would remain in the room to listen to the discussion on the report.

That the minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 18 March 2010 and the special on 10 June 2010 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meetings held on 18 March 2010 and the special on 10 June 2010, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive any petitions submitted by members of the public or Councillors.

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions were submitted.

To receive any public questions received in accordance with paragraph 16 of the Executive Procedure Rules.

Questions will be asked in the order notice of them was received and there will be a time limit of 15 minutes.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following public questions had been received:

1.

To receive any Councillor questions received in accordance with paragraph 17 of the Executive Procedure Rules.

Questions will be asked in the order notice of them was received and there will be a time limit of 15 minutes.

In light of the number of questions received, the Leader sought Cabinet’s approval to extend the time limit to 30 minutes for the asking and answering of Councillor questions.  Having extended the time limit, it was noted that this should not be seen as setting a precedent.

RESOLVED:  To note the following Councillor Questions had been received:

1.

2.

3.

The Leader of the Council advised that reports relating to ‘Dangerous Dogs’, ‘Children’s Services Placement Costs’ and ‘IT Strategy’ listed on the June 2010 Forward Plan had been deferred to the July 2010 Cabinet meeting.

RESOLVED:  To note the contents of the Forward Plan for the period 1 June 2010 – 30 September 2010.

Report of the Director Legal and Governance Services.

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Legal and Governance Services, which set out the requirements of the Council’s Constitution in terms of the development of its policy framework and sought approval to the timetable for consideration of statutory plans and strategies.

The Leader of the Council stated that reference to the Local Area Agreement be deleted, as the government had announced that this was to be discontinued.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)               subject to the deletion of the Local Area Agreement, the timetable for the preparation and consideration of the statutory plans and strategies at Appendix A to the report be approved;

(2)               variation to the timetable be reserved to the Leader of the Council.

Reason for Decision:   To comply with the requirements of paragraph 3 of the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules set out in Section 4C of the Council’s Constitution.

Joint Report of the Corporate Director Finance and Assistant Chief Executive.

Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Director Finance, which provided an opportunity to comment on the proposed work plan and fees of the Audit Commission and the External Auditor. 

The Leader of the Council stated that detailed discussions had taken place on the fees at the Governance, Audit and Risk Management Committee (GARMC), the levels of which had been the subject of cross-party concern.  Whilst there would be some saving on the fees charged in the future due to the discontinuation of the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) and Use of Resources by the government,  Cabinet remained concerned about the levels already charged, particularly in the light of the fact that some local authorities had been charged below the scale audit fee.

The Leader moved a number of recommendations, which were duly seconded.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)               the GARMC be congratulated on the excellent job it had done in monitoring the Audit and Inspection fees, which were 10% above the Audit Commission’s recommended scale fee;

(2)               GARMC keep the Audit and Inspection fees under review in subsequent years and monitor the fee for 2010/11 given that all CAA work was to be discontinued;

(3)               Cabinet is of the view that, in these difficult financial times, audit fees should be subject to the same cuts as in other parts of the private and public sector.

Reason for Decision:   To ensure that Cabinet had a view of the work to be undertaken by the Audit Commission and the External Auditor in 2010/11.

Report of the Corporate Director Finance.

Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Director Finance, responding to the recommendations following the Phase 2 of the Scrutiny Standing Review of the Budget.

The Leader of the Council commended Members and officers for their work on the scrutiny review and welcomed all the recommendations made by the Standing Review Group, particularly that relating to the charging framework. He hoped that the review of the budget by scrutiny would continue.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)               the response to the recommendations of the Scrutiny Standing Review of the Budget, Phase 2 at Appendix A to the report, be approved;

(2)               the timetable for implementation be noted.

Reason for Decision:   To address the recommendations from the Scrutiny Standing Review of the Budget.

Report of the Corporate Director Finance.

Cabinet considered a report, which set out the Council’s revenue and capital outturn position for 2009/10. 

The Leader of the Council advised that the position at the end of 2009/10 was positive and that a total of £5.1m underspend had been delivered.  After allowing for the required allocations to reserves and balances and commitments and carry forwards, this reduced to £1.7m which was available for Council priorities.  He thanked the Directorates for their achievements.

It was noted that due to various pressures in the Children’s Services Directorate, an overspend of approximately £2m had been registered.  It was further recognised that the budget allocation for 2010/11 for Children’s services was not sufficient so that it £1m extra funding had been allocated to Children’s Services.  This might not be sufficient to address the challenges that the Directorate continued to face.

The Leader drew attention to appendix 4 of the report and welcomed the decision that no carry forwards were to be released until they had been scrutinised.  He was pleased to report that a sum of £100k from the Community and Environment underspend would be used to help repair the pot holes.  This money was in addition to £250k agreed in 2009/10. In addition, Sunday opening of Gayton Road library would be introduced from September 2010, the cost of which would be met from existing library budget.

Cabinet noted that some difficult decisions lay ahead and that proposals for in-year savings would be submitted to the July 2010 Cabinet meeting.  Furthermore, it was disappointing that the Local Area Agreement Reward Grant would no longer be available due to central government policy changes.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)               the revenue and capital outturn position for 2009/10 be noted;

(2)               the allocation of underspend of £1.6m at paragraph 21 to the report be approved;

(3)               the proposed revenue carry forwards and commitments at appendix 4 to the report be approved;

(4)               the position on general balances be noted and the additional contribution of £78,000 be approved;

(5)               the timetable for the audit committee meetings and external audit reviews be noted;

(6)               the carry forward on capital projects at appendix 2 to the report be approved.

Reason for Decision:  To confirm the financial position as at 31 March 2010.

Report of the Corporate Director Finance.

Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Director Finance setting out a summary of Treasury Management activities for 2009/10. 

The Divisional Director, Finance and Procurement, stated that the performance set out in the report was positive and outlined the favourable position in relation to lending, borrowing and investment activities.  As a result of the investment rate obtained and a lower borrowing rate achieved, a contribution of £2m had been made to the underspend.  She was pleased to report that the Council had performed within the treasury and prudential indicators.

The Leader of the Council noted that this report would be referred to Governance, Audit and Risk Management Committee for their comments.

RESOLVED:  That the outturn position for Treasury Management activities for 2009/10 be noted.

Reason for Decision:   To promote effective financial management, comply with the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) Regulations 2003 and other relevant guidance.  To be informed of Treasury Management activities and performance.

[Call-In does not apply to the Decision.]

Report of the Divisional Director Housing Services.

Cabinet considered a report of the Divisional Director Housing Services, which set out proposals for introducing an introductory and demoted tenancy regime, as part of the provisions set out in Section 124 of the Housing Act 1996, and the Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) Act 2003. 

The Divisional Director informed Cabinet that the Tenants’ and Leaseholders’ Consultative Forum had considered the matter on 25 February 2010, which had unanimously supported the proposals.  She was of the view that the proposals would help change tenant behaviour and explained how aspects of the two introductory and demoted tenancy regimes would operate.

Cabinet noted that further work on the proposals would be carried out and reported on with a view to introducing the regime. The Divisional Director added that any eviction would continue to involve proceedings in the court of law.

RESOLVED:  That an Introductory and Demoted Tenancy Regime be introduced.

Reason for Decision:   To help ensure that new tenants behaved within the remit of their tenancy agreement and that secure tenancies were granted to those who, after 12 months of having been an introductory tenant, had demonstrated that they could be responsible tenants.  If there were any breaches in the introductory 12 months, the Council would be able to determine the tenancy more quickly.

To allow the Council to apply to the County Court for a ‘demotion order’ under the Anti SocialBehaviour Act 2003 to terminate a secure tenancy and create a demoted tenancy (which will have the status of a non-secure tenancy) in circumstances where the tenant or a person residing or visiting the tenant’s property had engaged in or had threatened to engage in anti-socialbehaviour or had used the premises for unlawful purposes.

Introductory and Demoted tenancies would provide greater options to resolve tenancy breaches, and would benefit other members of the community.

Report of the Divisional Director Environmental Services.

The Corporate Director of Community and Environment introduced the report, which sought approval of the Food Law Enforcement Policy to meet the requirements of the Food Standards Agency (FSA).  It was noted that the Policy, if approved, would incorporate the existing enforcement principals contained in general enforcement policy for environmental health functions.  As a result, a stand-alone policy for the enforcement of food safety legislation would be created.

RESOLVED:   That the Food Law Enforcement Policy be approved.

Reason for Decision:  To meet the requirements of the FSA and to undertake statutory food safety functions, as contained within the Food Standards Act 1990.