Meeting documents

To sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2015.

The Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held  on 20 October, 2015 copies of which had been previously circulated, were approved and signed by Councillor I Darby Cabinet Leader, as a correct record.

Councillor I A Darby declared a personal interest in Item 10 - Revitalisation Groups. Nature of interest - Councillor Darby was the Treasurer of Chalfont St Peter Village Action Group; and in item 12 - Free Hour of Parking for Parishes due to being a member of Chalfont St Peter Parish Council.

Councillor P E C Martin declared a personal interest in Item 10 - Revitalisation Groups. Nature of interest - Councillor Martin was a member of Little Chalfont Association.

Councillor F J Wilson declared a personal interest in Item 10 - Revitalisation Groups. Nature of interest - Councillor Wilson was a member of Chesham Action Group.

(i)        Councillor M Smith reported that in respect of the progress of the Crematorium in Aylesbury there was a competing project from a private company in the Watermead area of Aylesbury and this was now subject to a Judicial Review application by the local Parish Council.  A further application for a Judicial Review had also been made in respect of the Brierton site for the Aylesbury Crematorium.

(ii)      Councillor M Smith reported that the Bucks County Council Waste Transfer site had now opened at High Heavens in Wycombe which had incurred costs for the Waste Collection service as a result of additional journey times and the need for an additional vehicle.

(iii)      Councillor M Smith reported that no disruptions were anticipated for Christmas collections. 

(iv)     Councillor Martin advised that an all member briefing was due to be held on Wednesday 9 December to consider further information in respect of the Joint Local Plan for Chiltern and South Bucks and all members were encouraged all to attend.  The meeting was being held at Chiltern District Council and was due to commence at 6.30pm.

(v)      Councillor Wilson advised that Small Business Saturday initiatives were being supported by Chiltern District Council.  An event had been held in Chesham on Saturday 28 November and events were planned in Amersham and Chalfont St Peter on Saturday 5 December 2015.

(vi)     Councillor Harris advised that a joint housing forum was to be held at Capswood on 3 February 2016 with South Bucks District Council to consider current issues in respect of the increasing problems of the rise in homelessness and shortage of affordable housing.  Members were  encouraged to attend to consider the housing issues and submit ideas to help resolve the issues. 

The Cabinet received a report attaching the draft 28-Day Notice which provided a forward look at the Agenda for the next meeting of the Cabinet.  The Notice would be published on 12 January 2016.

RESOLVED -

That the Draft 28-Day Notice / Forward Plan, to be published on 12 January 2016, be noted.

The Head of Healthy Communities introduced the report which provided a response to the petition presented to Council on 8 September 2015, in relation to; “welcoming 50 refugees families to Chesham and its surrounding villages and help them to find a safe place to stay where they can stop running from the living hell of war”.

The Government had written to all Councils requesting that they consider what support they could provide under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) Programme.

Government Guidance required a whole system approach to supporting the needs of refugees dispersed through the programme which would include access to health care, welfare, social care, education, and accommodation for the period of their stay in the UK.

Council officers had met with colleagues from Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust, the Clinical Commissioning Groups, Buckinghamshire County Council, Thames Valley Police and other District Councils in Buckinghamshire to assess the needs of Syrian Refugees and the guidance to local authorities and partners in relation to the operation of the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) Programme.  The discussions had helped to develop a view on the sort of capacity potentially required in Buckinghamshire.

The main concerns raised during partnership discussions were in relation to financial support available to Councils to fund the 5 year programme, the increased pressure on existing services and the impact of welfare benefit changes and Universal Credit.

RESOLVED:

i)    That partnership working with other local authorities and agencies in Buckinghamshire, continues to provide a full system response to the Governments request to support Syrian Refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) Programme; and

ii)   That Cabinet receive a further report on future proposals as to the needs of refugees and the numbers that could be accommodated under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) Programme including a consideration of the cost to the Council over a 5 year period.

The Cabinet were asked to consider the draft revenue budget for 2016/17.  The budgets presented at this stage represented the direct costs of the services; ie. they exclude all internal support recharges; and also included a summary of the major movements between the 2015/16 and the 2016/17 net cost of services as shown in Appendix 2 of the agenda.

Members were advised that since publication of the agenda the Resources Overview Committee had met and the Committee’s comments were noted which were in support of the proposed budget.  The Support Services Policy Advisory Group had also considered the Draft Budget and was in support of the proposals.  Following the outcome of the budget / council tax consultation, Cabinet was to make its final decisions and set the Council’s budget and 2016/17 Council Tax requirement at its meeting on 10 February 2016 prior to the full Council Tax resolution at full Council on 24 February 2016.

The Director of Resources informed members that the government  funding allocation was still awaited.  The budget had been subject to scrutiny by officers and members.

The key decisions, in respect of the budget, were to be taken in February 2016 but the immediate decision for Cabinet was to consider the level of support to parish council tax bills, which was detailed in Appendix 11 of the report.  It was agreed that the approach of reducing the support in line with the reduction in the Council’s Revenue Support Grant should continue, and this would be finalised when the Government announces the Local Government Financial Settlement. The current proposal was to scale back the support to the parish tax bases from £80,000 to £50,000.  This would be reviewed when the actual figure for the Revenue Support Grant was known as part of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.

The Leader wished to thank the Head of Finance, the Finance team and the Cabinet Member for Support Services for the hard work and commitment to achieving a third year of a successful exercise to ensure the councils financial resources were used in a way to deliver value for money for residents.

RESOLVED:

i)     That Cabinet note the draft revenue service budget for 2016/17; and

ii)    That in total £50,000 was provided to Chiltern District parishes in respect of the impact of Council Tax Support on their tax bases for 2016/17.  This figure would be subject to revision in the light of the provisional Local Government Settlement.

Consideration was given to the report which sought Cabinet agreement to continue the £15,270 per annum contribution to Buckinghamshire County Council for the delivery of the joint Count and District grant to support the voluntary and community sector infrastructure until 2021.

RESOLVED:

i)    That an annual payment of £15,270 to Buckinghamshire County Council for the contribution to the 2016/17 voluntary and community sector infrastructure grant be agreed; and

ii)   That Buckinghamshire County Council be informed of the intention of the Council to continue with an annual award of £15,270 for voluntary and community sector infrastructure services until 2021.

Councillors Darby, Martin and Wilson declared interests in this item as detailed in Minute No. 61.

Cabinet considered the report which outlined the work of Chiltern’s seven revitalisation groups which were independent voluntary organisations that worked collaboratively alongside all three tiers of local government.  The Council had supported the groups since their creation in the 1990s.  The groups function by encouraging and enabling local residents to actively become involved in determining local priorities, improving local services and developing community facilities.  They also encouraged volunteering, and work with partner agencies, devise local action plans and raise funding for their local projects.  The proposed £16,000 grant would help lever in significant new funding totalling £105,000 into Chiltern.

RESOLVED:

i)    That £16,000 be transferred to the approved capital programme and used to support Chiltern’s Revitalisation Group capital projects detailed below and shown in Appendix 2:

a)    Chesham - Improvements to High Street Amenity Signage (£3,500)

b)   Amersham on the Hill - Community Area Plantation Road / Roundwood Road (£4,000)

c)    Amersham Town - Space for All (£3,500)

d)   Little Chalfont - Improvements to Pedestrian Underpass (£4,000)

e)    Chalfont St Peter - High Street Hanging Baskets (£1,000)

ii)   That all awards are subject to

a)    planning consent, if required; and

b)   confirmation that ongoing maintenance and insurance obligations would not be the responsibility of the Council.

Cabinet considered the report which informed of the final revised draft Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles and requested recommendation to Council for adoption to come into effect on 14 January 2016. 

RECOMMENDED:

That the Council adopt the draft Statement of Principles at its meeting on Tuesday 15 December 2015 for publication at least 4 weeks prior to coming into effect for the period 14 January 2016 to 13 January 2019.

Councillor Darby declared an interest in this item as detailed in Minute No. 61.

Consideration was given to the report which advised how the existing parking schemes operated for those Parishes that previously requested that Chiltern District Council provided one hour free parking in certain Council operated pay and display car parks in return for an annual payment, and reviewed the future operation of this scheme.

It was reported that previously a formula had been agreed whereby those Parishes who wished to implement a first hour free on a pay and display car park paid 39% of the value of the previous year’s one hour tickets issued.  The percentage was arrived at based upon the increase in one hour tickets sales, when they were free, when the earliest scheme commenced, so that the Parishes didn’t pay the increase resulting from free tickets being issued rather than charged for.  The intention was to annually review costs but this had not happened.  Therefore a review of the schemes and formula used had been undertaken.  There were five schemes in place in Chiltern; Little Chalfont, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont St Peter, Great Missenden and Prestwood, detailed in Appendix B to the report.

Following detailed consideration of the existing schemes and formula by officers and the Environment Policy Advisory Group, a new formula had been produced which was in accordance with Members’ requests for simplicity and transparency.

The Leader invited Councillor Bray to speak in relation to recent discussions he had had with traders in Chalfont St Giles.  Councillor Bray reported a positive outcome to his discussions and that the traders were in agreement to the proposed changes subject to discretion during any period of significant flooding when the car park may be unusable.  The Head of Environment noted and agreed with this comment.

RESOLVED:

i)    That the new formula, as detailed in Appendix A be agreed; and

ii)   Those parishes be notified of the changes for the next financial year 2016/17 as detailed in Appendix A.

Consideration was given to the report which set out the details of the proposal to introduce a resident parking permit for residents living in the older part of Chesham where resident parking was an issue.  The permit would allow residents to park off street within the Watermeadow Car Park at a discounted rate.

It was reported that the area covered by the proposed parking scheme had been the subject of reviews and surveys over a number of years all of which had highlighted a real issue for residents with no off street parking trying to park on the highway.  For a limited number of residents a permit scheme would be an acceptable solution and whilst the Council could not offer a parking permit on street it was able to utilise capacity in the Watermeadow car park in return for a nominal fee to cover costs of administration and enforcement.

RESOLVED:

i)    That the introduction of a one year pilot Resident Parking Permit scheme be approved, to enable residents living in Church Street, Bury Lane, Pednormead End, Wey Lane, Germain Street (including the new flats at Lancaster House) and King Street in Chesham to park within the Watermeadow Car Park at a discounted rate; and

ii)   That authority be delegate to the Head of Environment in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder to finalise details of the scheme.

Consideration was given to the report which outlined the performance of Council services against performance indicators and service objectives during April to September 2015.

The Acting Chief Executive advised that areas of concern were in respect of the continued pressure on the housing service and the impact of this on performance indicators particularly in relation to the national increase in demand for temporary accommodation; and also in respect of staff turnover figures being higher than expected.  The reasons for staff leaving was being analysed in more detail through exit interviews and a detailed report was to be presented to Personnel Committee in the near future.  However, the Acting Chief Executive reported that initial feedback from the Investors In People Assessor who had conducted a review of the Council’s award confirmed that the Council had attained the Bronze level and it had been noted that staff morale was very high for the whole council even during a period of significant change which was to be commended.

It was noted that the Resources Overview Committee had considered the report and the Committee’s comments had been noted.

RESOLVED:

That the content of the report be noted.

In accordance with the Contract Procedure Rules Cabinet Members are asked to note that Management Team have agreed to the exemption of the Contract Procedure Rules in relation to the appointment of a former Senior Enforcement Officer to provide consultancy services.

The Acting Chief Executive advised that, in accordance, with the Contract Procedure Rules Cabinet Members are asked to note that Management Team have agreed to the exemption of the Contract Procedure Rules, regarding the seeking of a minimum of two quotations, in relation to the appointment of a former Senior Enforcement Officer to provide consultancy services to the Council.

RESOLVED:

That the exemption to contract procedure rules be noted.

Members considered and noted the Minutes of the following Joint Executive Committee meetings:-

·       Chiltern & South Bucks Joint Committee - 26 October 2015

·       Chiltern & Wycombe Joint Waste Collection Committee - 5 November 2015 - deferred for noting at the next meeting of Cabinet.

·       Joint Waste Committee for Buckinghamshire - 1 October 2015

Paragraph 1 - Information relating to any individual

Paragraph 3 - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular  person (including the authority holding that information)

Cabinet members considered the notes of the following Policy Advisory Group meeting:- 

·       Customer Services PAG Notes - 14 October 2015