Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting.

a)    That the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as a correct record with the highlighted amended.

b)    That Cabinet note the decision of the Public Protection Committee in relation to the private hire operator fees.

The Leader passed on his and other Members condolences regarding the sad passing of Cllr Mrs Heames.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources highlighted that an amendment was required in relation to the council tax base listed in the minutes for Loggerheads; the figure should have read 1859.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources also confirmed that where fees and charges required consultation this had concluded and all responses had been considered by the appropriate Committees. The original fees proposed in relation to private hire operator licences were reaffirmed by the Public Protection Committee.

Resolved:     a)         That the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as a correct record with the highlighted amended.

b)         That Cabinet note the decision of the Public Protection Committee in relation to the private hire operator fees.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

That Members note the contents of the report and agree to the recommendation that the Council continues to monitor and scrutinise performance alongside the latest financial information for the same period.

That Members note the comments made through the Scrutiny process and the responses from officers and others to these comments.

A report was submitted to provide Cabinet with the Financial and Performance Review report - third quarter 2014/15.

The Financial and Performance Management monitoring reports provided information on a quarterly basis regarding the performance of individual council services, alongside related financial information on the organisation.

The report had originally been presented to the Finance, Resources & Partnerships Scrutiny (FRAPS) Committee meeting on 21 January 2015. 

The relevant portfolio holders provided feedback on their areas including household waste figures and recent planning appeals.

Resolved:

(a)       That Members note the contents of the attached report and agrees to the recommendation that the Council continues to monitor and scrutinise performance alongside the latest financial information for the same period.

(b)       That Members note the comments made through the Scrutiny process and the responses from officers and others to these comments.

a)    That the 2015/16 General Fund Revenue Budget as detailed in the report to Cabinet dated 14 January 2015 with the addition of the changes set out in paragraph 1.2 of this report and the package of measures in respect of staffing related budgets be recommended to Full Council for approval be recommended to Full Council for approval.

b)    That the Capital Programme 2015/16 as detailed in the report to Cabinet dated 14 January 2015 be recommended to Full Council for approval.

c)    That Cabinet recommend to Full Council that a budget of £139,280 be approved in respect of Keele master-planning costs to be funded from an earmarked reserve established by transferring an equivalent amount into it from the General Fund revenue account, being the estimated council tax surplus of £139,280 which will be credited to the revenue account in 2015/16.

A report was submitted to enable Cabinet to recommend the 2015/16 General Fund Revenue Budget and the 2015/16 Capital Programme to the Full Council, meeting on 25 February 2015.

The Leader introduced Cllr Paul Waring who was Chair of the Finance, Resources and Partnerships Scrutiny Committee. Cllr Waring provided feedback from the Budget Scrutiny Café and the discussions held by the scrutiny committee in relation to the budget at meetings held on 16^th December,  21^st January 2015 and 13^th January 2015.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources introduced the report and thanked the scrutiny committee and Cllr Waring for all the work that had been carried out.

The Portfolio holder outlined a set of measures which had been considered to make savings in staffing related budgets.  This was made up of the following specific savings:

Long service awards                                      £13,000

Evening meeting allowances                          £18,000

Reduction of car mileage rates                      £19,000

(to HMRC mileage rates)       

Staff car parking                                              £58,000 (based upon £1 per day charge)

It is the Cabinet’s view that whilst making a car parking charge remains an option they are minded not to recommend this to Council as the required saving of £50,000 could be achieved from the other three measures.

The portfolio holder also thanked the Executive Director for Resources and Support Services and his team for their hard  and productive work.

Resolved:

a)         That the 2015/16 General Fund Revenue Budget as detailed in the report to Cabinet dated 14 January 2015 with the addition of the changes set out in paragraph 1.2 of this report and the package of measures in respect of staffing related budgets be recommended to Full Council for approval.

b)         That the Capital Programme 2015/16 as detailed in the report to Cabinet dated 14 January 2015 be recommended to Full Council for approval.

c)         That Cabinet recommend to Full Council that a budget of £139,280 be approved in respect of Keele master-planning costs to be funded from an earmarked reserve established by transferring an equivalent amount into it from the General Fund revenue account, being the estimated council tax surplus of £139,280 which will be credited to the revenue account in 2015/16.

That Cabinet notes the decision of the Executive Director, Operational Services and the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Resources and Leisure and Culture to award a temporary extension to Lorne Stewart in relation to the mechanical and electrical maintenance contract at Jubilee2

A report was submitted to report the decision of the Executive Director, Operational Services and the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Resources and Leisure and Culture to award a temporary extension to Lorne Stewart in relation to the mechanical and electrical maintenance contract at Jubilee2.

Resolved:

That Cabinet notes the decision of the Executive Director, Operational Services and the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Resources and Leisure and Culture to award a temporary extension to Lorne Stewart in relation to the mechanical and electrical maintenance contract at Jubilee2

That Cabinet:

a)    Approve the in principle appointment of NULBC as the accountable body for the purposes of locality commissioning as set out in this report, pending the development of a Memorandum of Understanding between partners and the completion of a risk assessment into the implications of assuming the role of accountable body in this context

b)    Authorises the Chief Executive, on behalf of NULBC, to sign the letter dated 1st December 2014 from Staffordshire County Council (found at Appendix A), thereby authorising the transfer of £226,789 from SCC to NULBC for the purposes of locality commissioning, and adding to the other funding areas dedicated to locality commissioning (see Appendix B)

c)    Agrees to the presentation of a further report at the Cabinet meeting of 25th March 2015 setting out the results of the risk assessment and proposals based on these results around NULBC becoming the accountable body for locality commissioning in the Borough. This will include a process for the review of locality commissioning before the end of the 2015/16 financial year to understand lessons learnt.

A report was submitted to seek Cabinet approval for the in principle appointment of NULBC as the accountable body for locality commissioning in the Borough, involving a number of commissioning organisations from the public sector. The report also requested Cabinet approval for the development of a Memorandum of Understanding with commissioning partners setting out the details of the accountable body role in this context, pending a full risk assessment of the role. Finally, the report sought authorisation for the Chief Executive to agree to the transfer of Public Health funding from Staffordshire County Council under the terms of this in principle agreement.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

a)         Approve the in principle appointment of NULBC as the accountable body for the purposes of locality commissioning as set out in this report, pending the development of a Memorandum of Understanding between partners and the completion of a risk assessment into the implications of assuming the role of accountable body in this context

b)         Authorises the Chief Executive, on behalf of NULBC, to sign the letter dated 1st December 2014 from Staffordshire County Council (found at Appendix A), thereby authorising the transfer of £226,789 from SCC to NULBC for the purposes of locality commissioning, and adding to the other funding areas dedicated to locality commissioning (see Appendix B)

c)         Agrees to the presentation of a further report at the Cabinet meeting of 25th March 2015 setting out the results of the risk assessment and proposals based on these results around NULBC becoming the accountable body for locality commissioning in the Borough. This will include a process for the review of locality commissioning before the end of the 2015/16 financial year to understand lessons learnt.

To award the Domestic Energy Saving Service contract to Climate Energy Ltd to start in February 2015 for a two year period with the option to offer two one year extensions subject to successful service delivery.

A report was submitted to seek approval to enter into a contract with Climate Energy Ltd to deliver a Domestic Energy Saving Service.

Cllr Naylon had submitted a question in relation to this item:

I welcome the proposal to enter a contract with Climate Energy Ltd to deliver a Domestic Energy Saving Service.  As an early adopter of the Green Deal process I wanted to ask Cabinet about how the funding for householders wanting to get involved with Green Deal will be met

 When I arranged a Green Deal assessment a few years ago it cost me £150.  I'm assuming there is still the same need for this fee to be paid over to assessors.

Will this be paid on behalf of the householder?   Would Climate Energy Ltd be paying all the Green Deal fees across the Borough?

The Portfolio Holder responded to the question and thanked Cllr Naylon for her support for the proposed contract to deliver a Domestic Energy Saving Service.

As indicated in the report the Service would, where possible, use government and energy company funds to provide subsided energy improvements. The promotion of these grants to ensure residents are able to access them was a major objective of the scheme. Initially all customers would be offered comprehensive advice as to the most cost-effective option available to them to improve the energy efficiency of their dwelling. If they wished to take up any improvement measures a specialist energy surveyor would be required to visit and review the property resulting in the production of a report.

Where the improvements could be fully funded from grants the surveyor would provide an Energy Performance Certificate free of charge. It was expected that this would be the case for the majority of customers. However, where a customer was required to use their own funds and wished to apply for a Green Deal loan, the surveyor would need to produce a more detailed Green Deal Plan.   

The cost of preparing a Green Deal Plan could be up to £150.  Climate Energy, the service provider, had agreed to subsidise this and the cost would be £49.  This, they suggest, would not deter genuinely interested customers but would reduce the risk of undertaking costly abortive surveys. 

The Leader expressed his thanks for the report.

Resolved:

To award the Domestic Energy Saving Service contract to Climate Energy Ltd to start in February 2015 for a two year period with the option to offer two one year extensions subject to successful service delivery.

There was no urgent business.