Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence received.

There were no interests declared.

There were no public questions received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 9 December 2014

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 9 December 2014.

By affirmation of the meeting it was

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 December 2014 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Reason for decision: To comply with the Constitution.

Report of the Director of Services

Presented by the Regeneration and Planning Portfolio Holder

The Regeneration and Planning Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members.

He stated that the current statement was adopted in 2006 and that 9 responses had been received following the consultation, which would now allow the Authority to modify the statement. He advised Members that should they agree to adopt the new statement it would be displayed on the website.

Councillor R Blunt expressed concern that the list general consultation bodies could go out of date as some organisations were defunct and asked how officers would assess the list.

The Director of Services advised Members that all the organisations would be written to and asked to confirm that they wished to remain on the database, and those that did not reply would be removed from the list.

It was moved by Councillor T J Pendleton, seconded by Councillor R D Bayliss and

RESOLVED THAT:

Cabinet:

1.    Notes the responses to the consultation in respect of the Statement of Community Involvement set out in appendix B and;

2. Agrees to the adoption of the new Statement of Community Involvement as set out in appendix A.

Reason for decision: In accordance with the Council’s Constitution Cabinet is required to approve the new Statement of Community Involvement.

Report of the Head of Finance

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

The Corporate Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members.

He advised Members that it was a statutory requirement to approve the calculation of Council Tax Base each year. He highlighted to Members that it showed a 2% growth across the District and that £100,076 would be allocated to the Town and Parish Councils under the Local Council Tax Support Scheme.

Following a question from Councillor R Blunt, Councillor N J Rushton advised Members that appendix 2 showed that there was growth across the whole district

It was moved by Councillor N J Rushton, seconded by Councillor A V Smith and

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    The calculation of the Council Tax Base for each Parish and Special Expense area for the financial year 2015/16, as shown in appendix 2 to the report, be approved and adopted.

2.    In accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England)  Regulations 2012 si 2012/2914 the amount calculated by North West Leicestershire District Council as its Council Tax Base for the financial year 2015/16 shall be 29,664.

3.    The amounts of Council Tax Support Grant for each Town and Parish Council detailed in appendix 3 be approved for the financial year 2015/16.

Reason for decision: Statutory requirement to facilitate the setting of Council Tax for the forthcoming financial year.

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

The Leader presented the report to Members.

He reminded Members of the financial commitments that had been made to the programme and advised that phase one of the programme had been successful and that phase two was about to commence which would focus on staff and customer communication. He highlighted that, following on from phase one there had been a 95% satisfaction rate for telephone and face to face channels, efficiencies in customer services had meant it was possible to reduce the size of the team and that the £20,000 for 7 Community Funding had over 2,000 customers registering online accounts, with the options to opt to receive updates from the Council.

Councillor T J Pendleton acknowledged the work that had been carried out by the ICT Team Manager and Councillor R Blunt extended this to the officers on the ICE project board.

Following a question from Councillor N J Rushton, the Head of Legal and Support Services stated that the introduction of smart phone apps would be developed during phase two.

The Chief Executive added that the Authority would need to look into which services the phone apps would be beneficial to.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor T J Pendleton and

RESOLVED THAT:

Cabinet notes the progress of the ICE Programme.

Reason for decision: To note the progress of the ICE Programme.