Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received.

There were no interests declared.

There were no questions received.

Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday, 22 October 2013.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2013.

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2013 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

The Leader presented the report to Members.  He stated that the City Deal agreement was a mechanism to access £10,000,000 funding from the Regional Growth Fund and additional funding to develop a business support growth hub.  He explained that the focus of the City Deal would be job creation and supporting people into employment. 

Councillor A V Smith stated that the scheme was a good piece of work which would bring jobs into the area and provide apprenticeships and training for young people.

Councillor R D Bayliss commended the scheme.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor A V Smith and

RESOLVED THAT:

a) The submission of the final negotiation document for the City Deal to Central Government be noted and endorsed; and

b) The establishment of the Leicester and Leicestershire Economic Growth Board to facilitate the negotiation of the City Deal be noted.

Reason for decision: To note the timescales involved with the City Deal process and the arrangements overseeing this.

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, drawing their attention to Appendix 2, which gave examples of the issues faced by four families and the outcomes which had been achieved.  He explained that the team were currently working with 224 individuals and had the second largest caseload in Leicestershire.  He reported that 3 members of staff had been trained to deliver parenting classes.  He added that there was more work to be done.

Councillor N J Rushton referred to Appendix 1 and the impact of domestic abuse and welcomed the funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner to deal with this issue.

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

RESOLVED THAT:

a) The report be noted.

b) Cabinet continue to support the ongoing development of the Supporting Families Programme in North West Leicestershire.

Reason for decision: To ensure Cabinet is kept up to date with on-going service developments.

Report of the Director of Services

Presented by the Housing Portfolio Holder

Councillor R D Bayliss presented the report to Members, drawing their attention to the good work of the Tenant Scrutiny Panel as outlined in Appendix 1.  A report from the Tenant Scrutiny Panel following their first assignment would be brought to Cabinet in the New Year.

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

RESOLVED THAT:

The adoption of the Resident Involvement Agreement (2013-15) detailed in Appendix A of the report be approved.

Reason for decision: The partnership agreement (formerly known as the Tenants Compact) between the Council and its Tenants and Leaseholders which provides the framework for resident involvement in housing services has been reviewed and updated.  It now reflects the requirements of the service and its tenants and leaseholders for the short and medium term.

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, explaining the Council's statutory obligations in respect of safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults.  He stated that the updated policies would ensure that the Council remained at the forefront of good practice.

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

RESOLVED THAT:

a) The updated 2013 Children and Young People and Adults Safeguarding Policies be approved.

b) Authority for annual updates be delegated to the Director of Services in consultation with the Regeneration and Planning Portfolio Holder.

Reason for decision: To comply with the Council's statutory duty to ensure compliance with safeguarding duties as detailed in the Children Act 2004 and Working Together 2013.

Report of the Director of Services

Presented by the Community Services Portfolio Holder

The Community Services Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members, drawing their attention to the benefits of the software which would save money and build upon the high levels of customer satisfaction.

It was moved by Councillor A V Smith, seconded by Councillor R D Bayliss and

RESOLVED THAT:

a) The procurement process selected for the procurement of waste management software as part of the ICE programme be noted; and

b) Authority be delegated to the Director of Services in consultation with the Community Services Portfolio Holder to award the waste management software contract, in accordance with evaluation criteria as set out in the framework.

Reason for decision: The level of potential expenditure exceeds the authority threshold in the Scheme of Delegation.

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

The Leader presented the report to Members, outlining some of the key performance highlights in respect of Council Tax collection rates, Leisure Centre memberships, the General Fund forecast, sickness absence rates, affordable housing delivery and improvements to customer service.

Councillor A V Smith reported that Leisure Centre membership income was £25,000 above target and the summer usage had been exceptional.  She commented on the proactive work done by the Environmental Health team due to a large number of changes in ownership of food establishments.

Following a question from Councillor N J Rushton, the Head of Legal and Support Services agreed to provide further information on the additional income in respect of Health and Food Safety.

Councillor T J Pendleton referred to the additional income from Planning and Development Control Fees.  He outlined the two areas which were below target, one of which was related to the River Mease issue and the other due to vacancies within the team.

Councillor R D Bayliss reported that the Decent Homes Improvement Programme was behind due to one of the contractors having had staffing problems.  He added that they were working on the backlog and he was confident this target would be back on track in the next quarter.  He referred to the satisfaction rate in respect of repairs and reiterated that this was an unreliable statistic due to the low return rate of the questionnaire.  He added that officers were working on a better means of collecting the data.

Councillor T Gillard stated that he looked forward to the improvements to Coalville Indoor Market commencing soon.

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

RESOLVED THAT:

The Quarter 2 Performance Report (July – September 2013) be received and noted.

Reason for decision: The report is provided for Members to effectively monitor the

organisation's performance.

Report of the Director of Services

Presented by the Community Services Portfolio Holder

The Community Services Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members, drawing their attention to the benefits of the proposal as outlined at section 2 of the report and the update sheet which had been circulated at the meeting.  She stated that the proposals would save a lot of money.  She added that the site was located next to Leicestershire County Council's site and was the location where the lorries were already stored.

Councillor R Blunt invited Councillor J Geary to speak.

Councillor J Geary expressed concerns that the proposed site was within 150m of shops, 250m from residential dwellings and 650m from the town centre.  He added that in summer, the prevailing winds would direct any smells towards the town centre.  He expressed concerns regarding smells, flies and rodents.  He stated that people considered the Ashby site to be better as it was in the open countryside, and there was a better highways infrastructure in place.  He asked if Leicestershire County Council had given consideration to using the Ashby site, and why the Coalville site was considered more beneficial.

Councillor A V Smith responded that the site at Lount was privately owned, so was not under the control of Leicestershire County Council.  She added that the land at Lount was quite undulating and would not be conducive to such a facility.  She added that the benefit of using Linden Way was that it was an existing site which was well managed and was the most logical place to install this facility.  With regard to flies and smells, she stated that the waste handled would be black bin waste, so if people recycled properly, this would not be an issue.  She explained that there were roller doors on the site which would only be open when the waste came in and the waste would not be stored on site for long.  She added that rodent control would be a priority.  She reminded Members that this was an 'in principle' approval only.

It was moved by Councillor A V Smith, seconded by Councillor R Blunt and

RESOLVED THAT:

The development of a refuse waste transfer facility for Coalville be approved in principle at the Linden Way depot.

Reason for decision: To ensure efficient use of public sector resources through seeking in principle approvals prior to committing funds to a project.

Report of the Director of Services

Presented by the Community Services Portfolio Holder

The Community Services Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members, drawing their attention to the allotments at Greenhill which had now been officially opened and named the Jubilee Allotments, and the green gym which had been very well used.

Councillor R Blunt invited Councillor N Clarke to speak as Chairman of the Coalville Special Expenses Working Party.

Councillor N Clarke drew Members' attention to part 1 of recommendation b.  He explained that there had been a long debate with regards to the Remembrance Day service and the Working Party had unanimously agreed that it was not right to demote the responsibility for this to the Coalville Special Expenses area.  He added that it was a central event attended by the Chairman, Chief Executive and the MP.  He stated that the event should be funded through the General Fund budget, particularly as next year was the 100th anniversary of World War I, and there would be additional attention on the event.  He felt that it may give the perception that the Council thought the event was less important if it was funded through the Coalville Special Expenses area.  He added that prioritising the event and funding it through the General Fund could have a positive impact.  He felt that a contribution from the Coalville Special Expense area could be explored.  He urged Members to support the recommendation.

Councillor A V Smith acknowledged the importance of the Remembrance Day Service to every Member.  She reminded Members that the event was held across the whole of the District and every Parish funded its own event.  She added that dignitaries attended more than one event in the District.  She considered that the Working Party would be proud and pleased to take on the responsibility for the event.  She stated that a decision on this matter should be deferred to enable further investigation in respect of where savings could be made.  She stated that she would then like to meet with a group of Members from the Coalville Special Expenses Working Party to discuss how the event should be funded.  She added that she felt it would be unfair to ask people in Appleby and Castle Donington to contribute to the event in Coalville.

Councillor N J Rushton asked what progress had been made on forming a Town Council for Coalville.  The Chief Executive advised that an approach would need to be made to the Council to undertake this particular piece of work.

It was moved by Councillor A V Smith, seconded by Councillor R Blunt and

RESOLVED THAT:

a) The minutes of the Coalville Special Expenses Working Party attached at Appendix 1 be approved.

b) The Events Task and Finish Group consider the 2014/15 events programme and other budget changes in light of the proposed reallocation of funds from the General Fund to the Coalville Special Expenses budget.

c) The Community Services Portfolio Holder to meet with Members of the Coalville Special Expenses Working Party to discuss further the funding of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.