Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring disclosable interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is pecuniary or non-pecuniary.

In accordance with the Code of Conduct, Members declared the following interests:

Councillor R D Bayliss declared a non pecuniary interest in the additional item – Proposal to Dispose of Land at North Close, Blackfordby as he had already taken part in discussion on the issue as a Member of Ashby de la Zouch Town Council.  He would leave the meeting during the discussion and voting thereon.

No questions were received.

RESOLVED THAT:

By reason of special circumstance in that an additional item of business needs to be considered before the next meeting of the Cabinet, the item entitled "Proposal to Dispose of Land at North Close, Blackfordby" be considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency in accordance with Section 100B(4)(B) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Reason for decision: To enable the consideration of urgent business.

Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2016

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2016.

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

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2016 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Reason for decision: To comply with the Constitution.

Report of the Interim Director of Resources

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

The Corporate Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members.  He referred to the Council Tax Base for the next financial year after applying a two percent non collection rate at appendices one and two.  He highlighted the growth in numbers, the surplus on the collection fund and level of Local Council Tax grant for Parish Council’s which was the same amount as the previous year.  However, he did point out to Members that the level of support to Parish Councils would be reducing in future years due to the phasing out of the Central Governments Revenue Support Grant.  This had been discussed with the Town and Parish Council’s and the phased reduction was detailed at appendix three.

It was moved by Councillor N J Rushton, seconded by Councillor R Blunt and

RESOLVED THAT:

a)     The calculation of the Council Tax Base for each parish and special expense area for the Financial Year 2017/18, as detailed in appendix 2 to the report, be approved and adopted.

b)     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 2017/18 shall be 31,262.

c)     The amounts of Council Tax Support Grant for each Town and Parish Council, as detailed in appendix 3, be approved for the Financial Year 2017/18.

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 announced that the following question in relation to the item had been received from Councillor J Legrys:

A petition signed by 500 people has been presented to the Council to retain Coalville Town Centre Post Office at its current location. Can you please tell me what you as Leader are personally undertaking to negotiate directly with the Directors of the Post Office to keep the franchise at the current location?

The Leader gave the following response:

All council members were made aware of the Post Office’s public consultation on the proposed relocation of the current Marlborough Square Post Office operation to HKS Clock Tower on Ashby Road in November 2016.

I, as Leader of the Council, wrote a letter to the Post Office, as part of that consultation, and the Chief Executive submitted a formal response via the public consultation process.  Subsequently, the petition mentioned in the question was forwarded to the Post Office.

The initial response from the Post Office explained their Network Transformation Programme. This seeks to address the challenging commercial environment in which their service operates and the aim to create a self-sufficient network. They confirmed that the current operator of the Post Office has decided not to continue to deliver the Post Office service on the new terms that they had specified.

The Post Office is conducting a transparent and competitive recruitment process seeking a new agent in Coalville. The opportunity was advertised through a national website. HKS Clock Tower was successful in the initial stages of the recruitment process and was the subject of the local public consultation.

I propose that the Chief Executive, with Cllr Legrys and Cllr Clarke, will seek to meet with Post Office officials to discuss their approach as the recruitment process continues. However we must all be clear that the Council has no influence on the Post Office’s final decision over and above my contribution to the public consultation or any other representations made by elected Members.

Councillor J Legrys thanked the Leader for his response and asked that Councillors J Geary and R Johnson also be kept informed as they had been heavily involved.

The Leader presented the report to Members.  He reported that following a slow start to the Coalville Frontage Grant Scheme, the demand had been higher than expected with many properties already transformed and many more due to start.  The allocation of the additional £125,000 from the Local Growth Plan Fund would ensure the continued support to local businesses.  He explained that some recent grant requests had been for large sums of money and therefore to ensure that funds could be distributed fairly, it was proposed to implement a maximum grant amount.

The Leader reported that the frontage improvements to the Emporium was underway and following a meeting with the owner of the Arriva bus depot it has been confirmed that the development of the site would be moving forward.  The Leader now had every confidence that the scheme would go ahead and believed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

Report of the Director of Services

Presented by the Community Services Portfolio Holder

The Community Services Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members highlighting the financial performance of the leisure centres and the proposed allocation of a budget surplus to staff. 

She referred to the employment terms and conditions of the leisure centre staff and the local agreement negotiated by the Trade Unions as detailed within the report.  It was reported that during the 2015/16 financial year the leisure centres had exceeded budget forecasts, this prompted a review of previous years which also highlighted a budget surplus which leisure centre staff were not recompensed for as per the local agreement.  Therefore the report was before Cabinet to correct the position for previous years and to consider the financial performance in 2015/16.

The Community Services Portfolio Holder informed Members that an apology had been given to staff from Management for not presenting a report to Cabinet for consideration for the years 2009/10 and 2012/13.  A number of options were considered to resolve the matter and following a consultation with the Trade Unions the recommendations within the report had been proposed.  She thanked the hard working leisure centre staff for their efforts towards a successful leisure service.

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

RESOLVED THAT:

a)        The financial surplus achieved by the Leisure Centres in 2009/10, 2012/13 and 2015/16 totalling £43,875 be noted.

b)        The surplus be allocated and funded as outlined in section 6 of the report and as follows;

1)     £13,101 in 2009/10 split on a 50/50 basis to qualifying leisure centre employees and to leisure centre investment projects (retrospectively)

2)     £1,418 in 2012/13 split on a 50/50 basis to qualifying leisure centre employees and to leisure centre investment projects (retrospectively)

3)     £29,356 in 2015/16 split on a 50/50 basis to qualifying leisure centre employees and to leisure centre investment project

Reason for decision:To ensure compliance with the Council’s Leisure Centre Local Agreement March 2003.

Report of the Interim Director of Resources

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

The Corporate Portfolio Holder presented the report.

It was moved by Councillor N J Rushton, seconded by Councillor T J Pendleton and

RESOLVED THAT:

The authority to award the contract for the bill payment service for the period 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2020 with the option to extend until 31 May 2021be delegated to the Interim Director of Resources in consultation with the Corporate Portfolio Holder.

Reason for decision:The level of expenditure on this contract exceeds the authority threshold in the Scheme of Delegation and to ensure the continuity of provision of the bill payment service to the Council.

Report of the Interim Director of Resources

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

The Corporate Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members and stressed the importance of having secure data and systems.  The migration of the server room to a data centre would strengthen the Council’s business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements, along with the replacement of the Council’s old wide area network with a modern single supplier solution, would not only be more efficient and effective but would also save money over the medium term.

It was moved by Councillor N J Rushton, seconded by Councillor T J Pendleton  and

RESOLVED THAT:

The authority to award the contract for the data centre and wide area network services for the period 1 February 2017 to 28 February 2020 be delegated to the Interim Director of Resources in consultation with the Corporate Portfolio Holder.

Reason for decision: The level of expenditure on this contract exceeds the authority threshold in the Scheme of Delegation and to implement modern ICT network and infrastructure, replacing legacy infrastructure and consolidating suppliers. Also the provision of disaster recovery, business continuity and backup services which reduce the overall ICT infrastructure costs to the Council. This is contained within the ICT Road Map 2016 – 2018.

The officers consider that the press and public should be excluded during consideration of the following items in accordance with Section 100(a) of the Local Government Act 1972 as publicity would be likely to result in disclosure of exempt or confidential information.

RESOLVED THAT:

In pursuance of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that the business to be transacted involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and that the public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Reason for decision: To enable the consideration of exempt information.

Report of the Director of Housing

Presented by the Housing Portfolio Holder

The Housing Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members.

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

RESOLVED THAT:

The authority to award the construction contract for the council house new build programme (phase 1 and potentially phase 2) to Robert Woodhead Ltd via the Efficiency East Midlands Framework Agreement be delegated to the Director of Housing, in consultation with the Housing Portfolio Holder.

Reason for decision:Value of the contract exceeds thresholds in the scheme of delegation.

Report of the Interim Director of Resources

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

The Corporate Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members highlighting the procurement process by using the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation Insurance Framework.

It was moved by Councillor N J Rushton, seconded by Councillor T J Pendleton  and

RESOLVED THAT:

a)        A contract extension of six monthswith the existing insurance provider be agreed.

b)        A waiver be granted to the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules pursuant to rule 3.2 of those rules due to the circumstances set out in paragraphs 2.2 and 2.3 of the report to allow the extension to be awarded.

c)         The authority to conduct a procurement of insurance be delegated to the Interim Director of Resources in consultation with the Corporate Portfolio Holder.

Reason for decision:To provide the capacity for the delivery of an effective and robust procurement exercise.

Report of the Director of Housing

Presented by the Housing Portfolio Holder

Having declared an interest, Councillor R D Bayliss left the meeting during the item and took no part in the discussion or voting thereon.

In the absence of the Housing Portfolio Holder, the Corporate Portfolio Holder presented the report to Members.

Councillor R Blunt paid tribute to all involved as the matter had come to a good conclusion with both the Council and the Parish Council working together successfully.

It was moved by Councillor N J Rushton, seconded by Councillor R Blunt and

RESOLVED THAT:

a)        The comments and implications of the report be noted.

b)        The disposal of the open land at North Close, Blackfordby be approved to allow the development of affordable housing by East Midlands Homes.

c)         The authority to liaise with Ashby Town Council and East Midlands Housing to complete the sale of the land be delegated to the Director of Housing in conjunction with the Housing Portfolio Holder.

Reason for decision: To help maintain delivery of affordable housing in rural areas, and to help provide settled and affordable rented accommodation for some of the 700 plus households on the District’s Housing Register.