Issue - meetings
Request for Approval to Proceed with Grant Application to the Clean Bus Technology Fund
Meeting: 07/11/2017 - Cabinet (Item 43)
43 Request for Approval to Proceed with Grant Application to the Clean Bus Technology Fund 
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(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Warriner)
Report of Chief Officer (Health & Housing)
Additional documents:
Minutes:
(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Warriner)
Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Health & Housing) to request approval to proceed with an application to the Clean Bus Technology Fund.
The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:
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Option 1: Do not submit a bid for Clean Bus Technology. |
Option 2: Submit a bid for Clean Bus Technology and act as Accountable Body. |
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Advantages |
Council resources, i.e. officer time, can be utilised on other work. |
Potential opportunity to reduce bus emissions in areas of poorer air quality. |
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Disadvantages |
Lost opportunity in that bus emissions affecting areas of poor air quality will remain as they are now. |
Some officer time will have to be allocated to producing a submission within a short timescale. |
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Risks |
Council criticised for not pursuing opportunities to attract external funding. |
Officer time could be spent on an unsuccessful submission. |
The Officer Preferred Option is that a submission is made to the Clean Bus Technology Fund and the City Council undertakes the role of Accountable Body. Given the experience obtained in the previous successful submission and with the initial preparatory work already undertaken, we are confident of making a high quality submission. The application will act to support the Council’s corporate priorities, particularly in relation to ‘Health and Wellbeing’ and ‘Clean and Green Places’. It also supports the government’s policy and direction of tackling problems of nitrogen dioxide concentrations around roads.
Councillor Warriner proposed, seconded by Councillor Pattison:-
“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”
Councillors then voted:-
Resolved unanimously:
(1) That Cabinet agrees to the City Council submitting a bid to the Clean Bus Technology Fund 2017-2019 and to undertake the role of Accountable Body for the funds should the application be successful.
(2) That the General Fund Capital Programme be updated as appropriate in 2017/18 and 2018/19 to reflect the additional expenditure and associated grant funding, subject to there being a nil impact on the Council’s resources.
(3) That Cabinet delegates authority to the Chief Officer (Health & Housing), in agreement with the Section 151 Officer, to approve the making and acceptance of further external funding bids above the key threshold where:
a. Any such bid is for the purposes of improving air quality in the district; and
b. It can be contained within the budget and policy framework and would not require redirection of resources between service areas, functions or activities on an ongoing basis.
(4) That Cabinet further delegates authority to the Section 151 Officer, in agreement with the Chief Officer (Health & Housing), to adopt the role of “Accountable Body” where appropriate, in order to support future air quality improvement initiatives in the district, subject to due diligence and any financial implications being contained within the budget and policy framework.
(5) That the above delegations remain in place until November 2019 and be subject to review at that time.
Officers responsible for effecting the decision:
Chief Officer (Health ... view the full minutes text for item 43