Agenda and minutes

To receive as a correct record the minutes of Cabinet meetings held on Tuesday, 17^th February 2008 and Tuesday 3^rd March 2009 (previously circulated). 

The minutes of the meetings held on Tuesday 17^th February 2009 and Tuesday 3^rd March 2009 were approved as correct records.

To consider any such items authorised by the Leader and to consider where in the agenda the item(s) are to be considered. 

The Chairman advised that there were no items of urgent business.

To consider any such declarations. 

No declarations were made at this point.

To consider any such requests received in accordance with the approved procedure. 

Members were advised that there had been no requests to speak at the meeting in accordance with the Cabinet’s agreed procedure.

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillors Archer and Mace)

Report of the Corporate Director (Regeneration).

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillors Archer and Mace)

The Corporate Director (Regeneration) submitted a report to outline, and seek approval for, the City Council’s role in supporting employment and skills activities identified in the LDLSP Education, Skills and Opportunities Thematic Group Action Plan as a response to worklessness within the District.  Specific approval is sought for a funding bid to the LDLSP for a Worklessness Pilot Project focused on outreach and engagement with hard to reach individuals and groups in the District’s most deprived areas.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment, were set out in the report as follows:

Lancaster & Morecambe Worklessness Pilot Project

City Council approach towards worklessness

Officer Preferred Option (and comments):

Option 2 is the preferred option for the Worklessness Pilot Project  ...  view the full minutes text for item 163.

Report of the Chief Executive

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Gilbert)

The Chief Executive submitted a report asking Members to consider how to take forward community cohesion within Lancaster District in the context of the Area Based Grant (ABG).

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment, were set out in the report as follows:

Option 1

That Cabinet agrees to support the cohesion action plan developed by the Valuing People group and allocates £23K to the group for this purpose

Option 2

To defer making any allocations from the ABG for community cohesion at this time

Option 3

That Cabinet allocate Area Based Grant for some other purpose.

The preferred option is Option 1 - to support the cohesion action plan developed by the Valuing People group and allocate £23K to the group for this purpose.  This is in accordance with the earlier decisions of Cabinet to take forward development of a Community Cohesion Strategy through working with the LDLSP and the voluntary sector and ring fence the 2008/9 Area Based Grant awarded for community cohesion for supporting specific actions within Corporate Plan Priority 6.1.

It was moved by Councillor Gilbert and seconded by Councillor Blamire:-

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

(Councillor Barry joined the meeting.)

Members then voted:-

Resolved unanimously:

(1)         That the remaining £16,000 balance of the Community Cohesion Reserve, together with £7,000 from the Project Implementation Reserve, be allocated to support the Lancaster District Local Strategic  Partnership’s (LDLSP) Valuing People Thematic Group  to develop and implement a district wide Community Cohesion Strategy.

(2)          That the 2009/10 Revenue Budget be updated accordingly.

(3)         That the Head of Corporate Strategy become the Responsible Spending Officer for this £26,000 budget.

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Chief Executive

Head of Corporate Strategy

Reasons for making the decision:

The decision taken is in accordance with the earlier decisions of Cabinet to take forward development of a Community Cohesion Strategy through working with the LDLSP and ring fence the 2008/9 Area Based Grant awarded for community cohesion for supporting specific actions within the Corporate Plan.

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Mace)

Report of Corporate Director (Regeneration).

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Mace)

The Corporate Director (Regeneration) submitted a report updating Cabinet on progress on this key regeneration project, explaining why this development is currently stalled and to present proposals for how the Council might facilitate a satisfactory and timely project delivery.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment, were set out in the report as follows:

Options:

Market conditions severely constrain what can reasonably be done. To make progress the only option available is

Option 1 is for the NWDA to grant the Council funding for it to clear and remediate the site and undertake essential infrastructure works and thereby ready the site for development when the market starts to recover. (The Developer costs such works at some £5.2 million).

The alternative, Option 2, is to do nothing.

Analysis:

Officers consider that option 1 is the only one available. Doing nothing is not realistic, not least because obligations on the Council under the JFA and its contract for ERDF funding put it at substantial financial risk until it delivers or at least can assure full development delivery. In total, funding for some £5 million of expenditures already made is at stake and, in the worst-case scenario, the Council would be left with expenditure to this amount unfunded.

In addition, doing nothing would have serious implications for regeneration and planning. The full potentials of this development in terms of the environmental improvements, homes and jobs that it should deliver will not be realised. There will be no significant inward investment into the wider Luneside area for years to come.  Failure to develop out this site and, because of this, prospectively other sites, will also mean the Council’s total housing delivery is lowered and developers will be in a stronger position to force the Council to release Greenfield sites instead.

A related point is that terminating the involvement of the Developer is neither sensible nor reasonable at this stage. The developer has undoubted capacity, knowledge, commitment and readiness to deliver and the Council can mitigate its risks significantly by keeping the Developer with it so it can draw on its knowledge and experience. Further, the reasons the Developer cannot proceed as planned are no fault of its own. 

Option 1 is also deliverable (subject to a positive funding decision). The NWDA (and also the HCA) has the discretion to grant the Council sufficient funding to undertake the works described and a variation to the JFA would be the mechanism. The Corporate Director (Regeneration) has the delegated authority to apply for such external funding. The Council owns the whole site and therefore would have full site control. It is practised as an accountable body. Planning Services’ Engineering Team has the capacity and expertise to act as client for the works. This team is well versed in mechanisms for managing and mitigating risk (including cost risk) in contract management.  To maximise efficiencies and minimise costs the Council should secure services from the Developer’s expert consultancy team to assist  ...  view the full minutes text for item 165.

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Archer)

Report of the Corporate Director (Regeneration)

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Archer)

The Corporate Director (Regeneration) submitted a report asking Members to consider adopting a Disposal Strategy for the Council as part of a Medium Term Corporate Property Strategy.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment, were set out in the report as follows:

Option 1 – That the Disposal Strategy be adopted. This would build on the Corporate Property Strategy provide an improved framework for managing the Council’s asset disposal process.

Option 2 - That the Disposal Strategy is not adopted. The existing guidance of the Corporate Property Strategy would be maintained although this is now out of date and does not meet the Council’s current priorities.

Option 1 is the officer preferred option. The adoption of the Disposal Strategy provides an improved framework for managing the Council’s asset disposal process.

It was moved by Councillor Archer and seconded by Councillor Kerr:-

“(1)      That the Disposal Strategy as amended, (an amended version of the Disposal Strategy, with the amendments highlighted, was distributed by Councillor Archer at the meeting and is appended to these minutes) be approved, subject to the inclusion of a clause giving a commitment that the portfolio holder will be consulted on the disposal method to be adopted for any property disposal.”

Members then voted:-

Resolved:

(9 Members (Councillors Archer, Barry, Blamire, Bryning, Burns, Charles, Gilbert, Kerr and Mace) voted in favour and 1 Member (Councillor Fletcher) abstained)

(1)        That the Disposal Strategy as amended, be approved, subject to the inclusion of a clause giving a commitment that the portfolio holder will be consulted on the disposal method to be adopted for any property disposal.

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Corporate Director (Regeneration)

Head of Property Services

Reason for making the decision:

Adoption of the Disposal Strategy provides an improved framework for managing the Council’s asset disposal process.

Members are asked whether they need to declare any further declarations of interest regarding the exempt reports. 

Cabinet is recommended to pass the following recommendation in relation to the following items:- 

“That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business, on the grounds that they could involve the possible disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 12 of Schedule 12A of that Act.” 

Members are reminded that, whilst the following items have been marked as exempt, it is for the Council itself to decide whether or not to consider each of them in private or in public.  In making the decision, Members should consider the relevant paragraph of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and should balance the interests of individuals or the Council itself in having access to information.  In considering their discretion Members should also be mindful of the advice of Council Officers.  

The Chairman asked for any further declarations of interest from Cabinet Members regarding the exempt reports.

It was moved by Councillor Kerr and seconded by Councillor Archer:-

“That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business, on the grounds that they could involve the possible disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1,2 and 3 of Schedule 12A of that Act.” 

Members then voted as follows:-

Resolved unanimously:-

(1)        That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business, on the grounds that they could involve the possible disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1,2 and 3 of Schedule 12A of that Act.

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Archer)

Report of the Corporate Director (Regeneration).

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Archer)

The Corporate Director (Regeneration) submitted an exempt report updating Cabinet on the information requested in line with the resolutions made at the December 2008 Cabinet meeting.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred options  were set out in detail within the exempt report.

It was moved by Councillor Archer and seconded by Councillor Kerr:-

“(1)      That options 1 and 2, as set out in the exempt report, be approved.”

Members then voted:-

Resolved:

(6 Members (Councillors Archer, Blamire, Bryning, Burns, Gilbert and Kerr) voted in favour and 4 Members (Councillors Barry, Charles, Fletcher and Mace) abstained)

(1)        That options 1 and 2, as set out in the exempt report, be approved.

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Corporate Director (Regeneration)

Head of Property Services

Reasons for making the decision:

The decision provides the greatest opportunity to remove some or all of the Council’s deficit in the long term.

Report of the Chief Executive.

(Any vacancy forms received will be sent out to follow)

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Bryning)

The Chief Executive submitted a report seeking Cabinet’s approval to the filling of established vacancies where recommended and to note a decision taken under the Council’s urgent business procedure.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment, were set out in the report as follows:

The information contained within each form provides details related to the risks of not filling the related vacancy.  Cabinet has the option of releasing funding on either a time limited or permanent basis or withholding funding.  If funding is not released, there will be an impact on Service provision.  If funding is time limited, it will be more difficult and possibly more expensive to fill a post.

Officer Preferred Option (and comments):

To fill those posts as recommended by Service Heads unless Cabinet identifies the work as being of a low priority.

It was moved by Councillor Kerr and seconded by Councillor Fletcher:-

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

Members then voted:-

Resolved:

(8 Members (Councillors Archer, Barry, Blamire, Bryning, Burns, Fletcher, Gilbert and Kerr) voted in favour and 2 Members (Councillors Charles and Mace) voted against)

(1)        That Cabinet Members agree that the vacancies recommended for filling by Service Heads are filled as soon as possible.

(2)        That the action taken by the Chief Executive, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member and the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation, in respect of the following vacancy, be noted:-

(a)     That the Conditions of Employment of the temporary holder of post PL0096 in Planning Services be amended to extend the fixed term contract on a reduction in hours to 18.5 on a temporary basis to accommodate a request from the substantive post holder to work half time for a period of 12 months following maternity leave, under the Family Leave Scheme policy.

(b)     That the call in be waived in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17 to allow immediate implementation.

(3)        That the Revenue Budget be updated accordingly, for any deleted or deferred posts.

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Chief Executive.

Reasons for making the decision:

The decisions enable the decision made at Cabinet on 11^th November 2008, removing the delegated decision making to fill employee vacancies away from Service Heads to Cabinet, to be implemented. It was noted that, unless Cabinet decide otherwise, there will be no further reporting of employee vacancies after the April Cabinet meeting.