Agenda and minutes
PDF 150 KBVenue: Lancaster Town Hall
Contact: Liz Bateson, Democratic Services - telephone (01524) 582047 or email ebateson@lancaster.gov.uk
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Minutes To receive as a correct record the minutes of Cabinet held on Tuesday, 3rd November 2015 (previously circulated). Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 3rd November 2015 were approved as a correct record.
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Items of Urgent Business Authorised by the Leader To consider any such items authorised by the Leader and to consider where in the agenda the item(s) are to be considered. Minutes: The Chairman advised that there were no items of urgent business.
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Declarations of Interest To receive declarations by Members of interests in respect of items on this Agenda. Members are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting). Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Members should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code Of Conduct, Members are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct.
Minutes: No declarations were made at this point.
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Public Speaking To consider any such requests received in accordance with the approved procedure.
Minutes: Members were advised that there had been no requests to speak at the meeting in accordance with Cabinet’s agreed procedure.
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Adoption of the Local List Criteria (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Hanson)
Report of Chief Officer (Regeneration & Planning) Additional documents:
Minutes: (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Hanson)
Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Regeneration & Planning) which sought Cabinet’s approval for the adoption of the Council’s Local List Selection Criteria document and put in place arrangements for decision making.
The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:
Option was the preferred option for the reasons given above. The compilation of a list of local heritage assets will be beneficial to the council and community as it will identify historic assets which crucially contribute to the local identity of the district which are worth preserving for future generations. Officers have responded to comments made during the public consultation period and have, subsequently, clarified the proposed selection criteria for assets to be added to the local list. This has led to the development of a tier system for selection, which needs to be adopted to facilitate the establishment of the list. The adoption of the local list complies with guidance in the NPPF because the local list will identify the significance of heritage assets and enable a balanced judgment to be made by Development Management in the scale of harm or loss to the significance of non-designated heritage assets. The local list will assist Development Management in their day-to-day applications, inform the local community on their local heritage and positively contribute to the sustainability of the district’s built heritage.
Councillor Hanson proposed, seconded by Councillor Smith:-
“That the recommendations, as ... view the full minutes text for item 52. |
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Ryelands Park / Greaves Park Masterplans 2015-2025 (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Smith)
Report of Chief Officer (Environment) Additional documents:
Minutes: (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Smith)
Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Environment) which sought approval for the Ryelands Park and Greaves Park Master Plans 2015-2025.
The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:
The preferred option was option 1. The parks are very popular and well
used. It is important to have a plan
for the future to ensure they remain popular. The plans will help
support applications to external funders to preserve and enhance
the park.
Councillor Leytham proposed, seconded by Councillor Smith:-
“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”
Councillors then voted:-
Resolved unanimously: (1) That the master plans for RyelandsPark and Greaves Park 2015-2025 be approved. (2) That decisions relating to the delivery of the master plans be delegated to the Chief Officer (Environment), in line with financial regulations, and the previous decision of Cabinet relating to Accountable Body Authorisation for Community Groups (4th August 2015, Minute 13). (3) That Cabinet notes the ongoing efforts of volunteers in Ryelands and Greaves Park and many other Parks and areas of open space in the District and expresses thanks for the ongoing contribution they make. Officer responsible for effecting the decision:
Chief Officer (Environment)
Reasons for making the decision:
The decision is consistent with the Council’s Clean, Green and Safe Places priority. The master plans will assist in allocating current and future resources within the parks, to both preserve the parks and enhance their assets.
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Older People's Cabinet Liaison Group (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Pattison)
Report of Chief Officer (Governance) Minutes: The Chairman advised the meeting that this item had been withdrawn from the agenda. |
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Peer Challenge Action Plan (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Blamire)
Report of Chief Executive (Report to follow) Additional documents:
Minutes: (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Blamire)
Cabinet received a report from the Chief Executive to approve the draft Action Plan following the Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge undertaken in June 2015.
The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows: The options for Cabinet are a) to agree an action plan and for officers to take it forward, or: b) not to agree an action plan. The aim of the Peer Challenge was to drive forward improvement, therefore if the issues raised by the final report are not addressed, the Council will miss an opportunity to tackle areas that can be improved in a targeted way. For this reason, the officer preferred option is a).
Councillor Blamire proposed, seconded by Councillor Hanson:-
“That the recommendation, as set out in the report, be approved.”
Councillors then voted:-
Resolved unanimously:
(1) That the Action Plan developed to address the points raised by the LGA Peer Challenge be approved.
Officer responsible for effecting the decision:
Chief Executive
Reasons for making the decision:
The LGA Peer Challenge highlighted some areas for improvement and development and the Action Plan has been drawn up to tackle those areas.
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Corporate Plan 2015 - 18 Half Yearly Performance (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Blamire)
Report of Chief Officer (Governance) (Report to follow) Additional documents: Minutes: (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Blamire)
Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Governance) which provided an update on progress towards the delivery of the 2015-2018 Corporate Plan as at 30th September 2015. As the report was primarily for noting, no options were provided.
Councillor Blamire proposed, seconded by Councillor Pattison:-
“That the report be noted.”
Councillors then voted:-
Resolved unanimously:
(1) That the report be noted.
Officer responsible for effecting the decision:
Chief Officer (Governance)
Reasons for making the decision:
The report is a requirement of the Council’s Performance Management Framework in support of the delivery of key priorities and outcomes as set out in the overall policy framework.
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Budget and Policy Framework Update 2016-20 (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Newman-Thompson)
Report of Chief Officer (Resources) (Report to follow) Additional documents:
Minutes: (Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Newman-Thompson)
Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Resources) which provided an update on the Council’s financial position to help inform development of Cabinet’s corporate planning and budget proposals.
Given that the report was primarily for information, no specific options were put forward.
Budget work was progressing as planned but as more Government announcements were made, the scope for change and uncertainty had increased. Whatever the position, ahead of its next formal meeting Cabinet needed to make the most of the time available to it, by progressing its prioritisation and consideration of budget and planning options.
Focus must be on setting a four-year plan. For General Fund in particular, this is the only way in which reasonable planning can be achieved for the Council’s reserves and balances. Various savings proposals will have up-front costs, risks and lead-in times attached – balances are a key tool with which these can be managed. If the current year’s forecast underspending proved accurate, the budgeted £1M use of balances would reduce by £608K, falling to £392K in 2015/16. This would result in balances reaching £4.233M by 31 March 2016. If advice on the minimum level (currently set at £1M) remains unchanged, then £3.233M of balances would be available to help achieve a sustainable budget over the coming years. Cabinet would expect this to be used wisely over four years.
Councillor Newman-Thompson proposed, seconded by Councillor Bryning:-
“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”
Councillors then voted:-
Resolved unanimously:
(1) That the draft budgetary position for current and future years as set out in the report as an interim update, be approved.
(2) That the update be referred on to December Council for information.
(3) That for the next Cabinet meeting in January, Cabinet determines its draft corporate planning and associated budget proposals to balance the General Fund budget to 2020, drawing on information from the report, the budget options currently being collated by Officers, and Government’s announcements regarding the Spending Review and the Settlement.
(4) That the proposals referred to in 3) above be published at the earliest opportunity, to allow feedback and due consultation.
(5) That Cabinet notes the working principle regarding surplus balances outlined at section 3.3.3, drawing on existing approved financial strategy.
Officers responsible for effecting the decision:
Chief Executive Chief Officer (Resources)
Reasons for making the decision:
This is an interim update as the Chancellor’s Autumn statement has not provided greater clarity on the financial position affecting the council. The financial situation will become clearer when details of the local government settlement are received within the next few weeks. Cabinet will as a result need to consider its draft budget proposals on 19th January 2016 and present these to the Budget and Performance Panel on 26th January 2016. Other briefings can be provided at the same time. This is essential to allow due consultation with elected members, stakeholders and to help manage community expectations. Inevitably deadlines ... view the full minutes text for item 57. |