Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on  19 March 2019.

Minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2019 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

Minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2019 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies of absence

There were no apologies of absence

To receive any declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent

and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)            may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct for Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting]

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

An opportunity for members of the public to make statements and ask questions in accordance with the rules as to Public Participation.

There was no public participation

There was no public participation

There were no referrals to Cabinet

There were no referrals to Cabinet

There were no referrals to Cabinet

The forward plan was noted with the following changes:

1.    Add Hemel Garden Suburbs to the 25 June meeting

2.    Add Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to 30 July meeting.

The forward plan was noted with the following changes:

1.    Add Hemel Garden Suburbs to the 25 June meeting

2.    Add Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to 30 July meeting.

1.   That the movements on earmarked reserves as set out in section 10 be approved.

2.     That the capital slippage into financial year 2019/20 as set out in Appendix C be reviewed and approved.

Decision

1)    That the movements on earmarked reserves as set out in section 10 be approved.

2)    That the capital slippage into financial year 2019/20 as set out in Appendix C be reviewed and approved.

Corporate objectives

Delivering an efficient and modern council

Monitoring Officer 

No further comments to add.

Deputy S.151 Officer

This is a Deputy S.151 Officer report.

Advice

Councillor Elliot introduced the report confirming that the financial outturn report which has been presented is a provisional outturn position for 2018/19.  It is provisional as the final outturn report is yet to be finalised and scrutinised by Audit.  The final outturn with Audit opinion will be reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee on 18^th July. 

Councillor Elliot confirmed that this report asks Cabinet to review the provisional outturn position and approve the Capital slippage and movements on earmarked reserves are set out in appendix C and section 10 of the report. 

Councillor Elliot summarised the report stating that the financial outturn details on the Revenue finances delivered a balanced outturn position against the approved budget for the General Fund and that the HRA has delivered an operating underspend of £255,000. 

Councillor Elliot said that in regards to the Capital budget, the General Fund Capital programme has slipped £4m in the final Q4 initial dates to due to differences in three major Capital projects such as housing grant payments to housing associations for delivery of affordable homes by £2.1m, Berkhamsted multi-story car park £1.2m and Tring swimming pool completion of £300,000.  Tring swimming pool has now completed. 

Cllr Elliot advised that the HRA Capital programme has slipped by £1.5m this was due to slight delays in the Stationers Place project because of access problems with HCC, in the amount of £500,000, a reduction in commission of Capital works of £900,000 as a result of a £465,000 gain/share payment from Osbornes and a well targeted replacement programme reducing the need for additional works.

Cabinet agreed the recommendations in the report.

1.    That the proposal to bring the repair and maintenance of vehicles and equipment used by Clean Safe and Green and Cemeteries back in house be approved.

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND;

2.    That Cabinet recommend Council approve the additional capital funds required of £60k as outlined in the report to Cabinet in paragraph 3.

1)    That the proposal to bring the repair and maintenance of vehicles and equipment used by Clean Safe and Green and Cemeteries back in house be approved.

2)    That Cabinet recommend Council approve the additional capital funds required of £60k as outlined in the report to Cabinet in paragraph 3.4

Corporate objectives

Maintain a clean and safe environment.

Monitoring Officer: 

The proposal should add to service resilience and produce a financial saving for the council as highlighted in the report.

The service will need to ensure that all health and safety audits and checks are complete prior to the handover back to Dacorum.

S.151 Officer

The revenue implications of bringing the vehicle repairs service in house would reduce the services, existing financial pressure by £27k p.a., with a part year effect in 2019/20.

The capital project would be an addition to the overall capital programme of £60k and would be funded through capital receipts received in 2019/20.

Advice

Councillor Anderson advised that since the appointment of Simon Smith as Transport Manager, the Council has been making a range of improvements, including initiatives such as fleet standardisation and acquiring new refuse freighters. 

Councillor Anderson added that this report outlines the latest initiative which is to bring back in-house the maintenance of CSG and Cemeteries equipment. Which has been done previously under contract by Luton Borough Council since 2012, but the service is now in a position to do this work at Cupid Green Depot. 

Councillor Anderson stated that the service will require three new posts and some Capital investment, this will release a Revenue saving of at least £27,000 per year.  Officers will arrange the necessary Capital works if approved and the recruitment with a view to the maintenance starting in January 2020.

Councillor Anderson added that in addition to the financial saving, the benefit of doing this is also environmental and by doing things in house, we can do things locally without having to send vehicles some distance to be dealt with, so we are achieving an environmental benefit as well as the financial one.

Councillor Elliot enquired if there was already a Fleet Inventory Controller post.  D Austin replied that we don’t have one at the moment and added that given that lots of the equipment is small like strimmers and blowers, there’s lots of parts and equipment, so we are looking to have impressed stock room with better stock control and the ability to take things off the shelf.  D Austin confirmed that it was more efficient and being realistic we need the role to make sure we have those controls. They will also look after things like the COSH chemicals, risk assessments and other things in terms of the supply of those materials.

Councillor Sutton felt this was an excellent report and asked when we move forward with this will there be opportunities to take on work for other authorities.  D Austin replied that this is the next phase and vision, then Simon Smith has got some  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA/49/19

1.    That the contents of the  Corporate Peer Challenge Review Feedback Letter as annexed to this report be noted

2.    That the publication of the Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge letter for the Council be approved.

Decision

1)    That the contents of the  Corporate Peer Challenge Review Feedback Letter as annexed to this report be noted

2)    That the publication of the Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge letter for the Council be approved.

Corporate objectives

The Corporate Peer Challenge is an opportunity for the Council to reflect on the services it delivers, how it works and the relationship it has with Members, residents and its wider stakeholder base.

Therefore, the findings and recommendations from the report will support the Council to better deliver all of its corporate objectives.  

Monitoring Officer:

The Peer Challenge feedback did not identify any areas of concern from a Monitoring Officer perspective.  It did, however, highlight areas for continued development, which will need to be progressed as identified in the report.

Deputy S.151 Officer

There are no direct financial implications of this decision and the report highlights the good financial management arrangements and leadership in place.

Any proposals put forward to address the recommendations will need to be either met from within existing approved budgets or will require growth bids for inclusion in the usual budget setting process.

Advice

Councillor Williams said that we would release the letter.  S Marshall confirmed we would publish the letter on the website and external sources.

Councillor Williams thought the report was good and said that he was pleased with the peer review findings.  There are a few bits and pieces for us to pick up on, but nothing major.

S Marshall advised that the report recognised the progress that has been made since the last review, including the strong financial base, progress on re-prioritisation of services, progress on economic development, enabling housing growth and partnerships have been strengthened. S Marshall also confirmed that in terms of leadership we are good ambassadors for the Council and where we could do more on the outward facing, which we will be the under New Normal programme, is empowering staff to release capacity within the workforce.  S Marshall highlighted that a summary of the report is included at 4.1 and said that overall it is a very good report.

Councillor Griffiths pointed out the need to be proactive in publicising the review outcome as it was very positive and we need to show staff that we appreciate them.  The public should also be aware of the findings and also we should email the report to our partners, involved residents, community centres etc.  

Councillor Elliot said that following on from Councillor Griffiths about publicising good news, he had just had his Portfolio Holder briefing and he was told that Housing Benefits had just had the best annual figures ever and they are pretty good at their job, we need to be more positive.

Cabinet agreed the recommendations in the report.