Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on  24 November 2020.

Minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2020 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

Minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2020 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for 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.

The forward plan was noted.

1.    That Cabinet approves the Collection Fund surplus estimate of £43,362.84as at 31 March 2021. The Dacorum Borough Council share of this surplus is £5,268.18.

2.    That Cabinet approve the distribution profile for the surplus identified at 1.) as required by the Collection Fund: Surplus and Deficit (Coronavirus)(England) Regulations 2020.  This is contained at section 2.8 of the Cabinet report.

3.    That Cabinet approves the calculation of the Council’s tax base for the year 2021/22 incorporating an estimated collection rate of 99.4%.

4.    That, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by the Council as its tax base for the year 2021/22 shall be 58,693.7 and its constituent elements shall be:

Decision

1.    That Cabinet approves the Collection Fund surplus estimate of £43,362.84as at 31 March 2021. The Dacorum Borough Council share of this surplus is £5,268.18.

2.    That Cabinet approve the distribution profile for the surplus identified at 1.) as required by the Collection Fund: Surplus and Deficit (Coronavirus)(England) Regulations 2020.  This is contained at section 2.8 of the Cabinet report.

3.    That Cabinet approves the calculation of the Council’s tax base for the year 2021/22 incorporating an estimated collection rate of 99.4%.

4.    That, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by the Council as its tax base for the year 2021/22 shall be 58,693.7 and its constituent elements shall be:

Deputy Monitoring Officer

No comments to add to the report.

Section 151 Officer

This is a Section 151 officer report.

Advice

Councillor Elliot introduced the report to members which recommends that Cabinet approve the collection fund surplus for 2020/21 and setting of the council tax base for 2021/22. These are both statutory requirements as part of the council budget setting process. Under item 1, the collection fund surplus arises from a timing difference between collecting council tax and paying out to the other council tax preceptors in the county. The report shows the surplus at £43,362 to be split between the Hertfordshire preceptors as outlined in the statute. Item 2, annually the council is required to use a prescribed formula to estimate the number of band D equivalent properties in the borough and so the council tax base for 2021/22 is calculated to be £58,693 band D equivalent households.

Councillor Griffiths referred to paragraph 2.3 of the report in reference to the surplus estimated as at 31 March 2021. She asked for clarification if this was based on what it was in 2020 or what the cut-off date was for this estimate.

N Howcutt said there were two elements. The surplus of deficit is calculated a year in arrears as the budget is set and the payments to the preceptors are estimated and at the end of the financial year, it is calculated and that is what the surplus is. The payment in 2021/22 relates to the previous financial year because we have to wait for all the payments to be made. The second element is the council tax base and the baseline for that is at 30 November 2020 and is put into a formula and this gives the projected council tax base for the subsequent financial year. One is  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA/111/20

Report to follow

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND:

The acceptance of the Cabinet report on mid-year treasury management performance and prudential indicators for 2020/21.

Decision

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND:

The acceptance of the Cabinet report on mid-year treasury management performance and prudential indicators for 2020/21.

Monitoring Officer
 

No comments to add to the report.

Deputy S.151 Officer

This is a Deputy Section 151 Officer Report.

Advice

Councillor Elliot introduced the report and said it was a statutory report on the performance of treasury management which is presented twice a year. He confirmed that all treasury management strategies have been followed in 20/21 and there are no proposed changes to the existing treasury management policy. The return of investment and quarterly revenue monitoring returns are behind expectations due to the impact of covid on cash balances and interest rates being significantly lower. The council’s cash is safe but like most other businesses, we are not earning much interest.

There were no questions.

Recommendations agreed.

1        That the draft Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan (as set out in the report) be approved

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND:

2        That the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism be adopted as set out in the report and the illustrative examples that are presented alongside.

That the new post for a Diversity and Community Inclusion Officer be included as part of the 2021/22 budget as set out in section 5 of this report.

Decision

1        That the draft Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan (as set out in the report) be approved

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND:

2        That the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism be adopted as set out in the report and the illustrative examples that are presented alongside.

3.     That the new post for a Diversity and Community Inclusion Officer be included as   part of the 2021/22 budget as set out in section 5 of this report.

Councillor Williams introduced the report and said that approval of a strategy does not normally need to be approved by Full Council but he felt it was important to be recommended to Council due to the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism. He felt the weight of the full Council’s endorsement would send the right messages.

M Gaynor added that the new strategy takes into account legislative changes and the additional responsibilities and expectations from government. The strategy also takes into account the rapidly changing demographics of the borough and get a better understanding of the entire community. The report also includes staff resources to deliver the strategy.

Councillor Griffiths said she thought it was important that this went to Full Council and get the endorsements of all councillors. She welcomed the fact that this strategy would bring the council into line with legislation and have someone to implement it.

Councillor Tindall thanked the Cabinet for how this matter has been dealt with and said it will receive full endorsement from his group at council.

Councillor Williams asked for clarification on recommendation three as there was nothing that contradicts the budget process.

N Howcutt said this will be approved as part of the budget process in 2021/22.

Recommendations agreed.

That progress made to date be noted.

Decision

That progress made to date be noted.

Deputy Monitoring Officer comments

There are no legal implications arising from this report.

Deputy S151 Officer comments

There are no financial implications arising from this report.

Advice

L Roberts advised that this was the same report that was presented to the Overview and Scrutiny committees last week.

Councillor Williams added that he listened to the report that was presented at scrutiny and he highlighted that this was a working progress and he was having discussions with the Chief Executive about the way forward to give the programme a clearer focus.

Councillor Griffiths noted the update report and that the next report the committee see will show how this can be taken forward.

L Roberts explained that there had been a delay of 3 -4 months due to covid which is why the project is a little behind where we expected it to be.

Councillor Williams said the department now have a better understanding of what stock we have and what condition it is in alongside the low and high demand areas. We now need to address how we devise policies to take them forward.

Recommendations agreed.

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND:

The approval of the Meeting Timetable for 2021/22 as set out in Appendix A to the Cabinet report.

Decision

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND:

The approval of the Meeting Timetable for 2021/22 as set out in Appendix A to the Cabinet report.

Deputy Monitoring Officer:

No comments to add to the report.

Deputy S.151 Officer

No comments to add to the report.

Advice

Councillor Williams introduced the report to members.

There were no questions.

Recommendations agreed.