Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on  9 February 2021.

Minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2021 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

Minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2021 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.  

JDeane & MGaynor sent 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 with the following changes;

Additional item to be added for 20 April 2021; 

Hemel Hempstead Place Strategy

Cllr Anderson requested an item to be added to 20 April meeting;

Title:                Hemel Hempstead Place Strategy

Contact:          James Doe

Background

Information:     To set out proposed arrangements for the development of the Place Strategy for Hemel Hempstead.

The plan was agreed and noted with the additional item.

1.    RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND  that Council approves the updated Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2021/24

2.    RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND that Council approves the revised

development programme budgets as set out in Section 9.3.

3.    Cabinet also agreed to delegate the approval of the additional grant

funding to the Corporate Director of Finance and

Regeneration to award grant funding up to £1.4M to support the development of affordable housing units, by Thrive at the two waters site in Hemel Hempstead.

Decision

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND that Council approve the updated Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2021/24

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND that Council to approve the revised development programme budgets as set out in Section 9.3.

It was agreed to delegate approval of the additional grant funding to the Corporate Director of Finance and Regeneration to award grant funding up to £1.4M to support the development of affordable housing units, by Thrive at the two waters site in Hemel Hempstead.

Corporate Objectives

Delivering Affordable Housing.

Monitoring Officer

A stock retained local housing authority must maintain a Housing Revenue Account in accordance with section 74 of the Local Government Act 1989.

Further to section 76 of the 1989 Act, local housing authorities must formulate and implement proposals to ensure that for each financial year the Housing Revenue Account does not show a debit balance.

The annual review provides a robust mechanism to monitor the business plan to ensure that it takes account of the changes in government policy, law and economy and therefore meets the Council’s statutory requirements.

Deputy S.151 Officer

There are a number of inflationary assumptions inherent within the Business Plan which are liable to change over the planning period, and which could therefore pose a risk to delivery.

These assumptions are kept under constant review, and this report is the annual update of the HRA business plan.  The way in which the Council structures its borrowing will influence the amount of funding available in future years. Borrowing options, together with any implications for the future programme, will be presented to Members in advance.

There is the possibility of unanticipated government interventions that could impact on the HRA business plan in particular the current projections of annual rent increases which are set at is CPI +1% for next 5 years. The Council endeavours to maximise the use of housing grants to deliver affordable homes and in order to do this awards additional grants to registered providers to support affordable homes growth and opportunities for residents. If these grants were not fully utilised by the council the funds would be redistributed by MHCLG, and Dacorum and its partners may incur interest charges.

Advice

Cllr Griffiths introduced the report and welcomed questions.

Cllr Elliott referred to page 4, item 3.2 and commended all the officers involved that the work has been done and hasn’t dipped due to COVID during 2020.

Cllr Griffiths agreed the officers have worked very hard under very difficult circumstances, noting that applies across the board in Housing as there has been additional stress across the whole service.

FWilliamson referred to the table in 3.2 advising that the updated figures haven’t been included for this financial year, it goes to 19/20.  Advising that kitchens & bathroom upgrades were suspended during COVID in occupied properties as it would involve too much traffic within homes and present too great an infection risk; the resource was instead focused on upgrades in void properties.

Cllr Williams referred to paragraph 7.7 of the report, the additional funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA/26/21

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND:

The approval of the changes to the Members’ Allowances Scheme as recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel in its report.

Decision

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND;

That Council approves the changes to the Members’ Allowances Scheme as recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel in its report.

Corporate Objectives

The role of Local Councillor is a major part of Dacorum Borough Council’s delivery of an efficient, effective and modern Council. As such the remuneration that councillors receive should reflect this central role and assist in attracting the calibre of Council Member the residents of Dacorum deserve.

Monitoring Officer

This report was written in consultation with the Assistant Director (Corporate and Contracted Services) as Monitoring Officer and his comments have been incorporated with the report.

S.151 Officer

The approved 21/22 budget has sufficient budget to fund the proposed overall £2k increase to members’ allowances.

Advice

Cllr Williams introduced the report, advising it has been considered at Overview & Scrutiny.  It has ordinarily been the case that the Cabinet accepts the recommendations of the IRP and Cllr Williams suggests the same on this occasion. 

Cllr Williams invited questions of which there were none.

Recommendations agreed.

The projected financial impact of COVID-19 for 2020/21 (as set out in Section 1 of the report) and the service updates (as set out in Section 2 of the report) were noted.

Decision

(a)  That the projected financial impact of Covid-19 for 2020/21 as set out in section 1 be noted.

(b)  That the service updates provided in section 2 be noted.

Corporate Objectives

The financial impact and the Council’s response to Covid-19 will impact all of the Council’s Corporate Objectives.

Monitoring Officer

The Monitoring Officer continues to monitor the key issues raised by legislative changes and relevant government guidance and ensure that effective policies and procedures are in place to assist services to continue to deliver during the pandemic and subsequent recovery phase.

S.151 Officer

The Financial Implications section of the report have been written by the S151 officer and will continue to be monitored as actual costs become clearer. Members will be regularly updated on the financial implications of Covid-19 as they develop.

Advice

Cllr Williams introduced the report and asked officers if there are any further updates since publication.

NHowcutt advised that from financial point of view it is up to date.

CHamilton, advised that a little more (£20k) funding from National Leisure Recovery Fund has been allocated, in addition so the sum as reported in paper.

There were no questions.

The report was noted.