Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

Councillor Osborne declared a local non-pecuniary interest in respect of report number BCa/20/32 in her capacity as a trustee of Citizens Advice.

It was RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 07 January 2021 were confirmed as a true record. The minutes would be signed at the next practicable opportunity.

None received.

Full minute to follow.

Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Full minute to follow.

Please note the most up to date version can be found via the website:

https://www.babergh.gov.uk/the-council/forthcoming-decisions-list/

Full minute to follow.

Monitoring Officer

Full minute to follow.

Cabinet Member for Environment

Draft Minute from Babergh District Council Meeting – 19 January 2021 Petition for Debate in Accordance with the Council’s Petition Scheme attached.

It was RESOLVED:

3.1       That the parking management principles and interventions detailed in Appendix A of the report be implemented no earlier than 01 October 2021.

3.2       That additional parking controls or tariffs be applied to District car parks in accordance with Option 2, table 2, paragraph 6.3 of the report, subject to the Statutory Order Process and requirements for consultation, in order to achieve the availability and occupancy priorities outlined below.

3.3       That 24 hour residential parking permits be available to residents in Mill Lane, Sudbury subject to the Statutory Order Process and requirements for consultation.

3.4       That delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director for Environment & Commercial Partnerships to make changes to the parking orders in order to implement recommendations 3.2 and 3.3 of the report.

3.5       That a longer-term parking strategy be developed for the whole District, and that the review work to develop such a strategy commences in quarter two of 2021/22. This strategy should ensure that a proportion of income generated from chargeable parking will be allocated to the delivery of the sustainable travel agenda.

Reason for Decision: To make changes in respect of parking management and maintenance that best balance the Council’s desires to improve traffic management and environmental impacts; to support local residents, visitors, and workers; to grow the commercial vitality of Babergh’s towns; to improve the public spaces and streetscape; to reduce the current subsidy so that the motorist pay more of the cost of the car parking; and to fund investment into sustainable travel projects.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

1.1       A number of options have been considered, including no change (which has been discounted as there are some known actions contained in Appendix D, which will impact parking provision), different levels of controls, increased management of parking, including the implementation of short term charging or additional charging at some, or all locations.

1.2       Data has been collected based on a study carried out during February 2020 of all Council owned car parks in Babergh District and is therefore both before the emergency measures were imposed, but also one of the quieter months of more normal years – representing a best-case scenario.

 1.3      Informal observations have also been carried out in order to test the application of the data throughout the year, in particular to the impact of leisure/tourism in popular locations.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

It was RESOLVED:

3.1       That the parking management principles and interventions detailed in Appendix A of the report be implemented no earlier than 01 October 2021.

3.2       That additional parking controls or tariffs be applied to District car parks in accordance with Option 2, table 2, paragraph 6.3 of the report, subject to the Statutory Order Process and requirements for consultation, in order to achieve the availability and occupancy priorities outlined below.

3.3       That 24 hour residential parking permits be available to residents in Mill Lane, Sudbury subject to the Statutory Order Process and requirements for consultation.

3.4       That delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director for Environment & Commercial Partnerships to make changes to the parking orders in order to implement recommendations 3.2 and 3.3 of the report.

3.5       That a longer-term parking strategy be developed for the whole District, and that the review work to develop such a strategy commences in quarter two of 2021/22. This strategy should ensure that a proportion of income generated from chargeable parking will be allocated to the delivery of the sustainable travel agenda.

Reason for Decision: To make changes in respect of parking management and maintenance that best balance the Council’s desires to improve traffic management and environmental impacts; to support local residents, visitors, and workers; to grow the commercial vitality of Babergh’s towns; to improve the public spaces and streetscape; to reduce the current subsidy so that the motorist pay more of the cost of the car parking; and to fund investment into sustainable travel projects.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

1.1       A number of options have been considered, including no change (which has been discounted as there are some known actions contained in Appendix D, which will impact parking provision), different levels of controls, increased management of parking, including the implementation of short term charging or additional charging at some, or all locations.

1.2       Data has been collected based on a study carried out during February 2020 of all Council owned car parks in Babergh District and is therefore both before the emergency measures were imposed, but also one of the quieter months of more normal years – representing a best-case scenario.

 1.3      Informal observations have also been carried out in order to test the application of the data throughout the year, in particular to the impact of leisure/tourism in popular locations.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Cabinet Member for Finance

It was RESOLVED:

1.1          That the General Fund Budget proposals for 2021/22 and four-year outlook set out in the report be endorsed for recommendation to Council on 23 February 2021.

1.2          That the General Fund Budget for 2021/22 is based on an increase to Council Tax of £5 per annum (10p per week) for a Band D property, which is equivalent to 2.96%, to support the Council’s overall financial position.

1.3          That the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy at Appendix E of the report be endorsed for recommendation to Council on 23 February 2021.

1.4          That subject to approval by Council, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) be notified of the adoption of the Strategy.

Reason for Decision: To bring together all the relevant information to enable Cabinet Members to review, consider and comment upon the Councils General Fund budget for endorsement and recommendation to Council.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: Setting a balanced budget is a statutory requirement, therefore no other options are appropriate in respect of this.

Any Declarations of Interest Received: Councillor Osborne declared a local non-pecuniary interest in her capacity as a trustee of Citizens Advice.

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Full minute to follow.

It was RESOLVED:

1.1          That the General Fund Budget proposals for 2021/22 and four-year outlook set out in the report be endorsed for recommendation to Council on 23 February 2021.

1.2          That the General Fund Budget for 2021/22 is based on an increase to Council Tax of £5 per annum (10p per week) for a Band D property, which is equivalent to 2.96%, to support the Council’s overall financial position.

1.3          That the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy at Appendix E of the report be endorsed for recommendation to Council on 23 February 2021.

1.4          That subject to approval by Council, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) be notified of the adoption of the Strategy.

Reason for Decision: To bring together all the relevant information to enable Cabinet Members to review, consider and comment upon the Councils General Fund budget for endorsement and recommendation to Council.

Any Declarations of Interest Received: Councillor Osborne declared a local non-pecuniary interest in her capacity as a trustee of Citizens Advice.

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Cabinet Member for Finance

It was RESOLVED:

1.1       That the HRA Budget proposals for 2021/22 and four-year outlook set out in the report be endorsed for recommendation to Council on 23 February 2021.

1.2       That the CPI + 1% increase of 1.5% in Council House rents, equivalent to an average rent increase of £1.35 a week be implemented.

1.3       That garage rents are kept at the same level as 2020/21.

1.4       That Sheltered Housing Service charges be increased by £0.69 per week to ensure recovery of the actual cost of service.

1.5       That Sheltered Housing utility charges are kept at the same level as 2020/21.

1.6       That the budgeted surplus of £127k be transferred to the Strategic Priorities reserve in 2021/22.

1.7       That in principle, Right to Buy (RTB) receipts should be retained to enable continued development and acquisition of new council dwellings.

Reason for Decision: To bring together all the relevant information to enable Cabinet Members to review, consider and comment upon the Councils Housing Revenue Account budget for recommendations to Council.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: The Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2021/22 and four-year outlook is an essential element in achieving a balanced budget and sustainable medium-term position, therefore no other options are appropriate in respect of this.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Full minute to follow.

It was RESOLVED:

1.1       That the HRA Budget proposals for 2021/22 and four-year outlook set out in the report be endorsed for recommendation to Council on 23 February 2021.

1.2       That the CPI + 1% increase of 1.5% in Council House rents, equivalent to an average rent increase of £1.35 a week be implemented.

1.3       That garage rents are kept at the same level as 2020/21.

1.4       That Sheltered Housing Service charges be increased by £0.69 per week to ensure recovery of the actual cost of service.

1.5       That Sheltered Housing utility charges are kept at the same level as 2020/21.

1.6       That the budgeted surplus of £127k be transferred to the Strategic Priorities reserve in 2021/22.

1.7       That in principle, Right to Buy (RTB) receipts should be retained to enable continued development and acquisition of new council dwellings.

Reason for Decision: To bring together all the relevant information to enable Cabinet Members to review, consider and comment upon the Councils Housing Revenue Account budget for recommendations to Council.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Cabinet Member for Finance

This item is being presented to Cabinet under the General Exception Rules for Key Decisions in accordance with Part 3 Section 17 of the Constitution.

It was RESOLVED:

1.1          That an additional £150 (+/- £25) top up award is made to all working age Local Council Tax Reduction Support cases with a liability for 2020/21 to take the total hardship award to up to £300 (+/- £25).

1.2          That any residual balance, after applying the additional award, is used to fund Discretionary Financial Assistance for residents in exceptional circumstances.

Reason for Decision: To ensure that the Hardship Fund is fully spent by 31^st March 2021 thereby aiding those working age LCTRS taxpayers most in need of support.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

1.1          Option 1 - Designate additional funds to Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP). This option is not recommended as there is no need to put additional money into this fund now because there is still an unspent balance of £20k or 14% of the allocation from the Government for 2020/21.

1.2      Options 2 – Designate additional sums to Discretionary Financial Assistance (DFA)and use these awards to clear council tax arrears. Making awards of DFA for customers who have arrears would improve the position of the Collection Fund but would penalise those who have made arrangements to bring their debt under control and would set an expectation in relation to future arrears. For this reason, it is not the preferred option.

1.3          Option 3  Increase the award from the Hardship Fund from ‘up to £150’ to an amount that exhausts the fund. This is the preferred option because it would apply additional funds to any working age LCTRS customer who had a liability in the year 2020/21 and a balance to pay after LCTRS and any discounts/reliefs had been applied. Residents have different amounts to pay depending on their entitlement to LCTRS, their property banding and who else lives with them. Allowing a higher allocation from the Hardship Fund would mean more residents had less council tax to pay for the year 2020/21.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Full minute to follow

It was RESOLVED:

1.1          That an additional £150 (+/- £25) top up award is made to all working age Local Council Tax Reduction Support cases with a liability for 2020/21 to take the total hardship award to up to £300 (+/- £25).

1.2          That any residual balance, after applying the additional award, is used to fund Discretionary Financial Assistance for residents in exceptional circumstances.

Reason for Decision: To ensure that the Hardship Fund is fully spent by 31^st March 2021 thereby aiding those working age LCTRS taxpayers most in need of support.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Cabinet Member for Environment

It was RESOLVED:

That Cabinet following consideration of Licensing and Regulatory Committee’s recommendations, adopts the revised table of fares, whether modified or not, attached Appendix A to this report, and in accordance with Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, set a new date for the varied table of fares to become effective no later than two months after the specified date of 1 April 2021.

Reason for Decision: To adopt the revised table of fares for Hackney Carriages within the Babergh District.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

1.1          Officers have undertaken the statutory public consultation exercise as instructed by the Licensing and Regulatory Committee at the meeting of 9 October 2020.  The Licensing and Regulatory Committee in accordance with the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 considered the two options set out below, whilst having had due regard for objections received, which have not been withdrawn.  Objections which have been received are attached to this report as Appendix C.

Option 1

That the Licensing and Regulatory Committee was minded that no change was necessary to the revised table of fares fixed for Hackney Carriages operating in the controlled zone of the Babergh District. 

Option 2

That the Licensing and Regulatory Committee was minded, to modify the revised table of fares fixed for Hackney Carriages operating in the controlled zone of the Babergh District. 

1.2      The Licensing and Regulatory Committee following consideration of the options above made the following recommendations to Cabinet that:

          (i)       option 1 be approved and the revised table of fares attached to this report as   Appendix A, for Hackney Carriages within the controlled zone of the Babergh           District be adopted; and

          (ii)       once adopted the revised table of fares shall become effective on 5 April 2021.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Full minute to follow.

It was RESOLVED:

That Cabinet following consideration of Licensing and Regulatory Committee’s recommendations, adopts the revised table of fares, whether modified or not, attached Appendix A to this report, and in accordance with Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, set a new date for the varied table of fares to become effective no later than two months after the specified date of 1 April 2021.

Reason for Decision: To adopt the revised table of fares for Hackney Carriages within the Babergh District.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

To consider whether, pursuant to Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public should be excluded from the meeting for the business specified below on the grounds that if the public were present during this item, it is likely that there would be the disclosure to them of exempt information as indicated against the item.

The author of the report proposed to be considered in Part 2 of the Agenda is satisfied that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Members agreed not to exclude the public.

It was RESOLVED:

That the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 07 January 2021 were confirmed as a true record. The minutes would be signed at the next practicable opportunity.