1.1           There were no declarations of interests declared.

It was RESOLVED: -

That the minutes from the meeting held on the 5 July 2021 be confirmed as a true record.

None received.

None received.

There were no matters referred.

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

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

The Forthcoming Decisions List was noted.

Cabinet Member for Finance

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1             That the 2020/21 General Fund financial outturn of £736k surplus as set out in this report benoted.

1.2             That, the following transfers beapproved;

a)       Transfer to reserves of £363k being the net amount, for specific earmarked reserves, referred to in section 6.5 of thisreport;

b)       Surplus of £373k be transferred to the TransformationFund

1.3             Thatthe revenuecarry-forward requeststotalling £571kreferred toin paragraph6.12 and Appendix E of this report be approved.

1.4             Thatthe totalcapital carry-forwardrequests referredto inparagraph 6.18of thisreport totalling £13.802m be approved.

Reason for Decision:

To ensure that Members are kept informed of the outturn position for both General Fund Revenue and Capital and to approve earmarked reserve transfers and carry forward requests.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:Transfer the entire surplus of £736k to the Transformation Fund and support the revenue carry forward requests of £571k and the capital carry forward requests of £13.802m. This does not enable other revenue reserves to be supplemented, so is not the recommendedoption.

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensations Granted: None

35.1        The Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Ward introduced the report and provided Members with details of the General Fund Financial Outturn 2020/21.

35.2        Councillor Ward proposed the recommendations in the report. This was seconded by Councillor Osborne.

35.3        Councillor Arthey referred to recommendation 3.2 and asked where the transfer of reserves figure of £363K was detailed in the report.

35.4        Councillor Ward stated that this figure could be found in paragraph 6.5 by adding up the figures for waste, planning, joint local plan and climate change and biodiversity.

35.5        Councillor Busby asked if any staff had been furloughed during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Chief Executive informed Members that no staff had been furloughed.

35.6        In response to Councillor Busby’s questions in relation to staffing for bin collections and bring sites during last year’s pandemic, the Chief Executive responded that the only service  which had been disrupted had been the brown bin collection due ill health amongst staff. The household waste recycling sites, which were managed by Suffolk County Council, had remained open.

35.7        Councillor Arthey then detailed the arrangements for waste collection and the bring sites and how this related to the figures detailed in the report.

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1                That the 2020/21 General Fund financial outturn of £736k surplus as set out in this report benoted.

1.2                That, the following transfers beapproved;

a)      Transfer to reserves of £363k being the net amount, for specific earmarked reserves, referred to in section 6.5 of thisreport;

b)      Surplus of £373k be transferred to the TransformationFund

1.3               Thatthe revenuecarry-forward requeststotalling £571kreferred toin paragraph6.12 and Appendix E of this report be approved.

1.4               Thatthe totalcapital carry-forwardrequests referredto inparagraph 6.18of thisreport totalling £13.802m be approved.

Reason for Decision:

To ensure that Members are kept informed of the outturn position for both General Fund Revenue and Capital and to approve earmarked reserve transfers and carry forward requests.

Cabinet Member for Finance

It was RESOLVED:-

1.1             That the 2020/21 HRA financial outturn as set out in this report benoted.

1.2             That the transfer of £2.941m, being the HRA revenue surplus for the year (£2.607m more than planned) as per paragraph 6.4, to the Strategic Priorities Reserve be approved.

1.3             That the HRA capital carry-forward requests referred to in paragraph 6.18 of this report totalling £10.323m be approved.

Reason for Decision:-

To ensure that Members are kept informed of the outturn position for both HousingRevenue andCapital andto approveearmarked reservetransfers and carry forwardrequests.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: Transfer funds of £2.941m to the Strategic Priorities earmarked reserve and not support the carry forward of £10.323m HRA capital costs. This was not the recommended option because there would be insufficient capital resources available in 2021/22 to complete the schemes in progress.

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

36.1          The Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Ward provided Members with a summary of significant areas in the report.

36.2           Councillor Ward proposed the recommendations in the report. This was seconded by the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Osborne.

36.3           Councillor Arthey referred to the income variance for rents and asked for clarification for the variance referred to in paragraph 5.2 and 6.6 of the report.

36.4           The Assistant Director for Housing stated that the rents had been set too low and that this was an adjustment to the budget.

36.5           Councillor Busby questioned the adverse variance of £1m due to the increase of the value of the Council’s properties and  asked where this was shown in the budget.

36.6           In response the Assistant Director for Corporate Resources provided details of the accounting methods of the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Accounts. Properties had to be valued each year as part of the Statement of Accounts. Depreciation for housing did impact on the HRA account and was a real charge. The increase of valuation of properties had decreased the depreciation of the properties. The increase in value of the properties were shown in the balance sheet.

It was RESOLVED:-

1.1               That the 2020/21 HRA financial outturn as set out in this report benoted.

1.2               That the transfer of £2.941m, being the HRA revenue surplus for the year (£2.607m more than planned) as per paragraph 6.4, to the Strategic Priorities Reserve be approved.

1.3               That the HRA capital carry-forward requests referred to in paragraph 6.18 of this report totalling £10.323m be approved.

Reason for Decision:

To ensure that Members are kept informed of the outturn position for both HousingRevenue andCapital andto approveearmarked reservetransfers and carry forwardrequests.

Cabinet Member for Environment

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1          That the start of the formulation of Babergh and Mid Suffolk’s first parking strategy beagreed.

1.2          That funding of £20,500 for Babergh’s contribution towards the formulation of the parking strategy, from the Babergh Parking Budget, beapproved.

Reason for Decision: -

To ensure the best possible outcomes for our communities, for both on-street and off-street parking, by looking ahead and working in collaboration with key stakeholders.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: To continue without a parking strategy – this option is not recommended due to the clear need for a joined-up strategy that looks at all elements of parking; everything fromon-street andoff-street, throughto theeconomic, environmental,and community impacts.

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Note: The meeting was adjourned between 11:31am and 11:43 am.

37.1          The Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Malvisi, introduced the report, and outlined the reasons for the creation of a Parking Strategy for Babergh District.

37.2          Councillor Malvisi proposed the recommendations in the report. This was seconded by Councillor Osborne.

37.3          In a response to Councillor Arthey’s question regarding data gathering for the installation of electrical vehicle charging points in Stage 1, the Assistant Director for Environment and Commercial Partnerships assured Members that electrical vehicle charging, and super-fast charging points would be included at this stage.

37.4          Councillor Davis questioned the need to spend funding to create a parking policy, when a national Parking Policy and parking guidelines already existed.  Some parking arrangements were under Suffolk County Council and others were for the individual towns to decide. In addition, car parking charges had already been established.

37.5          The Cabinet Member for Environment responded that the car parks were owned by Babergh District Council, and valid data was required to make the necessary updates.

37.6          The Assistant Director for Environment and Commercial Partnerships advised Members that the purpose of the Strategy was to make a commitment to considered options for what could be undertaken for parking in the district based on evidence. Currently it was only possible to make assumptions.

37.7          In response to a question from Councillor Osborne regarding residents parking permits, the Assistant Director for Environment and Commercial Partnerships advised Members that the open consultation would enable residents to voice their concerns and that this information would be valuable to form the Strategy.

37.8          Councillor Busby queried why the funding was charged to the Transformation Fund and not to the Babergh Parking Budget, to which the Assistant Director for Environment and Commercial Partnerships responded that this was based on the advice she had received. 

37.9          Councillor McLaren queried how the Parking Strategy would assess parking on grass verges and how work would be undertaken to engage with the Planning Committee. In addition, she also queried how the Council could influence motorist’s behaviours in relation to responsible parking.

37.10      The Assistant Director for Environment and Commercial Partnerships stated that this was a high-level parking strategy, and that the open consultation would provide further information regarding parking on grass verges. The data collected from the consultation would provide evidence to address the demands and opportunities of parking in the District.

37.11      Members debated the issues including the responsibilities of Suffolk County Council for on-street parking and parking on grass verges, and that parking in towns and rural areas was a problem for visitors and residents and impacted on the quality of lives.

37.12      Councillor Ward clarified what was not included in the Parking Strategy, and that the parking strategy was necessary to develop a parking policy going forward to address the current parking issues.

37.13      In response to Councillor Athey’s comment that the cost of developing the parking strategy should be charged to the parking budget, Councillor Ward explained that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.