Venue: King Edmund Chamber, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich. View directions
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS BY COUNCILLORS Minutes: There were no declarations made by Councillors.
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BCa/23/26 TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 7 NOVEMBER 2023 PDF 115 KB Minutes: It was RESOLVED:-
That with the following amendments the minutes of the meeting held on the 7 November 2023 be signed as a correct record:
Paragraph 49: that ‘tables’ be amended to ‘tablets’.
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TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF PETITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COUNCIL'S PETITION SCHEME Minutes: None received.
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QUESTIONS BY COUNCILLORS Minutes: None received.
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MATTERS REFERRED BY THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY OR JOINT AUDIT AND STANDARDS COMMITTEES Minutes: There were no matters referred from the Overview and Scrutiny nor the Joint Audit and Standard Committees.
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FORTHCOMING DECISIONS LIST Please note the most up to date version can be found via the website:
Forthcoming Decisions List - Babergh District Council
Minutes: There were no comments made by Councillors.
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BCa/23/27 FINANCIAL MONITORING QUARTER 2 2023/24 PDF 127 KB Cabinet Member for Finance, Assets and Investments Additional documents:
Decision: It was RESOLVED: -
1.1 That, subject to any further budget variations that arise during the rest of the financial year, the projected overspend on the General Fund of £922k referred to in section 4.2 and Appendix A of the report be noted; 1.2 That, subject to any further budget variations that arise during the rest of the financial year, the projected overspend on the Housing Revenue Account of £944k over budget referred to in section 4.3 and Appendix B of the report be noted; 1.3 That, the Council’s compliance with the Prudential Indicators during quarter two referred to in section 4.4 and Appendix C of the report be noted.
REASON FOR DECISION To ensure that Members are kept informed of the financial position for both General Fund Revenue and Capital, Housing Revenue Account and Capital and the Prudential Indicators. Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: The recommended option is set out in the Recommendations. There are no other available options. Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None Any Dispensation Granted: None
Minutes: 58.1 The Chair and Cabinet Member for Assets and Investments, Councillor John Ward introduced the report and moved the recommendations as detailed in report BCa/23/27.
58.2 Councillor Alastair McCraw seconded the recommendations.
58.3 In response to Councillor McCraw’s question relating to the information presented in the report for the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budgets, Councillor Ward stated that the current financial position for both the General Fund and the HRA budgets were challenging for next year’s budget setting. The Council had experienced a reduction in the grants funding, which were contributing to the issues.
By a unanimous vote
It was RESOLVED: -
1.1 That, subject to any further budget variations that arise during the rest of the financial year, the projected overspend on the General Fund of £922k referred to in section 4.2 and Appendix A of the report be noted; 1.2 That, subject to any further budget variations that arise during the rest of the financial year, the projected overspend on the Housing Revenue Account of £944k over budget referred to in section 4.3 and Appendix B of the report be noted; 1.3 That, the Council’s compliance with the Prudential Indicators during quarter two referred to in section 4.4 and Appendix C of the report be noted.
REASON FOR DECISION To ensure that Members are kept informed of the financial position for both General Fund Revenue and Capital, Housing Revenue Account and Capital and the Prudential Indicators.
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Cabinet Member for Housing Decision: It was RESOLVED: -
That members note the report.
REASON FOR DECISION To ensure that members and senior leaders of the councils have oversight of the journey with the Regulator back to a position where we are compliant. Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: None Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None Any Dispensation Granted: None
Minutes: 59.1 The Chair, Councillor John Ward, introduced the report on behalf of the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Jessie Carter, who had forwarded apologies to the meeting.
59.2 Councillor Ward moved the recommendations, as set out in report BCa/23/28.
59.3 Councillor Sallie Davies seconded the recommendations.
59.4 Members were advised that the table in paragraph 16 was compliant on the 10th of November 2023, however due to technical issues with the software the figures could not be updated, until this was resolved.
59.5 Councillor McCraw asked for a broad summary of the areas of improvement since the last Cabinet meeting. The Director for Housing advised Members that generally the broad direction was positive, and once the housing IT system issues were resolved, updated figures would be forwarded to Members and included in the minutes.
59.6 Councillor Sallie Davies referred to the statistics for the dwellings containing mould and damp and asked for an update. The Director for Housing responded that a quarterly survey was being undertaken, which allowed for additional questions to be asked and this had predominantly encouraged residents, who had not reported damp and mould before, to report it now. Increased contractor resources had been implemented to resolve the issues arising.
59.7 In response to further question from Members, the Director for Housing advised that two contractors were currently working for the Council, and further contracts were out for sourcing now. In addition, new updated contracts would be put in place in April, which would include new terms for the contractors to ensure that work was delivery on time.
59.8 In response to questions from other Members attending the meeting, the Director for Housing clarified that the Leader of the Council received a monthly update for the housing compliance figures and that the Portfolio Holders received an update every two weeks.
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BCa/23/29 BDC Q2 PERFORMANCE REPORT PDF 1 MB Cabinet Member for Customers, Digital Transformation and Improvement
A paper presenting performance across the whole Council for the period 1 July – 30 September 2023 (Q2). To note the information contained within the paper, giving the opportunity to reflect and comment on progress made against the key priorities aligned to the Corporate Plan 2019 – 2027.
Decision: The BDC Q2 Performance Report was noted
It was RESOLVED: -
REASON FOR DECISION
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None Any Dispensation Granted: None
Minutes: 60.1 The Chair, Councillor John Ward invited the Cabinet Member for Customers, Digital Transformation and Improvement to present his report.
60.2 Councillor Alastair McCraw introduced paper BCa/23/29 and then invited each Portfolio Holder present to summarise their respective area of the Performance Report.
60.3 In addition to the information included in the Q2 Performance Report, Councillor Sallie Davies updated Members on Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 grants. Eight community projects had been awarded a total of £205,800 up to September 2023, £3k had been awarded from Section 106 grants and £4,300 had been allocated from the Councillors’ Locality Awards Grants. The funding was allocated to the benefit of communities and residents.
60.4 Councillor Sallie Davies referred page 69 and the number of houses built in the District, and asked where these houses came from. The Corporate Manager – Councils’ Companies, responded that these were purchased from developers under Section 106 grants arrangements.
60.5 Councillor Deborah Saw asked that further information was provided for the anti-social behaviour cases to identify which areas of prevention the Council should focus on. This information would be provided to Members outside of the meeting.
60.6 In response to questions from other Members attending the meeting, further information would be provided outside of the meeting on the number of days staff had taken off as sickness. This was to be split between sickness and long-term sickness and not as the usual full time equivalent (FTE) but in actual days.
60.7 Councillor Ward stated that clarity was key and that the current funding scheme for all neighbourhood was only available until March 2024, but will probably be extended as it was for this year.
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EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC (WHICH TERM INCLUDES THE PRESS) 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/these item(s), it is likely that there would be the disclosure to them of exempt information as indicated against the/each item.
The author(s) of the report(s) proposed to be considered in Part 2 of the Agenda is/are satisfied that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Minutes: By a unanimous vote
It was RESOLVED:
That pursuant to Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 the public 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.
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BCa/23/30 BABERGH GROWTH PROJECT UPDATE Cabinet Member for Finance, Assets and Investments
This item is exempt from call-in under Grounds of Urgency, as agreed with the Chair of the Council.
Grounds of Urgency are:
The construction contract for the Former HQ site in Hadleigh has been renegotiated and needs to be completed urgently to mitigate costs. Decision: This item is exempt from call-in on Grounds of Urgency, as agreed with the Chair of the Council.
Grounds of Urgency are:
The construction contract for the Former HQ site in Hadleigh has been renegotiated and needs to be completed urgently to mitigate costs.
It was RESOLVED: -
That the recommendations as outlined in the report be approved.
REASON FOR DECISION To enable and support the delivery of housing within the district and support the economic and social prosperity of Hadleigh as a key market town.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: The Options considered and rejected are outlined in the confidential report. Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None Any Dispensation Granted: None
Minutes: This item is exempt from call-in on Grounds of Urgency, as agreed with the Chair of the Council.
Grounds of Urgency are:
The construction contract for the Former HQ site in Hadleigh has been renegotiated and needs to be completed urgently to mitigate costs.
It was RESOLVED: -
That the recommendations as outlined in the report be approved.
REASON FOR DECISION To enable and support the delivery of housing within the district and support the economic and social prosperity of Hadleigh as a key market town.
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