Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members and officers are invited to make any declarations of pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interests that they may have in relation to items on the agenda, and are reminded that they should re-declare their interest before consideration of the item or as soon as the interest becomes apparent.

Members and officers should make their declaration by stating:

a) the item they have the interest in

b) whether it is a pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interest

c) the nature of the interest

d) if it is a pecuniary or prejudicial interest, whether they will be exercising their right to speak under Question Time

The Director of Place declared a personal interest in agenda item number 11 [Local Housing (Property) Company - Trisanto] as he was the named director of this company.

a) Questions from the public (for a period of up to 15 minutes).

b) Questions from Members with prejudicial interests (for a period of up to 15

minutes).

The Chairman advised Cabinet that a late question had been submitted from Councillor David Huntley that did not relate to an item on the agenda for the meeting, so he wished to ask this during Public Question Time.

The Group Head of Council Advice & Monitoring Officer was asked to give advice on whether the question could be accepted.  She confirmed that the question had not been submitted within the deadline for Public Question Time; and it did not fall within the remit of the Cabinet’s responsibility.  The Chairman decided to use his discretion and allow the question to be asked.

            Councillor Huntley then explained that his question related to the meeting of the Development Control Committee on 7 August and the number of applications to be presented affecting the Pagham area.  He was concerned about the meeting being held during the holiday period as this would affect a Ward Councillor and a number of members of the public from being able to attend and asked Cabinet to intervene.  Councillor Lury, Cabinet Member for Planning responded that it would be inappropriate for Cabinet to respond to this question as it would not be democratic for Cabinet, who comprised a single political Group, to take any view on the question and this was a matter for the Development Control Committee.  

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 8 July 2019 (as attached).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2019 were approved by the Cabinet as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

To consider any reports from the Head of Corporate Support.

There were no matters discussed.

This report sets out the Quarter 4 Performance and End of Year Performance Outturn for the Corporate Plan Performance Indicators for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

RESOLVED – that

(1)  the Council’s Q4 performance against the targets for the Corporate Plan indicators, as set out in the report and appendix A, be noted; and;

In line with the Overview Select Committees proposals, the Cabinet;

RECOMMEND TO FULL COUNCIL - that         

(1)  the CP11 indicator target be increased from 40% to 50% for 2019 – 2020:and

(2)  the CP8 target be increased from 25 to 35 for 2019-2020.

Following a brief discussion, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/008/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

[Councillor Purchese declared a personal interest in this item as it sits within his portfolio as Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services]

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Corporate Support introduced this report and advised the Cabinet that the report set out the Q4 performance outturn for the Corporate Plan Performance Indicators for the full year 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. He explained that the 2020 Vision Programme was established to provide the strategic direction that was required to help the Council become a more effective and sustainable and to enable it to meet future demands. He explained that there were three priority themes in the 2020 vision and these were:

·         Your Services

·         Supporting You

·         Your Future

The corporate performance indicators sat behind these priorities and were a series of targets that were measurable and were within the Council’s control. He then invited the Group Head of Policy to present her report in more detail. She was pleased to advise that the report showed that 7 of the 11 performance indicators had either achieved or over achieved the target set. She gave a detailed overview of the performance indicators that had not met their target and explained what steps were being taken in continuing to monitor these for the future.

The Cabinet had been asked to review the recommendations from the Overview Select Committee relating to two indicators (CP8 and CP11).

In relation to CP8 – [Number of new Council homes built or purchased per annum], the Committee had recommended that the target be increased from 25 to 35 for 2019.

Turning to CP11 – [Household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting], the Committee recommended that the target be increased from 40% to 50% for 2019/2020.

Following a brief discussion, the Cabinet were in agreement that the increases were ambitious but also realistic and that they were in support of the recommendations put forward by the Overview Select Committee.

Before taking a vote the Director of Services clarified that the target at CP8 was not a percentage figure, it was an absolute number of houses. Therefore, the new target would be 35 houses.

The Cabinet

RESOLVED – that

(1)  the Council’s Q4 performance against the targets for the Corporate Plan indicators, as set out in the report and appendix A, be noted; and;

In line with the Overview Select Committees proposals, the Cabinet;

RECOMMEND TO FULL COUNCIL - that         

(1)  the CP11 indicator target be increased from 40% to 50% for 2019 – 2020:and

(2)  the CP8 target be increased from 25 to 35 for 2019-2020.

Following a brief discussion, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/008/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

This report sets out the Quarter 4 Performance and End of Year Performance Outturn for the Service Delivery Plan (SDP) Performance Indicators for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

                        RESOLVED

That the Council’s Q4 performance against the targets for the Service Delivery Plan indicators, as set out in the report and Appendix A, be noted.

            Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per C/009/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

            The Deputy Leader of the Council introduced this report and advised the Cabinet that the report sets out the Q4 outturn for the Service Delivery Plan (SDP) Performance Indicators for the full year 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. He explained that the SDP indicators sit beneath the Corporate Plan Indicators that had been reported at agenda item 7 and provided more detail about how services were working. He then invited the Group Head of Policy to present her report.  She provided more detail on the figures contained in the report.

            Following some discussion, the following points were highlighted:

·         Concern was raised regarding SDP 10 and the Council’s plan to resolve and reduce the number of Complaints that had been received

·         In light of SDP 18 results it was explained that the focus was on preventing homelessness, the local authority did have a responsibility to look after individuals and families, ensuring that they were spending as short a time as possible in temporary accommodation. The Director of Services confirmed that a wide range of ways to prevent homelessness were being worked on. 

                        The Cabinet

                        RESOLVED

That the Council’s Q4 performance against the targets for the Service Delivery Plan indicators, as set out in the report and Appendix A, be noted.

            Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per C/009/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

This report seeks:

·         the agreement of Cabinet for the submission of the Expression of Interest to the Coast to Capital (C2C) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Local Growth Fund for improvements to the public realm in Littlehampton Town Centre (Phase 3); and

·         the agreement of the Council’s responsibilities as Accountable Body under the Terms and Conditions of the grant scheme and the authority to spend the grant should funding be awarded.

            RESOLVED – that

(1)  the submission of the Expression of Interest to Coast to Capital (C2C) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Local Growth Fund for improvements to the public realm in Littlehampton Town Centre (East Street through to High Street Junction and Beach Road Phase 3), be noted and endorsed;

(2)  the submission of the Full Business case to the LEP Local Growth Fund should the Council be invited to do so, be endorsed; and

(3)  if the Full Business Case bid is successful, the grant spend and delivery of public realm project be authorised. 

            Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/010/290719 a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

            The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy introduced this report, advising that this June, the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) announced it was inviting bids for projects from their remaining unallocated Growth Deal Funding and were inviting bids of up to £2million for capital projects. These projects needed to be 50% match funded and able to be spent by 31 December 2020. After considering which project the Council could bid for, and based on the bidding criteria, he explained that he agreed a bid to deliver a further phase of improvements to the public realm in Littlehampton. This was phase 3 of the proposal – East Street through to the High Street junction and Beach Road. He confirmed that the Expression of Interest (£1.38m grant request) was submitted on 2 July 2019. 

The report sought the retrospective agreement from Cabinet to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Local Growth Fun for improvements to the public real in Littlehampton Town Centre (Phase 3). It was also asking to confirm agreement that the Council takes on the role of Accountable Body under the Terms and Conditions of the grant scheme and that authority was given to spend the grant should the funding be awarded. Since submitting the report and the EOI, the Council had been invited to submit a full business case that would be submitted on 16 August, Councillor Dr Walsh said that this was an encouraging step forward and he was hopeful of a successful outcome.

            The Cabinet

            RESOLVED – that

(1)  the submission of the Expression of Interest to Coast to Capital (C2C) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Local Growth Fund for improvements to the public realm in Littlehampton Town Centre (East Street through to High Street Junction and Beach Road Phase 3), be noted and endorsed;

(2)  the submission of the Full Business case to the LEP Local Growth Fund should the Council be invited to do so, be endorsed; and

(3)  if the Full Business Case bid is successful, the grant spend and delivery of public realm project be authorised. 

            Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/010/290719 a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

The Council is preparing a CIL Charging Schedule which, once adopted and in effect, will be applied to new development on a £/sqm basis. 

Based on an assessment of likely levels of development over the Arun Local Plan period (2020 to 2031), it is expected that the Council could raise approximately £30million in CIL receipts to be spent on infrastructure required as a result of planned growth.

Subject to the outcomes of an independent Examination of the Arun CIL Draft Charging Schedule (DCS), the aim is to adopt a CIL Charging Schedule towards the end of 2019 and for the schedule to come into effect in early 2020. 

The aim of this report is to raise awareness of CIL and the implementation process.  The report also seeks agreement to forward fund a CIL Officer post, at a total cost of £49,000 per annum.  These costs will be recouped from year three of CIL coming into effect onwards.

            RESOLVED – that

1.    agreement be given to forward fund a CIL Officer post at a total cost of £49,000 per annum, to sit within the Planning Policy Team and that the post will be included in the budget for 2020/21 onwards; and

2.    if the Officer is employed during 2019/20 the post can be funded from the Corporate underspend. It should be noted that the 2 year forward funded cost of the post will be recouped in year 3 from using up to 5% of CIL receipts received in years 1-3 of CIL being in effect. From year 4 onwards the CIL Officer post will be fully funded by CIIL receipts.

            Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/011/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

            The Cabinet Member for Planning introduced this report advising that the Council was preparing a CIL Charging Schedule that would be submitted at the end of July. It was anticipated based on development, that approximately £30million in CIL receipts would be raised to be spent on infrastructure that would be required as a result of planned growth. The aim of the report was to raise awareness of CIL and the implementation process in order to ensure that Arun had the systems and procedures in place to collect CIL once it was adopted.

Councillor Lury explained that the report sought the agreement to forward fund a CIL Officer role, explaining that these costs would be recouped from year three of CIL coming into effect. He advised the Cabinet that the post should be recruited now in order that the coordination and implementation of the systems would take place early to ensure it would be set up in time for the collection of CIL receipts, which would otherwise be lost to Arun following the adoption of the CIL charging schedule.

            The Cabinet

            RESOLVED – that

1.    agreement be given to forward fund a CIL Officer post at a total cost of £49,000 per annum, to sit within the Planning Policy Team and that the post will be included in the budget for 2020/21 onwards; and

2.    if the Officer is employed during 2019/20 the post can be funded from the Corporate underspend. It should be noted that the 2 year forward funded cost of the post will be recouped in year 3 from using up to 5% of CIL receipts received in years 1-3 of CIL being in effect. From year 4 onwards the CIL Officer post will be fully funded by CIIL receipts.

            Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/011/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

This report seeks authorisation to terminate the Local Housing (Property) Company, Trisanto as it is considered that it is no longer needed having regard to the removal of the cap on the Housing Revenue Account which therefore allows additional homes to be funded.

            RECOMMEND TO FULL COUNCIL

That the Trisanto Development Corporation be formally closed, and appropriate actions taken to give effect to this decision,

            Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/012/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

[The Director of Place redeclared his personal interest and left the meeting]

The Leader of the Council introduced the report advising that it sought the authorisation to terminate the Local Housing (Property) Company Trisanto as it was considered that it was no longer needed. He advised that whilst, this Company exists on paper it hasn’t been provided with any start-up funding. There were a number of objectives in setting up the Company, principally around the delivery of housing. This was at a time when restrictions existed on what could be done through the Housing Revenue Account. That has subsequently change and the proposal is to formally close the Company.

            The Cabinet

            RECOMMEND TO FULL COUNCIL

That the Trisanto Development Corporation be formally closed, and appropriate actions taken to give effect to this decision,

            Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/012/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

To receive and note the Minutes of the meeting of the Arun Wellbeing and Health Partnership held on 26 June 2019, as attached.

            The Cabinet received and noted the minutes of the meeting of the Arun Wellbeing and Health Partnership held on 26 June 2019.

To consider and note the Minutes of the meetings (as attached) of the Joint Area Committees as follows:-

(a)  Joint Western Arun Area Committee – 31 October 2018 and 6 February 2019

(b)  Joint Eastern Arun Area Committee – 6 November 2018 and 5 March 2019

[Councillor Purchese declared a personal interest in this item as he is member of West Sussex County Council. 

Dr Walsh declared a personal interest in this item as he is a member of West Sussex County Council.]

The Cabinet received the minutes of the meetings of the Joint Area Committees as follows: -

(1)  Joint Western Arun Area Committee – 31 October 2018 and 6 February 2019

(2)  Joint Eastern Arun Area Committee – 6 November 2018 and 5 March 2019

In considering the minutes of the Joint Western and Eastern Arun Area Committees, Members raised their concerns about arrangements for recent meetings and felt that these concerns needed to be flagged with West Sussex County Council who administered the Committees.  It was therefore proposed that the Chairman write to the County Council to highlight these concerns and seek as assurance that full officer support would be put in place.   Cabinet supported this proposal and therefore

RESOLVED – That

(1)  The minutes of the Joint Area Committees be noted; and

(2)  The Chairman write to the Director of Law and Assurance at West Sussex County Council to express concerns about the workings of the Joint Arun Area Committees based on recent experiences and seek an assurance that full officer support would be put in place to assist the Committees.

To consider any recommendations from the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on 25 June 2019.  There are recommendations at:

·         Minute 48 [Corporate Plan 2018-2022 – Quarter 4 and End of Year Performance Outturn for 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019] – this recommendation will be considered as part of Agenda Item 7 [Corporate Plan 2018-2022 – Quarter 4 and End of Year Performance Outturn for 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019

·         Minute 52 [Minutes of Meeting of the Council Tax Support Task and Finish Working Party on 16 April 2019] – Cabinet will need to make this a recommendation to Full Council on 18 September 2019

            RECOMMEND TO FULL COUNCIL

That the Council’s Council Tax Support (the income banded scheme) is retained, that is no change to the current scheme.

Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/013/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.

            The Group Head of Policy presented the recommendations for consideration from the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on 25 June 2019. As the recommendations at Minute 48 [Corporate Plan 2018-2022 – Quarter 4 and End of Year Performance Outturn for 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019] had already been dealt with earlier on in the meeting, Cabinet was alerted to Minute 52 [Minutes of Meeting of the Council Tax Support Task and Finish Working Party on 16 April 2019] where it was recommended that the Council’s current Council Tax Support income banded scheme be retained with no changes.

            The Cabinet

            RECOMMEND TO FULL COUNCIL

That the Council’s Council Tax Support (the income banded scheme) is retained, that is no change to the current scheme.

Following consideration, the Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/013/290719, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.