Agenda, decisions and draft minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Ruthin
Media
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APOLOGIES Additional documents: Decision: There were no apologies. Minutes: There were no apologies. |
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS PDF 115 KB Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Additional documents: Decision: Councillor Meirick Davies – Personal Interest – Agenda Item
5 Councillor Brian Jones – Personal Interest – Agenda Item 8 Councillor Tony Thomas – Personal Interest – Agenda Item 8 Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill – Personal Interest – Agenda Item 5 Minutes: The following members declared a personal interest – Councillor Meirick Davies – Agenda Item 5 – Chair of North Wales Fire Authority Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill – Agenda Item 5 – Director
of Data Cymru Councillor Tony Thomas – Agenda Item 8 – Rhyl Town & County Councillor Councillor Brian Jones – Agenda Item 8 – Member of Business Group/Rhyl Town & County Councillor |
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URGENT MATTERS Notice of
items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting
as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the
Local Government Act 1972. Additional documents: Decision: No urgent matters had been raised. Minutes: No urgent matters had been raised. |
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To receive the – (a) minutes of the Special Cabinet meeting held
on 15 October 2018 (copy enclosed), and (b) minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 30 October
2018 (copy enclosed). Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meetings held on 15 October 2018 and 30 October 2018 be received and
confirmed as a correct record. Minutes: The minutes of the Special Cabinet meeting held on 15
October 2018 and the Cabinet meeting held on 30 October 2018 were submitted. Matters Arising – Special Cabinet (15 October 2018) – Councillor Brian Jones noted the end of the meeting had been recorded as 6.10 p.m. and felt it would be prudent to use twenty-four hour clock in future to avoid any confusion. Cabinet (30 October 2018) – Page 16, Minute Item 4 Matters Arising – Gypsy and Traveller Site Provision – Councillor Peter Scott conveyed the views of businesses located on St. Asaph Business Park who had objected to the proposal for locating the Gypsy and Traveller Site at Green-gates Farm East, St. Asaph and referred to evidence of the disruption, damage and security issues previously experienced at that location. He also highlighted the detrimental impact of the proposal in terms of retaining existing businesses and in attracting future business to the Business Park. Councillor Scott urged Cabinet to use any influence they had over the pre-planning consultation so as to ensure that the future of St. Asaph Business Park would not be jeopardised. The Leader advised that Cabinet had been well represented by the Lead Member, Councillor Tony Thomas in public meetings and the business sector with regard to the proposal and all concerns would be taken into account. Councillor Thomas confirmed he had met with representatives from St. Asaph Business Park and had taken their views on board – the pre planning consultation phase was currently ongoing with a deadline of 25 November 2018. RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meetings held on 15 October 2018 and 30 October 2018 be received and
confirmed as a correct record. |
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CORPORATE PLAN PERFORMANCE REPORT QUARTER 2 2018 - 19 PDF 116 KB To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) presenting an update on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2017 – 2022 as at the end of quarter 2 of 2018 – 19. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
receives the report and notes the progress in delivering the Corporate Plan as
at the end of quarter 2 of 2018/19. Minutes: Councillor
Julian Thompson-Hill presented the report updating members on the delivery of
the Corporate Plan 2017 – 2022 as at the end of quarter 2 of 2018 – 19. The
report included three main elements – ·
Executive Summary – detailed achievements and
key exceptions with two narratives for each priority: Performance Status and
Programme Progress ·
Full quarterly report – generated from Verto Performance Management System and provided an
evidence based assessment of the current position ·
Summary of the projects being managed under
each Programme Board – Communities and Environment and Young People and
Housing. Performance
was as expected at such an early stage given the lead times to deliver
improvements. Two priorities had been
assessed as ‘priority for improvement’ – Resilient Communities and Young People
which required a greater involvement of external partners and were not directly
under the Council’s control. The
remaining three priorities continued to be at an acceptable level – Housing,
Connected Communities and Environment.
Progress had been assessed as good across all priorities and details of
the projects managed by both Programme Boards had been highlighted showing
their various stages. One project had
been rejected and closed because the Board did not consider it would deliver
its aims which demonstrated a robustness in the assessment process. The
Strategic Planning Team Manager guided members through the priority areas
contained within the report and highlighted a number of areas of good practice
and elaborated upon project developments in key areas. Councillor Thompson-Hill added that, as part
of the monitoring process, regular reports were submitted to Scrutiny Committee
to consider whether any areas warranted further investigation. During
consideration of the report members discussed the following – ·
in terms of the project to bring 500 empty
homes back into use, 500 had been considered a deliverable but challenging
target bearing in mind the fluctuation in the level of empty homes – it was
noted that progress was on target ·
the Leader highlighted the importance of an
ambitious Corporate Plan and he was pleased that the Council had retained its
ambition and momentum on behalf of residents and the commitment to deliver
despite the financial climate – having set the right priorities good progress
was being made in delivering them ·
the involvement of Cabinet members in the
Programme Boards established to focus on priorities and delivering projects was
noted together with the key summary of projects to effect improvement which had
been included as an appendix to the report – there was some debate as to the
merits of further strengthening links with non-Cabinet members in addition to
the regular monitoring by Scrutiny Committee and Annual Improvement Report to
Council. The Chief Executive agreed to
discuss with the Lead Member whether further dissemination or sharing of
information would add value to the current process ·
Councillor Mark Young highlighted the
importance of ensuring ongoing maintenance of existing flood defence systems and
assurances were provided that this element was considered as business as usual
and there was a programme of maintenance works – the Corporate Plan aimed to
enhance the current provision rather than dealing with day to day maintenance issues. With regard to flood defence schemes and
studies work was ongoing with partners in that regard. In response to a question from Councillor
Jeanette Chamberlain-Jones regarding the independent report into the flooding
at Ffordd Derwen, Rhyl,
Councillor Brian Jones confirmed that a letter to residents was imminent · in response to questions raised regarding the Llantysilio Mountain fire, the Leader advised that a report would be submitted to Communities Scrutiny Committee in February 2019 in order to consider the impact and lessons ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) detailing the latest financial position and progress against the agreed budget strategy. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
note the budgets set for 2018/19 and progress against the agreed budget
strategy. Minutes: Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the
report detailing the latest financial position and progress against the agreed
budget strategy. He provided a summary
of the Council’s financial position as follows – ·
the net
revenue budget for 2018/19 was £194.418m (£189.252m in 2017/18) ·
an
overspend of £1.292m was forecast for service and corporate budgets ·
detailed
agreed savings and efficiencies worth £4.6m including those which had already
been achieved with the assumption that all service efficiencies/savings would
be delivered – any exceptions would be reported to Cabinet if required ·
highlighted
current risks and variances relating to individual service areas, and ·
provided a general
update on the Housing Revenue Account, Housing Capital Plan and the Capital
Plan (including the Corporate Plan element). Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill highlighted the
usual risk areas but confirmed there had been little movement in the figures
since the report to the last meeting.
The Chief Executive added that the challenges around School Transport
and Children’s Services were not unique to Denbighshire and had been driven by
increased demand. Assurances were
provided that officers had scrutinised those pressures in detail and considered
them to be genuine pressures which would need to be dealt with alongside the
poor financial settlement for 2019/20. The following matters were raised during debate
– ·
Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts referred to
the pressures on school transport which amounted to nearly £600k but in context
he advised that Powys County Council spent approximately £68k per day (£12.5m a
year) on school transport costs. He
provided assurances regarding prudency when applying the eligibility criteria
for school transport and clarified the discretionary elements in the
policy. He did not advocate a review of
the non-statutory elements as he believed it would result in a significant
impact on learners ·
the
Council had made best efforts over the last few years to restructure services
with a focus on resilience in order to reduce budgets whilst not impacting on
service users but concerns were raised that it may not be possible to afford
that protection in the future. In
response to questions regarding the potential for additional monies, specifically
for social care, Councillor Thompson-Hill advised that an additional £30m had
been included in the draft Welsh Government budget for social care in the
health budget line but it had yet to be determined how that funding would be
allocated; local authorities were lobbying for some of that funding. With regard to allocation of the
consequential from the UK Autumn Budget it was not yet known whether it would
result in any additional funding for local government. Detail of the final settlement was due on 19
December 2018. Members reiterated the
difficulties in future financial planning given the uncertainties over budgets
and late notification of the final settlement.
It was noted that the Welsh Local Government Association continued to
lobby Welsh Government on that point ·
Councillor Mark Young made reference to the
recent Welsh Government announcement of £15m earmarked for teachers
professional development and Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts confirmed he had
raised the issue with Education Secretary Kirsty Williams and his view that,
given that losing teaching posts was a real possibility, local authorities
should be permitted to distribute education funding based on need which would
prove more beneficial for schools rather than spend being specifically
earmarked. The Education Secretary had
responded that teacher unions were happy with the allocation for training · in response to questions regarding the maintenance contract for the Pont y Ddraig bridge issues were clarified around the service and repair costs and it was explained that a renegotiation of the maintenance contract was required in order to anticipate future costs and a ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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CABINET FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 445 KB To receive the enclosed Cabinet Forward Work Programme and note the contents.
Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet’s
Forward Work Programme be noted. Minutes: The Cabinet Forward Work Programme was
presented for consideration. RESOLVED that Cabinet’s Forward Work Programme be noted. |
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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RESOLVED that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act
1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following item
of business on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of
exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12, 13 and 14 of Part 4 of Schedule
12A of the Act. Additional documents: |
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GRANT AWARD FOR THE ACQUISITION OF PROPERTIES ON WEST PARADE AND SUSSEX STREET IN RHYL To consider a joint confidential report by Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader and Lead Member for Economy and Corporate Governance and Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking approval to accept an offer of grant funding from Welsh Government for the acquisition of properties on West Parade and Sussex Street in Rhyl. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) approves the acceptance of an offer of
grant funding from Welsh Government for the acquisition of properties on West
Parade and Sussex Street in Rhyl comprising the former Savoy Hotel and the
Queen’s Market, Theatre and Hotel conditional upon the proposed acquisition
including any associated preliminary revenue costs being externally funded, and (b) confirms that it has read, understood and
taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 2 to the report) as
part of its consideration. Minutes: Councillors
Hugh Evans and Julian Thompson-Hill presented the confidential joint report
seeking Cabinet approval to accept an offer of grant funding from Welsh
Government for the acquisition of properties on West Parade and Sussex Street
in Rhyl. Cabinet
had approved the purchase of the buildings in April 2018 subject to the
acquisition costs being externally funded and there being no associated revenue
costs to the Council. Welsh Government
had now confirmed an initial grant funding offer of £2.5m to allow the Council
to progress with the purchases and an in principle commitment of an additional
£2.5m to assist with redevelopment of the sites. The Leader highlighted the proposed
redevelopment of the site as a key project to contribute to the ongoing regeneration
of Rhyl, bringing partially derelict properties back into productive use,
providing job opportunities and business growth, and stimulating further
private sector investment in the town.
Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill highlighted the differences to the
original proposition considered by Cabinet in April 2018 and reasoning behind
the intention to acquire all the property in one lot as opposed to the previous
approach of two lots. He also elaborated
on the detail of the grant funding offer and financial implications together
with risks arising from the proposal. Cabinet
noted that the proposal had the support of Rhyl Member Area Group and the Asset
Management Group, and the Strategic Investment Group had also recommended
approval to proceed with the proposal.
The merits of the proposal from a regeneration perspective was also
acknowledged. During a detailed debate
the Lead Members and officers responded to further questions regarding the
identified risks, the impact on financial resources, the availability of grant
funding and legal agreements/action required to proceed. Having taken into account the benefits of the
proposal and recognising the risks in order to proceed it was – RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) approves the acceptance of an offer of
grant funding from Welsh Government for the acquisition of properties on West
Parade and Sussex Street in Rhyl comprising the former Savoy Hotel and the
Queen’s Market, Theatre and Hotel conditional upon the proposed acquisition
including any associated preliminary revenue costs being externally funded, and (b) confirms that it has read, understood and
taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 2 to the report) as
part of its consideration. The meeting concluded at 11.22 hrs. |