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 116 KB Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Additional documents: Decision: Councillor Tony Thomas – Personal Interest – Agenda Item 11 Minutes: Councillor Tony Thomas declared a personal interest in
agenda item 11 because he was Vice Chair of the Rhyl Business Improvement
District (BID) and Civica undertook collection of the BID levy. |
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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 minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 30 July 2019 (copy enclosed). Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 30 July 2019 be received and confirmed as a correct
record. Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 30 July 2019 were
submitted. RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 30 July 2019 be received and confirmed as a correct
record. |
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RHYL TOWN CENTRE MASTER PLAN AND VISION DOCUMENT PDF 144 KB To consider a report by Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader and Lead Member for the Economy and Corporate Governance (copy enclosed) presenting the final version of the Rhyl Town Centre Vision document and proposed approach to the governance and resourcing of its delivery. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) supports the long term aspirations and 8
key ideas outlined within the Vision document (Appendix 2 to the report), and (b) confirms that it has read, understood and
taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 1 to the report) as
part of its consideration and commits the Council to focusing on delivery of
the long term positive wellbeing impacts contained within it. Minutes: The
Leader presented the report and final version of the Rhyl Town Centre Vision
document and proposed approach to the governance and resourcing of its
delivery. The
Council had worked collaboratively over the last eighteen months engaging with
a range of people and partners to develop a collective vision for Rhyl Town
Centre which focused on: delivering a vibrant and balanced mix of uses;
improved ease of access to the town centre and pedestrian flows around the town
centre, and a desirable town centre atmosphere.
Eight key ideas had been generated and work was underway to develop them
into a forward work programme of priorities and projects over the fifteen year
life of the Vision. This would form the
basis of a draft programme implementation plan for the Rhyl Programme Board to
progress. The
Leader referred to the considerable investment and improvements in Rhyl over
recent times and the need to plan for developing the town centre with a Vision
which reflected local aspirations through an extensive engagement process, and
which complemented existing plans and investment with a coordinated
approach. The Economic and Business
Development Team & Programme Manager provided some background to the creation
of the Vision document and comprehensive engagement process, highlighting the
main emerging themes and key projects to progress the keys ideas, and provided
an overview of ongoing projects and those already underway in order to take
advantage of current regeneration funding opportunities and with a view to
bringing in private sector investment. The
Leader also referred to the work of the Rhyl Community Development Board in
complementing the master plan and addressing social issues and the Chief
Executive explained the role of the Board, comprising of senior leaders of
statutory sectors, to consider how to maximise the collective benefit of the
investment and planned regeneration more widely in Rhyl to coordinate and
maximise opportunities in terms of employment, health, education, community safety
and housing. The Council had also
decided to invest in a Community Development Officer in Rhyl to work alongside
and complement workers from statutory agencies, the voluntary sector and
community groups to help direct and maximise funding opportunities and
resources, to report both to the Board and to Rhyl Reference Group to ensure
political involvement, and reports would also be brought back to Cabinet. The Board had set stringent targets based on
deprivation indicators with the intention of capturing the impact that
investment had on residents. Cabinet
welcomed the document as a means of providing a clear focus for the town centre
and its regeneration and to give confidence and create a better long term
future for Rhyl. The comprehensive
engagement process and collaborative efforts in producing the Vision was also
welcomed. Main discussion points
included – ·
in terms of prioritisation and planning
projects members were advised that the Vision document set out a long term
programme and projects would be prioritised using the corporate methodology
based on measurable benefits and outcomes; assurances were provided regarding
flexibility within the plan to respond to opportunities as they presented if
funding became available, similarly if there was private sector interest it
would be possible to accelerate a particular project to secure private sector
investment and maximise benefits · the Chief Executive reported upon the physical regeneration of Rhyl which was clearly visible when visiting the town and the long term regeneration plans, and highlighted the challenge to ensure that the investment to infrastructure would impact positively on local residents and living standards. She had visited all of the county’s ward areas and engaged with local businesses and residents when visiting Rhyl highlighting the importance of listening to ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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To consider a joint report by Councillors Bobby Feeley, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence and Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval of the composition of the Strategic Governance Board to monitor and manage the relationship between the Council and Denbighshire Leisure Limited (the Company). Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) approves the composition
of the Strategic Governance Board as detailed in paragraph 4.10 of the report
as follows – ·
Chief Executive or nominated representative (Chair) ·
Leader ·
Lead Member for Finance ·
Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee ·
Chair of a Scrutiny Committee ·
Monitoring Officer (or nominated representative) ·
S151 Officer (or nominated representative) ·
Contract Manager ·
Head of Education and Children’s Services (b) confirms that it has
read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (attached
at Appendix 1 to the report) as part of its consideration. Minutes: Councillor
Bobby Feeley presented the report seeking Cabinet approval of the composition
of the Strategic Governance Board to monitor and manage the relationship
between the Council and Denbighshire Leisure Limited (the Company). [Day to day operation of the Company would be
the responsibility of the Board of Directors of the Company subject of a
separate report] Council
had agreed to support the creation of a not for profit local authority trading
company limited by guarantee on 30 May 2019 and the report was another stage
within that process. The Company would
be a separate legal entity from the Council but would provide services to the
Council under the terms of a contract.
Consequently a forum needed to be established, proposed to be the
Strategic Governance Board, to enable the Council to maintain regular and
effective monitoring and oversight of the Company’s performance and at which
various issues between the Council and the Company could be discussed. The
Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services elaborated further on the role of the
Board and reasoning behind its suggested composition to include appropriate key
members and officers as per designated roles within the authority. As the Board was essentially the creation of
Cabinet in order that it could oversee the executive leisure function it was
therefore a Cabinet decision not a Council decision. In responding to questions officers
reiterated the merits of the decision to create a new Company and for
establishing a Strategic Governance Board to oversee it. With regard to staff training it was
confirmed that staff within the Company and the Council would have equal terms
and conditions and could expect equal access to their training needs. However if there was a training need
identified for staff within the Company, as with any training needs identified
for Council Staff, it would not necessarily be delivered by the Council and
could be delivered by an outside body.
It was further clarified that sufficient budget had been allocated to
the Company to cover purchasing costs in respect of its support services such
as training, communication/marketing, finance, ICT and HR – the Company may
choose to, and would initially, purchase that support from the Council but in
later years may decide to purchase those support services elsewhere. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) approves the composition
of the Strategic Governance Board as detailed in paragraph 4.10 of the report
as follows – ·
Chief Executive or nominated representative (Chair) ·
Leader ·
Lead Member for Finance ·
Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee ·
Chair of a Scrutiny Committee ·
Monitoring Officer (or nominated representative) ·
S151 Officer (or nominated representative) ·
Contract Manager ·
Head of Education and Children’s Services (b) confirms that it has
read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (attached
at Appendix 1 to the report) as part of its consideration. |
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To consider a joint report by Councillors Bobby Feeley, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence and Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet’s recommendation to Council of the composition and appointment of the Board of Directors of Denbighshire Leisure Limited (the Company). Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) endorses the composition
of the Board of Directors of the Company as set out in the report and
recommends this composition to Council – ·
Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm ·
Lead Member for Well-being and Independence ·
Lead Member for Education, Children’s Services and
Public Engagement ·
Managing Director ·
Independent Director x2 ·
A non-Cabinet member (b) confirms that it has
read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment
(attached at Appendix 1 to the report) as part of its consideration. Minutes: Councillor
Bobby Feeley presented the report seeking Cabinet’s recommendation to Council
of the composition and appointment of the Board of Directors of Denbighshire
Leisure Limited (the Company) responsible for the day to day operation of the
Company. [Monitoring and oversight of
the Company’s performance would be the responsibility of the Strategic
Governance Board as approved earlier on the agenda]. On
30 May 2019 Council had agreed to support the creation of a not for profit
local authority trading company limited by guarantee and had also approved the
appointment of the Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm as a
Director. Whilst the initial business
case had mentioned a Finance Director further work suggested that proper
financial expertise, advice and control of the Company could be provided
otherwise than by creating a position on the Board. It was subsequently proposed that the roles
be filled by councillors and employees of the Company as well as independent
members recruited by open advertisement. The
Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services further explained the role of the
Board and the importance of including an appropriate mix of skills in its
membership. Seven Directors had been
suggested and it was proposed that certain positions on the Board be filled as
a consequence of holding a particular employment or office, i.e. Corporate
Director, Managing Director, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence, Lead
Member for Education, Children Services and Public Engagement. An additional non-cabinet member Director was
also suggested, with business experience and/or an interest in the leisure
sector, with nominations sought for the role to be elected by Council. It was proposed that the remaining two
Director positions be filled by independent persons recruited by open
advertisement, one with an emphasis on commercial leisure/finance and the other
on community development/leisure, again to be appointed by Council. It was also clarified that those appointed to
the Board would be subject to the statutory responsibilities of Directors and
would be given training. In the normal
course of their duties the Directors would be indemnified in respect of their
various liabilities. In
response to questions it was confirmed that – ·
in terms of the two Independent Directors it
was suggested that they receive the same attendance payments as co-opted
members of Scrutiny, independent members of Standards committee and the lay
member of Corporate Governance Committee as set by the Independent Remuneration
Panel for Wales, and that the Company would be responsible for making those
payments ·
all Directors had a statutory responsibility
to avoid a conflict of interest. The
Member Agreement and Articles of Association had been written in such a way
that officers and members of the council were not to be treated as having a
conflict of interest if they were serving as Directors. With regard to independent appointments then
they would have to observe all the rules for Directors in respect of that
conflict and declare any such interest. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) endorses the composition
of the Board of Directors of the Company as set out in the report and
recommends this composition to Council – ·
Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm ·
Lead Member for Well-being and Independence ·
Lead Member for Education, Children’s Services and
Public Engagement ·
Managing Director ·
Independent Director x2 ·
A non-Cabinet member (b) confirms that it has
read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment
(attached at Appendix 1 to the report) as part of its consideration. At this juncture (11.25 a.m.) the meeting
adjourned for a refreshment break. |
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ANNUAL TREASURY MANAGEMENT REPORT 2018/19 PDF 116 KB To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) updating Cabinet on the performance of the treasury management function and to demonstrate compliance with treasury limits and Prudential Indicators during 2018/19. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) note the performance of the Council’s Treasury
Management function during 2018/19 and its compliance with the required
Prudential Indicators as reported in the Annual Treasury Management Report
2018/19 (Appendix 1 to the report), and (b) confirms it has
read, understood and taken account of the Wellbeing Impact Assessment (Appendix
2 to the report) as part of its consideration. Minutes: Councillor
Julian Thompson-Hill presented the report updating members on the performance
of the treasury management function and demonstrating compliance with treasury
limits and Prudential Indicators during 2018/19. In
summarising the report Councillor Thompson-Hill highlighted the importance of
treasury management and referred to the economic background and impact on
treasury management activities. He
highlighted the main points for members in terms of borrowing and investment
activity and confirmed compliance with all prudential indicators set,
elaborating upon those indicators detailed in Annex B and confirming
appropriate ratios of financing costs and borrowing levels within limits. There was some discussion on the estimated and
actual ratio of financing costs to the net revenue stream and it was confirmed
that no statutory level had been set and it was for
individual authorities to consider what they deemed to be a prudent level. Reference was also made to the change to the
funding regime illustrated by the financing of the recently approved East Rhyl
Coastal Defence Scheme and the revenue impact of that change, and for which the
local authority was expected to fund all of the borrowing upfront albeit with Welsh
Government’s contribution being refunded over the twenty five year borrowing
period. As Lead Member Councillor
Thompson-Hill confirmed that he was comfortable with the current level which he
considered represented good value on investments made. The Chief
Accountant/S151 Officer added that intermittent benchmarking exercises with
other local authorities were undertaken for comparison purposes which indicated
the Council was within comfortable limits. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) note the performance of the Council’s
Treasury Management function during 2018/19 and its compliance with the
required Prudential Indicators as reported in the Annual Treasury Management
Report 2018/19 (Appendix 1 to the report), and (b) confirms it has
read, understood and taken account of the Wellbeing Impact Assessment (Appendix
2 to the report) as part of its consideration. |
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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 – (a) note the budgets
set for 2019/20 and progress against the agreed budget strategy, and (b) approve the
recommended use of the Schools Maintenance Grant which has been awarded to the
Council by the Welsh Government, as recommended by the Strategic Investment
Group and detailed in Appendix 5, 6 & 7 to the report. 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 2019/20 was £198.538m (£194.418m in 2018/19) ·
an
overspend of £1.379m was forecast for service and corporate budgets ·
detailed
required savings and efficiencies of £5.672m including corporate savings
identified in 2018/19 (£0.5m), schools savings of 2% (£1.32m) and service
efficiencies and savings (£3.852m) ·
highlighted
current risks and variances relating to individual service areas, particularly
with regard to overspends in Community Support Services and Education and
Children’s Services despite an increase to the base budgets, and ·
provided a
general update on the Capital Plan, Housing Revenue Account and Housing Capital
Plan. Cabinet was also asked to approve the use of
the Schools Maintenance Grant as recommended by the Strategic Investment Group. Cabinet discussed the following matters in
further detail – ·
with
regard to school transport, legislative changes coming into force in the new
year required that non-concessionary transport had disabled access and, given
that concessions were already offered to children, serious concerns were raised
in terms of being able to meet that provision.
It was noted that the regional Transport Advisory Group would be writing
to the Minister for Economy and Transport highlighting those concerns and
Councillor Brian Jones also agreed to write to the Minister separately on
behalf of the Council in that regard ·
members
welcomed the Schools Maintenance Grant awarded to the Council by the Welsh
Government and changes which allowed funding to be directed to essential works
and areas of greatest need and Cabinet endorsed the approach that no funding be
allocated to schools within the 21st Century Band A programme or schools likely
to benefit under Band B and recommendations of the Strategic Investment Group ·
some
discussion focused on children’s social care, specifically placement costs, and
the Director: Communities reported upon a Welsh Government Working Group to
further consider that issue and commissioning of high quality providers – it
was recognised that placements costs differed in areas of the UK with more
populated areas having greater purchasing power. Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts confirmed
that the Council was doing all it could to address costs and he had confidence
in the current commissioning process. He
explained the difficulties of creating specialist provision locally given the
wealth of different needs and the priority was to commission placements to best
meet the needs of children which meant out of county placements in specialist
cases which incurred high placement costs ·
Councillor
Bobby Feeley highlighted the continuing pressures in Adult and Social Care with
the remaining service reserve being applied to help meet the current overspend
which would not be available in future years and she asked that more funding be
allocated to the service. The relevant Cabinet Lead Members and officers
responded to various questions from non-Cabinet members as follows – ·
with
regard to school balances robust financial recovery plans were in place for
schools in deficit and close monitoring was undertaken; all schools in deficit
were progressing as expected against their recovery plans and an update would
be reported to the next Corporate Governance Committee. School balances were continually monitored
and there was a mechanism for schools to be called before Scrutiny or Corporate
Governance Committee if warranted · the Welsh Government had announced they would be launching a revised free swimming initiative which resulted in a 25% reduction in the level of funding received by the Council in the current financial year and a 50% reduction from April 2020 – unfortunately that meant that the Council had ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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CABINET FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 284 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 and members noted the following future additions – ·
Library
Strategy – October ·
Bodelwyddan
Castle – November It was confirmed that the report on the Denbighshire
and Flintshire Joint Archive Project would be considered by Scrutiny prior to
Cabinet in November. 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 items
of business on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of
exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the
Act. Additional documents: |
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EXTENSION OF MANAGED SERVICE AGREEMENT FOR THE PROVISION OF REVENUES AND BENEFITS SERVICES To consider a confidential report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval to the extension of the Managed Service Agreement for the provision of Revenues and Benefits Services. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) note
the financial and non-financial benefits of extending the contract with Civica; (b) approve
the extension by 3 years of the contract with Civica
to provide the Managed Service Agreement for the provision of Revenues and
Benefits Services, and (c) confirm
that the decision must be implemented immediately in accordance with paragraph
7.25 of the Council’s constitution. Minutes: Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the confidential
report seeking Cabinet approval to the extension of the Managed Service
Agreement for the provision of Revenues and Benefits Services. Some background information was provided
regarding the current contract together with the reasoning behind the
recommendation for an extension of the partnership from April 2022 to March
2025 given the savings to be realised over that period and to allow for the
continued success of the partnership as illustrated within the report and to
ensure business continuity. The original
contract allowed for a 3 year extension in line with requirements but due to
the value of the contract Cabinet approval was required. It was also proposed that the decision be
implemented immediately as the negotiation of the discount had to a certain
extent been predicated on Civica being able to
complete the agreement prior to their financial year end on 30 September in
order that it may be taken into account in their financial statements. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) note
the financial and non-financial benefits of extending the contract with Civica; (b) approve
the extension by 3 years of the contract with Civica
to provide the Managed Service Agreement for the provision of Revenues and Benefits
Services, and (c) confirm
that the decision must be implemented immediately in accordance with paragraph
7.25 of the Council’s constitution. The
meeting concluded at 12.40 hrs. |