Agenda, decisions and draft minutes
Venue: by video conference
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POINT OF NOTICE Due to the current restrictions on travel and requirement for social distancing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic the meeting was held remotely by video conference and was not open to the general public. All members had been given the opportunity to attend as observers and the Local Democracy Reporter had also been invited to observe. |
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APOLOGIES 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. Decision: Councillors Bobby Feeley and Huw Hilditch-Roberts declared a
personal interest in agenda item 7 – Extension of the Council’s UK Leisure
Framework because they were Directors of Denbighshire Leisure Limited. Minutes: Councillors Bobby Feeley and Huw Hilditch-Roberts declared a
personal interest in agenda item 7 – Extension of the Council’s UK Leisure
Framework because they were Directors of Denbighshire Leisure Limited. |
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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. Decision: The Chief Executive provided an update following the Welsh
Government announcement the previous day to introduce a circuit breaker across
Wales to help regain control of coronavirus. Minutes: At the Leader’s request the Chief Executive provided an
update following the Welsh Government (WG) announcement to introduce a circuit
breaker across Wales to help regain control of coronavirus. In discussions with WG specific measures to
protect Denbighshire’s economy and citizens had been sought including support
packages for businesses together with information and clear guidance, some of
which had been addressed in the WG announcement. Assurances were provided that officers were
working hard to ensure a safe close down of services and to put in place
mechanisms to support business and vulnerable clients, and also to make as much
information available as possible through communication and social media
channels. Further updates would be
provided in the coming days. |
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To receive the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 22 September 2020 (copy enclosed). Decision: Vote taken: 8 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions RESOLVED that, subject to
a point of accuracy, the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2020 be
received and confirmed as a correct record. Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 22 September 2020
were submitted. Accuracy – Page 13 Item 9 Finance Report – Councillor Mark Young asked that his comments regarding the £500 gifted to care workers be included in the minutes. He had congratulated the Welsh Government on gifting that payment to dedicated care staff and said it was a shame that the gift had been taxed by the UK Treasury. RESOLVED that, subject to
the above accuracy point, the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2020
be received and confirmed as a correct record. |
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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RESOLVED that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act
1972, the Press 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 Paragraph 14 and 16 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the
Act. |
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PROPOSED APPROACH TO TENDERING FOR PHASE 1 / ENABLING WORKS CONTRACT FOR COLOMENDY INDUSTRIAL ESTATE EXPANSION INCLUDING NEW DCC WASTE TRANSFER STATION (WTS) To consider a confidential report by Councillor Brian Jones, Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval to undertake the proposed tendering exercise to identify a main contractor to deliver Phase 1 / Enabling Works Contract for the expansion of the Colomendy Industrial Estate, Denbigh. Additional documents:
Decision: Vote taken: 8 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) grant approval to
undertake the proposed tendering exercise, and (b) note that a further report will be
brought back to Cabinet (via the Strategic Investment Group) for approval of the
subsequent Contract Award following the tendering exercise, which will also
confirm contract management arrangements, tendered costs and contract details. Minutes: Councillor
Brian Jones presented the confidential report seeking Cabinet approval to
undertake the proposed tendering exercise to identify a main contractor to
deliver Phase 1 / Enabling Works Contract for the expansion of the Colomendy Industrial
Estate in Denbigh, including Construction of a Waste Transfer Station (WTS). Details
of the proposed tender exercise had been set out within the report together
with the outline timescales and anticipated contract value, including how it
related to the proposed WTS (Plot 1) and enabling works to be delivered (Plots
2 – 5). Reference was made to the
ongoing collaborative working on expansion of the site and delivery of the
contract going forward for development.
The opportunities for businesses and economic growth arising from the
expansion were also acknowledged. The
council was leading on the tendering exercise due to the interdependencies
between the plots across the overall site.
Assurances were provided that the project had regard to climate change
and biodiversity elements including protection of habitats, reducing the number
of vehicle journeys for waste collection and installation of EV charging
points, and consideration had also been given to hydrogen technologies in the
future. Councillor
Mark Young welcomed the collaborative working and benefits it would bring and
he was also keen to ensure local companies had the opportunity to bid. Assurances were provided in that regard and
there was anticipated local interest in the tender with a clear preference to
engage with local businesses where possible within the contract procedure
rules. The contract would also provide
for community benefit and local investment to further support that aim. In response to further questions officers
confirmed that the cost associated with the tender would be solely officer time
given that the tender was issued via Sell2Wales which was a web based
tool. In view of the potential works
value OJEU timescales would apply and the contract award would be subject to a
further report to Cabinet. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) grant approval to undertake the proposed
tendering exercise, and (b) note that a further report will be
brought back to Cabinet (via the Strategic Investment Group) for approval of
the subsequent Contract Award following the tendering exercise, which will also
confirm contract management arrangements, tendered costs and contract details. |
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OPEN SESSION Upon completion of the above business the meeting resumed
in open session. |
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To consider a report by Councillor Huw Williams, Chair of Communities Scrutiny Committee (copy enclosed) detailing the conclusions reached by the Scrutiny Committee following consideration of the call-in of the Cabinet decision taken on 22 September 2020 in respect of the disposal of land adjacent to Ysgol Pendref and recommending Cabinet revisit its decision to take into account the Scrutiny Committee’s conclusions and further recommendations. Additional documents:
Decision: Vote taken: 4 in favour, 4 against, 0 abstentions; Leader used his casting vote in favour to carry the resolution. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) acknowledges
Communities Scrutiny Committee’s conclusions and recommendations following its
review of the Cabinet decision of 22 September 2020, and (b) having
reviewed their decision and taken into account the recommendations from
Communities Scrutiny Committee, reaffirm the Cabinet decision made on 22
September 2020 to – (i)
“approve the
disposal of land adjacent to Ysgol Pendref, Denbigh outlined in red on the plan (Appendix A to
the report) which is surplus to Council requirements on the open market for
residential development and delegates authority to the Lead Member for Finance,
Performance and Strategic Assets to approve the final sale, and (ii) confirms it has read, understood and taken account
of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix B to the report) as part of its
consideration” Minutes: Councillor Huw Williams, Chair of Communities Scrutiny Committee
presented the report detailing the conclusions reached by the Scrutiny
Committee following consideration of the call-in of the Cabinet decision taken on
22 September 2020 to dispose of land adjacent to Ysgol
Pendref, Denbigh which was surplus to council
requirements on the open market for residential development. Cabinet was advised of the detailed discussions which had taken place at
the Communities Scrutiny Committee meeting in respect of the Cabinet
decision. The conclusions of the
Scrutiny Committee had been set out in the report together with their
recommendations. In brief the Committee
had recommended that Cabinet – ·
acknowledges the
Scrutiny Committee’s conclusions and recommendations ·
revisits its decision
having regard to the vision for future social and affordable housing as set out
in the draft new national development framework ‘Future Wales – the National
Plan 2040’ ·
delays the decision in relation
to this particular site for 12 months until the new national development
framework was agreed ·
considers options to
make the land more attractive to social landlords and smaller developers by
breaking it up into smaller parcels/plots, and ·
does not create an oversupply of large unaffordable homes in Denbigh which
did not meet local need. As Lead Member, Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill reminded Cabinet that
the land in question had been allocated for housing in the Local Development
Plan (LDP) in 2013 following all the appropriate processes and consultation
stages. The land was held within the
Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and therefore any capital receipt from the sale
would be ring-fenced for the HRA and could not be used for other purposes. He responded to the scrutiny recommendations
as follows – ·
the WG’s draft national
development framework was still in draft form with no indication that any new
funding would be provided to support the affordable housing aspirations. Whilst local authorities would be able to
access the social housing grant from April 2021 the funding would be a finite
amount top sliced from existing budgets for which councils would need to bid
against each other and contribute financially.
The 58% intervention rate for registered social landlords would be
protected and the amount to councils was not expected to be sizeable ·
delaying a decision on
the off chance that something may happen in the future was not a sustainable
way to make decisions. The capital
receipt from the sale of the site had already been assumed in the HRA business
plan and any delay would impact on the delivery of that plan resulting in less
new build housing or less maintenance on existing stock or a combination of
both, and there would be no affordable housing provided on the site for a
longer period ·
there were significant
reasons why it would not be practical to break up the site into smaller
development plots, namely the impact on the capital receipt and unit cost of
the affordable housing proposed arising from the higher cost of the development
and lower value of the land. Smaller
plots increased costs at all stages of development and a consortium of
developers would need to agree an entire programme of works prior to purchase. The council could provide the infrastructure
at risk and cost with no guarantee monies could be recovered from future
purchasers and it would also reduce or negate any capital receipt · in terms of creating an oversupply of unaffordable homes not meeting local need, the proposed sale would be on the open market with a condition of 20% affordable homes which provided double the number of affordable units required under the LDP. There was an unmet demand for ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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EXTENSION OF THE COUNCIL'S UK LEISURE FRAMEWORK PDF 200 KB To consider a joint report by Councillors Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets and Bobby Feeley, Lead member for Well-being and Independence (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval to extend the Council’s UK Leisure Framework until January 2022. Decision: Vote taken: 8 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions RESOLVED that Cabinet
approve the extension of the UK Leisure Framework until January 2022 on the
same terms as let, and in any event such extension period shall be limited to
50% of the value of the original framework agreement in accordance with Regulation
72 Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Minutes: Councillor
Julian Thompson-Hill presented the joint report with Councillor Bobby Feeley
seeking Cabinet approval to extend the Council’s UK Leisure Framework until
January 2022. Cabinet
was advised that the four year term of the current UK Leisure Framework set up
by the council was due to expire in January 2021. The provisions and limitations within
procurement legislation as it related to the framework had been set out
together with the impact of operating within the restrictions imposed as a
result of the coronavirus pandemic. In
the interests of the council and Denbighshire Leisure Limited (DLL), and also
in fairness to all providers in the market, it was recommended that the launch of
a new procurement process be delayed until next year when a planned new
exercise would commence. It was noted
that DLL was contracted to manage the existing framework on the council’s
behalf and were supportive of the extension and the current supplier, Alliance
Leisure had confirmed that they would be willing to continue with the current
framework. The
Leader acknowledged the benefits of the framework for both the council and DLL and
in raising the prominence of leisure services beyond Denbighshire’s
boundaries. As Chair of DLL Councillor
Bobby Feeley highlighted the difficulties faced by the new company since its
inception in April and challenges to trade in difficult circumstances and she
paid tribute to all the staff in that regard.
The latest lockdown announcement had come as a further blow and it was
hoped to resume services once the restrictions were lifted. Cabinet echoed those sentiments. RESOLVED that Cabinet
approve the extension of the UK Leisure Framework until January 2022 on the
same terms as let, and in any event such extension period shall be limited to
50% of the value of the original framework agreement in accordance with
Regulation 72 Public Contracts Regulations 2015. |
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ASBESTOS REMOVAL CONTRACT PDF 130 KB To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval to commence a procurement for a works contract with a licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor. Additional documents:
Decision: Vote taken: 8 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) agree
to commence the procurement process for this works contract with a licensed
Asbestos Removal Contractor to be advertised; (b) agree
that the decision above be implemented immediately in order to prevent any delay in awarding the
contract, and (c) confirm
that it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact
Assessment (Appendix 1 to the report) as part of its consideration. Minutes: Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented a
report seeking approval to commence a procurement for a works contract with a
licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor. The current arrangements to facilitate asbestos
removal in council properties via a collaborative framework was due to expire
in December 2020. To facilitate a more
flexible and streamlined approach a works contract was recommended involving an
agreement with one contractor and fixed rates ensuring better value for money
and a more tailored service. The works
contract would be set up for an initial 12 months with the opportunity to
extend annually to a maximum of 10 years and renewal would only occur if
satisfied with the contractor’s performance.
Details of the contact value had been set out in the report with a total
contract value up to £4m. To prevent any
delay in awarding the contract it was recommended the decision to commence the
procurement be implemented immediately. Cabinet was satisfied that the recommended
procurement process supported the business needs of the council and delivered
value for money. It was noted that
permission to award the contract to the successful tenderer would be subject to
a further report to Cabinet in December. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) agree
to commence the procurement process for this works contract with a licensed
Asbestos Removal Contractor to be advertised; (b) agree
that the decision above be implemented immediately in order to prevent any delay in awarding the
contract, and (c) confirm
that it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact
Assessment (Appendix 1 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: Vote taken: 8 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions RESOLVED that Cabinet
note the budgets set for 2020/21 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 as outlined below – ·
the net
revenue budget for 2020/21 was £208.302m (£198.538m in 2019/20) ·
an
overspend of £5.107m was forecast for service and corporate budgets (the
overspend did not assume receipt of further ‘income loss’ grants or claims) ·
highlighted
current risks and assumptions relating to individual service areas together
with the financial impact of coronavirus and Leisure ADM budgets ·
detailed
required savings and efficiencies of £4.448m agreed including corporate savings
relating to triennial actuarial review of Clwyd Pension Fund (£2m); 1% schools
savings (£0.692m); service savings (£1.756m) ·
provided a general
update on the Capital Plan, Housing Revenue Account and Housing Capital Plan. Councillor Thompson-Hill elaborated upon the latest
financial position in detail, particularly with regard to the financial impact
of Covid-19, including grant funding secured to date and the position on claims
for the council. The following issues were raised during the ensuing
debate – ·
it was
clarified that following a better than expected settlement from WG the
reduction in school savings from 2% to 1% had been approved by Council in
February 2020 in recognition of schools net deficit balances ·
the draft budget
settlement would be issued in December with the final settlement to be
announced in March 2021 but there had been no indication as to what it would
entail. Due to the late announcement few
changes were expected from the draft settlement and it was likely that the
council would need to set the budget before the final settlement was issued ·
no
announcement had been made in terms of additional funding for local government
with specific regard to the forthcoming lockdown period and it was assumed that
claims for loss of income and additional costs incurred as a result would be
claimed from the £264m fund previously announced by WG ·
Councillor Bobby Feeley felt
that WG should provide specific funding for the leisure sector given that was a
vital service in terms of health and wellbeing and continued to face an
uncertain and difficult trading position.
It was noted that the claim for loss of income relating to Leisure for
Quarter 1 had been paid and the claim for Quarter 2 was currently being
prepared but uncertainty remained over Quarters 3 and 4. The Leader reported upon regular meetings and
positive discussion with WG who were aware of the pressures facing local
government including leisure services.
However the growing financial pressures on WG may well pose a risk to
local government, particularly in terms of future settlements ·
Councillor Mark Young queried
how the financial deficit would be addressed if WG funding was not forthcoming and
sought assurances that the council continued to work with businesses and
residents in terms of business rates and council tax given the current
financial challenges. The Head of
Finance reported that the council had been prudent with its reserves with
earmarked reserves and a budget mitigation reserve which could be used if
necessary and any recommendations in that regard would be brought before
Cabinet. He was confident the council
would remain solvent for the current financial year but there were concerns
regarding the next financial year onwards; the main uncertainty related to
council tax and WG’s ability to fund local government at a level they would
like given the financial impact of Covid-19. In terms of recovering council tax
and business rates Councillor Thompson-Hill gave assurances that individuals
were dealt with as sensitively as possible · Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts thanked the Leader for his statement to WG calling for urgent information ahead of the ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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CABINET FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 273 KB To receive the enclosed Cabinet Forward Work Programme and note the contents.
Decision: Vote taken: 8 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions 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. The
meeting concluded at 13.05 hrs. |