Agenda and minutes

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 6 September 2021 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

Apologies for virtual absence were received from Councillor Sharon Holder,

Councillor Sue Fennimore and Councillor Larry Culhane.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter.  The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS PRESENT:

That Cabinet:

1.     Carefully considers all responses to the consultation on the draft Equalities Plan, attached at Appendix 2.

2.     Approves and adopts the Equalities Plan 2021-25 and equalities objectives consulted as attached at Appendix 1.

The Leader stated that this was a very generous Capital programme with a significant investment in children and young people both in schools and in housing opportunities.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS PRESENT:

1.    To note the net forecast decrease in 2021/22 capital expenditure of £8.8m (5.3% of the approved budget). The variations are detailed in Appendix 2.

2.    To approve the updated four-year capital programme 2021-2025 of £488.6m as detailed in Appendix 1.

3.    To note the potential risks regarding the Housing Capital Programme, as summarised in paragraphs 33-36.

Councillor Andrew Jones presented the report which requested to approve the drawdown of Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy monies to fund a wide range of projects with significant investment in infrastructure resources for the community.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS PRESENT:

That Cabinet approves the 2020/21 drawdown of Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy monies as set out in this report and in the 2020/21 Drawdown Report attached at Appendix A, to fund expenditure of £15,508,265 including £376,432 of s.106 and CIL monitoring and administration costs.

This report has one appendix which contains information exempt within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and is not for publication. The appendix has therefore been circulated to Cabinet Members only.

Any discussions on the contents of an exempt appendix will require Cabinet to pass the proposed resolution identified at the end of the agenda to exclude members of the public and the press the proceedings for that discussion.

The Leader stated that the Council aimed to considerably reduce agency spend. This was not only financially efficient to the Council but also better for the culture of the organisation, bringing in people fundamentally committed to the residents of this borough and long term management. He thanked the Human Resources Team and senior directors for their excellent work.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS PRESENT:

1.    To note that Appendix 2 is not for publication on the basis that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) as set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

2.    To approve the procurement strategy of procuring a contract for recruitment agency staff services via call-off through a mini-competition from the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisations (ESPO) MSTAR3 framework agreement, Lot 1a Neutral Vendor. The proposed contract will be let for 2 years starting 1 July 2022 with an option to extend for up to 2 years (1+1), for a total value of £80m over 4 years.

The Key Decision List was noted.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Proposed resolution:

Under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business, on the grounds that they contain the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the said Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.       

There was no discussion of exempt elements.