Agenda, decisions and minutes

None.

There were no declarations of interest.

Minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2015.

The minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2015 were approved and signed as a correct record.

None.

Vision 2020 : the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny will present the view of the Committee. An excerpt of the draft minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2015 are attached for information.

Councillor Tim Harman, Chair of Overview and Scrutiny was invited to address Cabinet. He explained that at its meeting on 21 September Overview and Scrutiny had had the opportunity to ask questions, which were particularly focussed on governance, of both the Chief Executive and David Neudegg, Interim Managing Director for 2020 Vision. The committee unanimously agreed that Option 1 would best serve the interests of Cheltenham, its residents and staff.

He made the following points :

·         a member of the committee had requested Cabinet to consider that a member of the non ruling party at the council should be represented on the Vision 2020 Joint Committee to ensure that scrutiny had a stake in the process.

·         O&S believed that 2020 was a good way to ensure that the success of GOSS could be built on and he gave thanks to all officers who had been involved in the project to date. 2020 represented a good way of delivering value for money and configuring local government services.

·         Consideration should be given to the title of “Head of Paid Service”. The one main contact officer of the council should have  a title which the public could understand

·         When asked what consideration O&S had given to the fact that 2020 would comprise 3 predominantly rural authorities and how could Cheltenham best position itself as an urban authority in that arrangement, the Chair of O&S said that this had not been discussed specifically but in the spirit of cooperation it should be possible for adequate dialogue.

In summing up the Leader thanked the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny and the committee for its comments. He supported the comments relating to cross party membership of the Joint Committee providing this was reciprocated by the other Councils and would explore how this could be taken forward with the other authorities. At its meeting on 19 October Council would appoint a Cabinet and non Cabinet member. In terms of the comment on the title of the Head of Paid Service he stated that legally the authority had to have a post with this responsibility but would ask the Appointments Committee to consider the job title during the recruitment process.

RESOLVED

To note the minutes of Overview and Scrutiny

Report of the Leader

The Leader introduced the report and explained that 2020 Vision had been a challenging and ambitious process and represented an opportunity for the council to make savings without cutting services. He referred to the success the council had experienced with sharing services with GO Shared Services and ICT.

The Leader referred Cabinet to the amended recommendations from the published report as circulated and highlighted the following points :

·         Customer services, revenues and benefits and property services had been identified within the project as the next services to be considered for sharing. The amended recommendation 2 stated that Cabinet would receive and have to approve further business case briefings and proposed Service Level Agreements for these services under consideration. He added that this detailed work would begin shortly with a report being brought to Cabinet at some stage in the New Year. He highlighted that members would be involved in this process.

·         2020 would be governed by a Joint Committee with two members represented from each authority. Cabinet would nominate one member and it was proposed that the current Cabinet Member Corporate Services undertake this role. He was the current council representative on the member governance board and the CBC representative on the Joint Monitoring and Liaison Group for GOSS.

·         The Joint Committee would be responsible for overall financial policies and potential HR policies. The Leader referred members to the amended recommendation 5 which now included the introduction of a protocol which would require the Joint Committee to defer any item relating to changes to employment terms and conditions where it was unlikely to be passed by unanimous decision in order to seek a resolution to the matter.  The Leader added that whilst rationalisation of HR terms and conditions would be useful, to have a mechanism in place to deal with any issues was a sensible approach. He also made reference to the deletion of the last sentence of Section 10.4 in the report.

·         The Leader reported that the post of Managing Director of the Partnership had been ringfenced to the Chief Executives of Cheltenham and Cotswolds/West Oxfordshire councils. He explained that the current Chief Executive of Cheltenham had not expressed an interest in being considered for this position. The position of CEX would be deleted at the council but the post of Head of Paid Service was a legal requirement. The recruitment of this post would be a process for the council’s Appointments Committee.

·         The existing shared service arrangements for GO Shared Services and ICT Shared Services would be undertaken by the Joint Partnership Structure from April 2016.

The Cabinet Member Finance referred to the fact that existing shared services with Ubico and GOSS made the council an annual saving of £2.7 m annually. With Government core funding reduced from £8.8 m to £4.6 m between 2009 and 2015 and likely to be further cut between 25 % and 40 % over the next 4 years, further radical efficiency savings needed to be made without cutting services. With evidence that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report which considered a rent subsidy request by Broadlands Pre School for the premise at Burrows Playing Field. He reported that the 3^rd Sector Policy Board had considered the application and agreed that it could receive an 80 % discount due to its contributions to the local economy and local economy and the welfare of children and families.

The Leader added that this was positive news and the policy added value to the community.

RESOLVED THAT

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report which proposed a broad strategy and outlined a process for setting the budget, housing rents and council tax for 2016/17. It outlined a number of principles that needed to be established at this stage to enable budget preparation to commence.

He explained that the council was experiencing unprecedented financial squeeze with Government core funding having halved since 2009 and with it likely to reduce further by 25%-40% over the next four years. He referred to the savings that were being achieved from embracing radical change in the way that the council had organised its services or from sharing services. He made reference the £231 000 new saving which the Cheltenham Trust would deliver next year and the £100 000 from the accommodation strategy next year.

The Cabinet Member added that it was still necessary to think creatively and explained that the focus was on sharing services at a new level via 2020 Vision which would deliver £800 k of savings per annum by 2019-2020 and the drive for further business growth in the town in order to attract an increase in its share of business rates. The council’s direct financial interest in business rates would grow between now and 2020 as the Government devolved more to local councils. He referred to the role of the Cheltenham Development Task Force in promoting growth in terms of attracting John Lewis to the Beechwood Arcade. He also added that the council was strengthening its economic development work by appointing a senior director to drive this forward shortly.

The Cabinet Member Finance said that for the first time a target had been set in the MTFS to increase income as a result of economic development and expansion. This represented a huge opportunity for council as it faced substantial risk as Government was talking about removing core funding to councils.

He emphasised that Cabinet was endeavouring to ensure that Government funding cuts would not mean an increase in Council tax and fees and charges. Car parking income had been frozen for 5 years and the MTFS anticipated no increase between 2010-2020. He added that Council tax had been frozen since 2011 which may be difficult to do for a sixth year.

The Cabinet Member Finance wished to put on record his thanks to the S151 Officer for his work in these extremely difficult circumstances. He added that reserves were tight with little room for manoeuvre. It was important that the strategy worked and was a success.

The Leader added the importance of the role of the Managing Director REST in boosting extra income for the council.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the budget setting timetable at Appendix 2 be approved.

2.    the budget strategy and MTFS outlined in section 5 and Appendix 3 be approved.

3.    the reserve realignments outlined in section 7 and the level of reserves projected at Appendix 4 be approved.

4.    the expected cut in government baseline funding of £277k for 2016/17, the estimated funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Cabinet Member Development and Safety

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety introduced the report and explained that sections of the Licensing Act 2000 required the council to review, determine and publish its Licensing Act 2003 Policy statement every three years. The current Policy statement was adopted by council on 10 February 2012. He reported that whilst it was not technically necessary to review the adopted policy statement until 2016, an early review had been undertaken to reflect various changes in law, good practice and changes to the local licensing landscape. He explained that consultation had been undertaken and the report was asking Cabinet to consider the consultation feedback and adopt the revised policy.

The Cabinet Member went on to explain that the Licensing Act 2003 was the primary legislation that dealt with the licensing requirements relating to :

a)    The sale of alcohol

b)    The supply of alcohol by a club

c)    The provision of regulated entertainment

d)    The provision of late night refreshment

These activities were authorised through the issue of :

a)   A premises license

b)   A club premises certificate

c)   A temporary events notice

He explained that the council was obligated to promote the four licensing objectives when discharging its functions under the 2003 Act including setting policy. He reminded members that the licensing objectives were :

a)    The prevention of crime and disorder

b)    Public safety

c)    The prevention of public nuisance

d)    The protection of children from harm

The draft proposed policy statement was attached at appendix 2 of the report.

The policy statement set out the principles the council would apply when determining applications under the 2003 Act for up to the next 5 years.

The amended policy statement set out a proposed policy vision to make Cheltenham a safe and clean town that offered a greater diversity in the night time economy that is not solely focused on alcohol and that protected the quality of life for residents. In order for the council to achieve this vision, it must become more proactive in shaping the licensing landscape of the town. The Cabinet Member explained that the specific measures proposed included :

a)    Designating the town centre as an “area of concern” to allow the council to review the impact of licensed premises in this area

b)    Introducing core hours for licensable activities

c)    Introducing “latest admission times” strategy

d)    Restrict the sale of alcohol at take away food premises

e)    Restrict the use of external areas to 23:00 to reduce nuisance to local residents.

f)     Promote a code of good practice for drinks promotions

g)    Film Classifications-introduces a formal classification process for films not classified by the British Board of film control (regulated entertainment)

h)    Introduce a pool of model conditions-to promote the use of clear, proportionate and enforceable conditions

The Cabinet Member reported that the feedback to the consultation exercise was attached at appendix 3. 4 responses were received and all had received responses from licensing officers.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the consultation feedback and officer comments be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety wished to acknowledge the achievement of the Cheltenham Taskforce in attracting the retailer John Lewis to the town. This would be a positive enhancement to the town and regenerate the retail sector in that part of the town.

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles congratulated the Cheltenham Poetry Festival on their appointment of Cheltenham’s Poet in Residence, Angela France. She wished to also thank Anna Saunders, the festival founder and director for inviting her to formally announce this at an open mic event held on National Poetry Day.

Members reported the following decisions which had been taken since the September meeting of Cabinet :

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles also referred to a recent decision she had taken. There had been £109k worth of bids for a £50k pot. 24 applications had been received, 14 had been successful. 3 HE