Agenda item

The Cabinet Member Economy and Development explained that as a new Cabinet Member, she would wait until the next meeting to give a full briefing.

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles thanked officers and members of many organisations across the town for their work in ensuring families did not go hungry over the summer. She praised the level of support from all those involved, and stressed that it must be built on in order to form a cross-Cheltenham network which could offer help to everyone who needs it. She added that the council’s work combatting hunger tied into its No Child Left Behind project and wider goals, and reported that 40 organisations, including schools, had signed up to No Community Left Behind. She reported that the council continued to develop its Culture Strategy, which would head to Cabinet and Council relatively soon.

The Cabinet Member Finance did not have a briefing at this time, but noted an exciting opportunity to join the CBC finance team, with a vacancy having opened up for a Deputy Section 151 officer. She added that the council retained its ambitious financial agenda despite Covid, and expected a strong group of applicants.

The Cabinet Member Corporate Services reported that the Municipal Offices were being made increasingly Covid-secure, and praised the hard work of cleaning staff for making that possible. He clarified that although working from home was still the default where possible, Covid-secure offices would enable more staff to physically come to work and make more appointments available to the public. He added that the council had now launched its Institute of Leadership and Management Development programme, giving opportunities to staff and helping residents to build leadership and management skills.

The Cabinet Member Climate and Communities added that he was grateful for his new portfolio, and was pleased to see positive work developing. He stressed that he was working with the council’s Communications team to publicise the good climate work done within the organisation, and hoped to bring all the important information into one place so residents could more easily understand what exactly the council was doing on climate issues.

The Leader of the Council noted that Cabinet would now have greater capacity due to the two new members and their respective portfolios, covering climate & communities (Cllr. Wilkinson) and economy & development (Cllr. Atherstone). This had been planned a while ago but was delayed, first by the 2019 general election and then by Covid. He emphasised the importance of the tasks the council was doing, and wished both new members all the best in their roles. He added that the next Cabinet meeting would be an extraordinary one, scheduled for 28^th September 2020.

Several Members outlined the decisions they had made since the last meeting.

The Cabinet Member Finance reported that she had taken the decision to sell a small strip of land between Chapel Spa and Portland Place. The land was purchased many years ago in order to facilitate a bus node, but was never big enough for that. Two interested parties submitted sealed bids, and one was accepted. Although she could not disclose the amount at the moment, it would be made public once everything was finalised.

She added that the Section 151 officer had made a waiver relating to the new tenants moving into the Municipal Offices, as painting and furniture work was urgently needed in order to meet the moving in deadline. Although this was not a formal decision, it needed to be reported to Cabinet.

The Cabinet Member Cyber and Safety reported that he had taken the decision to note amendments made to the existing Licensing Act 2003 Statement of Licensing Policy, and approved the amended policy for consultation. He explained that Covid restrictions had required licensing functions to be amended, and added that the results of consultation would come back to Cabinet for approval.

The Leader of the Council outlined the two decisions he had made. One related to the addition of the two new Cabinet Members (Climate & Communities and Economy & Development) and the change of Councillor McKinlay’s portfolio from Development & Safety to Cyber & Safety. The other related to the appointment of a new Managing Director of Ubico, of which CBC was a shareholder.