Meeting documents

18 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chair was taken by Councillor Francine Haeberling, Leader of the Council.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

19 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda

20 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies had been received from Councillors Vic Pritchard, David Hawkins.

21 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972

There were none.

22 TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIR(PERSON)

There was none.

23 QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

There were 14 questions from the following people: Councillor John Bull (2), Councillor Ian Gilchrist, Councillor Tim Ball, Councillor Andy Furse, Councillor Sharon Ball (3), Councillor Eleanor Jackson, Councillor David Speirs (3), Ian Barclay, Gill Choulerton

[Copies of the questions and responses, including supplementary questions and responses if any, have been placed on the Minute book as Appendix 1 and are available on the Council's website.]

Following his question, Councillor John Bull presented a petition to Cabinet entitled "Free Swimming for Under 16s in BANES". The Chair asked Councillor Terry Gazzard to respond to the petition in due course.

24 STATEMENTS, DEPUTATIONS OR PETITIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

There were none

25 MINUTES: WEDNESDAY 8^th July 2009

On a motion from Councillor Francine Haeberling, seconded by Councillor Malcolm Hanney, it was

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 8th July 2009 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person)

26 CONSIDERATION OF SINGLE MEMBER ITEMS NOW REQUISITIONED TO CABINET

There were none.

27 CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS REFERRED BY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY BODIES

There were none.

28 SINGLE MEMBER CABINET DECISIONS PUBLISHED SINCE PREVIOUS CABINET MEETING (Report 11)

The Cabinet noted the report.

29 REVENUE AND CAPITAL BUDGET MONITORING, CASH LIMITS AND VIREMENTS - APRIL 2009 TO JULY 2009 (Report 12).

Councillor Paul Crossley made an ad hoc statement in which he asked whether the amount of £50k allocated to the Norton Radstock constitutional review would be sufficient to ensure a thorough consultation process; he was delighted about the 'Places For Change' funding and felt that Councillor Vic Pritchard had made a brave decision, but asked Councillor Pritchard to take every possible opportunity to identify ex-servicemen who needed help, particularly those returning from conflict; he asked about the progress made in bus gate enforcement; he asked what planning had been done to prepare for the high levels of traffic anticipated when the single entry and exit point to Southgate started to be used; and welcomed the fact that the £100k fund for small grants to help mitigate the impact of the recession on small local organisations would be independently administered by Quartet.

The Chair said that although Councillor Vic Pritchard was absent, he would be asked to respond to Councillor Crossley's point about Places For Change.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney said that there was a projected overspend, but that Strategic Directors were continuing to take action to bring this into line. He responded to Councillor Crossley's point about the allocation of grants via Quartet by saying that there would soon be an announcement about this and that he would be happy to report back to Cabinet at a future date.

Councillor Hanney moved the recommendations, as amended by the addition of some wording in paragraph (10) and by the addition of a new paragraph (11).

Councillor Charles Gerrish seconded the proposal. In response to Councillor Crossley's question about Bus Gate enforcement, he said that this had been complicated by the under-performance of the operator but this was being dealt with. He would be seeking to change the method of enforcement to number plate recognition, which would show a marked improvement. It was too soon to tell what the recent changes would achieve but the anticipated amount was £700k. In response to Councillor Crossley's question about Southgate, he said that the impact of the opening of Southgate on the nearby car parks had been factored in.

Councillor Terry Gazzard responded to Councillor Crossley by saying that Southgate would open on 4^th November; the entry and exit scenarios had been modelled to ensure that all barriers worked in a coordinated way; and all possible preparations had been taken to ensure the traffic would run smoothly.

Rationale

The report is presented as part of the reporting of financial management and budgetary control required by the Council.

Other Options Considered

None.

On a motion from Councillor Malcolm Hanney, seconded by Councillor Charles Gerrish, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ASK Strategic Directors to continue to work towards managing within budget in the current year for their respective service areas, and to manage below budget where possible by not committing unnecessary expenditure, through tight budgetary control;

(2) To NOTE this year's revenue budget position as shown in the report;

(3) To NOTE the capital expenditure position for the Council in the financial year to the end of July and the year end projections detail;

(4) To AGREE the revenue virements listed for approval;

(5) To NOTE the changes in the capital programme;

(6) To NOTE the movements in the Recession Reserve;

(7) To AGREE the drawdown from the revenue contingency reserve of £20,000 in respect of Friendship Links with China, as described in the report;

(8) To NOTE that there is likely to be a drawdown from the revenue contingency reserve of an amount which is considered to be in the range of £20,000 to £50,000, with the final sum being authorised by the s151 officer in consultation with Cabinet Member for Resources, in respect of Norton Radstock Town Council review, as described in the report;

(9) To APPROVE the additions to the 2009/10 capital programme;

(10) To ASK Council to confirm the revenue budget allocation of £35k in 2009/10 rising to £230k per annum by 2011/12 in respect of potential debt charges arising from the `places for change' project (to enhance facilities for the homeless in Bath), which would enable a total Council capital contribution of up to £3m (including land/property), even though there is now no certainty of match funding, subject to satisfactory project proposals being developed and agreed by the Cabinet members for Housing and Resources;

(11) To APPROVE the carry forward of £177,000 for Development and Major Projects, identified in the report, following review of expenditure by Cabinet Members for Resources and Development and Major Projects.

30 ECONOMIC DOWNTURN - COUNCIL RESPONSE (Report 13).

Councillor Paul Crossley made an ad hoc statement in which he asked whether the business needs survey had been undertaken with several small businesses and whether small businesses would be offered any help by the Council.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney, in proposing the item, said that the Council was a good landlord and that it would not be in the interest of the Council to have voids and for this reason, the Council was trying to deal with empty premises. It was clear that the economic downturn would have an impact on the Council's rental income. If a tenant was found to be in difficulty, the Council could consider how to help; but it was the responsibility of the tenant to alert the Council to this as early as possible.

Councillor Terry Gazzard seconded the proposal and said that the survey had been carried out across all kinds of businesses, across the whole of the Council's area, so the review was quite comprehensive.

Rationale

The Council needs to be aware of the economic circumstances and proactive in managing the public purse.

Other Options Considered

All of the actions in this report are optional except those already in place to ensure there is a prudent approach inherent in the Council's budgets.

On a motion from Councillor Malcolm Hanney, seconded by Terry Gazzard, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To APPROVE the proposed allocation of the recession reserve;

(2) To CONFIRM that future allocations from this reserve will be delegated to the S151 officer in consultation with the Cabinet member for Resources;

(3) To NOTE that further update reports will be issued to Cabinet as and when required.