Issue - meetings

To approve the agreement to transfer staff and resources to the Council’s housing development companies and provide a pension guarantee.

The Chair informed the meeting that part of this report had been marked as confidential.  However, the Cabinet would debate this matter in public without addressing any points from the confidential paper.  If any of the Cabinet Members felt that they had to raise points from the confidential papers then the Chair would ask the public to vacate the meeting.

Councillor Richard Samuel introduced the report by saying that the Cabinet would be asked to agree the transfer of undertakings and staffing to Aequus Development Limited (ADL) including a pension guarantee and to agree the principles and process for transferring properties and land for development.  Councillor Samuel also said that the agreement was exempt from publication as it contained information relating to the financial or business affairs of a particular person.

ADL was formed in 2016 and Aequus Construction Limited (ACL) was formed in 2017.  ADL was wholly owned by B&NES (the sole shareholder) and ADL acted as the parent company of ACL.  The companies were set up to manage properties for rent above the commercial estate and ACL for the development of land. The Transfer Agreement regulated the relationship between the Council and ADL/ACL for the next 10 years.  This agreement could then be rolled forward on a 5-yearly basis.    The budget for income from ADL/ACL was around £1m per annum.

Councillor Richard Samuel moved the recommendations.

Councillor Paul Crossley seconded the motion by welcoming this report, and also thanked the previous administration for setting up Aequus companies.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed to:

2.1 Authorise the Council entering into the Transfer Agreement with the Council’s housing companies.

2.2 Delegate to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Corporate Director, Director of Legal and Democratic Services, and the Cabinet Member for Resources authority to make minor amendments to the Transfer Agreement, if required, and do all acts necessary to effect the transfer of staff and resources and complete the pensions guarantee in accordance with the terms of the Transfer Agreement.