Agenda and minutes

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

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 6

The Chair drew attention to the evacuation procedure as set out in the Agenda.

There were no apologies for absence.

To receive any declarations from Members/Officers of personal or prejudicial interests in respect of matters for consideration at this meeting.  Members who have an interest to declare are asked to:

a)  State the Item Number in which they have the interest;

b)  The nature of the interest;

c)  Whether the interest is personal, or personal and prejudicial.

Any Member who is unsure about the above should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting in order to expedite matters at the meeting itself.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney declared that with respect to Item 13, he had a personal but non-prejudicial interest as Chair of the PCT.

There was none.

At the time of publication, 1 item had been submitted

There were 12 questions from the following people:

Members of the public: Manda Rigby

Councillors: Nigel Roberts (2), Cherry Beath (2), Ian Gilchrist, Eleanor Jackson, Nicholas Coombes(3), Marian McNeir (2)

[Copies of the questions and response, 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.]

At the time of publication, 1 item had been notified

Barbara Gordon (Save Our 6-7 Buses), made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the minutes as Appendix 2] appealing to Cabinet to reinstate the Public Transport Liaison Panel.  Councillor Charles Gerrish thanked Barbara for her statement.

Councillor Dr Eleanor Jackson made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 3 but not available on the web] in which she appealed to the Cabinet to reverse the cuts to the youth service in Norton Radstock.  She submitted a petition of 94 signatures in support of her statement.  The Chair referred the statement and petition to Councillor Chris Watt for his consideration.

Agnes Melling made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 4] asking the Cabinet to ensure that it consulted with all those affected before making a decision about the closure of Pulteney Bridge to traffic.  She felt that the 6-month trial without buses over the winter period would leave the old and infirm struggling to cope.  The Chair referred the statement to Councillor Terry Gazzard for his consideration.

Councillor Gazzard asked Agnes Melling whether she was aware of the cracks in the bridge and whether she had seen photographs which he felt would convince her of the urgency.  Agnes said that at the meeting in September the impression given had been that the bridge was safe.

Stefan Difinitzio (Youth Parliament) made a statement saying how important youth services were to him and his peers.  He told the Cabinet that the Keynsham Time Out Centre was hardly funded and the funding to Radstock Youth Centre was very small but was going to be cut further.  He appealed to the Cabinet to reconsider their proposals.  The Chair referred the statement to Councillor Chris Watt for his consideration.

Manda Rigby made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 5] in which she asked the Cabinet to use its influence to persuade the bus company to reinstate its services across Pulteney Bridge while the future of the bridge was being considered and while further consultation and traffic modelling was undertaken.  The Chair referred the statement to Councillor Terry Gazzard for his consideration.

The Minutes of the meetings held 21-July-10 and 18-August-10 are to be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair

On a motion from Councillor Francine Haeberling, seconded by Councillor Vic Pritchard, it was

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 21^st July 2010 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 18^th August 2010 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

This is a standard agenda item, to cover any reports originally placed on the Weekly list for single Member decision making, which have subsequently been the subject of a Cabinet Member requisition to the full Cabinet, under the Council’s procedural rules

There were none.

This is a standing agenda item (Constitution rule 21, part 4D - Executive Procedure Rules) for matters referred by Overview and Scrutiny bodies. The Chair(person) of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny body will have the right to attend and at the discretion of the Leader to speak to the item, but not vote

There were none

This report lists the Cabinet member decisions, sorted by Lead decision maker

The Cabinet agreed to note the report

This report outlines the ways in which the smart growth agenda will strengthen the local economy, promote high value employment and encourage investment. The Regeneration Delivery Plans respond to the particular characteristics of the sub-economies, and outline actions to deliver commercial premises and achieve sustainable growth.

Councillor Paul Crossley made an ad hoc statement in which he expressed his appreciation and respect for the work of the Economic Development Council.  He asked when a proposed timeline would be made available.  He observed that the report made no mention of the Local Education Partnership, nor the demise of the Regional Development Agency.  There was passing reference to the threats and opportunities resulting from the possible loss of the Ministry of Defence from Bath.  The Bath Western Riverside project and the Norton Radstock Regeneration had only passing mentions.

The Chair invited the Divisional Director (Development & Regeneration) to make a statement.  He apologised to Cabinet that there were a small number of factual errors in appendix 2 of the published papers and said that steps were in hand to ensure that these were corrected.  However, there was no change to the overall sense of direction recommended in the report.

Councillor Terry Gazzard introduced the item by saying that the report described the plans for developing the vision.  It would lead to real action.  Real change was taking place in the economy and it would be necessary to be prepared for the future.  The proposals would build on the economic strengths of the area and would create 8500 to 9000 new jobs by 2026 in high growth areas such as technology.  The proposals were in line with the Council's economic priorities.

Councillor Vic Pritchard referred to paragraph 1.7 of the report, which he felt summed up the proposals and made him pleased to second the proposal.

Councillor Chris Watt fully endorsed Councillor Pritchard's comments and he particularly welcomed the proposals for the Somer valley.  In reference to Councillor Crossley's comments about the Regional Development Agency, he said that the RDA had not delivered any benefits and was therefore irrelevant to the discussion in hand.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney responded to Councillor Crossley's mention of the Local Education Partnership by saying that the Council did have plans to benefit from the LDA and to ensure that it attracted fair funding from government.  He reminded the Cabinet that the proposals regarding the Commercial Estate were not new but had been discussed for a number of years.

On a motion from Councillor Terry Gazzard seconded by Councillor Vic Pritchard it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To AGREE that the ‘story’ be used as a coherent narrative that records the journey between 2005 and the present and sets aspirations for the future;

(2) To ADOPT the Local Economic Assessment as required by the 2009 Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act.  This will also provide an evidence base for our economic interventions and the emerging Core Strategy.

(3) To ASK the Director of Major Projects in consultation with the Leader of the Council to work with consultants to amend some minor inaccuracies in the report;

(4) To NOTE the growth aspirations to create 8,500 – 9,000 net new jobs as the Cabinet’s Economic Strategy in B&NES to 2026 and the interventions to deliver these, in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 121.

[At this point Councillor David Hawkins joined the meeting]

Development of Strategy in Response to Coalition Government plans and Public Sector Finances

Councillor John Bull made a statement reminding Cabinet that a number of years earlier, the previous Minister Nicholas Ridley had envisioned that councils would merely hand out contracts.  He felt that this day was closer as a result of the actions of the current government.  He asked the Cabinet to ensure that all proposals to cut services were debated openly and fairly.

Councillor Paul Crossley made a statement in which he pointed out that the report acknowledged that change was already ongoing.  He felt that the Cabinet should have consulted on their proposals sooner.

Peter Duppa Miller (Secretary to B&NES Local Councils Group and Clerk to Combe Hay Parish Council) made an ad hoc statement explaining that the North East Somerset Town and Parish Councils Association was keen to engage with the Council by developing the provision of local services by local councils.  He said that Combe Hay Council, for example, was prepared to man a local library service if adequate funding could be negotiated with the Council.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney introduced the proposals.  He explained that the country had inherited a deficit of £157Bn and that while bankers, business and government should all share their portion of the blame, what was important now would be to live within our means.  He agreed that it was necessary to reduce the Council's management structure but observed that it was the existing management which had delivered the high performing Council under the leadership of Cabinet.  He felt that the market had begun to recover, so there were opportunities to benefit from this.  He regretted that there had been no credible alternatives from other Groups on the Council.  There would be specific proposals to Council in November but what was needed from Cabinet was to provide a steer.  He welcomed the offer from Peter Duppa-Miller, which was very welcome.

Councillor Francine Haeberling seconded the proposal. She thanked Councillor Hanney for his hard work in preparing the report.

Councillor Chris Watt said that one of the most significant changes would be the way in which education was delivered.  He assured the Cabinet that the transition was being carefully managed and that the proposals would protect vulnerable people.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To NOTE the report on a response to public sector finance pressures;

(2) To CONFIRM the strategic steer in the report relating to key areas of the Council's business;

(3) To NOTE that a report and proposals will be submitted to Council relating to certain immediate issues (such as the Joint Health & Social Care Provider and the Commercial Estate);

(4) To ASK the Chief Executive to continue to prepare options for a revised management structure in the light of the proposals.

This report presents the monitoring information for the Authority as a whole for the financial year 2010/11 to the end of September 2010.

Councillor Paul Crossley made an ad hoc statement expressing his respect for the contribution made by the Council's existing management.  He particularly wished to congratulate Glen Chipp for his excellent achievements under difficult circumstances.  Councillor Crossley asked that Cabinet ensure that the use of the Financial Challenge Reserve would be subject to proper scrutiny.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney in proposing the item agreed with Councillor Crossley that the management of the Council had shown real leadership, particularly by living within budget to ensure that the Council would be in good shape to benefit from the economic recovery.  He assured Councillor Crossley that the Chair of the Corporate Performance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Panel could ask for information about the reserves at any time.

Councillor Chris Watt seconded the proposal.

On a motion from Councillor Malcolm Hanney seconded by Councillor Chris Watt 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;

(3) To NOTE the Council's capital expenditure position in the financial year to the end of September and the year end projections detailed in the report;

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

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

(6) To APPROVE the additions to the 2010/11 Capital Programme;

(7) To NOTE the efficiencies forecast for 2010/11.

In February 2010 the Council adopted the 2009 edition of the CIPFA Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice, which requires the Council to approve a Treasury Management Strategy before the start of each financial year, a mid year report, and an annual report after the end of each financial year.  This report gives mid year details of performance against the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Plan 2010/11 for the first six months of 2010/11.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney proposed the item.  He felt that the report showed clearly that the financial management had been performed very well.

Councillor Charles Gerrish seconded the proposal.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To NOTE the Treasury Management Report to 30th September 2010, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice;

(2) To NOTE the Treasury Management Indicators to 30th September 2010;

(3) To ASK the Divisional Director, Finance, to submit the Treasury Management Report and attached appendices to November Council.