Decisions

The Council’s Public Protection and Health Improvement Enforcement Policy has been reviewed to ensure that it is relevant and up to date. Following changes in legislation, including the introduction of the Regulators Code 2014 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 , the  Enforcement Policy has been reviewed and updated .

The Cabinet Member agrees to the adoption of the amended Enforcement policy.

The capital programme for 2016/17 currently has £5.9m fully approved and a further £5m provisionally approved for property acquisitions. This report seeks to move an element of the £5m provisionally approved budget to a full approval in order to fully fund an acquisition of a property interest in Bath. 

The decision is urgent as a result of the owner of the property requiring a completion date within 10 working days of exchanging Heads of Terms which were agreed on 12 October 2016. Appropriate due diligence will be undertaken prior to completion.

The Cabinet Member agrees that £1,861,650 of the £5million funding provisionally approved by Council in February 2016 for property acquisition be fully approved. 

This report seeks approval to undertake consultation on a West of England Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) and Joint Transport Study (JTS) document entitled “Towards the Emerging Spatial Strategy”.  The consultation is due to take place across the West of England from 7th November to 19th December 2016.

The report also seeks the approval of a Core Strategy Review Commencement Document for consultation within B&NES at the same time as the wider JSP /JTS consultation.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet endorsed:

(1)  The “Towards the Emerging Spatial Strategy” and the “West of England Transport Vision” document for the public consultation on the Joint Spatial Plan and Joint Transport Study commencing on 7 November 2016;

(2)  The Core Strategy Review commencement document for public consultation commencing on 7 November 2016;

(3)  The amendments proposed  to the B&NES Local Development Scheme which will need to be agreed by Full Council in due course.

The Government is introducing pilot schemes in 2017/18 in advance of full 100% business rate retention later in the parliament.  Only authorities with signed devolution deals are eligible to be in a pilot: the pilot for the West of England would therefore include B&NES, Bristol and South Gloucestershire.  The 100% pilot would give the West of England authorities the opportunity to retain 100% of any business rates growth over the next two to three years, with no downside financial risk.  It also gives the West of England authorities the opportunity to help shape the national scheme.

The Cabinet Member agrees that:

(i)  B&NES joins a 100% business rate retention pilot with Bristol and South Gloucestershire in 2017/18, subject to the final ratification of the Order for the West of England Devolution Deal.

(ii)  The principles of the 100% business rate retention pilot proposed by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on the basis that the pilot will not leave any of the pilot authorities in the West of England any worse-off in financial terms.

(iii)  The final decision on the terms of the pilot following DCLG issuing a detailed proposal later in October 2016 be delegated to the Council’s Chief Financial Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance & Efficiency.

(iv)  The funding streams that are proposed for the 100% business rate retention pilot, as set out in the supporting report, are approved.

(v)  Agreement on the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding governing the redistribution scheme to ensure that no individual Authority can receive less than it would have done under the existing 50% scheme be delegated to the Council’s Chief Financial Officer.