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Agenda and decisions

Venue: the Council Chamber - Council Offices, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services 

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Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence. The quorum for Cabinet is 3 members.

 

Decision:

Apologies were received from Councillors Claire Bloomer and Juliet Layton

2.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest from Members and Officers, relating to items to be considered at the meeting.

Decision:

There were no declarations of interest from Members.

 

There were no declarations of interest from Officers.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 564 KB

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting of Cabinet on Thursday 7 November 2024.

Decision:

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting on 7 November 2024 were considered.

 

There were no comments on the minutes.

 

The acceptance of the minutes were proposed by Councillor Joe Harris and seconded by Councillor Evemy.

 

Voting Record

 

4 For, 0 Against, 1 Abstention

 

4.

Leader's Announcements

To receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council.

Decision:

There were no announcements from the Chair.

 

The Leader made the following announcements:

 

·         Councillor Tristan Wilkinson was welcomed as the new Cabinet Member for the Economy and Environment. It was highlighted how the reshuffle of the Cabinet will help the Council deliver the Council’s five priorities.

 

 

5.

Public Questions

To deal with questions from the public within the open forum question and answer session of fifteen minutes in total. Questions from each member of the public should be no longer than one minute each and relate to issues under the Cabinet’s remit. At any one meeting no person may submit more than two questions and no more than two such questions may be asked on behalf of one organisation.

 

The Leader will ask whether any members of the public present at the meeting wish to ask a question and will decide on the order of questioners.

 

The response may take the form of:

a)       a direct oral answer;

b)      where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or

c)       where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner.

Decision:

There were no public questions.

6.

Member Questions

No Member Questions have been submitted prior to the publication of the agenda.

 

A Member of the Council may ask the Leader or a Cabinet Member a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Cotswold District. A maximum period of fifteen minutes shall be allowed at any such meeting for Member questions.

 

A Member may only ask a question if:

a)       the question has been delivered in writing or by electronic mail to the Chief Executive no later than 5.00 p.m. on the working day before the day of the meeting; or

b)      the question relates to an urgent matter, they have the consent of the Leader to whom the question is to be put and the content of the question is given to the Chief Executive by 9.30 a.m. on the day of the meeting.

 

An answer may take the form of:

a)       a direct oral answer;

b)      where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or

c)       where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner.

Decision:

There were no member questions.

7.

Issue(s) Arising from Overview and Scrutiny and/or Audit and Governance

To receive any recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or to consider any matters raised by the Audit and Governance Committee.

Decision:

There no recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and no issues arising from the Audit and Governance Committee.

8.

Low Income Families Tracker (LIFT) pdf icon PDF 548 KB

Purpose

To brief members on the implementation of the Low-Income Family Tracker

 

Recommendations

That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Note the report; and

2.    Note the external funding for the project but approve to underwrite the cost of the LIFT Licences and any associated costs estimated at £33,000.

 

Decision:

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris on behalf of Councillor Claire Bloomer introduced the report.

 

Councillor Paul Hodgkinson seconded the report.

 

There were various comments on the reports contents.

 

That Cabinet resolves to:

1. NOTED the report; and

2. NOTED the external funding for the project and APPROVED to underwrite the cost of the LIFT Licences and any associated costs estimated at £33,000.

 

 

 

5 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstentions.

 

9.

Service Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter Two pdf icon PDF 569 KB

Purpose

To provide an update on progress on the Council’s priorities and service performance

 

Recommendation

That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Note overall progress on the Council priorities and service performance for 2024-25 Q2.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Leader invited the Chief Executive Officer to introduce the report.

 

There were comments around the contents of the report.  

 

RESOLVED: Cabinet NOTED the reports contents.

10.

Financial Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter Two pdf icon PDF 962 KB

Purpose

This report sets of the second budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year.

 

Recommendation

That Cabinet resolves to:

  1. Review and notes the financial position set out in this report.
  2. Approve the recommendation in paragraph 9.3: Continue to review in-year opportunities with Publica and Ubico to mitigate the forecast financial position.
  3. Approve the recommendation in paragraph 9.5: Implement an Authority to Fill process with authorisation for any recruitment activity.
  4. Approve the recommendation in paragraph 9.6: Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer to provide guidance to all service leads on criteria under which external agency support can be commissioned (subject to business case assessment).
  5. Approve the recommendation in paragraph 9.7: accelerate development of refreshed Savings & Transformation plan to ensure adequate cost reductions are identified, scoped, and planned over the MTFS period.
  6. Approve the recommendation in paragraph 9.8: review of fees and charges as part of the 2025/26 budget setting process from a cost recovery position.
  7. Approve the recommendation in paragraph 9.9: Publica Review Phase 2 – the design-led principle Consideration of cost must ensure that the additional cost of bring services back to the Council are quantified with mitigating actions taken to reduce the potential impact on the MTFS.
  8. Approve the revised Capital Programme to include £0.208m of expenditure in relation to Cirencester Leisure Centre decarbonisation work including the installation of solar PV and triple glazing funded through the Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund.

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation, Councillor Evemy introduced the report.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Evemy and Councillor Joe Harris seconded them.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

1. NOTED the financial position set out in this report.

2. APPROVED the recommendation in paragraph 9.3: Continue to review in-year opportunities with Publica and Ubico to mitigate the forecast financial position.

3. APPROVED the recommendation in paragraph 9.5: Implement an Authority to Fill process with authorisation for any recruitment activity.

4. APPROVED the recommendation in paragraph 9.6: Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer to provide guidance to all service leads on criteria under which external agency support can be commissioned (subject to business case assessment).

5. APPROVED the recommendation in paragraph 9.7: accelerate development of refreshed Savings & Transformation plan to ensure adequate cost reductions are identified, scoped, and planned over the MTFS period.

6. APPROVED the recommendation in paragraph 9.8: review of fees and charges as part of the 2025/26 budget setting process from a cost recovery position.

7. APPROVED the recommendation in paragraph 9.9: Publica Review Phase 2 – the design-led principle Consideration of cost must ensure that the additional cost of bring services back to the Council are quantified with mitigating actions taken to reduce the potential impact on the MTFS.

8. APPROVED the revised Capital Programme to include £0.208m of expenditure in relation to Cirencester Leisure Centre decarbonisation work including the installation of solar PV and triple glazing funded through the Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund.

 

 

Voting Record

 

5 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention

11.

Schedule of Decisions taken by the Leader of the Council and/or Individual Cabinet Members pdf icon PDF 506 KB

To note the decisions taken by the Leader and/or Individual Cabinet Members.

Decision:

Cabinet NOTED the Schedule of Decisions.

12.

Matters exempt from publication

If Cabinet wishes to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for Cabinet to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

Cabinet may maintain the exemption if and so long as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

Decision:

The Leader proposed the following motion, and this was seconded by the Deputy Leader.

 

That the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for Cabinet to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, with the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighing the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

 

Voting Record

 

5 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention

 

13.

Adoption of asset plan for Council owned properties in Cirencester and funding for feasibility study.

Purpose

To consider the Asset Plan for Council owned buildings in Cirencester and agree funding to support the development of proposals for regeneration of sites, in line with this Asset Plan and the related Cirencester Masterplan.

 

Recommendations

That Cabinet resolves to:

1)    Agree to adopt the Asset Plan attached at Annex B.

2)    Agree that proposals should now be developed for the regeneration of the sites set out in this report.

3)    Agree to allocate funding of up to £70,000 from Reserves for the initial feasibility study for these sites.

 

Decision:

To consider the Asset Plan for Council owned buildings in Cirencester and agree

funding to support the development of proposals for regeneration of sites, in line

with this Asset Plan and the related Cirencester Masterplan.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation introduced the report.

 

Councillor Mike Evemy proposed and Councillor Joe Harris seconded

 

RESOLVED That Cabinet:

1) AGREED to adopt the Asset Plan attached at Annex B.

2) AGREED that proposals should now be developed for the regeneration of the

sites set out in this report.

3) AGREED to allocate funding of up to £70,000 from Reserves for the initial

feasibility study for these sites.

 

Voting Record

 

5 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention