Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any declarations of interest from Members of the Cabinet

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements from the Leader, Cabinet Members or the Chief Executive

The Cabinet Member for Local Economy announced that the District did very well in respect of new business start-ups, being ranked 97^th out of 326 English districts and together with Crawley the best in West Sussex.  In December 2016 alone 62 new businesses had been started in the District.

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th January 2017

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 12^th January 2017 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

To receive questions from and provide answers to the public in relation to matters which in the opinion of the person presiding at the meeting are relevant to the business of the meeting

No questions had been received.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets

            RESOLVED

(i)         That the recommendation from the Shared Services Steering Group not to enter into a shared services arrangement with Arun and Chichester District Councils be accepted.

(ii)        That the Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager be authorised to identify and procure a self-service Human Resources system with funds from the Transformation Reserve to facilitate internal savings from Human Resources Services.

(iii)       That the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to identify and procure a self-service legal case management system with funds from the Transformation Reserve to facilitate internal savings from Legal Services.

(iv)       That the internal audit service be procured from the Orbis Partnership and the Director of Corporate Resources be authorised to enter into the agreement on behalf of the Council after being satisfied as to the terms and conditions and its delivery of the £50,000 savings.

(v)        That the proposals to achieve the savings in Human Resources and Legal Services outlined in the report be noted.

REASONS

(i)         The procurement of the new systems in Human Resources and Legal Services will allow these services to modernise, maintain quality and deliver savings to support the Medium Term Financial Plan.

(ii)        The transfer of internal audit services to Orbis will allow the service to deliver savings, maintain resilience, give the Council access to further audit specialisms and allow the service to be benchmarked from specialists the Council could not afford if operating alone.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets reminded Cabinet that, in July 2016, they had approved the development of final business cases for sharing Internal Audit, Human Resources and Payroll and Legal Services with Chichester and Arun District Councils.  In November 2016, Cabinet had approved the Medium Term Financial Plan which included £250,000 savings from sharing these services.

On 13^th December 2016 the Shared Services Steering Group met and concluded that the savings that could be realised from sharing these services were not sufficient for all Councils for them to recommend the final business cases to their Cabinets.  The Chief Executives of the three authorities met and agreed this position with the Leaders of the Councils on 9^th December 2016.

The report now submitted considered the need for these services to deliver the savings included in the Medium Term Financial Plan.  It was therefore recommended that internal audit services were commissioned from a public sector audit partnership, Orbis, saving the Council £50,000 and that Human Resources and Legal Services’ management modernise and redesign their services to deliver £100,000 and £150,000 savings respectively.  Approval was also sought for the use of Transformation Reserve funds to procure new IT systems in Human Resources and Legal Services to support these changes.

The Finance and Assets Policy Development Advisory Group supported the proposal and their comments were noted.

            RESOLVED

(i)         That the recommendation from the Shared Services Steering Group not to enter into a shared services arrangement with Arun and Chichester District Councils be accepted.

(ii)        That the Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager be authorised to identify and procure a self-service Human Resources system with funds from the Transformation Reserve to facilitate internal savings from Human Resources Services.

(iii)       That the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to identify and procure a self-service legal case management system with funds from the Transformation Reserve to facilitate internal savings from Legal Services.

(iv)       That the internal audit service be procured from the Orbis Partnership and the Director of Corporate Resources be authorised to enter into the agreement on behalf of the Council after being satisfied as to the terms and conditions and its delivery of the £50,000 savings.

(v)        That the proposals to achieve the savings in Human Resources and Legal Services outlined in the report be noted.

REASONS

(i)         The procurement of the new systems in Human Resources and Legal Services will allow these services to modernise, maintain quality and deliver savings to support the Medium Term Financial Plan.

(ii)        The transfer of internal audit services to Orbis will allow the service to deliver savings, maintain resilience, give the Council access to further audit specialisms and allow the service to be benchmarked from specialists the Council could not afford if operating alone.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets

            RESOLVED

(i)         That the Council withdraws from the CenSus revenues and benefits partnership.

(ii)        That a report be prepared regarding the future options for the service, for decision at the Cabinet meeting on 30^th March 2017.

REASON

To ensure the service is operated to optimise cost and quality in future.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets reported that, since 2004, the Council’s Revenues and Benefits service had been run by Mid Sussex District Council under the CenSus Partnership.

On-going issues in respect of the loss of Housing Benefit subsidy to the Council as a result of the level of errors in the calculation of Housing Benefits claims by the Revenues and Benefits service were outlined.  The report explained the work done so far, and in progress, to remedy these problems.  The report also referred to issues with the collection of business rates. 

The report considered the way forward and concluded that this Council should seek to leave the partnership; find an alternative method for delivering the service and take action to ensure that current issues were avoided in future.

The Finance and Assets Policy Development Advisory Group and the Members of the Audit Committee supported the proposal.

            RESOLVED

(i)         That the Council withdraws from the CenSus revenues and benefits partnership.

(ii)        That a report be prepared regarding the future options for the service, for decision at the Cabinet meeting on 30^th March 2017.

REASON

To ensure the service is operated to optimise cost and quality in future.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets

            RECOMMENDED

(i)         That the level of Council Tax for 2017/18 be increased from £137.17 by 2.5% to £140.60 at Band D.

(ii)        That the net revenue budget for 2017/18 of £11,860,000 be approved, as submitted.

(iii)       That Special Expenses of £280,319 and a Band D charge of £24.40 be agreed in respect of the unparished area for 2017/18.

(iv)       That the capital programme for 2017/18 be approved as submitted and that the indicative capital budgets in the programme for future years be noted.

(v)        That the projected future deficit on the revenue account in 2020/21 be noted and the Medium Term Financial Strategy continues to be reviewed and refined to ensure that decisions are taken to develop a balanced budget in 2020/21.

(vi)       That the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement be approved, as submitted.

(vii)      That the prudential indicators and limits for 2016/17 to 2019/20 be approved, as submitted.

(viii)     That the statement on the robustness of the level reserves be noted.

REASON

To meet the Council’s statutory requirement to approve the budget and the prudential indicators before the start of a new financial year.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets reported the details of the proposed 2017/18 revenue and capital budgets and reviewed the Medium Term Financial Strategy, which had been approved in November 2016, in light of the final 2017/18 budget and receipt of the Settlement.  It was noted that the Council was able to set a balanced budget for 2017/18, generating a small surplus which would help towards funding future transformation to maximise efficiency and effectiveness.

The 2016 Autumn Statement had done little to change the Government’s policy of significantly reducing funding to local authorities in a bid to help reduce Government debt, consequently the pressure on Council finances remained as strong as ever.  As the Council had already accepted the four year settlement in 2015/16, the settlement in December 2016 duly confirmed a 23.6% reduction in Settlement Funding Allocation in 2017/18 when compared to funding of £2,700,000 in 2016/17.  Cumulatively, there would be a 62.3% reduction over the four year period by 2019/20.

The current budget estimate was for the Council to deliver a small surplus in 2018/19, breakeven in 2019/20 and have a deficit of £1,600,000 in 2020/21.  These projections were significantly lower than had been forecast a year ago as a result of the work done on the 2017/18 budget and also by the Cabinet’s November 2016 decision to approve alternate weekly collection from Spring 2018, which should generate savings of £1,000,000 per annum.

It was planned to deliver savings and income generation through a combination of measures including: service and productivity reviews; shared services; procurement; income generation; and other efficiency measures.  The current programme focused on the period up to 2020, but this would help put the Council in good shape to tackle the deficit in 2020/21.

The report set out a series of prudential indicators, which were a statutory requirement to demonstrate that the Council’s capital programme was affordable and prudent in the context of the Council’s overall finances, together with a statement on the robustness of reserves.

The proposals were supported by the Finance and Assets Policy Development Advisory Group.

            RECOMMENDED

(i)         That the level of Council Tax for 2017/18 be increased from £137.17 by 2.5% to £140.60 at Band D.

(ii)        That the net revenue budget for 2017/18 of £11,860,000 be approved, as submitted.

(iii)       That Special Expenses of £280,319 and a Band D charge of £24.40 be agreed in respect of the unparished area for 2017/18.

(iv)       That the capital programme for 2017/18 be approved as submitted and that the indicative capital budgets in the programme for future years be noted.

(v)        That the projected future deficit on the revenue account in 2020/21 be noted and the Medium Term Financial Strategy continues to be reviewed and refined to ensure that decisions are taken to develop a balanced budget in 2020/21.

(vi)       That the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement be approved, as submitted.

(vii)      That the prudential indicators and limits for 2016/17 to 2019/20 be approved, as submitted.

(viii)     That the statement  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX/74

Report of the Cabinet Member for Planning and Development

            RESOLVED

(i)         That the Statement of Community Involvement be approved, as submitted.

(ii)        That the Cabinet Member for Planning and Development be authorised to agree minor editorial changes prior to publication.

REASONS

To enable an up to date and accurate SCI to set out guidance on how the planning system works and sets out how the council will inform, consult and involve people in planning decisions within Horsham District.

The Director of Planning, Economic Development and Property presented the Cabinet Member for Planning and Development’s report on the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), reminding Members that this was a statutory document which set out the ways in which the Council would engage with residents, communities, businesses, local organisations and other groups to ensure as many people as possible were able to have a say in planning decisions that affected them.

The document would provide guidance on how the planning system worked and set out how the Council would inform, consult and involve people in planning decisions within Horsham District, excluding the area within the South Downs National Park.

A draft Statement of Community Involvement had been agreed for consultation at the Cabinet meeting of 22^nd September 2016. Consultation had taken place from 26^th September to 7^th November 2016 and a small number of clarifications had been made to the document in response to this consultation.

If adopted, the document would replace the SCI that had been published in 2013 and which was now out of date as a result of legislative changes to the planning system.

The Planning and Development Policy Advisory Group supported the proposed SCI.

            RESOLVED

(i)         That the Statement of Community Involvement be approved, as submitted.

(ii)        That the Cabinet Member for Planning and Development be authorised to agree minor editorial changes prior to publication.

REASONS

To enable an up to date and accurate SCI to set out guidance on how the planning system works and sets out how the council will inform, consult and involve people in planning decisions within Horsham District.

To consider any matters referred to Cabinet by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee:

Member involvement in the s106 process

Cabinet was reminded that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had made some recommendations to change the procedures in relation to how Members were involved in the s106 process.  The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had suggested six changes to procedure that they considered would ensure Members could be more involved.

Cabinet noted the Cabinet Member for Planning and Development’s response to the recommendations, which would be reported to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 30^th January 2017, as follows:

(i)         To agree an amended recommendation 1 of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee by removing the words ‘this advice should also indicate if the application is likely to be subject of an S106 agreement’ and replacing them with ‘to improve the layout of the weekly list to make it more clear what applications are major, and therefore likely to be subject to a s106 agreement’.

(ii)        To agree a single recommendation 2 by amending and combining recommendations 2 and 6 of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to read “The relevant Ward Members and Chairman of that Committee should be notified of the proposed “Heads of Terms Requirements” of the S106 agreement at the same time as the Legal Department are instructed to draft an agreement.”

(iii)       To agree Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations 3 (on significant schemes), 4 and 5, as set out in their report.

REASONS

(i)         That the Cabinet Member considers and responds to the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to alter internal procedures.

(ii)        To ensure that Ward Members have the opportunity to get involved in the s106 process.

To note the Forward Plan

The Forward Plan was noted.

There were no matters of special urgency to be considered.