Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:  

That Councillor P. Dowd be appointed as the Chair of this meeting of the Cabinet

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Maher

Members and Officers are requested to give notice of any personal or prejudicial interest and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the relevant Code of Conduct.

No declarations of interest were made.

Minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2008

RESOLVED:  

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 17 April 2008 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report by the Director of Public Health (copy to follow)

This item was withdrawn from the agenda as Sefton's Health Annual Report had not been printed and the item will be submitted to the next Cabinet meeting on 12 June 2008.

Report of the Chief Executive

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive which provided an update on the progress made on the production of a set of up to 35 indicators from the National Indicator set, plus 16 statutory indicators for inclusion in the new Local Area Agreement.  In addition to this, a small number of 'local' indicators had been identified.

The report indicated that the indicators identified were the subject of on-going negotiation with the Government Office North West and that the Council on 8 May 2008 had given authority for the Cabinet to finalise the detail of and approve the Local Area Agreement 2008-2011 at its next meeting on 12 June 2008.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)      the draft Local Area Agreement and the on-going process of negotiation with the Government Office North West, be noted; and

(2)      it be noted that the Cabinet will be requested to finalise and approve the Local Area Agreement 2008-2011 at its meeting on 12 June 2008.

Joint report of the Legal Director and the Leisure Director

The Cabinet considered the joint report of the Legal Director and Leisure Director on the finding of maladministration by the Local Government Ombudsman after two extensive investigations into the Gardner Avenue Allotment site, Bootle. Copies of the two reports published by the Local Government Ombudsman were attached as appendices to the report.

The Cabinet also considered a petition submitted by residents of the Borough relating to this issue and a representative of the petitioners addressed the Cabinet in support of the petition, in accordance with Rule 27 of the Council and Committee Procedure Rules.

RESOLVED:  

That the report and petition be deferred for further consideration at the next Cabinet meeting pending the submission of a detailed report by Officers on the two investigations into the Gardner Avenue Allotment site,Bootle.

Report of the Legal Director

The Cabinet considered a report by the Legal Director which sought the appointment of Council representatives to serve on outside Bodies set out in the report for 2008/09 or for periods longer than one year.  Details of the existing representation on Outside Bodies was set out in the report.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)      the following Members be appointed to serve on the under-mentioned Outside Bodies for 2008/09.

Report of the Strategic Director of Children’s Services

The Cabinet considered the report of the Strategic Director of Children's Services on the draft Primary Care Strategy for change, prior to its submission to the Department for Children, Schools and Families.  The report outlined the process undertaken to produce the Strategy and the consultation mechanism.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)            subject to the deletion of the bullet point "consideration of school closures where high levels of surplus capacity still exist", the Primary Care Strategy for Change be approved for submission to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

(2)            individual schools be now identified as potential candidates for significant investment and/or removal of surplus places in accordance with the DCSF guidelines.

Report of the Assistant Technical Services Director

The Cabinet considered the report of the Assistant Technical Services Director which sought approval to the list of companies to receive full tender documents for the supply of gas and electricity to multiple sites within Sefton Council and for the supply of unmetered electricity supply for Street Lighting.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)            approval be given to the Select List of Companies who will receive full tender documents for the supply of gas, electricity and unmetered supply for street lighting to appropriate sites within Sefton Council;

(2)            officers of the Technical Services Department be authorised to enter into post tender negotiations, best and final offer with the five lowest valid tenders after quality assessment;

(3)       the Council Contract Procedure Rules be waived in relation to acceptance of tenders;

(4)       the Assistant Technical Services Director be given delegated authority to accept the tender which is economically the most advantageous for the Council and to award the contract accordingly;

(5)       due nature of the energy supply contract (payment in arrears) requirements for payment of bond (Sefton Standard Conditions of Contract) be waived;

(6)       the Assistant Technical Services Director reports the results of the tendering exercise and his actions to a future meeting of the Cabinet; and

(7)       the financial implications of this report be noted.

Report of the Planning and Economic Regeneration Director

Further to Minute no. of 214 of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 7 May 2008, the Cabinet considered the report of the Planning and Economic Regeneration Director on the draft 'Ensuring Choice of Travel' Supplementary Planning Document which had been produced to satisfy the requirements of policies contained within Sefton's Unitary Development Plan as well as the objecjtives of the Merseyside Local Transport Plan.

RESOLVED:  

That the draft Supplementary Planning Document and draft Sustainability Appraisal report be approved for consultation and as a material planning consideration for development control.

The Cabinet received reports from the Cabinet Members for Children's Services, Communities, Corporate Services, Health and Social Care, Leisure and Tourism, Performance, Regeneration and Technical Services.

RESOLVED:  

That the Cabinet Member reports be noted.

To consider passing the following resolution:

That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.  The Public Interest Test has been applied and favours exclusion of the information from the Press and Public.

RESOLVED:

That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.  The Public Interest Test has been applied and favours exclusion of the information from the press and public.

Joint report of the Housing Market Renewal Director and Legal Director

The Cabinet considered the joint report of the Housing Market Renewal Director and the Legal Director on the current position in relation to the Klondyke and Hawthorne Road, Bootle, Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), and in particular the current position in relation to the Penpoll site on Hawthorne Road and the legal costs associated with the various legal challenges to the validity of the Council's CPO.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)       the current position in relation to the Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (Klondyke and Hawthorne Road, Bootle) Compulsory Purchase Order 2005 (CPO) be noted;

(2)       the implications of the continuing legal challenges to the CPO in relation to the Klondyke and in particular to the Penpopll site be noted; and

(3)            approval be given to the additional legal expenditure of £70,000 to be incurred in order to enable the vesting of the legal interests within the CPO to be confirmed