Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

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.

The following declarations of interest were received:

Minutes of the meeting held on 16 February 2012

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 16 February 2012 be confirmed as a correct record.

To consider the Cabinet’s recommendation to the Council on the Framework Budget

The Leader of the Council circulated a copy of the proposed Motion in respect of the Revenue Budget for 2012/13, which he intended to submit to the Budget Council Meeting, to be held later that day.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed Motion be noted at this stage and considered at the Budget Council Meeting to be held later that day.

Report of the Director of Corporate Support Services

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Corporate Support Services on the requirement under the Localism Act 2011 for all local authorities to produce a pay policy statement for 2012/13 and each subsequent financial year.  The report set out of the proposed pay policy for the Council and the proposed changes to the functions of the Employment Procedure Committee and the Pay and Grading Committee in order to ensure compliance with the guidance in the Act.

RESOLVED:

That the Council be recommended to approve:

(1)       the proposed Pay Policy set out in Annex A to the report; and

(2)       the proposed changes to the functions of the Employment Procedure Committee and the Pay and Grading Committee set out in the report and the consequential amendments to the Council Constitution.

Report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning which sought the nomination of the Mayor and Deputy Chair for the Municipal Year 2012/13.

The report indicated that any nominations agreed by the Cabinet would be submitted to the Annual Council Meeting to be held on 10 May 2012 for consideration.

RESOLVED:

That the report be deferred for further consideration at the next Cabinet meeting to be held on 29 March 2012.

Report of the Director of Older People

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Older People on the review of fees and charges for 2012/13 for the services to be delivered by the Health and Wellbeing Service.

The report indicated that the review had reflected the additional income targets approved by the Council for the following service areas as part of the 2012/13 budget process:

·                    Libraries - introduce charging for the People’s Network - Target £10,000

·                    Sports - increased income target for Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre - £200,000

·                    Sports - increased income target for Active Sports Programmes - £10,000

·                    Amendment to Lifeguard saving, by increasing the charges for swimming by 3% above the rate of inflation - £27,000.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED:

That approval be given to the revised Health and Wellbeing Services fees and charges for 2012/13 as set out in Annex A of the report.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Further to Minute No. 145 of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 8 February 2012, the Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment on the proposed fees and charges levied within the Planning Portfolio for 2012/13.

The report indicated that the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010 required the Council to annually review its Scheme of Building Regulation Charges.  The aim of the Scheme was to ensure that, taking one financial year with another, the income derived from performing the chargeable Building Control functions, as near as possible equates to the costs incurred in performing these functions.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       approval be given to the revised fees and charges for 2012/13 set out in Annex A of the report and the revised contributions to be set out in Supplementary Planning Guidance; and

(2)       the Planning Committee be given delegated authority to approve the implementation of the proposed scale of fees for applications as soon as it becomes available and that the fees, together with any proposed subsequent amendments, be ratified by the Cabinet before their mandatory implementation.

Report of the Director of Built Environment and Head of Planning Service

Further to Minute No. 144 of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 8 February 2012, the Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment and the Head of Planning Services on the findings of a recently commissioned and completed study which had looked at the impact of Affordable Rent, both in terms of what rent levels could be set at in Sefton and what implications it would have for the Council’s current approved Section 106 affordable housing negotiating position.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED:

That the minor amendments to the Council’s approved Section 106 affordable housing negotiating position be approved and they be applied to all relevant planning applications received after the date of approval of this proposed policy change.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Further to Minute No. 150 of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 22 February 2012, the Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment which provided a full summary of the consultation which took place on the Options Stage of the Core Strategy, the representations made to the Council during that consultation and the Council’s proposed response.

A discussion took place on the concerns raised by members of the public regarding the possible future use of high grade agricultural land within the Borough for development purposes. There was a need to identify other local authorities within the North West and nationally who had similar issues and concerns on this issue in order that a network of such authorities could be formed for the purpose of lobbying the Government on the importance of the agricultural land resource in the planning system.

The Head of Planning Services reported on the proposals for the formation of a Member Steering Group to examine issues relating to the Core Strategy and Cabinet Members requested that the Parish Councils within the Borough be represented on the Steering Group. The Chair indicated that update reports on employment, land and premises issues, the Council’s housing requirements and agricultural land issues would be submitted to the Cabinet in the near future.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       thanks be expressed to the Members of the Public who had responded to the consultation exercise on the Options Stage of the Core Strategy and Officers be thanked for the work undertaken in the production of the report;

(2)       the Report of Consultation following the Options Stage of the Core Strategy be accepted and the proposed programme of work as set out in Section 12 of the report be approved; and

(3)       the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT be authorised to consider the use of one-off resources, towards the costs of the work programme, subject to availability and consideration of the Council’s outturn position for 2011/12.