Agenda and minutes

Cabinet - Thursday 21st June, 2018 10.00 am

Venue: Birkdale Room, Town Hall, Southport

Contact: Ruth Harrison  Democratic Services Manager

Items
No. Item

12.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

No apologies for absence were received.

 

13.

Declarations of Interest

Members are requested at a meeting where a disclosable pecuniary interest or personal interest arises, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests, todeclare any interests that relate to an item on the agenda.

 

Where a Member discloses a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, he/she must withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest, except where he/she is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of a dispensation.

 

Where a Member discloses a personal interest he/she must seek advice from the Monitoring Officer or staff member representing the Monitoring Officer to determine whether the Member should withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest or whether the Member can remain in the meeting or remain in the meeting and vote on the relevant decision.

 

Minutes:

 

No declarations of any disclosable pecuniary interest or personal interest were received.

 

 

 

14.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 129 KB

Minutes of the meeting held on 24 May 2018

Minutes:

Decision Made:

 

That the minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held on 24 May 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

 

15.

Procurement Options for Living Well Sefton pdf icon PDF 96 KB

Report of the Head of Health and Wellbeing

Minutes:

 

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Health and Wellbeing that  sought approval to complete a tender exercise to re-procure the Community Programme of the Living Well Sefton Service (LWS) which was due to expire on the 31st March 2019. The procurement exercise would be an enhancement of the current service and would include;

 

·       An LWS service enhancement to incorporate delivery of the Health Check programme in line with its revised budget reduction

 

·       A formal alignment of Early Intervention and Prevention Level 3 (EIP3) outcomes linked to current models of delivery 

 

·       An enhancement of the current LWS delivery model to extend the provision and emphasis of financial advice and support, in line with increased demands of local people, for welfare advice and signposting due to public sector reform.

 

·       A revised re- procurement would involve one single community contract. This would complement the current Stop Smoking contract (expires 31st March 2019 with option for 3 x 1 year extensions) and the existing internal Active Sefton SLA.

 

A procurement exercise based on a lead provider would ensure effective coordination, robust performance management, appropriate sub-contracting and governance arrangements to support this revised and enhanced model.

 

Decision Made: That the Cabinet:

 

(1)            authorise the Director of Public Health to conduct an OJEU Light Touch Regime tender exercise for the LWS to run for a period of three years from 1st April 2019 with the option of two further one-year extensions;

 

(2)            note that the exercise included an ability to build into the procurement, a scoring criteria for the successful lead provider to clearly demonstrate how community providers would deliver the model using the voluntary, community and faith sector (VCF). Procurement Services would support Public Health to develop the scoring criteria to ensure this is done effectively and appropriately, and will be based on MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) taking into consideration a balance between quality and cost. Once the scoring criteria have been developed, formal approval of weighting will be sought from Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing;

 

(3)            note, a comprehensive early intervention and prevention service (LWS) remains in Sefton and incorporates the Health Check programme;        

 

(4)            agree that the current contracting position will change, where multiple contracts will be replaced with one single prime community contract, which will sub-contract health and well-being services from the VCF; and

 

(5)            approve the basis of evaluation of the tenders as set out in this report; and the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, be granted delegated powers to award the new contract to the highest scoring bidder(s) in accordance with the approved basis of evaluation and to report on the outcome to the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing.

 

 

Reasons for the Decisions:

 

The LWS is enhancing its operating model to enable services to work collectively to ensure that local residents get all of the information and support they need to improve their health and make lasting behaviour change.  Continued investment in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Safeguarding children from child sexual and criminal exploitation and children reported as missing. pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Report of the Head of Children’s Social Care

Minutes:

 

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Children’s Social Care detailing the work agencies have undertaken to safeguard children from child sexual and criminal exploitation and children who have been reported as missing from home / care. 

 

Decision Made:

 

That the work taking place in Sefton regarding Child Sexual and Criminal Exploitation and safeguarding children who have been reported as missing from home / care, be noted.

 

Reasons for the Decision:

 

To ensure Cabinet members are aware of the partnership activity undertaken to safeguard children from child sexual and criminal exploitation in Sefton and when they have been reported as missing, in respect of the statutory duties of every local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

None.

 

 

17.

Confirmation of Article 4 Direction for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) pdf icon PDF 97 KB

Report of the Chief Planning Officer

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Planning Officer in relation to the confirmation of the making of a non-immediate Article 4 Direction in relation to Houses of Multiple Occupation in parts of Bootle, Seaforth, Litherland, Waterloo and Southport. The Article 4 Direction was made in September 2017 and sought to restrict permitted development rights in those areas from houses to houses in Multiple Occupation.

 

Decision Made:

 

That the Cabinet agreed to the making of a non-immediate Article 4 Direction, as detailed in the report and Appendices to the report, to come into force on 20 September 2018, one year after it was made, be approved.

 

Reasons for the Decision:

 

People can, as permitted development rights under the General Development Permitted Order 2015 (as amended), convert their homes to a small (i.e. containing 6 or fewer individuals) House in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in parts of Sefton. Once the Article 4 Direction comes into effect, planning permission will be required before such changes of use can take place, and this will ensure the Council has control of these proposals. The Council will therefore be able to consider whether the proposals, either individually, or in combination, will have a detrimental impact on residential amenity.

 

The Article 4 Direction will work in parallel with the HMOs licensing that has recently been introduced in parts of Sefton.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

Do not introduce the Article 4 Direction. The Council would not have control of conversion to small HMOs (i.e. for occupation by between 3 and 6 unrelated people) in the areas identified in Appendices B and C. There is a risk of clusters of HMOs occurring which may impact on residential amenity. Larger HMOs (i.e. those with accommodation for more than six unrelated people) already require planning permission and will not be affected by this Direction.

 

 

 

 

 

18.

Adoption of 5 Supplementary Planning Documents and Information Notes pdf icon PDF 103 KB

Report of the Chief Planning Officer

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Planning Officer in relation to a recent consultation regarding 5 Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) relating to Affordable, special needs Housing and Housing Mix; House Extensions; Flats and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO’s); New Housing.

 

Having considered the responses received, in conjunction with the Cabinet Member: Planning and Building Control, it is proposed that the SPDs, incorporating any changes recommended in the report, should be adopted as Council policy. This will enable them to be given ‘full weight’ as material considerations when planning applications are determined.

 

In addition to the SPDs being replaced, it is also proposed to revoke the Southport Seafront SPD. This was adopted in 2003 and has been largely superseded by policies in the Sefton Local Plan and the Southport Strategy and other guidance.

 

Work is likely to commence on the preparation of SPDs relating to Shop fronts, signage and security, and A Boards, Pavement Cafes and Outdoor trading in the near future.

 

Decision Made:  That the Cabinet agreed to:

 

(1)            adopt the following SPDs:

·         Affordable, Special Needs Housing and Housing Mix;

·         House Extensions;

·         Flats and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO’s);

·         New Housing; 

·         Sustainable Travel; and

·         Southport Seafront SPDs; and

 

(2)            revoke the existing SPDs, as detailed in paragraph 7.1 to the report by replacing them with the newly adopted SPDs detailed in recommendation (1) above.

 

Reasons for the Decision:

 

It is necessary for the Council to adopt the Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) in order to provide clear and consistent guidance for developers and others about how the requirements of policies in the Sefton Local Plan will be interpreted and implemented.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

The alternative would be not to adopt the SPDs. However, this is contrary to the requirements of the Sefton Local Plan, and would result in similar information being provided in relation to all relevant planning applications. In addition, if there were no adopted SPDs, the guidance would not be able to be given the same weight in the decision-making process as with the SPDs in place. This would also result in the inefficient use of resources.

 

 

19.

Revenue and Capital Budget Plan 2017/18 – 2019/20 - Locally Administered Business Rates Relief Scheme pdf icon PDF 109 KB

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources requesting it to consider and recommend to Council the basis for the Locally Administered Discretionary Revaluation Relief Scheme for 2018/19 and beyond for businesses in Sefton that have had a significant increase in their Business rate liability as a result of the Government’s 2017 revaluation.

 

Decision Made:  That:

 

(1)            the parameters of the discretionary revaluation relief scheme as set out in Annex A, to the report for consultation with the Council’s major preceptors and the combined authority, be agreed;

 

(2)      the outcome of the review of the 2017/18 discretionary revaluation relief scheme as set out in Section 2 of the report, be noted;

 

(3)      Council be commended  to agree the parameters of the discretionary revaluation relief scheme for 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 as set out in Annex A of this report subject to consideration of any consultation responses received from major preceptors and the combined authority;

 

(4)      Council be commended to grant delegated authority to the Head of Corporate Resources to determine the detailed application and administration of the local discretionary revaluation relief for 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 subject to the parameters set out in Annex A; and

 

(5)      Council be commended to agree that a review of the discretionary rate relief scheme for 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 be reported to Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services following the end of each year.

 

Reasons for the Decisions:

 

The Council is required to approve a local business rates revaluation relief scheme for 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 in order to distribute the available government grant to local businesses.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

The alternative options would be

 

•         Not to make available discretionary support in 2018/19 and beyond to businesses affected by the Business Rates Revaluation of 2017.  Such course of action would fail to support our local businesses or utilise the extra funding made available to the Council by the Government for this purpose.

•         To replicate the 2017/18 principles and award relief to all eligible businesses with a rateable value of up to £200,000. However, this would not address the reduction in funding in 2018/19 and the fact that many of the large businesses rejected the awards in 2017/18 due to state aid rules. This in turn could lead to a second billing exercise and additional administration costs for the Council.

•         To require Council to approve the detailed scheme parameters on an annual basis. This would delay the distribution of the available funding to eligible businesses.

 

20.

Revenue and Capital Budget Update - Treasury Management Outurn 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 144 KB

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources that detailed the treasury management activities undertaken to 31st March 2018. Cabinet received the outturn report to enable it to review against the Treasury Management Policy & Strategy and Prudential Indicators.  It was reported that the report would also be considered by the Audit & Governance Committee, whose role it is to carry out scrutiny of treasury management policies and practices.

 

Decision Made:

 

That the treasury management Outturn to 31st March 2018, be noted.

 

Reasons for the Decision:

 

To ensure that Members are fully apprised of the treasury activity undertaken to 31st March 2018 and to meet the reporting requirements set out in Sefton’s Treasury Management Practices and those recommended by the CIPFA code.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

None

 

21.

Revenue and Capital Budget Plan 2017/18 – 2019/20 - June 2018 pdf icon PDF 102 KB

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

Minutes:

 

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources in relation to the capital outturn position in relation to the 2017/18 financial year and of further additions to the 2018/19 capital programme. 

 

Decision Made:  That the Cabinet:

 

(1)            note the capital outturn position for 2017/18; and

 

(2)            approve further additions to the 2018/19 Capital Programme, as detailed in the report.

 

 

 

Reasons for the Decision:

 

The production of a capital outturn report is a key feature of effective financial management and will allow Members to make informed decisions that will support service delivery and medium term financial sustainability. Member approval is required for addition of new schemes in the Capital Programme.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

None.

 

 

22.

Jill Coule - Head of Regulation and Compliance

Minutes:

The Chair, Councillor Maher, indicated that this was the last meeting of the Cabinet to be attended by Jill Coule, Head of Regulation and Compliance. Jill had been with Sefton since 2010 but would be leaving the Authority at the end of June to take up the position of Chief Legal Officer to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. On behalf of the Cabinet Councillor Maher placed on record its appreciation for all the help and guidance Jill had given to Members and wished her every success for the future in her new role at the Combined Authority.