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 September, 2009

RESOLVED:  

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 September 2009 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Legal Director

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Legal Director on guidance recently issued by the Information Commissioner on charging for access to environmental information and updating on the forthcoming Local Land Charges (Amendment) Rules 2009.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)       the report be noted and the Legal Director be requested to submit updates on this matter as further legal advice is received on the potential impact of the Environmental Information Regulations; and

(2)       the Cabinet be recommended to approve the increase in the LLC1 search fee to £22 with effect from 1 January 2010.

Joint report of the Leisure Director and the Finance and Information Services Director

Further to Minute No. 38 of 16 September 2009, the Cabinet Member considered the joint report of the Leisure and Finance and Information Services Directors on a proposed "payment by instalments plan" whereby grave plots could be purchased by residents in affordable stages, subject to the Council being satisfied that any outstanding balance due would be met from the estate of the deceased.  The matter had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Performance and Corporate Services) on 1 September 2009.  That Committee had recommended that the proposed instalments plan should not be introduced, but that the investigation of private sector funding sources for the purchase of grave plots by instalments should be considered.  A draft information leaflet on this issue was attached to the report.  The cost of a one-off print run of 10,000 of the leaflets to be available at cemeteries and crematoria offices and for distribution to Members, One-Stop shops and libraries etc. and to the public and other agencies on request, would be approximately £800 - £1,000.  The report indicated that there were no specific resources to cover this expenditure, but it was considered that, with prudent housekeeping, the cost could be contained within existing Leisure Services budgets.

This matter was a key decision and was currently included on the Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)       the Overview and Scrutiny Committee's recommendation that an instalment plan should not be introduced, be endorsed and the Cabinet be informed accordingly; and

(2)       the Cabinet be requested to note the arrangements for the production of information leaflets on pre-arranging funeral payments, the cost of which will be met from within the Leisure Services budgets.

Report of the Personnel Director

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Personnel Director on a proposed corporate apprenticeship programme for young people who are not in education, employment or training.

RESOLVED:

That the proposal to establish 101 apprenticeship posts across the Authority’s departments, as set out in Section E of the report, be approved.

Report of the Personnel Director

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Personnel Director which set out a proposed policy on the introduction and use of “C Tracking” devices in Council vehicles.  The report also set out the benefits of such systems and indicated that it had not been possible to reach agreement with the trade unions about the wording of the policy.  In particular, the trade unions were concerned about the issue of whether evidence gathered from such devices could appropriately be used in misconduct hearings involving their members.  With the permission of the Cabinet Member, Mr. Phil Lane made oral representations on this issue on behalf of the UNITE and GMB unions.

RESOLVED:

That the policy attached as Annex A to the report be approved.

Report of the Personnel Director

Further to Minute No. 86 of 5 March, 2008, the Cabinet Member considered the report of the Personnel Director setting out details of an agreement to alter the national conditions of service in relation to the payment of car mileage allowances, which had been reached with the local trade unions.

The report set out the terms of the agreement together with details of the estimated projected cost savings.

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       the Agreement, as set out in Annex A to the report, be approved; and

(2)       further discussions with the trade unions, with a view to producing more environmentally-friendly and cost-effective employee transport initiatives, be approved.

Report of the Planning and Economic Regeneration Director

Further to Minute No. 33 of 22 July, 2009, the Cabinet Member considered the report of the Planning and Economic Regeneration Director indicating that as a result of the Bootle, Litherland and Netherton Junior Football League declining to accept an award of £1,400, the sum retained for emergency funding had increased from £8,815 to £10,215.  In addition, a request for emergency funding of £3,000 for 2009/10 had been received from the Crosby Scout and Guide Marina Club.

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       the increase in the emergency fund be noted;

(2)            subject to (3) below, the application for £3,000 from the Crosby Scout and Guide Marina Club be approved; and

(3)       a condition be attached to the grant in (2) above that any future applications by the Crosby Scout and Guide Marina Club must include evidence that other funding sources have been sought and applied for, together with reasons why they have been unsuccessful; and

(4)       a further condition be attached that the above grant is conditional upon the Club first completing a lease of accommodation in Sefton Water Centre and a licence to use the adjacent land.

Report of the Finance and Information Services Director

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Finance and Information Services Director on representations received from the Sefton Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), seeking support for a national CAB campaign to reduce the cost of contacting local and national Government agencies on a mobile phone.  The CAB had contrasted the relatively higher cost of telephoning the Sefton Plus Contact Centre (0845 140 0845) compared to numbers using an 03 prefix.  The report set out a full analysis of the issues surrounding this campaign.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)       the report be noted;

(2)            subject to (3) below, no change be made to the Council's current Sefton Plus Contact Centre number (0845 140 0845); and

(3)       this matter be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Performance and Corporate Services) for consideration.

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 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.

RESOLVED:  

That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it may 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 had been applied and favoured exclusion of the information from the press and public.

Report of the Finance and Information Services Director

(Paragraph 3)

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Finance and Information Services Director on the outcome of an exercise to renew agreements within the Council's insurance portfolio.  This had resulted in an annual saving of £94,000 compared with the 2008 premiums.

RESOLVED:  

That the report be noted.