Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, The Arc, Clowne

Contact: Donna Cairns  Senior Governance Officer

Items
No. Item

564.

Apologies For Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Clive Moesby.

565.

Urgent Items of Business

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Minutes:

There was no urgent business to be considered at the meeting.

566.

Declarations of Interest

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

 

a)  any business on the agenda

b)  any urgent additional items to be considered

c)  any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

Minutes:

Members were requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or other interests, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

 

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

567.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 344 KB

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 16th December 2019.

 

Minutes:

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Sandra Peake

RESOLVED that the minutes of a meeting of Executive held on 16th December 2019 be approved as a true and correct record.

Non Key Decisions

568.

Transformation Plan 2018 Update pdf icon PDF 597 KB

Recommendations on page 23

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED – That Executive:

 

(1)       note the update and progress made towards the aims of the Transformation Plan 2018; and      

 

(2)       in line with the recommendations of the Transformation Governance Group:

 

                     (i)          allocate £10,000 from Transformation Reserve to commission feasibility work as outlined in paragraph 1.26(a) of the report - Greenspace Management;

 

                    (ii)          allocate £3,400 from Transformation Reserve to fund year one costs for Sign Video (or similar) and £1,200 revenue growth in future years; and

 

                  (iii)          agree to adopt the Digital Strategy in full and be utilised to shape future service delivery, subject to consideration by the Customer Service & Transformation Scrutiny Committee.

 

Minutes:

Executive considered the report of the Portfolio Holder – Partnerships and Transformation which provided an update on progress against the aims of the Transformation Plan 2018.

 

The report provided an update on each of the aims within the Plan, detailing the actions and achievements to date. The Strategic Director – People outlined some of the highlights of the report at the meeting including the plans for service reviews of all areas; achievement of 75% of the efficiencies target for financial savings; the establishment of an in-house leadership development programme; and environmental works.

 

The report also sought approval for the recommendations made by the Transformation Governance Group relating to:

 

·         A feasibility study to consider Greenspace management for carbon sequestration, health and wellbeing and ecosystem function (Appendix 1 to the report)

 

·         Use of Sign Video (Appendix 2 to the report)

 

·         Approval of a Digital Transformation Strategy (Appendix 3 to the report)

 

These proposals were outlined at paragraph 1.26 of the report and detailed in appendices 1, 2 and 3.

 

Members commented that the report and the progress achieved was excellent, noting particularly the project proposal templates and the style of the Digital Transformation Strategy.

 

Moved by Councillor Mary Dooley and seconded by Councillor Duncan McGregor

RESOLVED – That Executive:

 

(1)       notes the update and progress made towards the aims of the Transformation Plan 2018; and     

 

(2)       in line with the recommendations of the Transformation Governance Group:

 

                     (i)           allocates £10,000 from the Transformation Reserve to commission feasibility work as outlined in paragraph 1.26(a) of the report  on Greenspace Management;

 

                    (ii)           allocates £3,400 from the Transformation Reserve to fund year one costs for Sign Video (or similar) and £1,200 revenue growth in future years; and

 

                  (iii)           agrees to adopt the Digital Strategy in full and be utilised to shape future service delivery, subject to consideration by the Customer Service & Transformation Scrutiny Committee.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

To ensure Executive were aware of progress achieved with the aims of the Transformation Plan 2018.

 

The approved projects were to contribute to the overarching vision of the Transformation Plan 2018 to be ‘A self-sustaining Council, delivering excellent services to the community, when and how they want them.’

 

OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

No alternative options were proposed for consideration in this report, however Transformation plan proposals were continuing to be developed.

 

(Joint Head of Partnerships and Transformation)

569.

Exclusion of the public

To move:-

 

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the stated Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act and it is not in the public interest for that to be revealed.” [The category of exempt information is stated after each Minute].

Minutes:

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregorand seconded by Councillor Duncan McGregor

RESOLVED that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the stated Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act and it is not in the public interest for that to be revealed. [The category of exempt information is stated after each Minute].

PART 2 - EXEMPT ITEMS

570.

Improving the Policy, Strategy & Partnership Role within the Authority

Recommendations on page 55 and 56

Decision:

RESOLVED -

 

(1)       That Executive agree to undertake a review of the Partnership, Strategy and Policy Team.

 

(2)       That Executive instruct the Partnership, Strategy & Policy Manager to undertake a staffing review with immediate effect supported by the Joint Chief Executive Officer.

 

(3)       That a further more detailed and costed report is brought back to Executive and that formal consultation begins with affected staff and the Unions.

 

Minutes:

Executive considered the report of the Leader which sought approval to undertake a review to enhance the capacity of the Policy, Strategy & Partnership Team following positive recognition from the Local Government Association Peer Review.

 

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregorand seconded by Councillor Sandra Peake

RESOLVED -

 

(1)       That Executive agree to undertake a review of the Partnership, Strategy and Policy Team.

 

(2)       That Executive instruct the Partnership, Strategy & Policy Manager to undertake a staffing review with immediate effect supported by the Joint Chief Executive Officer.

 

(3)       That a further more detailed and costed report be brought back to Executive and that formal consultation begins with affected staff and the Unions.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

The proposed review was to make sure resources would be allocated to track plans and strategies.

 

OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

The alternative to not undertaking a review to enhance the Partnerships Strategy and Policy Team was not considered to be an option as the Council needed to improve strategy and plan management and it was considered that it would have been a missed opportunity to deliver this key element of the Local Government Association Peer Review.

 

(Policy, Strategy & Partnership Manager)

 

(Paragraphs 1, 2 and 4)

Key Decisions

571.

Corporate Debt - Write-off of Outstanding Amounts

Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3

 

Recommendations on page 59

Decision:

RESOLVED That Executive agrees to write-off the amounts as summarised at paragraph 1.8 of the report (£222,040) and individually detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

 

Minutes:

Executive considered the report of the Portfolio Holder – Finance & Resources, presented by the Leader. The report proposed the write off of debts in respect of Business Rates, Council Tax, Housing Rents, Overpaid Housing Benefits and Sundry Debtors.

 

The Section 151 Officer explained the levels of the debts to be written off in this report, including the percentage of the council tax and business rates that was a loss to the Council (with the remainder owed to other preceptors).

 

Members queried what checks are carried out when an individual starts a new business, when they have an existing business rates debt. It was also queried whether contact with other organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions, are contacted to establish the location of debtors owing rent arrears after they have been evicted.

 

The Section 151 Officer agreed to undertake a benchmarking exercise to compare the collection rates and levels of write-offs of other comparable authorities. This information was to be provided in the next report on write-off of outstanding debts.

 

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Sandra Peake

RESOLVED That Executive agrees to write-off the amounts as summarised at paragraph 1.8 of the report (£222,040) and individually detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

Given that all available options to recover this debt had been explored, it was important that the Council recognised the position and approved the write-off of the uncollectable debt.

 

OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

As all options to recover the debts had been exhausted there were no alternative options considered. 

 

(Head of Finance & Resources and Section 151 Officer)

 

(Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3)

572.

Award of contract for the supply of multi-functional devices (print/copy/scan)

(Paragraphs 3)

 

Recommendations on page 63 and 64

 

Decision:

RESOLVED - That Executive

 

(1)       notes the process undertaken for the procurement.

 

(2)       approves the award to Kyocera subject to the appropriate due diligence work.

 

Minutes:

Executive considered the report of the Portfolio Holder – Corporate Governance which provided an update on the procurement outcomes from the tender process for a new five year multi-functional device contract and recommended the approval of the award of the contractor.

 

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Sandra Peake

RESOLVED - That Executive

 

(1)       notes the process undertaken for the procurement.

 

(2)       approves the award to Kyocera subject to the appropriate due diligence work.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

The proposed contractor was recommended on the basis of the evaluated tender process. The new contract was to provide improved capabilities for lower cost.

 

OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

The Council’s multi-functional device fleet was at the end of its life and required replacement. A replacement based on verified needs of the organisation was the only option considered.

 

(Joint Head of Partnerships and Transformation)

 

(Paragraph 3)