Agenda, decisions and minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Sandra Peake.

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.

There were no urgent items of business to consider.

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.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 6^th November 2023

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor John Ritchie

RESOLVED that the Minutes of an Executive meeting held on 6^th November 2023 be approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the quarterly outturns against the Council Ambition 2020-2024 targets be noted.

Executive considered the Quarter 2 outturns for the Council’s Ambition targets 2020-2024.

Out of the 25 targets, 17 (68%) were on track and 8 (32%) had achieved their outturns previously.

Our Customers – Providing excellent and accessible services

9 targets in total – all 9 targets on track.

Our Environment – protecting the quality of life for residents and businesses, meeting environmental challenges, and enhancing biodiversity

11 targets in total - 7 targets were on track and 4 targets had been achieved previously: (ENV 07, ENV 08, ENV 09, ENV 10)

Our Economy – by driving growth, promoting the District and being business and visitor friendly

5 targets in total - 1 target was on track and 4 targets had been achieved previously: (ECO 08, ECO 09, ECO 04, ECO 01)

Six targets which Dragonfly were delivering on behalf of the Council had been removed from the performance framework.

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Clive Moesby

RESOLVED that the quarterly outturns against the Council Ambition 2020-2024 targets be noted.

Reasons for Recommendation

This was an information report to keep Members informed of progress against the Council Ambition targets noting achievements and any areas of concern.

Alternative Options and Reasons for Rejection

Not applicable to this report as providing an overview of performance against agreed targets.

The Information, Engagement and Performance Manager left the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Council enters into a grant agreement with DCC Public Health to receive an allocation of £100,000 funding for a two-year period aimed at improving the emotional well-being of young people in the District through a model of social prescribing.

Executive considered a detailed report which sought Member’s approval to receive £100,000 from Derbyshire County Council (DCC) Public Health to be used to commission services for young people in the District.

DCC Public Health had ringfenced £100,000 for activities to boost general well-being of young people in Bolsover District aged 14 to 18, and those aged 19-25, if they had additional needs.

The funding would be allocated to the Council via a grant agreement and would cover a two-year period. The Partnership Team were working closely with the Public Health Locality Lead for Bolsover to design a tender specification to commission social prescribing activity that would boost general well-being using a non-clinical approach.

The aim of the project was to improve outcomes for young people by giving more choice and control over their lives and an improved sense of belonging where young people were involved in local community groups / activities.

It was envisaged that a paid link worker/social prescriber would work with a variety of young people but would target:

·       Those with complex needs

·       Young people on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting list

·       Those not in employment, education, or training

·       Those who are lonely and isolated

·       Those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Updates on commissioned activity would be provided within the Bolsover Partnership’s Annual Report. Activity would be monitored on a quarterly basis to ensure that project aims and objectives were being met.

Members welcomed the report.

In response to Member’s questions, the Commissioning and Contracts Manager advised that the paid link worker/social prescriber, would be paid from the £100k. It was also likely that the paid link worker/social prescriber would have more than one work base across the District.

Councillor Dooley announced that this would be the Commissioning and Contracts Manager’s last meeting as she would be leaving the Council at the end of December. Members thanked the Commissioning and Contracts Manager for all the work she had carried out over the previous 18 years and wished her well for the future and in her new job role.

Moved by Councillor Mary Dooley and seconded by Councillor Duncan McGregor

RESOLVED that the Council enters into a grant agreement with DCC Public Health to receive an allocation of £100,000 funding for a two-year period aimed at improving the emotional well-being of young people in the District through a model of social prescribing.

Reasons for Recommendation

This funding would be used directly to improve the emotional well-being of children and young people. The funding came at a time when schools were reporting much higher social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs and special education needs (SEN).

Alternative Options and Reasons for Rejection

An alternative option would be for the grant to be awarded to another organisation. This had been rejected as DCC had awarded this funding directly to Bolsover Partnership to ensure that local activity commissioned met local needs of young people.

Do nothing – this was not considered to be an  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX56-23/24

RESOLVED that 1) the revised General Fund budget for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 1 and detailed in Appendix 2 to the report be approved,

2) the revised HRA budget for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 3 andAppendix 4 to the report, be approved,

3) the revised Capital Programme for 2023/24 as set out within Appendix 5 to the report be approved.

Executive considered a detailed report which sought Member’s approval of the 2023/24 revised budget for the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account and Capital Programme.

As Members had been previously advised in the budget monitoring report for quarters 1 and 2, a number of Council services were transferred into the Council’s wholly owned company, Dragonfly, who would be operating the services on behalf of the Council under service level agreements. The payments to Dragonfly for operating the Council’s services were included in the figures attached to the report.

The figures for the payments due from Dragonfly for the support services from the Council, were not yet included because the charging mechanism was still to be decided. This would be finalised soon, and the income calculated to allow it to be included in the MTFP report which would be presented to Members in February 2024.

As the report was only concerned with the Council’s services, it therefore did not include expenditure or income relating to the commercial activities of Dragonfly.

Members discussed void properties and the loss of rental income to the Council. However, it was noted that this was being addressed with improvements to the process being made in line with current legislation.

Members noted the Government’s lift on the cap of the costs charged by external auditors which had attracted a lot of criticism nationally. The Council also had a further £10k to pay to its external auditors due to an objection made by a member of the public to the Council’s accounts in relation to Dragonfly. The Chief Executive noted that this figure could be doubled due to officers’ time taken to provide a response to the objection.

Moved by Councillor Clive Moesby and seconded by Councillor John Ritchie

RESOLVED that 1) the revised General Fund budget for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 1 and detailed in Appendix 2 to the report, be approved,

            2) the revised HRA budget for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 3 and 4 to the report, be approved,

            3) the revised Capital Programme for 2023/24 as set out within Appendix 5 to the report, be approved.

Reasons for Recommendation

The purpose of the report was to set revised budgets as early as possible within the financial year to ensure that identified budget savings were realised, that all budget managers were working to the revised budgets and to allow any planned changes to be delivered.

Alternative Options and Reasons for Rejection

General Fund and HRA

Any surplus on the Council’s two main revenue accounts would result in an increase in financial balances at the year-end which were available to protect services at a time of declining central government support. It was proposed that additional resources would be transferred to reserves in preparation for future expenditure.

Capital

There were no alternative options being considered with regard to the proposed allocations from the Capital Programme budget as it ensured the Council’s assets met health and safety requirements in that they were maintained in a fit  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX57-23/24