Agenda, decisions and minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Clive Moesby.

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.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 7^th October 2024

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Anne Clarke

RESOLVED that the minutes of an Executive meeting held on 7^th October 2024 be approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED that 1) the monitoring position of the General Fund at the end of the second quarter as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report (a net favourable variance of £2.177m against the profiled budget) and the key issues highlighted within the report be noted,

2) the position on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), the Capital Programme and Treasury Management at the end of the second quarter (Appendices 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the report), be noted.

Executive considered a detailed report, presented by Junior Cabinet Member Councillor Duncan Haywood on behalf of the Portfolio Holder for Resources, which provided an update on the financial position of the Council following the second quarter’s budget monitoring exercise for the General Fund, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), Capital Programme and Treasury Management activity.

The Council continued to make payments to Dragonfly Management for the provision of services in line with the service level agreement.  The Council made a charge to Dragonfly Development for the support services provided to the whole company.  Budgets from the already approved Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) were paid over to Dragonfly Management to allow them to operate and pay for the Council’s services.

General Fund Revenue Account

The General Fund Revenue Account summary was shown in Appendix 1 to the

report.  The original budget for 2024/25 showed a positive contribution to the NNDR Growth Protection Reserve of £0.188m, a surplus in effect.  The current budget now showed this to be a use of the reserve after adjustments had been made to the business rates figures for the actual 2024/25 NNDR1 return, and the estimated business rates deficit of £0.355m.  However, after the Council tax increase and other small movements were included, the current budget overall was showing a surplus of £0.131m.  As savings were identified and secured, they were moved into the relevant cost centres within the main General Fund Directorates.  Appendix 2 to the report detailed the net cost of each cost centre within the Directorates.

Government Funding Update

As discussed in detail in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy, approved at Council on 9^th of October 2024, there remained a great deal of uncertainty regarding the future funding of local government.  The change in Government after the general election made trying to predict what may be in the Spending Review for 2024, extremely difficult.

Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

The Housing Revenue Account summary for the second quarter of 2024/25 was set out in Appendix 3 to the report.  The original budget for 2024/25 showed a balanced budget with a transfer of £0.363m back to the HRA balance, to re-instate the £2m minimum balance.  The current budget showed this to still be the case. Appendix 4 detailed the net cost of each cost centre within the HRA and gave some detail for the larger variances.  The information on the HRA services transferred into Dragonfly Management was also provided.

Capital Expenditure

The capital programme summary for the second quarter of 2024/25 was provided in Appendix 5 to the report.  In headline terms, the capital programme profiled budget for quarter 2 was £20.937m and the actual spend and known commitments totalled £12.314m, which was £8.623m behind the planned spend position.  The budget for the capital schemes which were managed by Dragonfly Management were paid over in advance once a quarter, so a few of the schemes had actuals that almost matched exactly to the profiled 6-month budget.  The main areas to highlight were listed in the report.  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX53-23/24

RESOLVED that in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Growth, the Council’s Chief Executive be granted delegated power to formally approve the appointment of Councillor Anne Clarke, as nominated by Executive and formally accepted by Dragonfly Development Ltd and Dragonfly Management (Bolsover) Ltd, to the Boards of Directors.

Executive considered a detailed report which sought approval for the nomination of a Director(s) to the Board of Directors for Dragonfly Development Ltd and Dragonfly Management (Bolsover) Ltd.

Further to the resignation of Councillor Steve Fritchley as Chair and Director on the Dragonfly Group Board of Directors, Councillor Deborah Watson had been elected as Chair of the Board.

Councillor Fritchley’s resignation had created a vacancy on the Board of Directors of both companies and therefore all Councillors were invited to express an interest in becoming a Director on the Boards.

The Members who had expressed an interest were:

·       Councillor Duncan Haywood

·       Councillor Anne Clarke

On 23^rd October 2024, the Dragonfly Board held informal interviews with both Councillors Clarke and Haywood and requested Executive ratify their decision to formally nominate Councillor Anne Clarke to the Board of Directors.

Moved by Councillor Sandra Peake and seconded by Councillor Steve Fritchley

RESOLVED that in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Growth, the Council’s Chief Executive be granted delegated power to formally approve the appointment of Councillor Anne Clarke, as nominated by Executive and formally accepted by Dragonfly Development Ltd and Dragonfly Management (Bolsover) Ltd, to the Boards of Directors.

Reasons for Recommendation

Appointment to the Dragonfly Group Boards of Directors is undertaken in accordance with the agreed governance arrangements within the Shareholder Agreement dated 2nd May 2023.

Alternative Options and Reasons for Rejection

It is a requirement for the Executive to formally nominate Members to the Boards of Directors for the wholly owned companies, however, there is no set number of Directors required.

Executive may decide to formally nominate either or both Councillors who have expressed an interest, however, the existing Dragonfly Board have expressed their preference at Appendix 1 to the report.

Councillor Anne Clarke and Junior Cabinet Member Councillor Duncan Haywood returned to the meeting.

RESOLVED that the decision to award the contract for the Phase 2 works as set out in the report be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Member for Growth.

Executive considered a detailed report, presented by the Leader, which sought agreement to award the contract for the Phase 2 public realm works of the Shirebrook Market Place: REimagined project, to Jamieson Contracting Limited.

Members would be aware that the Council had developed the Shirebrook Market Place: REimagined project to lead to significant public realm improvements to Shirebrook Market Place.

Phase 1 of the project focused on the Memorial Gardens element of the public realm works and was delivered by Jamieson Contracting Limited following the Council procuring their services through the Pagabo Framework in November 2023.  Phase 1 works started in full on 6^th July 2024 and were completed on 13^th September 2024.

During the delivery of this first phase, a quotation from Jamieson Contracting Limited was secured for Phase 2, i.e. the remaining public realm works.  This was received on 13^th August 2024 and states that the cost of this Phase 2 work would be £468,011.02.  Jamieson Contracting Limited has stated that the Phase 2 work can be completed by 31^st March 2025 to satisfy grant funding requirements and will represent the best value available for this works.

A discussion took place regarding the good news received on 1^st November 2024 from the Government regarding the £15m of Regeneration Funding and that this would enable the Phase 3 works to progress in due course.  In light of this, it was agreed that the decisions around the delivery of the Phase 3 works need to be taken into account as part of the appointment of Jamieson Contracting Limited.

On this basis, the Leader proposed that the decision to award the contract for the Phase 2 works as set out in the report be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Member for Growth.

Moved by Councillor Steve Fritchley and seconded by Councillor Duncan McGregor

RESOLVED that the decision to award the contract for the Phase 2 works as set out in the report be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Member for Growth.

Reasons for Recommendation

The Council must deal with procurement matters acting at all times within the Council’s Financial and Contract Procedure Rules and as such secure value for money when commissioning goods, services and works.

In light of the quotation information set out in the report, it was considered that appointing Jamieson Contracting Limited to deliver Phase 2 of the Shirebrook Market Place: REimagined project up to the value of £468,011.02, funding permitting, was desirable.  Should additional funding not be available, the relevant purchase order would reflect this situation.

Therefore, the agreement of the Executive was sought to appoint Jamieson Contracting Limited for this work up to the value of £468,011.02, funding permitting.

Alternative Options and Reasons for Rejection

It would be possible to not appoint Jamieson Contracting Limited to deliver the Phase 2 works, although this would delay the project and put at risk the already secured funding from the UK Shared  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX55-23/24

RESOLVED that the amount of £131,848.60 as individually detailed in Appendix 1 to the report be written off.

Executive considered a detailed report which recommended the write-off of a number of individual debts which were above the limit of £2,500 - in all cases, every attempt had been made by the Council, and agencies working with the Council, to collect the outstanding debt before write-off was proposed.

The table in the report provided a summary of each class of write-off and the amounts to be written off - previous years were also provided in the table for comparison purposes.

The Council’s Constitution allowed the Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer, ‘after consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder, to authorise the write-off of bad debts up to an approval limit of £2,500.’

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor John Ritchie

RESOLVED that the amount of £131,848.60 as individually detailed in Appendix 1 to the report be written off.

Reasons for Recommendation

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

Alternative Options and Reasons for Rejection

These were outlined in the main body of the report.