Items
No. |
Item |
143. |
MINUTES PDF 231 KB
To sign and confirm the minutes of the last
meeting held 24th February 2021.
Minutes:
The minutes of the Cabinet
meeting held on 24th February 2021 were received and
would be signed by the Chairman.
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144. |
APOLOGIES
To receive
apologies for absence.
Minutes:
There were apologies for absence from the Chief Executive, as he
was attending the Executive meeting at East Lindsey District
Council.
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145. |
DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS
To receive declarations of interests in
respect of any item on the agenda.
Minutes:
No
declarations were made.
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146. |
QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
To answer any written questions
received from members of the public no later than 5 p.m. two clear
working days prior to the meeting – for this meeting
the deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday 26th March 2021.
Minutes:
Question from Mr Darron Abbott to
the Leader:
“At the last full Council
Meeting councillor Dorian asked a question of yourself regard
whether it was appropriate for Councillors to attend premises
during the Covid lockdown
period.
I have privately provided you
evidence of 2 Councillors that have visited constituents in early
March.
As the councils constant
message is stay home, stay safe will you publicly condemn the
actions of these councillors?”
Response from the Leader:
“The matter was investigated by the Monitoring Officer
and the Regulatory Body no action was taken."
Supplementary question from Mr Abbott:
“I thank the leader for
his answer, but I did ask him personally if he would condemn the
councillors actions!
“Earlier this week one of
these Councillors took to Social media as you are aware to tell all
their constituents of the changes to Covid restrictions which proves they are aware of
the rules so is the word from the council do as we say not as we do
or do Councillors had Covid
immunity?”
Response from the Leader:
“I would be supportive of the authorities in enforcing the
law.”
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147. |
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (STANDING ITEM)*
Minutes:
Recommendations from the Scrutiny Committees were contained
within the reports on the agenda.
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148. |
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE BOSTON TOWN AREA COMMITTEE (BTAC) (STANDING ITEM)
Minutes:
There were no recommendations from BTAC for this
meeting.
[The order
of agenda items was changed to enable officers to attend the
Executive Board at ELDC.]
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149. |
LINCOLNSHIRE HOMES FOR INDEPENDENCE BLUEPRINT PDF 489 KB
A report by Michelle Howard, Assistant
Director – Housing and Wellbeing.
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Martin Griggs
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
That
the Lincolnshire Homes For Independence Blueprint be endorsed and
that it be agreed to support its ambitions and shape the associated
work programme for the benefit of communities.
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Portfolio Holders and Officer
MG/MH
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REASON FOR DECISION
The Portfolio Holder
introduced a report, which presented a blueprint for Lincolnshire
Homes for Independence.
Housing was a key determinant of health. The evidence as clear
that mental health, physical health, wellbeing and life
opportunities were positively impacted through access to a safe,
warm, affordable and decent homes.
The
Lincolnshire Homes for Independence Blueprint was the result of
system-wide collaboration and commitment to ensure that
Lincolnshire residents could access and sustain safe, affordable
and suitable housing throughout their lives to meet their current
and future needs. The Blueprint was a high-level statement and a
call to action to partners across the Lincolnshire
system.
The
Blueprint had been developed over a long period by the partners,
officers and members that collaborated to form the Lincolnshire
Housing, Health & Care Delivery Group (HHCDG); a formal sub
group of the Lincolnshire Health and Wellbeing Board. It was
significant that this was a system-wide programme of work. Its
delivery and work programme would be overseen by the HHCDG but
would require continued commitment and collaboration from all
partners to deliver the associated work programme.
The
blueprint was endorsed by the Lincolnshire Health & Wellbeing
Board in December 2020. The Board noted
that ‘the development of the blueprint was the first step in
agreeing across local government, NHS organisations, social housing
providers and communities, the standards wished to be achieved in
Lincolnshire. It had since been
endorsed by Lincolnshire County Council and was in the process of
being considered by all District Councils.
The
Blueprint focused on key thematic areas that required a system
response:
·
Growing the supply of appropriate housing to meet a
range of specific housing needs
·
Aiming to influence the design, location and number
of homes delivered
·
Secure better outcomes from existing
resources
·
Enable residents in Lincolnshire to plan ahead to
meet their housing needs
Alongside the Blueprint was a delivery plan, which set out the
detail and actions to delivery of the shared vision. The delivery
plan itself would not commit partners; decision on actions within
the delivery plan would be subject to partners’ individual
decision-making processes. In endorsing the Blueprint, Members were
being asked to commit to a set of principles that could be
delivered collaboratively, across the housing, health and care
system.
The
audience for the blueprint was senior managers, board members and
Members who worked across the housing, health and care sectors as
well as those who might be less familiar with the housing and
health agenda. It was relevant to many area of the Council’s
work – housing and wellbeing, planning, environment, economic
growth, better ageing, Wellbeing Lincs.
The
aim was that it could be used for project planning, providing
evidence and justification in decision-making processes as well as
focusing the efforts of members of the partnership on actions to
secure ...
view the full minutes text for item 149.
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150. |
SAFEGUARDING POLICY AND PROCEDURES PDF 512 KB
A report by Michelle Howard, Assistant
Director – Housing and Wellbeing.
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Martin Griggs
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
1.
The updated safeguarding policy and
procedures for the strategic alliance be adopted.
2.
The delivery of safeguarding as a shared
corporate function across the strategic alliance be
noted.
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Portfolio Holders and Officer
MG/MH
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REASON FOR DECISION
The Portfolio Holder
presented a report, which appended an updated safeguarding policy
and procedures for the Strategic Alliance to adopt.
Changes had been made in order
to streamline and align the policies and procedures of the two
authorities for ease of use and to make the best use of
resources.
The key changes were summarised
as:
·
To reflect that this was a Strategic Alliance policy
for both councils
·
Roles and responsibilities
·
Web links refreshed all updated
·
Updated text for reporting concerns
·
Included updated domestic abuse (Ask Ani)
information
·
Updated Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking chapter
and included referral flowcharts
·
Included links to the Lincolnshire Multi-Agency
Hoarding protocol
·
Training plan updated and safeguarding board 6 year
training pathway was reflected – extracted as a separate
procedure document.
Members recognised the
crucial importance of safeguarding and welcomed the updated policy
and procedures.
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OTHER OPTIONS OR ALTERNATIVES
CONSIDERED
The Councils could choose to
manage safeguarding as two separate entities. This option has not
been proposed because:
·
Lincolnshire District Councils already strive to
align safeguarding policies and procedures
·
This would not align with the ambitions and
aspirations for the strategic alliance
This would not make best use of
officer time, skills or experience.
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RECORD OF ANY CONFLICT OF
INTEREST
None.
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RECORD OF ANY DISPENSATION
GRANTED
None.
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151. |
VISITOR ECONOMY RESILIENCE PDF 620 KB
A report by Lydia Rusling, Assistant Director – Towns Fund
Portfolio Holders:
Councillors Richard Austin and Nigel Welton
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
1.
The establishment of Destination
Lincolnshire – a business led, project focused initiative
– a county Destination Management Organisation (DMO) be
approved.
2.
A proportion of the Additional
Restrictions Grant funding of £300,000 be allocated to
support the delivery of the Visitor Economy Resilience
plans.
3.
The East Lindsey Destination Strategy be
developed to incorporate Boston and reflect a joint Cultural
Strategy across the Alliance.
4.
Authority be delegated to the Assistant
Director for Town Deal to establish a Service Level Agreement with
Destination Lincolnshire.
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Portfolio Holders and Officer
RA/NW/
LR
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REASON FOR DECISION
CouncillorRichard
Austin presented a report by the Assistant Director -
Towns Fund, which outlined the delivery of a plan to support the
visitor economy, incorporating support to businesses within the
retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.
The plan was a key component of
the recovery plan developed by the Strategic Alliance and would
deliver core elements of the Corporate Plan. It would deliver an
improved visitor experience – new products to take advantage
of the rise in domestic travel – as well as critical support
to tourism and hospitality businesses – connecting them to
national initiatives to re-open safely and bring more consumers to
the District’s towns.
The importance of the tourism
sector to the area, the opportunity for future growth through the
Town Deal and the imperative to support recovery for an industry
significantly impacted by the pandemic restrictions, combined to
make the case for a sector focused delivery plan.
The plan for the visitor
economy was based on working in partnership to deliver recovery,
assist businesses and underpin growth. It would complement the new
Economic Growth’s team amalgamation for the Alliance and was
phased to reflect the Government’s roadmap.
Attached at Appendix A was an
interim report containing the early recommendations from the Towns
Fund Tourism Report.
Councillor Austin explained
that he would be heavily involved with the establishment of a
service level agreement (SLA) with Destination
Lincolnshire. Councillor Austin was
keen to communicate with the Visit Lincolnshire team to acquire
more details and hoped that the SLA would provide more opportunity
for Boston to feature in publicity and promotion to enable people
to discover, rather than simply visit, Boston.
CouncillorWelton
described the plan as a comprehensive document that would take
Boston forward into the future. The
incorporation of Boston in the East Lindsey
Destination Strategy was significant, as it removed boundaries and
would allow productive, collaborative partnership working across
the whole area. A huge amount of work
had gone into producing the plan and it was a working
document. The Alliance would bring in
more resources than ever and improve the skills available to both
authorities to improve their economies.
Members commended the proposals
as exciting and excellent. Although there was some concern
regarding future funding of the Destination Management Organisation
(DMO), Members were keen to support the visitor economy and
businesses in the borough, and promote the area’s unique
offer.
The Assistant Director - Towns
Fund explained that the ...
view the full minutes text for item 151.
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152. |
REVIEW OF THE PUBLIC SPACES PROTECTION ORDER - RESTRICTING PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY OVER HIGHWAY - ON HATTER LANE, BOSTON PDF 489 KB
A report by Peter Hunn, Community Safety
Manager.
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Paul Skinner, Leader
Minutes:
DECISION
1.
That an extension of the Public Spaces
Protection Order (PSPO) be approved covering Hatter Lane
(restricting public right of way over highway) for a further
three-year period commencing on 27th April 2021 and
ending on 26th April 2024.
2.
The gated area remains the same as the
original order as introduced on 27th April
2015.
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Portfolio Holders and Officer
PS/PH
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REASON FOR DECISION
The Leader presented a report
by the Community Safety Manager, regarding a review of the Public
Spaces Protection Order (Restricting Public Right Of Way Over
Highway) on Hatter Lane, Boston.
The current Hatter Lane
Gate-related PSPO expired on 27th April 2021, marking
the end of the second 3-yearly review of the original order, which
commenced on 27th April 2015.
The Council was one of the
first in the country to make such an order when the government
passed new legislation in the late autumn of 2014.
Since the order took effect in
April 2015 and the gates were installed, no one had breached the
conditions set within the legislation and that showed the order was
a powerful part of the Council’s enforcement toolbox in
addressing nuisance and anti-social behaviour.
The most powerful statistic
that came out of this enforcement order was that it had decreased
by 100% incidents of the nature reported to Police and the Council
suffered prior to the installation of the gates.
This was a real success story
showing that officer used the legislation made available by the
Government to the best of their ability to address the issues
suffered in the community and support residents when and where
possible.
The legislation stated that any
PSPO could last no longer than 3 years without review and the time
had now come for the Council’s next review.
Lincolnshire Police had been
fully consulted throughout the whole process and shared the
Council’s view that the current order should remain in place
and that this order was a valuable tool for the Police and Council
to address concerns of nuisance within the borough’s precious
public spaces.
The recommendation made within
the report was that the PSPO in connection to Hatter Lane, Boston
be extended for another three years, commencing form the
28th April 2021, when the current order expired and that
the conditions set out within the order remain the same as in the
original order.
Members commended the
success of the order and welcomed its extension.
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OTHER OPTIONS OR ALTERNATIVES
CONSIDERED
To discharge the PSPO covering Hatter
Lane.
This is not recommended; the
PSPO has been successful in addressing the issues detailed
above. It is highly likely that the
issues would reoccur if the order were discharged.
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RECORD OF ANY CONFLICT OF
INTEREST
None.
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RECORD OF ANY DISPENSATION
GRANTED
None.
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153. |
QUARTER 3 REPORT - PERFORMANCE, RISK AND FINANCE PDF 449 KB
A report by Suzanne Rolfe, Transformation
Manager, and Tim Sampson, Finance Manager.
Portfolio Holders:
Councillors Paul Skinner, Leader, and Jonathan Noble.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
1.
That the quarterly monitoring
information for Quarter 3 be noted.
2. That the
specific finance recommendations, summarised below, be
agreed:
-
F1: to approve the reserve movements
detailed table 6
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F2: to approve the updated capital
programme as detailed in table 8
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F3: to write-off the irrecoverable
Housing Benefit Over-Payments in the sum of
£11,689
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F4: that the supplementary estimates in
respect of the Green Homes Grant and the Homes England Funding be
approved, as set out in table 12
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F5: that the supplementary estimates in
respect of COVID-19 be approved, as set out in table
13
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Portfolio Holders and Officer
PS/JN/
SR/AS
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REASON FOR DECISION
Cabinet considered the
quarterly monitoring information report, which presented
performance, risk and finance information for Quarter 3 of 2020/21
(April to December 2020).
Overall, performance in Quarter
3 of 2020/21 was in line with targets though heavily impacted by
Covid-19 restrictions, as anticipated.
The Portfolio Holder
for Finance presented the key headlines of the finance monitoring
information, reporting that the Council was
in a stable financial position, with a balanced budget for
2021/22.
However, the Council
faced greater challenges the following year, 2022/23, requiring
continued financial prudence. Trading
income had fallen substantially in the last year due to lockdown
restrictions, particularly from parking, planning and
leisure. Financial support had been
received from Government by way of grants, most recently the Green
Homes grant and a grant towards lost fees and charges.
There had been some reserve
movements during the last year due to the challenges faced during
the pandemic, but they remained in a quite healthy position, and
the property funds had performed quite well in the circumstances.
The capital programme had been updated due to deferred spending for
which an extension had been allowed.
In conclusion, the Portfolio
Holder said that the Council’s financial position remained
healthy, but continued prudence was essential, as the level of
future government support was not known.
Members were referred to the specific finance
recommendations requiring approval, which were set out in Appendix
C, relating to reserve movements; the updated capital programme;
the write-off the irrecoverable Housing Benefit Over-Payments;
supplementary estimates in respect of the Green Homes Grant and the
Homes England Funding; and supplementary estimates in respect of
COVID-19.
The two high strategic risks in Q3 remained
Housing and Budget. There had been
no change to the strategic risk scores in Q3.
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OTHER OPTIONS OR ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
Alternative reporting
arrangements.
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RECORD OF ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST
None.
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RECORD OF ANY DISPENSATION GRANTED
None.
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154. |
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE COVID19 RECOVERY PLAN 2021-2023 PDF 386 KB
A report presented by Tim Leader, Deputy Chief
Executive – Strategy
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
That the
Recovery Plan set out at Appendix A be approved and its
implementation be authorised.
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Portfolio Holders and Officer
PS/NW/
TL
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REASON FOR DECISION
The Deputy Chief Executive
(Strategy) introduced a report, which presented a Recovery Plan
prepared in conjunction with Assistant Directors.
The purpose of the Recovery
Plan was to set out a range of practical measures calculated to
help the people and businesses of Boston and East Lindsey to bounce
back from the harm caused to their economies and civil society by
the “lockdowns” imposed on local businesses and
communities to contain Covid19.
The Recovery Plan was focused
on delivering activities and tangible things useful to local people
and businesses. Progress would be
measured and reported to Cabinet and the Executive Board of East
Lindsey District Council every 6 months. This would help them
understand what was working and what was not, solve problems,
identify the potential to implement additional or improved
initiatives and ensure resources provided to the authorities by
Government were spent to good effect on activities that produced
the greatest benefit. It was anticipated the first review would be
reported to the Cabinet and Executive Board in September
2021.
It was recognised that
many had suffered financial hardship due to the pandemic and
lockdown restrictions.
A range of projects were being undertaken in order
to help local people and businesses to recover from the effects of
the pandemic that would also provide opportunities for the future.
The Visitor Economy Resilience plan was an
example.
The main aims of the
plan were to boost employment opportunities, particularly for young
people; tackle financial inequalities; improve financial wellbeing;
carry out environmental improvements and assist
businesses. Assistant Directors had
been asked to identify and scope a number of projects and identify
the budget to utilise Government funding in order to progress them
quickly. The projects specified so far
needed further work. In the meantime,
Members were asked to agree the principles of the plan and
Portfolio Holders were asked to assume responsibility, alongside
the Deputy Chief Executive (Strategy), to ensure that the projects
set out in the appendices were developed to an acceptable standard
in the next four weeks.
The Portfolio Holders welcomed
the Recovery Plan and stressed the importance of proceeding without
delay, accepting the request for assistance.
During debate, the issue of fly
tipping was raised, which was a high priority for local people, and
reference was made to proposed actions to tackle this.
The Portfolio Holder for
Finance reiterated the Council’s financial constraints and
underlined the dependence of many of the projects on future
government funding.
The Deputy Chief Executive
(Strategy) agreed, but pointed out that projects might have initial
costs, but could also provide income streams. In addition, increased confidence in the area and
its raised profile, resulting from the success of Boston’s
Towns Fund bid, would help produce further funding in order to the
most of available opportunities and assist with bringing schemes to
fruition. The Deputy Chief Executive
(Place) strongly supported ...
view the full minutes text for item 154.
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