Items
No. |
Item |
110. |
MINUTES PDF 136 KB
To sign and confirm the minutes of the last
meeting, held on 5th November 2020.
Minutes:
The minutes of the Cabinet
meeting held on 5 November 2020 were received and to be signed by
the Chairman.
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111. |
APOLOGIES
To receive
apologies for absence.
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were
received from the Chief Executive and the Assistant Director
– Organisation and Corporate Services, who were committed
other meetings.
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112. |
DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS
To receive declarations of interests in
respect of any item on the agenda.
Minutes:
Councillor Tracey Abbott declared that she had
been part of the Task and Finish Group (Minute 114 refers) for a
period of time and the Leader declared that he had also been
involved with the group in a supportive role.
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113. |
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 27th November 2020.
Minutes:
A question had been
received from Mr Darron Abbott.
“The Question is for Councillor Abbott
as portfolio holder for open spaces.
“A portfolio holder for open spaces I am
assuming you a aware of a council facility just off London Road
which is known locally as Garfits'
Park. This is a large recreational area and along three sides has
wonderful trees and hedgerows.
“Early in the year Boston Borough
Council allowed a large stretch of this valuable stretch of
wildlife habitat to be ripped out by a housing developer. Then on
the 4th November Boston Borough Council allowed a contractor to
virtually wipe out an additional stretch with a flail Mower.
“As I am sure you are aware you
personally are contributor to the RSPB, The Wildlife Trust and the
Boston Woods Trust so I will assume you supportive of conservation
and preservation. I will also assume you are aware of how important
hedgerows are to the environment. In winter these hedgerows provide
valuable shelter and food for nor only indigenous species but many
of the migrating birds.
“Recently conservationist Chis
Packham posted a picture on
facebook very similar the ones hire
provided along with this question along with the following comment
"Hello I'm a Redwing. I have just flown here from Scandinavia to
feast on your winter berries. But look... oh well , I'll just
starve then.
“Would you like to explain to me why
Boston Borough Council finds this wanton destruction of habitat and
potential murder of valuable wildlife.
“To make things a little easier for you
I attach photographs of the destruction and various extracts that
offer guidance of competent hedgerow maintenance.”
Response from the Leader:
“Thank you for your question. There is a
requirement under the terms of a Licence in place at Garfits Lane, for the Licensee to undertake grass
cutting and other seasonal grounds maintenance. The use of a side
arm flail mower is a recognised method of grounds maintenance and
is considered appropriate for this hedgerow. Officers will however
review the timing of hedge cutting next year to ensure it takes
place at the optimal time for wildlife.”
Supplementary
question submitted by Mr Abbott:
“I thank the officer for writing the
answer for the leader. I am surprised that the leader finds that
the most appropriate method of hedgerow management is the flail
mower. Every guideline I have suggest that the flail mower is the
lazy method due to the damage caused to the branches and the risk
of disease of entering the plant.
“Therefore may I request that the
correct research is carried out and a proper written policy drawn
up to ensure the kind of destruction is not justified in the
future.”
Response
from the Leader:
“The environment is very
dear to the Council and I look forward to a policy being drawn up
to cover this. To be candid, flail mowing at this time of year, to
take both sides down within the drainage boards, it would be
frowned ...
view the full minutes text for item 113.
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114. |
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (STANDING ITEM)*
Minutes:
Recommendations were contained
within the reports on the agenda.
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115. |
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE BOSTON TOWN AREA COMMITTEE (BTAC) (STANDING ITEM)
Minutes:
There were none for this
meeting.
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116. |
REGULATING AND SAFEGUARDING BOSTON'S ECONOMY PDF 184 KB
(A report by Councillor Judith Skinner, Madam
Chairman, Environment and Performance Committee and Christian
Allen, Assistant Director Regulation)
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Paul Skinner - Leader
Minutes:
DECISION
1.
That the findings be noted and thanks
conveyed to the Members and Officers involved in the Task and
Finish Group and Environment & Performance Committee for their
well-considered and thorough scrutiny work; and their
recommendations at Appendix A be agreed and accepted in
full.
2.
That responsibility be delegated to the
Assistant Director Regulation to take forward the recommendations,
in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder and Chairman of
the Boston Town Area Committee (BTAC).
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Portfolio Holders and Officer
PS / JS/ CA
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REASON FOR DECISION
Councillor Judith Skinner,
Madam Chairman of the Environment and Performance Scrutiny
Committee, presented the findings and recommendations from the Task
and Finish Group set up by the Committee to carry out a review on
regulating and safeguarding Boston’s economy.
Councillor Skinner explained
that the previous year, at a meeting of the Committee, Members were
appraised of ongoing public concern in respect of anti-social
behaviour within the borough, particularly relating to the use and
control of alcohol both on and off premises in the town.
Committee Members agreed that
it would be useful to undertake a piece of scrutiny work and
established a Task and Finish Group in order to do so. Following an
initial scoping meeting, the Task and Finish Group agreed that a
review of the regulation and safeguarding arrangements for the
economy of Boston should be undertaken to address public
concerns.
The Task and Finish Group
diligently set about their task and talked to many stakeholders
with an interest in the subject, and informed by the findings of a
public consultation exercise that returned over 150 responses.
Stakeholders engaged included the Police, Licensing professionals,
community group representatives and many partners with discussion
supported by data provided on antisocial behaviour, crime and CCTV
reports.
The Covid-19 pandemic delayed
the review; however, the Task and Finish Group concluded their work
with a report to the parent committee on 3rd November
2020. The report and the supporting appendices that the Committee
received clearly demonstrated the diligence of Members, officers
and partners involved in the review, and delivered 13
recommendations, which were robust and wholly supported by the
Committee.
The request before Cabinet was
an invitation to thank Members and officers of the Task And Finish
Group and the parent Committee for their outstanding work, accept
the recommendations attached at
appendix A in their entirety, and agree to them being taken
forward, set out as follows:
1.
Cabinet determine to note the findings and to thank
the Members and Officers involved in the Task and Finish (T&F)
Group / Environment and Performance (E&P) Committee for their
well-considered and thorough scrutiny work; and agree to accept in
full their recommendations at appendix A.
2.
Cabinet delegate responsibility to the Assistant
Director Regulation to take forward the recommendations, in
consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder/Chair of Boston
Town Area Committee (BTAC).
The Leader thanked all involved for their thorough work and
gave full support to the recommendations.
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117. |
PORT OF BOSTON - GATEWAY TO GROWTH PDF 307 KB
(A report by Clive Gibbon, Economic
Development Manager)
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Nigel Welton
Minutes:
DECISION
1.
That a sum of not more than £20,000 from the
Transformation Fund financial support be approved for the Midlands
Connect feasibility study.
2.
That a budget of £30,000 be allocated to the
Deputy Chief Executive for the purpose of supporting ongoing
project development, to include but not exhaustive any feasibility
or viability studies and any external advice that may support the
project development.
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Portfolio Holder and Officer
NW /
CG
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REASON FOR DECISION
The Deputy Leader presented a report, which
provided information regarding development of the project "Port of
Boston - Gateway to Growth". This
included the Economic, Social and Environmental impact on both the
local and regional economies. The
project would create a super-efficient logistics hub with real
international significance enabling Boston and southeast
Lincolnshire to safeguard the existing 40,000+ jobs and, through
new innovation, create further employment opportunities to
influence and inspire communities to realise their full potential
and raise the aspirations for future generations.
The east of England, and especially Boston and
southeast Lincolnshire was synonymous with the fresh produce food
sector, including having the largest food logistics and storage
cluster. The Lincolnshire food sector was based on both strong
local and regional food production as well as processing millions
of tonnes of imports each year from over 39 countries
worldwide.
Efficient, timely and reliable international
and national logistics were essential to sustain the 90,000 jobs in
agriculture and food processing in Lincolnshire and neighbouring
Local Enterprise Partnership areas in the East Midlands and East
Anglia, known as the UK Food Valley.
The economic rationale behind the Gateway to
Growth project was clear and would provide huge opportunities for
Boston and sub-regional areas to strengthen their economies,
enhance and create further job opportunities, add value to private
sector investment and carbon reduction related strategies and
enhanced connectivity that supported the Midlands Engine for growth
and the manufacturing belt of the UK.
Cabinet was asked to consider two
recommendations:
(i)
To provide, from the Transformation Fund financial support to the
Midlands Connect feasibility study of not more than
£20,000.
(ii)
To allocate a budget of £30,000 to the Deputy Chief Executive
for the purpose of supporting ongoing project development, to
include but not exhaustive any feasibility or viability studies and
any external advice that may support the project development.
These recommendations were required to
demonstrate to the Council’s partner, Lincolnshire County
Council (LCC), the support of the Council to the Midlands Connect
feasibility study and to provide ongoing support for project
initiation and development. Without this funding, the project would
not be able to progress to the next stage and LCC would not support
a Midlands Connect submission.
Highways infrastructure, both the ability for
the existing network to support current traffic demands and also
the additional demands generated through anticipated growth in the
area as a result of the Port of Boston, the Food Valley, the
designation of Greater Lincolnshire as one of an area of High
Potential Opportunity (HPO) and the impact of the ...
view the full minutes text for item 117.
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118. |
ROUGH SLEEPING ACCOMMODATION PROGRAMME PDF 136 KB
(A report by Michelle Howard, Assistant
Director – Housing and Wellbeing)
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Martin Griggs
Minutes:
DECISION
1.
That a partnership arrangement with
Framework Housing Association be agreed to allow for the delivery
of ten units of accommodation through the Rough Sleeping
Accommodation Programme.
2. That the Portfolio
Holder for Housing & Communities be delegated the development
of a local lettings policy to ensure that the units of
accommodation delivered through this scheme are allocated to rough
sleepers or those at risk of rough sleeping and that these units
are available for this purpose for a minimum of 30
years.
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Portfolio Holder and Officer
MG /
MH
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REASON FOR DECISION
Councillor Martin Griggs
presented a report outlining the Rough Sleeping Accommodation
Programme. The Government had placed
significant emphasis on addressing rough sleeping during the
Covid-19 pandemic. Building on an existing focus on reducing rough
sleeping, the Council had been successful in accessing additional
funding for emergency accommodation provision and had repurposed
existing rough sleeping funding to ensure a proactive and effective
response.
The next phase of the
Government’s Covid-19 response to homelessness was to make
accommodation available longer term for those who had been
accommodated during the pandemic, and to make this accommodation
available for the purpose of providing accommodation for current
and future rough sleepers on a longer term basis (30 years) through
the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP).
In August 2020, Local
Authorities were invited to bid to the Government’s Rough
Sleeping Accommodation Programme. Local Authority bidders to this
capital programme were required to either have Homes England
Investment Partner status or to work with a suitably experienced
partner with this in place.
A bid was submitted by the
Council endorsing Framework Housing Association as its delivery
partner. This had been accepted by the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Homes England who had
agreed an allocation of £739,297 (capital and associated
support revenue costs) to deliver ten units of accommodation in the
borough of Boston. These units would be available for occupation by
31st March 2021. Allocation of these units would be
prioritised for rough sleepers / those at risk of rough sleeping.
It was proposed that this was managed via a specific allocations
agreement known as a local lettings policy.
Homes England were currently in
the final stages of a due diligence process and wer preparing to issue contracts. The funding would
be allocated directly to Framework Housing Association.
Members commended the
programme, which would help the most vulnerable people, and
welcomed it particularly at this time of year as the weather
worsened.
There was surprise and
disappointment that no other housing providers had submitted a
proposal, especially the larger providers in the borough, when this
was so important. In addition, it was
remarked that the programme would need regular scrutiny to ensure
it was delivering the service appropriately.
In response, Councillor
Griggs confirmed that scrutiny would be achieved through the
proposed local lettings policy, a service level agreement that
would be drawn up between the Council and Framework HA, as well as
the submission of periodic evidence for ...
view the full minutes text for item 118.
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119. |
TOWNS FUND ACCELERATOR PROJECT 'EXPERIENCE BOSTON' PDF 131 KB
(A report by Luke Skerritt, Museums, Arts and
Heritage Manager)
Portfolio Holder
– Councillor Richard Austin
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
That
a procurement exemption be approved to allow the direct award of a
contract to Placemarque for
£60,000 to deliver the consultancy, design, manufacture and
installation of the interpretative signage element of the
Towns Fund
Accelerator Project ‘Experience
Boston’.
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Portfolio Holder and Officer
RA /
LS
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REASON FOR DECISION
Councillor Richard Austin
presented a report, which detailed the content of the Towns Fund
Accelerator Project ‘Experience Boston’ and requested
that a £60,000 procurement exemption be made for contracting
the delivery of the interpretative element of the
scheme.
Councillor Austin said this was
very much a good news item for Boston. The £80,000 Towns Fund
Accelerator project had been previously
agreed by Cabinet. £60,000 of this was
to be used to deliver an interpretation scheme. Due
to the £25,000 limit in the Council’s procurement
exemption rules this had to come to Cabinet
again.
This was the second phase, and
extension, of work to develop interpretation schemes and to design,
manufacture and install signage and street interpretation furniture
relating to Boston’s heritage and associated heritage
artwork. It would go hand in glove with, and enhance, initiatives
at various locations such as the six Boston Buoys project, and the
Pilgrim Memorial and Structures on the Edge sites, Customhouse Quay
and Central Park plus other town centre locations to be agreed with
the consultants.
The scheme would achieve the
delivery of quality enhancements in the public realm, developing
Boston’s historic and cultural offer and its attraction as a
destination as well as a place for people to live work and
invest.
The grant agreement was given
the formal go ahead in September and it dictated that the work had
to be initiated and completed by 31st of March 2021. The first
phase of this interpretation and place branding scheme was carried
out by Placemarque. It was therefore
sensible and practical for them to complete this second part of the
project for £60,000. Placemarque
specialised in this type of work and came with a very good track
record both from the phase one work they had completed in Boston
and in other towns and cities round the country.
The Council’s Contract
and Procurement Procedure Rules had a £25,000 threshold on
exemptions, above which it was necessary to seek Cabinet approval
for an exemption, as in this case. It would not be possible to meet
the 31st of March deadline using the normal procurement avenue. The
graphic and sign toolkit in the report was produced during the
initial phase of this project. This
Towns Fund Accelerator project was a precursor and related to the
main Town Fund Deal.
Councillor Austin concluded by
proposing that a procurement exemption be approved by Cabinet to
allow the direct award of a contract to Placemarque for £60,000 and that the wider
scope of the project delivery and work with partners was
noted.
A Member queried why no
other company had been considered to deliver the
scheme. Councillor Austin
explained that, as approval had only been received ...
view the full minutes text for item 119.
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120. |
CCTV ANNUAL POLICY UPDATE 2020 PDF 164 KB
(A report by Andrew Haw, CCTV Manager)
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Paul Skinner - Leader
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
That
the CCTV Policy presented at Appendix A be adopted and that it
becomes effective on Monday 14th December 2020 and will
remain effective until further review.
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Portfolio Holder and Officer
RA /
LS
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REASON FOR DECISION
The Leader, Councillor Paul
Skinner, introduced a report, which presented the CCTV Annual
Policy Update for 2020.
The Council’s CCTV
Policy became effective in December 2015 and was reviewed and
signed off by Members on an annual basis. The CCTV Policy covered
all CCTV cameras owned and managed by the Council. Cameras covered
many of the Council’s operational buildings, such as the
offices on West Street, the Depot on St Johns and the Geoff Moulder
Leisure complex, as well as the cameras installed on the primary
refuse fleet. The policy also covered the Council’s overt
cameras within the Market Place and other areas with Boston and
beyond.
This year there had been no
amendments to the existing policy and the recommendation was to
agree the continuation of the policy until further review,
which will become effective on 14th December.
The policy was scrutinised by the Environment
& Performance Committee at its meeting on 14 July when it
resolved to recommend the policy to Cabinet for adoption.
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OTHER OPTIONS OR ALTERNATIVES
CONSIDERED
None.
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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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121. |
PUBLIC SPACES PROTECTION ORDER (PSPO) "ALCOHOL" REVIEW PDF 420 KB
(A report by Peter Hunn, Community Safety
Manager)
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Paul Skinner - Leader
Minutes:
DECISION
That
the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) (Alcohol) and its
enforcement provisions be extended for another three-year period,
commencing from 12th January 2021, and the area remains
the same as the original order which came into force on
12th January 2015 and which was also extended for a
further 3 year period from 12th January 2018.
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Portfolio Holder and Officer
PS /
PH
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REASON FOR DECISION
The Leader, Councillor Paul
Skinner, introduced a report relating to a review of the
Council’s Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) relating to
alcohol.
The current alcohol-related PSPO expired on
11th January 2021, marking the end of the second
3-yearly review of the original order, which commenced on
12th January 2015.
The Council was the first in the country to
make such an order when the Government passed new legislation in
late Autumn, 2014.
Since the order took effect in January 2015,
only two individuals had breached the conditions set within the
legislation. This showed that the order
was a powerful part of the Council’s enforcement toolbox in
addressing street drinking and alcohol related nuisance and
anti-social behaviour. However,
officers soon became aware that, whilst anyone caught drinking
alcohol within the exclusion zone adhered to the request to leave
the area or stop drinking with immediate effect, the new
legislation did not stop them from returning and doing the same
within days, if not hours, of being told to stop. Therefore, officers of the Council and the Police
came up with an incremental enforcement approach in addressing
those few individuals and numerous other councils had since adopted
this approach.
Anyone caught drinking alcohol within the
exclusion zone had their name and address details taken, even if
they adhered to the order by stopping drinking or were willing to
leave the excluded area. The details
were sent to the Community Safety Team, who recorded the incident
on their ASB Database. Then, officers
issued either a stage 1 advice letter for the first incident, a
stage 2 warning letter, if they were caught again within six months
of the first occasion, progressing to Community Protection Notices
for the 3rd and 4th occasions.
Since 2015, 1205 individuals had been dealt
with under this tiered approach and only 121 of those had been
classified as repeat drinking. This
showed that the majority of individuals caught only need telling
once, which was a real success story demonstrating that the Council
used the legislation Government available, but also thought outside
the box when legislation did not quite go far enough to address the
issue.
In accordance with legislation, a PSPO could
last no longer than 3 years without review and the time had come
for the next review.
Lincolnshire Police had been consulted fully
throughout the whole process and shared the Council’s view
that the current order and its highlighted exclusion zone remained
the correct area to focus on. Also,
they agreed that not having such an order would take away a
valuable ...
view the full minutes text for item 121.
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122. |
AIR QUALITY ACTION PLAN PROGRESS REPORT PDF 190 KB
(A report by Nick Davis, Principal
Environmental Health Officer)
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor Yvonne Stevens
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
That
the aims and measures within the Air Quality Action Plan be
supported and the Assistant Director Regulation and the Portfolio
Holder for Environmental Services be delegated to ensure its
advancement and provide progress reports to Cabinet and/or Scrutiny
Committee at appropriate junctures.
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Portfolio Holder and Officer
YS /
ND
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REASON FOR DECISION
Councillor Yvonne Stevens
introduced a report, which gave a progress report on the
Council’s revised Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP).
The AQAP was brought before
Cabinet in May 2020 following a consultation exercise with a number
of organisations and the wider public to seek Cabinet’s
formal approval of the AQAP and its submission to the Department of
Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFRA). An Air Quality Action Plan was required where Air
Quality Management Areas (AQMA) had been declared because of a
failure to meet national air quality standards. The AQAP set out a
series of actions the Council would pursue to improve air quality
in these areas.
Cabinet approved the AQAP and
its submission to DEFRA, and requested that a report be brought
back to Cabinet every six months following DEFRA approval to report
on progress on the plan. This report fulfilled this request. It
reported on the outcome of the DEFRA submission, which resulted in
some minor changes to the AQAP, and informed Cabinet of progress on
the action plan to date.
Progress had been made in a
number of areas, particularly those that Environmental Health, in
collaboration with other sections of the authority, were concerned
about, despite resources being drawn away to other duties required
by regulation and enforcement around COVID19 and increased demands
on the service. A number of these were
highlighted at in the report and a full progress list against
actions was set out in Appendix 1.
In particular, it was noted
that it was the Council’s intention to consider revocation of
the Bargate Bridge AQMA, as it has
demonstrated long-term compliance with the Air Quality Objectives
and was supported by DEFRA. A separate
report with the supporting data would be made to Cabinet with a
recommendation to revoke the AQMA in the next few
months.
Members commended the
improvements and welcomed the provision of 23 EV charging points
within Council-owned car parks and the improvements at Bargate Bridge.
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OTHER OPTIONS OR ALTERNATIVES
CONSIDERED
The assessment and management
of air quality is a statutory requirement as is the declaration and
implementation of an AQAP where it has been necessary to declare an
Air Quality Management Area for breaches of national air quality
standards.
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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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123. |
QUARTER 2 REPORT - PERFORMANCE, RISK AND FINANCE PDF 186 KB
(A report by Suzanne Rolfe, Transformation
& Governance Manager, and Tim Sampson, Accountancy Manager -
Revenues & Systems)
Portfolio Holders:
Councillors Paul Skinner – Leader (Performance) and Jonathan
Noble (Finance and Risk)
Additional documents:
Minutes:
DECISION
1.
The quarterly monitoring information for
Quarter 2 be noted.
2.
Specific finance recommendations,
summarised below, be approved:
- F1: Reserve movements detailed in Table 6 of the
report;
- F2: The updated capital programme detailed in
Table 8;
- F3: Supplementary estimates in respect of the
Accelerated Towns’ Fund, as set out in Table
11
- F4: Supplementary estimates in respect of
COVID-19, as set out in Table 12
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Portfolio Holder and Officer
PS /
JN
SR /
AS
|
REASON FOR DECISION
The Leader introduced a
report, which set out in detail the performance, risk and finance
monitoring information for Quarter 2, the period 1 July to 31
September 2020.
It was noted that Covid-19 was
clearly having an impact on the Council’s performance in some
areas, but that the Council’s teams, across the board, were
doing a great job in difficult circumstances.
Councillor Noble confirmed that
there were no changes to report with respect to risks and then went
through the main points of the finance information, recommending
specific finance recommendations for approval.
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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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