Agenda and minutes

Cabinet - Wednesday, 20th October, 2021 6.30 pm

Venue: Committee Room, Municipal Buildings, West Street, Boston PE21 8QR

Contact: Lorraine Bush, Democratic Services Manager  Tel. no: 01205 314224 e-mail  lorraine.bush@boston.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

23.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 155 KB

To sign and confirm the minutes of the last meeting, held on 8th September 2021.

Minutes:

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 8th September 2021 were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

 

24.

APOLOGIES

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

No Apologies of absence were received.

 

25.

DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

To receive declarations of interests in respect of any item on the agenda.

Minutes:

None.

 

 

26.

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, 15th October 2021.

Minutes:

None.

 

27.

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (STANDING ITEM)* pdf icon PDF 136 KB

(The minutes of the Corporate & Community Committee meeting, held on 17th August 2021, which contain a recommendation relating to a Community Governance Review, are attached.)

Portfolio Holder: Councillor Nigel Welton, Deputy Leader of the Council

 

Minutes:

 

 

DECISION

 

That consideration of a borough-wide community governance review (CGR) be referred back to the Boston Town Area Committee to take into account the views of the Corporate & Community Committee and carry out consultation to gauge public appetite for a review.

Portfolio Holders and Officer

 

NW/LB

 

 

 

REASON FOR DECISION

 

The Deputy Leader introduced a recommendation from the Corporate & Community Committee’s meeting of 17th August 2021, when the Committee had considered a report that set out information and options relating to the possibility of conducting a Community Governance Review (CGR).

 

The Boston Town Area Committee (BTAC) had issued a request that the Council considered conducting a CGR of the town wards of the borough area under section 80 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.  The Committee was asked to make a recommendation to Cabinet on whether a CGR should be undertaken.

 

Following its consideration, the Committee resolved to ask Cabinet to consider the following recommendation:

 

“That Cabinet considers a borough-wide community governance review (CGR) and refers back to the Boston Town Area Committee, if necessary, to request the Committee’s views.”

 

The Deputy Leader suggested that the matter could be referred back to BTAC for the Committee to consider carrying out a consultation to gauge public appetite for a CGR because of the significant costs involved.

 

The Chief Executive reported that other areas that recently gone through the CGR process had been looked at and it had been noticed that they had taken the route described by the Deputy Leader, which he considered a sensible option.

 

In response to concerns raised, the Deputy Chief Executive confirmed that the final decision would not be made by BTAC itself; it would be a decision for Full Council. 

 

The Deputy Leader then put this forward as a proposal and when put to the vote it was carried with one vote against.

 

 

 

OTHER OPTIONS OR ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED

 

None.

 

 

RECORD OF ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST

 

None.

 

 

RECORD OF ANY DISPENSATION GRANTED

 

None.

 

28.

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE BOSTON TOWN AREA COMMITTEE (BTAC) (STANDING ITEM)

Minutes:

None.

 

29.

DRAFT CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY pdf icon PDF 571 KB

(A report by Sarah Baker, Climate Change & Environment Manager)

Portfolio Holder: Councillor Paul Skinner, Leader of the Council

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

 

DECISION

 

That the draft Climate Change Strategy goes out to public consultation this autumn and a final version be brought back to Cabinet and Council in Spring 2022 for approval.

Portfolio Holders and Officer

 

PS/SB

 

 

 

REASON FOR DECISION

 

The Climate Change & Environment Manager presented a report, which provided the background to the accompanying draft Climate Change Strategy for the geographical area covered by the new South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP).

 

The document was the next step in the authorities’ Climate Change aspirations, moving beyond the confines of individual carbon footprints and emissions to look at the wider issues for Climate Change in the local communities.

 

The Partnership could not deliver this strategy in isolation and a new South and East Lincolnshire Climate Action Network (SELCAN) would be established to bring together all relevant partners and ensure delivery at all levels as work progressed towards a net zero ambition.

 

The draft Climate Change Strategy sought to provide an overarching framework to reduce emissions as a whole across Boston, East Lindsey and South Holland.  It identified the strategic themes central to helping achieve the carbon reduction ambitions not just of the three Councils but of the UK as a whole, as the nation sought to be net zero by 2050.

 

The inclusion of South Holland within the strategy had been taken very recently and so this current draft was quite ‘light touch’ at the current time in relation to that.  As the consultation period progressed and further discussions were held, additional context would be added to ensure the document was as balanced as possible for the three Councils.  The three-way approach would give greater strength in drawing down necessary funding as efforts could be shown to be based on a clear strategic need.

 

It was envisaged that delivery of the Strategy would be the responsibility of the SELCAN with the support the Partnership.  SELCAN would bring together stakeholder representatives from across the area, including relevant authorities, business leaders, non-governmental organisations and communities.  Careful thought would be given to managing this successfully given the geographical scale of the area it covered.

The Strategy had used currently available data alongside recognised local priorities as the rationale for a number of key themes relevant to the area: Transport; Built Environment; Energy/Renewables; Business; Agriculture/Food; Water (Flood Risk and Drought) and Natural Environment.  Under each theme, the key challenges and opportunities had been identified together with a series of strategic actions that needed to be taken forward.  These would form the basis of the delivery plan, which SELCAN would coordinate once established.

It was important to note that while the Strategy focused on driving down carbon emissions, it also sought to promote a more sustainable approach which, as well as helping to address Climate Change issues, would bring wider benefits for the local communities including improved health and wellbeing outcomes, economic prosperity and social value.

If the Strategy was to succeed, it was important that it reflected the aspirations of the local area and, therefore,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

30.

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY pdf icon PDF 538 KB

(A report by Rachel Robinson, Improvement Development Service Manager)

 

Portfolio Holder: Councillor Paul Skinner, Leader of the Council

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

 

DECISION

 

1.    The Social Media Acceptable Use Policy be approved and its implementation across the Council’s Social Media accounts be endorsed.

2.    That a report be submitted to Cabinet after a period of six months to evaluate the policy’s effectiveness.

Portfolio Holders and Officer

 

PS/RR

 

 

 

 

REASON FOR DECISION

 

The Leader presented a report, which sought Cabinet’s approval of a Social Media Acceptable Use Policy and endorse its implementation across the Council’s social media accounts.

 

Social media was one of the Council’s key mechanisms to communicate with the community.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram were all used as tools to provide information and service updates from the Council, engaging with thousands of people each week.

 

Social media provided a means for the community to provide direct feedback to the Council by commenting on posts.  On occasions, replies to posts were inappropriate or misleading and as such the draft Social Media Acceptable Use Policy, attached at Appendix A, had been developed to provide a governance framework to enable the Council to proactively manage its social media accounts.

 

Having such a policy would give officers the ability to deal with inappropriate or misleading comments in an effective manner and in a way that protected users of the accounts.

 

Members welcomed the policy and reiterated its importance in preventing unacceptable media use that could damage the reputation of the Council.

 

A Member felt it would be important to monitor the effectiveness of the policy and suggested that it be reported back to Cabinet in six months’ time.

 

 

 

OTHER OPTIONS OR ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED

 

Not to have a policy. This was discounted as there is a need for a mechanism for the Council to manage comments made on posts that fall within the parameters of the proposed policy.

 

 

 

RECORD OF ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST

 

None.

 

 

RECORD OF ANY DISPENSATION GRANTED

 

None.

 

 

31.

* BOSTON CITY STATUS APPLICATION pdf icon PDF 637 KB

(A report by Lydia Rusling, Assistant Director – Economic Growth)

Portfolio Holder: Councillor Paul Skinner, Leader of the Council

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

 

DECISION

 

That it be recommend to Full Council:

1.    To agree Boston Borough Council’s submission of an application for the town to receive City Status as part of the competition to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

2.    To delegate authority to Councillor Richard Austin, in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), to approve and submit the application for City Status by the deadline of 8th December 2021

Portfolio Holders and Officer

 

PS/MS

 

 

 

REASON FOR DECISION

 

The Leader presented a report, which set out the details of a draft application that officers were working on with partners to submit for Boston to receive City Status as part of a competition launched to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

 

The application form instructions and entry guidelines were appended the report as Appendix A and B.  A campaign engagement plan had been circulated separately as Appendix C. 

 

Boston’s City Status application supported Priority 1 People Focussed and 2 Future Prosperity, Regeneration and Inclusive Growth in Boston’s Corporate Strategy. 

 

City Status would raise the profile of Boston as a place to live, visit and invest in and would support the Town Investment Plan (Town Deal), bolstering the growth objectives as a regional sub-centre of the County.

 

There would be a minimal budget requirement.  The Government was asking local authorities to submit their entries in a standard size and format to help minimise the expense of entering the competitions and to provide the Government with a fair basis for comparison and assessment of the entries received.

 

Promotional activities could be integrated into existing contracts and resources and information could be gathered from the Communications team, Boston Town Deal Board, Social Change (Empowering Healthy Communities) and the Community Champion Network as well as local businesses, Transported, Boston BIG Local and Community Groups

An internal project team had been established, which met regularly and followed an action plan for preparation of the bid and to enable communications and engagement.  Partners and stakeholders had been identified and were listed in the report. 

 

Planned communication/engagement had commenced with Boston’s intention to apply for City Status, launched in July and picked up by Lincolnshire Live, and there had been further media coverage since.

 

A communications and engagement plan would be supported by the project team and ensure engagement with all partners and stakeholders. A partnership approach to Boston’s application would utilise existing and established networks, including the Boston Town Deal Board, Boston Borough Council communications team and the Community Champion Network.

 

Existing contracts for Pride of Place and the Town Deal will support the delivery of a proactive communications and engagement plan.

 

The timeline and milestones were set out in the report with the intention of reporting to Full Council on 22 November in time for the deadline for submission of applications on 8 December 2021.

 

Cabinet was asked to agree the Council’s submission of the application and to delegate authority to the Portfolio Holder in consultation with the Deputy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.