Agenda and minutes

To receive and record any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Bains, Briggs and Pike.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 7 February 2018.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 7 February 2018 were approved as a correct record.

To receive and record any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest from any of the members present.

To receive any reports the Chairman wishes to make.

As this was his last Cabinet as Leader, Councillor Cheshire took the opportunity to thank the officers for their advice and support to Cabinet during his term of office.

RECOMMENDED that the following Delegated Decisions and Minutes of Meetings be noted:

(1)          Delegated Decision - Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

RESOLVED that the following decision taken under the scheme of delegations to Cabinet Leads be noted:

(1)               Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

Councillor Branson, as Scrutiny Lead, was invited to present to Cabinet the findings and recommendations of the Operations, Environmental Services and Norse Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel arising from its review of grass cutting and weed clearance in the Borough.

Councillor Branson outlined the work undertaken by the Panel in seeking to understand the issues experienced in the summer of 2017, due largely to poor weather leading to unprecedented weed growth, and a delay in identifying the scale of the issue. The Panel had been satisfied that the measures that had since been introduced to prevent similar problems occurring in future were sufficiently robust.

RESOLVED that

(1)          The new monitoring arrangements, as set out in Appendix B to the report, to improve monitoring of the grass cutting and weed clearance programme, be endorsed;

(2)          Officers be requested to provide regular reports to Councillors on the progress of the grass cutting and weed clearance programme;

(3)          Officers be requested to investigate ways of encouraging Councillors to report any instances of poor or lack of grass cutting / weed clearance to Customer Services, and in turn encourage residents to do the same; and

(4)               Officers be requested to publish an article in Serving You advising residents to contact Customer Services in any instances of poor or lack of grass cutting or weed clearance.

Councillor Patrick, as Scrutiny Lead, was invited to present to Cabinet the findings and recommendations of the Communities and Housing Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel arising from its review of the Havant Locality Board and its effectiveness in relation to the Community Trigger.

Councillor Patrick outlined the scope of the review and the methodology adopted by the Panel in reaching its conclusions.

Cabinet noted that clarification had been given by the Leader that community safety and antisocial behaviour fell within the remit of Councillor Wilson, as Cabinet Lead for Environment and Neighbourhood Services, and that Councillor Wilson had been briefed accordingly.

RESOLVED that

(1)          officers be requested to maximise publicity for the Community Trigger on the Council’s website and the website for the Safer Havant Partnership;

(2)          officers be requested to provide a training course on the Community Trigger to all existing Councillors and to include this course as part of the Councillors’ Induction programme; and

(3)               it be noted that responsibility for Community Safety and Anti-Social Behaviour falls within the remit of the Cabinet Lead for Environment and Neighbourhood Services.

Councillor Patrick was invited to the meeting to present the findings and recommendations of the Communities and Housing Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel, arising from its review of the Council’s Assets of Community Value policy and procedures.

In endorsing the recommendations, Cabinet members requested that guidance on the Council’s website include a clear description of the criteria by which all applications were assessed.

RESOLVED that

(1)          Officers be requested to update the Council’s website to contain clear information for the public detailing exactly what an Asset of Community Value (ACV) is, how they can apply, what can and cannot be used as a reason for the application and the requirement for groups submitting applications;

(2)          Officers be requested to send Councillors information on ACVs to enable clear direction to be given to residents;

(3)          Officers be requested to include details on how the Council considers ACV applications in the updated Local Plan;

(4)          Officers be requested to review the resources used by the Council to facilitate the ACV process;

(5)          The Monitoring Officer be requested to amend the Constitution to reflect the Cabinet’s delegation of authority to determine nominations for the listing of ACVs to the Cabinet Lead for Communities and Housing (Minute 83/3/2013); and

(6)               Authority be delegated to the Head of Housing and Community Engagement to select up to three Councillors to sit on the Assets of Community Value Panel on a meeting by meeting basis, provided these Councillors are not members of the Cabinet or where the asset concerned is not within their Ward.

In the absence of Cllr Bains as Cabinet Lead for this item, Councillor Guest presented the report and commended the draft Advertising Policy to Cabinet for approval.

RESOLVED that the advertising policy be endorsed for use with external parties or partners.

RECOMMENDED that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the item headed and numbered as below because:

(a)       it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during that item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information of the descriptions specified in paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972 shown against the heading in question; and

(b)       in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Item 11 – Building Control IT System

(Paragraph 3 – Information relation to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the next item because:

(a)  It was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during that item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information of the descriptions specified in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972 shown against the heading in question; and

(b)   In all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

(This item was taken in camera)

Councillor Guest presented an exempt report to Cabinet seeking the release of funds set aside within budgets for the procurement and mobilisation of a new IT system for Building Control, to be operational by January 2019.

An assurance was given that the new IT system, once implemented, would be fully compatible with the Council’s other IT systems, and integration seamless, and that this requirement would be factored into the procurement process.

RESOLVED as set out in the Restricted Minute.