Agenda and minutes

To receive Apologies for Absence from Cabinet members. 

There were no Apologies for Absence.

Tnere were no Declarations of Interest.

To seek consent to the submission of the one year business rates retention pilot to be submitted to Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government by 25^th September 2018.

Cabinet considered a report seeking consent to the one-year business rates retention pilot being submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) by 25 September 2018.

The Leader summarised the circumstances leading up to the report, including the proposals put forward by the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, by Cambridgeshire County Council, and by South Cambridgeshire District Council. The one constituting the current bid had been promoted by the County Council, and was outlined in paragraph 3.16 of the report from the Executive Director.  The Leader had received legal feedback suggesting that any bid not including the Combined Authority was unlikely to be successful. She asked Cabinet to be pragmatic and to recognise that the estimated £2 million being proposed for distribution to Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council regarding social care would, ultimately, benefit the residents of South Cambridgeshire.

Councillor Philippa Hart expressed disappointment with the need to make a decision quickly without much time to consider the issues. She pointed out that the Combined Authority was not responsible for collecting Business Rates.

The Leader said the Combined Authority must not underestimate the importance of preventative measures taken by district councils in an effort to mitigate the burden on social care budgets. 

Councillor Sue Ellington said it was essential to agree population figures for South Cambridgeshire to ensure that the ‘per capita’ distribution of funds was fair and equitable. She added that South Cambridgeshire was a growth area, and that there seemed to be a delay in government statistics being updated to reflect that growth.

Cabinet

1.     Agreed to the submission of the Bid as outlined, with the additional funds to be apportioned in accordance with theprinciples set out in the pilot submission, namely that additional funds retained by the local area will be apportioned as follows:

·        If any local authority is worse off as a result of being in the pilot, they will receive funding to put them back to the level they would have been in had they not participated in the pilot (an internal no-detriment clause) underwritten by the Combined Authority;

·        Pre-approved costs related to the running of the pool/pilot will be retained by the lead authority;

·        10% (about £2 million) of the remaining funds will create a Business Growth Fund, held by the Combined Authority to promote further growth across the area;

·        10% (about £2 million) will be split between the two Social Care Authorities (Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council) in recognition that the costs of growth fall disproportionately on these authorities;

·        The remaining 80% ( about £16 million) will be distributed per capita across all constituent authorities (Peterborough’s population is counted twice to take account of its upper and lower tier responsibilities); and

2.     Authorised the Section 151 officer to make any minor amendments that do not affect the substantive meaning of the bid.