Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - South Cambs Hall. View directions

Contact: Ian Senior  03450 450 500 Email: democratic.services@scambs.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

To receive Apologies for Absence from Cabinet members. 

Minutes:

There were no Apologies for Absence.

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 248 KB

To authorise the Leader to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2018 as a correct record.

Minutes:

Cabinet authorised the Leader to sign, as a correct record, the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2018.

4.

Announcements

Minutes:

There were no announcements.

5.

Public Questions

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

6.

Issues arising from the Scrutiny and Overview Committee

Minutes:

Councillor Brian Milnes (Vice-Chairman of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee) made the following points:

 

·        The Committee had scrutinised the ice rink proposal but was not presenting its comments to Cabinet because they had been considered at Full Council on 29 November 2018

·        The Local Council Tax Support scheme would return to Cabinet in due course

·        The Committee had noted the Finance report

 

The Leader added that the Scrutiny and Overview Committee’s consideration of the draft Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy would form part of the wider public consultation exercise.

7.

2018-19 Q2 Position Statement: Performance, Finance and Risk pdf icon PDF 476 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet reviewed the provisional forecast outturn position, together withthe performance indicator results, set out in the report and appendices, and identified the following actions:

·        Risk Register to be updated

·        The underspend in the Planning Service to be addressed so as to prevent staffing levels becoming a risk to the Council

·        Explore the possibility of ‘upskilling’ Technical Support Officers to deal with straightforward planning applications

·        Focus on training and retaining staff

 

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a statement of the Council’s Quarter 2 position with regard to its General Fund, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Capital budgets and performance indicators (by exception

 

Councillor Peter Topping sought clarification about when the revised Risk Register would be available. He highlighted the underspend on Planning staff as a risk to performance. In reply, the Leader said that the Risk Register needed to be an effective document, and Members would be invited to a workshop to contribute ideas. Efforts were ongoing to resolve the staffing challenge faced by the Greater Cambridge Planning Service. Those present engaged in further discussion about Planning, including the possibility of “upskilling” Technical Support staff to process straightforward applications, releasing professional officers to concentrate on more omplex matters.

 

Cabinet reviewed the provisional forecast outturn position, together withthe performance indicator results, set out in the report and appendices, and identified the following actions:

 

·        Risk Register to be updated

·        The underspend in the Planning Service to be addressed so as to prevent staffing levels becoming a risk to the Council

·        Explore the possibility of ‘upskilling’ Technical Support Officers to deal with straightforward planning applications

·        Focus on training and retaining staff

 

8.

Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy pdf icon PDF 154 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet agreed to submit the Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy to public consultation.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the draft Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy.

 

The Lead Cabinet Member for Housing reminded those present that the document had been prepared jointly with Cambridge City Council. Councillor Hazel Smith outlined the anticipated process leading to adoption of the Strategy.

 

The Leader assured those present that there was no criticism of the version prepared prior to May 2018, adding that the current document reflected South Cambridgeshire District Council’s new priorities as well as the priorities of Cambridge City Council. The Housing Strategy would help inform the Local Plan.

 

Following further discussion, during which the idea of exploring the wider development of caravan and mobile home parks was considered worthwhile, Cabinet agreed to submit the Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy to public consultation.

9.

Localised Council Tax Support Scheme 2019-2020 pdf icon PDF 173 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

This recommendation to Council cannot be called in

 

Cabinet recommended to Council that, at its meeting in February 2019, the Income Bands Discount Localised Council Tax Support Scheme (Option2) be adopted for 2019-2020.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the responses to consultation about Localised Council Tax Support Scheme (LCTS) proposals for 2019-20.

 

The Lead Cabinet Member for Finance observed that some claimants’ incomes changed every month, putting Council staff under pressure and creating uncertainty for affected claimants. Following a Member workshop, a public consultation exercise had been carried out resulting in a large response and a small majority in favour of leaving the scheme as it was. Councillor John Williams said that the status quo was not really feasible in the circumstances and proposed a banded option as the one most practical, and easy to administer.

 

Cabinet recommended to Council that, at its meeting in February 2019, the Income Bands Discount Localised Council Tax Support Scheme (Option 2 in the report from the Executive Director) be adopted for 2019-2020.

10.

Date of Next Meeting

To note that the next meeting of the Cabinet will be held on Wednesday, 9 January 2019 commencing at 9.30am.

Minutes:

Cabinet noted that its next meeting would be on Wednesday 9 January 2019 starting at 9.30am.