Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive Apologies for Absence from Members.

Apologies were received from Councillors Pippa Corney, Simon Crocker, Jose Hales, Philippa Hart, Caroline Hunt, Douglas de Lacey, Janet Lockwood and Mick Martin.

Councillor Brian Burling declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in agenda item 9(e), Swavesey Byeway Rate, as a rate payer. He left the room during whilst this item was discussed.

Councillor Sue Ellington declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 9(e), Swavesey Byeways Rate, as a resident of Swavesey.

Councillor Peter Johnson declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 9(b), South Cambridgeshire Local Plan: Policy SS/5 – Waterbeach New Town: Boundary of the Major Development Site, as the Council’s Outside Body representative with the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey.

Members are requested to inform Democratic Services of any changes in their Register of Members’ Financial and Other Interests form.

It was noted that Councillors needed to update their register of interests whenever their circumstances changed.

To authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on the 26 January 2017 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2017 were agreed as a correct record. 

Task and Finish Group: Helping businesses in our villages to succeed and prosper

Councillor Peter Topping stated that, in light of the recommendations of the Council’s peer review, a Task and Finish Group was being set up to encourage the District’s businesses under the Chairmanship of Councillor Grenville Chamberlain. Members were encouraged to volunteer to serve on this Group.

Meeting with Housing and Planning Minister

Councillor Topping announced that he had met with Gavin Barwell, the Housing and Planning Minister, who had explained the details in the Government’s housing white paper and had expressed his keenness to meet again with representatives of this authority.

To note that no questions from the public have been received. 

None. 

To note that no petitions have been received since the last Council meeting.

None. 

It is RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL

That the Interim Chief Executive be appointed Returning Officer for the South Cambridgeshire area for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority elections to be held in May 2017.

Council

AGREED        That the Interim Chief Executive be appointed Returning Officer for the South Cambridgeshire area for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority elections to be held in May 2017.

The Chairman proposed the recommendation by explaining that the Council needed to appoint a Returning Officer responsible for organising and delivering the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayoral elections in South Cambridgeshire. Councillor Nick Wright seconded the recommendation.

Councillor Sebastian Kindersley stated that whilst he had no objection to the appointment, he opposed the election of a Mayor for the combined authority, which he considered an unnecessary waste of public money.

A vote was taken and were cast as follows:

In favour (35)

Councillors David Bard, Val Barrett, Henry Batchelor, Brian Burling, Tom Bygott, Nigel Cathcart, Doug Cattermole, Grenville Chamberlain, Graham Cone, Christopher Cross, Kevin Cuffley, Simon Edwards, Sue Ellington, Andrew Fraser, Roger Hall, Lynda Harford, Mark Howell, Peter Johnson, Ray Manning, Raymond Matthews, David McCraith, Charles Nightingale, Des O’Brien, Tony Orgee, Ben Shelton, Hazel Smith, Peter Topping, Ingrid Tregoing, Richard Turner, Robert Turner, Bunty Waters, Aidan Van de Weyer, David Whiteman-Downes, Tim Wotherspoon and Nick Wright.

Against (8)

Councillors John Batchelor, Tumi Hawkins, Sebastian Kindersley, Cicely Murfitt, Deborah Roberts, Bridget Smith, Edd Stonham and John Williams.

Abstain (1)

Councillor Anna Bradnam.

Therefore Council

AGREED        That the Interim Chief Executive be appointed Returning Officer for the South Cambridgeshire area for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority elections to be held in May 2017.

It is RECOMMENDED that Council

Agrees that a proposed modification to the Major Development Site boundary of Waterbeach new town (Policy SS/5) as shown on Inset Map H of the submitted Policies Map be put forward to the examination, as shown on the attached map.

Council

AGREED        that a proposed modification to the Major Development Site boundary of Waterbeach new town (Policy SS/5) as shown on Inset Map H of the submitted Policies Map be put forward to the examination, as shown on the map attached to the report.

Councillor Robert Turner proposed this recommendation for a modification to the boundary of the Major Development Site for the new town at Waterbeach, following consultation with Historic England. Councillor Peter Johnson seconded this recommendation as a local member.

Councillor Ingrid Tregoing expressed concern regarding the proximity of the new town boundary to Fox Cottages. Councillor Robert Turner assured Councillor Tregoing that issues such as green separation were still to be determined.

Council unanimously

AGREED        that a proposed modification to the Major Development Site boundary of Waterbeach new town (Policy SS/5) as shown on Inset Map H of the submitted Policies Map be put forward to the examination, as shown on the map attached to the report.

Cabinet RECOMMENDED to Council that the Corporate Plan setting out the Council’s vision, objectives and actions for 2017–2022 be approved.

Council

AGREED        the Corporate Plan setting out the Council’s vision, objectives and actions for 2017-2022.

Councillor Nick Wright proposed this recommendation, by stating that both the Scrutiny and Overview Committee and Cabinet had discussed and agreed the proposed Corporate Plan, which set out the Council’s vision, objectives and actions for 2017-22. Councillor Peter Topping seconded the recommendation.

Local Plan and the building of homes

It was understood that speculative planning applications were receiving permission due to the fact that the Local Plan had not yet been agreed. It was suggested that this made it difficult for the Council to achieve the objectives in the Corporate Plan. It was further suggested that developers were not progressing with the construction of thousands of homes that had received planning permission. Concern was expressed at how the character of certain villages could be changed as a consequence of development.  In response, Councillor Lynda Harford explained that the Inspection of the Council’s Local Plan, which was being carried out at the same time as that for Cambridge City, was painfully slow.  She also expressed the hope that the Government’s Housing White Paper would include provision for encouraging developers to build homes once planning permission had been granted.

Measuring performance

In response to concerns regarding how performance would be measured Councillor Topping stated that there was a row in the Corporate Plan table entitled “How we will measure this” and Councillor Wright added that quarterly reports would be taken to Cabinet to ensure that the Council was meeting its aspirations detailed in the Corporate Plan.

Councillor Aidan Van de Weyer suggested that the Corporate Plan should include targets on sustainable development and tackling climate change.

A vote was taken and were cast as follows:

In favour (29)

Councillors David Bard, Val Barrett, Brian Burling, Tom Bygott, Grenville Chamberlain, Graham Cone, Christopher Cross, Kevin Cuffley, Simon Edwards, Sue Ellington, Andrew Fraser, Roger Hall, Lynda Harford, Mark Howell, Ray Manning, Raymond Matthews, David McCraith, Charles Nightingale, Tony Orgee, Alex Riley, Tim Scott, Ben Shelton, Peter Topping, Richard Turner, Robert Turner, Bunty Waters, David Whiteman-Downes, Tim Wotherspoon and Nick Wright.

Against (13)

Councillors Henry Batchelor, John Batchelor, Doug Cattermole, Neil Davies, Tumi Hawkins, Sebastian Kindersley, Des O’Brien, Deborah Roberts, Bridget Smith, Hazel Smith, Edd Stonham, Aidan Van de Weyer and John Williams.

Abstain (5)

Councillors Anna Bradnam, Nigel Cathcart, Peter Johnson, Cicely Murfitt and Ingrid Tregoing.

Therefore Council

AGREED        the Corporate Plan setting out the Council’s vision, objectives and actions for 2017-2022.

Cabinet

RECOMMENDED THAT COUNCIL

Revenue and capital – General Fund (GF)

(a)  Approves the revenue estimates for 2017-18 as shown in the GF Budget Setting Reports (BSR) Section 5.

(b)  Approves the precautionary items for the GF, GF BSR Appendix B.

(c)  Approves the GF revenue forecasts as set out in GF BSR Section 6.

(d)  Instructs the Executive Management Team to identify additional income / savings of £163k for 2017-18, rising to £1,531k from 2018-19.

(e)  Approves the GF capital programme and associated funding up to the year ended 31 March 2022, as set out in Appendix D.

(f)   Instructs the Head of Finance, on the basis of the proposals set out in the GF BSR, to prepare formal papers to set the council tax requirement and amount of council tax for all Bands at the Council meeting on 23 February 2017.

Revenue – Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

(g)  Approves the HRA revenue budget as shown in the HRA Summary Forecast 2016-17 to 2021-22 in Appendix I of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to this report.

(h)  Approves the retention of the balance of the 4 year savings target included as part of the 2016-17 HRA Budget Setting Report to mitigate the impact of some of the changes in national housing policy, recognising that the net savings proposed from 2017-18 over-deliver against the profile of £250,000 per annum for 4 years, reducing the balance to be sought in the remaining 3 years to £600,480.

Review of Rents and Charges

(i)    Approves that social housing rents for existing tenants be reduced by 1%, in line with legislative requirements, with effect from 3rd April 2017.

(j)    Approves that affordable rents are reviewed in line with rent legislation, to ensure that rents charged are no more than 80% of market rent, with this figure then reduced by 1% as with social housing. Local policy is to cap affordable rents at the lower level of Local Housing Allowance, which will result in a rent freeze from 3rd April 2017.

(k)  Approves inflationary increases of 2.4% in garage rents for 2017-18, in line with the base rate of inflation for the year assumed in the HRA Budget Setting Report.

(l)    Approves the proposed service charges for HRA services and facilities provided to both tenants and leaseholders, as shown in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

Housing Capital

(m)Approves the latest budget, spend profile and funding mix for each of the schemes in the new build programme, as detailed in Section 5 and Appendix E of the HRA Budget Setting Report, recognising the most up to date information available as each scheme progresses through the design, planning, build contract and completion process.

(n)  Approves earmarking of the required level of additional funding for new build investment between 2017-18 and  2021-22 to ensure that commitments can be met in respect of the investment of all right to buy receipts retained by the authority, up to the end of December 2016.  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9d

Council

AGREED        to

Revenue and capital – General Fund (GF)

(a)          Approve the revenue estimates for 2017-18 as shown in the GF BSR Section 5.

(b)          Approve the precautionary items for the GF, GF BSR Appendix B.

(c)          Approve the GF revenue forecasts as set out in GF BSR Section 6.

(d)          Instruct the Executive Management Team to identify additional income / savings of £163k for 2017-18, rising to £1,531k from 2018-19.

(e)          Approve the GF capital programme and associated funding up to the year ended 31 March 2022, as set out in Appendix D.

(f)           Instruct the Head of Finance, on the basis of the proposals set out in the GF BSR, to prepare formal papers to set the council tax requirement and amount of council tax at the Council meeting on 23 February 2017.

(g)          Set the Council Tax Requirement for 2017-18 at £8,234,344.17.

(h)          Set the amount of Council Tax for each of the relevant categories of dwelling in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 on the basis of the District Council Tax for general expenses on a Band D property of £135.31 plus the relevant amounts required by the precepts of the Parish Councils, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner and the Cambridgeshire Fire Authority, details of those precepts and their effect to be circulated with the formal resolution required at the Council meeting.

Revenue – Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

(i)            Approve the HRA revenue budget as shown in the HRA Summary Forecast 2016-17 to 2021-22 in Appendix I of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to this report.

(j)            Approve the retention of the balance of the 4 year savings target included as part of the 2016-17 HRA Budget Setting Report to mitigate the impact of some of the changes in national housing policy, recognising that the net savings proposed from 2017-18 over-deliver against the profile of £250,000 per annum for 4 years, reducing the balance to be sought in the remaining 3 years to £600,480.

Review of Rents and Charges

(k)          Approve that social housing rents for existing tenants be reduced by 1%, in line with legislative requirements, with effect from 3rd April 2017.

(l)            Approve that affordable rents are reviewed in line with rent legislation, to ensure that rents charged are no more than 80% of market rent, with this figure then reduced by 1% as with social housing. Local policy is to cap affordable rents at the lower level of Local Housing Allowance, which will result in a rent freeze from 3rd April 2017.

(m)        Approve inflationary increases of 1.9% in garage rents for 2017-18, in line with the base rate of inflation for the year assumed in the HRA Budget Setting Report.

(n)          Approve the proposed service charges for HRA services and facilities provided to both tenants and leaseholders, as shown in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

Housing Capital

(o)          Approve the latest budget, spend profile and  ...  view the full decision text for item 9d

Councillor Simon Edwards proposed the recommendation, which asked Council to approve the financial strategies and budgets, as detailed in the reports and appendices. Councillor Peter Topping seconded the recommendation.

Minor amendment

Councillor Edwards explained that the proposed inflationary increases of garage rents for 2017/18 was 1.9% and not 2.4% as stated in the report.

Spending of reserves

Councillor Edwards explained that it was not sustainable for the Council to continue spending its reserves to meet its spending commitments and this was why it was proposed that £0 would be spent from reserves in 2017/18.

Leader’s Portfolio

Councillor Edwards explained that the reduction in the budget for the Leader’s Portfolio was due to recharges. Concern was expressed regarding the lack of Leader’s Portfolio Holder meetings during 2016/17.

Council Tax

The proposed increase in Council Tax was supported with no councillors speaking against it. Members of the opposition group contrasted this with the Cambridgeshire County Council’s Conservative Group’s decision to argue for a Council Tax freeze for their authority.

Scrutiny

Councillor Tony Orgee reported that the Scrutiny and Overview Committee had supported the proposed Council Tax increase and had understood that savings were generated through staff turnover, although no single service was responsible for this and so it had to be monitored over the Council throughout the year.

Renting of communal rooms

Councillor Ingrid Tregoing expressed concern about the possible impact on community groups of charging for the use communal rooms. The rooms were free for residents to use. Councillor Harford assured Council that the impact of this charge was being carefully assessed.

Ermine Street Housing

In response to concerns whether the Council could be confident that Ermine Street Housing would continue to deliver the income as projected in the accounts, Councillor Edwards explained that Ermine Street Housing was projected to bring in an income of £600,000 per year and the position would be carefully monitored.

Council thanked all officers involved in the production of these accounts.

A vote was taken and were cast as follows

In favour (34)

Councillors David Bard, Val Barrett, Brian Burling, Tom Bygott, Nigel Cathcart, Grenville Chamberlain, Graham Cone, Christopher Cross, Kevin Cuffley, Simon Edwards, Sue Ellington, Andrew Fraser, Roger Hall, Lynda Harford, Mark Howell, Peter Johnson, Ray Manning, Raymond Matthews, David McCraith, Cicely Murfitt, Charles Nightingale, Des O’Brien, Tony Orgee, Alex Riley, Tim Scott, Ben Shelton, Edd Stonham, Peter Topping, Richard Turner, Robert Turner, Bunty Waters, David Whiteman-Downes, Tim Wotherspoon and Nick Wright.

Against (1)

Councillor Deborah Roberts

Abstain (11)

Councillors Henry Batchelor, John Batchelor, Anna Bradnam, Doug Cattermole, Tumi Hawkins, Sebastian Kindersley, Bridget Smith, Hazel Smith, Ingrid Tregoing, Aidan Van de Weyer and John Williams.

Council

AGREED to

Revenue and capital – General Fund (GF)

(a)          Approve the revenue estimates for 2017-18 as shown in the GF BSR Section 5.

(b)          Approve the precautionary items for the GF, GF BSR Appendix B.

(c)          Approve the GF revenue forecasts as set out in GF BSR Section 6.

(d)          Instruct the Executive Management Team to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9d

The Swavesey Byways Advisory Committee RECOMMENDED to Council:

(a)        That it maintains the current level of byeway maintenance for the period 2017/18.

(b)        That it levies a rate at £1.10 to fund the required maintenance for the period 2017/18.

Council

AGREED

(a)                to maintain the current level of byeway maintenance for the period 2017/18.

(b)                to levy a rate at £1.10 to fund the required maintenance for the period 2017/18.

Councillor Brian Burling left the Chamber whilst this item was being discussed.

Councillor Robert Turner proposed and Councillor Nick Wright seconded the recommendation from the Swavesey Byeways Committee.

Council unanimously

AGREED

(a)                to maintain the current level of byeway maintenance for the period 2017/18.

(b)                to levy a rate at £1.10 to fund the required maintenance for the period 2017/18.

The 2016-17 Second Quarterly Position Statement on Finance, Performance and Risk at STR30 assesses the known risks which devolution could bring to the council thus:

"Tight timescales, insufficient time and capacity to get structures in place, changes in the political and economic climate, failure of some or all partners to engage fully and/or of associated governance arrangements, leading to; delays to the receipt of, or complete loss of powers and funding allocated to the Combined Authority under the devolution deal, resulting in:

Inability of SCDC to deliver its Corporate Plan, financially unviable services, reputational damage for SCDC, wider loss of credibility for Cambridgeshire authorities, reducing the prospect of successful future devolution deals with government".

The risk score is given  as 12 and on Amber. The Risk Owner's only comments about how these risks might be addressed proposes this solution:

"Awareness of the timetable and ongoing preparations mitigate the risk of failure to deliver the deal in accordance with the specified milestones".

Please can the Leader tell us where he estimates we are on the timetable and what ongoing preparations are underway to deliver a failure-free devolution?

In the absence of Councillor Philippa Hart, Councillor Aidan Van de Weyer asked this question: “Please can the Leader tell us where he estimates we are on the timetable and what ongoing preparations are underway to deliver a failure-free devolution.”

Councillor Peter Topping provided details on the progress being made on the setting-up of the Combined Authority and he explained that the Council was working with its partners to ensure that this was a success.

Question from Councillor Andrew Fraser

Councillor Andrew Fraser explained that in response to questioning from Councillor John Williams at the Cabinet meeting on 17 November 2016 it had been made clear that Ermine Street Housing was not being investigated by HMRC. However a leaflet from the Liberal Democrat political group had been delivered to several houses in Fulbourn stating that the tax affairs of Ermine Street housing were under investigation.

Councillor Fraser then asked “Can the Leader explain what the Council are doing to stop any future “Fake News” items being published by the Liberal Democrats?”

Councillor Simon Edwards responded on behalf of the Leader. He criticised the Liberal Democrat leaflet for calling into question the good name of Ermine Street Housing, which was an ethical landlord, set up by the Council with full support from the Liberal Democrats. He added that the leaflet was an insult to the three qualified accountants on the company’s Board and the officers who worked hard for the company. He also expressed concern regarding the impact the leaflet could have had on existing and prospective tenants. He understood that the Board had warned the Liberal Democrats that legal action would be taken if such allegations were repeated.

Question from Councillor Kevin Cuffley

Councillor Kevin Cuffley asked: could the Leader confirm whether or not the Council operated a fair and robust system for the processing of taxi licence applications.

Councillor Mark Howell, Environmental Services Portfolio Holder, answered this question on behalf of the Leader. He stated that the recent article in the press had been misleading and had unfairly singled out the Council which had responding openly to a Freedom of Information Act request when other authorities had not replied. He assured members that the Council operated a robust and unbiased system for processing taxi licence applications, where Hearing Appeal Panels considered the suitability of the applicant. It was noted that the Council had only lost one appeal in the Magistrates Court over the last two years.

Question from Councillor Aidan Van de Weyer

How many residents of South Cambridgeshire are non-UK EU citizens and what proportion of residents does this represent? Given the crucial role that EU citizens play in the economy and the society of our district, what representations has the Council made to Government and to our MPs concerning their status after we leave the EU? If none, would the Leader consider ensuring that Government and our MPs are fully aware of the terrible impact the current uncertainty is having on our residents’ personal lives and on economic decision-making?

Councillor Peter Topping recalled that according to the 2011 census 14% of the District’s workforce were from European Union countries. He confirmed that the District’s MPs were aware of the importance of the region’s economy to the UK. He expressed the hope that the current uncertainty would be resolved and that non-UK EU citizens would be permitted to remain in the District.

No notices of motion have been received. 

None. 

To note the Chairman and Vice-Chairman’s engagements since the last Council meeting:

Date                            Venue/Event                                                              Attended

January 2017

Saturday 28                Royal British Legion: Annual Conference                  Chair

February 2017

Thursday 02                Visit of HRH The Duke of Gloucester, Bar Hill          Chair

                                    Community Primary School

Friday 03                     Queensborough Feast 2017, The College of             Chair

                                    Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary

Friday 03                     East Cambs Disrict Council: Civic Reception                        Vice-Chair

Saturday 11                City of Peterborough Mayor’s Valentine Dance         Vice-Chair

Monday 20                  Grand Opening of the new Cocks and Hens             Chair

                                    Tennis Club

Council noted the Chairman and Vice-Chairman’s engagements since the last Council meeting. 

The next scheduled meeting of Council is on 22 May 2017 at 2pm

It was noted that the next scheduled meeting of Council would be held on Thursday 25 May at 2pm and not 22 May as stated in the agenda.

The Chairman explained that it was likely that an additional Council meeting would have to be scheduled before then in order to appoint the authority’s new Chief Executive.