Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 February 2021 were confirmed and authorised to be signed by the Chair.

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

Councillors Orson and Pearson each declared an interest in any items relating to Leicestershire County Council, due to their roles as a County Councillors.

No items have been referred from Scrutiny Committee in accordance

with the Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

No items had been referred from the Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

The Leader of the Council to submit a report outlining the current strategic risks which have been identified and assessed on the recent review of the Council’s Strategic Risk Register by the Senior Leadership Team.

Cabinet

NOTED the content of the report and the updated Strategic Risk Register and associated risk management action plan, as attached at Appendix A.

Dawn Garton, Director for Corporate Services introduced the report, the purpose of which was to carry out the 6 monthly review of the Council’s strategic risks. She explained that the Audit and Standards Committee monitored this work and had signed off the annual report. The risk register was appended to the report. She added that the register was managed by project teams and lead officers and key changes were reported regularly to the Senior Leadership Team.

The Leader moved the recommendation and said that this was an important report and set out how the Council had to take ownership of risk management and mitigate the risks. He paid tribute to the Audit and Standards Committee and their involvement in overseeing this work. He referred to the Council’s highest risk which was failure to ensure financial security and in the present circumstances through the pandemic and now the recovery, the Council had to be prudent in managing its business continuity and consider spending cuts to balance its budget. He added that the vibrancy of the town centre and supporting businesses both in the town and rural areas was essential for the future  prosperity of the Borough. He mentioned the work on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and the signs of success coming to fruition due to Councillor Pearson’s commitment supported by the Director and Chief Executive. He felt that the progress of the Council was beyond the green shoots stage.

Councillor de Burle seconded the motion and supported the Leader’s comments. He felt that due to the government’s direction on climate change this should be at a higher level as there was so much work to do. Mrs Garton advised that all risks were regularly reviewed at service and management levels and there was a detailed action plan. It was noted that an Information Champion was a designated service lead who had a higher level of knowledge and skill in their area of expertise and promoted best practice as well as provided liaison between the service area and management.

The Chief Executive offered reassurance that the Council was reviewing baseline activities to then assess what was required for the future to  inform  a long-term plan to 2030. A climate change strategy was underway and would be available by the end of the year and the risk would be reassessed at that time.

Councillor Pearson paid tribute to Andrew Cotton, the Housing and  Communities Director, for his contribution to improving the HRA position which he had inherited on his arrival 12 months ago. He also thanked Councillors and Officers for their support and said it had been a good team effort to reach the current position.

DECISIONS (NON-KEY)

Cabinet unanimously

NOTED the content of the report and the updated Strategic Risk Register and associated risk management action plan, as attached at Appendix A.

Reason for the decision

One of the key areas for Cabinet, as part of its terms of reference, is to have awareness of the strategic risks that could impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 163.

The Portfolio Holder for Growth and Prosperity (Deputy Leader) to submit a report introducing the Economic Recovery Programme for Melton.  The report proposes a comprehensive package to support the local economy as it  recovers from the Coronavirus pandemic.

This item was deferred until the Cabinet meeting to be held on 21 April 2021 due to changes in government guidance.

This item was deferred until the Cabinet meeting to be held on 21 April 2021 due to changes in government guidance.

Councillor Higgins, the Portfolio Holder for Growth and Prosperity (and Deputy Leader) commented that

·         The expected timescales of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) were being brought forward by a whole year to end of March this year and the impact of this needed to be profiled and assessed as to how this compared with what was originally planned

·         Officers were monitoring this position and information would be provided as soon as this was able to be assessed as to what the package entailed

·         Therefore the report was delayed until the April meeting of Cabinet

·         In the meantime, information was available for businesses on the website

·         Over 200 of the Borough’s businesses that employ 15 people or more would receive grants over the next week, totalling £250k

·         The Council had listened to businesses from March last year and learnt with them how to provide support which was not always about money. He paid tribute to the Bid which had supported independent businesses and added that there had also been thought as to supporting other types of business such as taxi drivers

·         Thanked Lee Byrne and the team and said that the officers’ support to businesses had been outstanding and they had made themselves fully available including weekends to help business owners receive funding.

The Leader of the Council to submit a report updating on work undertaken to support Leicestershire County Council secure the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

To follow.

This item was deferred until the Cabinet meeting to be held on 21 April 2021.

This item was deferred until the Cabinet meeting to be held on 21 April 2021.

The Portfolio Holder for Growth and Prosperity (Deputy Leader) to submit a report setting out Melton Borough Council’s approach to seeking Section 106 planning obligations and providing guidance to Policy IN3 of the adopted Melton Local Plan.

To follow.

This item was deferred until the Cabinet meeting to be held on 21 April 2021.

This item was deferred until the Cabinet meeting to be held on 21 April 2021.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities to submit a report confirming the proposed terms of the contract extensions, resulting from negotiations and recommending the extension of the contracts.

Cabinet

1)     NOTED the decisions taken to date in respect of the interim support provided to the Leisure Operator, Sports Leisure Management (SLM) during closure & remobilisation periods, and the Deed of Variation agreed for the period September 2020 to March 2021;

2)     APPROVED the extension of the contracts for Waterfield Leisure Centre (WLC) and Melton Sports Village (MSV) for a period of 2 years, on the basis of the contract terms detailed in the report and the financial information in Appendix A;

3)     DELEGATED authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to finalise and enter into any contract / property documentation necessary to affect the extension within the parameters set out in this report;

4)     APPROVED further work to be undertaken on:

(a)   the options around the Council’s offer to residents in respect of leisure services from April 2024;

(b)   an options appraisal of Council-owned leisure sites in the context of the Council’s Corporate Asset Management Strategy;

(c)   the recommendations from 2.4.a and 2.4.b to be submitted for Cabinet’s consideration in February 2022.    

Andrew Cotton, Director for Housing and Communities, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to update Members on the Council’s leisure contract and consider continued support to the leisure service in light of the pandemic and seek approval for a Deed of Variation.

Councillor Pearson, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, moved the recommendations and explained that the Council was committed to providing good quality leisure and had a statutory responsibility to support the leisure provider and had taken a pragmatic and considered approach to reach the recommendations in this report. The Leader seconded the motion.

There was a query relating to the number of years of the contract and aligning this with previous arrangements. It was noted these would be aligned to end at the same time.

Councillor Higgins lost visual connection during this item however he was able to contribute to the debate and vote by phone.

DECISIONS (KEY)

Cabinet unanimously

1)     NOTED the decisions taken to date in respect of the interim support provided to the Leisure Operator, Sports Leisure Management (SLM) during closure & remobilisation periods, and the Deed of Variation agreed for the period September 2020 to March 2021;

2)     APPROVED the extension of the contracts for Waterfield Leisure Centre (WLC) and Melton Sports Village (MSV) for a period of 2 years, on the basis of the contract terms detailed in the report and the financial information in Appendix A;

3)     DELEGATED authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to finalise and enter into any contract / property documentation necessary to affect the extension within the parameters set out in this report;

4)     APPROVED further work to be undertaken on:

(a)   the options around the Council’s offer to residents in respect of leisure services from April 2024;

(b)   an options appraisal of Council-owned leisure sites in the context of the Council’s Corporate Asset Management Strategy;

(c)   the recommendations from 2.4.a and 2.4.b to be submitted for Cabinet’s consideration in February 2022.    

Reason for the decision

1.1.a       The government enforced closure of leisure centres affected the viability of SLM to generate any revenue to cover the costs of the period of closure.

1.1.b       The government's guidance was that local authorities should act to ensure leisure operators at risk are in a position to resume normal contract delivery once the outbreak is over and, by implication, seek ways of providing support. Public sector outsourcing contracts such as the two leisure services contracts typically include a provision to apportion the cost risk of specific ("qualifying") changes in the country's laws. This means that contractors do not have to include a risk premium for these changes in their pricing which the public sector would pay even if that risk does not materialise. On balance these clauses result in better value for money for the public sector, however if the risk does materialise – as has been the case with the various Coronavirus Regulations in force since March 2020 – then the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 167.