Decisions

Cabinet:

1)    APPROVED the Melton Borough Council Homelessness Strategy and associated action plan for the period 2024-2029.

2)    DELEGATED authority to the Director for Housing and Communities (Deputy Chief Executive), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Leisure and Landlord Services to make any subsequent changes arising from legislative or operational charges.

·       Scrutiny Feedback on the Complaints update

Cabinet AGREED to have regard to the Scrutiny Committee’s feedback.

Cabinet NOTED the outputs and achievements of the UKSPF programme for the financial year 2023/24.

Cabinet:

1)    NOTED the progress made and approved the submission of the planning application in line with the approach set out in the report.

2)    DELEGATED authority to the Director for Growth and Regeneration, in consultation with the Leader, to finalise the planning application, make relevant amendments to the submission documents and to submit the application on behalf of Melton Borough Council.

3)    DELEGATED authority to the Director for Growth and Regeneration to appoint commercial agents to support the council in promoting the site, securing tenants and negotiating lease conditions until June 2027.

1.     To agree a further extension of the Consultancy Agreement on the following terms:-

(a)   From 05.12.2023 to 14.05.2024 to undertake 35 days at an increased

      daily rate of £450

(b)   To undertake a further 20 days at a daily rate of £450 at approximately   

3 days a week.

(c)   To provide additional capacity for the inspection by the Regulator for

Social Housing – a further 9 days at a daily rate of £450 from the financial year 2024/25 with delegated authority from the Director for Housing and Communities (Deputy Chief Executive)

(d)   To enter into the necessary legal agreements to enable this change

2.     To apply a contract procurement exemption to enable this change

3.     To apply a General Exception Notice

      4.  For the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Director for    

           Housing and Communities and the Portfolio Holder for Housing &

           Landlord Services to draw down £19,290 from HRA reserves to fund

           both the increase in the daily rate and the commissioning of 20 further

           days in 2023-24 and £4,050 to fund the commissioning of a further 9    

           days in 2024-25.

Follow a review against the new Complaints Handling Code by the Housing Ombudsman and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, minor changes have been made to the Council's Customer Feedback and Complaints Policy. These changes are outlined within the Decision Notice.

1. To update the Council’s Customer Feedback and Complaints Policy following a review against the updated Complaints Handling Code (2024) by the Housing Ombudsman and guidance from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Minor changes have been made to the Council's Policy. These changes are as set out in the amended sections outlined below:

4.1 We should receive your complaint as soon as possible but not more than 12 months from the incident which has led to your complaint. A complaint that is submitted via a third party or representative on your behalf will be investigated in line with this complaints policy with your consent.

6.5 All relevant employees or third parties that are involved in complaint handling will:
a. have a collaborative and co-operative approach towards resolving complaints, working with colleagues across teams and departments.
b. take collective responsibility for any shortfalls identified through complaints, rather than blaming others and;
c. act within the professional standards for engaging with complaints as set by any relevant professional body’.

2. To update the Council’s Customer Feedback and Complaints Policy to add a new section on reporting and oversight (section 20, following a recommendation from the Council’s Monitoring Officer:

20.1 We maintain transparency and oversight of complaints through our governance and reporting arrangements. To ensure strategic oversight by Cabinet, complaints statistics are reported quarterly to Cabinet as part of the Council’s standard performance reporting arrangements. 

20.2 To ensure good governance, these are compared with performance data so that the organisation can analyse performance in services and identify any trends or areas where improvement is required and learning at the earliest opportunity. 

20.3 In addition to this an annual ombudsman report is taken to Cabinet which details an overview of cases in that year. Where there has been a finding of maladministration (usually by way of a formal Report) these will be reported to Cabinet or Council as appropriate by the Monitoring Officer on an as required and timely basis 

20.4 In addition, Scrutiny Committee receive Cabinet’s performance reports for noting as part of their role to hold the Cabinet to account and regulatory committees will also receive reports regarding complaints relating to their functions. 

20.5 The portfolio holder for Governance, Environment & Regulatory Services has within their portfolio, oversight of complaints on behalf of the Cabinet.

Authority for the Director for Growth and Regeneration to award the contract for the preparation of Local Plan Viability Study

1.     Authority for Deputy Chief Executive/Director for Housing & Communities to enter into a Procurement Framework, to contract a supplier to deliver leisure improvement works to the total of 120k for energy efficiency (Solar Panels & Pool Covers).

2.     Authority to enter into any associated legal agreement through the Procurement Framework.

To issue 6 points to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licence for a taxi driver who has failed to notify us of receiving 3 points of DVLA licence within 10 days.