Decisions

1. To appoint, via suitably qualified agency staff, to the following posts for a period of 12 months:

1. Senior Housing Officer, Rents (23 hours per week)
2. Team Assistant, Rents (Full Time) 

2. To fund the required temporary staff from the HRA Regeneration and Development Reserve.

To provide a grant to LRSN £32,597 over 2 years (£19,801 in year one, with a possible extension based on successful reporting and delivery of outcomes for £12,796 in year two) to support the continuation of the Health Checks at the cattle market to improve accessibility of health services for those in the rural, farming, and agricultural industries.

Extend the contract of the existing agency Senior Planning Policy Officer to assist with the Local Plan Review from December 2023 to end of March 2024, or until the substantive post is filled (with 1 week overlap).

1.     To extend the contract of an existing agency Planning Development Officer for a period of 4 months to assist with clearing the backlog of planning applications that has increased whilst formal recruitment has been undertaken.

1.    To approve the changes to the Governance & Democracy staffing establishment and structure as set out at para 8 below, ie

(i)            Delete one of the career graded Senior Lawyer posts (up to band 13) and create a new Legal Services Manager post (Band 14, subject to evaluation) to manage the legal service;

(ii)          To replace the Democratic Services Manager post and create a new Lawyer, Governance role, to provide specialist governance advice, manage the Democratic Services function and to act as Deputy Monitoring Officer.

(iii)         To amend the Admin Officer post from a .8 FTE to a full-time post to increase resilience and support for the Governance & Democracy Team;

(iv)         To delete the existing Information Governance Officer role (Band 8) and replace with a new part-time 0.6 fte Information Governance Lawyer Role (up to Band 11);

2.    To agree to the additional cost of £4510.00 to be added to the Governance & Democracy staffing budget to fund the cost of the changes to the establishment.

To apply Aids and Adaptations policy exceptions to enable the successful completion of necessary aids and adaptations to a council property and specifically:

1.     To exceed the usual Aids and Adaptations policy position to enable the completion of necessary work at a cost of more than £15,000 and;

2.     To exceed the upper limit of £30,000 as set out within the Aids and Adaptations policy for necessary works property.

1.     To award the contract for Enforcement Agent Services to the preferred suppliers thorough the YPO framework

2.     To enter into any necessary legal documentation to effect the award

Authority to ‘make’ the Asfordby Neighbourhood Development Plan part of Melton Borough Council’s Development Plan.

·       Crime and Disorder

·       Housing Ombudsman Annual Report 2022/23

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

It is proposed that Cabinet delegates authority to the Director of Housing and Communities, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Landlord Services, to purchase houses in accordance with the Right to Buy budget, to ensure that spend targets for the years 2023/24 and 2024/25 are met on time.

Cabinet:

1)     NOTED the need to spend Right to Buy receipts for the 2023/24 spending requirement, to enable the acquisition of affordable homes;

2)     DELEGATED authority to the Director for Housing and Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Landlord Services to purchase homes in accordance with the budget for spending Right to Buy receipts to meet the 2023-24 spending requirement.

Providing information on Treasury activity and Prudential Indicators for the period.

Cabinet RECOMMENDED to Council that:

1)    The mid-year position on treasury activity for 2022-23 be noted;

2)    The mid-year position on Prudential Indicators for 2022-23 be noted.

Information on the year end forecast and financial position for the General Fund and Special Expenses for both revenue and capital.

Cabinet NOTED the year end forecast and financial position for the General Fund both general and Special Expenses at 30 September 2023 for both revenue and capital.

Information on actual expenditure and income incurred on the Housing Revenue Account, compared to the latest approved budget for the period.

Cabinet NOTED the financial position on the Housing Revenue Account at 30 September 2023 and the year-end forecast for both revenue and capital.

1.     Authority to appoint a temporary Void and Response Repairs Officer

A policy how the Council deal with planning enforcement complaints.

Cabinet:

1)    APPROVED the Planning Enforcement Policy for adoption and publication on the Council’s website;

2)    DELEGATED authority to the Director for Growth and Regeneration (in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder) to make any further changes to the Policy, arising from the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act.

To appoint a contractor to undertake gas safety checks, servicing and new installation of a range of heating types.

1.     To award a contract for heating maintenance in council homes to Aaron Services Ltd.

2.     To enter into any necessary legal documentation to effect the award

To procure a replacement woodchipper to enable the Environmental Maintenance team to efficiently deliver a service that complies with health and safety regulations