Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Committee Services 

Items
No. Item

89.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 208 KB

The minutes of the meeting of 2 December 2021 are attached to be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Minutes:

Minutes of the meeting held on 2 December 2021 were signed as a correct record.

90.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

To receive any apologies for absence from Members*.

 

*Note: Members are asked to email Committee services in advance of the meeting as soon as they become aware they will be absent.

Minutes:

None, though it was noted that Cllr Radley was attending via Teams.

91.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

To declare disposable pecuniary, and any other interests*.

 

*Note: Members are asked to email Committee Services in advance of the meeting as soon as they become aware they may have an interest to declare.

Minutes:

Councillor Bailey and Councillor Cockarill declared an interest in the Welcome Back Fund item due to their membership of Yateley Town Council. Councillor Oliver declared an interest for the same item as a member of Fleet Town Council. Cllr Forster declared an interest in the item on Project Integra as a member of Hampshire County Council.

92.

CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

Minutes:

The Chairman announced that the Environment Agency have now confirmed allocation of £375k of funding for the Phoenix Green Flood Alleviation Scheme which will provide flood protection to 38 properties in Phoenix Green through a combination of natural flood management measures and property level protection.

 

In January 2020 Hart Cabinet agreed support for the scheme and the allocation £70k in the Council’s capital programme, which is being matched with £70k of funding from Vivid Housing Association.

 

Hart officers will shortly be engaging a contractor to undertake initial property surveys and install property level protection measures at Phoenix Green.

 

Councillor Radley announced that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had announced on 21 December 2021 that two new grants would be made available due to the ongoing situation with the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus. The grants would be available to Hospitality and Leisure businesses that were rate paying, and a second discretionary grant to other businesses facing restrictions.

 

Hospitality and Leisure businesses would be eligible for grants based upon rates they currently pay and would need to reapply for these grants even if they were eligible under the previous grant scheme. Businesses were encouraged to ensure they had gathered and submitted all the necessary information to ensure applications were processed in a timely fashion.

 

The second discretionary grant would look to fund businesses that are not covered by the first grant, such as those who do not pay rates.

A briefing note would be supplied to all Members shortly, and the information around the scheme was available on the Hart District Council website.

 

Clarification was sought that the reapplication requirement was likely due to prevent fraud, such as from business that have closed since the initial grant scheme, and that understanding was confirmed.

 

Councillor Oliver updated Cabinet that garden waste collections were planned to restart in Basingstoke on 10 January and in Hart on 17 January. This plan was being reviewed daily to ensure that other waste collection services could continue unaffected.

93.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (ITEMS PERTAINING TO THE AGENDA)

Anyone wishing to make a statement to the Committee should contact Committee Services at least two clear working days prior to the meeting. Further information can be found at:

 

Public Participation leaflet 2021.pdf (hart.gov.uk)

 

Minutes:

Sue Tilley, Fleet Town Councillor, attended the meeting in support of the Welcome Back Fund application by Fleet BID.

94.

MINUTES FROM THE CLIMATE CHANGE WORKING GROUP pdf icon PDF 169 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 November were noted.

95.

MINUTES FROM THE CIVIC QUARTER REGENERATION WORKING GROUP pdf icon PDF 220 KB

MINUTE 3 – Review of Terms of Reference

 

RECOMMENDATON to Cabinet

 

To seek Cabinet approval to amend the terms of reference of the Civic Quarter Regeneration Working Group to permit all Hampshire County Councillors and Hart District Councillors elected to represent Fleet to attend the Working Group meetings as passive observers, except during meeting discussions where there is a conflict of interest.  It was noted that this must be properly enforced at the meeting, especially in respect of potential commercial and financial conflicts.

 

Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2021 to be noted.

Decision:

Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2021 were noted and Cabinet approved to amend the terms of reference of the Civic Quarter Regeneration Working Group to permit all Hampshire County Councillors and Hart District Councillors elected to represent Fleet to attend the Working Group meetings as passive observers, except during meeting discussions where there is a conflict of interest.  It was noted that this must be properly enforced at the meeting, especially in respect of potential commercial and financial conflicts.

 

It was clarified that the term ‘elected to represent Fleet’ included all Hart District Councillors whose ward contains part of the area Fleet Town Council represents and Hampshire Country Councillors whose division boundaries overlapped with the boundaries of Fleet Town Council.

The wording in the terms of reference would be amended accordingly.

Minutes:

Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2021 were noted and Cabinet approved to amend the terms of reference of the Civic Quarter Regeneration Working Group to permit all Hampshire County Councillors and Hart District Councillors elected to represent Fleet to attend the Working Group meetings as passive observers, except during meeting discussions where there is a conflict of interest.  It was noted that this must be properly enforced at the meeting, especially in respect of potential commercial and financial conflicts.

 

It was clarified that the term ‘elected to represent Fleet’ included all Hart District Councillors whose ward contains part of the area Fleet Town Council represents and Hampshire Country Councillors whose division boundaries overlapped with the boundaries of Fleet Town Council.

The wording in the terms of reference would be amended accordingly.

96.

WELCOME BACK FUND pdf icon PDF 265 KB

This report provides an update on the approved Welcome Back Fund application by Fleet BID as well as introducing a new application.  This report also provides an amendment to one of Yateley Town Council’s approved Welcome Back Fund applications.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That Cabinet:

1.      Approves Fleet BID’s new application for promotional videos for Fleet town centre to progress to the next stage of the Welcome Back Fund process.

 

2.      Approves Yateley Town Council’s amended application to purchase addition wildflower turf to progress to the next stage of the Welcome Back Fund process.

Additional documents:

Decision:

DECISION

 

That Cabinet:

 

1.       Approved Fleet BID’s new application for promotional videos for Fleet town centre to progress to the next stage of the Welcome Back Fund process.

 

2.       Approved Yateley Town Council’s amended application to purchase addition wildflower turf to progress to the next stage of the Welcome Back Fund process.

 

3.       Approved that the review and approval of any future applications be delegated to the Portfolio Holder (Leader) in consultation with the Joint Chief Executive. Any approved applications using this process would be submitted as an Executive Decision to provide the opportunity for call in.

Minutes:

This report provided a new Welcome Back Fund application by Fleet BID.  This report also provided an amendment to one of Yateley Town Council’s approved Welcome Back Fund applications.

 

Councillor Oliver moved an additional recommendation regarding the future approval of applications as the time remaining in the scheme made approval at Cabinet difficult to schedule, that there were significant funds still available to apply for, and that the approval process would be more efficient if it were delegated. A potential new market bid through Fleet Town Council was cited. If there were any other late applications these would also be difficult to approve at Cabinet due to the timescales involved.

 

The opportunity to apply for current unallocated funds would be advertised to Town and Parish Councils so that further applications could be made by them in the time remaining.

 

Members discussed the Fleet Bid application with Sue Tilley around how the planned videos would be used and how success criteria would be evaluated, and the next steps of the process.

 

DECISION

 

That Cabinet:

 

1.       Approved Fleet BID’s new application for promotional videos for Fleet town centre to progress to the next stage of the Welcome Back Fund process.

 

2.       Approved Yateley Town Council’s amended application to purchase addition wildflower turf to progress to the next stage of the Welcome Back Fund process.

 

3.       Approved that the review and approval of any future applications be delegated to the Portfolio Holder (Leader) in consultation with the Joint Chief Executive. Any approved applications using this process would be submitted as an Executive Decision to provide the opportunity for call in.

97.

PROJECT INTEGRA JOINT MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY pdf icon PDF 181 KB

This report sets out the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS) and seeks endorsement of the strategic direction for the partnership.  This will be supported by a new operational partnership agreement and detailed action plan to take Project Integra (PI) forward, including meeting the requirements of the Environment Bill.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That Cabinet endorses the principle to move to the “twin-stream” approach to recycling but noting the clear proviso, that no commitment can yet be made to it, until the requirements of the Environment Bill and the associated financial arrangements are made clear, and agreement is reached on any revision to Project Integra with Hampshire County Council.

Decision:

DECISION

 

That Cabinet endorsed the principle to move to the “twin-stream” approach to recycling but noting the clear proviso, that no commitment can yet be made to it, until the requirements of the Environment Bill and the associated financial arrangements are made clear, and agreement is reached on any revision to Project Integra with Hampshire County Council.

Minutes:

Cabinet were presented with a report setting out the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS) that sought endorsement of the strategic direction for the partnership.  This will be supported by a new operational partnership agreement and detailed action plan to take Project Integra (PI) forward, including meeting the requirements of the Environment Bill.

 

Members discussed:

         That the current position is to endorse the principle of the plan and that final approval will come back to Cabinet at a future date.

         That other authorities in the scheme had either adopted the same position as Hart or had wholly endorsed the plan.

         “Twin-stream” collections and the difficulties of glass separation using this method. Comments on this would be fed back to the Project Integra team and clarification sought on why the separate collection of glass was rejected as an option.

         The nature and viability of kerbside sorting.

         The wide-ranging consultancy process undertaken to draft the plan.

         The implications of not taking part in Project Integra, and the nature of large-scale collaborative projects with multiple stakeholders.

         The potential impact of the Government’s Environment Bill.

         The conveying of comments made at Overview and Scrutiny Committee and at Cabinet to the Project Integra team.

         The next steps and timelines of the project and the possible implications of having to end current contracts early.

         The implications of food waste collection requirements.

         Garden waste collections and the lack of clear financial mitigations at this stage.

 

The Chairman thanked Officers for being available to answer any questions.

 

DECISION

 

That Cabinet endorsed the principle to move to the “twin-stream” approach to recycling but noting the clear proviso, that no commitment can yet be made to it, until the requirements of the Environment Bill and the associated financial arrangements are made clear, and agreement is reached on any revision to Project Integra with Hampshire County Council.

98.

QUARTER TWO BUDGET MONITORING pdf icon PDF 900 KB

This report contains the revenue and capital outturn for the first six months of the year ending 30 September 2021.  It also contains predictions of forecasts of revenue and capital expenditure to year end (31 March 2022). Finally, the report contains a brief update from the provisional Local Government Settlement received on 16th December 2021.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

That Cabinet notes:

A.    the revised projections and main revenue variances highlighted in Paragraph 4.1 and Appendices 1 and 2.

 

B.    the provisional full year revenue outturn position as of 30 September 2021 of an £612K overspend as detailed in Table 4.3.

 

C.   the capital outturn position as of 30 September 2021. To date the capital programme has underspent against profiled against budget by £9.863m. This is shown in Table 5.3.

Decision:

DECISION

 

That Cabinet noted:

A.       the revised projections and main revenue variances highlighted in Paragraph 4.1 and Appendices 1 and 2.

 

B.       the provisional full year revenue outturn position as of 30 September 2021 of an £612K overspend as detailed in Table 4.3.

 

C.       the capital outturn position as of 30 September 2021. To date the capital programme has underspent against profiled against budget by £9.863m. This is shown in Table 5.3.

Minutes:

This report contained the revenue and capital outturn for the first six months of the year ending 30 September 2021.  It also contained predictions of forecasts of revenue and capital expenditure to year end (31 March 2022). Finally, the report contained a brief update from the provisional Local Government Settlement received on 16th December 2021.

 

It was noted that although no questions were asked, that Member's discussions with Officers around this topic outside of the meeting were ongoing. Whilst recognising that services were underspending their budgets and the overspend was attributable to a drop in income, the Chairman encouraged Officers to seek further opportunities to close the gap on any overspend across the rest of the financial year.

 

It was recognised that the report provided a snapshot in time and that the quarter three report was hoped to be brought forward to Cabinet in March (and therefore Overview and Scrutiny Committee in February) rather than April.

 

DECISION

 

That Cabinet noted:

A.       the revised projections and main revenue variances highlighted in Paragraph 4.1 and Appendices 1 and 2.

 

B.       the provisional full year revenue outturn position as of 30 September 2021 of an £612K overspend as detailed in Table 4.3.

 

C.       the capital outturn position as of 30 September 2021. To date the capital programme has underspent against profiled against budget by £9.863m. This is shown in Table 5.3.

99.

TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY STATEMENT HALF-YEAR REVIEW REPORT 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To report the Council’s Treasury Management activities and performance during the first half of the 2021/22 financial year (April-September 2021).

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

1.    That Cabinet agree the recommendation to increase the Barclays Counterparty limit to £10m to accommodate the investment in the Barclays Green Investment fund.

 

2.    That following the acquisition of Centenary House, Cabinet agree the recommendation to increase the Operational Boundary and Authorised Limit as detailed in Paragraph 4.3.

Decision:

DECISION

 

1.       That Cabinet agreed the recommendation to increase the Barclays Counterparty limit to £10m to accommodate the investment in the Barclays Green Investment fund. This would be extended to the end of the current financial year.

 

2.       That following the acquisition of Centenary House, Cabinet agreed the recommendation to increase the Operational Boundary and Authorised Limit as detailed in Paragraph 4.3.

Minutes:

This reported the Council’s Treasury Management activities and performance during the first half of the 2021/22 financial year (April-September 2021).

 

Members discussed the impact of potential rise interest rates on Hart’s future investment strategy. It was clarified that the extension to the Counterparty limit was intended to last until the end of the financial year.

 

DECISION

 

1.       That Cabinet agreed the recommendation to increase the Barclays Counterparty limit to £10m to accommodate the investment in the Barclays Green Investment fund. This would be extended to the end of the current financial year.

 

2.       That following the acquisition of Centenary House, Cabinet agreed the recommendation to increase the Operational Boundary and Authorised Limit as detailed in Paragraph 4.3.

100.

CABINET WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 231 KB

To consider and amend the Cabinet Work Programme.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Work Programme was considered, and no amendments were made.

 

The timing of the Annual Car Parking report was discussed.

 

It was agreed that the table of work of the consultancy partners working on the Odiham Common Management Plan would be forwarded to Odiham ward Members.