Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the District Executive meeting held on 03 May 2018.

The minutes of the District Executive meeting held on 3^rd May 2018, copies of which had been circulated, were taken as read and, having been approved as a correct record, were signed by the Chairman.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Peter Gubbins and Graham Middleton.

In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (as amended 26 February 2015), which includes all the provisions relating to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI), personal and prejudicial interests, Members are asked to declare any DPI and also any personal interests (and whether or not such personal interests are also "prejudicial") in relation to any matter on the Agenda for this meeting.

Members are reminded that they need to declare the fact that they are also a member of a County, Town or Parish Council as a Personal Interest. Where you are also a member of Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council within South Somerset you must declare a prejudicial interest in any business on the agenda where there is a financial benefit or gain or advantage to Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council which would be at the cost or to the financial disadvantage of South Somerset District Council. 

There were no declarations of interest made. 

There were no questions from members of the public present.

The Chairman advised that he had no announcements.

The Portfolio Holder summarised the report to members, advising that the timing of the review was unusual given the recent review. He advised that some small changes to the policy were required following some recommendations by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO). He advised that these changes should provide some clarity to cover how the policy would be used.

The Director (Service Delivery) noted that Scrutiny Committee had questioned why little use of the RIPA powers had been made to date. He explained that through various forms of notification and use of information from other sources, that it was only on rare occasions that the powers needed to be used.

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to note the Council’s use of RIPA powers and approve and adopt the revised Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 Policy and Procedures Guide attached at Appendix 1 to the agenda report.

The Portfolio Holder for Property, Climate Change and Income Generation introduced the report and noted that it contained details on the way that investments could be handled, rather than to control what investments could be made.

The Leader and Portfolio Holder noted there had been a good discussion at Scrutiny Committee, and Scrutiny had recommended some amendments to the report in order to give more clarity to some elements. The changes were presented to members on screen, and after time to consider, members agreed to the additional and revised wording of some paragraphs, the title, and also rewording of recommendation A.

In response to questions, the Director for Commercial Services and Income Generation advised that an extra step had been included to ensure that trading was lawful and to clarify the governance processes on investments opportunities which were commercially sensitive and time limited. She advised that the Scrutiny Committee comments were useful to fine tune the policy, advising that the policy relied on the existing governance of the Investments Assessment Group (IAG).

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to approve the recommendations, as amended, and confirm all the suggested amendments to the report  including;

• Amended title
• Revised wording for recommendation A
• Additional wording at paragraphs 10, 16  and two additional paragraphs after paragraph 13 to collectively provide more clarification regarding the process
• A revised risk matrix at paragraph 38

(For clarity the revised report, as amended and agreed, is published on the website as a supplement for this meeting)

The Portfolio Holder for Property, Climate Change and Income Generation introduced and summarised the report. He noted that the investments made were making the expected financial return, and that many other investment opportunities had been considered but had been rejected for a variety of reasons arising in the assessment and due diligence process.

He advised that the borrowing used to date for investment properties had been through internal borrowing and there would be additional income from interest and this would be detailed in routine financial reports.

The S151 Officer advised that both treasury investment and commercial investment performance will be included in routine in year and end of year financial reports.

The Director for Commercial Services and Income Generation highlighted elements in the report and advised that the portfolio of assets and disposals would be reviewed. She explained that funds from land and property disposals would be used to fund other investment opportunities.

CONFIDENTIAL – Exclusion of the Press and Public

In accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), the Committee resolved that the press and public be excluded from the following items in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, i.e. “Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

During discussion, the Director and Section 151 Officer responded to points of detail, including those raised at Scrutiny Committee, and explained why some information regarding the property investments needed to be confidential. The Director also clarified that where possible, investments would be purchased within South Somerset, however, for the purposes of a balanced portfolio and spreading risk it was considered that having some investments outside of South Somerset could be positive.

At the conclusion of the discussion, Members were content to note the progress in delivering the Commercial Strategy and in particular, the acquisition of commercial investments and in securing income from our existing assets.

Members are asked to note that the next scheduled meeting of the District Executive will take place on Thursday, 5^th July 2018 in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Brympton Way, Yeovil commencing at 9.30 a.m.

Members noted that the next scheduled meeting of the District Executive would take place on Thursday 5^th July 2018 in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Brympton Way, Yeovil commencing at 9.30 a.m.