Agenda, decisions and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Brympton Way, YEOVIL, Somerset BA20 2HT
Contact: Angela Cox 01935 462148 Email: angela.cox@southsomerset.gov.uk
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Minutes of Previous Meeting To approve as a correct record the minutes of the District Executive meeting held on 4th December 2014. Minutes: The minutes of the District Executive meeting held on 4th December 2014, copies of which had been circulated, were taken as read and, having been approved as a correct record, were signed by the Chairman. |
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Henry Hobhouse and Vega Sturgess (Strategic Director) and Mark Williams (Chief Executive). |
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Declarations of Interest In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (adopted July 2012), 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. A DPI is defined in The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012 No. 1464) and Appendix 3 of the Council’s Code of Conduct. A personal interest is defined in paragraph 2.8 of the Code and a prejudicial interest is defined in paragraph 2.9. 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. As a result of the change made to the Code of Conduct by this Council at its meeting on 15th May 2014, 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. If you have a prejudicial interest you must comply with paragraphs 2.9(b) and 2.9(c) of the Code. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest made. |
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Public Question Time Questions, statements or comments from members of the public are welcome at the beginning of each meeting of the Council. The total period allowed for public participation shall not exceed 15 minutes except with the consent of the Council and each individual speaker shall be restricted to a total of three minutes. Where there are a number of persons wishing to speak about the same matter, they should consider choosing one spokesperson to speak on their behalf where appropriate. If a member of the public wishes to speak they should advise the committee administrator and complete one of the public participation slips setting out their name and the matter they wish to speak about. The public will be invited to speak in the order determined by the Chairman. Answers to questions may be provided at the meeting itself or a written reply will be sent subsequently, as appropriate. Matters raised during the public question session will not be debated by the Council at that meeting. Minutes: Mrs EJ Taylor of Ilminster Town Council spoke in support of Agenda Item 10, Medium Term Financial Plan and Capital Programme Update relating to the capital grant to Ilminster Town Council and football club towards new football changing rooms and community facility. She advised that the Town Council had registered for VAT and so would be able to reclaim VAT spent on the project. They had also secured a topographical survey of the site and purchased a ransom strip of land and asked that the Committee support the grant towards upgraded football facilities for the community. Mr A Fish of Ilminster Town Football Club also spoke in support of their capital grant application. He described how they had grown from 2 football teams in 1980 to 22 at the current time. He confirmed that a business plan, planning application and other funding had been secured and the function room facilities would be freely available for public use. |
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Chairman's Announcements Minutes: The Chairman advised that the new car parking regulations would be in operation the following week and he reminded Members to display their parking passes on their vehicles. The Chairman also advised that the housing situation of the occupant at the Ropewalk site in West Coker had finally been resolved and the bungalow at the site would soon be demolished and the land incorporated into the Ropewalk. Councillor Tim Carroll confirmed that the final report from the Planning Inspector relating to the South Somerset Local Plan had been received and he would shortly be circulating it by e-mail to all Councillors prior to publication on the SSDC website. He confirmed that the adoption of the Local Plan would take place at a special meeting of Full Council to be held on Thursday 5th March at 7.30pm. Councillor Sylvia Seal reported that despite ongoing major health issues, Mrs Lesley Boucher continued to represent the Council on the Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. She commended Mrs Boucher for her dedication in reporting the issues discussed at the hospital in her quarterly reports to the Executive. |
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Decision:
Minutes: The Chairman updated Members with the progress of the negotiations between the Somerset Authorities, DeFRA and the Government to secure funding to establish the Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) to co-ordinate flood protection and maintenance work. He noted that there would be a meeting the following week to formally constitute the Somerset Rivers Authority and when the organisation was in place then it would drive forward a number of outstanding projects. He asked that Members confirm Councillor Jo Roundell Greene as his deputy representative on the Somerset Rivers Authority. In response to questions from Members, the Chairman confirmed that:- · It was not intended to establish a headquarters building or to employ staff to run the SRA. · There was still some debate to be had with the Government over the future funding of the Authority. · When the SRA was functioning, then information on who was responsible for each part of the organisation and its works would be agreed and available. At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to note the urgent executive decision taken and to confirm the additional recommendation that Councillor Jo Roundell Greene be appointed as deputy representative on the Somerset Rivers Authority.
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Decision:
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Spatial Planning noted that there had been a shortfall in long-stay car parking in Crewkerne for a number of years and funding had been allocated to resolve it for some time. Land close to the town centre had become available and the Assistant Director (Environment) had secured the purchase at auction for £225,000 (less than the valuation made by the District Valuer). In response to questions from Members, the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Spatial Planning and the Ward Member confirmed that:- · The site would achieve 62 new car parking spaces · There would be an access through to the existing Henhayes car park · People who worked in the town often parked in residential areas and so the car park would be particularly useful for them. At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to note the urgent decision taken.
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Setting the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2015/16 PDF 117 KB Additional documents: Decision:
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Spatial Planning advised that this was the annual review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme which had been reviewed by the Scrutiny Committee. The recommendation was to keep the Hardship Scheme at the current level of £30,000. The Revenues and Benefits Manager confirmed that the proposed changes were minor and included upratings in personal allowances and non-dependent deductions and changes brought in under prescribed regulations, including the Universal Credit. The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said they had sought assurance that the changes did not imply any further risk to SSDC and she confirmed that a Scrutiny Task and Finish group would reconvene shortly to look at the 2016/17 scheme. In response to a request from Members, the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Spatial Planning agreed to include an executive summary at the beginning of the policy document. At the conclusion of the discussion, Members were content to recommend the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2015/16 for adoption by Council.
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Council Tax - Discretionary Reduction in Liability Policy PDF 97 KB Additional documents: Decision:
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Spatial Planning advised that the widespread flooding during 2014 had highlighted that certain specific circumstances were not covered by the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and so not eligible for relief. The proposed policy formalised discretionary awards in certain circumstances. In response to a question from the Scrutiny Committee, the Revenues and Benefits Manager confirmed that the scheme would be open to all council tax payers and would particularly support the most vulnerable so he did not anticipate any equalities issues arising. During discussion, it was agreed to amend Recommendation C to delegate decisions on individual applications to the Assistant Director (Finance and Corporate Services) in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Spatial Planning (rather than the Revenues and Benefits Manager). With this amendment, Members were content to propose the recommendations for confirmation by Full Council.
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Medium Term Financial Plan and Capital Programme Update PDF 313 KB Additional documents:
Decision:
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Spatial Planning advised that the provisional Rate Support Grant from the Government had been reduced by 28.1% and the final announcement on capping by the Government was still awaited. There was no proposed increase in Council Tax or car parking charges for 2015/16 and the full budget figures would be presented at the next District Executive and Council meetings for confirmation. In response to questions from the Scrutiny Committee, the Assistant Director (Finance and Corporate Services) confirmed that the Rate Support Grant figure was still provisional and the budget for 2015/16 could not be set until the NDR1 business rate pooling had been agreed with our Somerset partners and confirmed by the Government. She answered Members questions on points within her report and confirmed that the savings plans outlined at Appendix A would contain full comments from Managers when next presented to the Executive. At the conclusion of the debate, Members thanked the members of the public from Ilminster for attending to speak in support of the capital grant for their town and they were pleased to unanimously confirm the recommendations of the report.
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Additional documents: Decision:
Minutes: Councillor Carol Goodall, member of the Scrutiny Committee and Task and Finish Group which had reviewed the work of the Somerset Civil Contingency Partnership introduced the report to Members. She said the aim of the review had been to better understand the structure of the partnership and the roles and responsibilities of the partner organisations. Since the publication of the agenda, Somerset County Council had confirmed that their proposed review of the Civil Contingency Partnership would not start until after the elections in May 2015 and had indicated that the review would be completed by August 2015. Therefore, the Task and Finish Group now recommended that the funding at the existing 2014/15 level for the Civil Contingency Partnership continued for one additional year – 2015/16 to allow the partnership to continue pending the outcome of the review. The Chairman thanked the members of the Task and Finish group for their work and he confirmed that funding for the Civil Contingency Partnership was already included in the 2015/16 budget. There was no debate and Members were content to support the amended recommendations of the Scrutiny Task and Finish Group.
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Increasing Management Capacity at Yeovil Crematorium PDF 209 KB Decision:
Minutes: Councillor Peter Gubbins, Chairman of Area South Committee, introduced the report and advised that the proposal was a change in the current management structure of the Crematorium to provide more capacity, however, this was no criticism of the current arrangements. He had undertaken some initial discussions with partner councils and there were no objections to the proposals in principle but a full consultation process would be undertaken prior to implementation. In response to questions, the Assistant Director (Finance and Corporate Services) and the Chairman confirmed that:- · The Management Committee consisted of 8 seats of which SSDC had 3 although it owned 89% of the facility. · The management of the Crematorium would be absorbed within the workload of the Environmental Health Manager and his team. · Under a legal agreement in 2007, it was agreed that the capital programme would be the responsibility of SSDC and in return SSDC received a proportion of the revenue. · Money had been put aside for replacing the cremators at the Crematorium. · SSDC employed the staff at both the Cemetery and the Crematorium on behalf of the Town Council and received funds from the Town Council for the day to day operations. During discussion, the following points were made:- · An annual report from the Management Committee should be presented to SSDC. · This should be a first-rate facility as it had to deal with families at a very difficult time. · The role of the Clerk to the Burial Committee must be clearly defined. · This is a district-wide facility and the consultation should be widened. · The Crematorium should be run like a business as SSDC owned the majority share. · The management arrangements of the Cemetery should remain unchanged. At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to agree the recommendations of the report.
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Upgrade to the ICT Helpdesk System PDF 163 KB Additional documents: Decision:
Minutes: The ICT Manager advised of the need to upgrade the existing ICT Management System as the maintenance contract had been cancelled some years previously. Several options had been explored and it was proposed that an upgrade with the existing supplier including a maintenance contract was the best option. In response to questions from the Scrutiny Committee, the ICT Manager confirmed that the upgraded system would integrate with existing SSDC systems much better than the existing equipment. There was no debate and Members were content to confirm the recommendations of the report.
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Commercial Property Disposals - Winsham Allotments and Band Hut PDF 23 KB Decision:
Minutes: The Assistant Director (Legal and Corporate Services) confirmed that following further negotiations, the final version of the land transfer document had been agreed and the document had been dispatched to the Parish Council’s Solicitor earlier that week. The Ward Member, Councillor Sue Osborne, advised that the Parish Council were due to hold an Extraordinary Meeting on 21st January where it was expected that they would agree the transfer. There was no debate and Members were content to note the verbal report of the Assistant Director (Legal and Corporate Services).
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Final Recommendation of the Community Governance Review of Lopen Parish Council PDF 234 KB Decision:
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Regulatory and Democratic Services advised that this was the final report of the Community Governance Review for Lopen and it would be presented to Council the following week for final confirmation. There was no debate and Members were content to recommend the report to Full Council for confirmation.
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Monthly Performance Snapshot PDF 247 KB Decision:
Minutes: Members were pleased to note the monthly performance snapshot data.
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District Executive Forward Plan PDF 78 KB Additional documents: Decision:
Minutes: Members noted the following additions to the Executive Forward Plan and Consultation database:- · Corporate Grants Awarded during 2013/14 – March 2015 · Loan to Kingsdon Parish Council – March 2015 · Adoption of the South Somerset Local Plan – March 2015
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Date of Next Meeting PDF 17 KB Minutes: Members noted that the next scheduled meeting of the District Executive would take place on Thursday 5th February 2015 in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Brympton Way, Yeovil commencing at 9.30 a.m. |