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Agenda and minutes
Venue: Muriel Matters House, Breeds Place, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3UY
Contact: Michael Courts on 01424 451764 email mcourts@hastings.gov.uk
Items No. Item Declaration of Interests
Minutes:
Councillor
Minute Number
Interest
Forward
76 – Development of a Social Lettings Agency for Hastings.
Prejudicial – She owns a property with the social lettings agency.
Beaney
76 – Development of a Social Lettings Agency for Hastings
Prejudicial – She is the Director of the Hastings Housing Company.
Minutes of the Meeting Held on 5 March 2018 PDF 70 KB
Minutes:
RESOLVED that the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 5 March 2018 be approved as a correct record.
RESOLVEDthe chair called over the items on the agenda, under rule 13.3 of the council’s constitution, the recommendations set out in minute numbers 77 and 78 were agreed without being called for discussion.
Amendments to the Council's Constitution
(Council Decision)
Additional documents:
- Amendments to the Council's Constitution Report , item 75. PDF 103 KB
- Part 1 Constitution - Executive Summary Cabinet April 2018 , item 75. PDF 65 KB
- Part 2 Constitution Articles of the Constitution - Cabinet April 2018 , item 75. PDF 152 KB
- Part 4 Rules of Procedure Cabinet April 2018 , item 75. PDF 326 KB
- Part 5 - Planning Protocol Cabinet April 2018 , item 75. PDF 142 KB
- Part 8 - Standing Instructions to Authorised Officers Cabinet April 2018 , item 75. PDF 181 KB
Minutes:
Members discussed a report on amendments to the council’s constitution, previously spoken about at the Working Arrangements Group.
Councillor Poole proposed approval of the motion, seconded by Councillor Fitzgerald.
RESOLVED (by 4 votes for, to 2 votes against with 1 abstention) that:
1. Cabinet recommend that the amendments to the Council’s Constitution be adopted by Full Council.
The reason for this decision was:
The Council’s constitution is the basis for the Council’s Corporate Governance.
Development of a Social Lettings Agency for Hastings PDF 188 KB
(Cabinet Decision)
Minutes:
The Assistant Director, Housing & Built Environment presented a report on the development of a social lettings agency for Hastings. The council run Social Lettings Agency (SLA) currently leases 45 units of accommodation from private individual property owners. The private sector leasing model was, until March 2017, funded by the Temporary Accommodation Management Fee (TAMF). This was a demand led payment from government which paid a supplement of £60 per week, per property, in addition to the standard Local Housing Allowance rate. The TAMF payments enabled the scheme to offset the operating costs of managing accommodation.
Two amendments to the report by officers were pointed out, in the five year forecast section of the report. The first amendment was that the Grant Funding Required should be corrected to -£98,949 in 2018/19 and -£77,101 in 2019/20 The second amendment was that the Bad Debt (Rent) costs were incorrect, and should be £13,673 in 2018/19 and £2,665 in 2019/20.
It was noted that a funding change to a cash limited grant was put in place. This had caused the existing scheme to no longer be viable. Though, a business plan was ready to be put in place to continue the service, which was considered important to the town.
In 2017, it was discussed whether the council would establish a commercially competitive scheme, however it was not recommended that this should happen currently, but could be considered in the future.
A question was raised on what would happen if the recommendation were not accepted. The reply was that there would have to be made arrangements to assist with the rehousing of tenants if the leases were terminated.
Councillor Batsford proposed the approval of the recommendations, seconded by Councillor Fitzgerald. Councillors Forward and Beaney could not vote due to their interests in this item.
RESOLVED (by 4 votes for, to 2 against) that:
Members are asked to approve the recommendation within the report for the council to proceed with two new service models for the SLA. The two models being proposed are:
· A Guaranteed Rent Scheme
· A Management Service to support the Council’s Housing Company
The reason for this decision was:
1. The objective of the SLA is to improve access to quality, well-managed private sector housing for households who present to the council as homeless or at risk of homelessness. Cabinet approval was granted in July 2017 for a cost effective scheme to be developed to replace the council’s existing private sector leasing arrangements and allow for the SLA to continue operating and achieve its objective. This was necessary due to changes in central government funding arrangements.
2. The introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act in April 2018 allows for local authorities to discharge a new ‘Relief Duty’ by offering the minimum of a fixed-term 6 month Assured Short-hold tenancy in the private rented sector from a private landlord. It is therefore increasingly a priority for the council to minimise the cost of homelessness by maximising access to affordable, suitable and well managed ... view the full minutes text for item 76.
Proposed Revisions to the Local Development Scheme PDF 138 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Assistant Director, Regeneration & Culture submitted a report on Proposed Revisions to the Local Development Scheme (Local Plan Timetable). This was to inform Cabinet of the updated timescales for the production of Local Plan documents since the last Local Development Scheme was adopted in April 2016.
Planning regulations require the council to prepare and maintain a Local Development Scheme (LDS) setting out a programme for preparing the documents that will make up local planning policy for Hastings.
Under Rule 13.3 of the council constitution, this item was agreed without being called for discussion.
RESOLVED that the contents of the revised Local Development Scheme be agreed.
The reason for this decision was:
So that an up-to-date Local Development Scheme is in place in accordance with section 15 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, as amended by section 180 of the Planning Act 2008 and section 111 (7) of the Local Act, and the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) regulations 2004.
Healthy Hastings & Rother Funding Programme Update PDF 218 KB
Minutes:
The Assistant Director, Housing & Built Environment submitted a report on the Healthy Hastings & Rother, Reducing Health Inequalities Programme. This was to advise Cabinet on proposed changes to funding to funding allocations for the Hastings Borough Council (HBC) led projects within the NHS Hastings & Rother Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) Healthy Hastings & Rother (HHR) programme, and seek agreement for the revised programme and the arrangements for ensuring delivery of projects until March 2020.
Since 2015 the CCG has allocated substantial resources from its Healthy Hastings & Rother Programme, for HBC, East Sussex County Council, and other partners or providers to invest in projects, which will address health inequalities.
Overall, the revised programme supported by CCG funding amounts to a considerable sum of approximately £2.75m between 2015-2020. However, please note the revised programme is still subject to confirmation by the CCG’s Governing Body on 28 March 2018.
Under Rule 13.3 of the council constitution, this item was agreed without being called for discussion.
RESOLVED that:
1. To note the proposed changes to funding allocations from 2017 to 2020 for HBC led projects within the CCG’s Healthy Hastings & Rother Programme.
2. To agree the revised programme of HBC led projects as described in the report, within the total financial resources available from the CCG of £2,751,12.
3. Subject to confirmation of the programme by the CCG’s Governing Body on 28 March 2018, the Director of Operational Services, in consultation with the Lead Member, be authorised to enter into a funding agreement with the CCG under section 256 of the NHS Act 2006 to support continuation of the HBC led programme until 31 March 2020
The reason for this decision was:
The Council has long held the position that good health is a key factor in determining the quality of people’s lives and that health inequality is a significant outcome of and contributor to poverty. This programme is helping to contribute towards more integrated work with partners to address issues of health inequality. The revised programme supported by CCG funding requires Cabinet approval.
Freedom Leisure Capital Investment PDF 117 KB
Minutes:
The Assistant Director, Regeneration & Culture presented a report on the Freedom Leisure Loan for Capital Investment. The report proposes that the council supports the initial capital investment for leisure facility improvements by providing a loan to Freedom Leisure. Freedom Leisure will pay back the loan, plus the appropriate interest charge over the contract term, achieving a financial net gain for the council.
It was said that the loan would be at market rate, so there would be no public funding implications from giving the loan. The amount earned in profit would be around £4,000 per annum.
It was noted that the loan would be beneficial to the council, as it would help with Freedom Leisure’s management of one of the council’s buildings. Improvements to the facilities would include a clip and climb wall, as well as energy reduction measures, a new pool inflatable and improvements to changing areas.
A question was raised in regards to whether the money had to be spent on the facility in question. The reply was that the loan must be spent on the facility in Hastings.
Councillor Batsford proposed the approval of the recommendations, seconded by Councillor Fitzgerald.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
1. Approve the proposal for the Council to provide a loan to Freedom Leisure.
2. Delegate authority to the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer to agree any matters of detail necessary to conclude the final loan arrangements.
The reason for this recommendation was:
The recent procurement process for the leisure management contract identified Freedom Leisure as the successful bidder. The new contract will commence from 1April 2018. Freedom Leisure’s bid included an investment into various areas, including £134,037.60 on a climbing wall and energy reduction measures. The proposal will result in a net gain of £21,774 for the Council based on an opportunity cost of borrowing of 1%.
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