Agenda and decisions

AGREED      that:

a)            the final outturn of revenue and capital spending for 2023/24 be noted;

b)            the variation to the capital programme, as set out in paragraph 1.15 and 1.16 be approved;

c)             the capital financing proposals as set out in paragraph 1.20 be approved;

d)            Capital Programme reprofiling of £13.588m carried forward into 2024/25 as per appendices E and F;

e)            the movement in Provisions and Impaired Estimates on Debtors be noted;

f)              the creations of the new reserves, as outlined in paragraph 1.27, be approved; and

g)             the individual contributions to, and withdrawals from, the revenue and capital Usable Reserves be noted.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            approve the overall General Fund, Capital & HRA Budget Strategy for 2025/26;

b)            approve the consultation process with Members;

c)             note that Budget Officers continue work on the assessment of various budget proposals affecting services for consideration in setting the Council's budget; and

d)            note that Budget Managers work with finance officers in identifying further efficiency savings, increasing income from fees and charges and in identifying new sources of income.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            review the Community Plan Performance Report attached as Appendix 1;

b)            review the compliance report attached as Appendix 2; and

c)             consider the Council’s performance against its objectives highlighting any areas of high performance and identifying areas for improvement.

AGREED      that Cabinet note the Productivity Plan presented at Appendix 1 and the activities detailed therein.

AGREED      that Cabinet endorse the recommendations of the Working Group as follows:

a)            that the amendment is made to the Council’s website, including a postcode search for ‘find your ward member’.(NB postcode search has now been implemented);

b)            that all elected councillors are automatically signed up to the Council’s Official Newsletters;

c)             the Communications & Marketing Team to set up a further drop-in session for elected councillors to help with social media and Google Alerts;

d)            the posters consistent with the examples circulated at the meetingwill be made available for all elected councillors to use;

e)            that the Democratic Services Team will re advertise the allocated Democratic Services Officer (DSO) list and actively promote the support they can offer to elected councillors; and

f)              that the Power BI system is developed and provided to all councillors and that the system is further developed over time to include other service requests and reports.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            note the report;

b)             in accordance with approval from Newark Towns Board that the Council receives a further £990,000 (in addition to the £790,000 supported by Cabinet on 14 May 2024) of the Town Fund One grant towards Stodman Street Phase 1;

c)             subject to b) above, to delegate to the Director – Resources & Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Director - Planning & Growth authorisation to submit a Project Adjustment Form to Government seeking formal authorisation to re-allocate the £1.78m of previously allocated Newark Gateway/SiSCLog grant to the 32 Stodman Street Phase One project; and

d)             subject to approval of b) & c) above, to increase the budget in the Council’s Capital Programme to £12,880,000 financed by the additional grant allocation.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            subject to the outcome of Job Evaluation, approve the addition of a Biodiversity and Ecology Officer to the Planning Development Business Unit be funded by a corresponding increase in revenue expectations from the BNG income stream identified at paragraphs 1.14-1.16 below; and

b)            subject to the outcome of Job Evaluation, approve the addition of a Biodiversity and Ecology Graduate be funded by BNG income, noting that such a post will only being recruited to if agreed by the Director of Planning and Growth, in consultation with the Director - Resources and Business Manager - Planning Development, based on a review of BNG income being sufficient to cover this additional post on an ongoing basis.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            note the updated position and the consultation representations appended to this report;

b)            approve a budget of £141,000 in order to allow the ongoing work of the Council as Local Planning Authority and Landowner.  This amount of £141,000 to be funded from the Change Management Reserve as set out in paragraph 3.3 of this report; and

c)         note that some, but not all costs, will be recoverable as detailed at paragraphs 2.4 of the report.

AGREED      that Cabinet support the emerging Long-Term Plan for Town Fund emerging proposals as detailed at paragraph 2.3 below and to delegate to the Portfolio holders for Strategy, Performance & Finance and Sustainable Economic Development endorsement of any final Long Term Plan for Town Investment Plan 2024-2027 following its ratification by Newark Towns Board for submission to Government before the requisite submission date.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

1.             note the contents of this report and agrees to pause the Ollerton and Clipstone Scheme after completion of RIBA2 design due to ongoing delays with the issue of funding from Government and endorse that the Chief Executive or/and the Deputy Chief Executive/Director - Resources write to Government expressing deep concerns and disappointment at the delays and seeking the following:

That Government:

a)        Confirms to the Council, that given the delays since the original LUF submission in summer 2022 and the delays since the LUF 3 announcement in November 2023, an agreed extension to the requirements to defray all LUF3 funding by 31 March 2026 to 31 March 2027;

b)        Executes the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) before 31 July 2024 to allow immediate access to any needed funds from the LUF 3 grant, allowing the project to continue to be developed at pace; or

c)         Release advance funding of £821,000 before 31 July 2024, to be deducted from the overall LUF3 grant allocation to allow the project to continue to be developed at pace.

2.             that subject to Government releasing the advance funding of £821,000 as detailed at Recommendation 1c) above that Cabinet approves the addition of £821,000 to the Capital Programme. For the avoidance of doubt if the Government executes the MoU as detailed at recommendation 1b) above the full amount of Levelling Up Fund 3 grant will be transferred into the Capital Program in accordance with the June Cabinet resolutions.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            approve the proposed SPDs at Appendices B and C to the report; and

b)            public consultation be undertaken for 6-weeks on the proposed amendments for referral back to Cabinet for adoption.

AGREED      that Cabinet note:

a)            the exceptions to performance of the housing service compliance functions;

b)            the removal of the Regulatory Notice by Regulator of Social Housing; and

c)         that the presentation of performance will change from Quarter 1 2024/2025 reporting cycle onwards.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            note the scheme and its changes and approve progression for external consultation; and

b)            delegate authority for final adoption of the Scheme to the Portfolio Holder for Housing in consultation with the Director - Housing, Health & Wellbeing if the outcome of consultation is that no or only minor amendments are required.  If any significant or material amendments are proposed as a result of consultation responses the final proposed Scheme will be referred back to Cabinet for approval.

Exempt appendix included.  

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            notes the progress of the HRA development programme;

b)            approves the business case for affordable housing acquisition within Newark and Sherwood (in addition to development) utilising the phase 6 development programme budget; and

c)             gives, in principle, approval for the acquisition of eight s106 homes at Collingham, utilising the Phase 6 Development Programme budget, subject to the usual legal due diligence checks, delegating final approval to the Director – Housing, Health & Wellbeing in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and to a maximum value as set out in the exempt appendix.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            note the progress and outcomes of the Getting to Know You visit programme to December 2023;

b)            note the sharing of the report with the Tenant Engagement Board; and

c)             support the ongoing programme of Getting to Know You visits with a further update in April 2025 or when all tenants have been visited.

AGREED      that Cabinet  approve the final Public Space Protection Orders, as set out in Appendices 1 to 5 to the report, for a period of three years.

AGREED      that Cabinet:

a)            note the activities undertaken since the two flooding incidents;

b)            note the ongoing work of the Flood Partnership and the ongoing work to improve the response provided by NSDC;

c)             endorse the provision of additional one-off support to our communities through the use of the stated reserves as part of the programme to create more resilient communities in the long term in accordance with the decision-making arrangements set out in paragraph 3.1 of the report; and

d)            note and implement the resolution made by Full Council in respect of the Motion put forward on 16 July 2024 regarding flooding requests to Government

The Committee will be invited to resolve:-

‘To consider resolving that, under section 100A (4) of the Local Government

Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items

of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt

information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.’

Categories of “Exempt Information”

Under Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended

1. Information relating to any individual.

2. Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

3. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

4. Information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter arising

between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the authority.

5. Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

6. Information which reveals that the authority proposes –

(a) to give under any enactment a notice under or by  virtue of which requirements are imposed on a person : or

(b) to make an order or direction under any enactment.

7. Information relating to any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime.

AGREED      the recommendations as detailed in the report.