Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn PE30 5DQ. View directions

Contact: Sam Winter, Democratic Services Manager 01553 616327 

Items
No. Item

CAB108

MINUTES

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 17 January 2023 (previously circulated).

 

Decision:

RESOLVED:   The minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:   The minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

CAB109

URGENT BUSINESS

To consider any business, which by reason of special circumstances, the Chair proposes to accept, under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

Decision:

None

Minutes:

None

CAB110

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

 

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

Decision:

None

Minutes:

None

CAB111

CHAIR'S CORRESPONDENCE

To receive any Chair’s correspondence.

Decision:

None

Minutes:

None

CAB112

MEMBERS PRESENT UNDER STANDING ORDER 34

To note the names of any Councillors who wish to address the meeting under Standing Order 34.

 

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chair of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before a decision on that item is taken.

 

Decision:

Councillors D Joyce, J Moriarty, C Morley, T Parish and M de Whalley attended under standing order 34.

Minutes:

Councillors D Joyce, J Moriarty, C Morley, T Parish and M de Whalley attended under standing order 34.

CAB113

CALLED IN MATTERS

To report on any Cabinet Decisions called in.

Decision:

None

Minutes:

None

CAB114

FORWARD DECISIONS pdf icon PDF 242 KB

A copy of the Forward Decisions List is attached

 

Decision:

The forward decisions list was noted.

Minutes:

The forward decisions list was noted.

CAB115

MATTERS REFERRED TO CABINET FROM OTHER BODIES pdf icon PDF 106 KB

To receive any comments and recommendations from other Council bodies which meet after the dispatch of this agenda. 

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

The minutes from the Joint Panels meeting on 2 February 20223 considering the budget and associated papers were submitted and their content noted.

 

The minute from the Environment and Community Panel on 3 January 2023 considering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund Update was submitted and their content noted.

 

The minutes of the meeting of the Business Ratepayers was distributed

Minutes:

Click here to view a recording of this item on YouTube

 

The minutes from the Joint Panels meeting on 2 February 20223 considering the budget and associated papers were submitted and their content noted.

 

The minute from the Environment and Community Panel on 3 January 2023 considering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund Update was submitted and their content noted.

 

The minutes of the meeting of the Business Ratepayers was distributed

 

CAB116

WEST NORFOLK INVESTMENT PLAN pdf icon PDF 650 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED: 

1.    That the projects for allocation of UKSPF funding for 2022/23 and 2023/24 against the agreed interventions contained in the West Norfolk Investment Plan (WNIP) as set out in section 4 of the report be approved.

2.    That delegated authority be granted to the Assistant Director for Regeneration, Housing & Place to finalise the financial allocations to the identified projects in section 4 of the report , in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Business Culture and Heritage.

3.    That the priorities for allocation of REPF funding for 2023-25 as set out in section 5 of the report be approved.

4.    That the governance arrangements to support the delivery of UKSPF & REPF as set out in section 8 of the report be approved, to include reference to Parish Councils in the Membership list.

5.    That the third party delivery options for the REPF as set out in sections 6, 7 and 8 in this report with delegated authority to the Assistant Director for Regeneration, Housing & Place in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Business Culture and Heritage to agree any changes be approved.

6.    That a further report be brought back to cabinet no later than December 2023 to agree the priorities for UKSPF funding in 2024-25.

 

Reason for Decision

 

To ensure timely delivery of two complementary government grant funding streams in line with the government guidance, West Norfolk Investment Plan and Corporate Business Plan objectives. The UKSPF will support residents and business to; build pride in place, high quality skills training, supporting pay, employment, productivity growth and increasing life chances. REPF will support investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas and in the development and promotion of the rural visitor economy, enhancing active travel provision in rural areas, investing in capacity building and infrastructure support for local rural groups and supporting volunteering and social action groups in rural communities.

Minutes:

Click here to view a recording of this item on YouTube

 

Cabinet was reminded that at its meeting on 21July 2022, it approved the 1 August 2022 submission of the West Norfolk Investment Plan to government to secure £1,836,407 allocation for West Norfolk under the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF). Confirmation of Government approval for this funding was received on 6 December 2022. Following assessment of the West Norfolk Investment Plan the Secretary of State had allocated funding for 2022/23 with indicative allocations for the further two financial years up to and including 2024/25. It was now necessary to agree the proposed spending priorities for the fund in 2022/23 to ensure that this could be expediated and to agree the approach and in principle spending proposed for 2023/24 so that preparatory work could be commenced.  

 

Additionally, in September 2022, an addendum to the West Norfolk Investment Plan was requested by DEFRA to secure an indicative allocation of£1,496,455 Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) capital funding to invest across rural West Norfolk over the period April 2023 – March 2025. The indicative amount for West Norfolk was the largest allocation in the county and the deadline for addendum submission was 30 November 2022. The report provided Cabinet with the detail of the addendum submitted, the process by which intervention priorities were determined and to agree in principle the proposed programme spend and delivery arrangements for 2023-25 so that preparatory work could be commenced. The decision on REPF was anticipated to be confirmed by DEFRA in January 2023.

 

Under standing order 34 Councillor de Whalley expressed concerns about where the control of the finances would lay if the County Deal was agreed.  He also drew attention to the fact that parish councils were not specifically included in the list of SPF Partnership Board.

 

The Assistant Director D Hall responded that if the County Deal transferred the SPF to the County Council the success of the Partnership Board could help the Borough Council maintain influence.  He also confirmed that the engagement of parishes was very relevant and had been taken on board.

 

Under standing order 34 Councillor Morley commented on the need for clarity over the next 2 years to make sure the next administration could continue seamlessly. He also questioned: how everything fit together for the sparse and rural areas, stressed the importance of the mix of membership of the Panel, and the need to ensure that the money was spent within the timescales set.

 

The Assistant Director D Hall confirmed that other organisations were involved to ensure the correct expertise was involved.

 

Under standing order 34 Councillor Parish considered that the documents were too complicated and the process should be simplified.  He expressed concerns as to which projects would be supported.

 

Under standing order 34  Councillor Moriarty asked when the work of the partnership would commence  to which it was confirmed it needed to start as soon as possible and updates would be provided through the portfolio holder as it progressed.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB116

CAB117

THE BUDGET 2022-27 pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Additional documents:

Decision:

RECOMMENDED: 1)             That Council note the revision to the Forecast for 2022/2023 as set out in the report.

 

2)         That Council approves the Policy on Earmarked Reserves and General Fund Balance and the maximum balances set for the reserves as noted in the report and at Appendix 7 to the report.

 

3) That Council :

 

1) Approves the budget requirement of £22,287,700 for 2023/2024 and notes the projections for 2024/2025, 2025/2026 and 2026/2027.

2) Approves that the pension lump sum payments are paid in advance for three years at a value of £5.430m.

3) Approves the level of Special Expenses for the Town/Parish Councils as detailed in the report.

4) Approves the Fees and Charges 2023/2024 detailed in Appendix 4.

5) Approves a Band D council tax of £143.87 for 2023/2024.

 

4)         That Council approves a minimum requirement of the General Fund balance for 2023/24 of £1,114,390.

 

5)         That pursuant to Section 25 of the Local Government Act, Council is asked to have due regard to this statement at Section 9 of this report when considering and approving the budget and the level of council tax for 2023/2024.

 

Reason for decision

 

In order to set a budget for 2023-27.

Minutes:

Click here to view a recording of this item on YouTube

 

Councillor Dickinson presented the budget confirming that the Council could present a funded budget for three years of the medium-term financial plan.  However, the General Fund Balance would be depleted to the minimum reserve level in 2025/2026 and the budget was reliant on earmarked reserves being released to the value of £2,887,680 and there remained an estimated budget gap of £5,260,580, in 2026/2027 year four of the Plan, which would need to be addressed. Alongside this, there was also significant uncertainty from 2023/2024 onwards. This was due to a combination of financial impact of inflation on the local business and individuals and on service provision costs and the decision by Government to add further delay to the implementation of the reforms to the business rates retention scheme and the Fair Funding Review. The council was placed in a difficult position in being unable to determine with any certainty the future funding position beyond 2024/2025, which was a considerable downside risk.

 

Assistant Director and S151 Officer, M Drewery explained that the budget had a suite of papers which were on the agenda.  She explained each section of the budget report  and reported that the final settlement had been received the previous day with some increases to both the Rural Services Delivery Grant and Services Grant but these were offset by the reduction in the Funding Guarantee Grant which meant there was no increase overall to the Borough.   The figures would be updated in the report to Council.  The Assistant Director drew attention to the fact that the Council’s element of the Council Tax collected was 7% of the total figure, of which 3% went to the IDBs, leaving 4% for the Borough to deliver its services.  The Borough’s proposed Council Tax increase for the year was £5 per annum, which was £4.50 and 50p for special expenses.  She confirmed that in her position of S151 Officer she  had set out her view on the robustness of the budget.

 

Under standing order 34 Councillor de Whalley stated that the fact that officer time was spent chasing pots of money whilst the council was struggling to provide basic services which he felt had to change.

 

Under standing order 34 Councillor Morley congratulated the Assistant Director and her team on the budget report and briefings given.  He made the following points:

 

·         He wished to know whether the Borough would be disadvantaged regard to the Business rates income with the County Deal;

·         He suggested that the County Council and Police Commissioner be pre warned that in future years the Council Tax Support figure may be increased to 100%. 

·         He wanted to see more lobbying on the cost of IDBs, drawing attention to the fact that people living on higher ground were supplementing the flood risk areas.

·         He felt that the charges for the brown bin should have increased

·         He considered direct overheads were not factored into service charges

·         He wanted to see priority based  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB117

CAB118

TREASURY MANAGEMENT POLICY UPDATE pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Additional documents:

Decision:

RECOMMENDED:  That Council approve:

1)      The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2023/2024, including

treasury indicators for 2023-2027.

2)    The Minimum Revenue Provision Policy 2023/2024

3)     The Investment Strategy 2023/2024

 

Reason for the Decision

The Council must have approved a Treasury Management Strategy Statement,

Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy

2023/2024 by 31 March 2023.

Minutes:

Click here to view a recording of this item on YouTube

 

Assistant Director Resources and S151 Officer presented and summarised the report which Council was required to receive and approve a Treasury Management Strategy Statement; Annual Investment Strategy; and Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement which covered:

 

· The Treasury Management Strategy

· Capital plans, including prudential indicators

· A Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy

· An Investment Strategy

 

The report covered the requirements of the Local Government Act 2003, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA) Prudential Code, The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC ) and Local Government (MHCLG)), MRP Guidance, the CIPFA Treasury Management Code and the DLUHC Investment Guidance.

 

The Council’s Treasury Advisor, Link Asset Services, provided a template document for the Treasury Management Strategy Statement, which was fully compliant with CIPFA’s code and DLUHC’s guidance. The Council had used this template in preparing the report which looked at the period 2023-2027, fitting with the Council’s Financial Plan and Capital Programme. Officers of the council had prepared the report based on their views of forecasts for interest rates, and had used information provided by the council’s Treasury Management Advisor, Link Asset Services

 

Under standing order 34 Councillor Morley asked that the Treasury Management information be presented as part of the induction process for members.  It was confirmed that this was in the plan, and that training had been provided previously.

 

Councillor Dickinson commented on the creditworthiness within the policies and the security of the money and investments made.

 

Councillor Dark summed up.

 

RECOMMENDED:  That Council approve:

1)      The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2023/2024, including

treasury indicators for 2023-2027.

2)    The Minimum Revenue Provision Policy 2023/2024

3)     The Investment Strategy 2023/2024

 

Reason for the Decision

The Council must have approved a Treasury Management Strategy Statement, Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy 2023/2024 by 31 March 2023.

CAB119

CAPITAL STRATEGY pdf icon PDF 745 KB

Decision:

RECOMMENDED:     That the Capital Strategy 2023/2024 as attached to the report be approved.

 

Reason for Decision

Not to approve these policies would contravene the requirements of both legislation and good

practice. In addition, the external auditors may comment in their report to those charged with

governance (ISA260).

 

Minutes:

Click here to view a recording of this item on YouTube

 

The Assistant Director Resources and S151 Officer presented the Capital Strategy which outlined the principles and framework that shaped the Council’s capital decisions. The principal aim was to deliver a programme of capital investment that contributed to the achievement of the Council’s priorities and objectives as set out in the Corporate Plan. The Capital Strategy would be updated annually and would be put before Cabinet alongside the Treasury Management Strategy so that it could be approved before the year to which it related began.

 

The Strategy defined at the highest level how the capital programme was to be formulated; it identified the issues and options that influenced capital spending and set out how the resources and capital programme would be managed.

 

Under standing order 34, Councillor Morley drew attention to the projected and actual spend levels in the capital programme and suggested that the project team should re-assess their projections.  Councillor Blunt confirmed that this was happening and changes would be seen.

 

RECOMMENDED:     That the Capital Strategy 2023/2024 as attached to the report be approved.

 

Reason for Decision

Not to approve these policies would contravene the requirements of both legislation and good

practice. In addition, the external auditors may comment in their report to those charged with

governance (ISA260).

 

CAB120

CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2023-24 pdf icon PDF 616 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

RECOMMENDED:  1) That the amendments to capital schemes and resources for the 2022-2027 capital programme as detailed in the report be approved.

2) That new capital bids as set out in section 5, table 6 of the report to be funded from available capital resources and included in the capital programme 2022-2027 as detailed in the report be approved.

3) That a report on the new capital bids in section 5 table 6 of the report, is brought back to Cabinet for further review before new capital projects can be progressed.

 

Reason for Decision

To report amendments, rephasing and resources to the 2022-2027 Capital Programme

Minutes:

Click here to view a recording of this item on YouTube

 

The Assistant Director Resources and S151 Officer presented the report which:

· revised the 2022/2023 projections for spending on the capital programme

· set out an estimate of capital resources that would be available for 2022-2027

· detailed new capital bids that were recommended to be included in the capital programme for the period 2022-2027

· outlined provisional figures for capital expenditure for the period 2022-2027

· Exempt section details corporate capital projects

 

Under standing order 34 Councillor de Whalley commented that he looked forward to the Financial Risk training for Councillors as it would help them to understand and scrutinise the figures more rigorously.

 

Members did not wish to debate any matter in open session.

 

RECOMMENDED:  1) That the amendments to capital schemes and resources for the 2022-2027 capital programme as detailed in the report be approved.

 

2) That new capital bids as set out in section 5, table 6 of the report to be funded from available capital resources and included in the capital programme 2022-2027 as detailed in the report be approved.

 

3) That a report on the new capital bids in section 5 table 6 of the report, is brought back to Cabinet for further review before new capital projects can be progressed.

 

Reason for Decision

To report amendments, rephasing and resources to the 2022-2027 Capital Programme