Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 November 2024  (previously circulated).

RESOLVED:           The Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 November 2024 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED:           The Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 November 2024 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

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.

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None

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.

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To receive any Chair’s correspondence.

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None

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.

Councillor A Ware attended under standing order 34.

Councillor A Ware attended under standing order 34.

To report on any Cabinet Decisions called in.

There were no called in matters.

There were no called in matters.

A copy of the Forward Decisions List is attached

The Forward Decisions were noted.

The Forward Decisions were noted.

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

Recommendations from the Regeneration and Development Panel meeting held on 19^th November 2024 are attached.

Recommendations from other Panels will follow.

1)     The Corporate Performance Panel on 27 November 2024 considered the recommendations from its Working Group on Taxi Testing and made the following recommendations that the Cabinet was invited to consider to consider: 

“1. The Informal Working Group make the following recommendations to the Corporate Performance Panel (“CPP”) for onwards recommendation to Cabinet in terms of preparation for the next taxi testing contract:

1. The new tender to be advertised on Delta E-Sourcing and Find-A-Tender, and the Council’s own website.  Any contractor wishing to apply shall be advised to register on Delta.  Direct invitations from the Delta tender box shall not be sent.
2. All correspondence after the competition is opened to be sent through the Delta portal.  All enquiries received outside the portal are to be redirected through Delta.
3. To consider and discuss with the legal team, including in the Contract Standing Orders, the ability to invite bidders to tender.
4. In line with the new Procurement Act 2023 for under threshold procurements, checks would be put in place to ensure that businesses were bona fide businesses.  Financial information could be requested, but businesses showing a loss in accounts would not be excluded from then being awarded a contract.  The reason for requiring financial information was purely to evidence that the business was legitimate. 
5. Questions and criteria to be included in the tender process would need to be agreed with officers, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Licensing.
6. It would not be left to the discretion of one officer if additional stations were brought forward to become testing stations after the initial contract was awarded.  Consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Licensing would be required.

Whilst not strictly falling within the terms of reference of the IWG, this additional recommendation was made for CPP’s consideration:

7. Should an external review of Council processes be required, it should be instructed in writing by an officer independent of the originating matter and not involved in any previous internal review.

2. The Taxi Testing Informal Working Group has now concluded its work and is disbanded.”

Cabinet agreed that the recommendations required further consideration so proposed the matter was deferred.

RESOLVED:  That consideration of the recommendations be deferred for further consideration.

All of the following recommendations were taken into account on consideration of each item.

2)     The Corporate Performance Panel on 27 November 2024 had considered the Q2 Corporate Performance Management report and supported the recommendations.

3)     The Environment and Community Panel on 3 September and 26 November 2024 had passed its comments supporting the:

·         The Notice of Motion 15/23 – Wash East Coast Management Strategy – Unit C - Technical report. (contained within the report)

·         Community Governance Review for Burnham Market

4)    The Audit Committee on 3 October 2024 had made recommendations supporting the Audit Committee Terms of Reference  (contained within the report)

5)    The Regeneration and Development Panel on 19 November 2024 had made recommendations supporting the West Norfolk economic Strategy

6)    The Joint Panels on 3 December 2024  had  ...  view the full decision text for item CAB85

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1)     The Corporate Performance Panel on 27 November 2024 considered the recommendations from its Working Group on Taxi Testing and made the following recommendations that the Cabinet was invited to consider to consider: 

“1. The Informal Working Group make the following recommendations to the Corporate Performance Panel (“CPP”) for onwards recommendation to Cabinet in terms of preparation for the next taxi testing contract:

1. The new tender to be advertised on Delta E-Sourcing and Find-A-Tender, and the Council’s own website.  Any contractor wishing to apply shall be advised to register on Delta.  Direct invitations from the Delta tender box shall not be sent.
2. All correspondence after the competition is opened to be sent through the Delta portal.  All enquiries received outside the portal are to be redirected through Delta.
3. To consider and discuss with the legal team, including in the Contract Standing Orders, the ability to invite bidders to tender.
4. In line with the new Procurement Act 2023 for under threshold procurements, checks would be put in place to ensure that businesses were bona fide businesses.  Financial information could be requested, but businesses showing a loss in accounts would not be excluded from then being awarded a contract.  The reason for requiring financial information was purely to evidence that the business was legitimate. 
5. Questions and criteria to be included in the tender process would need to be agreed with officers, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Licensing.
6. It would not be left to the discretion of one officer if additional stations were brought forward to become testing stations after the initial contract was awarded.  Consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Licensing would be required.

Whilst not strictly falling within the terms of reference of the IWG, this additional recommendation was made for CPP’s consideration:

7. Should an external review of Council processes be required, it should be instructed in writing by an officer independent of the originating matter and not involved in any previous internal review.

2. The Taxi Testing Informal Working Group has now concluded its work and is disbanded.”

Cabinet agreed that the recommendations required further consideration so proposed the matter was deferred.

RESOLVED:  That consideration of the recommendations be deferred for further consideration.

All of the following recommendations were taken into account on consideration of each item.

2)     The Corporate Performance Panel on 27 November 2024 had considered the Q2 Corporate Performance Management report and supported the recommendations.

3)     The Environment and Community Panel on 3 September and 26 November 2024 had passed its comments supporting the:

·         The Notice of Motion 15/23 – Wash East Coast Management Strategy – Unit C - Technical report. (contained within the report)

·         Community Governance Review for Burnham Market

4)     The Audit Committee on 3 October 2024 had made recommendations supporting the Audit Committee Terms of Reference  (contained within the report)

5)     The Regeneration and Development Panel on 19 November 2024 had made recommendations supporting the West Norfolk  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB85

RECOMMENDED:  That Officers be requested to conduct a Community Governance Review in respect of Burnham Market Parish Council to potentially reduce parish councillor numbers.

Reason for Decision

The proposal to reduce councillor numbers appears to be well-reasoned, but can only be determined by a Community Governance Review rather than any other legal mechanism.

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Cabinet considered a report which explained that a request had been received from Burnham Market Parish Council to reduce their councillor numbers from 11 to 8.  It was explained that in order to consider the request it was necessary to carry out a Community Governance Review of the Parish.  The Ward Member was supporting the request.

RECOMMENDED:  That Officers be requested to conduct a Community Governance Review in respect of Burnham Market Parish Council to potentially reduce parish councillor numbers.

Reason for Decision

The proposal to reduce councillor numbers appears to be well-reasoned, but can only be determined by a Community Governance Review rather than any other legal mechanism.

RESOLVED:That the existing CIL Governance and Spending Policy Document 2024 roll forward to allow the January 2025 round of CIL Spending applications to be submitted and considered by CIL Spending Panel to decide applications for funding under £50,000 with recommendations to Cabinet for those that exceed £50,000.

Reason for Decision

For the round of CIL Spending applications to take place in January 2025.

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Councillor Moriarty explained that the CIL Governance and Spending Policy Document was normally reviewed on an annual basis.   The CIL Spending Panel reviewed and produced a draft list of infrastructure projects which met the changing needs and aspirations of the Borough to support infrastructure.  Cabinet would then review and decide on amended priorities as appropriate.

Cabinet had asked the CIL Spending Panel and officers to review the existing list of infrastructure projects as identified in the CIL Governance and Spending Policy Document 2024 to ensure that both corporate projects and community projects were eligible for funding going forward which met the priorities of the Corporate Business Plan. 

This review was not able to be completed by the end of the December 2024 in advance of the next round of CIL Spending applications opening in January 2025.  Therefore, it was proposed to roll forward the existing CIL Governance and Spending Policy Document 2025 to allow for CIL Spending applications to come forward in January 2025 and a subsequent CIL Spending Panel to consider applications if appropriate make recommendations on applications and allocate funding (subject to final Cabinet approval where required).   In tandem, officers would work with CIL Spending Panel to review the CIL Governance and Spending Policy Document and make recommendations on a new Draft List of Infrastructure Projects and an appropriate split for allocations for funding between corporate and community projects that could be carried forward for approval in Spring 2025.

RESOLVED:That the existing CIL Governance and Spending Policy Document 2024 roll forward to allow the January 2025 round of CIL Spending applications to be submitted and considered by CIL Spending Panel to decide applications for funding under £50,000 with recommendations to Cabinet for those that exceed £50,000.

Reason for Decision

For the round of CIL Spending applications to take place in January 2025.

RESOLVED:1)         That the Council commit to achieving White Ribbon UK accreditation.

2)            That the budget required to support the achievement and ongoing commitment to accreditation be allocated. 

Reason for Decision

White Ribbon UK accreditation would build on the Council’s existing commitment to preventing domestic abuse by enabling the Council to:

• Demonstrate commitment to preventing harassment, abuse and violence against women and girls.
• Create safer communities and a safer work environment.
• Meet legislative duties, such as those defined within the Equality Act 2010 and Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Support the Government priority to end violence against women and girls (VAWG), as outlined in the ‘Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy’, July 2021.

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Councillor Rust presented the report on The White Ribbon which was the globally recognised symbol for the campaign to end men’s violence against women and girls. White Ribbon UK campaigned to prevent violence against women and girls by addressing the root causes of men’s violence against women: harmful attitudes, behaviours and systems around rigid gender norms and harmful expressions of masculinity that perpetuate gender inequality and gender-based violence.

In 2023, the Council signed the Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioners ‘HEAR pledge’, which was based on the White Ribbon campaign and aimed to break the silence around domestic abuse and provide help and support in the workplace.  White Ribbon accreditation was a commitment made by workplaces to work towards transformational change in their staff culture, systems and communities to make work a safe place for everyone.  Obtaining White Ribbon UK accreditation would strengthen the Council’s current commitment to ending violence against women and girls.

Councillor Rust drew attention to the fact that the Council at its meeting on 31 October 2024 had adopted a Motion on the White Ribbon accreditation proposed by Councillor Ware and seconded by Councillor Sayers.

Under standing order 34 Councillor Ware spoke in support of the proposal.

RESOLVED:1)         That the Council commit to achieving White Ribbon UK accreditation.

2)            That the budget required to support the achievement and ongoing commitment to accreditation be allocated. 

Reason for Decision

White Ribbon UK accreditation would build on the Council’s existing commitment to preventing domestic abuse by enabling the Council to:

• Demonstrate commitment to preventing harassment, abuse and violence against women and girls.
• Create safer communities and a safer work environment.
• Meet legislative duties, such as those defined within the Equality Act 2010 and Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Support the Government priority to end violence against women and girls (VAWG), as outlined in the ‘Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy’, July 2021.

RECOMMENDED:  1)         That the updated Terms of Reference for the Audit Committee be adopted.

2)         These terms of reference replace the current Terms of Reference in Part 3 of the Constitution and SO29 be amended to include reference to up to 2 Independent co-opted Members.

Reason for Decision

To enable the Audit Committee to continue to fulfil its role as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and in accordance with the latest guidelines provided by CIPFA.

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Cabinet considered a report which explained that the Audit Committee was established in 2006, with Terms of Reference (ToR) drawn up in line with the guidance from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).  The ToR should be reviewed every three years by the Committee and any updates presented to Cabinet and Council for approval and incorporation into the constitution.

Officers had reviewed the ToR and produced a draft updated version of the ToR, taking account of:

• CIPFA position statement 2022: Audit Committees in Local Authorities and Police
• The amended ToR had been presented to Audit Committee on 3^rd October 2024 and supported by it.

RECOMMENDED:  1)         That the updated Terms of Reference for the Audit Committee be adopted.

2)         These terms of reference replace the current Terms of Reference in Part 3 of the Constitution and SO29 be amended to include reference to up to 2 Independent co-opted Members.

Reason for Decision

To enable the Audit Committee to continue to fulfil its role as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and in accordance with the latest guidelines provided by CIPFA.

RESOLVED:   That the Performance Management Report and its delivery against the Corporate Strategy be noted.

Reason for Decision

Cabinet should use the information within the management report to review progress on the agreed actions and indicators and satisfy themselves that performance is at an acceptable level. Where progress is behind schedule members can seek additional information to explain variances.

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Cabinet considered the Performance Management report which had been produced to update Cabinet on progress against the Council’s Corporate Strategy and key performance indicators.

The report contained information on progress made against key actions and indicators up to 30 September 2024.

The number of actions to be monitored in Q2 had reduced to 58 as a result of 8 actions being completed in Q1. Comparing the overall performance with the previous reported quarter, 27 of the actions were on target (?9%), and 11 actions were reporting minor issues/delays (?9%). A further 8 actions had been completed in Q2 and 12 actions were reported as information only.

Of the 64 performance indicators for Q2, 37 had met or exceeded targets (?1%), 7 indicators had not met target by more than 5% (?3%) and 5 indicators did not meet the target by less than 5% (?4%). Monitor only indicators remained at 13 and the number of indicators to be introduced when new data processes had been established had reduced to 2.

Cabinet considered and discussed the position statement on each of the corporate priorities.

In discussion it was noted that the council’s corporate priorities would be taken into account with the West Norfolk Economic Strategy later on the agenda along with those of other partners.

RESOLVED:That the Performance Management Report and its delivery against the Corporate Strategy be noted.

Reason for Decision

Cabinet should use the information within the management report to review progress on the agreed actions and indicators and satisfy themselves that performance is at an acceptable level. Where progress is behind schedule members can seek additional information to explain variances.

RECOMMENDED:     That the recommendation made by the Environment and Community Panel in response to Notice of Motion 15/23 be supported and Council be invited to note the recommendation below:

“The Environment and Community Panel noted the progress and supports the future work on the Wash East Coast Management Strategy review and requested future updates on progress”

Reason for Report

This report is in response to the Notice of Motion 15/23 from Council meeting 19^th October 2023.

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Councillor Squire presented a report which explained that the Wash East Coast Management Strategy- Unit C - Technical report from the Environment Agency was presented to the Environment and Community Panel in response to the Notice of Motion 15/23 which was referred by Council for consideration by the Environment and Community Panel. The Notice of Motion was set out below:

"This council recognises the very real threat posed by coastal erosion and sea intrusion to human life and our historic coastal communities, vital tourist industry, important farming industry and wildlife.

We applaud the recent decision taken at the County Council that as a county Norfolk will now press the Environment Agency, government and local MPs strongly to find and invest sufficient funding to cater for the current level of threat posed and to enhance provision for future years so that coastal defences are up to the task.

Council on this matter on behalf of its residents and that 'managed retreat' from existing coastal protections, allowing any (NB) increased risk to life or property, or loss of land to the sea or elements is not a desirable short, medium or longer-term strategy or tactic and the matter of potential changes to shoreline management should now be referred to E&C."

The Environment and Community Panel responded to the notice of motion with the following recommendation.

RECOMMENDED:  That the recommendation made by the Environment and Community Panel in the response to Notice of Motion 15/23 be supported and Council be invited to note the recommendation.

“The Environment and Community Panel noted the progress and supports the future work on the Wash East Coast Management Strategy review and requested future updates on progress”

Reason for Report

This report is in response to the Notice of Motion 15/23 from Council meeting 19^th October 2023.

RECOMMENDED:      1)          That the West Norfolk Economic Strategy (attached as an appendix to the report) be endorsed.

2)             That the revised King’s Lynn Town Board vision and priorities as detailed in section 4 of the report be endorsed.

Reason for Decision

To ensure West Norfolk is in a strong policy position, supported by a robust evidence base to enable the delivery of the new Corporate Strategy objectives. The adoption of an Economic Strategy will determine the priorities for investment and support the ability to secure investment for economic growth in West Norfolk. of

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This report outlined the development and recommended adoption of the Economic Strategy for West Norfolk. The strategy described where the council wanted to be in 2045 and the strategic priorities for achieving this vision, building on where the council was today. It was accompanied by a detailed Action Plan, setting out specific actions to take to realise the vision.

Changes at a national and regional level, with the government’s integration of Enterprise Partnerships into upper tier authorities and the proposals for Devolution in Norfolk, required a strong economic policy for the district to set out the council’s vision and priorities for investment to sustain and support economic growth.

The new strategy had been developed during 2024, involving detailed data analysis, evidence gathering and engagement with residents, businesses, stakeholders and partners. The resultant strategy set out the long-term vision for the Borough to be ‘a model for sustainable, active and inclusive rural communities, where the benefits of economic growth were shared widely, and natural and cultural heritage was preserved, enhanced and celebrated for future generations’.

RECOMMENDED:     1)         That the West Norfolk Economic Strategy (attached as an appendix to the report) be endorsed.

2)            That the revised King’s Lynn Town Board vision and priorities as detailed in section 4 of the report be endorsed.

Reason for Decision

To ensure West Norfolk is in a strong policy position, supported by a robust evidence base to enable the delivery of the new Corporate Strategy objectives. The adoption of an Economic Strategy will determine the priorities for investment and support the ability to secure investment for economic growth in West Norfolk. of

RESOLVED: 1)         That  officers be authorised to progress Option Three detailed in Section 3.3 of the report and the related Options One and Two, detailed in Section 5 of the report, to RIBA Stage Two to enable a full Business Case to be developed for presentation to Cabinet in due course.

2)            That Cabinet funding of £450k be allocated to the project from the ‘Invest to Save’ fund to enable work to be progressed to the stage set out in 6.1.1 of the report.

3)            That delegated authority be given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Corporate Governance Manager and Monitoring Officer to enter into a Framework Contract to carry out the Project

Reason for Decision

To enable the council to undertake more detailed planning and consideration of the business case and potential capital costs of relocating St James Swimming Pool to Lynnsport or another town centre location, and a rebuild of the Oasis Leisure Centre in Hunstanton.

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Councillor Ring presented a report which presented Cabinet with a compelling case for the council to invest in a major facilities renewal strategy for its leisure venues.

The Governance Manager reminded Members that it had long been recognised that physical activity played a key role in promoting health and wellbeing. However, for both adults and children, the borough’s levels of obesity/overweight were higher than the national average, whilst activity levels for both were lower than the national average. Moreover, there was significant health inequality within the borough, with life expectancy between the least deprived and most deprived areas being almost 7 years for men and 1.6 years for women. 

Given this challenging position, the council was working closely with Sport England on developing a plan for increasing physical activity levels – especially amongst those groups which were least active. The borough had been designated by Sport England as one of its 100 ‘Place Expansion’ areas. These were areas deemed to be in greatest need and which would benefit from additional Sport England funding. Swimming pools and leisure centres played a vital role in creating active and healthy communities, but they also taught children (and adults) to swim and provide a community ‘hub’ for local people.

The council operated three swimming pools in the Borough. St James in King’s Lynn, Oasis in Hunstanton and Downham Market Leisure Centre in Downham Market.

St James Swimming Pool opened in 1975 and Oasis Leisure Centre in 1984. Both of those facilities were now at the end of their economic life and both facilities had prohibitively high energy costs due to their design and required significant capital investment to keep them open and operating. Both pools were failing to deliver their important contribution to the council’s strategic goals, namely effective and efficient service delivery, tackling health inequality, reducing our carbon emissions, and promoting the area as a great place to live, work, visit and invest. The subsidy paid by the council to operate the council’s leisure facilities currently stood at £1.4m and was expected to increase.

Feasibility work had been conducted by Sport England and an external Leisure Consultant. This work concluded that the council should develop a capital investment plan to renew its swimming pools and leisure centres. This was an approach being adopted by many councils and would result in significant reductions in running costs, major increases in usage and income and improved health, social and economic outcomes.

The report outlined the options which had been explored and made recommendations to progress the preferred options to RIBA Stage 2.

In debating the proposals Cabinet supported the recommendations set out in the report in accordance with the Council’s Corporate Plan.

Councillor de Whalley asked that BREEAM be utilised in the design process to maximise the energy efficiency.  It was confirmed that maximum energy efficiency would be aimed for but it was too early at this stage to build into the design at this  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB93