Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs A Dickinson, A Kemp and A Ryves, A Baker, S Clifton, V Dunmall and L Gore.

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The minutes from the meeting held on 3 December 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest.

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

There was no urgent business.

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 is taken.

Councillors M de Whalley and Councillor A Ryves (Zoom) was present under Standing Order 34.

There was no Chair’s correspondence.

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The Chair commented that the Member Briefings had been useful to bring Councillors up to the same level of understanding.

The Chair explained that the purpose of the Member Briefings was to enable the MMPB to determine their forward work programme over the coming months and identify out of those briefings the ones which the Board felt were most pressing and more of “deep dive” into the projects.

Councillor Moriarty made a comment regarding briefings.  He stated that they were briefings and questions were not allowed they would be taken a later date there is a clear distinction between briefings and scrutiny.  In response, the Chair advised that this was the forum to have a detailed question and answer session.

The Chair asked if Councillors had had the chance to look at the list of projects.  The Assistant Director, Property and Projects advised that the list of projects previous presented at the MMPB on 3 December 2021 was also attached to the recent Cabinet report.

The Assistant Director, Property and Projects informed those present that the Member Briefings had been opened up to all Councillors and had been well attended and had worked well in bringing Members up to date with the projects.  Questions were asked and answered which were placed in the chat function. The briefings would help to formulate the work programme of the MMPB going forward.  It was noted that there was a list of 11 projects and the next stage would be for the MMPB to prioritise the order of projects to be presented to each meeting.  The Assistant Director, Property and projects explained that the relevant project officer would attend the meeting and give a presentation, Members would then have the opportunity to ask questions, and if were commercially sensitive, they could be answered in exempt session.

The Chair referred to page 9 of the minutes of 3 December regarding the frequency of MMPB meetings and it had been determined meetings would be held on a two monthly basis and MMPB would prioritise the list of projects and identify order of specific projects to be considered at each meeting to determine its future work programme.  The project officer would attend and give a detailed presentation.

The Chair referred to the list of projects previously presented and invited the MMPB to look at the list over the coming week and email to himself/support and the projects would be placed on the agenda in the appropriate sequence.

Councillor Blunt highlighted the importance of stating the reasons as to why the MMPB should look at a specific project and explained it was necessary for the officers to have time to prepare for that discussion.

Councillor Moriarty commented about the order of projects to be considered and allowing timing for scrutiny/decision required and a guidance on timing would be appreciated.  In response, the Chair explained that it would be useful for a timeline of major decisions points  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

25 May 2022, 10 am in the Assembly Room, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.

The next meeting would be held on 25 May 2022 at 10 am in the Assembly Room, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.

To receive the minutes from the Officer Major Projects Board:

·         29 November 2021

·         13 December 2020 – MEETING CANCELLED

·         19 January 2022

·         21 February 2022

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The Assistant Director, Property and Projects explained that there had been queries from Members as to whether certain items should be considered in open or exempt session.

The Assistant Director, Property and projects advised that he had revised the Officer Major Projects Board (OMPB) minutes with the Monitoring Officer, and it had been concluded that the majority of the minutes did not contain exempt information and suggested that the OMPB be discussed in open session unless there were any commercially sensitive or detailed questions which required the Board to go into exempt session.  It was explained that therefore that the OMPB minutes could be split into two sections – open and exempt (if required) and invited the view of the MMPB.

Councillor Hudson commented that as much of the OMPB minutes should be considered in open session to ensure openness and transparency.

Councillor Middleton welcomed the approached outlined by the Assistant Director and if required to go into exempt session to discuss commercially sensitive projects, etc.  Councillor Middleton also commented that it was crucial for the Monitoring Officer to attend MMPB meetings to provide legal advice when required.

Councillor Dark concurred with the comments made by Councillors Hudson and Middleton.

The Assistant Director, Property and Projects explained that all Members had access to exempt information.

Councillor Moriarty commented asked why the minutes of the OMPB meeting held on 21 March 2022 were not available.  In response, the Democratic Services Officer advised that were currently in draft form and were to be approved by Management Team on 12 April 2022 following which would be published on InSite and be available for all Members to view and added that they could be circulated to the Board following approval by Management Team.  The Assistant Director, Property and Projects advised the meeting was held but that he was not in attendance for the whole meeting and provided an overview of the subjects discussed.

The Chair explained that he understood the issues raised by Councillor Moriarty and commented that the timing of the OMPB sits well within the MMPB to coincide, so the Board received the recent set of minutes.

Councillor Middleton added that there would always be a cut off point and that the OMPB met more frequently than the MMPB to receive the minutes.  Whilst the MMPB could have been presented with the draft OMPB minutes not the best idea as there may be an amendment.  Councillor Middleton stated that going forward it would be beneficial if the MMPB received the recent minutes of the OMPB to ensure Members received the most up to date information and align meetings as best as possible.

Councillor Blunt explained that the Chapel Street project had been discussed at the Heritage Action Zone meetings and a lessons learnt exercise undertaken and following discussions with Historic England the decision had been not to progress the project.

With regard to the OMPB minutes of 29 November 2021,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider passing the following resolution:

“That under Section 100(1) (4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.”

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RESOLVED:  That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

Officers present responded to questions and comments from the Board.

Officers present responded to questions and comments from the Board.

Officers present responded to questions and comments from the Board.