Hart Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

It was proposed by Cllr Neighbour, seconded by Cllr Radley and agreed unanimously by those Members at the previous meeting, that the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2024 be confirmed and signed as a correct record of the proceedings.

No apologies for absence had been received.

No declarations of interest were made.

Following the General Election the previous week, the Chair placed on record the Council’s appreciation of the two departing MPs covering Hart District Council (Leo Docherty (Aldershot Constituency) and Ranil Jayawardena (North East Hampshire Constituency)).  He welcomed the new MPs - Alex Baker (Aldershot Constituency) and Alex Brewer (North East Hampshire Constituency) and looked forward to working with them.

There was no public participation at the meeting.

The Cabinet considered the report, which updated it on progress made with the Climate Change Action Plan from December 2023 to May 2024, recommended the next set of priorities to support the delivery of the action plan, and sought the endorsement of the proposed governance structure of the Climate Change Programme.

Members noted:

·           The report was also considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee in June 2024; and 

·          Blackwater Valley Friends of the Earth had been in contact with the Climate Change and Corporate Services Portfolio Holder (Cllr Quarterman) and had asked that the Cabinet be advised of their comments on the Action Plan before consideration of the report.  Cllr Quarterman summarised these comments and he advised that he was happy to take note of the points raised and would consider these with the Climate Change Team as part of the following update process of the Action Plan.  In response to another point raised by Blackwater Valley Friends of the Earth, Cllr Quarterman stated that he was satisfied that the Council had the correct processes in place for overview and scrutiny. 

Members queried:

·         Who was the critical friend support for bespoke expert advice on achieving progress towards the Council’s carbon neutral targets and

·         The expansion of electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs) at Church Road car park in Fleet and the supplier to be used for this work.

Members were advised that Local Partnerships was a consultancy the Council had previously worked with on climate change.  Local Partnerships was a commercial arm of the Local Government Association and

It was proposed by Cllr Quarterman and seconded by Cllr Neighbour that Cabinet approve:

(i)               the proposal set out in Appendix 1 to the report to expand electric vehicle charging points at Church Road car park;

(ii)             the proposed governance structure for the Climate Change Programme; and

(iii)      the proposed projects list and associated cost allocations set out in paragraph 21 of the report, to be funded from the approved 2024/25 climate change budget and the unallocated remaining 2023/24 budget.

During the debate, the issue of expanding electric vehicle charging points at Church Road car park was raised and in particular the confidential appendix to the report.  It was proposed by Cllr Neighbour; seconded by Cllr Radley, that, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded during the discussion of Appendix 1 to the report, because they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.   The Cabinet unanimously agreed this.

Following deliberations in the absence of the public, the meeting then returned to public session. 

I was proposed by Cllr Bailey that recommendation (i) of the report be amended as follows:

“The Cabinet supported installing three further charging points in Church Road car park but deferred the decision for two months to ensure that the proposal represented the best value for money solution for residents.”

Cllr Quarterman, the original proposer of the recommendations, accepted the amendment, as did Cllr Neighbour, the original seconder. This then became the substantive motion for debate.

There was no further discussion on the substantive motion.    

Decision:

The Cabinet agreed unanimously:

(i)            supported installing three further charging points in Church Road car park but deferred the decision for two months to ensure that the proposal represented the best value-for-money solution for residents;

(ii)          to approve the proposed governance structure for the Climate Change Programme, as set out in the report; and

(iii)    to approve the proposed projects list and associated cost allocations set out in paragraph 21 of the report, to be funded from the approved 2024/25 climate change budget and the unallocated remaining 2023/24 budget.

The Cabinet received an update from the Finance Manager on the revenue and capital outturn for 2023/24, which advised that the net revenue outturn was £1.5 million surplus compared to a net budget of £12.7 million.  Capital expenditure was £3.3 million against a budget of £3.5 million, representing an underspend of £0.25 million.  Details were also set out in the paper of the proposed use of reserves regarding efficiency reviews, audit fees and the Climate Change Action Plan (boiler replacement).

The Portfolio Holder (Cllr Radley) stressed that high interest rates and the Finance Team’s due diligence in making investments had played a significant part in the £1.5 million surplus, over and above what had been estimated. Cllr Radley stated that the Council should not assume the same position for the revenue and capital outturn for 2024/25. 

A question was raised regarding a carry-forward request from the 2023/24 revenue budget to the 2024/25 revenue budget regarding staff training.  It was confirmed that the LGA funded the first round of training and the carry forward request will complete the task.   

Proposed by Cllr Radley; Seconded by Cllr Neighbour and unanimously agreed that:

(i)         the budget outturn position and treasury management activity for 2023/24 be noted;

(ii)    the revenue and capital carry forwards from 2023/24 to 2024/25 (as set out in the presentation paper) be approved; and

(iii)      the reserve movement requests (as set out in the presentation paper) be approved.

The Cabinet received a report on the treasury management outturn for 2023/24, which set out information on the level of investment and demonstrated the Council’s compliance with the Treasury Management Strategy.  

The Portfolio Holder (Cllr Radley) expressed his thanks to the Finance Team for their diligence in managing the Council’s investments, which was echoed by the Chair. 

Decision

The Cabinet noted the treasury management outturn position for 2023/24.

The Cabinet considered a report on a request for £20,000 from reserves to commission a cost/benefit options appraisal following the Overview & Scrutiny Task and Finish Group’s recommendations relating to fly-tipping.

Members noted that:

·         An options appraisal document would be brought back to a Cabinet meeting in the Autumn to allow any funding proposals to be fully considered as part of the 2025/26 budget process; 

·         The 2024/25 budget increased the officer resource for fly-tipping from 0.4 FTE to 1.0 FTE. A full-time officer was now in post and was working with the Environmental Health Manager on implementing some of the recommendations that were deliverable within existing resources.

Members raised questions regarding:

·        Whether priority would be given to enforcement and prosecution as part of the options appraisal process and

·        The problematic funding allocation decisions to be made following the cost/benefit analysis work.

Members were advised that matters relating to enforcement and prosecution would be considered as part of the options appraisal process.

It was proposed by Cllr Wildsmith; seconded by Cllr Neighbour and the Cabinet unanimously agreed that:

(i)     approval be given to the commissioning of a cost/benefit options appraisal to evaluate the recommendations from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee Fly-tipping Task and Finish Group; and

(ii)    £20,000 be allocated from reserves to cover the cost of the options appraisal.   

The Cabinet considered a report on the Council’s performance indicator results of 2023/2024 (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024). 

Members raised questions concerning:

·          the target figure for the average number of man days of litter enforcement work carried out per month (ET6), as this was missing from the report;

·          the impact on refurbishment plans for Heathlands given all flats currently being occupied (Households living in temporary accommodation (CS2); 

·          the reason for enforcement action magistrates court trial dates slipping (EH6 - Fly-tipping enforcement actions); and

·         Disabled Facilities Grants (Percentage of Disabled Facilities Grant spent against budget - CS7).

Members were advised that:

·         the target figure for ET6 was 16.  Quarters 1 and 2 had been below the target figure and Quarters 3 and 4 had been above;

·          feasibility work was being carried out on what refurbishment works were required at Heathlands and the results would be known in October/November.  This was the first time in several years that Heathlands was fully occupied; and

·         a written response would be provided to the Cabinet on fly-tipping enforcement action in magistrates courts.

Decision

The Cabinet noted the performance indicator report for 2023/24.

The Cabinet considered and amended the Work Programme as follows:

·      The next meeting on 1 August 2024 would be cancelled due to a lack of business as the Options for Waste Contract report would not be finalised in time for the August meeting;

·      The Complaints Policy report would be an Executive Decision made by Cllr Clarke as the relevant Portfolio Holder and would not require a referral to Cabinet for approval; and

·      The impact of the new Government’s National Planning Policy Framework plans would be considered alongside the Hart Local Plan 2032 Assessment.

It was proposed by Cllr Neighbour and seconded by Cllr Clarke that, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded during the discussion of the matters referred to in Agenda Item 13, because they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Cabinet unanimously agreed this.