Test Valley Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

There were no apologies for absence.

There was no public participation.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent items.

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 23 August 2023 were proposed by Councillor P North and seconded by Councillor Adams-King.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 August 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

There were no recommendations to consider from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Consideration was given to the report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which set out the framework within which the 2024/25 budget will be prepared. It also set out the Medium Term Financial Forecast for the General Fund income and expenditure, which will form the basis of the 2024/25 budget.

The strategy considered the potential impact of macro-economic factors such as inflation and interest rate forecasts and the effects they will have on budget planning in the medium term.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the recommendations were proposed by Councillor Flood, seconded by Councillor P North and Cabinet agreed to the following:

Recommended to Council:

1.  That the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2024/25 to 2026/27 be approved.

2.  That the Medium Term Financial Forecast, as shown in Annex 5 to the report, be noted.

Consideration was given to the report of the Leader and Strategic Regeneration and Partnerships (North) Portfolio Holder which presented details of the Andover Business Improvement District (BID) Ballot.

The Council was liable for business rates on 23 hereditaments within the area covered by the proposed BID which gave the Council 23 votes in line with the BID Ballot process which was currently being held for the continuation and extension of arrangements until 2029.

Having considered the options, the recommendation was proposed by Councillor P North and seconded by Councillor Adams-King and Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

That the continued operation of the Andover BID be supported and accordingly, the Chief Executive be instructed to exercise all of the Council’s votes in favour of approving the BID proposals.

Consideration was given to the report of the Housing and Environmental Health Portfolio Holder which considered options to capitalise relevant salaries within the Private Sector Housing team against the Better Care Fund.

The proposal would create a revenue saving and enable additional resources to address the growing demand for Disabled Facilities Grants and other services carried out by the Private Sector Housing team.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the recommendations were proposed by Councillor Adams-King, seconded by Councillor P North and Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

1.  That the relevant salaries in the Private Sector Housing team (as described at paragraph 2.5 of the report) be capitalised against the Better Care Fund with effect from 1 November 2023.

2.  That approval be given for an additional post to be created in the Private Sector Housing team to deal with the increased demand on the Disabled Facilities Grant service, with the costs of that post also being capitalised against the Better Care Fund.

3.  That the administration charge currently applied to relevant new Disabled Facilities Grants ceases with effect from 1 November 2023.