Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2014 (previously circulated as part of the Council Agenda for the meeting held on 19 February 2014).

RESOLVED­ – that the Minutes of the Executive meeting held on 4 February 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

The Leader welcomed the press and Members to the meeting.  He advised that due to a technical problem at the supplier’s end, the webcast could not be broadcast live, although a recording would be uploaded as usual after the meeting.

Report to follow.

The Executive received a report detailing those issues referred to it by the Scrutiny Committees, which were noted.  Issues relating to specific reports for the Executive were considered and detailed at the relevant report of the Executive Member.

RESOLVED – that the report be received.

That (A) the criteria for allocating capital funding for affordable housing, as now detailed, be approved; and

(B)     delegated powers be given to the Director of Neighbourhood Services, in consultation with the Executive Member for Health, Housing and Community Support, to make decisions on any future funding contributions to aid sustainable affordable housing development in the District.

The Executive Member for Housing, Health and Community Services submitted a report seeking approval for the allocation of capital funding for affordable housing in the District via the criteria and process as now detailed.

The Executive approved the proposals as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the criteria for allocating capital funding for affordable housing, as now detailed, be approved; and

(B)      delegated powers be given to the Director of Neighbourhood Services, in consultation with the Executive Member for Health, Housing and Community Support, to make decisions on any future funding contributions to aid sustainable affordable housing development in the District.

That (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be noted;

(B)     the proposals for off-street pay and display charges as detailed in this report and Essential Reference Paper ‘B' be approved for consultation;

(C)    the following associated budget changes be approved:

(i)                a one-off special item of £30,000 to fund extensive consultation through the publication of relevant Traffic Regulation Orders and any subsequent costs of signs and machine programming, to be funded from the Contingency budget in the 2014/15 budget;

(ii)              an increase of £50,000 to the budget for the Council’s Enforcement Contract to enable evening enforcement, to be funded from the contingency budget in the 2014/15 budget and will form part of the overall budget setting process in future years;

(iii)            additional one off funding of £1,500 in year one and £1,000 per subsequent year for additional reports to monitor car park usage, to be funded from the contingency budget for 2014/15 and for future years will form part of the overall budget setting process;

(iv)     £255,000 of the Priority Spend budget be vired to car park income budgets for 2014/15 to address any shortfall in income from these proposals, the full year effect in 2015/16 being £340,000;

(D)    Officers be requested to:

(i)                progress the required Traffic Regulation Order ensuring the consultation process is robust and wide ranging;

(ii)              commence discussions to establish whether Jackson Square can be included within the car park pay and display policy;

(iii)            commence negotiations with the enforcement contractor to establish an evening enforcement operation to cover Hertford, Ware and Bishop’s Stortford; and

(iv)     submit a further report to the Executive following analysis of consultation feedback.

The Executive Member for Economic Development submitted a report outlining policy proposals for off-street pay and display charges in 2014/15 and 2015/16.  The joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees, held on 11 February 2014, had considered the proposals and had expressed support for them.

The Executive Member reminded the Executive of the key principles of the adopted fees and charges strategy and detailed the economic context within which charges had been frozen since 2010.  He proposed to extend the freeze for another two years, but to restructure charges with a view to increasing support for the economic vitality of town centres.  This included adjusting charging bands to incorporate a free 30 minute period in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford and Ware and introducing a flat rate £1 charge for more than 30 minutes after 4.00 pm and until 10.00 pm in the evening.

The Executive Member detailed the modelling of a range of users’ behaviour, the risks associated with the new charges and the additional enforcement that would be necessary. 

Finally, he emphasised that additional consultation needed to be undertaken which would be wider and qualitatively different  to that which would be undertaken in promoting a statutory Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).  To this end, he suggested amending recommendation (C)(i) to allow for a number of different TROs to be promoted, if the informal consultation indicated that would be appropriate.  In response to questions, the Executive Member commented on the need for flexibility, so that the consistent approach taken towards the three main towns could be amended if the consultation so demanded.

Members considered the financial risks and the difficulties associated with measuring the impact on economic activity.  The Leader advised that monitoring within the corporate healthcheck report would be included on a quarterly basis.

Councillor J Wing commented on the need for increased publicity in regard to the “Ringo” service.  The Executive Member agreed to raise this with Officers and to consider its relevance to these proposals.

In response to comments by the Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, the Executive Member for Economic Development welcomed any interaction with retailers and their representatives.

The Executive approved the proposals as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be noted;

(B)      the proposals for off-street pay and display charges as detailed in this report and Essential Reference Paper ‘B' be approved for consultation;

(C)      the following associated budget changes be approved:

(i)                    a one-off special item of £30,000 to fund extensive consultation through the publication of relevant Traffic Regulation Orders and any subsequent costs of signs and machine programming, to be funded from the Contingency budget in the 2014/15 budget;

(ii)                  an increase of £50,000 to the budget for the Council’s Enforcement Contract to enable evening enforcement, to be funded from the contingency budget in the 2014/15 budget and will form part of the overall budget setting process in future years;

(iii)                additional one off funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 571.

That (A) the comments of Environment Scrutiny Committee be received;

(B)     the service is extended to as many communal properties as is practically possible;

(C)    a communication programme to remove soft plastics from the Comingled mix is commenced, with a view to removing the soft plastics by May 2014; and

(D)    a communication programme to promote the use of caddy liners to improve the capture of food waste be undertaken, in tandem with Recommendation (C) above.

The Executive Member for Community Safety and Environment submitted a report updating the Executive on the progress of the new comingled recycling service and proposing enhancements that would improve performance further.

The Executive noted that the successful introduction of the comingled service had improved satisfaction levels from 77% to 83% of residents.  The Executive Member proposed enhancements that would include extending the new service to communal properties, removing sift plastics from the comingled stream and increasing food waste capture.  He also proposed a communication programme that would help achieve these.

The Executive Member placed on record, his appreciation and congratulations to Officers for their efforts in securing the successful implementation of SPARC.

The Environment Scrutiny Committee, at its meeting held on 25 February 2014, had supported the proposals as now detailed.

In response to Members’ comments, the Executive noted the communications programme being proposed and that there were no financial implications arising from this report.

The Executive approved the proposals as now submitted.

RESOLVED - that (A) the comments of Environment Scrutiny Committee be received;

(B)      the service is extended to as many communal properties as is practically possible;

(C)      a communication programme to remove soft plastics from the Comingled mix is commenced, with a view to removing the soft plastics by May 2014; and

(D)      a communication programme to promote the use of caddy liners to improve the capture of food waste be undertaken, in tandem with Recommendation (C) above.

That the application for the designation of a Neighbourhood Area, submitted by Brickendon Liberty Parish Council, be supported.

The Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Transport submitted a report seeking approval for the designation of a Neighbourhood Area in Brickendon Liberty, as detailed on the plan attached to the report submitted.  The area comprised the entire parish of Brickendon Liberty.

The Executive considered the application and the consultation undertaken.  The report submitted detailed the main areas of consideration in determining the application in accordance with Schedule 9 of the Localism Act 2011.

The Executive supported the application.

RESOLVED - that the application for the designation of a Neighbourhood Area, submitted by Brickendon Liberty Parish Council, be supported.

That (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be received; and

(B)     the service plan activity for 2014/15, as now submitted, be agreed.

The Leader of the Council submitted a report setting out planned service activity for 2014/15.  He referred to the comments submitted by the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees held on 11 February 2014, which were supportive of the planned activity.

The Executive approved the recommendation as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be received; and

(B)      the service plan activity for 2014/15, as now submitted, be agreed.

That (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be received; and

(B)     the 2013/14 estimated outturns be noted and the future targets for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 be agreed.

The Leader of the Council submitted a report setting out the performance indicators the Council was required to publish in its Annual Report.  He advised the Executive of estimated performance for 2013/14 and the proposed targets for the next three years.  

The Executive also noted the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees held on 11 February 2014, which were supportive of the proposed targets.

The Executive approved the recommendation as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be received; and

(B)      the 2013/14 estimated outturns be noted and the future targets for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 be agreed.

Report to follow

That (A) the budgetary variances set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report be noted; and

(B)     as detailed at paragraph 2.22 of the report submitted;

·                    slippage of £17,840 for Grange Paddocks Renewal of Pool Calorifiers to 2014/15 be approved, as the scheme is still at the design stage; 

·                    slippage of £20,950 from the Community Capital Grants budget to 2014/15 be approved;

·                    slippage of £20,000 for Energy Grants to 2014/15, be approved;

·                    a virement of £31,000 ICT – Authentication Scheme to ICT Applications be approved; and

·                    slippage of £5,000 to 2014/15 for the Arts in Parks Project be approved, due to the impact of current weather conditions.

The Leader of the Council submitted an exception report on finance and performance monitoring for January 2014.

In response to a question by Councillor J Ranger on the slippage relating to Community Capital Grants, Members were reassured that the full budget had been allocated, but that some of the actual expenditure had been phased into 2014/15.

The Executive approved the recommendations as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the budgetary variances set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report be noted; and

(B)      as detailed at paragraph 2.22 of the report submitted;

·               slippage of £17,840 for Grange Paddocks Renewal of Pool Calorifiers to 2014/15 be approved, as the scheme is still at the design stage; 

·   slippage of £20,950 from the Community Capital Grants budget to 2014/15 be approved;

·   slippage of £20,000 for Energy Grants to 2014/15, be approved;

·   a virement of £31,000 ICT – Authentication Scheme to ICT Applications be approved; and

·   slippage of £5,000 to 2014/15 for the Arts in Parks Project be approved, due to the impact of current weather conditions.