Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor Mrs. J. M. L. A. Griffiths and Councillor R. D. Smith.

No declarations of interest were received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 2nd April 2008 were submitted.

RESOLVED that the minutes be approved and adopted as a correct record.

The minutes of the Scrutiny Steering Board held on 1st April 2008 were submitted.

RESOLVED that the minutes be noted.

The minutes of the Performance Management Board held on 22nd April 2008 were submitted.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting be noted and the recommendation approved.

The following item has been included at the request of Councillor Mrs. McDonald:

"Residents who overstay on Bromsgrove District Council's car parks have the opportunity of a reduced fine of ten pound if it is paid within one working day.  Then the thirty and sixty pound fine then kicks in."

The Cabinet received the following motion submitted by Councillor Mrs. C. M. McDonald:

"Residents who overstay on Bromsgrove District Council's car parks have the opportunity of a reduced fine of ten pound if it is paid within one working day.  Then the thirty and sixty pound fine then kicks in."

Councillor Mrs. McDonald stated that she felt the Council was hostile and unfriendly towards motorists in its approach with parking fines and that the fines currently in place were extortionate.  She added that the system made motorists into criminals and that there might be good reason why motorists were late in returning to their vehicles, meaning they should be given the opportunity of putting things right before the £30 and £60 fines kicked in.

Councillor Mrs. Sherrey, as relevant Portfolio Holder, stated that, in practice, there was often a short period of grace for motorists as it took time for the wardens to monitor vehicles and that a reduced fines system had previously been in place in 2006, which motorists had apparently taken advantage of.

RESOLVED that officers prepare a report on the proposal contained within the motion for consideration at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

Consideration was given to a report which updated the Cabinet on the work and background of the Celebratory Sponsorship Group.

Councillor Webb presented the report and advised that a great deal of work had been undertaken by the Group to date, with progress having been made towards achieving the planned £80,000 of sponsorship (which would also consist of gifts in kind, for example, lights for the Christmas illuminations).  The legal and other implications of the draft policy on Sponsorship and Advertising on Roundabouts had still to be investigated and would be detailed in a final report to the next meeting of the Cabinet.  It was noted that sponsorship would be beneficial to both local businesses and residents, with Ward Members to be consulted on proposed signage/works to ensure these were appropriate to the location in question.

RESOLVED:

(a)       that the report and progress towards development of a sponsorship policy be noted; and

(b)       that officers be tasked to further scope the legal and other implications and produce a final report for submission to the next meeting of the Cabinet.

The Cabinet considered the Council's revised Corporate Procurement Strategy 2088/11.  Mr. Alex Haslam, the Council's Procurement Advisor, was present and provided Members with a background to the Strategy. 

The Strategy defined the role of procurement in the delivery of the Council's strategic objectives and set out the key policies and activities relating to procurement.  The Council was committed to procure best value for money supplies, services and construction works and would continually review and develop the Strategy to assist in meeting this objective.  Mr. Haslam advised that the first tranche of procurement training for suppliers had taken place at the Council the previous week, which had been well attended and proved to be very successful.    

RESOLVED that the Corporate Procurement Strategy 2008/11 at Appendix 1 to the report be approved.

Consideration was given to the Local Labour Market (Area) Assessment and Analysis for the Council, which had been carried out by the Centre for Local Policy Studies at Edge Hill University. 

The labour market assessment report provided an analysis of labour market performance in Bromsgrove and was a required element within Level 3 of the Equality Standard for Local Government.  The study would also support progress against the Council's wider Inclusive Equalities Scheme and equality and diversity objectives and provided valuable information which could be used to influence policy development and service delivery.  It was important for the Council to work within the context of this when delivering services to the communities that it served and in its wider role as policy developer and preferred employer.

RESOLVED:

(a)       that the draft Local Labour Market Assessment at Appendix 1 to the report be approved;

(b)       that this document be submitted to the Local Strategic Partnership as an evidential tool; and

(c)        that use of this document as baseline material that would influence service delivery and service specific outcomes moving forward be endorsed.

The Cabinet considered a report of Patrick Clark Consulting which provided an evaluation of the two neighbourhood area committee (NACs) pilots and proposed a way forward for year 2.

The Leader of the Council advised that there was now a need to formalise the operating procedures for the NACs, including setting core objectives and terms of reference for all NAC pilots.  A further pilot was proposed for Hagley and Rural area, the specific geographics of which had yet to be determined and would be subject to consultation with the appropriate bodies.  A stakeholder event to consider the longer term approach to NACs, was supported and the Leader stressed the importance of consulting with residents to ascertain local priorities and highlighted issues surrounding the future resourcing of the NACs, particularly senior officer and administrative support. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       that authority be delegated to the Assistant Chief Executive to prepare a set of core objectives and terms of reference for all Neighbourhood Area Committee (NAC) pilots, the emphasis of which should be:

(i)         to enable the NACs to operate tactically between the strategic role of the Bromsgrove Partnership and individual partner agencies but not duplicate the efforts of either, nor the operational and local role of PACT and other community fora; and

(ii)        to ensure the primacy of elected members of all tiers of local government;

(b)       that authority be delegated to the Assistant Chief Executive to undertake an appropriate consultation exercise (to include consultation with Hagley Parish Council, the County Association of Local Councils and the County Council) with a view to rolling out a further pilot NAC for Hagley and Rural area;

(c)        that following such a consultation exercise, authority be delegated to the Assistant Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader, to establish a further pilot NAC in Hagley if it is considered appropriate to do so;

(d)       that funding for NACs be agreed as follows:

(i)         £15,000 for the Alvechurch NAC for the year 2008-9;

(ii)        £15,000 for the Rubery NAC for the year 2008-9; and

(iii)       £4,000 for the Hagley NAC for the year 2008-9;

            and that authority be delegated to the Assistant Chief Executive to make payments from those funds on receipt of a request from the relevant NAC;

(e)       that a stakeholder event be held in order to consider the approach to NACs beyond 2008-9;

(f)        that the Assistant Chief Executive assists all NACs to develop a simple, cost effective form of consulting residents on priorities in order to shape Area Plans; and

(g)       that each NAC receives senior level officer support and administrative support which will be resourced from the funding identified in recommendation (d) above, subject to a further review by the Corporate Management Team of the level of senior officer and administrative support required as NACs are further expanded across the District.

Consideration was given to the updated Improvement Plan Exception Report for February 2008, together with the corrective action being taken.

RESOLVED:

(a)       that the revisions to the Improvement Plan Exception Report and the corrective action being taken be noted; and

(b)       that it be noted that of the 138 actions highlighted within the Plan for February 2008, 88.4% of the Plan was on target (green), 7.3% was one month behind (amber) and 1.4% was over a month behind (red).  2.9% of actions had been rescheduled or suspended with approval.