Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs. J. Dyer M. B. E. and M. J. A. Webb.

There were no declarations of interest.

The following motion was submitted at the meeting of the Council on 9th September 2009 by Councillors P. M. McDonald and S. P. Shannon. The Chairman agreed to refer the matter to Cabinet for consideration:

“Many residents throughout the district are being affected by the credit crunch and are going through difficult times. Each year the council tax is increased making the financial situation for many even worse. With so many people going through such difficult times, paying officers salaries of a hundred thousand pounds plus cannot be justified. Therefore this Council takes immediate measures to reduce salaries of a hundred thousand a year or more by twenty five per cent.”

Further to the referral by Council on 9th September 2009, consideration was given to the following motion submitted by Councillor P. M. McDonald:

“Many residents throughout the district are being affected by the credit crunch and are going through difficult times. Each year the council tax is increased making the financial situation for many even worse. With so many people going through such difficult times, paying officers salaries of a hundred thousand pounds plus cannot be justified. Therefore this Council takes immediate measures to reduce salaries of a hundred thousand a year or more by twenty five per cent.”

Councillor McDonald spoke on the motion and re-iterated that he felt in the current financial climate the Council should be setting an example in restraining salaries to sustainable levels. Councillor S. P. Shannon also spoke in favour of the motion and referred to other examples where cuts had been made in the light of the current situation.

The Cabinet noted that within the current proposals there would only be one post which fell into this category and costs would be split between Bromsgrove and Redditch. The establishment of a Joint Management Team would result in significant overall savings to both Councils and an evaluation process had taken place to establish salary levels which were realistic in the current market. It was vital that the salary levels reflected the responsibilities and demands of the new posts and enabled the recruitment and retention of officers with the necessary levels of experience and ability. 

RESOLVED  that the motion be not supported.  

The Cabinet considered a report on the process of transferring Bromsgrove Museum to the Friends of the Norton Collection (the Friends). Following discussion it was

RESOLVED  that the land and premises at Birmingham Road, Bromsgrove on which the Bromsgrove Museum is located be disposed of to the Friends subject to the following:

(a)       that any disposal of the land (whether by sale, lease or otherwise) to the Friends be conditional upon the Friends becoming a registered charity with a registered charity number and that the disposal be made to the registered charity;

(b)       that the consideration for a sale of the land to the Friends be for current market value;

(c)        that authority be delegated to the Head of Legal, Equalities and Democratic Services and the Head of Financial Services in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder and the Executive Director of Partnerships and Projects to agree the terms of such disposal (whether by sale, lease or otherwise) to the Friends provided that appropriate provision be included for the following:

(i)         in the event of a dissolution of the Friends or in the event of the Friends subsequently proposing to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of or transfer all or part of the land or all or part of its interest in the land the Council be granted a right of pre-emption to have the first right of refusal to acquire the land

(ii)        a formula for calculation of the sum at which the Council would be entitled to re-acquire the land when exercising its option or right of pre-emption , such sum to reflect the lower of either

            market value as at the date of re-acquisition: or

            a sum which should not exceed the consideration for the sale to the Friends plus 1% simple interest per annum plus the value of any improvements undertaken by the Friends.

(iii)       appropriate covenants as to the future use of the land supported by a clawback provision in the event of a subsequent change of use to which the Council has not consented;

(iv)       appropriate covenants as to the maintenance of the building; and

(v)        a restriction against dealings in the land without the consent of the Council.

(d)       that any disposal of the land to the Friends be conditional upon the heads of agreement being agreed by both parties by 31st December 2009; if the negotiations are not concluded by this date authority be delegated to officers to explore alternative proposals for disposal of the land and the Collection; and

(e)       that contracts for the disposal of the land to the Friends be exchanged by 31st December 2010.  

RECOMMENDEDthat any transfer of the Collection to the Friends be conditional upon the Friends becoming a registered charity with a registered charity number and that the Collection be transferred to the registered charity.

The minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet held on 2nd September and 16th September 2009 were submitted.

RESOLVED  that the minutes be approved as a correct record in each case.

(a)       To receive and note the minutes

(b)       To consider any recommendations contained within the minutes

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview Board held on 1st September 2009 were submitted.

RESOLVED  that the minutes be noted.

(a)       To receive and note the minutes

(b)       To consider any recommendations contained within the minutes

The minutes of the meeting of the Performance Management Board held on 21st September 2009 were submitted.

RESOLVED:

(a)       that the minutes be noted;

(b)       that the recommendations contained at Minute No 34/09 relating to the Council Plan 2010/2013 Part 1 be approved;

(c)        that recommendations (a) and (c) contained at Minute No 35/09 relating to the Place Survey be approved and that recommendation (b), in relation to events being arranged to enable the public to meet the Joint Chief Executive and the new Management Team, be noted but not approved at the present time, in view of the likely pressures on officers’ time immediately following the establishment of a Joint Management Team.   

(a)       To receive and note the minutes

(b)       To consider any recommendations contained within the minutes

The minutes of the meeting of the Audit Board held on 28th September 2009 were submitted.

RESOLVED  that the minutes be noted.

The Leader gave updates on the following meetings he had recently attended:

• Joint Commissioning Board of the Worcestershire Children’s Trust
• Bromsgrove Local Strategic Partnership
• West Midlands Leaders Board

Councillor G. N. Denaro reported on an event he had attended relating to the West Midlands Member Development Charter.

Councillor Mrs M. A. Sherrey JP reported on the Annual General Meeting of Bromsgrove Citizens’ Advice Bureau.

Councillor R. D. Smith reported on a meeting of the Bromsgrove Arts Centre Operating Trust.  

The Head of Street Scene and Community gave an update on the Green Waste collection service as the new charging arrangements had now been in operation for a year. It was reported that the service had proved to be popular and that over 15,000 applications had been received for the service which equated to 40% of households in the District.

It was reported that arrangements were well underway in respect of changes to the Waste Collection and Disposal service which would come into operation in April 2010. Information gathered from the introduction of the Green Waste collection service was being used to inform the planning for the new service. A Communications Strategy was being developed based on feedback from customer focus groups and from comments received during the introduction of the Green Waste service.

RESOLVED  that the position be noted. 

Consideration was given to a report setting out a detailed integrated financial and performance timetable for the forthcoming budget round.

RESOLVED  that the timetable in respect of the forthcoming budget round be noted.

The Cabinet considered a report on the outcome of the recent Diversity Peer Challenge which had been requested to verify the Council’s assessment that it had reached Level 3 of the Equality Standard for Local Government. It was reported that the Peer Challenge Team had confirmed that Level 3 had been achieved and that this had automatically migrated to Level 2 Achieving, of the new Equality Framework for Local Government which had replaced the Equality Standard. The Cabinet recognised the work which had been undertaken to achieve this result.

The Cabinet noted that the Diversity Peer Challenge report had contained recommendations relating to a number of areas for improvement and that an action plan had been developed in order to address the issues identified.

RESOLVED  that the report be noted and that the action plan to address the recommendations contained in the Diversity Peer Challenge report be approved.

The Cabinet considered a report on the Being Different Together project which had been developed by the County Council and the District Councils in Worcestershire in order to deliver a consistent and streamlined approach to Equality and Diversity issues on a countywide basis. It was noted that funding of £8,000 had been awarded to this Council to fund the overall project and individual local projects. Following discussion it was

RESOLVED  that the report be noted and the recommendations contained within the project report be approved.  

Consideration was given to a report on the introduction of a corporate Information Management Strategy. It was noted that the strategy set out an approach to improving information management across the Authority. An action plan had also been produced to enable the strategy to be implemented. Following discussion it was

RESOLVED  that the Information Management Strategy and the accompanying action plan be approved. 

The Cabinet considered a report on the Council’s performance as at 31st August 2009 (period 5).

RESOLVED:

(a)       that it be noted that 61% of Performance Indicators were stable or improving;

(b)       that it be noted that 59% of Performance Indicators that had a target were meeting their target as at the month end and 89% were projected to meet their target at the year end;

(c)        that the performance figures for August 2009 as set out in the report be noted;

(d)       that the particular areas of improvement as set out in section 3.5 of the report be noted; and

(e)       that the particular areas of concern as set out in section 3.6 of the report be noted.

Consideration was given to the Improvement Plan Exception report for August 2009 together with the corrective action being taken.

RESOLVED:

(a)       that the revisions to the Improvement Plan Exception report together with the corrective action being taken be approved;

(b)       that it be noted that for the 71 actions highlighted for August within the plan, 84.5 percent were on target (green), 8.5% were one month behind (amber) and that there were no actions over one month behind (red). In addition, it was noted that 7 percent of actions had been reprogrammed or suspended with approval, including the suspension of “The Bromsgrove Way” project (due to the ongoing shared services project).