Agenda, decisions and minutes

Decision: That the minutes of the Executive Cabinet meeting held 12 October 2023 be confirmed as a correct record for signature by the Executive Leader.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of any interests.

Members of the public who have requested the opportunity to ask a question(s) on an item(s) on the agenda will have three minutes to put their question(s) to the respective Executive Member(s).  Each member of the public will be allowed to ask one short supplementary question. 

There were no public questions.

To receive and consider the report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The report of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group be noted and accepted for consideration, with a view to the Executive Cabinet’s response to the recommendations be reported to a future meeting.

Decision:

The report of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group be noted and accepted for consideration, with a view to the Executive Cabinet’s response to the recommendations be reported to a future meeting.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Finance.

1.    To note the 2023/24 forecast outturn for revenue and the level of reserves, based on the position at 30th September 2023.

2.    To note the virements made to and from the revenue budget during the period, as detailed in Appendix 2 of the report.

Councillor Peter Wilson, Executive Member for Resources presented the report of the Director of Finance which sets out the revenue and reserves forecast for 2023/24 for the council, based on the position as at 30 September 2023.

In summary there is a forecast overspend of £423,000, however, due to the current position of the 2023/24 pay award negotiations, an unfunded budget pressure is anticipated of £146,000, which set the revised forecast outturn was for an overspend of £569,000. The position may change in the future, the figures presented were based on the current position, the Council would continue to work to contain net costs within the budget available and reduce the overspend in the upcoming months.

The council’s medium term financial strategy reported the minimum level of general funding reserves should be maintained at £4,000,000 to cushion against any future financial risks that the council may face. Based on the forecast, the level of general fund as at 31 March 2024 will be £4,202,000.

It was noted that the lettings at Strawberry Meadows were slightly behind, but the majority of the units had been let.

Decision

1.         To note the 2023/24 forecast outturn for revenue and the level of reserves, based on the position at 30th September 2023.

2.         To note the virements made to and from the revenue budget during the period, as detailed in Appendix 2 of the report.

Reasons for recommendations

To ensure the Council’s budgetary targets are achieved.

Other options considered and rejected

None.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Finance.

1.    To approve the revised capital programme as attached at Appendix A, which includes an amendment to the programme of £190k, as detailed at point 11 of this report.

2.    To note the variations to the programme (which are detailed by scheme at Appendix B and referenced within the body of the report);

3.    To note the position in the Balance Sheet monitoring section of the report, in respect of cash, investment and loan balances and debtors, at 30th September 2023.

Councillor Peter Wilson, Executive Member for Resources presented the report of the Director of Finance which reported the outturn financial position of the Council in respect of the capital programme at 30 September 2023, and highlighted key issues and explained key variances and to provide an overview of various elements of the Council’s Balance Sheet at 30 September 2023.

The capital budget for 2023/24 was set at £21,103,000 in February 2023. This was increased following the approval of the 2022/23 outturn to £22,998,000, which was further amended in the Capital Monitoring Report as at 31 July 2023 to £18,190,000.

Decision:

1.         To approve the revised capital programme as attached at Appendix A, which includes an amendment to the programme of £190k, as detailed at point 11 of this report.

2.         To note the variations to the programme (which are detailed by scheme at Appendix B and referenced within the body of the report);

3.         To note the position in the Balance Sheet monitoring section of the report, in respect of cash, investment and loan balances and debtors, at 30th September 2023.

Reasons for recommendation

To ensure the Council’s Capital Programme is monitored effectively.

Other options considered and rejected

None.

To receive and consider the report of the Chief Executive.

1.    That the report be noted.

Councillor Peter Wilson, Executive Member for Resources presented the report of the Chief Executive which set out the performance against the delivery of the Corporate Strategy and key performance indicators during the second quarter of 2023/24, the period covered 1 July to 30 September 2023.

Overall performance of the Corporate Strategy projects was considered excellent with 17 (90%) rated green, and on schedule. One (5%) project was rated amber, which was a projected that had warning signs of delays and one (5%) project was rated red. Action plans had been created for the red and amber projects. Performance of the Corporate Strategy indicators and key service delivery measures continued to be closely monitored, with 79% of Corporate Strategy measures and 100% of key service delivery measures performing on or above target, or within 5% threshold.

It was highlighted that the red project was the local plan, it was not where it was hoped to be at this point, issues were raised with staffing, and the added complexity of working with two other local authorities. The amber project was for the improvement to council buildings. An accommodation working group had been established to coordinate the year, progress was to be reported back.

The stand out figure raised was the employment rate, with Chorley’s significantly below the regional average of 73.8% at 64.1%. The age within the figure was between the age of 16 and 64. Work was to be undertaken to explore the measure of economic inactivity to provide a greater understanding before any conclusions could be made. 

Decision:

1.         That the report be noted.

Reasons for recommendations

To ensure the effective performance monitoring of the Corporate Strategy and safeguard its delivery across 2023/24

Other options considered and rejected

No other options have been considered or rejected. This is because the report does not present any items for decision.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Finance.

1.    That Members agree to the procurement with South Ribble Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council, being a collaborative exercise.

2.    To delegate authority to the Executive Member (Resources) to agree the route to contract (eg full tender, framework) and to agree the scoring methodology and scoring matrix.

Councillor Peter Wilson, Executive Member for Resources presented the report of the Director of Finance which sought approval to undertake a procurement exercise with South Ribble Borough Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council for the renewal of the property valuation services.

The current contract was due to expire December 2024, and a new, long term agreement would create more interest and competition in the procurement exercise which would lead to preferential pricing. The tender exercise would be undertaken in compliance with Contract Procedure Rules and Procurement Guidance. Considering the annual cost of the valuations across the three councils, the multi year contract would be a high value procurement.

Decision:

1.         That Members agree to the procurement with South Ribble Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council, being a collaborative exercise.

2.         To delegate authority to the Executive Member (Resources) to agree the route to contract (eg full tender, framework) and to agree the scoring methodology and scoring matrix.

Reasons for recommendations

The procurement will result in a separate contract for each council’s valuation requirement, however running the procurement process together will create efficiencies in officer time and cost.

Other options considered and rejected

Tendering for this procurement without the benefit of the joint exercise would lead to additional officer resource to deliver the tender, for the same or less competitive results.

To receive and consider the report of the Interim Deputy Chief Executive.

1.    To approve the adoption of the Chorley Council Sustainable Building Policy.

Councillor Adrian Lowe, Executive Member for Customer, Streetscene and Environment presented the report of the Interim Chief Executive which highlighted the council’s Sustainable Building Policy to ensure feasibility and promote sustainable development across the buildings the council had full control over, in addition to all new council owned developments.

It was highlighted that specific policies for new developments in the borough could be recommended and encouraged within the new Local Plan, however, policies within the Local Plan would not supersede national planning policy.

Decision:

1.     To approve the adoption of the Chorley Council Sustainable Building Policy.

Reasons for recommendations

The Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, and as part of this set the ambitious goal to be net zero by 2030 for both the borough and the council. The integration of low carbon and sustainable measures into all existing and new developments is a key factor in progressing the Council to reach it’s goal of net zero by 2030.

Other options considered and rejected

To reject the proposal of the policy and to continue retrofitting and development with existing practices.