Agenda and minutes

DECISION:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 4 October 2022 be approved as a correct record.

1.    Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

2.    Other Interests

There were no declarations of interest made.

DECISION:

That the Forward Plan be approved for publication.

The report proposed a revised approach to conducting consultation and engagement across the Council following feedback from the Local Government Association’s Corporate Peer Challenge. The report was considered by the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 23 November 2022.

Options considered:

·       That the Cabinet approves the proposed focus for corporate consultation and the revised Consultation and Engagement Policy (recommended).

·       That the Cabinet does not approve the proposed focus for corporate consultation and the revised Consultation and Engagement Policy (not recommended).

DECISION:         

That the Consultation and Engagement Policy and the proposals made at section 8 of the report with regards to the conduct of a Residents’ Survey be approved.

The purpose of the report was to inform members of the Council’s overall performance and financial position for the period ended 30th September (“Second Quarter 2022/23”).  The report was considered by the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 23 November 2022.

Options considered:

Detailed analysis was contained within the main body of the report.

DECISION:         

That the Second Quarter 2022/23 financial, procurement and performance position detailed in Appendices A, B and C and summarised at 3.3 of the covering report be noted.

This report presented the Council’s updated draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). The MTFP presented the Council’s priorities in the context of the likely resources available, providing a financial context to future decision-making. It was reflective of the current financial position of the Council part way through the 2022-23 year and contained a large number of assumptions that would be refined and quantified to inform a final version of the MTFP for approval in February 2023. To this extent, the report and its contents should be considered indicative.  The report was considered by the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 23 November 2022.

Options considered:

There were no options to consider at this stage. Options were being developed and would be refined to close the financial deficits highlighted in the updated plan.

DECISION:         

That the updated draft Medium Term Financial Plan (Appendix A) be approved prior to being refined in advance of full approval in February 2023.

The purpose of the report was to recommend that the Council approves the implementation of a revised Council Tax Reduction Scheme with effect from 1^st April 2023.

Options considered:

The alternative to introducing a new scheme for Council Tax Reduction from 2023/24 was to leave the existing scheme in place. This would be a short-term option; lead to continuation of increasing costs of administration; and in the longer term, significantly affect the collection of Council Tax and the effectiveness of the scheme to support households within the Council’s area. If the existing scheme remained our proposal would be to remove the calculation letter that accompanies the bill currently and set a monetary limit on the changes to Universal Credit reported by the DWP, so that there were fewer changes to Local Council Tax Reduction. In addition we would allow using the amount of Income advised by DWP without any adjustment, in order to aid automation and increase the allowable time for backdating where good cause is shown to 6 months.

It was proposed that the £6,000 capital limit be reviewed and possibly increased to £10,000 to minimise the number of people that may receive a reduced level of assistance.

DECISION:         

That the introduction of  a new income banded / grid scheme for working age applicants with effect from 1^st April 2023 to reduce the administrative burden placed on the Council by the introduction of Universal Credit and to increase the overall level of support for the lowest income families be approved, subject to the conduct of a review of the £6,000 capital limit with view to this being raised potentially to £10,000.

The Chair to Move:-

“That, pursuant to Section 100A(2) and (4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings whereby it is likely that confidential information as defined in Section 100A (3) of the Act would be disclosed to the public in breach of the obligation of confidence or exempt information as defined in Section 100 I (1) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act would be disclosed to the public by virtue of the Paragraphs indicated.”

RESOLVED:

That, pursuant to Section 100A(2) and (4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings whereby it is likely that confidential information as defined in Section 100A (3) of the Act would be disclosed to the public in breach of the obligation of confidence or exempt information as defined in Section 100 I (1)  of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act would be disclosed to the public by virtue of the Paragraphs indicated.

That Cabinet approved a report that proposed the write off of non-recoverable debts.