Agenda and draft minutes

DECISION:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 6 August, be approved as a correct record.

The Leader explained that the Minor Injuries Unit in Leek was under threat following the review of urgent and emergency care and commended the completion of an online petition to support the community campaign to retain the unit.

1.    Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

2.    Other Interests

There were no declarations made.

DECISION:

That the Forward Plan be approved for publication.

The purpose of this report was to:

·         Outline the progress with devolution in England

·         Set out the new Government’s commitments to further devolution;

·         Report progress on the considerations for devolution in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

Options considered:

There were no options to consider at this stage.

DECISION:

1.    That the progress with devolution in England as set out in Section 9 of the report be noted.

2.    That the new Government’s commitment to an expanded ‘devolution framework’ as detailed in Section 9 of the report be noted.

3.    That the support of the Leader (after consulting with the other political group leaders) to the expression of interest for devolution in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent submitted to Government on 30th September 2024 by the Staffordshire Leaders Board be noted.

The purpose of the report was to set out the progress that has been made in delivering the Council’s Climate Change Strategy and delivery plans in response to the declaration of a climate change emergency.  The report was considered by the Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 23 September 2024.

Options considered:

None identified

DECISION:  

1.    That the progress to date be noted.

2.    That the recommended next steps be approved.

The purpose of the report is to provide an update on:

·         the Council’s working arrangements with Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations

·         the use of the Council’s Community Grant (CG) funding

·         how the Council intends to continue to collaborate with and support the VCSE sector to deliver the Corporate Plan and achieving further efficiencies.

The report was considered by the Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 23 September 2024.

Options considered:

An alternative option has not been identified. The Council needs to continue to work with and support VCSE partners to deliver its corporate priorities.

DECISION:  

1.    That the feedback from organisations on the state of the local voluntary sector be noted.

2.    That the money raised from the Staffordshire Moorlands Community Lottery (SMCL), held in the central fund, be used to promote and support the work of the VCSE sector (after fees for the Gambling Licence and associated costs are paid). It is expected that this would amount to around £5,000 based upon experience from the first year of operation.

3.    That the allocation of a small budget should be set aside for the next 3 years to promote the Staffordshire Moorlands Community Lottery as a means to make community groups more self-sustainable. The promotion would include promoting the SMCL to new groups and encourage members of the public to play the lottery and support their given good cause.

4.    That the Council consults with the VCSE sector about developing an agreement (a Compact) between VCSEs groups and the Council, and possibly wider statutory sector, to enhance how both sides to work together and understand what to expect from each other.

5.    That the Council works with the VCSE Sector and other partners to identify how the work of the sector can be better publicly acknowledged and promoted.

6.    That it be agreed to extend funding for the Volunteering For All Officer to continue to provide support for people within the district who are considering volunteering.

7.    That the Council reviews the Community Support Grant fund prior to 2025/26 to take account of the priorities in the Corporate Plan, funding decisions of statutory partners and the financial pressures experienced by VCSE organisations with a view to move to 3-year funding agreements.

The purpose of the report was to inform members of the Council’s overall performance and financial position for the period ended 30 June 2024 (“First Quarter 2024/25”).  The report was considered by the Finance and performance Committee on 24 September 2024.

Options considered:

Detailed Analysis is contained within the main body of the Report.

DECISION:  

That the First Quarter 2024/25 financial, procurement and performance position detailed in Appendices A, B and C and summarised at section 3.3 of the covering report be noted.

The reason for the report was to:

·         advise Members of the publication by the Vision Derbyshire working group of a “Climate Change Planning Guidance”(CCPG) document and accompanying “climate change readiness assessment tool”(CCRAT) for Derbyshire which provides guidance as to how development proposals can integrate climate change mitigation measures.

·         to explain how both documents have been amended/transposed by Council officers to produce a Staffordshire Moorlands-relevant version.

·         to seek approval to adopt the CCPG as planning guidance (but not a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)) by Development Management (DM), for use by developers (and to update the Council’s DM webpages accordingly).

·         to seek approval to formally adopt the CCRAT by Development Management – for use by developers in formulating proposals and DM officers in their assessment (as well as inclusion within any future review of the validation checklist, with modifications to DM webpages to reflect this).

Options considered:

Recommended: That Cabinet approves both the CCPPG and CCRAT for use by the DM Service : the CCPG as generic planning guidance; and the CCRAT to be utilised by developers and DM officers and included on any future validation checklist. This will help the DM service to respond to the climate emergency (and in light of the 2019 climate change declaration and 2021 Climate Change Plans published by the Council) by providing guidance to developers as to how schemes can have their climate impacts mitigated at the outset (with an expectation that schemes would be evaluated by the developer using the CCRAT), in advance of any reviews of the currently adopted Local Plan.

Not recommended: To not adopt either document for use by the DM service (business as usual). This would result in there being no climate mitigation- specific guidance or tools available to developers on the DM website; meaning (despite the 2019 climate change declaration and 2021 Climate Change Plans published by the Council) schemes would continue to only be assessed against currently adopted 2020 Local Plan Policies, and most recent NPPF/NPPG.

DECISION:  

1.    That the CCPG as planning guidance (not a SPD) for Staffordshire Moorlands be adopted.

2.    That the CCRAT for future inclusion on the validation checklist; and its use for the assessment of proposals by the DM service be adopted.

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.”

It was reported that a Cabinet Delegated Report would be issued with regards to Cheadle Market.

The Cabinet approved a report to write off balances which were deemed non recoverable.