Agenda, decisions and minutes

None were received.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2018 as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2018 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To note any declarations of interest made by members in connection with an agenda item.  The nature of the interest must also be specified.

Members are asked to discuss any possible interests with Democratic Services prior to the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made by any member in connection with an agenda item.

To note any issues raised during the public participation period.

No issues were raised in the public participation period.

As one of the partner organisations in Project Integra, to consider the Action Plan to cover the period 2018-2021 and to recommend it to the Council for approval.

RECOMMENDED:

That the Project Integra Action Plan 2018-2021, as attached at Appendix 1 to Report Item 4 to the Cabinet, be approved.

The Cabinet considered the action plan for the Hampshire Waste Partnership, Project Integra, to cover the period 2018-2021.  While the Partnership was one of the best examples for the high level of diversion of waste from landfill, the performance on recycling rates was falling behind other county partnerships. The new action plan would focus on improving performance, a wider range of materials to recycle and reducing the cost of managing waste in Hampshire.  The proposed 10 key actions for the following 3 years were set out in Section 4.1 of the Action Plan.

The Council’s contribution towards the cost of running the Partnership, calculated on the basis of the number of households, was set out in Table 2 of the Action Plan, and in 2018/19 totalled £15,225.  Subject to minor variation as a result of fluctuations in commodity prices the budgeted income from dry mixed recyclable materials was £418,000 and £66,000 for glass.  The Partnership would continue to seek out sustainable and profitable markets for recyclable materials.

RECOMMENDED:

That the Project Integra Action Plan 2018-2021, as attached at Appendix 1 to Report Item 4 to the Cabinet, be approved.

To consider the Action Plan for the Safer New Forest Partnership for the forthcoming year and to recommend it to the Council for approval.

RECOMMENDED:

That the Safer New Forest Partnership Plan 2018/19, as attached as Appendix 1 to Report Item 5 to the Cabinet, be approved.

The Cabinet considered the Safer New Forest Partnership Plan for 2018/19, as attached as Appendix 1 to Report Item 5 to the Cabinet.  The high level priorities for the coming year were:

1.      Children at risk

2.      Modern slavery and human trafficking

3.      Drug related harm

4.      Develop consistent recognition and access to support for victims of domestic abuse

The Plan set out a detailed action plan to support the identified priorities, as well as demonstrating how the Partnership would meet its obligations to engage with the community.  This Council, as part of the domestic abuse forum, was one of the lead partners for the actions related to reducing domestic abuse.

RECOMMENDED:

That the Safer New Forest Partnership Plan 2018/19, as attached as Appendix 1 to Report Item 5 to the Cabinet, be approved.

To consider the provisional outturn figures for 2017/18 and to note the establishment of a Business Rates Equalisation Fund.

RESOLVED:

a)           That the latest budget forecasts for 2017/18 for the General Fund, Capital Programme and Housing Revenue Account, as set out in paragraphs 3.2, 4.2 and 5.1 of Report Item 6 to the Cabinet, be noted; and

b)           That the establishment of a Business Rates Equalisation Reserve be noted.

The Cabinet was advised of the provisional outturn figures for 2017/18 budget, compared to the original budget, following the variations that had been reported, on a regular basis, through financial monitoring reports.

The General Fund outturn was now estimated at £15.346 million, compared to the original budget of £16.587 million.  The key variations were set out in Table 1 and paragraphs 3.5 to 3.7 of Report Item 6 to the Cabinet.  Once the final year end position had been established these variations would be reviewed to determine which would continue into the future but had not yet been reflected in the 2018/19 budget and Medium Term Financial Plan.  In total, since the last financial report to the Cabinet in November 2017, further savings and income generation of £1.303 million had been identified (of which £337,000 had been returned to reserves); new requirements totalling £301,000 had been identified; and the Milford on Sea beach recharge, to the value of £140,000, had been rescheduled into 2018/19.

Additional savings of £127,000 had been identified against the general fund asset maintenance and replacement budget; and rephasings of £235,000, as a result of incomplete projects, had also been identified.  In addition, community grants to the value of £63,000 would be rephased into 2018/19.

The outturn position showed an increase in capital expenditure, bringing the General Fund capital expenditure to £24.418 million, compared to the original budget figure of £21.266 million.  The report included net new requirements of £2.549 million and rephasings of £1.133 million.  Further details of the variations were set out in Tables 3 and 4 of Report Item 6 to the Cabinet.

Further variations amounting to £1.156 million had been identified against the Housing Revenue Account, as set out in Section 5 of the report.  A significant proportion of this related to the transfer of the Disabled Facilities Adaptations budget into the Capital Programme, with a lesser forecast spend on adaptations of £150,000.  In accordance with current policy, the Housing Revenue Account would be maintained with a balance of £1 million, with any surplus transferred to the acquisitions and development fund.

The Cabinet supported the proposal to establish a Business Rates Equalisation Reserve to smooth out the significant fluctuations that could arise from this revenue stream, to give greater certainty to the budgeting process.

RESOLVED:

(a)         That the latest budget forecasts for 2017/18 for the General Fund, Capital Programme and Housing Revenue Account, as set out in paragraphs 3.2, 4.2 and 5.1 of Report Item 6 to the Cabinet, be noted; and

(b)         That the establishment of a Business Rates Equalisation Reserve be noted.