Meeting documents

Cabinet
Thursday 4 August 2005 6.30 pm

Date:
Thursday, 4th August, 2005
Time:
6.30 pm
Place:
Reception Room, Civic Centre, Arnot Hill Park, Arnold
 

Attendance Details

ItemDescriptionResolution
57 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.
 
58 TO APPROVE AS A CORRECT RECORD THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 11 JULY 2005.
RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the above meeting be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
59 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
 
60 RAVENSHEAD PARISH COUNCIL - REQUEST FOR BOUNDARY CHANGE
RESOLVED:

To advise the Parish Council that the Borough Council found the request disappointing being based, as it was, on erroneous information and did not believe such a move would be in the best interests of Ravenshead, but that if it appeared that a move were to be the wish of the whole community rather than just a few, then the Council would support a request by the Parish Council to the Boundary Commission for a boundary review to be initiated.
61 LEISURE COMMUNITY FACILITIES STRATEGY
RESOLVED:

To adopt the Leisure & Community Facilities Strategy as amended by decisions taken on specific aspects as identified in the report.
62 PLAYING PITCHES STRATEGY
RESOLVED:

To adopt:-
1. The Gedling Borough Playing Pitch Strategy and Action Plan 2003 - 2008.

2. The Nottinghamshire Playing Pitch Strategy and Action Plan 2003 - 2008.
63 MEMBERS' QUESTIONS TO PORTFOLIO HOLDERS
RESOLVED:

To note the information.
64 DRAFT ACTION PLAN FOR NETHERFIELD TOWN CENTRE
RESOLVED:

To agree the draft Action Plan for Netherfield Town Centre for consultation as outlined in the report.
65 LOCAL:VISION - THE GOVERNMENT'S 10-YEAR VISION FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
RESOLVED:

That the three papers be forwarded to the Joint Scrutiny Chairs meeting with a request that they share these across the three Scrutiny Committees and ask that they consider:

1. A response to the consultation.
2. Whether any issues raised will of necessity have implications for budget provision.
3. Whether there are areas identified that the Council should seek to progress as a matter of good practice notwithstanding any time scales indicated in the documents.
4. The preparation of a report for the Cabinet meeting in late October.
66 PROGRESS REPORTS FROM PORTFOLIO HOLDERS
RESOLVED:

To note the information.
67 FORWARD PLAN 01 SEPTEMBER TO 30 DECEMBER 2005
RESOLVED:

To approve the above Forward Plan as submitted.
68 QUARTERLY BUDGET MONITORING REPORT AND PERFORMANCE DIGEST AND VIREMENT REPORT
RESOLVED:

1.To approve the budget changes across the General Fund Portfolios as detailed at Appendix 1;

2. To recommend the Personnel & Resources Committee approve the capital budget changes and financing as set out in paragraph 4.7 and Appendix 2 and to recommend that capital schemes totalling £1,157,400 as set out in Appendix 3 are deferred until 2006/07;

3. To approve the budget changes in the Housing Revenue Account as detailed at Appendix 4 of the report;

4. To approve the changes to Improvement Task targets as detailed in paragraph 3.09 of the report, as an amendment to the Council's agreed Budget/Service Plan.

5. To forward the Quarterly Budget Monitoring Information to the Personnel and Resources Committee;

6. To include details of budget and performance monitoring in a quarterly performance digest, for circulation to all members and for publication on the Council's website and Intranet;

7. To note the virements as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report.
69 ANY OTHER ITEMS WHICH THE CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS URGENT.
 
70 KING GEORGE V PLAYING FIELD
RESOLVED:

To await the response from the Charity Commission to the letter from the Deputy Chief Executive and express the Council's intention to fully co-operate with the Commission.
The meeting closed at 8.00 pm.

Attendance Details

Present:
I.S. Gollop (Chairman), R.F. Spencer, P. Feeney, W.H. Golland, V. McCrossen (a), R.J. Nicholson, R.A. Poynter
Observers:
A.J. Gillam, G.J. Griffiths, J.M. Parr (a)

Business

Business
ItemBusiness
57Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Feeney, McCrossen and Parr.
59None declared.
60The Chief Executive submitted a copy of a letter received from the Chairman of the Ravenshead Parish Council asking for the views of the Cabinet on their willingness to support a boundary change to place Ravenshead back in Newark & Sherwood.

A copy of the reply from the Chief Executive was enclosed.

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services advised that any such boundary change would be initiated by the Secretary of State requesting advice on the proposal from the Boundary Commission, which would in turn then direct the Boundary Committee for England to conduct a review. The first step would accordingly be for the Parish Council to write to the ODPM setting out their case. The general principals which should guide the Boundary Committee were that any proposals should be based on natural communities and take account of people's expressed preferences. Any changes should be worthwhile and cost effective over time, and local authority areas should be such that authorities can carry out their functions effectively and in ways that meet community interests.
61The Portfolio Holder for Leisure submitted a report on the Leisure Community Facilities Strategy for adoption.
62The Portfolio Holder for Leisure Sevices submitted the following reports for adoption:-

1. Gedling Borough Playing Pitch Strategy and Action Plan
2. Nottinghamshire Playing Pitch Strategy and Action Plan
63Councillor Barnes asked what proposals existed for the land at Bestwood Lodge Drive/ Queens Bower Road.

The Portfolio Holder advised that the land was being considered for potential use as a youth facility.
64The Town Centres Manager on behalf of Head of Cabinet Office submitted a report following the findings of a recent consultation with stakeholders and residents about Netherfield Town Centre.

The report also sought Cabinet approval for a draft Action Plan for Netherfield Town Centre, to be the subject of further consultation with stakeholders.
65The Head of Cabinet Office submitted the contents of recently published government papers setting out ideas for the future of local government over the next ten years.

It was reported that in the previous year, the Government had begun a process of setting out a vision for local government for the years ahead, working closely with the Local Government Association and other stakeholders.

Following consultative events in 2004, ODPM has recently published the following three papers, progressing this work:

1. Vibrant Local Leadership
2. Citizen Engagement and Public Services
3. Securing Better Services

A summary of each document was submitted at Appendices A, B and C respectively. They reflected the key themes set out in the local vision document, with the exception of future local government financing, which was being addressed through the Lyons Review.

The proposals set out in the papers were far from fully developed, but if implemented were potentially far-reaching for all local authorities and their members.

The ODPM was encouraging further debate about the issues raised in the papers.

However, it is also worth observing that elements of the three papers already seem to be influencing local government policy making - for example, Local Area Agreements were addressing a number of issues set out in the performance management paper.
66The following progress reports on items within their purview were received from Portfolio Holders:-

Finance
- Progress in dealing with the difficulties in the Housing Benefits Section
- Installation of the Financial Management Systems

Agenda 21, Crime and Community Development
- Meetings with Arnold Association of Neigbourhood Wathc Schemes, Rushcliffe Borough Council, City Governance Forum, Make Poverty History Campaign and Nottinghamshire County Council
- Progress with partnering arrangements and collaborative working, including a joint informal meeting of the Gedling and Rushcliffe Cabinets.

E Government and Member Services
- Anticipated receipt of report on Council Chamber acoustics
- Meeting with the Whips re training and Members' use of IT
- Review of Gedling Borough Council website

Direct Services and Property
- Prospective meeting with Arnold Town Centre plan Consultants
A- ward of the County Waste Management Contract to Onyx
- Success of Garden Waste Collection
- Increasing problems with Graffiti

Leisure
- Problems in Arnot Hill Park and plans to erect knee rail fence
- Progress at Killisick with SureStart
- Gedling Colliery funding progress
- Potential delay in Positive Moves Programme due to staff sickness.
68The Senior Management Team submitted a report on the Quarterly Budget Monitoring and Performance Digest and Virement that updated Cabinet on the likely outturn of the Revenue and Capital Budgets for the 2005/2006 financial year.

The report also sought approval for budget changes outlined in the report, advised on virements approved during the quarter ended June 2005 and the position against Key Tasks and Performance Indicators in the 2005/2006 Plan and sought Cabinet approval for changes to Improvement Task targets as set out in Section 3 of the report.
69A late item was submitted to the Cabinet regarding the King George V Playing Field.
70The Deputy Chief Executive reported the receipt of a letter from the Charity Commissioner and detailed his reply.