Agenda, decisions and minutes

There was no public participation.

Councillor North declared a Personal Interest in respect of Item 7 – Allocation of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Funds – Community Projects Reserve due to his public support for the Vernham Dean Parish Council CIL application and left the room during consideration of the item.

There were no urgent items.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2022 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

There were no recommendations to consider from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Planning

To seek approval to allocate funds to 4 projects within the borough.

Recommended to Council:

1.  That the following projects are approved for CIL funding:

·  Nether Wallop Playing Fields – £101,000

·  Over Wallop Sports Pavilion – £269,766

·  Plaza Theatre, Romsey Additional Funding – £100,000

·  Bury Dene Playing Fields, Vernham Dean – £33,132

2.  That the projects be added to the Council’s Capital Programme, to be funded by the CIL Community Projects Reserve.

Councillor North left the room during consideration of this item. Councillor Adams-King took the Chair.

Consideration was given to a report of the Planning Portfolio Holder which set out details of four projects submitted during the 2022 round of the CIL bidding process.

The report included an evaluation of each project and a score against the Spending Protocol scoring criteria along with a recommendation for each project. The report also included an update on previous year’s allocations.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Recommended to Council:

1.  That the following projects are approved for CIL funding:

·  Nether Wallop Playing Fields – £101,000

·  Over Wallop Sports Pavilion – £269,766

·  Plaza Theatre, Romsey Additional Funding – £100,000

·  Bury Dene Playing Fields, Vernham Dean – £33,132

2.  That the projects be added to the Council’s Capital Programme, to be funded by the CIL Community Projects Reserve.

Planning

To approve an updated Statement of Community Involvement.

Resolved:

1.  That the Statement of Community Involvement in Planning (2022), attached at Annex 1 to the report, which incorporates the proposed amendments identified in Annex 2 to the report, be adopted.

2.  That the Head of Planning Policy and Economic Development, in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder, be authorised to make changes of a minor nature prior to publication.

Consideration was given to a report of the Planning Portfolio Holder which presented the updated Statement of Community Involvement in Planning which set out the statutory consultation measures the Council must undertake when consulting on planning policy documents and publicising planning applications.

Public consultation had been undertaken on the Statement of Community Involvement during autumn 2022 with representations received used to help inform proposed amendments to the document. 

Councillor Bundy proposed an alteration to the second recommendation to include the Planning Portfolio Holder title and remove the wording to improve the presentation and correct typographical errors. The Meetings’ consent was signalled without discussion.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

1.  That the Statement of Community Involvement in Planning (2022), attached at Annex 1 to the report, which incorporates the proposed amendments identified in Annex 2 to the report, be adopted.

2.  That the Head of Planning Policy and Economic Development, in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder, be authorised to make changes of a minor nature prior to publication.

Finance and Resources

To consider the Council’s Council Tax Support Scheme for 2023/24.

Recommended to Council:

1.  That the Council Tax Support scheme for 2023/24, as shown in the Annex to the report, be approved.

2.  That the Head of Finance and Revenues, in consultation with the Finance & Resources Portfolio Holder, be authorised to make any necessary changes to the Scheme that are required by the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) Regulations 2023 when they are confirmed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.

3.  In the event that any new government initiatives are introduced relating to the cost of living crisis that results in receipt of a grant or an increase in Universal Credit or other government benefits, that the Head of Finance and Revenues, in consultation with the Finance & Resources Portfolio Holder, be authorised to disregard these awards as income.

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which presented the Council Tax Support Scheme for 2023/24.

The Council is required to have a Council Tax Support scheme to assist residents with their liability to pay Council Tax. Given the ongoing cost of living crisis and financial uncertainty for many families no significant changes were proposed to Test Valley Borough Council’s Council Tax Support Scheme for the forthcoming 2023/24 financial year.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Recommended to Council:

1.  That the Council Tax Support scheme for 2023/24, as shown in the Annex to the report, be approved.

2.  That the Head of Finance and Revenues, in consultation with the Finance & Resources Portfolio Holder, be authorised to make any necessary changes to the Scheme that are required by the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) Regulations 2023 when they are confirmed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.

3.  In the event that any new government initiatives are introduced relating to the cost of living crisis that results in receipt of a grant or an increase in Universal Credit or other government benefits, that the Head of Finance and Revenues, in consultation with the Finance & Resources Portfolio Holder, be authorised to disregard these awards as income.

Finance and Resources

To provide an update on the budget setting process for 2023/24 and provide information on proposals to close the budget gap.

Resolved:

1.  That the movement in the budget gap, shown in Annex 1 to the report, be noted.

2.  That the savings options, income generation proposals and budget pressures, shown in Annexes 2 – 4 to the report, be noted.

3.  That the Medium Term Financial Forecast, shown in Annex 5 to the report, be noted.

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which provided an update on changes to the 2023/24 budget forecast since the Medium Term Financial Strategy was presented in October.

Changes included the impact of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, New Homes Bonus provisional allocations, revenue savings and budget pressures. The report also provided an updated Medium Term Financial Forecast covering 2023/24 to 2025/26.

In order to achieve a balanced budget, work would be undertaken to close the remaining gap of £104,000 before figures are finalised in February.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

1.  That the movement in the budget gap, shown in Annex 1 to the report, be noted.

2.  That the savings options, income generation proposals and budget pressures, shown in Annexes 2 – 4 to the report, be noted.

3.  That the Medium Term Financial Forecast, shown in Annex 5 to the report, be noted.

Leader

To seek support to sign up to the Civic Agreement.

Resolved:

That the Council signs-up to the Civic University Agreement with Southampton University.

Consideration was given to a report of the Leader which presented details of a proposed Civic University Agreement between Test Valley Borough Council and Southampton University.

To mark 70 years of obtaining University status Southampton University was proposing to become a “Civic University” and wished to develop productive relationships with partners in local government and other key players in local communities.

The Civic University Agreement does not have any legal status however would allow relationships to continue to develop and provide a conduit to explore opportunities for the Council to work more closely with the University over time.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

That the Council signs-up to the Civic University Agreement with Southampton University.