Agenda, decisions and minutes

There was no public participation.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent items.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2020 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

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

Housing and Environmental

To consider the Social Inclusion Services Contribution.

Resolved:

That the use of £55,000 ring-fenced Flexible Homelessness Support Grant funding for the purposes of supporting local social inclusion services during 2021/22 be approved.

Consideration was given to a report of the Housing & Environmental Health Portfolio Holder which set out proposals for funding for the purposes of supporting local social inclusion services in Test Valley during 2021/22.

Social inclusion services have proved invaluable to Test Valley, contributing to the Council’s local capacity to prevent and relieve homelessness, and supporting the Council to maintain its pledge to ensure local residents who may otherwise sleep rough are made offers of emergency accommodation.

Ensuring funding for 2021/22 would allow the Council to continue to meet locally identified priorities and maintain strong partnership arrangements in the interests of meeting the needs of vulnerable people in local communities.

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

Resolved:

That the use of £55,000 ring-fenced Flexible Homelessness Support Grant funding for the purposes of supporting local social inclusion services during 2021/22 be approved.

Planning

To consider replacing the Planning Advisory Panel with all Member briefings.

Resolved:

That the Planning Advisory Panel be replaced with all Member briefings.

Consideration was given to a report of the Planning Portfolio Holder which considered replacing the Planning Advisory Panel with all Member briefings.

Replacing the Planning Advisory Panel with all Member briefings would allow for Councillors to be involved in the preparation of planning policy documents and briefed on strategic planning issues, allowing Members to highlight particular concerns.

All Member briefings would remove the perceived confusion of the comparative roles between the Members attending the Planning Advisory Panel and would provide more opportunity for a greater range of Members to be engaged in the strategic planning process.

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

Resolved:

That the Planning Advisory Panel be replaced with all Member briefings.

Planning

To consider the updated Scoping Report for approval.

Resolved:

1.  That the Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report, including its appendices and summary as annexed to the report, be approved.

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 to improve the presentation of the document and correct typographical errors prior to publication.

Consideration was given to a report of the Planning Portfolio Holder which sought approval of the Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report.

A Scoping Report had been prepared in line with national guidance to fulfil the first stage of the sustainability appraisal process. It would replace the Scoping Reports approved in 2017 and 2018.

The Scoping Report included baseline information, identified sustainability issues and updated the sustainability objectives. The Report had been subject to 6 week consultation period of 6 weeks, with the responses received being taken into account in the preparation of the document.

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

Resolved:

1.  That the Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report, including its appendices and summary as annexed to the report, be approved.

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 to improve the presentation of the document and correct typographical errors prior to publication.

Finance

To consider the actual revenue income and expenditure against the profiled budget for four months ended 30 September 2020.

Resolved:

That the financial position for each Portfolio and the key revenue areas contained in the Annex to the report be noted.

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance Portfolio Holder, which reviewed the Council’s revenue spending for the first six months of the 2020/21 financial year. It also examined the main differences between the original estimate for 2020/21 and actual spend to 30 September 2020 and provided explanations for significant variances.

Overall, net expenditure to 30 September 2020 was £606,000 more than budgeted at this stage of the year. This adverse variance comprised additional expenditure of £508,000 due to service related expenditure and £98,000 less income from the Council’s investing and borrowing activities.

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

Resolved:

That the financial position for each Portfolio and the key revenue areas contained in the Annex to the report be noted.