Agenda, decisions and minutes

Cabinet - Wednesday 31 January 2024 5.30 pm

Venue: Conference Room 1, Beech Hurst, Weyhill Road, Andover SP10 3AJ

Contact: Emma Silverton - 01264 368000  Email: esilverton@testvalley.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

426.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Johnston and Phil North.

 

Councillor D Drew arrived at 5:46pm, he did not participate in decision making.

427.

Public Participation

Minutes:

There was no public participation.

428.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

429.

Urgent Items

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

430.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 104 KB

To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 20 December 2023.

Minutes:

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 20 December 2023 were proposed by Councillor Adams-King and seconded by Councillor Flood.

 

Resolved:

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 December 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

431.

Recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

There were no recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Minutes:

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

432.

Land Disposal Options pdf icon PDF 95 KB

To consider options for the disposal of two sites owned by the Council.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved:

 

1.  To the extent that such actions fall outside existing delegations, that the Head of Property and Asset Management in consultation with the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services and the Head of Finance and Revenues be authorised to appoint professional advisors to assist in establishing options for the disposal of the assets set out in this report.

 

2.  That the funding, set out in paragraph 7.1 of the report, for the professional fees required to finalise disposal options be approved, and be financed from the Regeneration Reserve.

 

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which set out options available to the Council for the disposal of two pieces of land that the Head of Property and Asset Management considered to be surplus to requirements.

 

It was recommended that funding be approved to enable disposal options to be compiled for Bailiff’s Bottom, Andover and Bunny Lane, Romsey. Both potential disposals would contribute positively towards the Councils financial position, housing and improve Gypsy and Traveller site provision.

 

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the

recommendations were proposed by Councillor Flood, seconded by Councillor Adams-King and Cabinet agreed to the following:

 

Resolved:

 

1.  To the extent that such actions fall outside existing delegations, that the Head of Property and Asset Management in consultation with the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services and the Head of Finance and Revenues be authorised to appoint professional advisors to assist in establishing options for the disposal of the assets set out in this report.

 

2.  That the funding, set out in paragraph 7.1 of the report, for the professional fees required to finalise disposal options be approved, and be financed from the Regeneration Reserve.

 

433.

Corporate Financial Monitoring pdf icon PDF 112 KB

To compare actual revenue income and expenditure against profiled budget.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved:

 

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

 

2.  That the Treasury Management Update in paragraph 4 of the report be noted.

 

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which reviewed the Council’s revenue spending for the three quarters to the end of December of the 2023/24 financial year.

 

Overall, net expenditure to 31 December 2023 was £1.416M lower than budgeted for the stage of the year. The favourable variance comprised additional income and savings of £936,000 due to service related activities and £480,000 more income from the Council’s investing and borrowing activities.

 

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the

recommendations were proposed by Councillor Flood, seconded by Councillor Adams-King and Cabinet agreed to the following:

 

Resolved:

 

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

 

2.  That the Treasury Management Update in paragraph 4 of the report be noted.

 

434.

2024/25 Budget Update pdf icon PDF 146 KB

To provide an update on the revenue budget setting process for 2024/25.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved:

 

1.  That the savings options, income generation proposals and budget pressures, shown in Annexes 1 and 2 to the report, be noted.

 

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

 

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which provided an update on changes to the 2024/25 budget forecast since the Medium Term Financial Strategy was presented in October 2023.

 

The report set out the impact of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, saving options, income generation proposals and revenue pressures. The report also provided an updated Medium Term Financial Forecast covering 2024/25 to 2026/27.

 

Assuming no changes to the figures presented in the report, the Council was in a position to set a balanced budget for 2024/25. The final budget report would be presented to Cabinet at its meeting on 28 February 2024.

 

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the

recommendations were proposed by Councillor Flood, seconded by Councillor Adams-King and Cabinet agreed to the following:

 

Resolved:

 

1.  That the savings options, income generation proposals and budget pressures, shown in Annexes 1 and 2 to the report, be noted.

 

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

 

435.

Exclusion of the Public pdf icon PDF 60 KB

The following item is confidential.

Minutes:

 

The recommendation for exclusion of the public was proposed by Councillor Adams-King and seconded by Councillor Flood.

 

Resolved:

 

That, pursuant to Regulation 4 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, the public be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of the following report on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following Paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, indicated below. The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information for the reason given below:

 

 

Contractual Matters  Paragraph 3

 

 

It is considered that this report contains exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended because the information relates to the financial or business affairs of any person (including the authority holding that information.  It is further considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information as it relates to commercially confidential information.

 

 

436.

Contractual Matters

To update members on contractual matters.

Decision:

Resolved:

 

That officers be authorised to take the actions detailed within paragraph 5 of the report.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report of Community, Leisure and Tourism Portfolio Holder which considered contractual matters.

 

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the recommendation was proposed by Councillor Swain, seconded by Councillor Adams-King and Cabinet agreed to the following:

 

Resolved:

 

That officers be authorised to take the actions detailed within paragraph 5 of the report.