Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

Members were asked to declare any interests they had in the business to be discussed and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them.

No declarations were made.

Councillor Willmott

The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed Members to the second meeting of the Cabinet. 

Fuel Shortages

The Chair asked the Chief Executive to brief the Cabinet on the current situation with regard to fuel shortages.

The Chief Executive circulated a paper and updated the Cabinet on measures put in hand in line with the Business Continuity Plan within the Council to address the fuel shortages over the last week. Thanks were expressed to staff for their rapid responses to secure fuel supplies and reprioritise operations in the interests of the community.

The current situation was noted.

Council Tax - Direct Debits

The Chair reported that additional Council Tax deductions had been made in error by direct debit from 3000 residents. Council offices had been opened over the weekend to offer advice and assistance to the public.

The Chair apologised to all affected residents for the problems this had caused. The situation had now  been rectified and compensation would be paid to those who had been affected. Systems were also being reviewed to investigate how the error had occurred and to ensure that similar problems did not happen in future.

The Minutes of the Cabinet meeting on 4 September 2000 have been circulated to Members of the Cabinet and the Cabinet is asked to approve them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

                        That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2000, as in the Minute Book on pages 1 to 6 inclusive,  copies of which had been circulated to members, be received, taken as read and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

INFORMATION FAIR

PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS OF SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES YOU CAN TALK TO AT THIS MEETING.

- You can raise matters of concern, give any opinions and find out information which may be of use.

Councillor Getliffe, the Cabinet Member for Social Services and Personal Health, presented a report of the Director of Social Services seeking members’ views on proposals to reshape hospital services in Leicestershire.

Cabinet members welcomed the revised proposals which gave an opportunity to address development of the hospital services in a strategic fashion. The Chair thanked Councillor Getliffe, officers and local people who had responded to consultations with the NHS Trust.

RESOLVED:-

                        That the option recommended by the Leicestershire Health Authority in its consultation document Our Hospitals, Our Future, be welcomed.

Councillor Patel

Cabinet is asked to endorse the framework for base budget preparation as detailed in the report and note the cash limits for each department.

Any comments of the Finance, Resources and Equal Opportunities Scrutiny Committee will be reported to the meeting.

Councillor Patel, the Cabinet Member for Finance Resources and Equal Opportunities, presented a report of the Chief Financial Officer on the base budget preparation  for 2001/02.

RESOLVED:-

(1)       That the framework for base budget preparation be endorsed; and

            (2)       that the cash limits for each Department be noted.

Councillor Patel

The Cabinet is asked to approve the Council’s Statement of Accounts for 1999/00, and consider any comments which may have been made by the Finance, Resources and Equal Opportunities Scrutiny Committee.

Any comments of the Finance, Resources and Equal Opportunities Scrutiny Committee will be reported to the meeting.

The full set of Accounts is attached for Cabinet Members only.

Councillor Patel, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Equal Opportunities presented a report of the Chief Financial Officer seeking approval of the Statutory Statement of Accounts for 1999/2000.

It was noted that the Finance, Resources and Equal Opportunities Scrutiny Committee had considered and accepted the accounts and expressed the view that the assumed rate of inflation was not over generous.

RESOLVED:-

That the Council’s Statement of Accounts for 1999/2000 be approved.

Report of the Chief Executive

Local Authority Circular LAC(94)16 requires Chief Executives to produce an annual report on the performance of Social Services Departments’ registration and inspection functions. The annual report has to be sent to the Department of Health’s Social Services Inspectorate by 1^st October 2000.  The City Council’s Registration and Inspection Team forms part of the Social Services Department’s Service Standards Unit. 

The Cabinet is asked to endorse the Chief Executive’s Annual Report.

The full Inspection report is attached for Cabinet Members only.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive on the annual report on the performance of the Social Services Department’s Registration and Inspection Service, and welcomed the continuing service improvements in the Unit.

It was noted that within the next two years the Service would undergo significant changes as inspection of Under 8s services would transfer to Ofsted and that of adult services would transfer to the National Care Standards Commission from April  2002.

RESOLVED:-

                        That the report be noted.

Councillor Holden

To seek approval for actions to be taken to facilitate the implementation of the PFI and Waste Management  procurement process.

Councillor Holden, the Cabinet Member for Arts Leisure and the Environment, presented a report of the Director of Environment and Development seeking approval for actions to be taken in order to facilitate implementation of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Waste Management Procurement process.

Councillor Holden reported that the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) had confirmed that the City Council’s PFI bid for an integrated waste management facility had been successful. This would mean the development of a recycling and mixed waste composting facility unique in the UK and would provide for up to 40% of all waste to be recycled.

The Chair put forward an additional proposal that the relevant Scrutiny Committee’s views and support for the development of this scheme be sought.

RESOLVED:-

(1)       that the Director of Environment and Development by delegated power, in conjunction with the Head of Legal Services and Chief Financial Officer to prepare and award contracts for the appointment of external special advisors to assist the Council;

(2)       that funding of advisors from reserves pending reimbursement from the successful contractor be approved and that the estimated cost of appointing external advisors as detailed in paragraph 4.4 of the report be noted;

(3)       that any surplus PFI funding in the early years of the contract be held in reserve to support future payments, as detailed in paragraph 4.3 of the report;

(4)       that the views and support for the development of the scheme be sought from the relevant  Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Draycott

To seek approval to the two tower blocks at St Matthews being deconstructed with the costs phased over the 2000-1 and 2001-02 Housing Capital Programmes.

A presentation from Councillor Subedar.

Councillor Subedar, Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning and the Director of Education gave a presentation on the issues facing the Education Department and initiatives to address these.

RESOLVED:-

                        That the presentation be noted.

The Chair has agreed to take the following items as Any Other Urgent Business (AOUB) by reasons of special circumstances because the items relate to property transactions which need to proceed before the next meeting of the Cabinet. The items were not on the main agenda as the negotiations were insufficiently complete for the inclusion of the reports.

AOUB 1 – Sale Of Land At Mountain Road (private agenda item)

AOUB 2 – Land At Beaumont Leys

PRIVATE AGENDA

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO NOTE

Under the law, the Sub-Committee is entitled to consider certain items in private.  Members of the public will be asked to leave the meeting when such items are discussed.

The Sub-Committee is recommended to consider the following reports in private on the grounds that they contain ‘exempt’ information as defined by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, and consequently that the Sub-Committee makes the following resolution:-

“that the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following reports in accordance with the provisions of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, because they involve the likely disclosure of 'exempt' information, as defined in the Paragraphs detailed below of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.”

AOUB 1 - Sale of Land at Mountain Road Leicester

Exempt Paragraph 9

Any terms proposed or to be proposed by or to the authority in the course of negotiations for a contract for the acquisition or disposal of property or the supply of goods or services

AOUB 2 – Land at Beaumont Leys

Exempt Paragraph 8

The amount of any expenditure proposed to be incurred by the authority under any particular contract for the acquisition of property or the supply of goods or services.

RESOLVED:-

that the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following reports in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, because they involved the likely disclosure of “exempt” information, as defined in Paragraph detailed below of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

                        AOUB 1 - Sale of Land at Mountain Road Leicester

Paragraph 9

Any terms proposed or to be proposed by or to the authority in the course of negotiations for a contract for the acquisition or disposal of property or the supply of goods or services

AOUB 2 – Land at Beaumont Leys

Paragraph 8

The amount of any expenditure proposed to be incurred by the authority under any particular contract for the acquisition of property or the supply of goods or services.

The Director of Environment and Development submits a report under Any Other Urgent Business.

The Director of Environment and Development submitted a report under Urgent Business seeking approval for the freehold disposal of an area of industrial development land at Mountain Road Leicester.

RESOLVED:-

(1)       that authority be delegated to the Director of Environment and Development in consultation with the Cabinet Member with the Portfolio for Finance, Resources and Equal Opportunities to agree terms for the disposal of the freehold interest of the land at Mountain Road Leicester;

(2)       that, subject to resolution 1 above, the Head of Legal Services be authorised to enter into a lock out agreement and / or a contract for the sale of this land in accordance with the agreed terms, including a conditional contract if the Director of Environment and Development considers it appropriate.

The Director of Environment and Development submits a report under Any Other Urgent Business

The Director of Environment and Development submitted a report as Urgent Business seeking approval to a proposed property transaction in respect of land at Leycroft Road, Beaumont Leys.

RESOLVED:-

(1)       that the interest in the land identified in the report is acquired by the City Council by way of the surrender of part of the current lease and disposal of the Council’s freehold revision in respect of the remainder of lease (or such other legal procedure as may be agreed between the parties) in accordance with the terms set out in the above summary;

(2)       that the Director of Environment and Development be delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet member with the portfolio for Finance, Resources and Equal Opportunities, to agree any additional terms to those now reported;

(3)       that a capital sum as identified in the report, to be funded from the Regeneration block sum be approved to cover payment to the current lessees of the land in question.