Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Russell and Wann.

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 may have in the business on the agenda and/or declare if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them.

Councillor Westley declared a personal interest in respect of Item 7, “ New Investment Programme in the Market and Leisure Centres,” in that a relative had a stall on the market.

Councillor Dawood declared a personal interest in Item 6, “Impact of Government Cuts to 2010/11 Funding,” in that he was employed by Connexions.

Councillor Patel stated that the urgent item, “Phoenix Square Film and Digital Media Centre,” had been withdrawn. He stated that Leicester City Council recognised the need for transparent decision-making whilst maintaining the confidentiality of other organisations. The report would be considered in public at the next Cabinet meeting, with a minimum of information to be kept private. In the mean time, officers would work with partners to develop a sustainable plan and deal with issues arising from the delay in making the decision.

Councillor Osman submits a report which seeks approval of schemes for the 2010/11 Local Environmental Works (LEW) programme. Cabinet is asked to approve the recommendations set out in paragraph 2 of the report.

Councillor Osman submitted a report that sought approval of schemes for the 2010/11 Local Environmental Works (LEW) programme.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approves that the LEW programme may be varied by the Director of Regeneration, Highways & Transportation in agreement with the Cabinet Lead Member for Regeneration, Highways & Transportation.

Councillor Osman submits a report that seeks approval for funding for highway maintenance schemes in 2010/11 as detailed in the report. Cabinet is requested to approve the 2010/11 Highway Capital Maintenance funding of £1,065,000 and programme as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

Councillor Osman submitted a report that sought approval for funding for highway maintenance schemes in 2010-11 as detailed in the report.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approves the 2010/11 Highway Capital Maintenance funding of £1,065,000 and programme as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

Councillor Patel submits a report which outlines the impact on the Council of the Government’s cuts to 2010/11 funding and which seeks approval to the package of proposals to manage the cuts.  Cabinet is asked to agree the recommendations in paragraph 2.2 of the report.

Councillor Patel submitted a report that outlined the impact on the Council of the Government’s cuts to 2010-11 funding and which sought approval of the package of proposals to manage the cuts.

Cabinet noted the unprecedented cuts and the effect on transport and other projects.

Cabinet considered the recommendations of the Performance & Value for Money Select Committee (PVFM), They agreed to the recommendation that, as the moratorium on new spending was to be lifted, matters previously subject to the moratorium should be considered by PVFM before commitments were entered into, or afterwards if this was not practical.

With regard to the iPads trial, Cabinet stated that feedback be sought from Members who currently used an iPad and no further iPads would be purchased until a decision was made following the trial. Councillor Coley recommended that a wider scoped investigation into paperless working be considered to ascertain the most appropriate actions that would lead to the greatest long-term gain.

Cabinet supported PVFM’s recommendation regarding the Troon Way Improvement Scheme, and Councillor Osman recommended that alternative funding from one off monies identified in the report be provided.

RESOLVED:

                        That Cabinet:

1)     Notes the £7.7m of in-year cuts imposed by the Government for 2010/11 and their impact;

2)     Notes that this is additional to reductions from other bodies such as EMDA, and that the position continues to change;

3)     Approves the package of funding reductions and the use of £1.9m to mitigate the impact of the government funding cuts, subject to rescission of the proposed reduction to design work at Troon Way junction (£25,000);

4)     Approves the other measures described in the report to manage within reduced resources in 2010/11;

5)     Approves the lifting of the moratorium on new spending commitments originally approved by Cabinet on 12 July 2010, subject to reporting of such commitments to PVFM;

6)     Approves the transfer of certain uncommitted earmarked reserves to general reserves as described in paragraph 7 of the report, minus £25,000 required to fund design work at Troon Way junction;

7)     Given the urgent need to implement reductions, agree to waive call-in rights in accordance with Cabinet Procedure Rule 12(d).

Councillor Patel submits a report that proposes a new investment programme for the Market and for Leisure Centres utilizing resources currently available.  Cabinet is asked to approve the recommendations set out in paragraph 3.2 of the report.

Councillor Patel submitted a report that proposed a new investment programme for the Market and for leisure centres utilising resources currently available.

Councillor Westley, Cabinet Lead for Markets, welcomed the proposed investment in Leicester Market, stating that the improvements should be part of a larger development of the market and funding was also being sought from other sources. The improvements would help to sustain small businesses. He also stated that a future report would be submitted to Cabinet regarding a grading system for quality of goods.

Opposition Leaders supported the proposals and recognised the important role Leicester Market had in the city centre. It was recommended that public should be included in the consultation and that the electronic consultation should start as soon as possible.

Councillor Naylor, as a former Task Group Leader, stated that the recommendations in the report were as a result of very successful examples of scrutiny.

RESOLVED:

                        That Cabinet:

1)     Authorises an additional £600,000 capital expenditure in 2010/11 for Market improvements as set out in the report;

2)     Authorises an additional £308,000 capital expenditure in 2010/11 for minor works at leisure centres as set out in the report;

3)     Adds these schemes to the capital programme.

The meeting closed at 1.19pm.