West Lancs logo

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Cabinet/Committee Room, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk L39 2DF. View directions

Contact: Julia Brown 

Media

Items
No. Item

59.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence received.

 

 

60.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE

To be apprised of any changes to the membership of the Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.

Minutes:

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, the Committee noted the termination of Councillor M Nixon and the appointment of Councillor N Pryce-Roberts for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the Political Groups.

 

Councillor S Currie had been appointed as a Member of the Committee for this meeting only.

 

 

61.

URGENT BUSINESS, IF ANY, INTRODUCED BY THE CHAIRMAN

Note:  No other business is permitted unless, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified at the meeting, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

 

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

62.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 299 KB

If a member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Legal and Democratic Services Manager in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet.)

Minutes:

There were no declaration of interest.

 

63.

DECLARATIONS OF PARTY WHIP

In accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rule 16, Members must declare the existence of any Party Whip, and the nature of it, when considering any matter in the following categories:

 

-       The review of any decision of the Cabinet or

-       The performance of any Member of the Cabinet

 

N.B. The Secretary of State believes whipping is incompatible with Overview and Scrutiny.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of Party Whip.

64.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 399 KB

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:             That the Minutes of the meeting held 28 January 2021 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

65.

PUBLIC SPEAKING pdf icon PDF 243 KB

Residents of West Lancashire on giving notice, may address the meeting to make representations on any item on the agenda except where the public and press are to be excluded during consideration of the item.  The deadline for submissions is 10.00am on Friday 19 March 2021.  A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

66.

CALL IN ITEMS

There are no items under this heading.

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

67.

RELEVANT MINUTES OF CABINET

To scrutinise the following Minutes of Cabinet:

23 February 2021 (Extraordinary)

9 March 2021

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Minutes of Extraordinary Cabinet held on 23 February 2021 and Cabinet held on 9 March 2021, as contained on pages 517 to 528 of the Book of Reports.

 

67a

Extraordinary Cabinet - Minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 2021 pdf icon PDF 276 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:             That the Minutes of Extraordinary Cabinet held on 23                                     February 2021 be noted.

67b

Cabinet - Minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2021 pdf icon PDF 304 KB

Minutes:

A question was raised in respect of Minute 90 - A Regeneration Plan For Skelmersdale Town Centre, regarding the structure of the Place Shaping Hub and nature of public involvement.

The Corporate Director of Place and Community advised of the plans structure of the Hub and explained that phase one had commenced to develop the scheme and that phase two will look at land to develop with the creation of a 'masterplan' where there will be input from Members and the Community.

 

 

RESOLVED:             That the Minutes of Cabinet held on 9 March 2021 be noted and comment raised in respect of Minute 90 be noted.

 

 

68.

CORPORATE PERFORMANCE REPORTING 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 289 KB

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources as contained on pages 529 to 535 of the Book of Reports, which was to consider the Corporate Performance Plan for 2021/22, and Key Performance Indicators, as set out at appendix A.

 

The Partnership and Performance Officer outlined the report and responded to questions raised in relation to digital services and the measurement of Citizens satisfaction in respect of this.

 

A question was raised in respect of the Priority to 'Become a Greener West Lancashire' regarding why the target of 50% for recycling, had not been met, and the reason for the proposed 1% incremental target set for 2021/22.

 

The Corporate Director of Place and Community advised Members that recycling targets are set by the Waste Framework Directive, and are agreed collectively across Lancashire. She gave examples of previous measures introduced including, bin swaps and the collection and recycling of various plastic types, not just plastic bottles as it had been previously. She also advised that West Lancshire Borough Council is governed by Lancashire County Council (LCC) in terms of the type of waste that is permitted to be collected.

 

RESOLVED:             That the suite of Key Performance Indicators 2021/22 set out at Appendix A be considered and noted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

69.

HRA REVENUE AND CAPITAL MONITORING pdf icon PDF 276 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services as contained on pages 537 to 545 of the Book of Reports, which was to consider a summary of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Housing capital programme positions for the 2020/21 financial year. The report had previously been considered by Cabinet on 9 March 2021.

 

The Finance and Audit Manager provided an overview, referring to details as set down in the report and appendices. He responded to questions raised in respect of details of properties purchased in Q3 and Q4 and also information in relation to s141 funds.

 

A question was raised in relation to Tawd Valley Developments, to enquire if it was possible to receive details regarding the number of management staff, salaries, local firms and local jobs generated in the work it undertakes.

The Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources advised Members that Tawd Valley Development Cabinet Working Group provide financial information bi-monthly.  He explained that further information relating to local firms used and job creation be included for Members information.

 

 

RESOLVED:             That the 2020/21 HRA and Housing capital programme positions be noted.

70.

ORMSKIRK TOWN CENTRE STRATEGY ACTION PLAN UPDATE 2021-2026 AND THE HERITAGE ACTION ZONE PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 149 KB

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community as contained on pages 547 to 569 of the Book of Reports, which was to outline and inform Members regarding the details of the Action Plan for 2021 - 2026 in relation to Ormskirk Town Centre and progress of the Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) project and how this project will assist with the recovery and regeneration efforts for the town centre.

 

Comments were raised in respect of the following:

 

  • Mobile phone payments for car parks – could this be implemented sooner
  • More effective consultation / engagement on the Action Plan

 

RESOLVED:             That the comments and the report on the Ormskirk Town Centre Strategy Action Plan 2021-2026 be noted.

 

 

71.

EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

It is recommended that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3  (Finance/Business Affairs) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972,

the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 (financial/business affairs) of Part 1 Schedule 12A of that Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

 

72.

ACCOMMODATION STRATEGY

That the Portfolio Holder of Resources and Transformation be invited to the meeting to provide further information and clarification on the Office Accommodation Strategy and to respond to questions raised by Members of the Committee.

(Copy of Office Accommodation Strategy attached for information).

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder of Resources and Transformation Joined the meeting to provide further information and clarification on the Office Accommodation Strategy and to respond to questions raised by Members of the Committee.

A copy of the Strategy was attached at pages 571 to 580 of the Book of Reports.

 

A Question was raised in relation to how much had been spent on capital works in 2019/20 and 2020/21 at Derby Street Offices and Sandy Lane Offices and what the money had been spent on.

 

The Finance and Audit Manager provide a breakdown of costs in respect of this and the Portfolio Holder further explained that the work carried out had been essential / health and safety maintenance work of the buildings/offices.

 

In discussion, further comments and questions were raised by Members in which the Portfolio Holder responded in relation to:-

 

·         Office locations / cost of works carried out / future costs

·         New working practices / Covid / SORP

·         Red Quadrant Report

·         Location of Council Chamber/Committees /Customer Service Points

 

RESOLVED:             That the Corporate Director of Transformation & Resources, in consultation with the Resources & Transformation Portfolio Holder, be recommended to include the following paragraph to the WLBC Office Accommodation Strategy:-

 

"1.3. That any concerns arising from the reviews undertaken as a result of this strategy are subject to the usual scrutiny and that no decision will be taken before the matter is taken before Council."

 

(The Chairman thanked the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Transformation for his attendance).