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Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

2.

Special Urgency (Rule 16 Access to information procedure rules)/Urgent Business

If, by virtue of the date by which a decision must be taken, it has not been possible to follow Rule 15 (i.e. a matter which is likely to be the subject of a key decision has not been included on the Forward Plan) then the decision may still be taken if:

 

a)    The Chief Operating Officer, on behalf of the Leader, obtains the agreement of the Chairman of the Executive Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the making of the decision cannot be reasonably deferred,

b)    The Chief Operating Officer, on behalf of the Leader, makes available on the Council’s website and at the offices of the Council, a notice setting out the reasons that the decision is urgent and cannot reasonably be deferred.

Minutes:

There were no items of special urgency.

3.

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 Friday 17 July 2020.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

4.

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 & 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:

Councillor Coughlan declared a pecuniary interest in relation to Agenda Item 9(a) 'Leisure Contract Extension - Short Term Measures in Response to Covid 19' in respect of his appointment to West Lancashire Community Leisure and advised that he would leave the meeting during consideration of this item.

5.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 371 KB

To receive as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on Tuesday, 9 June 2020.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:   That the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 9 June 2020 be received as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

6.

Confirmation of Procedural Matters pdf icon PDF 85 KB

1.      To note the Leader has appointed Cabinet Committees and Working Groups for 2020/21 as circulated at the Annual Meeting on 24 June 2020 with the terms of reference now included in the Constitution.

 

2.      To note the 'Proper Officer Provisions and Scheme of Delegation to Chief Officers' insofar as they are executive functions and the Scheme of Delegation to Cabinet Members as set out in the Constitution.

 

Minutes:

A Motion by the Leader, which had been circulated prior to the meeting, was moved and seconded.

 

A vote was taken the Motion was CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:   A.   That it be noted that the Leader has appointed Cabinet Working Groups for 2020/21 as circulated at the Annual Meeting on 24 June 2020 with the terms of reference now included in the Constitution, including the Tawd Valley Developments Shareholders Cabinet Working Group as follows:

 

Tawd Valley Developments Shareholders Cabinet Working Group

 

Membership

(7 Members -    4 Lab   2 Con  1  OWL)

 

Labour:                        (Chairman) Councillor I Moran

                                    (Vice Chairman)   Councillor A Yates

                                   Councillors J Wilkie and …………….

 

Conservative:              Councillors  ……….  and ……………

 

Our West Lancs:         Councillor …………

  

(Membership to include the Leader, Portfolio Holders for Transformation & Resources and Housing & Landlord Services.)

 

Functions 

 

(a)     To oversee and monitor the delivery of the Business Plan for the Tawd Valley Development Company and consider opportunities identified by the Board for future projects.

 

(b)     To act as the consultee and provide recommendations to the Chief Operating Officer on the exercise of her delegation to determine all matters, as the Shareholder for the Tawd Valley Development Company, on behalf of the Council. 

 

B.     That the 'Proper Officer Provisions and Scheme of Delegation to Chief Officers' insofar as they are executive functions and the Scheme of Delegation to Cabinet Members as set out in the Constitution, be noted.

 

7.

MATTERS REQUIRING DECISIONS

Minutes:

Consideration was given to report relating to the following matters requiring decisions and contained on pages 15 to 84 of the Book of Reports.

8.

REVIEW OF THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY PORTFOLIO pdf icon PDF 680 KB

(Relevant Portfolio Holders: Councillors I Moran and A Yates)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place & Communities, which provided details of a review of the Council’s existing Commercial Property Portfolio advising on current performance and indicating future trends, demand and investment needs. The report set out the further action that will be required to successfully manage the portfolio in the medium to longer term and explained the current statutory framework and background context which councils seeking to grow their commercial property portfolios need to consider, including a proposed “Investing in West Lancashire - Commercial Property Strategy”.

 

In reaching the decision below, Cabinet considered the details as set out in the report before it and the reasons contained therein.

 

RESOLVED:   A.   That the contents of this report, including the future actions required, be noted.

 

B.   That the “Investing in West Lancashire - Commercial Property Strategy” set out in Appendix 3 to the report, be endorsed for approved by Council.

 

C.   That delegated authority be given to the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Property to make investments in accordance with the Commercial Property Strategy, subject to approval of scheme funding of up to £5m by the Strategic Assets Purchasing Committee and approval by Council of schemes for over £5m.

 

 

 

9.

Finance Update pdf icon PDF 210 KB

(Relevant Portfolio Holder: Councillor A Yates)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the joint report of the Chief Operating Officer and the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Property, which provided a summary of the revenue outturn position for the 2019/20 financial year, an assessment of the impact of the coronavirus on the Council's finances and updates to the Housing capital programme, including the business plan for the Council's Development Company and associated actions.

 

A Motion, which had been circulated prior to the meeting, was moved and seconded.

 

A vote was taken, the Motion was carried.

 

In reaching the decision below, Cabinet considered the details as set out in the report before it and the reasons contained therein.

 

RESOLVED:   A.   That the revenue outturn position for 2019/20 be noted.

 

B.   That the estimated financial impact of the coronavirus be noted and kept under review during the current financial year.

 

C.   That the proposed amendments to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital investment programme, the Tawd Valley Development Limited (TVDL) business plan, and the associated actions set out in section 10 of the report be endorsed for approval by Council.

 

D.   That, subject to Council approving paragraph 3.3 of the report, that the acquisition and development of the Halton Castle site in Westhead on behalf of the HRA be agreed in principle and authority be given to the Chief Operating Officer to carry out all necessary due diligence and thereafter enter into all necessary arrangements with regard to the proposed purchase and development of the site for Council housing.

 

E.   That call in is not appropriate for this item as this matter is one where urgent action is required given the timescales for the Halton Castle site scheme.

 

F.   That, in accordance with item 6 'Confirmation of Procedural Matters' on the agenda in relation to the establishment of the Tawd Valley Development Shareholders Cabinet Working Group, Council be recommended to amend the existing delegation to the Chief Operating Officer set out in Constitution 4.2A: Scheme of Delegation to Chief Officers, to read:

 "31. That the Chief Operating Officer, In consultation with the Tawd Valley Developments Shareholders Cabinet Working Group, be authorised to determine all matters, as the Shareholder for Tawd Valley Development Company, on behalf of the Council."

 

 

 

 

 

10.

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 (financial/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.

 

(Note: No representations have been received about why the meeting should be open to the public during consideration of the following items of business).

 

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 items 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 of 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.

 

(Note: No representations had been received in relation to the following item being considered in private)

 

11.

MATTERS REQUIRING DECISIONS

Minutes:

Consideration was given to report relating to the following matters requiring decisions and contained on pages 71 to 84 of the Book of Reports.

 

12.

Leisure Contract Extension - Short Term Measures in response to COVID 19

(Relevant Portfolio Holder: Councillor Y Gagen)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place & Communities, which provided an update on the current position in relation to the Leisure Contract as a consequence of COVID-19 and sought approval to the proposed approach for the next nine months (July 2020-March 2021)

 

In reaching the decision below, Cabinet considered the details as set out in the report before it and the reasons contained therein.

 

RESOLVED:   A.     That, subject to the approval of Council of the financial and resource implications as set out in section 9 of the report, authority be given to the Corporate Director of Place & Community to enter into all necessary documentation to extend the leisure contract between the Council, West Lancashire Community Leisure Trust and Serco to 31 March 2021.

 

B.      That, following the lifting of Central Government restrictions in relation to Leisure Centre operations, the West Lancashire facilities should be reopened using Option 2 as detailed in section 7.2 of the report.

 

C.      That call in is not appropriate for this item as this matter is one where urgent action is required because of the need to avoid a "no contract" situation arising and the risk of Serco walking away from the contract.

 

(Note: Councillor Coughlan left the meeting whilst this item was under consideration.)