Agenda and draft minutes

There were none.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 12^th December 2024 were approved as a correct record.

(Moved by Councillor N Arkney and seconded by Councillor B Clarke)

There were no Declarations of Interest.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NO. 1

Under Schedule 4, 13, K Loxton will ask The Leader of The Council, Councillor C Dean the following question:

As a council have you considered making it a requirement in the council’s constitution which includes the councillors code of conduct, for councillors to respond to all forms of written correspondence within 10 working days of receiving the communication?

Response:

I can understand people’s frustrations with this, but it is a difficult situation. As part of the Constitution review process, the Monitoring Officer reviews the composition of the Constitution, consulting with officers and members to ensure that the aims and principles are given full effect, with any proposed changes for Full Council approval.

While there hasn't been a formal review specifically addressing the requirement for councillors to respond to all forms of written correspondence within 10 working days, several factors must be considered in this regard. It is essential to find a balanced approach that supports timely and effective communication while allowing our councillors the necessary flexibility to manage their duties effectively.

At this time, we believe that members’ administration is within their own gift, the way they manage their own time is up to them.  We would not be able to easily monitor or indeed enforce such a 'rule'.

Supplementary Questions:

From my personal experience and with other residents in my ward, if I had contacted all my ward councillors on at least two occasions and yourself, and   three months on I am still waiting for anyone to respond. I don’t believe that is decent or polite or right, where do I take it and what would your advice be to residents in this situation.

Response:

I can only say that if you have contacted me I am really sorry that I haven’t got back to you but I can’t remember seeing that and I will speak to you after this meeting to make that I do know what it is that you are asking me about.

It is something we talk about in our group meetings about how we deal with our constituents, and it is a real priority of ours that people are listened to and that they get a response. Sometimes things do fall over, and we send things off and don’t get a response, but I suppose what I would say to residents is please harass us, we are quite happy for you to come back and say I haven’t had a response on this and I think that’s only right that you should. I will definitely be talking at our next group meeting to make sure we are all on board with what we should be doing.

(Report of the Chair of Infrastructure, Safety and Growth Scrutiny Committee)

Report of the Chair of Infrastructure, Safety and Growth Scrutiny to notify Cabinet of the recommendations from the Climate Change Update report that was discussed at the meeting of Infrastructure Safety & Growth Scrutiny Committee on the 11th December 2024.

This matter was discussed under item 11 on the agenda.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

Report of the Leader of the Council to approve the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy (attached at Appendix 1), to consult with the Joint Scrutiny Committee (Budget) on 28th January 2025 and receive their feedback on the:

• General Fund Revenue (GF) Budget and Council Tax for 2025/26;

• Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget for 2025/26;

• Capital Programme – General Fund & HRA;

• Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)

This is a key decision as it affects two or more wards and involves expenditure over £100k.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

Report of the Leader of the Council to report to and seek endorsement from Members on the Business Rates income forecast for 2025/26.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

Report of the Leader of the Council to provide Cabinet with a brief overview of the changes coming into force on the 24th of February 2025 with the new Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), to request approval of the Council’s Social Value Policy and Pledges and to circulate the revised Procurement Strategy for review and approval.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

Report of the Leader of the Council to advise members of the Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge Report and seek approval for the action plan in response to its recommendations and any follow-up actions to complete the challenge in the required timescale.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

Report of the leader of the council to share the results of the annual survey and budget consultation, to inform the decision making process around council budget and priorities.

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Sustainability, Recycling and Waste)

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Sustainability, Recycling and Waste to update Cabinet on the authority’s work around climate change and agree to adopt the proposed climate mitigation action plan and climate adaptation strategy. Secondly, to endorse the climate change communication plan and the Staffordshire County Council (SCC) net zero by 2050 planning policy.

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Homelessness and Planning)

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Homelessness and Planning to update Cabinet on the latest position regarding compliance with the Regulator Social Housing (RSH) Consumer Standards, following the Council’s self-referral on 1/8/24, and to set out the achievements reflecting the scale, pace and positive progress in relation to the Social Housing Regulatory Programme and the outcomes from regulatory engagement.

The Portfolio Holder moved an amendment to recommendation 6 which originally read: delegate to the S151 Officer, in conjunction with the Executive Director Communities the releasing of contingency funding to support associated staffing matters referred to Appointments & Staffing Committee, noting the need for additional staffing resources within assets.

To be amended to: delegate to the S151 Officer, in conjunction with the Executive Director Communities and the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Homelessness and Planning the releasing of contingency funding to support associated staffing matters referred to Appointments & Staffing Committee, noting the need for additional staffing resources within assets.

(Moved by Councillor B Clarke and seconded by Councillor L Smith)

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Cooperative Council, Community Partnerships and ASB)

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Cooperative Council, Community Partnerships and ASB to outline Asylum Dispersal Funding proposals and seek delegated authority for grant spend.