Agenda and minutes

To receive details of any Member nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

None.

To receive any declarations of interest.

The following declarations of interest were made:

Councillor Hodges – Quarter 4 Financial Monitoring Report (Minute 9) – Husband is a Director of the Worcestershire F.A.

Councillor Bayliss - Future High Streets Programme Funding Agreement (Minute 12) - A non-pecuniary interest insofar as it relates to Trinity House. He left the meeting for this particular item.

Councillor Bayliss - Future High Streets Programme:  Acquisition of Scala Theatre and Public Realm Works (Minute 13) – As Worcestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills

Up to a total of fifteen minutes can be allowed, with each speaker being allocated a maximum of five minutes, for members of the public to present a petition, ask a question or comment on any matter on the Agenda or within the remit of the Committee.

None.

Of the meeting held on 23^rd March 2021 to be approved and signed.

In response to a comment on matters arising, the Managing Director confirmed the announcement that Worcester has been awarded £19.6m from the Government’s Towns Fund. Draft heads of terms must be agreed by 29 June and thereafter there is a period of 2 months to establish which projects will be taken forward.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd March 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 3^rd March 2021.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 3^rd March 2021 be received.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 8^th March 2021.

A question was raised about the substitutes at this meeting and it wasa clarified that Councillor Lamb had bene in attendance as substitute for Councillor Squires.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 8^th March 2021 be received.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th March 2021.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th March 2021 be received.

That the Committee notes the Council’s annual and quarter 4 performance for 2020/21.

The Committee considered the annual and quarter 4 performance report. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and highlighted the main points. Officers responded to questions from Members on detailed aspects of the report.

RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the Council’s annual and quarter 4 performance for 2020/21.

1.     That the Committee reviews the financial monitoring details including budget variances and performance indicators for the 4th quarter ended 31 March 2021;

2.     That the Committee reviews the proposed write-offs of Council Tax and Business Rates for the quarter and approves the amounts noted;

3.     That the Committee approves the transfer of the reserve noted in paragraph 10.7; and

4.     That the Committee considers officer recommendations on the allocation of the 2020/21 budget surplus as detailed in paragraph 10.5 of the report.

The Committee reviewed the financial monitoring details including budget variances and performance indicators for the 4^th quarter ended 31^st March 2021. The Committee also reviewed the proposed write-offs of Council Tax and Business Rates for the quarter. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and highlighted the main points including the proposed write-offs and the recommendation to transfer the budget surplus.

In summary, the 2020/21 year-end out-turn has produced a budget surplus of £0.932m. It was therefore proposed to create the following reserves:

Proposals for the use of the City Delivery Fund reserve were presented in the subsequent agenda item.

The City Plan had originally included funding for the Transport Strategy. However, at the time of the flooding in 2020, this was transferred to a reserve to alleviate the effects of the floods. In the event, the reserve was not used. It had now been confirmed that the Transport Strategy does require funding of £100k and it was therefore proposed transfer the funding back as originally intended to create a Transport Strategy reserve of £100k.

Officers responded to questions from Members on detailed aspects of the report.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree:

1.    to approve the proposed write-offs of Council Tax and Business Rates for the quarter in the amounts noted;

2.    to approve the transfer of the reserve to create a Transport Reserve, as set out in paragraph 10.7; and

3.    the Officer recommendations on the allocation of the 2020/21 budget surplus as detailed in paragraph 10.5 of the report and summarised in the table above.

That the Committee agrees to allocate the remaining year end surplus for the purposes identified in the report.

The Committee had agreed under the previous agenda item to allocate the remaining year end surplus to a City Delivery Fund to further existing policy objectives. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented a report which set out proposals for the allocation of these funds. He explained that the proposals had been drawn up following discussion with the Managing Director and the Leader of the Council.

The Leader explained that the proposals reflected issues that the controlling administration wished to deliver on and reflected priorities which had been identified by local residents in the run-up to the May 2021 elections. This did not preclude Members of the Committee from debating the proposals or from putting forward other items.

In the ensuing discussion, reference was made in particular to the development of youth facilities and an amendment was proposed to create a skate park in the sum of £50,000, to be funded by a corresponding reduction in the proposed allocation for enhanced public realm maintenance. Upon being put to the vote, this amendment was not agreed. The Chairman of the Communities Committee stated that he would be willing to consider the development of a skate park facility at a future meeting of that Committee.

The Leader added that the recommendation is to agree allocations and that detailed reports on the proposals will go to the relevant policy committees setting out plans to commit the expenditure in the sums identified.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to allocate the remaining year end surplus as follows:

1.  Enhanced public realm maintenance including street and public space cleaning, grounds maintenance and grass cutting - £250,000

2.  Enhanced public waste collection services including Saturday Skips and increases in bins and collections - £75,000

3.  Improved and effective gull control programme - £30,000

4.  Expansion of the FHSF property improvement programme to support re-opening and filling of vacant units and increased publicity to include hoarding plan - £110,000

5.  Subsidised parking to attract visitors to key events and incentivise visitor spend    - £50,000

6.  More enforcement of parking outside the city centre and planning issues - £50,000

Total - £565,000.

That the Committee notes the Corporate Risk Management Report.

The Committee considered a report on the progress made against the corporate risks for quarter four, the period of January – March 2021. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and highlighted the main points. Officers responded to questions from Members on detailed aspects of the report.

In the ensuing discussion, reference was made to the SWDP delay. The Managing Director stated that a detailed explanation can be given to Members in writing.

Officers stated that more information on risks identified as red can be given in writing and more detail can be put in the notes for each in the next risk report.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the Corporate Risk Management Report.

That the Committee:

1.     Notes the progress on the development of the Future High Streets Fund Programme and the objectives for the Future High Street Programme as set out at paragraph 2.5; and

2.   Authorises the Deputy Director Governance to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Councillor Bayliss left the room and Councillor Stephen took the chair for this item.

The Committee considered a report on progress with the development of the Future High Streets Fund Programme. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and explained that it had been envisaged that, as is the case with other externally funded programmes, a complex funding agreement with extensive conditionality, milestones and output definitions would be required. However, it had emerged that the Government’s approach was more of a ‘light touch’ based upon a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. The proposed MoU was attached as an Appendix to the report, and the key principles were summarised.

In response to comments, it was explained that the MoU is a standard template document.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.    note the progress on the development of the Future High Streets Fund Programme and the objectives for the Future High Street Programme as set out at paragraph 2.5; and

2. authorise the Deputy Director Governance to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

That the Committee:

1.     Approves the acquisition of the Scala Theatre on the terms set out in the private report;

2.     Authorises the Managing Director and the Deputy Director Governance to progress a funding agreement with Worcestershire County Council in respect of public realm works; and

3.     Authorises the expenditure of £170,000 of Future High Street Fund Grant towards advanced survey and design work for public realm schemes.

The Committee considered a report seeking authority to progress two of the interventions in the Future High Streets Fund programme, namely the Scala Theatre and public realm. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and summarised the main points. The report set out the background to the proposed acquisitions. Heads of Terms had been agreed for the purchase of the former Scala Theatre as set out in the private report elsewhere on the agenda.

Committee Members expressed support for the proposals, which were in accordance with the Future High Street Fund programme and the City Plan.

It was recommended that the County Council is engaged as the delivery partner for the public realm works. This would require a funding agreement setting out the responsibilities of each party. The City Council, using FHSF grant monies, would therefore need to commit £170,000 to surveys and design work to enable the programme to progress.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.    approve the acquisition of the Scala Theatre on the terms set out in the private report;

2.    authorise the Managing Director and the Deputy Director Governance to progress a funding agreement with Worcestershire County Council in respect of public realm works; and

3.  authorise the expenditure of £170,000 of Future High Street Fund Grant towards advanced survey and design work for public realm schemes.

That the Committee:

1.     Authorises the Corporate Director of Homes and Communities and Corporate Director Finance and Resources to procure contractors to replace the wetside floor tiles at Perdiswell Leisure Centre;

2.     Recommends to Council an amendment to the Capital programme of up to £182,100 to meet the costs of the capital works; and

3.     Notes that the potential loss of income to Freedom Leisure and the Council during the works closure period will be funded by the Council’s Income Contingency Reserve.

The Committee considered a report on the performance of the wetside tiles at Perdiswell Leisure Centre pool. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report, which set out the background and the actions which have been taken to mitigate the risk of slips related to the tiles. It was suggested that these actions have now effectively been exhausted, or that to continue them will sustain an ongoing cost and cleaning burden the Council and Freedom Leisure which is not a good value solution. Therefore the preferred option now is to replace the floor tiles throughout the changing village and poolside areas with a product that has been recommended by Freedom Leisure and that has been tried and tested in situ at another similar facility. The Council would also ensure that the selection of tiles and their installation is delivered by suitably qualified independent professionals, with warranties given for advice and works completed.

The costs of replacing the tiles is estimated to be up to £154,000 plus a further £28,100 in consultants and cleaning fees, giving a total estimated capital cost of £182,100. An amendment to the capital programme is required.

The Deputy Director – Governance also advised the Committee and responded to questions. It was explained that there is no major safety concern, but the position has proved to be intolerable for customers and it was essential that proactive steps are taken to implement an appropriate long-term solution.

Legal advice on the Council’s prospects for recovery of its costs from third parties involved in the supply of the tiles was set out in the private appendix elsewhere in the agenda.

Officers responded to questions from Members. Following the discussion, Members concluded that, given the circumstances, the proposal was the most appropriate way forward.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.    authorise the Corporate Director of Homes and Communities and Corporate Director Finance and Resources to procure contractors to replace the wetside floor tiles at Perdiswell Leisure Centre;

2.    recommend to Council an amendment to the Capital programme of up to £182,100 to meet the costs of the capital works; and

3. note that the potential loss of income to Freedom Leisure and the Council during the works closure period will be funded by the Council’s Income Contingency Reserve.

That the Committee confirm the appointments to outside bodies for 2021/22.

The Committee considered nominations from Group Leaders for appointments to various outside bodies. A schedule setting out details of the nominations was shared at the meeting.

The Committee were advised that there were two appointment for which more nominations had been received than places available:

·         SWDP Joint Advisory Panel – Since the publication of the agenda Councillor Barnes had withdrawn her nomination and the number of nominees now aligned with the number of places.

·         Worcester Citizen’s Advice Bureau/WHABAC –Councillors Cleary, Denham and Lewing had all been nominated. A vote was taken and it was agreed to appoint Councillor Cleary.

All other appointments were agreed as per the schedule.

As part of the general discussion, the Leader stated that he will take the opportunity to look at whether future appointments can be made for longer than one year in order to provide greater continuity. There may also be cases where it is appropriate to consider expanding the number of City Council representatives.

RESOLVED: That the Committee confirm the appointments to outside bodies as set out in the schedule appended to the minutes.

Which in the opinion of the Chairman is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

None.

The Committee are invited to pass the following resolution:-

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

To note the commercially sensitive information set out below in support of the Committee’s report on the acquisition of the former Scala Theatre.

The Committee noted the commercially sensitive information set out in support of the Committee’s report on the acquisition of the former Scala Theatre.

That the Committee notes the information set out in this private report, in support of the Committee’s public report on the replacement of wetside floor tiles at Perdiswell Leisure Centre.

The Committee noted the information set out in this private report, in support of the Committee’s public report on the replacement of wetside floor tiles at Perdiswell Leisure Centre.