Agenda, decisions and minutes

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Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmill Street, Gravesend DA12 1AU. View directions

Contact: Committee Section 

Items
No. Item

87.

Apologies

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Emma Morley.

 

88.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 19 February 2024 were agreed and signed by the Chair.

 

89.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were made.

 

90.

Delegated Decisions - Cabinet Members

To report any decisions made by Cabinet Members under their delegated powers.

Minutes:

No decisions other than those already circulated had been made.

 

91.

Revised Working in Partnership Framework pdf icon PDF 146 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet was presented with an updated Working in Partnership Framework for

Gravesham Borough Council. 

 

Members were informed that, in April 2021, the Council adopted an updated Working in Partnership Framework, with clear guidelines to review the framework every three years or when it was prudent to do so.

 

Appendix one to the report set out the revised Framework (and accompanying appendices) for the Council.

 

Following a review of the Framework, the proposed changes were minimal. This was due to an in-depth review being undertaken in April 2021, following the COVID-19 pandemic, which implemented a number of changes and as such, the Framework was considered to be still fit for purpose, subject to Members comments.  The proposed changes were outlined at paragraph 2.3 of the report.

 

The Framework had also been considered by the Special Cabinet Advisory Committee on 27 February 2024. The Committee was supportive of the Framework and made a few suggestions for inclusion which were outlined at paragraph 2.4 of the report.

 

Subject to approval, the updated Working in Partnership Framework would be presented to Full Council for formal adoption.

 

Resolved that the Working in Partnership Framework for the Council, as   attached at appendix one, be approved for submission to Full Council for formal adoption.

 

92.

Development of the Corporate Risk Register 2024-2025 pdf icon PDF 173 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet was informed that the Risk Management Strategy sets out the approach adopted by the Council for identifying, evaluating, managing and recording risks to which it is exposed. A review of the strategy is carried out annually and, where necessary, presented to the Cabinet for approval if it is subject to any updates and amendments.

 

The Cabinet was informed that there had been no updates or amendments made to the Risk Management Strategy.

 

In preparing the draft Corporate Risk Register for 2024-25, Management Team, Senior Officers and Members were contacted and requested to identify and evaluate new risks and analyse existing risks currently recorded in the 2023-24 Corporate Risk Register.

 

The risks identified were as follows:-

 

1.    On-going financial viability of the Council;

2.    Changes in national priorities and legislation;

3.    Organisational capacity/resilience;

4.    Cyberattack resulting in data breach or corruption of data;

5.    Investment Risk;

6.    Adoption and delivery of sound Local Plan;

7.    Implementation of the Elections Act 2022; and

8.    STG Building Control Partnership – Licencing of Surveyors (new risk).

 

The Cabinet was informed that a risk evaluation and analysis was undertaken and those risks that had generated a “High” residual risk score had been included in the 2024-25 Corporate Risk Register. The Director (Corporate Services) confirmed that all of the risks listed above had been included.

 

The Cabinet was informed that the draft Corporate Risk Register was considered at the Finance and Audit Committee on 5 March 2024 and an extract of the minute from that meeting was attached at appendix two of the report. The comments made by the Finance and Audit Committee had been incorporated within the register.

 

The Director (Corporate Services) advised that progress made against the actions in relation to each risk recorded in the register will be monitored quarterly and progress information will be presented via a half yearly report to the Finance and Audit Committee.

 

Resolved that the Corporate Risk Register that has been developed for 2024-25 be approved for submission to Full Council for formal adoption.

 

93.

Procurement Strategy 2024-2027 pdf icon PDF 279 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

·       that the Cabinet approves the proposed Procurement Strategy 2024-27; and

  • seek to enhance ongoing performance reviews and meetings with key suppliers as set out in section 11 of the strategy document.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet was informed that, in June 2023, an internal audit of the Council’s procurement function was carried out which made several recommendations to strengthen the Council’s procurement operating procedures and compliance with statutory requirements. A key recommendation within the audit report was for the Council to update its existing Procurement Strategy.

 

The current strategy was written in 2018 and therefore:-

 

·         did not reference changes to procurement requirements put in place by Central Government since then;

·         referred to the previous Corporate Plan so needed to be updated to reflect the Council’s current priorities and targets; and

·         following changes to the Contract Procedure Rules in June 2022, it also needed to be updated to reflect the raised thresholds now in place.

 

The purpose of the strategy was to set out the principles that the Council will follow in the acquisition of goods, works and services from third-party and in-house providers.

 

The updated strategy had been prepared drawing on good practice and benchmarking of other national local authorities.Following the initial presentation of the updated strategy to Management Team in December 2023, feedback was also gathered from Line Managers which was factored into the strategy.

 

The Cabinet was informed that the updated strategy was attached at appendix one of the report and advised that the decision-making arrangements of the Council regarding procurement remained as set out in Annex 2.7 of the Council’s Constitution (Contract Procedure Rules).

 

The Cabinet was pleased to see that the strategy recognised the importance of economic development and social value as this was a priority for the Council.

 

The Cabinet also stated that it was important for there to be ongoing performance reviews; these reviews must look at qualitative evidence.

 

Resolved that:-

 

1.    the draft Procurement Strategy, attached at appendix one of the report, be approved for adoption; and

2.    seek to enhance ongoing performance reviews and meetings with key suppliers as set out in section 11 of the strategy document.

 

94.

Live Streaming Council Meetings - Changes to the Constitution and Meeting procedures pdf icon PDF 401 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Further to minute 36 (02.10.2023), the Cabinet was provided with an update on the progress of the project to Live Stream Council meetings and the installation of audio visual (AV) equipment in the Council Chamber.

 

Following the report taken to Cabinet and Full Council in October 2023 which sought approval of the project, a procurement exercise was conducted and a supplier was awarded the contract.

 

The installation of the new equipment took place in January 2024.  Officers from Committee Services and IT Services had received all relevant training on how to use the AV equipment, microphones and the meeting management system following the installation. 

 

The Cabinet was informed that the installation of the new equipment was only one part of the overall project; changes were now required to the operation of committee meetings, the website and the Council’s Constitution. The report detailed those changes required subject to Members comments.

 

The Assistant Director (Organisational Development & Democratic Support) advised that internal tests of the system would be conducted by officers in April 2024 to ensure the system is working efficiently ready for its official implementation; those tests will include the recording of some committee meetings but they would not be live streamed.

 

A provisional live date to implement the live streaming and recording of committee meetings had been set for Monday, 20 May 2024 which was currently scheduled as a Special Cabinet Advisory Committee. This would subject to the internal tests being successful.

 

Members and lead officers will receive training and guidance on the new procedures prior to going live and Committee Chairs will also receive additional training on the Council’s Procedural Rules for dealing with disruptive behaviour. 

 

The Cabinet noted that some of the meetings on the lead up to the live date would be recorded, therefore, it was requested that these recordings be shared with both Group Leaders so that the recordings can be reviewed by each Group; Members and Officers needed to be mindful of their conduct/etiquette at meetings.

 

It was also acknowledged that the ‘Opening’ and ‘Part B’ address had been produced as helpful guidance; the address/wording was not set in stone.

 

With regard to the Constitutional changes/Annex 3.13, it was requested that paragraphs (iii) and (iv) of section 4 be updated to state that video/audio recording should also be ceased as well as mobile phone use.

 

Resolved that the Cabinet recommends to Full Council that the proposed amendments to the Constitution in relation to ‘Filming, Photographing and Audio Recording at Committee Meetings’ be adopted subject to an amendment being made to paragraphs (iii) and (iv) of section 4 to state that video/audio recording should also be ceased as well as mobile phone use.

 

95.

Whistleblowing Policy pdf icon PDF 282 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

that the amended and updated Whistleblowing Policy presented would be implemented and circulated to all employees, accompanied by training for line managers on Whistleblowing.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet was informed that whistleblowing was the disclosure of malpractice or wrongdoing within an organisation. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 contained measures which would help to promote greater openness between employers and employees in the workplace and supports a structure for whistleblowing.  It gave statutory protection to employees who “blow the whistle” on their employer’s malpractice and, although not requiring Councils to set up appropriate mechanisms for dealing with whistleblowing, it makes clear the important role that such a mechanism can play in helping Councils comply with the law.

 

An internal audit of the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy and Procedures had recently been carried out which recommended that a review of the policy be undertaken given the passage of time since it was last adopted. It was important to note that the update had been prompted by the need for a periodic review rather than any underlying concerns about malpractice or increased fraud within the organisation.

 

Annex 1.2 of the Council’s Constitution currently stated that responsibility for oversight and periodic review of the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy had been delegated by Full Council to the Standards Committee.  On the basis that there were no pre-arranged meetings of the Standards Committee in the committee timetable, under such circumstances the amended Whistleblowing Policy had been brought to the Cabinet for approval.

 

The key policy changes were outlined at section 2 of the report.

 

Trade Unions had been consulted and no amendments to the proposed policy were required.

 

Subject to approval, the updated policy would be rolled out to all employees and Line Managers with in-house training sessions being delivered by the HR Team.

 

Resolved that:-

 

1.    the amended Whistleblowing Policy be approved; and

2.    the roll out of the Whistleblowing Policy to all employees with this being accompanied by relevant training being carried out in house by the HR Team be agreed.

 

96.

Balancing The Budget - Gravesend Town Centre Options pdf icon PDF 271 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Cabinet was minded to reduce budgets by a total of £37,000 by:-

 

  • taking forward a wider programme of town centre improvements, primarily funded through UKSPF with a smaller budget of £10,000 retained from the Splash of Colour budget to meet ongoing maintenance costs;
  • reducing the Town Dressing budget to £3,000 to allow for 1 set of town bunting only per year; and
  • delivering visitor information through existing staff at St George's Art Centre. The existing Visitor Information Centre staffing of 1FTE moved to an office-based role with continued responsibility for management of Visit Gravesend website and social media as well as additional proactive work to build partnerships and better market Gravesham as a visitor destination.

 

Minutes:

In the last decade, the Council had experienced a sustained period of challenge to its financial sustainability. In response to those challenges, the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) since 2016 had focused on the delivery of a multi-faceted programme of activity intended to optimise income generation, innovate delivery of services and ensure that the limited resources of the Council were appropriately focused on the needs of the Borough.

 

The Council delivered against the programme and, in February 2020, was able to announce that £4.25m of base budget reductions had been implemented in the period since 2016, putting the Council in a position where it had in place a sustainable financial plan for the forthcoming 10 years.

 

Since that time, the Council had faced further significant challenges as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the economic situation. In response to this, in February 2023, the Council approved a revised five-year MTFS spanning 2022-23 to 2026-27 intended to respond to the identified budget gap at that time.

 

Despite delivering measures to reduce the Council’s base budget by £3.3m since 2022, cost and demand pressures continued to be present and the Council’s level of annual expenditure continued to exceed anticipated income with working balances significantly depleted in recent years and no longer a sustainable source to manage the Council’s financial position.

 

In February 2024, Full Council was informed that without proactive action to deliver the Balancing the Budget initiatives, the Council could find itself in a position where it had limited capacity to respond to and manage the impact of any significant or unexpected events or emergencies during 2024-25 and set a budget for 2025-26.

 

Therefore, the report presented to the Cabinet set out options for savings and reducing cost pressures in relation to activities undertaken by the Council within Gravesend Town Centre; the three main activities being Splash of Colour, Town Centre Dressing and the Visitor Information Centre. It should be noted that Town Centre Dressing did not incorporate formal flag raising on the Community Square.

 

The options for consideration were outlined in appendix one to the report. The options did not include recommendations made with regard to enhancing processes within specific service areas that had been identified as a result of the review process. These were being taken forward by the relevant Head of Service to implement.

 

The options had been set out into three categories which would deliver three different levels of savings ranging from £13,000 to £63,000:-

 

·       Option A – continue current service with reduced budget and continuation of the Visitors Information Centre;

·       Option B – reduce service and relocation of the Visitors Information Centre; or

·       Option C - cessation of a service.

 

The Director (Communities and Inclusive Growth) advised that the savings/income identified within the report were estimates and as such, should Members be minded to implement an option, the actual savings achieved may differ from those within the report as more detailed financial analysis would be undertaken. Updated information on the financial impact of 'minded  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

97.

Lothbury Property Fund pdf icon PDF 651 KB

Decision:

1.     that the Cabinet endorse the action of submitting a vote to the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Lothbury Property Fund being held on the 28 March in favour of the termination date being extended from 31 March by a maximum of 60 days; and

2.     that the Cabinet endorse the action of confirming that the Council’s investment in the Lothbury Property Fund is transferred to the UBS-managed Triton Fund.

 

Minutes:

In the last decade, the Council had experienced a sustained period of challenge to its financial sustainability. In response to those challenges, the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) since 2016 had focused on the delivery of a multi-faceted programme of activity intended to optimise income generation, innovate delivery of services and ensure that the limited resources of the Council were appropriately focused on the needs of the Borough. Optimisation of income generation did not only consider opportunities for the Council to derive income from the fees and charges it levied and use of the assets it had available to it, but also on how it used its cash balances to generate a return which can then be applied to pay for Council services. The practice of investing cash balances held was common across the local government sector, with different approaches adopted based on the level and duration of cash balances an authority holds and its risk appetite, but always with a focus on security and liquidity before yield.

 

In approving the 2016-17 Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS), Full Council provided the capacity to place a maximum of £10m in such investments with a limit of £5m placed into each fund. Link, the Council’s treasury management consultants, were engaged to assist officers with the identification and selection of suitable Property Fund Management companies.

 

Due diligence was undertaken and a report was taken to the Property Acquisitions Cross Party Member Working Group on 24 May 2016; it was agreed that the following investments be made into each Property Fund:-

 

·       Hermes - £3m;

·       CCLA - £2m; and

·       Lothbury - £5m.

 

On 1 July 2016, 2,658 units were purchased in the Lothbury Property Fund. Each unit was priced at £1,862.17 which gave an entry investment value of £4,949,648. An entry fee of 1% was charged on top which resulted in a fee of £49,492, giving a total cost of £4,999,140.

 

On 7 June 2023, Link alerted the Council to the fact that Lothbury had received redemption requests from investors which totalled £500m, in addition to the £170m still outstanding from the previous quarter against a fund value at 31 March 2023 of £1.086bn. All property funds had seen an increase in the level of redemption requests at the time, and whilst it was not clear why Lothbury had seen such a high number, Link believed several factors had come into play. These factors were outlined in section 2.1 of the report.

 

The level of redemptions logged were a high percentage of the fund value and therefore it was necessary for Lothbury to sell a significant number of its assets in order to meet the redemptions. To provide investors in the fund with an element of protection to sell assets in a timely manner and avoid the need to sell assets quickly at a low price, Lothbury introduced a redemption suspension i.e. a period where investors were made to wait before their investment was repaid.

 

The Council determined that to best protect its position  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

98.

Exclusion

To move, if required, that pursuant to Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 that the public be excluded from any items included in Part B of the agenda because it is likely in view of the nature of business to be transacted that if members of the public are present during those items, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Minutes:

Resolved that pursuant to Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 that the public be excluded during the following item of business because it was likely in view of the nature of business to be transacted that, if members of the public were present during the item, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

 

99.

Rosherville Limited Business Plan 2024-27

Decision:

that the Business Plan for Rosherville Limited be approved.

Minutes:

The Cabinet was presented with the business plan for Rosherville Limited for the period 2024-27.

 

Resolved that the Business Plan for Rosherville Limited, attached at appendix one of the report, be approved.

 

100.

Appointment of Independent Non-Executive Director to Rosherville Limited and future role changes

Decision:

that the appointment of an Independent Non-Executive Director to Rosherville Limited from 01 April 2024 be approved.

 

It was also agreed that the updating of job titles for those officers who have been appointed to a Rosherville company Board take place, without the need to bring a formal report to Cabinet.

Minutes:

The Cabinet was presented with a proposal for the appointment of an Independent Non-Executive Director for Rosherville Limited from 1 April 2024.

 

In addition, the Cabinet was also asked to approve the updating of job titles for those officers who had been appointed to a Rosherville Company Board, without the need to bring a formal report to Cabinet.

 

Resolved that:-

 

1.     the appointment of an Independent Non-Executive Director to the Rosherville Limited Board from 01 April 2024 be approved; and

2.     the approach set out in section three of the report with regards to the future approach to changes in officer job titles be approved.