To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Martin Quaile, Cabinet Member for Environment.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting on 19 April 2012, (minutes attached)

The minutes of the cabinet meeting held on 19 April 2012 were agreed as an accurate record of that meeting.

The chairman to identify any items of urgent business.

There were no items of urgent business for consideration at this meeting.

To receive any declarations of interest in any matter to be discussed at the meeting.  Members and officers are requested to identify the nature of the interest and indicate whether the matter is personal or prejudicial.

No declarations of interest were made at this meeting.

To consider the attached copy of the cabinet forward plan (June 2012) and to agree any changes.

The following amendments to the cabinet forward plan were made at the meeting: -

a)     Leader of the Council, Patrick Molyneux, said that, following publication of the agenda for the cabinet meeting on 10 May 2012, an additional three items had been added to the cabinet forward plan. He said that the first item related to a service level agreement with the Gloucester Heritage Regeneration Company, the second item to the council’s Printing Strategy and the third item, to consider a property disposal recommendation as exempt business. All three items would be considered at the cabinet meeting on 14 June 2012.

b)     The Leader also announced a change to the forward plan. He advised members that more time would be required for Phase 2 of the Concept Design competition for the Lawnstone House Project and that the item, (originally scheduled for consideration at the July cabinet meeting), would now be considered at the 6 September 2012 meeting. The Leader said that he did not anticipate the change to impact on the work programme of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee and that an update report would be considered at the scrutiny committee meeting on 31 May 2012.

c)      Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, said that the Fourth Quarter Performance Report, (originally due for consideration at the cabinet meeting in June), would now be considered at the cabinet meeting on 5 July 2012. Councillor Robinson said that the change could affect the work programme of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee and suggested that the panel assigned to review this item on 11 June 2012 might want to consider rescheduling the date of the meeting. Councillor Robinson said that he would contact the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee after the meeting to consider a revised date.

d)     Later in the meeting, at item 9 of the agenda, (Leisure Management Strategy), cabinet resolved that the Group Manager for Customer Services would present an update report on this item at the cabinet meeting on 4 October 2012.

To consider questions from members of the public in accordance with the ‘Protocol for Public Questions at Cabinet Meetings’. For guidance on how to submit questions, please refer to the council’s website www.fdean.gov.uk. Alternatively, please contact Democratic Services on 01594 812625 or email democratic.services@fdean.gov.uk. All questions must be submitted in writing at least two working days prior to the meeting.

There were no public questions at this meeting.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Patrick Molyneux, to invite non-executive members of the council to submit questions to cabinet. (A maximum of 15 minutes will be allocated to each meeting for consideration of member questions). Each question must relate to an item on the agenda and avoid confidential, personal or any other information where the law requires the council to consider the matter in private.

To assist in providing a complete answer, members are requested to submit questions to Democratic Services at least two working days before the meeting, either by email or in writing. Questions will be considered in the order of the agenda and at the discretion of the Leader of the Council.

Leader of the Council, Patrick Molyneux, said that he had not received any member questions prior to the meeting but would consider taking questions at each item on the agenda.

Councillor Bernie O’Neill referred to the minutes of the previous meeting, (19 April 2012), and to item 8 of the agenda, Management of Council Owned Car Parks – Consultation Update. Councillor O’Neill said that he did not understand the rationale of cabinet including a proposal to introduce car park season tickets, (resolved at part c) iii of the resolution), under the subject heading, ‘Management of Council Owned Car Parks’, and questioned whether the decision was contrary to the original purpose of the report. Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, informed Councillor O’Neill that the proposal to introduce season tickets had been included as one of the cabinet’s recommendations from the outset and had been considered by the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee as part of the scrutiny process. He said that the proposal was not counter to that proposed in August 2011 and that the decision formed part of the overall objective of providing a facility that was intended to meet a variety of needs.

Responding to specific examples where residents might encounter difficulties from the new arrangements, the leader said that he appreciated such difficulties but that it was not unusual to have to pay for public parking.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Patrick Molyneux, to present report SD.89, detailing the council’s Draft Annual Governance Statement 2011-12. Cabinet to consider making recommendations to the Audit Committee on any changes or additions to the statement.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Patrick Molyneux, presented report SD.89 and gave a brief outline of the process for considering the Annual Governance Statement 2011/12. He said that any recommendations from cabinet at this meeting would be considered by the Audit Committee on 17 May 2012 and included in the Statement of Accounts for 2011/12.  The Statement of Accounts would be presented to the Audit Committee for final approval in September 2012.

Cabinet made no recommendations or changes to the proposals and,

RESOLVED to agree the Annual Governance Statement 2011/12

Councillor Terry Hale, Cabinet Member for Community, to present report CSW.17 and give an update on the council’s Leisure Management Strategy.

Councillor Terry Hale, Cabinet Member for Community, presented report CSW.17 and gave a detailed overview of the progress to date towards achieving sustainable and affordable leisure provision for the Forest of Dean District.

Councillor Hale highlighted the following points from the report: -

a)     Given the complexities of the council’s current leisure provision and the potential impact of some of the partnership arrangements in delivering the council’s leisure service, a leisure options appraisal was undertaken to explore the options from which the council could make improvements to the current service.

b)     The independent appraisal assisted in making recommendations for a more detailed decision to be taken later in the year, aimed at providing sustainable and affordable community leisure provision.

c)      During 2007-08 and 2008-09, the council invested more than a million pounds in leisure provision, most notably at Newent, Sedbury and Coleford.

d)     Since that time, several changes in circumstance have impacted quite significantly on the future management of this service area, including; uncertainties about the future direction of Heywood Community School and, similarly, Gloucestershire College Forest Campus; capped annual spending on leisure provision of £100,000 from 2014/15; and termination of the income sharing agreements that had been in place at Forest Leisure, Lydney.

e)     Following Heywood School’s conversion to an academy, (subject to approval by the Secretary of State), and Gloucestershire College’s preferred option to relocate to Cinderford’s Northern Quarter, (subject to feasibility study), the position was now much clearer.

f)        Outlining some of the issues affecting each of the sites at Cinderford, Coleford, Lydney, Newent and Sedbury, (pages 36 to 39 of the report), Councillor Hale said that the issues were specific to each location and not collective issues.

g)     To achieve the council’s annual revenue-spending target for leisure and to maintain and enhance current service provisions at each of the existing sites, the council had been given several options to consider, including the introduction of an ‘invest to save programme’ at some of the locations.

h)      From the range of management models that had been considered as part of the options appraisal, it had become evident that no single option was able to best fit the requirements of all of the facilities and subsequently suggested that the council consider developing a ‘mixed economy’, as outlined on page 39 of the report. 

Leader of the Council, Patrick Molyneux, thanked Councillor Hale and everyone involved in, what he described as, ‘an excellent piece of work’. He said that in May 2011, the Medium Term Financial Plan had set a very tough target for the leisure services team to achieve and that it was only since this time that the council had been able to fully appreciate the high profile and long-term value of this service area. He said that in terms of the proposed ‘invest to save option’, he believed the council had two options to consider; either spend less or introduce measures to generate more income. With this in mind, Councillor Molyneux said that it was important for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Councillor Terry Hale, Cabinet Member for Community, to present report PH.119, seeking formal adoption of the Draft Homelessness Prevention Strategy for the Forest of Dean.

Councillor Terry Hale, Cabinet Member for Community, presented report PH.119, and said that Homelessness Prevention Strategy for the Forest of Dean had been considered by the Cabinet Housing Support Group on two separate occasions before being presented to this meeting for formal approval.

Councillor Hale said that the Homelessness Prevention Strategy was an overview of how the council had managed homelessness in the district over the past decade; what had worked well; what could be improved and what immediate and medium challenges the council was likely to face in the future.

He said that, during this time, the Housing Options Team had successfully prevented many households from becoming homeless and had prevented housing problems developing into serious issues by providing a more efficient service, which in the long term, would help save the council money.

He said that, despite the increasing trend elsewhere in the country, the number of homelessness applications in the district had continued to fall. It was unlikely, however, that the district would be immune from other housing problems, which had become increasingly apparent and were largely due to the continuing economic uncertainty and recent changes in welfare benefits, which might affect a number of families in the district.

Responding to a question from Councillor Diana Edwards, Cabinet Member for Strategic Partnerships and Special Projects, Councillor Hale said that the Government’s Discretionary Housing Payment had increased significantly during the past 4 years from £15,039 in 2009/10 to £44,888 in 2012/13.

At a meeting on 2 May 2012, the Cabinet Housing Support Group had said that it would like to add some additional wording to the action plan on page 66 of the agenda, in recognition of the need to retain safe accommodation in the district for women escaping domestic abuse following the introduction of the new Supporting People Domestic Abuse Contract. Action 9 of the plan was subsequently amended to include the following wording; “and to ensure that there are sufficient bed-spaces in safe accommodation within the district for those that need it’. Councillor Bernie O’Neill, (who had asked a question at the council meeting on 26 April 2012 on this issue), said that he was pleased with the amendment, but nevertheless continued to urge the council to consider investigating issues relating to the ownership of the Forest of Dean Women’s Refuge. Councillor Hale said that he would investigate the matter.

Strategic Housing Manager, Malcom Vine, said that the Gloucestershire Homeseeker, (Choice Based Lettings), System had been very successful in that it had allowed some households to resolve their housing problems before they had deteriorated into a crisis. Responding to member questions, the housing manager said that there was very little evidence of cross boundary activity in the district and that work continued on measures to prevent people from having to sleep rough. In response to a question from Councillor Jane Horne, about the number of empty homes in the district, the housing manager said that there were some empty homes in the district, but that a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

14 June 2012

14 June 2012