To receive apologies for absence

There were no apologies at this meeting.

To confirm the non-exempt minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2011 (attached).

The non-exempt minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2011 were agreed and signed as an accurate record of that meeting.

The chairman to identify any items of urgent business.

There was no urgent business 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 and to agree any changes.

Subject to the following amendments, cabinet agreed the forward plan that had been circulated with the agenda.

Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, added an item relating to consideration of the Council Tax Base 2012/13 to the 16 December 2011 cabinet meeting.

Strategic Director, Peter Hibberd, said that an item relating to the proposed shared use of the Council Offices, Coleford required a mandate from members and would also be considered at the 16 December 2011 cabinet meeting.

Councillor Martin Quaile, Cabinet Member for Environment, confirmed that the item relating to the Recyclate Bulking Facility had been deferred to the 16 December 2011 cabinet meeting. To explain why the item had been deferred, Councillor Quaile read out the following statement: -

The Forest of Dean District Council, (FODDC), operates a kerbside sort collection system for glass, cans and paper and has a network of recycling banks to which members of the public can take not only glass, cans and paper but also cardboard and plastic.  Biffa carries out the collection of these materials as part of the Waste Collection and Recycling Contract.  It is the council’s responsibility to maximise income from these materials and ensure that they are being disposed of legally and with environmental consideration.  To this end, FODDC sells the materials to a company who bulks them and then sells them on to the relevant reprocessors.

In 2010, the council undertook a review of bulking facilities. The results of the options appraisal were considered at the Waste Collection Strategy Project meeting held on 19 July 2010 andPrintwaste Ltd, located at Swindon Rd in Cheltenham, was selected as the preferred bulking facility. A contract for selling recycling materials was set up on 1 November 2010, for an initial period of 12 months, with the option to extend.  The income rates for materials are reviewed on a quarterly basis. This arrangement has been in place since then and is working well.  Based on the initial performance the increase in income for this financial year is estimated to be £120,000.

Although the arrangement with Printwaste is working well, the ideal solution would be to have a recyclate bulking facility located in the Forest of Dean District. A local bulking facility would not only reduce fuel costs but also require one less vehicle for the collection of dry recyclables when collection rounds are changed to reflect the new collection service starting on 1 July 2012, thus reducing the cost of the contract with Biffa.  In addition to financial savings of an estimated £200,000, there would also be a positive impact on the council’s carbon footprint.

After legal and procurement advice, it was deemed prudent to go out to a competitive tender using the Official Journal of the European Union, (OJEU), restricted process for the procurement. Gloucestershire County Council Waste and the council’s legal and waste management teams have been involved in the process.  On 24 August 2011, I acted as an observer at a meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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 812624 or email democratic.services@fdean.gov.uk. All questions must be submitted in writing at least two working days prior to the meeting.

No public questions were submitted for consideration at this meeting.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Patrick Molyneux, to invite non-executive members of the council to refer 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, Councillor Patrick Molyneux, reminded everyone that at the cabinet meeting on 7 July 2011 he had requested members of the council to submit any questions on or before the Monday afternoon prior to each cabinet meeting. (He said that this would ensure that a full answer could be provided). The Leader said that no questions had been submitted for consideration at this meeting, but that he intended to consider questions relating to items of interest, as and when such items appeared on the agenda.

Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, to present report SD.78, outlining the council’s performance from July to September 2011.

Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, presented report SD.78, outlining the council’s performance from July to September 2011. Key points highlighted in the report included; (i) a significant reduction in the level of sickness absence at the council offices, (an average of 5.04 days per full time equivalent per annum at the end of September 2011); (ii) work with Gloucestershire County Council, (with the aid of government funding), to bring the benefits of Superfast Broadband to the residents and businesses in the Forest of Dean; (iii) improvements to the swimming pool changing area at Forest Leisure, Cinderford and the opening of a newly resurfaced all weather pitch at Forest Leisure, Lydney; (iv) introduction of a new revenues and benefits system at the council; (v) submission of the district’s Core Strategy and Area Action Plan for Cinderford’s Northern Quarter to the Secretary of State; (vi) adoption of a new community emergency plan for the four market towns; (vii) transfer of responsibility from the district council to the four town councils for the district’s CCTV systems and (viii), completion of improvements to the drainage system in Coleford.

Referring to Annex B of the report and the council’s financial performance from 1 April to 30 September 2011, Councillor Robinson said that it was anticipated that the council would incur an overspend of approximately £4,630 by the end of the financial year on 31 March 2012.

Councillor Robinson informed members that the newly formed Performance and Value For Money Scrutiny Panel had considered report SD.78 on 7 November 2011, where it had been suggested that the panel meet the week prior to each cabinet meeting to allow cabinet members to consider any views from the panel. Councillor Robinson outlined the recommendations from the panel meeting and confirmed that; all press releases issued by the council had been covered by the local media; a breakdown in the transfer of reserves would be circulated to the panel in due course; officers would endeavour to provide more up-to-date comments against performance indicators and provide a snapshot of information relating to benefit claims for consideration at the next panel meeting; all managers would be encouraged to complete staff appraisals before the end of February 2012 and that a comparison of planning applications for the current year with the previous year would be considered at the next panel meeting. Councillor Robinson informed members that, although there had been a request to consider information relating to sheep nuisance complaints, it was the Forestry Commission and not the council that held this information.

The following comments were made in response to some of the questions from cabinet and non-cabinet members in attendance at the meeting: -

Councillor Martin Quaile requested that the performance report include dual references to both parish and town councils. He also assured members that positive action was being taken in response to sheep nuisance related problems.

Councillor Di Martin enquired about improvements to the leisure centre at Heywood Community School and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consider report LD.384, detailing recommendations from the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee in response to the recent scrutiny inquiry regarding changes to the council’s office opening hours to the public.

Chairman of the Finance and Internal Affairs Scrutiny Panel, Councillor Bernie O’Neill, was invited to present the recommendations from the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee in response to the recent inquiry relating to changes to the council’s office opening hours to the public.

Councillor O’Neill gave a brief overview of the background to the inquiry and an outline of the recommendations that had been agreed at the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 20 October 2011, (as detailed in Annex A to report LD.384). Councillor O’Neill said that the scrutiny committee believed it was important to continue to gauge the impact of the changes and, on this basis, proposed that recommendation b), to gauge and present the findings of the Customer Relations Management (CRM) call diversion monitoring exercise and to consider on-going public feedback, be included in the recommendation. Furthermore, he proposed that the examples of standard good practice referred to in section 3.3 of Annex A also be considered. 

Councillor O’Neill said that the inquiry had been a very useful exercise and thanked both the officers involved and the panel members for their thorough work throughout the review. He said that he had welcomed the honest and positive approach in which the Customer Relations Management (CRM) team had responded to the inquiry and had appreciated their frank and open comments in what could have been an awkward situation.

Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, Councillor Brian Robinson, thanked Councillor O’Neill and the scrutiny committee for their report and in identifying the recommendations. Councillor Robinson outlined the challenges of delivering a wide diversity of services in balance with the challenges of working with reduced or limited resources. He also highlighted the value in using the call management system to provide assistance at times when it was not always possible to offer a full service delivery. Along with several other members present at the meeting, Councillor Robinson referred to the helpfulness and willingness of the call management team in trying to process calls.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Patrick Molyneux, said that, although the council’s resources were often at a premium, he believed the examples of standard good practice identified under item 3.3 of Annex A were something that the council could work with and proposed that they be incorporated into the recommendation. Councillor O’Neill endorsed this proposal in addition to the suggestion that the recommendations be administered, ‘where possible’. Councillor O’Neill also reaffirmed his earlier proposal to incorporate recommendation b) from Annex A into the recommendations.

Having noted report LD.384 and the revised recommendation, cabinet members,

RESOLVED that,

a)     Where possible, all offices should have a staff member available to the public or their customers between 9.00am and 4.45pm (9.00am and 4.30pm on Fridays), and that …

                                i.            If no staff member is available, the relevant team should inform the Customer Relations Management, (CRM), team of their whereabouts and time of return

                              ii.            No team should allow all staff members to take leave at the same  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Councillor Terry Hale, Cabinet Member for Community, to present report PH.88, detailing the success of the Domestic Abuse Sanctuary Scheme and seeking partnership arrangements with other district councils in developing a countywide scheme for Gloucestershire.

Councillor Terry Hale, Cabinet Member for Community, presented report PH.88, and informed members that when the Sanctuary Scheme had been set up in 2008, domestic abuse had been one of the primary causes of people, (usually women and children), becoming homeless. He said that the Sanctuary Scheme had proven to be a successful, cost effective way of assisting those people facing domestic violence to continue to live safely in their own homes, and that, with joint working between the various support agencies within the Forest of Dean, provided an alternative to becoming homeless.

He said that domestic violence and sexual abuse continued to be a serious issue for the district and informed members that there were several reasons why work should continue to address domestic violence, not least of which was the council’s statutory responsibility to work in partnership with other agencies to reduce crime and disorder. The council also had a responsibility under homelessness legislation, (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996). 

Councillor Hale said that, aside from the obvious safety aspects and social benefits associated with allowing victims to remain in their homes, the cost of funding the scheme was likely to be considerably less than placing victims in temporary accommodation. On this basis, Councillor Hale proposed that the council join other district councils in a countywide scheme and transfer funding taken from the capital budget for affordable housing to continue to provide the scheme for the Forest of Dean.

Chairman of the Domestic Abuse Group, Councillor Di Martin, said that, not only had the scheme made a huge impact on domestic abuse victims and their extended families within the Forest of Dean, she also believed it offered good value for money.

Cabinet Member for Strategic Partnerships and Special Projects, Councillor Diana Edwards, said that, in her previous role as Cabinet Member for Community, she had supported and had been involved in the inception of the scheme. She therefore believed it was important for the council to continue with the scheme and to work in partnership with other authorities in delivering this important initiative. Cabinet members noted the report and,

RESOLVED to,

a)     Note the success of the Sanctuary Scheme

b)     Join other district councils in a countywide Sanctuary Scheme protocol

c)      Vire £10,000 from the capital budget for affordable housing to continue the scheme within the Forest of Dean District

Councillor Diana Edwards, Cabinet Member for Strategic Partnerships and Special Projects, to give an update on the work of the Forest of Dean Local Action Group. Please refer to report SD.79.

Councillor Diana Edwards, Cabinet Member for Strategic Partnerships and Special Projects, presented report SD.79 and gave a detailed account of the work of the Forest of Dean Local Action Group.

Councillor Edwards said that, although the group’s work was independent of the council and it’s corporate priorities, match-funding contributions had contributed to achieving corporate priority 3.2, ‘working with partners to attract investment to support the local economy’. Members were informed that, with the exception of those areas with special convergence status, and therefore protected from cuts, only two other Local Action Groups in the South West had come out more favourably than the Forest of Dean.

Councillor Edwards said that the Local Action Group team had continued to work through the moratorium period in order to put new projects through the application process and ready to be signed off as soon as the moratorium had lifted. She said that an additional £175,000 worth of work was ready to authorise and an additional £500,000 worth of projects had been submitted as full applications, several of which had some details yet to finalise, but which had reached a very advanced stage. Furthermore, around 25 projects had progressed past the expression of interest stage and had a realistic chance of being processed during the 2012/13 financial year.

Referring to the complicated claims process that existed, (due to the stringent requirements imposed on the group by the EU, DEFRA and the Treasury), Councillor Edwards said she believed the team was experienced enough to overcome such obstacles and to guide applicants through the application process. She also referred to the recent SWAP Audit that had taken place, where the group had received the highest possible grade, (Comprehensive Assurance), with no findings or recommendations. Councillor Edwards said that the audit had been quite extensive and, although some risks had been identified, SWAP had been impressed by the measures that had been put in place to safeguard the council.

Councillor Edwards applauded the work of the group and said that she was very proud of what the team had achieved. She also said that, in spite of the good work, the group would not be complacent and had been preparing for another tranche of funding, available for bidding in 2014.

Outlining some of the 22 approved projects detailed at Annex A of the report, Councillor Edwards said that a total of 48 projects had been rejected and 31 stalled or withdrawn. Responding to a question from Councillor Marion Winship, regarding the work of the group at the expression of interest stage, Councillor Edwards said that, although the group continued to provide a significant amount of assistance at the application stage, it was also important to ensure it offered good value for money.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Patrick Molyneux, said that, he too, was very proud of the team, in particular to the contributions it had made in supporting small businesses and revitalising the local economy. Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for Efficient Council and Planning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, to present report F.135, seeking cabinet approval for the demolition of the vehicle damaged toilet block at Bream Road, Lydney.

Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, presented report F.135, seeking cabinet approval for the demolition of the vehicle damaged toilet block at Bream Road, Lydney. Outlining each of the proposed options in turn, Councillor Robinson said that the toilet block had been closed for some time now. He said that, following consultation with local members, the majority of members had expressed reservations about the proposals and had been disappointed about the prospect of losing a public convenience in this part of the town. In spite of the reservations, local members also accepted that it was probably more realistic to demolish the toilet block, which they believed had become an eyesore. 

Responding to concerns about demolition costs, Group Manager for Finance, Derek Broom clarified that the outline costs referred to in the report were based on previous demolition works and the need to reinstate the site after the work had been completed. He said that the council intended to obtain three quotations before commencing work on the proposed demolition.

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Martin Quaile, suggested that it might be worth considering retaining the concrete slab base at the site, whilst Cabinet Member for Community, Councillor Terry Hale, enquired whether it had been an option for the town council to take over the management of the toilets. Members were informed that, in light of the uncertainties affecting this part of the town, the town council had declined the offer. Before noting the report, Cabinet Member for Strategic Partnerships and Special Projects, Councillor Diana Edwards suggested that it might be considerate to inform the town council of the proposed demolition. Report F.135 was noted and cabinet,

RESOLVED to demolish the closed toilet block at Bream Road, Lydney

To consider, and if so agree, to resolvethat under section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in schedule 12A of the said act.

RESOLVED that under section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in schedule 12A of the said act.

To confirm the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2011

The exempt minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2011 were agreed and signed as an accurate record of that meeting.

Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy to present report CSW.16.

Councillor Brian Robinson, Cabinet Member for an Efficient Council and Planning Policy, presented report CSW.16.

Should the items of business not be completed at this meeting, cabinet will reconvene at 5.30pm on Wednesday 16 November 2011.

The next cabinet meeting will be held at 10.00am on 16 December 2011.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Patrick Molyneux, reminded members that the cabinet meeting in December would be held at the rescheduled time of 10.00am on 16 December 2011.