Agenda and minutes

To receive from Members declarations as to disclosable pecuniary, other registerable and non-registerable interests in relation to any Agenda item. See Notes below.

Councillor N J Hunt declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a member of Huntingdon Town Council.

Councillor M A Hassall declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a ward member.

Councillor S Bywater declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a Cambridgeshire County Councillor.

Councillor M Kadewere declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a member of Huntingdon Town Council.

Councillor I D Gardener declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a Cambridgeshire County Councillor.

Councillor B S Chapman declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a member of St Neots Town Council.

Councillor T Alban declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a ward member.

Councillor C M Gleadow declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a ward member.

Councillor A R Jennings declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a member of St Neots Town Council.

Councillor J R Catmur declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a ward member.

Councillor M Pickering declared an other registerable interest in minute 25/4 as a ward member.

To elect a Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Joint Group.

A proposal to elect Councillor T Alban to the Chair of the Joint Group was moved and seconded. On being put to the vote the proposal was declared to be LOST.

A proposal to elect Councillor N J Hunt to the Chair of the Committee was then moved and seconded, whereupon it was

RESOLVED

that Councillor N J Hunt be elected as Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Joint Group.

Councillor N J Hunt in the Chair.

To appoint a Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Joint Group.

A proposal to appoint Councillor C M Gleadow  as the Vice-Chair of the Joint Group was moved and seconded, whereupon it was

RESOLVED

that Councillor C M Gleadow be appointed Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Joint Group.

The Group is invited to note and comment on the options presented in the Local Government Reorganisation in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The Group is also to note the criteria and process established by Government and that the Secretary of State will be the end decision maker.  

Executive Councillor: S J Conboy

By means of a report by the Chief Executive (a copy of which was appended in the Minute Book), the Local Government Reorganisation in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Report was presented to the Group.

Following an enquiry from Councillor Chapman, it was clarified that Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) would be submitting one proposal to the Government. There had been some discussion as to whether neighbouring Councils would be submitting multiple preferences, however it was established that this was no longer the case. In response to a further question on the process from Councillor Gardener, it was clarified that each Council within the region would submit their preferred outcome option and that this would then be presented forwards on behalf of the region. 

It was clarified to the Group following a query from Councillor Alban, that the Cabinet recommendations from F onwards referenced the action taken in recommendation E rather than the Business Case Option E. 

Following an observation from Councillor Pickering on the differences between Options C and E, and the resulting creation of 2 or 3 new unitary authorities (UAs), the Group were assured that the current advice was to put forward one preferred option only or risk not having an option on the table. It was clarified that there would be opportunity for the Secretary of State to adjust submitted options but not to suggest entirely new business cases, it was also noted that a statutory consultation would be held following the option submission and that HDC would be able to submit further information at this point as a statutory consultee. The Group heard that the legislation being used for the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) process was fully tested and is considered robust by Government.

In answer to a question from Councillor Bywater, the Group heard that attention had initially been focussed on Option C and that the dataset for this had also been used when the addition of Options D and E were requested by Peterborough City Council (PCC). It was understood that the proposed split of Huntingdonshire in Option D had been hinted at in an open letter written by the two Peterborough Members of Parliament however any further detail on the reasoning for this would need to be requested from partners. This proposal was not one that HDC had put forward. It was clarified that scoring criteria had been awarded against the criteria set by the Government to allow for a best judgement approach to be taken.

The Group heard from Local Partnerships colleagues, who, in response to a question from Councillor Hassall, acknowledged that Option E implied a reoccurring financial pressure of £1m however, when the overall unitary budget was taken into consideration this would be a minimal figure. It was noted that in comparison, Option C had a recurring net saving of £3m however it was also noted that these pressures would need to be taken into account in line with the larger budgets at play and the many benefits that the larger UAs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.