Venue: REMOTE MEETING via ZOOM
Contact: Mrs Lisa Jablonska, Elections and Democratic Services Manager, Tel No. 01223 739952 / e-mail Lisa.Jablonska@huntingdonshire.gov.uk
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CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Minutes: The Chairman referred to some sad news regarding the recent death of Raj Mamedovs from Operational Services who had passed away due to Covid-19. He had worked for the Council for 10 years and would be greatly missed by those who worked with him. Members and Officers observed a minute’s silence in his memory and thoughts are with his family and friends. |
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To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 14th October 2020. Contact: 2 Minutes. Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on the 14th October 2020 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. |
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MEMBERS' INTERESTS To receive from Members declarations as to disclosable pecuniary, non-disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in relation to any Agenda item. See Notes below. Contact: 2 Minutes. Minutes: No declarations were received.
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CHAIRMAN'S ENGAGEMENTS PDF 172 KB To note the Chairman’s engagements and receive any announcements since the last Council meeting.
Contact: 5 Minutes. Minutes: The Council noted those engagements attended by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman since the last meeting (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book).
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EXECUTIVE LEADER'S UPDATE The Executive Leader, Councillor R Fuller to address the Council. Contact: 25 Minutes. Minutes: The Chairman invited the Executive Leader, Councillor R Fuller to address the Council.
In his introduction, Councillor Fuller paid tribute to the hard work and diligence to the people of Huntingdonshire, despite the hardships the vast majority of residents had acted sensibly to help keep transmission rates of Covid low that has meant the area of Huntingdonshire being ranked one of the consistently lowest rates of Coronavirus in the country. Members noted that the Council had been working hard to keep residents updated and informed and worked with the communities to provide them with what they need to feel safe. However, with the Christmas break approaching and a planned relaxation of the rules Councillor Fuller stressed to Members that now was not the time to be complacent and undo the efforts of the past few months. With the rules being temporarily relaxed it has not meant that the virus has gone away and Councillor Fuller urged people not to get relaxed about the seriousness of the present situation and asked that they continue to exercise the pragmatic caution going forward.
Councillor Fuller continued with thanking the local businesses for their fortitude and resilience, with very many suffering through no fault of their own. It was explained that Officers were directed to do everything possible to provide support, making no distinction as to a once size solution and offered tailored support where needed. Members were advised that this had been undertaken successfully with many examples of where support had been provided to help livelihoods, but unfortunately it was not possible for the Council to save every business and every job with the resources available.
Members noted the continuation of administration of the Government support in the form of millions of pounds of grants for eligible businesses. Local Restrictions Support Grant and newly expanded Additional Restrictions Grant had been providing vital support to those businesses, but was not possible to recompense every business for what has been lost as a result of the pandemic as there has not been enough provision of funding to do this, nor was it the Government’s intention.
Councillor Fuller explained that the Council would continue to target support at the recovery of the District’s economy through the designing of further business recovery schemes that will support the development of the Council’s emerging Economic Growth Strategy.
Attention was drawn to the Think Local campaign that had been running since October that had supported the District’s market towns and high streets that had been fully supported by communities and residents that would continue alongside the recovery of towns into 2021 and beyond that will be paramount to the recovery in the District as a whole.
Members were reminded of the early stages of plans for market town regeneration similar to the £12m St Neots regeneration plan that was recently submitted as part of the Government’s Future High Streets Fund, meaning further investment in Ramsey, St Ives and Huntingdon. Furthermore, in the shorter term, Members were appraised with progress being ... view the full minutes text for item 33. |
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QUESTIONS TO MEMBERS OF THE CABINET In accordance with the Council Procedure Rules, all questions –
· Must be relevant to matters for which the Council has powers or duties; · Must not relate to an item which is included elsewhere on the Agenda; · Should be limited to obtaining information or pressing for action; and · Should not exceed two minutes in duration.
Questions should not divulge or require to be divulged, confidential or exempt information. Contact: 25 Minutes. Minutes: Arising from a question from Councillor C J Maslen in relation to accurate and speedy communication in the resolution of problems from residents and the identification of relevant Officers to assist through the provision of a staff list, the Executive Leader, Councillor R Fuller responded by referring to the difficulties with Officers working remotely this year and the simplicity that had been removed with not having a desk telephone to contact them by. He further referred to a process for Members that encouraged them not to contact the Officer direct but contact the relevant Head of Service or Service Manager who would be best placed to direct any such enquiry. If the problem was not resolved and the difficulties still existed, it was suggested that contact be made with the relevant Portfolio Holder.
In relation to a question raised by Councillor Ms S Smith on car parking fees across the District and advised the Executive Councillor for Operations and Environment, Councillor Ms M Beuttell, that she would put the detail of her request in writing and asked for response in writing with a timescale within a month of when the detail might be received. In addition, Councillor Ms Smith referred to the difficulties with quantifying data as a result of the pandemic but asked for an update on Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 to ascertain the increase or decrease in the usage of car parks to determine the effects of the car parking charges across the District and although encouraged to hear the increase in footfall and increase in car park usage requested to be provided with these figures over a longer period going forward. In response, Councillor Ms Beuttell explained that the data required was not available as a result of the breaks in charging for six months and undertook to provide a full detailed response when such data might be available.
Councillor J P Morris raised a question in relation to civil parking enforcement and appreciated that this may have been delayed due to the Covid situation but as the issue of dangerous, illegal and unauthorised parking was a matter of concern for many Members he enquired as to whether any progress had been made in progressing this project. Whereby, the Executive Councillor for Operations and Environment, Councillor Ms M Beuttell reported that more information would be available and presented to Members in January 2021.
In response to a question from Councillor D A Giles on an update of the Executive Leader’s request for a further £500k from the Combined Authority to meet the immediate recovery needs of St Neots and Councillor R Fuller explained that the Mayor of the Combined Authority was of the view that as a substantial amount of money had already been allocated to St Neots in the sum of £4.1m it was explained that the District Council was investigating to see whether any of the schemes could be brought forward as part of the Future High Streets Fund to try and accelerate any ... view the full minutes text for item 34. |
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TREASURY MANAGEMENT SIX MONTH PERFORMANCE PDF 243 KB Councillor J A Gray, Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources, to present the Treasury Management Six Month Performance Review.
(The report was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth) and the Cabinet at their meetings on 4th and 19th November 2020). Contact: 10 Minutes. Additional documents:
Minutes: Consideration was given to a report by the Council’s Finance Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) providing a six-month update in respect of treasury management activity for the period 1st April to 30th September 2020. Councillor J A Gray, Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources, drew Members attention to the main development since the last report in so far as there had been a fall in the Bank of England base rate soon after the pandemic broke out and had dropped further since but as this was not a major source of revenue for the Council. It was reported that the performance was as expected and the importance of the ongoing Commercial Investment Strategy and providing revenue to support the Council’s front line services equating to around 20% of the £4m revenue budget on a net basis. The report provided an important update for Members highlighting the safety of the investments and cash had been well looked after and paid tribute to the Members of the Finance Team during this difficult period looking after and stewarding the finances of the District Council.
Councillor B S Chapman raised a question in relation to the reduction of £4.774m in the capital value of investments and not taking into account those properties that had been purchased before the Commercial Investment Strategy (CIS) the loss was in the region of £7m in terms of reduction in capital value. Although it was reported that £1.3m of investment income was being received back it was forecast nationally that all property rents and capital values were likely to decline further in the short and medium term even if there was a recovery in 2022 and questioned whether the Council should be retaining property that was reported by expert opinion to continue to fall further in capital value over the next few years despite a revenue return less than the reduction in capital value.
In response, Councillor Gray reported that the Council had no plans to dispose of any of the property held for investment and drew Members to the values of these assets that had been made in the early part of lockdown this year where there was considerable uncertainty over property values and the Auditors had been erring on the side of caution when these had been assessed. Furthermore, Councillor Gray explained that the value was also dependent upon how much was left on the leases attached to the properties, where the property value increased as a new lease was agreed. Attention was drawn to this evidenced in the report with considerable work undertaken on the existing portfolio but had been suffering the same as the wider property market being under pressure and as a result of active work to renew leases the property prices had continued to rise. Councillor Gray reported upon his confidence with the properties listed, with the exception of the Rowley Centre that he felt was under the most commercial pressure but as the Council was the ... view the full minutes text for item 35. |
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CAMBRIDGESHIRE AND PETERBOROUGH COMBINED AUTHORITY - UPDATE PDF 475 KB Councillor R Fuller, Executive Leader to present on the activities of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
Councillors S J Corney and P A Jordan to provide an update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Councillor G J Bull to provide an update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Audit and Governance Committee.
Decision summaries for recent meetings are attached to the Agenda for information.
In accordance with the Protocol agreed at the February 2017 meeting, this item provides an opportunity for District Council Members to ask questions and comment on Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority issues.
If Members wish to raise questions or issues requiring a detailed response, it would be helpful if they can provide prior notice so that the necessary information can be obtained in advance of the meeting.
Contact: 20 Minutes. Minutes: In conjunction with the decision summaries of the recent meetings of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Councillor R Fuller presented an update of their activities. Copies of the decision summaries are appended in the Minute Book. As there was no discussion relating specifically to Huntingdonshire from the meeting held on 25th November 2020, Councillor Fuller indicated for Members that if they wanted to raise anything explicitly for the District he was more than happy to raise at a future meeting of the Combined Authority.
Councillor S J Corney provided an update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee, in conjunction with information provided by Councillor Mrs P A Jordan. In so doing, Members attention was drawn to the status of the development of the University of Peterborough Phase One was on track and the Board had increased the Apprenticeship programme looking at a £20m apprenticeship levy funding scheme. At the November 2020 meeting Mayor Palmer was in attendance and there were questions raised regarding vacant positions and a specific question was raised in relation to the assurance provided in 2019 that a public transport link would be provided to Alconbury Weald to be in place by 2021, whereby it was reported that this assurance had come from Homes England and Urban and Civic and the Mayor undertook to follow up this issue.
Members were provided with an update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Audit and Governance Committee by Councillor G J Bull.
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OUTCOMES FROM COMMITTEES AND PANELS PDF 345 KB An opportunity for Members to raise any issues or ask questions arising from recent meetings of the Council’s Committees and Panels.
A list of meetings held since the last Council meeting is attached for information and Members are requested to address their questions to Committee and Panel Chairmen. Questions to individual Cabinet Members should be raised under the respective item. Contact: 10 Minutes. Minutes: A copy of the list of meetings held since the last meeting of the Council held on 14th October 2020 is appended in the Minute Book and Members were advised that any issues or questions could be raised in relation to these meetings.
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VARIATIONS TO THE MEMBERSHIP OF COMMITTEES AND PANELS Group Leaders to report on variations to the Membership of Committees and Panels if necessary. Contact: 2 Minutes. Minutes: There were no changes to report.
The meeting ended at 7.02pm.
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