Agenda and minutes

The opening prayer was read by the Vice-Chairman.

None.

The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 31 October 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

In relation to the Leader’s Report at item 12, Councillor Jones declared an interest in relation the Health and Social Care Committee as a West Sussex County Councillor. Councillor Ash-Edwards declared an interest regarding the 6th form college provision, as Chairman of the Sussex Learning Trust and a National Leader of School Governance.

None.

The Chairman thanked everyone who attended his Civic Service held on Sunday 9 December at St Leonard’s Church, Turners Hill, and also thanked the Officers involved in arranging the service. He also took the opportunity to thank the Democratic Services team for their support throughout the past two years.

Neil Gershon, Chairman of the Remuneration Panel introduced the report. He noted that the Panel proposed to implement the final year of the four year plan (approved in 2015) to bring the basic allowance up to £5,000 by May 2019/20. Councillor Thomas-Atkin proposed that the report be approved, and thanked Mr Gershon and Mr Rowe for their time in producing the report.  This was seconded by the Leader, Councillor Wall who echoed the thanks to the Remuneration Panel and noted the significant progress which has been made over the past 4 years in forming a robust scheme for Member’s allowances.

As there were no questions, the Chairman took Members to the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED

Council agrees:

To adopt the scheme of allowances for the financial year 2019/20.

Councillor Walker introduced the report and clarified that the Council were being asked to approve the full policy as detailed from p.38 to p.62 of the Council papers. He drew Members attention to the policy context on p.27, paragraph 11 whereby the Council has a legal duty to keep housing conditions in its area under review with a view to identifying any action that may need to be taken, and noted that the policy had been endorsed by the Scrutiny Committee for Community, Housing and Planning at its recent meeting. This was seconded by Councillor Webster who clarified that the policy and enforcement powers are applicable to both private and social housing providers in equal measure.

The Chairman took Members to the recommendation, which was agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED                                                                          

Council agrees:

(i) To approve the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy.

Councillor Llewellyn-Burke introduced the report noting that all Towns and Parishes had been informed, and that once again there is a decrease in council tax support discounts.  The report was seconded by Councillor Ash-Edwards.

The Chairman took Members to the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously

RESOLVED

Council approved that:

(a)  Pursuant to the Head of Finance's report and in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003, the amounts calculated by Mid Sussex District Council as its tax base for the whole area for the year 2019/20 shall be 60,707.5 and for each parish area for the year 2019/20 shall be:

The Chairman introduced the report and took Members to the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED

Council approved:

(i)         that £9,188 grant income relating to Transition to Universal Credits and for    Removal of Temporary Accommodation from Universal credits be transferred         to Specific Reserve as detailed in paragraph 22 of the Cabinet report;

(ii)        that £8,244 grant income relating to Assisted Digital Support and Personal    Budgeting support for Universal credits and final Universal credits Local         Authority Universal support payment for 2017/18 be transferred to Specific           Reserve as detailed in paragraph 23 of the Cabinet report;

(iii)       that £12,211 grant income relating to Universal credits: Management, Support         for Housing Expertise, Housing Benefit Natural Migration and Housing Benefit        Debt Migration be transferred to Specific Reserve as detailed in paragraph 24         of the Cabinet report;

(iv)      that £117,268 be transferred to Specific Reserve as detailed in paragraphs 25          of the Cabinet report;

(v)       the variations to the Capital Programme contained in paragraph 39 of the     Cabinet report in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure rule B4.

The Head of Regulatory Services introduced the report which detailed the proposed programme of meetings for 2018/19. He noted that this was the first draft with the final version to be agreed at the Annual Council in May 2019. He requested that Members contact him if they had any concerns around the proposed dates.

As there were no Members wishing to speak, the Chairman took Members to the recommendation which was approved unanimously.

RESOLVED

That Council approved the Programme as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report. 

The Leader echoed the praise for the Civic Service and thanked the Chairman for his efforts in making it a success.

He noted that significant progress had been made with the progression of the 6th Form College provision at the site in Harlands Road. On Friday officers will be meeting with stakeholders and FE commissioners to receive presentations from the final three bidders to run the college from that site. It is hoped that an announcement will be made before Christmas and he thanked officers in this authority who led from the front in an area of work not usually part of Mid Sussex District Council’s remit.

With regards to the proposed financial cuts at West Sussex County Council (WSCC) he noted that the Health and Social Care Select Committee (HASC) met today to discuss the proposed cuts to their housing support funding. He said that Councillors Jones and Edward Belsey also attended this meeting. He noted that the funding supported the most vulnerable members of the community and that representations were considered from charity and voluntary groups, probation, police, health, District and Boroughs. A report from the Leaders and Chief Executives of the District and Borough Councils was presented by Nigel Lynn, Chief Executive of Arun, supported by Mid Sussex District Council’s Assistant Chief Executive. The quality and validity of the report was noted by the Leader and the committee recommended to the WSCC Cabinet Member that the proposed cuts are not implemented for 12 months to provide time for the Council to work with WSCC and supported housing providers, which is good news for those who rely on the service. A decision will be taken on this by the WSCC Cabinet Member on 18 December 2018.

Reflecting on the last 12 months, the Leader commented that the National picture has given the Council resolve to focus on the business at hand.  A District Plan is now in place, the Council has vision, with the plans for the Burgess Hill redevelopment and the Council’s finances are under control. The Council continues to improve service delivery and recent reports to the Scrutiny Committees demonstrates that the Council is performing well.  Progress has also been made on the provision of temporary accommodation. However, he acknowledged that there should not be complacency as Members have set challenges around future strategies, for example around parking, town centres and parks and open spaces. 

The Leader noted that the Council plays a lead role on a strategic level with a strong voice at the Greater Brighton Economic Board (GBEB), Gatwick Diamond, Coast 2 Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and the Shadow Transport for South East Board. Recent meetings of these show they are working well and are taken seriously by Government and are bringing forward investment into Mid Sussex and the region. 

He concluded by noting that the Council has an eye on the national picture but remains focussed on what is best for the residents of Mid Sussex.

A Member agreed that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

Report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Growth

The Deputy Leader confirmed that the Council’s Open-for-Business event being held in spring will focus on apprenticeships and he was happy to confirm that the Economic Development Team had aptly secured the Harlands Road college site as venue for this event.

He also confirmed that the recent acquisition of a commercial asset in Burgess Hill was the Wickes site, and the Council has now completed on this acquisition. Revenue from this will contribute to both this current financial year’s budget and the future budget to help ensure the Council remains financially self-sufficient.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance

The Cabinet Member confirmed that she continues to work with Members to produce the service and financial plan for the next year and the Council awaits the provisional settlement on the Local Government financial position. A report will be presented to the Scrutiny Committee for Leader, Resources and Economic Growth in January 2019.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Customer Services

The Cabinet Member confirmed that preparations for the Voter ID pilot are under way with a full campaign plan submitted to the Cabinet Office for their review. A communications plan is also in place, considering marketing proposals such as branded leaflets, banners for shopping centres and brackets and posters for lampposts around the District. She also confirmed that the Electoral register has now been published, and the annual canvas has concluded with a 98.7% return rate. 65% of the return rate has been via digital methods, which has provided a £16,000 saving to the taxpayer.

On social media and through other avenues the Council has been advising residents on the £1 Christmas parking, Christmas tree recycling, food waste and bin collection times over the Christmas period.

In October the Customer Services team received over 8500 calls and met all but one of their key performance indicators.

The Cabinet Member  concluded by offering congratulations to the Land Charges team who are now dealing with 80% of the market share.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Service Delivery

The Cabinet Member noted that the latest car park to receive the disabled parking accreditation given by the British Parking Association is Station Road Car Park in Burgess Hill. He noted that the Council is working hard to raise standards across all car parks and most have the accreditation already. In response to a Member’s query on the Governments recent discussion around doubling disabled parking spaces he confirmed that the Council has increased the number of disabled spaces across all car parks and are reviewing it with a view to providing more, sited in the best positions.

He reiterated the Cabinet Member for Customer Services comments regarding the amount of waste generated at Christmas and confirmed that the Communications team had issued a leaflet to all households confirming what can and cannot be recycled.

He also confirmed that the Council’s flagship green bin service had just reached over 19,000 subscriptions and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

None.