There were no apologies for absence.

There were no urgent items.

Councillor Mrs Wilson indicated her wish to speak on Agenda Items 8 – Budget Consultation, 10 – Quarter 1 Performance Report and 11 – Executive Arrangements.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That the Items on the Agenda be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2010 be approved as a correct record and signed.

1.  That the consultation timetable and programme, as set out below, be agreed:

i)  A 12 week consultation programme with the theme – My Council, What Matters to Me.  The programme will raise awareness of the budget situation over the next three years, the statutory services the Council provides and the savings options already considered by Cabinet Members.  The final phase of engagement activities will encourage consultees to indicate the non-statutory services which are most important to them and comment on the service options considered by Cabinet Members.  A suggested timetable is set out below.

ii)  August 2010 – General awareness raising including stakeholder communications, the local media, Borough Update, and staff communications.

iii)  Week commencing 6 September – launch event with first engagement activity supported by news releases, website, Facebook and Twitter posts.  The Council has 800 followers on Twitter and 250 friends on Facebook.  These sites could be used to point people to the Leader’s Twitter site where he could engage with people about the issues facing the Council.

iv)  September – October – My Council, What Matters to Me roadshow activities at events and meetings including some of the following as agreed with the Leader of the Council:

The Local Strategic Partnership

Neighbourhood Forums

Cabinet Roadshows

Business Forum

Youth Forum

Older Persons Forum

Transport Users Group and

Individual Ward events

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the consultation timetable and programme, as set out below, be agreed:

i)  A 12 week consultation programme with the theme – My Council, What Matters to Me.  The programme will raise awareness of the budget situation over the next three years, the statutory services the Council provides and the savings options already considered by Cabinet Members.  The final phase of engagement activities will encourage consultees to indicate the non-statutory services which are most important to them and comment on the service options considered by Cabinet Members.  A suggested timetable is set out below.

ii)  August 2010 – General awareness raising including stakeholder communications, the local media, Borough Update, and staff communications.

iii)  Week commencing 6 September – Launch event with first engagement activity supported by news releases, website, Facebook and Twitter posts.  The Council has 800 followers on Twitter and 250 friends on Facebook.  These sites could be used to point people to the Leader’s Twitter site where he could engage with people about the issues facing the Council.

iv)  September – October – My Council, What Matters to Me roadshow activities at events and meetings including some of the following as agreed with the Leader of the Council:

The Local Strategic Partnership

Neighbourhood Forums

Cabinet Roadshows

Business Forum

Youth Forum

Older Persons Forum

Transport Users Group and

Individual Ward events

1.  That the position, as detailed in the report of the Head of Finance & Customer Services, be noted and further reports be received, at least quarterly, during the financial year, in a similar format.

2.  That the satisfactory revenue position at the end of the first quarter 2010/11 be noted.

3.  That the proposals for slippage in the capital programme to 2011/12 be agreed.

4.  That the detailed information on treasury management activity be noted.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the position, as detailed in the report of the Head of Finance & Customer Services, be noted and further reports be received, at least quarterly, during the financial year, in a similar format.

2.  That the satisfactory revenue position at the end of the first quarter 2010/11 be noted.

3.  That the proposals for slippage in the capital programme to 2011/12 be agreed.

4.  That the detailed information on treasury management activity be noted.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny regarding the progress made in the first quarter of 2010/11 against the authority’s key performance indicators.

The Cabinet felt that a review was required of what we are measuring, the targets being set, including the quarterly targets.

RESOLVED:

1.  That the progress and out-turns of the Key Performance Indicators, as shown at Appendix A of the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny, be noted.

2.  That the changes to how indicators are rated and the layout of the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny be noted.

3.  That the postponement of the Place Survey 2010 and the National Indicators that will not be collected this year, as shown at Appendix B of the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny, be noted.

4.  That the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, with Officers, should undertake a full review of the performance targets.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Democratic Services regarding a requirement under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (“the Act”) that each authority should consider its executive arrangements in light of the changes to the Leader and Cabinet Executive model set out within the Act.

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL:

1.  That the new Leader and Cabinet Executive model as set out in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 be adopted as the Council’s preference when undertaking the consultation of local government electors and other interested persons in their area.

2.  That the consultation with local government electors and other interested persons in the area be undertaken by a press release on the Council’s website.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Leader of the Council regarding the Forward Plan for the period 1 September 2010 – 31 December 2010.

RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan for the period 1 September 2010 – 31 December 2010 be noted, subject to the following amendments:-

Cabinet

Shared Service Proposal for Revenue & Benefits  Special Cabinet Meeting on 13 September 2010

Waste and Recycling Strategy 2010-2015  15 September 2010

Core Strategy: Gypsy & Traveller Pitch Targets  15 September 2010

Core Strategy: Housing Targets  15 September 2010

Core Strategy Public Consultation Draft  Moved to 10 November 2010

6.30 p.m. to 7.32 p.m.