An apology for absence was received from Councillor Mrs Ring.

There were no urgent items.

Councillors Brindle and English indicated their wish to speak on Item 9 – Conversion and Extension of Senacre Community Hall.  Councillor FitzGerald indicated his wish to speak on Item 11 – Provisional Outturn 2009/10 and Councillor Warner indicated his wish to speak on Item 13 – Annual Governance Statement.

Councillor Ash declared a personal interest in Item 9 regarding Senacre Community Hall as he is a Parish Councillor for that area and the Acting Chief Executive declared an interest on behalf of all staff present for Item 16 regarding the proposed new organisational structure of the Council.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That the items on Part II of the Agenda be taken in private as proposed.

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

1.  That, subject to KCC obtaining planning permission, Senacre Community Hall and land, shown in Appendix 1 of the Report of the Assistant Director of Development and Community Strategy, required for its extension as a Vocational Skills Studio be declared surplus to requirements.

2.  That, subject to KCC obtaining planning permission, a lease be granted to Kent County Council to extend and convert Senacre Community Hall for use as a Vocational Skills Studio for 14-19 year olds, incorporating a nursery and with provision for community uses such as a youth club.

3.  That delegated authority be given to the Corporate Property Manager  to negotiate and agree terms with Kent County Council provided that he is satisfied that the terms of the disposal represent the best consideration reasonably obtainable for the land.

4.  That delegated authority be given to the Head of Legal Services to enter into the lease on the terms agreed with Kent County Council

DECISION MADE:

1.  That, subject to KCC obtaining planning permission, Senacre Community Hall and land, shown in Appendix 1 of the Report of the Assistant Director of Development and Community Strategy, required for its extension as a Vocational Skills Studio be declared surplus to requirements.

2.  That, subject to KCC obtaining planning permission, a lease be granted to Kent County Council to extend and convert Senacre Community Hall for use as a Vocational Skills Studio for 14-19 year olds, incorporating a nursery and with provision for community uses such as a youth club.

3.  That delegated authority be given to the Corporate Property Manager  to negotiate and agree terms with Kent County Council provided that he is satisfied that the terms of the disposal represent the best consideration reasonably obtainable for the land.

4.  That delegated authority be given to the Head of Legal Services to enter into the lease on the terms agreed with Kent County Council

1.  That the analysis that has been undertaken, and the comparative performance of  Maidstone Borough Council, as attached at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny, be noted.

2.  That the actions that have been taken to tackle the issues raised in the Place Survey be noted.

3.  That the approach to the Place Survey in 2010 be agreed.

4.  That the Council’s community leadership role be used to influence and work with other organisations through the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) to improve the outcomes measured by the Place Survey.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the analysis that has been undertaken, and the comparative performance of  Maidstone Borough Council, as attached at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny, be noted.

2.  That the actions that have been taken to tackle the issues raised in the Place Survey be noted.

3.  That the approach to the Place Survey in 2010 be agreed.

4.  That the Council’s community leadership role be used to influence and work with other organisations through the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) to improve the outcomes measured by the Place Survey.

1.  That the provisional outturn figures for revenue and capital for 2009/10 be noted.

2.  That £0.38 million of balances be set aside as a contingency against future activity relating to the Kent International Gateway.

3.  That the £1.77 million available from the refund from HM Revenue and Customs be set aside for the funding of future priorities.

4.  That the provisional funding of capital expenditure in 2009/10 be agreed.

5.  That the carry forward of revenue resources of £1.3 million for the financing of future capital expenditure be agreed.

6.  That the carry forward requests, as set out in Appendix C to the report of the Head of Finance, be agreed, subject to the following amendments:

  a)  Reduce the two tier working resources to £25,000;

  b)  Retain the resulting reduction of £25,000 from two tier working resources in balances;

  c)  Delete the carry forward request for concessionary fares; and

  d)  Carry forward the balance of unused resources from 2009/10 to support the capital programme in 2010/11.

7.  That the impact on the balance sheet of the provisional outturn 2009/10 be noted.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the provisional outturn figures for revenue and capital for 2009/10 be noted.

2.  That £0.38 million of balances be set aside as a contingency against future activity relating to the Kent International Gateway.

3.  That the £1.77 million available from the refund from HM Revenue and Customs be set aside for the funding of future priorities.

4.  That the provisional funding of capital expenditure in 2009/10 be agreed.

5.  That the carry forward of revenue resources of £1.3 million for the financing of future capital expenditure be agreed.

6.  That the carry forward requests, as set out in Appendix C to the report of the Head of Finance, be agreed, subject to the following amendments:

  a)  Reduce the two tier working resources to £25,000;

  b)  Retain the resulting reduction of £25,000 from two tier working resources in balances;

  c)  Delete the carry forward request for concessionary fares; and

  d)  Carry forward the balance of unused resources from 2009/10 to support the capital programme in 2010/11.

7.  That the impact on the balance sheet of the provisional outturn 2009/10 be noted.

1.  That the amended Local Code of Corporate Governance, as set out in Appendix A of the report of the Chief Executive, be approved.

2.  That the views of the Audit Committee be sought.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the amended Local Code of Corporate Governance, as set out in Appendix A of the report of the Chief Executive, be approved.

2.  That the views of the Audit Committee be sought.

1.  That the Annual Governance Statement, as attached at Appendix A to the report of the Chief Executive, be endorsed.

2.  That the Statement be referred to the Audit Committee.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the Annual Governance Statement, as attached at Appendix A to the report of the Chief Executive, be endorsed.

2.  That the Statement be referred to the Audit Committee.

The Cabinet considered the Record of Recommendation from the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services regarding the Asset Management Plan 2010-13.

Members were informed that two properties had been omitted from the Asset Management Plan and a revised Appendix E was circulated at the meeting.  This amendment also affected the total asset figure, which has increased from £71.4m to £71.9m.

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL: That the amended Asset Management Plan 2010-13 be adopted.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Democratic Services Manager regarding the Forward Plan for the period 1 June – 30 September 2010. 

RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan for the period 1 June – 30 September 2010 be noted, subject to the following amendment:-

Cabinet - Information Strategy delayed from 20 May 2010 to 9 June 2010.

RESOLVED: That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business because of the likely disclosure of exempt information for the reason specified, having applied the public interest test:-

  Head of Schedule 12 A and

  Brief Description

1.  That the proposed organisational structure for the Council, asamended, be endorsed to take effect from 8 June 2010.

2.  That the Head of Paid Service will need to develop and implement further changes to the Council’s organisational structure within this framework and according to the principles in paragraph 1.5.10 of the report of Director of Prosperity and Regeneration (Chief Executive Designate) and the Council’s Code of Conduct for Organisational Change in order to meet the authority’s strategic priorities within the resources available for 2011-14 be noted.

4.00 p.m. to 4.55 p.m.