Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no urgent items.

There were no Visiting Members.

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 9 July 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed.

1.  That the scope of the work completed and planned for provision of the Council’s office accommodation for 2016 and 2023 be noted.

2.  That funding for the revenue costs of £90,000 required to progress the current review of office accommodation, as set out in paragraph 1.3.14 of the report of the Director of Environment and Shared Services and the first quarter’s budget monitoring report for 2014/15, be agreed.

3.  That further funding be identified as part of the development of the medium term financial strategy for 2015/16 and in accordance with the recommendations of the reviews that are proposed in the report of the Director of Environment and Shared Services.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the scope of the work completed and planned for provision of the Council’s office accommodation for 2016 and 2023 be noted.

2.  That funding for the revenue costs of £90,000 required to progress the current review of office accommodation, as set out in paragraph 1.3.14 of the report of the Director of Environment and Shared Services and the first quarter’s budget monitoring report for 2014/15, be agreed.

3.  That further funding be identified as part of the development of the medium term financial strategy for 2015/16 and in accordance with the recommendations of the reviews that are proposed in the report of the Director of Environment and Shared Services.

For further information regarding this decision, please follow this link:

http://services.maidstone.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=18673

1.  That the satisfactory revenue position at the end of the first quarter of 2014/15 be noted.

2.  That the proposals for slippage and re-profiling in the capital programme to 2015/16, including the specific allocations for the local growth fund approved schemes as set out in paragraph 1.7.5 of the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities, be agreed.

3.  That increased income from development control applications be utilised to fund additional appeals costs, as set out in paragraph 1.4.10b of the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities.

4.  That £230,000 of the additional income arising from the return of the unused top slice for the business rates safety net (£198,000) and the repayment from HMRC (£42,825) for over declared VAT in relation to car parking overpayments be utilised as follows:

5.  That agreement be given to the temporary virement of £50,000 from the Leader’s contingency to employ an Information Manager for 12 months, as detailed in paragraph 1.4.8 of the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities.

6.  That the detail in the report on the collection fund, general fund balances and treasury management activity be noted.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the satisfactory revenue position at the end of the first quarter of 2014/15 be noted.

2.  That the proposals for slippage and re-profiling in the capital programme to 2015/16, including the specific allocations for the local growth fund approved schemes as set out in paragraph 1.7.5 of the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities, be agreed.

3.  That increased income from development control applications be utilised to fund additional appeals costs, as set out in paragraph 1.4.10b of the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities.

4.  That £230,000 of the additional income arising from the return of the unused top slice for the business rates safety net (£198,000) and the repayment from HMRC (£42,825) for over declared VAT in relation to car parking overpayments be utilised as follows:

5.  That agreement be given to the temporary virement of £50,000 from the Leader’s contingency to employ an Information Manager for 12 months, as detailed in paragraph 1.4.8 of the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities.

6.  That the detail in the report on the collection fund, general fund balances and treasury management activity be noted.

For further information regarding this decision, please follow this link:

http://services.maidstone.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=18652

That the Council’s Annual Report 2013-14, attached as a draft at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Policy and Communications, be approved for publication on the Council’s website and for collection at Council receptions, Maidstone Museum and local libraries, subject to the following amendments to the Performance Highlights section:

Great Opportunity

Delete bullets about planning applications, TPOs and neighbourhood planning.

Add bullets:

• Helped 161 families on the Maidstone Families Matter initiative with employment and other advice.

• Made another 17 Tree Preservation Orders - the Council has more than 1,000 TPOs, covering trees and woodlands in the Borough.

• Prevented 358 families from becoming homeless through housing advice, and brought back into occupation 107 empty properties.

Great Place

Delete bullets on footfall in Mote Park and school visits to Maidstone Museum.

Add bullets:

• More than 1 million people visited Mote Park.

• Recycled more than 25,000 tonnes of waste.

• More than 13,000 children took part in education and workshop activities at Maidstone Museum.

DECISION MADE:

That the Council’s Annual Report 2013-14, attached as a draft at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Policy and Communications, be approved for publication on the Council’s website and for collection at Council receptions, Maidstone Museum and local libraries, subject to the following amendments to the Performance Highlights section:

Great Opportunity

Delete bullets about planning applications, TPOs and neighbourhood planning.

Add bullets:

• Helped 161 families on the Maidstone Families Matter initiative with employment and other advice.

• Made another 17 Tree Preservation Orders - the Council has more than 1,000 TPOs, covering trees and woodlands in the Borough.

• Prevented 358 families from becoming homeless through housing advice, and brought back into occupation 107 empty properties.

Great Place

Delete bullets on footfall in Mote Park and school visits to Maidstone Museum.

Add bullets:

• More than 1 million people visited Mote Park.

• Recycled more than 25,000 tonnes of waste.

• More than 13,000 children took part in education and workshop activities at Maidstone Museum.

For further information regarding this decision, please follow this link:

http://services.maidstone.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=18435

1.  That the draft Commercialisation Strategy, attached at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Commercial and Economic Development, be adopted subject to the following amendments:

·  At paragraph 2 of the Strategy, amend the final section to read:

This is a fundamental shift in approach and consequently a simple, easily understood Commercialisation Strategy is required to give direction; and which links into the Medium Term Financial Strategy.  All projects and activities undertaken under the Commercialisation Strategy will therefore be evaluated against the priorities of the Medium Term Financial Strategy at paragraph 2.5 of that Strategy.

·  At paragraph 4.3 of the Strategy, the ‘Commercial Projects Development Team’, add a new bullet point to read, as the first and primary function:

To look for trading projects that prioritise capture of commercial opportunities afforded by our existing statutory and non-statutory services, so that synergy exists between our commercial and other desired outcomes.

2.  That the decision to implement a project will be made by the full Cabinet.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the draft Commercialisation Strategy, attached at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Commercial and Economic Development, be adopted subject to the following amendments:

·  At paragraph 2 of the Strategy, amend the final section to read:

This is a fundamental shift in approach and consequently a simple, easily understood Commercialisation Strategy is required to give direction; and which links into the Medium Term Financial Strategy.  All projects and activities undertaken under the Commercialisation Strategy will therefore be evaluated against the priorities of the Medium Term Financial Strategy at paragraph 2.5 of that Strategy.

·  At paragraph 4.3 of the Strategy, the ‘Commercial Projects Development Team’, add a new bullet point to read, as the first and primary function:

To look for trading projects that prioritise capture of commercial opportunities afforded by our existing statutory and non-statutory services, so that synergy exists between our commercial and other desired outcomes.

2.  That the decision to implement a project will be made by the full Cabinet.

For further information regarding this decision, please follow this link:

http://services.maidstone.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=18783

6.30 p.m. to 7.40 p.m.