Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, 13 Church Street, Clitheroe, BB7 2RA

Contact: Mike Hill 

Items
No. Item

239.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence from the meeting were received from Councillors M Hindle and B Holden.

 

As Councillor Hindle the Committee Chair and Councillor Holden the Committee Vice Chair, were absent for the meeting, the Chief Executive requested nominations and seconders for a Committee Chair, after a vote, Councillor Newmark was appointed Chair for this meeting.

 

240.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 219 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2021 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

241.

Declarations of pecuniary and non pecuniary interests

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests.

 

242.

Public participation

Minutes:

There was no public participation.

 

243.

Request for Grant Award for Homewise pdf icon PDF 195 KB

Minutes:

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report requesting members to consider a quarterly grant payment to Homewise towards provision of a home improvement service in the borough.

 

Members were reminded that amongst other things:

·         Homewise is a Registered Charity, dedicated to improving the homes and quality of life of older and disabled people.

·         They provide advice, support, and assistance to elderly, disabled and vulnerable people.

·         Their aim is to help people to remain warm, safe and secure in their home. 

The report noted that:

·         In 2019 Homewise entered into a Grant Agreement with the Council.

·         The agreement was not entered into in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

·         A grant payment of £5,760 to Homewise is included in the Council’s annual budget.

·         Homewise send an invoice to the Council at the end of each quarter which includes details of the activities undertaken within the Borough during the quarter.

 

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

 

Subject to completion of a grant agreement, approved payment of a grant for up to £5,760 to Homewise to be paid quarterly following receipt of an invoice.

 

244.

Capital Monitoring - 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Minutes:

The Director of Resources submitted a report updating members of this Committee’s 2021/22 capital programme for the period to the end of July 2021.

 

Members were reminded that for this Committee, five capital schemes with an original estimate budget, totalling £639,640, were approved by the Special Policy and Finance Committee and Full Council at their meetings in February 2021 and March 2021 respectively.

 

The report noted:

·         That following budget changes, the total approved budget for this Committee’s capital programme of eight schemes was now £1,336,560.

·         That details of the of the above schemes were set out in Annex 1 of the report.

·         That at the end of July 2021, £222,752 had been spent or committed.

·         That the £222,752 equated to 16.7% of the total approved capital programme for this Committee.

·         That no schemes were completed by the end of July 2021. 

In addition to the above, the report set out the progress and remaining budgets on each of the schemes.

 

245.

Revenue Out turn - 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 149 KB

Minutes:

The Director of Resources submitted a report informing members of the 2020/21 revenue outturn for this Committee.

 

Members were informed that:

·         The national deadlines for local authorities to produce their Statement of Accounts and have them audited had been changed with effect from the 2020/21 financial year statements.

·         Due to the accounting complexities brought about by COVID-19, the resource pressures in respect of COVID-19 business support grant payments and burdensome financial reporting in respect of COVID-19 to Central Government, it had not been possible to meet these deadlines. This had also been the case at many other local authorities.

The report noted that after allowing for transfers to and from earmarked reserves, there had been an overall underspend of £344,759 for this Committee and that this had been added to General Fund Balances.

 

246.

Revenue Monitoring - 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Minutes:

The Director of Resources submitted a report relating to the progress of the 2021/22 revenue budget for this Committee, as at the July 2021.

 

The report noted that the comparison between actual expenditure and the original estimated budget to the end of July 2021, showed an underspend of £66,066 after allowing for transfers to and from earmarked reserves.

 

247.

Changes to Strategic Health Structures - Update pdf icon PDF 142 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report updating members on changes to the strategic health structures affecting the borough.

 

Members were reminded that for some time the health and care organisations in Lancashire and South Cumbria had worked together as the Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS). 

 

The report noted that:

·         In February 2021 the Government published its white paper outlining how the NHS in England needed to change to enable health and care to work more closely together. 

·         From the white paper the subsequent Health and Care Bill had been published which sought to drive strategic change both in terms of how health services are delivered and commissioned and how different organisations, including local authorities, can work together to help promote health care, public health, and social care.

·         It is understood that the Health and Care Bill was likely to be enacted in the next few months. 

Members were agreed that changes to the health structures is an important event and needed to be carefully monitored.

 

248.

COVID-19 - Update pdf icon PDF 180 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chief Executive submitted a report providing members with an update on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Ribble Valley and the work undertaken by the Council in addressing the issues created by the pandemic.

 

A verbal report, which provided members with the very latest statistics on the pandemic was also presented.

 

Members were reminded that a similar report had been submitted to this Committee on the 10 June 2021.

 

Both the written report and the verbal update provided a range of statistics relating to the Ribble Valley including:

·         Number of COVID-19 cases

·         Number of tests by testing venue

·         Contact tracing

·         Enforcement action

·         Levels of vaccination

Appendix 1 to the report provided a detailed analysis of COVID-19: cases, tests, and vaccinations.

 

249.

Dog Fouling Working Group - Minutes 16 April 2021 pdf icon PDF 212 KB

Minutes:

Minutes of the Dog Fouling Working Group were noted.

 

250.

Reports from representatives on outside bodies

Minutes:

There were no reports from representatives on outside bodies.

 

251.

Exclusion of Press and Public

Minutes:

That by virtue of the next item of business being exempt information under Category 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act the press and public be now excluded from the meeting.

 

252.

Homelessness - Update

Minutes:

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report that provided a general overview of the demands on the homeless service and the changing nature of priority cases. 

The report noted that since the COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted and housing allocations and general movement in the housing market had returned, there had been a significant change in the demands on the housing service. This included an increase in the number of homeless presentations from Ex-Offenders and people with high support needs.

 

At this point in the meeting the Chief Executive provided a verbal update on the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme and what it would mean for the Council.

253.

Grant Approvals - Update

Minutes:

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report informing members of the recent approvals for Disabled Facilities Grants and Landlord Tenant Grants.

 

The report noted that since the last committee report, no new Landlord Tenant Grants had been approved.

 

254.

Affordable Housing - Update

Minutes:

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report informing members of the number of affordable housing completions over the past 12 months.

 

The report noted that delivery of affordable housing is a key priority for the Council and that it was important that delivery was monitored and reported on.