Agenda item

A.                 To formally receive the minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee held on 29 October 2008, 19 November 2008  and  3 December 2008.

(All decisions here have previously been fully resolved.
There are no outstanding recommendations or referrals which require the Council’s consideration.)

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 6 – 2008/09 – TO FOLLOW)

B.                 To receive the Minutes and consider the recommendations and / or referrals from the following meeting of the Executive Committee:

17 December 2008

Matters requiring the Council’s consideration include

·        Medium Term Financial Strategy and Plan.

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 6 – 2008/09 – TO FOLLOW)

C.                To receive the Decision Notice and consider the recommendations and / or referrals from the following meeting of the Executive Committee:

7 January 2009

Matters requiring the Council’s consideration may include:

·        Economic Priorities 2008 – 2018;

·        Worcestershire Homelessness Strategy;

·        Waste Services;

·        Grant Applications 2009 – 2010;

·        Disabled Facilities Grant;

·        Arrow Vale Sports Centre;

·        Free Swimming Initiative;

·        Council Magazine;

·        Electronic Agendas;

·        Housing Revenue Account 2008/09 and 2009/10; and

·        Shared Service Business Cases – Electoral Services and Community Safety Services.

(Decision Notice TO FOLLOW)

(Any matters arising, not covered elsewhere in the agenda, will be considered under this heading.)

Confidential matters may be taken after the Exclusion of the Public, subject to notification at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED that

1)         the minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee held on 29 October, 19 November and 3 December 2008 be received and adopted;

2)         the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 17 December 2008 be received and adopted and all recommendations approved:

3)         the decision notice of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 7 January 2009 be received and all recommendations approved, subject to:

in respect of Minute 176 (Housing Revenue Account 2009/10)

it being further RESOLVED that

a letter be sent to the Government requesting that the authority be allowed to keep a greater proportion of its income in order that the Council might reduce or remove its negative subsidy position;

in respect of Minute 177 (Fees and Charges 2009/10) it being further RESOLVED that

a decision on the proposed Fees and Charges 2009/10 be deferred in order that further consideration be given to a number of the proposed Fees and Charges in the area of Leisure and Arts prior to a one-off consultation with the three Group Leaders and the Chair of the Fees and Charges Sub-Committee that was to precede re-submission to a future meeting of the Executive Committee;

in respect of Minute 187 (Council Magazine Re-introduction) it being further RESOLVED that

Councillors A Clayton, Farooqui and Hartnett be appointed to the Editorial Panel; and

in respect of Minute 189 (Electronic Agendas – Modern.Gov) it being further RESOLVED that

any Member requiring paper copies of agendas, reports and minutes will receive them upon request.

4)         the decision notice of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 13 January 2009 be received and all recommendations approved.

(Members hoped that the press might impart to local residents the benefits of contacting the Council at the earliest opportunity should they be experiencing difficulties in paying their Council Tax or Council House rent.

The Portfolio Holder for Local Environment, Planning and Transport undertook to provide Councillor Hartnett with further information and clarification on whether the information in Appendix 1, Page 43 of the report on Future Development of Waste Services (Minute 181 refers) applied to both owner-occupied and local authority rented households and clarification of the Council’s proposed course of action in relation to the collection of waste from churches, charities etc. detailed within the same report.

Officers undertook to provide Councillor Hartnett with further information following the meeting on Section 106 monies (Minute 184 refers) that were apparently in the possession of the Council.)

(Prior to consideration of this item, and in accordance with the requirements of Section 81 of the Local Government Act 2000, Councillors Anderson, Brunner, Chalk, A Clayton, Cookson and Gandy declared personal interests in view of the fact that Councillors Brunner and A Clayton were associated with the Arts in Matchborough organisation, Councillors Anderson and Gandy were respectively a Governor and a clerk to the Governors of the Vaynor First School, Councillor Chalk was employed by Arrow Vale School and Councillor Cookson was a member of Age Concern. Councillor Hall declared a personal and prejudicial interest in view of the fact that he was the Chair of the Redditch Arts Council and took no part in the voting on the relevant recommendation.)

(In view of the fact that the report on Shared Services Business Cases (Executive Committee Notice of Decisions, 7 January 2009, Minute 191) contained information relating to consultations / negotiations in connection with labour relations, part of this discussion took place after the exclusion of the press and public.  There is nothing exempt, however, in this record of the proceedings.)