Agenda, decisions and minutes

None.

Councillors’ declarations of interest (if any) in relation to any items on the agenda.

None.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2018.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2018 are agreed as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

Any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

None.

To receive any questions from members of the public in accordance with Rule 10 of the Council Procedure Rules.

To receive any questions from Councillors in accordance with Rule 11 of the Council Procedure Rules.

To consider any petitions that have been referred to the Cabinet under the Council’s Petition Scheme.

To note the Forward Plan, which lists all upcoming Cabinet decisions and provides notice of key decisions and those expected to be taken in private session.

RESOLVED that the Forward Plan is noted.

There have not been any decisions taken by Portfolio Holders under delegated powers since the last meeting of the Cabinet.

None.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Acknowledged the projected outturn position set out in sections three and four of Appendix A to this report for the period April – December 2017/18 as follows:

             i)        A favourable variation on controllable budgets of £333,000 representing -0.55 percent of the gross General Fund Budget.

            ii)        A total projected underspend of £941,000 representing -1.56 per cent of the gross General Fund Budget.

           iii)        The Council performed on target or above target for 50 out of 51 (98 percent) of performance indicators.

B    Approved:

             i)        The transfer of £300,000 to the Planning LDF Reserve to support the ongoing delivery of the Local Plan.

            ii)        The transfer of £160,000 to the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Funding Reserve for a contribution towards the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town project and other developments in and around Harlow.

Cabinet received a report which set out both the Council’s financial performance, along with its performance against its own performance indicators for the third quarter of 2017/18.

Proposed by Councillor Mike Danvers (seconded by Emma Toal) it was:

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Acknowledged the projected outturn position set out in sections three and four of Appendix A to this report for the period April – December 2017/18 as follows:

                             i)        A favourable variation on controllable budgets of £333,000 representing -0.55 per cent of the gross General Fund Budget.

                            ii)        A total projected underspend of £941,000 representing -1.56 per cent of the gross General Fund Budget.

                           iii)        The Council performed on target or above target for 50 out of 51 (98 percent) of performance indicators.

B    Approved:

                             i)        The transfer of £300,000 to the Planning LDF Reserve to support the ongoing delivery of the Local Plan.

                            ii)        The transfer of £160,000 to the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Funding Reserve for a contribution towards the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town project and other developments in and around Harlow.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Noted:

             i)        An unfavourable variation against the approved Housing Revenue Account (HRA) operational/controllable budget of £266,000 representing 0.5 percent of the gross HRA budget.

            ii)        A favourable non-operational variance of £5,094,000 representing 9.62 percent of gross HRA budget which includes adjustments to capital programme financing as a result of an updated outturn position for 2017/18 and reflecting the reprioritised programme.

B    Noted the forecast balances at 31 March 2018, of £15,022,000 in respect of the HRA and nil in respect of the Major Repairs Reserve (MRR).

Cabinet received a report which provided an update on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for the third quarter of 2017/18 and asked that Cabinet noted variances in the HRA budget, as well as the forecast budget of the HRA and the Major Repairs Reserve.

Proposed by Councillor Mike Danvers (seconded by Councillor Mark Wilkinson) it was:

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Noted:

                             i)        An unfavourable variation against the approved Housing Revenue Account (HRA) operational/controllable budget of £266,000 representing 0.5 percent of the gross HRA budget.

                            ii)        A favourable non-operational variance of £5,094,000 representing 9.62 percent of gross HRA budget which includes adjustments to capital programme financing as a result of an updated outturn position for 2017/18 and reflecting the reprioritised programme.

B    Noted the forecast balances at 31 March 2018, of £15,022,000 in respect of the HRA and nil in respect of the Major Repairs Reserve (MRR).

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Noted the progress in the delivery of the Council’s Housing and Non-Housing Capital Programmes as at Period 9 (31 December 2017) as follows:

             i)        Housing Capital Programme – forecast outturn of £14,098,000 (original estimate £18,530,000).

            ii)        Non-Housing Capital Programme – a forecast outturn of £8,948,000 (original estimate £5,425,000).

B    Approved the inclusion in the Non-Housing Capital Programme of a business case for:

             i)        Works to alleviate flooding in the Sumners Area through infrastructure and drainage works (£58,000). This is fully grant funded by the County Council from the Community Flood Improvement Fund.

Cabinet received a report which provided an update on the Council’s Housing and Non-Housing Capital Programmes and sought approval for one business case.

Proposed by Councillor Mike Danvers (seconded by Councillor Mark Ingall) it was:

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Noted the progress in the delivery of the Council’s Housing and Non-Housing Capital Programmes as at Period 9 (31 December 2017) as follows:

                             i)        Housing Capital Programme – forecast outturn of £14,098,000 (original estimate £18,530,000).

                            ii)        Non-Housing Capital Programme – a forecast outturn of £8,948,000 (original estimate £5,425,000).

B    Approved the inclusion in the Non-Housing Capital Programme of a business case for:

                             i)        Works to alleviate flooding in the Sumners Area through infrastructure and drainage works (£58,000). This is fully grant funded by the County Council from the Community Flood Improvement Fund.

RESOLVED that:

A     The proposed minor revisions to the Housing Allocations Policy are approved as set out in paragraphs 4 to 15 of the report.

B    Authority is delegated to the Head of Housing, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, to make minor revisions to the Housing Allocations Policy as considered necessary to give effect to the operation of the Scheme, including setting the annual move-on quotas.

Cabinet received a report which set out proposed minor revisions to the Council’s Housing Allocations Policy.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Wilkinson (seconded by Councillor Mike Danvers) it was:

RESOLVED that:

A     The proposed minor revisions to the Housing Allocations Policy are approved as set out in paragraphs 4 to 15 of the report.

B    Authority is delegated to the Head of Housing, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, to make minor revisions to the Housing Allocations Policy as considered necessary to give effect to the operation of the Scheme, including setting the annual move-on quotas.

RESOLVED that:

A       Cabinet noted the specific comments and concerns raised by the Committee as detailed in paragraphs 4 – 8 of the report.

B      Cabinet noted the specific issues and concerns raised by external support organisations and contained within their written responses provided to the Scrutiny Committee and contained within the appendices to the original report.

C      Cabinet noted that the Committee will be undertaking another review in six months.

Cabinet received a report on the review of Universal Credit in Harlow which had been referred to it by the Scrutiny Committee.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Waida Forman) it was:

RESOLVED that:

A       Cabinet noted the specific comments and concerns raised by the Committee as detailed in paragraphs 4 – 8 of the report.

B      Cabinet noted the specific issues and concerns raised by external support organisations and contained within their written responses provided to the Scrutiny Committee and contained within the appendices to the original report.

C      Cabinet noted that the Committee will be undertaking another review in six months.

RESOLVED that:

A     The Action Plan, attached as Appendix A to the report, be approved.

B    The Council adopted a target of a 0.5 percent per year participation rate increase in sport and physical activity. Actives Lives data would be the tool by which this was measured.

Cabinet received a report on the review of sport in Harlow which had been referred to it by the Scrutiny Committee.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Waida Forman) it was:

RESOLVED that:

A     The Action Plan, attached as Appendix A to the report, be approved.

B    The Council adopted a target of a 0.5 percent per year participation rate increase in sport and physical activity. Actives Lives data would be the tool by which this was measured.

To note the following draft minutes of Cabinet appointed bodies. Minutes remain draft until approved by the relevant body.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the following meetings are noted.

To deal with any matters of an urgent nature.

None.