Agenda and minutes

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests in any item on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made in the business of the meeting.  

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2011.     

The Committee was invited to approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2011 which were tabled at the meeting and replaced the draft Minutes appended to the agenda.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2011 (as tabled at the meeting) be approved as a correct record.         

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the meeting on any matter relevant to the work of the meeting. Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman or person presiding will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers. Members of the public are not required to give notice to use this facility. However, as a matter of courtesy, a period of 24 hours’ notice is encouraged.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question at the meeting should provide at least three clear working days’ notice in writing and should include the question with that notice. This will enable an informed answer to be given.

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos. 11 and 35, a total period of 10 minutes was allocated to members of the public to address the Committee on any matters relevant to its work. 

No questions had been submitted or were forthcoming at the meeting and the Committee proceeded to its next item of business. 

The report and Appendices provides detailed information to support the costs associated with the list of assets that could potentially form the calculation for a special expense levy for 2012/13.

The information will assist Members in making an informed decision on those existing services that they wish to see provided in the currently unparished area of Crewe (consistent with those transferring to parishes areas) and the associated budgets that related to those services.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Performance, Customer Services and Capacity and the Director of Finance and Business Services which, together with 8 appendices, provided detailed information in respect of the costs associated with the list of assets that could potentially form the calculation for a Special Expenses Levy (SEL) for 2012/2013. 

Members of the Committee were invited by the Chairman to ask questions of the officers in respect of the information provided.  To provide the context for the discussion, officers explained the difference between on-going annual costs and one-off expenditure and provided information on the breakdown of individual cost headings (including the budget set by the Crewe Charter Trustees). 

A detailed debate then ensued regarding the data provided.  In response to questions raised, it was confirmed that the estimates identified in the report for 2012-2013 would ensure that current service levels were maintained.  Any enhancement to services which were proposed as part of the Committee’s deliberations would require the introduction of a Special Expenses Levy to fund them.  

Close examination of the figures by Members resulted in a number of comments being made as follows -

a)         Ward Population Figures

Further clarification was sought as to whether the ward figures provided included the parished areas in Leighton and non-parished area of Crewe South. 

b)         Service Management and Support  

A more detailed breakdown of the various overheads was requested to aid Members’ understanding.        

c)         Allotments     

i)          Anecdotal evidence from Members suggested that there had been a significant rise in allotment rents which did not equate to the budgetary figures provided.  The Head of Health and Wellbeing undertook to confirm the position and provide a written response to Members.   

ii)         Actual and estimated spend for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 had been identified in the budget but no forecast had been recorded against a range of premises and supplies headings for 2011-2012.  Officers undertook to provide an explanation of this variance.   

(Note: At this point in the meeting, Councillor Hogben declared a personal interest as a Cheshire East Allotment Holder).  

d)         Markets

The cost to the Council of agency staff and the payment of overtime during 2010-2011 was of concern to Members.  It was noted that this coincided with the temporary relocation of the outdoor market to Market Square during the redevelopment of Lyceum Square.  However, given that estimates had been included in the 2012-13 budgets for continued funding in these areas, a more detailed explanation was requested for the next meeting.       

The credibility of the figures relating to projected market rental income was questioned given that the number of stallholders was falling.  This had been compounded by the fact that responsibility for the payment of business rates now fell directly to the traders although some were eligible for small business relief due to the size of their pitch/stall.  Clarification was requested as to whether rents had been adjusted to reflect this change and whether this had been factored into calculations relating to projected income estimates. Members felt it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The recommendations of the Local Service Delivery Committee would be submitted to Cabinet in January for consideration.  The Chairman suggested that it would be beneficial to agree a date for a provisional meeting of the Committee in December to enable the Committee to complete its work, should this be required.    

RESOLVED:  That - 

a)         The next meeting of the Committee be held at 1.30pm in the East Committee Room, Municipal Buildings, Crewe on Thursday, 24 November 2011; and

b)         A provisional date of Monday 12 December 2011 be set aside for a further meeting of the Committee, if required.