Agenda and minutes

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare personal and prejudicial interests, including the nature and extent of such interests, in relation to business on the agenda, before any discussion takes place on the item. Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

The following personal interest was declared:

To receive the minutes of Grants Committee held on 20 September 2007.

(Minutes to follow)

Councillor Dixon declared a personal interest as Chairman of Pinhoe Community Centre.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Grants Committee held on 20 September 2007 be received and, where appropriate, adopted. 

To consider the report of the Head of Treasury Services.

(Report circulated)

The report of the Head of Treasury Services was submitted reporting on the current position in respect of the Council’s revised annual capital programme and advising Members of the anticipated level of deferred expenditure into future years.

Scrutiny Committee – Resources considered the report at their meeting on 19 September 2007 and the support and comments of Members were noted. The Head of Treasury Services reported that £2.5million of the 2007/08 capital programme, which equated to 9.8%, had been spent in the first three months of the year. He informed Members that the projected overspend in respect of the RAMM off-site store was attributable to additional construction, CCTV and landscaping costs. As a result of measures to control these costs, it was forecast that the overspend would be reduced to £50,000.

RESOLVED that the current position in respect of the annual capital programme be noted.

(Report circulated)

To consider the report of the Head of Treasury Services.

(Report circulated)

The report of the Head of Treasury Services was submitted advising Members of the overall projected financial position of the General Fund Revenue Budget after three months, for the 2007-2008 financial year.

Scrutiny Committee – Resources considered the report at their meeting on 19 September 2007 and the support and comments of Members were noted. The Head of Treasury Services reported a very small forecast overspend of 0.52% of the revised budget. He informed members that the performance of the Fund Manager was continuously monitored and that a proportion of investments were managed in-house.

RESOLVED that the forecast financial position for the 2007-2008 financial year be noted.

(Report circulated)

To consider the joint report of the Head of Legal Services and Head of Housing Services.

(Report circulated)

The report of the Head of Legal Services was submitted seeking approval for the creation of a new solicitor post to specialise in Housing and Anti-Social Behaviour matters.

Executive members welcomed the proposal, commenting that the arrangement had worked particularly well in respect of the Planning service.

RESOLVED that the creation of a Housing Solicitor post be approved, to be funded from the Housing Revenue Account where appropriate, the arrangements to reflect those in place for the Planning Solicitor post.

(Report circulated)

The Chief Executive will provide a verbal update. 

The Chief Executive gave a verbal update on the current position in respect of the Council’s unitary submission to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG). 

He informed the Executive that the Council had completed and returned the template to Communities and Local Government in response to their request for a more detailed financial breakdown of projected expenditure. DCLG had specifically sought information in relation to PFI financing and other specific Exeter issues and he was confident that the Council’s response had satisfactorily addressed their queries.  Wherever possible, the information had been agreed with Devon County Council and much of it had been based on the information they had provided.  A consultation period of three to four weeks would follow and it was anticipated that the Secretary of State would announce her final decision in early November. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill would then be enacted in Parliament, followed by the relevant Implementation Orders, one of which would relate specifically to Exeter.  The Council had re-iterated its preference for a whole Council election in May 2009.

In response to questions regarding the implications of a possible General Election, the Chief Executive hoped that it might still be possible for the Bill to be enacted by the present Government, although final completion of the process might be delayed whatever the outcome of any election.

RESOLVED that the current position in relation to the Council’s submission for unitary status be noted.

RESOLVED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of items 8 and 9 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED that, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the

press and public be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of the

following items on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt

information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I, Schedule 12A of the Act. 

To consider the report of the Head of Corporate Customer Services on staffing proposals following a review of the switchboard service.

(Report circulated to Members)

The report of the Head of Corporate Customer Services was submitted, seeking approval to release the necessary funding to finance redundancy payments for the current switchboard operators.

Scrutiny Committee – Resources considered the report at their meeting on 19 September 2007 and the support and comments of Members were noted.

RESOLVED that:-

(1)        the termination of the employment of the holders of the posts of Part-time Telephone Operator CS08118, CS8120 and CS08121 be approved on the grounds of redundancy on 31March 2008 with the holders of the posts of CS08120 and CS08121 being terminated in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 26 of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997;

(2)compensation be paid to the holders of the posts of CS08120 and CS08121 in accordance with the discretion exercised by the Council under the provisions of the Local Government (Early Termination) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 in recognition of the fact that they are being made redundant; and

(3)        the deletion of the posts of Part-time Telephone Operator CS08118, CS08120 and CS08121 and the creation of 1.4 FTE Customer Relations Officer at Grade 5 be approved.

(Report circulated to Members)

To consider the report of the Head of Treasury Services on the outcome of a recent review of the visiting function and recommending a way forward.

(Report circulated to Members)

The report of the Head of Treasury Services was submitted, reporting the outcome of a recent review of the visiting function and recommending an appropriate way forward.

Scrutiny Committee – Resources considered the report at their meeting on 19 September 2007 and the support and comments of Members were noted.  The Head of Treasury Services reported that whilst the need for a visiting service had decreased, the service would remain available for more vulnerable clients. 

RESOLVED that:-

(1)        the post CSO6223, currently Visiting Officer (grade 4), be re-designated Visiting Assessment Officer and regraded grade 5 from 1 January 2008;

(2)        the current post holder of CSO6223 be appointed to the post of Visiting Assessment Officer from 1 January 2008;

(3)        the employment of the holder of post CSO6178 be terminated on the grounds of redundancy on 31 December 2007, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 26 of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997 with compensation being paid to the holder of the post in accordance with the discretion exercised by the Council under the provisions of the Local Government (Early Termination) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 and that the post be deleted from the establishment;

(4)        should it not be possible to offer suitable alternative employment to the holder of post CSO6222 , the Director Corporate Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder and Head of Human Resources be authorised to terminate their employment on the grounds of redundancy on 31 December 2007, with compensation being paid to the holder of the post in accordance with the discretion exercised by the Council under the provisions of the Local Government (Early Termination) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006; and

(5)        that post CSO6222, currently Visiting Officer (grade 4), be re-designated Assessment Officer and regraded grade 5 from 1 January 2008.

(Report circulated to Members)