Agenda and minutes

Apologies from Councillors Catherine Arnold, Vee Barton, Tony Bellasis, Ann Bridges, Dan Flowers, Carol O’Neal and Rob Wilkinson were received by the Chairman.

Members and officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to any business on the agenda. Declarations should also be made at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interests.

To receive any questions from members of the public addressed to Members of the Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11. There is up to 5 minutes for each question, one supplementary question may be asked arising from the original question.

Questions must relate to any matter the Council has power or which affects the District except no questions may be asked on

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment or appeal or Standards determination

Public question time will last up to 30 minutes and questions will be taken in the order of receipt. 

The deadline for submission of questions is 16th October 2023 at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

A question was received on the night from Trudy McGuigan seeking clarification as to when the Council would be filming meetings again.

The Chairman advised Ms McGuigan that a written response to the question would be provided.

To approve the minutes of the Council Meeting held on Thursday 20th July 2023 and the Extraordinary Council Meeting held on Tuesday 22nd August 2023, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Resolved, that the minutes of the meetings held on the 20th July and 22nd August 2023 be approved as correct records and be signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman informed the Council about a number of meetings and events that he had attended since the July Council meeting. These included attending:-

• The Esteem Open Day;
• The Pioneer Run at Shoreham Airport;
• The 15th anniversary of the Elmcroft Nursing Home;
• The opening of the newly refurbished Southwick Square;
• The opening of a new coffee shop, Azul, in Lancing; and
• Mr Kennith Turner’s 100th birthday celebration.

The Leader advised Council of the following changes to committee memberships:-

• Councillor Andy McGregor replaced Councillor Tony Bellasis on the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee; and
• Councillor Andy McGregor replaced Councillor Tony Bellasis on the Adur Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The Leader also proposed that Councillor Andy McGregor replace Councillor Joss Loader as the Council’s representative on HASC. The proposal was seconded by Councillor Paul Mansfield and supported unanimously. 

The Cabinet Member for Adur Homes and Customer Services advised the Council that as at Friday 13th October, no residents were being placed in Bed & Breakfast accommodation. The Cabinet Member wished to place on record his thanks to officers for all of their work in this area. 

The acting Head of Paid Service informed Council that the Head of Paid Service was required constitutionally to report to Council periodically in regards to organisational design, the staffing structure and the deployment of staff. At item 7A on the agenda was a recommendation from the Joint Audit & Governance Committee for noting. During consideration by that committee, questions were raised about performance reporting.  Although not part of this report, it was confirmed that a report would be taken to the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee for consideration in the near future.

To consider any items the Chairman has agreed are urgent

The Chairman announced that there were no urgent items.

To consider recommendations to the Council, details of which are set out in the attached items as 7A and 7B. 

Reports are available on the website as listed below: 

7(A)     Joint Audit & Governance Committee - 26th September 2023

Organisational design and capability building - progress update 

The Chairman of the Joint Audit & Governance Committee, Councillor Andy McGregor, introduced the recommendations from the Committee, which were seconded by Councillor Jeremy Gardner and noted by the Council. 

Resolved: that the Council, in compliance with the Councils’ Constitution, noted the overall departmental structure of the Councils, the management structure and the deployment of Officers.  

7(B)     Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee - 27th September 2023

Financial Performance 2022/23 - Capital and Projects Outturn

The Leader and Chairman of the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee, Councillor Neil Parkin, introduced the recommendation from the Sub-Committee meeting, which was seconded by Councillor Angus Dunn and following a vote, was unanimously supported. 

Resolved: that the Council

a)    Noted the overall capital final outturn for 2022/23;

b)    Noted the net carry over of General Fund Capital underspends for Adur District Council as detailed in paragraphs 5.4;

c)    Approved the financing of the Adur District Council 2022/23 Capital Investment Programme, including the use of capital receipts as set out in paragraphs 5.1 and 5.2;

d)    Approved the carry forward of Council resources underspends to fund budget pressures as detailed in paragraph 4.2.2. and summarised in paragraph 5.4; and

e)    Noted the final projected benefit from completed invest to save schemes as outlined in Appendix 3.

To receive a report  from the Leader as item 8. The report contains decisions taken by the Cabinet Members, the Joint Strategic Committee and the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee since the last Full Council meeting.  

There will be up to 15 minutes for Cabinet Members to make any statements on the report. There will also be up to 15 minutes for Cabinet Members to respond to questions on the report. These questions will not be the same as any to be asked under Item 9.

The Leader of the Council presented his report on decisions taken by the Cabinet since the last meeting of the Council, which were detailed in Item 8.

Questions were raised in relation to progress with New Salts Farm, the release of s106 monies for the replacement of play equipment at Shadwells Road open space, the Housing Improvement Plan, the use of right to buy receipts to fund hidden homes and the Western Harbour Arm Review.

Members' question time will last up to 30 minutes, with questions being taken in the order of receipt and in rotation from each political group on the Council. The deadline for submission of questions is 16th October 2023 at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Questions received can be asked of the following:

a)    The Chairman

b)    A Member of the Executive

c)    The Chairman of any Committee

d)    The Councils representative on any outside body

Questions cannot be asked on the following

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment, appeal or Standards determination

Rotation One

Cllr Debs Stainforth asked the following question:

Back in July this council voted to approve a budget of £2.25 million to enable the acquisition of up to 10 homes on the Southwick Estate to facilitate the 

redevelopment of the estate in order to provide temporary accommodation in the interim.

Could you inform this council on its progress please?

The Cabinet Member for Adur Homes & Customer Services replied that in anticipation of more people wanting to take up the Council’s offer than the Council budget would allow, Council Officers were developing an acquisitions policy and selection criteria to assess applications. The Council had tested this with the Residents Leaseholder Group and were making changes based on their comments. The Council was planning to launch the scheme through a mailout to leaseholders week commencing 30th October 2023.

Cllr Mandy Buxton asked the following question

We saw recently some media coverage about the financial situations of local authorities and of course there are a number of councils that are in a tough financial situation. Both Adur & Worthing were mentioned as being authorities that might be in financial trouble but I wonder if you could explain some of the detail behind this and whether we should be concerned about the financial position of Adur District Council in particular as I am concerned that the reporting might not have been accurate?

The Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources replied that the recent press releases had provided debt to core spending ratios. In the case of Adur District Council this was inaccurate as it included debt associated with the Housing Revenue Account which sat outside of the General Fund budget. In addition, the core spending power was only one indicator relating to the net budget position funded from taxation. Within the net budget there were income streams that directly related to debt associated with the purchase of strategic assets. The council was in an under borrowed position which means that it had not relied solely on borrowing to fund its capital expenditure.

Cllr Lee Cowen asked the following question

With Westridge Construction Limited going into administration, do you have an update on the stalled Albion St development? What are the estimated costs to the council for this delay?

The Cabinet Member for Adur Homes & Customer Services replied that the Council had taken back possession of the site and were looking to get a contractor in place before Christmas to finish the scheme. The Council was protected by a performance bond which ensured any additional costs of completing the scheme were reimbursed.

Cllr Robina Baine asked the following question

The government’s u-turn on plans to force landlords to improve the energy efficiency of rented accommodation will cost renters about £325 a year in higher bills, according to a report published by the Climate Change Committee last week. The transition to net zero is essential but must also be a just transition, fair and inclusive as possible.

What will this council do to ensure private tenants can  ...  view the full minutes text for item C/35/23-24

To consider a Motion on Notice, submitted by the Proper Officer on behalf of Councillor Andy McGregor, detailed as item 10.

Council received a motion on notice proposed by Councillor Andy McGregor and seconded by Councillor Kevin Boram.

The motion was debated and the following amendment was proposed by Councillor Jeremy Gardner, seconded by Councillor Sharon Sluman and was unanimously approved. 

That an additional bullet point be added to the aspirational initiatives to be worded as:-

‘Ensure that all Council front line services are known by care leavers, are accessible and sensitised to the needs of care leavers, recognising the West Sussex County Council decision to treat care experience as if it were a protected characteristic’. 

Following further debate, the substantive motion as amended was referred to the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee for consideration and determination.  

To consider a Motion on Notice, submitted by the Proper Officer on behalf of Councillor Lee Cowen, detailed as item 11.

Council received a motion on notice proposed by Councillor Lee Cowen and seconded by Councillor Jeremy Gardner.

In accordance with the constitution, the motion was debated and then referred to the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee for consideration and determination.