Agenda and minutes

Venue: QEII Room, Shoreham Centre, Shoreham by Sea

Contact: Neil Terry
Democratic Services Lead
01903 221073  Email: neil.terry@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

JSC8619-20

Declarations of Interests

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.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

JSC8719-20

Minutes

To approve the minutes of the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 14 January 2020, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Minutes:

Resolved that the minutes from the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 14 January 2020, be approved as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

JSC8819-20

Public Question Time

To receive any questions from members of the public.

 

In order for the Committee to provide the fullest answer, questions from the public should be submitted by noon on Friday 7 February 2020.

 

Where relevant notice of a question has not been given, the person presiding may either choose to give a response at the meeting or respond by undertaking to provide a written response within three working days.

 

Questions should be submitted to Democratic Services,

democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk    

 

(Note: Public Question Time will operate for a maximum of 30 minutes.)

Minutes:

There were no questions from the public.

JSC8919-20

Items Raised under Urgency Provisions

To consider any items the Chairman of the meeting considers to be urgent.

Minutes:

There were no items raised under urgency provisions.

JSC9019-20

Delivering our Housing Strategy - Adur and Worthing Councils' Housing Allocations Policies pdf icon PDF 849 KB

To consider a report from the Director for Communities, a copy is attached as item 5.

Minutes:

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Communities, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 5.

 

The report updated the Committee on the responses to the public consultation on Adur District and Worthing Borough Councils Housing Allocation Policies, and sought approval of both policies. 

 

The Committee sought clarification regarding those who had been consulted. Officers advised that all those on Band D of the register had been written to and a number of focus groups had also been consulted. 

 

A Member suggested that more results could have been included in the report from the the focus groups consulted. Members also discussed the frequency of reviews of the allocations policies, suggesting that it be reviewed every 3 years or when legislation required it.  

 

Decision:  

 

The Joint Strategic Committee: 

 

1.    noted the results of the consultation as set out in section 4 of the report;

 

2.    recommended to Adur District Council that they approve and adopt the Adur District Council Housing Allocation Policy;

 

3.    recommended to the Worthing Borough Council that they approve and adopt the Worthing Borough Council Housing Allocation Policy;

 

4.    delegated authority to the Head of Housing, in consultation with the Executive Members for Customer Services, to determine the implementation date of the policy;

 

5.    delegated authority to the Housing Needs Manager to approve rehousing cases on the basis of exceptional circumstances.

 

Call In: 

 

The call-in deadline for decisions 1, 4 & 5 will be 5.00pm on 21 February 2020.

 

There is no call-in for decisions 2 & 3 which were recommendations to Adur and Worthing Councils.

 

JSC9119-20

Final Revenue Budget Estimates for 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 709 KB

To consider a report from the Director for Digital & Resources, a copy is attached as item 6.

Minutes:

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital & Resources, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 6.

 

The Committee received the final budget report of the year which was the culmination of the annual budgeting exercise. The report asked members to consider:

 

·         the final revenue estimates for 2020/21 including any adjustments arising from settlement;

·         an updated outline 5-year forecast.

 

The budgets reflected the decisions taken by members to date in relation to agreed savings proposals and any committed growth. The budgets were still to be adjusted for the proposals to invest in services detailed in Appendix 2 which were considered by the Executives last week.

 

The budget was analysed by Executive member portfolio. In addition, the draft estimates for 2020/21 had been prepared, in accordance with the requirements of the Service Reporting Code of Practice for Local Authorities (except in relation  to pension cost adjustments that did not impact either on the Budget Requirement or the Council Tax Requirement).

 

The respective Adur and Worthing 2020/21 Estimates and Council Tax setting reports had already been considered by the Worthing Executive on 3 February 2020 and the Adur Executive on 4 February 2020. Both the estimates for Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council included their respective share of the cost of the Joint Strategic Committee.

 

It was noted that both Councils had received the final written settlement which was due to be debated by the government in the week beginning 24 February 2020. Officers advised that no changes to the settlement were anticipated.

 

Decision: 

 

The Joint Strategic Committee:

 

1.    noted the proposals to invest in services outlined in Appendix 2 which were considered at the Executive meetings in early February;

 

2.    agreed to the proposed 2020/21 budget detailed in Appendix 3.

 

Call In:

 

The call-in deadline for this decision will be 5.00pm on 21 February 2020.

JSC9219-20

Joint Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy 2020/21 to 2022/23, Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council pdf icon PDF 586 KB

To consider a report from the Director for Digital & Resources, a copy is attached as item 7.

Minutes:

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital & Resources, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 7. 

 

The report requested that Members approve and adopt the contents of the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for 2020/21 to 2022/23 for Adur and Worthing Councils, as required by regulations issued under the Local Government Act 2003.

 

Decision:  

 

The Joint Strategic Committee:-

 

1.    approved and adopted the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for 2020/21 to 2022/23, incorporating the Prudential Indicators and Limits, and MRP Statements;

 

2.    recommended the Prudential Indicators and Limits, and MRP Statements of the report for approval by Worthing Council at its meeting on 18 February 2020, and by Adur Council at its meeting on 20 February 2020.

 

 

Call In: 

 

The call-in deadline for decision (i) will be 5.00pm on 21 February 2020.

 

There is no call-in for decision (ii) which made recommendations to Adur and Worthing Councils.

 

JSC9319-20

Beyond Consultation: Engaging Adur and Worthing - Adur & Worthing Councils’ Engagement Guide pdf icon PDF 307 KB

To consider a report from the Director for Digital & Resources, a copy is attached as item 8.

Minutes:

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital & Resources, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 8.

 

The Committee agreed to consult on the document ‘Engaging Adur and Worthing’ in November 2019. That consultation concluded on 17 January 2020.

 

At the Committee’s request, the revised Engaging Adur and Worthing - Adur & Worthing Councils’ Engagement Guide (Attachment A)  was being presented for agreement following the consultation process which involved members of the public, staff and elected members.

 

A consultation report (Attachment B) had been prepared to provide a summary of the responses received and how officers had sought to incorporate these into the revised Guide which did not represent a significant change from the draft Guide considered by the Committee in November 2019.

 

Officers had also used the consultation process to update the Councils’ website, as recommended by the Joint Overview and Security Committee, making it easier for the Councils’ communities to get involved, have their say and stay informed.

 

Members considered the number of responses to the consultation and the weight that should be given to them. Officers advised that a similar point had been raised at the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting which had considered the guide. It was noted that consultation formed a part of the decision making process, but a number of strands of information were considered by Officers.

 

A Member sought clarification regarding the consistency of reporting and whether any structure was in place. Officers advised that the objective of the proposed toolkit was to enable the Councils to be more consistent in their approach to engagement.  

 

Decision: 

 

The Joint Strategic Committee:

 

1.    noted the comments on the draft Engagement Guide outlined in the Consultation Report (Attachment B);

 

2.    agreed to the Councils’ adopting Engaging Adur and Worthing - Adur & Worthing Councils’ Engagement Guide (Attachment A), replacing the Adur & Worthing Councils’ Consultation Policy Statement;

 

3.    noted the updates to the Councils’ website to support our communities to get involved, have their say and stay informed on the Councils’ activities.      

 

Call In:

 

The call-in deadline for this decision will be 5.00pm on 21 February 2020.

JSC9419-20

Adur Homes Development Programme - Albion Street and Cecil Norris House pdf icon PDF 196 KB

To consider a report from the Director for Communities, a copy is attached as item 9.

Minutes:

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Communities, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 9. 

 

The report provided the Committee with an update on the Housing Revenue Account development programme, in particular, the Cecil Norris House and Albion Street projects.

 

The report sought approval for the release of the sum of £378,000 from the unallocated capital budget for the Cecil Norris House Development to meet affordable housing needs.

 

The report also confirmed the final scheme budget for Albion Street and sought approval for the the release of the sum of £2.8 million from the capital budget to meet affordable housing needs.

 

Members welcomed the report and acknowledged the significant amount of work that had gone in to progressing the projects. 

 

Decision:  

 

The Joint Strategic Committee: 

 

1.    agreed to release further budget for Cecil Norris House of £378,000 to fund the increased costs associated with the Cecil Norris House development which was to be funded from borrowing;

 

2.    recommended that Adur District Council release a budget of £2.8m to fund the Albion Street development funded by prudential borrowing;

 

3.    delegated authority to the Director of Communities in consultation with the Executive Member for Customer Services, that if required, to appropriate for planning purposes the Albion Street Land under section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972 and the use of powers under section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, subject to obtaining the necessary Secretary of State consents.

 

Call In: 

 

The call-in deadline for decisions 1 and 3 will be 5.00pm on 21 February 2020.

 

There is no call-in for decision 2 which is a recommendation to Adur District Council.