Agenda and minutes

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 interest.

To approve the minutes of the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 5 July 2022, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Resolved that the minutes from the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 5 July 2022, were approved as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any questions from members of the public.

Questions should be submitted by noon on Friday 7th October 2022 to  Democratic Services, democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk    

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

There were no questions from the public.

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

There were no items raised under urgency provisions.

To consider a report from the Chief Executive, a copy is attached as item 5.

Before the Committee was a report by the Chief Executive, 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 Committee noted that Adur & Worthing Councils' previous corporate plan, Platforms for Our Places: Going Further (2020-22), had now reached the end of its delivery period.

Since that plan was adopted much had changed and the councils had taken the opportunity to review the challenges and opportunities ahead. Through this process a new plan for Adur & Worthing, covering the next three years, had been drafted called ‘Our Plan’.

‘Our Plan’ will enable the successful delivery of Adur District and Worthing Borough Council’s priorities by effectively supporting the work of each individual council, and where appropriate, both councils together through the shared partnership agreement.

The plan would inform the budget setting work of both councils and would direct overall organisational service planning and performance management.

Members welcomed the report and the digestibility of ‘Our Plan’. A number of key themes running through the plan were also acknowledged.               

The recommendations in the report were proposed by Councillor Angus Dunn, seconded by Councillor Carl Walker and unanimously supported.  

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee

1.    considered the draft ‘Our Plan’ and recommended its approval to both Councils as a core strategic document for the next three years;

2.    invited the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review ‘Our Plan’ and review subsequent progress reports.

Call In:

There is no call-in for recommendations to Adur and Worthing Councils.

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

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital, Sustainability and 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 report sought the approval of the Council’s Capital Strategy for 2023/26.  The Strategy outlined the Council’s approach to capital investment and how the Council ensured that capital investment was directed to the Council’s Priorities.

This year's strategy was set against an environment of high inflation and increasing interest rates which were having a significant impact on the Council’s finances and the affordability of the Councils investment programmes.

The Committee was pleased to receive the report, noting that things were understandably more constrained than Members would like them to be. It was stated that the Councils had done exceptionally well to deliver what they had over the past couple of years and that the proposed Capital Strategy for 2023/26 was the right way forward.  

The recommendations in the report were proposed by Councillor Carson Albury, seconded by Councillor Carl Walker and unanimously supported.

Decision 

The Joint Strategic Committee recommended to both Adur and Worthing Councils that the Capital Strategy for 2023/26 be approved.

Call In:

There is no call in for recommendations to Adur and Worthing Councils.

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

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital, Sustainability and 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 purpose of the treasury management reports was to ensure that proper scrutiny was undertaken of the treasury and capital expenditure activities of the Councils and that the activities were conducted in a prudent manner in order to safeguard the financial position of the Councils.

Councils were required by regulations issued under the Local Government Act 2003 to produce an annual treasury management review of activities; and  a review of performance against the prudential and treasury indicators for the year. 

The key message arising from this report, was that both Adur and Worthing Councils had complied with the approved policies and the indicators agreed prior to the start of the financial year.

The report asked Members to note the Treasury Management performance for Adur and Worthing Councils for 2021/22 as required by regulations issued under the Local Government Act 2003.

It was noted that this was Ms Coppelman’s last meeting before retirement and the Committee wished to place on record its thanks for all of her work regarding Treasury Management.

Members welcomed and noted the contents of the report. 

The recommendations, as amended, were proposed by Councillor John Turley, seconded by Councillor Angus Dunn and unanimously supported by the Committee.

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee noted the annual treasury management report for 2021/22.

Call In:

The call-in deadline for the decision will be 5.00pm on the 21st October 2022.

To consider a report from the Monitoring Officer, a copy is attached as item 8.

Before the Committee was a report by the Monitoring Officer, 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.

Following an internal governance review by the Councils’ Monitoring Officer, opportunities were identified for amending and modernising both Councils’ Constitutions to ensure that they were legally compliant, complete, support effective and sound decision-making, and reflected the character, culture and priorities of the two authorities. 

At its meeting on 31 May 2022, the Joint Governance Committee approved the creation of a Working Group to consult on the proposed changes to the Constitutions, and agreed to receive this report with a view to recommending final draft Constitutions for approval by the Councils at their meetings in October 2022.

At its meeting on 27 September 2022, the Joint Governance Committee received the report of the Working Group and the views of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and unanimously recommended the revised Constitutions to:

·         Joint Strategic Committee for comment at its meeting on 11 October 2022, and

·         Both Full Councils for approval at their meetings on 8 October 2022 (Worthing) and 20 October 2022 (Adur).

Members considered the proposed amendments to the constitutions and discussed the chairing of scrutiny committees.

An amendment was proposed to the recommendation set out in para 2.2. of the report to read:-

‘That the Joint Strategic Committee notes the amendments to the Constitutions proposed by the Joint Governance Committee with the exception of the recommendation regarding the Chairing of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny Committees, which, subject to further examples being provided to the Leaders of the Councils by the Monitoring Officer, will be referred to each full Council for consideration together with the proposed amendments to the constitutions’.

The recommendations, as amended, were proposed by Councillor Kevin Boram, seconded by Councillor Rita Garner and unanimously supported by the Committee.

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee

1.    acknowledged the work undertaken by the Working Group and the Joint Governance Committee; and

2.    noted the amendments to the Constitutions proposed by the Joint Governance Committee, with the exception of the recommendation regarding the Chairing of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny Committees, which, subject to further examples being provided to the Leaders of the Councils by the Monitoring Officer, would be referred to each full Council for consideration together with the proposed amendments to the constitutions.

Call In:

The call-in deadline for the decision will be 5.00pm on the 21st October 2022.