Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received at the meeting.

To approve the summary of recommendations and decisions of the Cabinet meeting held on 18 June 2015.

Councillor Wells proposed, Councillor Lin Fairbrass seconded and Members agreed the minutes to be a true record of the meeting that was held on 18 June 2015.

To approve the summary of recommendations and decisions of the extraordinary Cabinet meeting held on 14 July 2015.

Councillor Wells proposed, Councillor Smith seconded and Members agreed the minutes to be a true record of the extraordinary meeting that was held on 14 July 2015.

Cabinet was advised that significant effort was made in year to deliver savings to help ease some of the budget pressures moving forward as a result of the substantial funding cuts over the coming years announced for local government. Strict controls were continued with regard to recruitment and managers were challenged to find efficiency savings wherever possible.

Members also noted that the General Fund balances remained healthy at £2.011m or 12% of the net budget requirement, as recommended by the S151 officer as part of the budget report approved by Council in February 2015. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) generated a decrease in balances of £272k in 2014/15 against a budgeted deficit of £531k.

Councillor I. Gregory spoke under Council Procedure 24.1.

Councillor Townend proposed, Councillor Stummer-Schmertzing seconded and Members agreed the following:

1.  To note the General Fund, HRA and capital outturn position for 2014/15;

2.  To approve the proposed movements to earmarked reserves as outlined in paragraph 2.4 of the Cabinet report.

Members received assurances that the Managers were continuing to work hard to maintain a breakeven position. Savings that were identified across directorates as built in through the budget process would be continually monitored in year. Officers would continue to endeavour to find further efficiencies over the remainder of the financial year in order to keep budget monitoring on track.

With regards to the General Fund Capital Programme, capital receipts have nearly achieved the set budget for the year with a total of £1.46m received in the first quarter to fund the capital investment programme. There were no major variations in respect of the Housing Revenue Account and Housing Capital programme.

Councillor Campbell and Councillor I. Gregory spoke under Council Procedure 24.1.

Councillor Townend proposed, Councillor Lin Fairbrass seconded and Members agreed the following:

1.  To note the projected outturn position for 2015/16 for the General Fund;

2.  The reserve movements detailed in 5.1 of the Cabinet report;

3.  To note the current Housing Revenue Account position;

4.  To note the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Capital Programmes and agree the budget virements detailed as per Annex 1 and Annex 2 (to the report); for the General Fund capital and HRA.

During 2014/15 the Council complied with its legislative and regulatory requirements, borrowing was only undertaken for a capital purpose and the statutory borrowing limit (the authorised limit) was not breached. With regard to investments, the challenging investment environment of previous years continued and returns on balances remained low.

Councillor Townend proposed, Councillor Brimm seconded and Members agreed that following approval by the Governance and Audit Committee on 24 June 2015, that Cabinet:

1.  Notes the actual 2014/15 prudential and treasury indicators in the Cabinet report;

2.  Approves the annual treasury management report for 2014/15;

3.  Recommends this report to Council.

Thanet District Council introduced a selective licensing scheme in April 2011. Since then, all privately rented homes in the designated area have been required to be licensed with the council. The scheme requires private landlords to apply for a licence and comply with a range of licence conditions to ensure good property management.

Cabinet noted that this scheme was contributing to the regeneration of Cliftonville by improved living conditions in the area. There were now fewer empty properties, less anti-social behaviour and a greater number of well-managed and safe homes. However, there was still much to be done and further improvements could be achieved with another five year designation.

Councillor Game and Councillor Savage spoke under Council Procedure Rule 24.1.

Councillor Lin Fairbrass proposed, Councillor Townend seconded and Members agreed the following:

(i)  To undertake a public consultation with a view to potentially designating the area shown in Annex 2 (to the Cabinet report) for the purposes of selective licensing. This proposal is set out in option 2 of the report and relates to an area that is substantially similar to that already designated;

(ii)  To Authorise officers to undertake a 10 week public consultation beginning on 17 August 2015 that sets out the proposal and seeks views;

(iii)  To receive a further report in early January 2016 following the public consultation to determine whether a selective licensing designation should be made.

93 Westcliff Road, Ramsgate has been empty since 2008. The Council purchased the property in 2014 as part of the Homes and Communities Agency funded Empty Homes Project.

Members were advised that a subsequent reassessment of the condition of the property concluded that the works would not be completed by the funding deadline of 31st March 2015. As a result the property was removed from the programme and now needed to be funded in a different way.

Councillor Lin Fairbrass proposed, Councillor Smith seconded and Members agreed the use of HRA balances and one-for-one receipts to undertake the development and refurbishment works at 93 Westcliff Road, Ramsgate.