Agenda, decisions and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2021 were submitted and approved and the Chair was authorised to sign them as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were reported from Councillors Dow and Whippy.

None were declared.

Report of Chief Executive

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor David Tutt

(Key decision):

(1) To note the progress made with the Recovery and Reset Programme.

(2) To agree the service and organisational change proposals set out at paragraph 4.1 of the report.

(3) To formally approve acceptance of the Culture Recovery Fund grant of £1.871m from the Arts Council.

(4) To delegate authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Services, to oversee delivery of the agreed plan for spend in accordance with the Culture Recovery Fund aims and objectives, and for the Chief Finance Officer to update the budget accordingly.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive, updating them on progress of the Recovery and Reset Programme.

Visiting members, Councillors Shore and Smart addressed the Cabinet on this item. The Cabinet welcomed Councillor Shore to her first meeting and thanked her for her contribution.

The Council faced a significant budget shortfall over the next four years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. To meet the budget shortfall in both 21/22 and 22/23, Cabinet were being asked to endorse some initial service and organisational changes which required early implementation, detailed at section 4 of the report. A full set of proposals would be presented to the next meeting of Cabinet in July. The Head of Business Planning and Performance confirmed that an equality and fairness analysis, taking into account the views of the Equality and Fairness Stakeholder Group had been received and considered by Cabinet when making their decision.

Officers were commended for their work in securing a grant of £1.87 million from the Culture Recovery Fund. The grant would be used to support the reopening and provision of key cultural services, which were critical in supporting the borough’s tourism economy. Work was progressing on spending the grant by the end of June deadline.

Resolved (Key decision):

(1) To note the progress made with the Recovery and Reset Programme.

(2) To agree the service and organisational change proposals set out at paragraph 4.1 of the report.

(3) To formally approve acceptance of the Culture Recovery Fund grant of £1.871m from the Arts Council.

(4) To delegate authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Services, to oversee delivery of the agreed plan for spend in accordance with the Culture Recovery Fund aims and objectives, and for the Chief Finance Officer to update the budget accordingly.

Reason for decisions:

The Recovery and Reset Programme provides a structured and accountable approach for delivering the level of significant organisational change needed to respond to current and future challenges.

Report of Director of Service Delivery

Lead Cabinet members: Councillors Jonathan Dow and Colin Swansborough

(Key decision):

(1) To approve the Eastbourne Borough Council Biodiversity Strategy 2021-2025 set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

(2) To approve the associated Action Plan, set out at Appendix 2 of the Biodiversity Strategy.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Service Delivery, introducing a proposed Biodiversity Strategy and associated work plan.

Visiting member, Councillor Di Cara addressed the Cabinet on this item.

The Cabinet advised that the list of partner organisations would continue to grow as the strategy was implemented. The Director of Service Delivery added that financial monitoring would take place on a weekly and monthly basis to carefully determine whether budgets would need to be realigned to meet all the objectives and actions in the strategy. The Director of Service Delivery also reassured that disability access would be a key consideration for any new schemes and initiatives.

Thanks were conveyed to officers for their work in putting the strategy together.

Resolved (Key decision):

(1) To approve the Eastbourne Borough Council Biodiversity Strategy

2021-2025 set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

(2) To approve the associated Action Plan, set out at Appendix 2 of the

Biodiversity Strategy.

Reason for decisions:

To set out the principles and approach to supporting biodiversity and to provide a framework and work plan for Eastbourne Borough Council in its collaborative approach to protecting and enhancing natural assets.

Report of Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Colin Swansborough

(Key decision):

(1) To agree the publication and use of the Planning Enforcement Policy, set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

(2) To provide delegated authority to the Director of Regeneration and Planning, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Infrastructure, to make minor or technical amendments to the Planning

Enforcement Policy prior to their publication or as otherwise required following publication.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Regeneration and Planning, seeking their approval for the adoption and publication of the Council Enforcement Policy document and to use it for managing/processing planning enforcement related matters.

Resolved (Key decision):

(1) To agree the publication and use of the Planning Enforcement Policy, set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

(2) To provide delegated authority to the Director of Regeneration and Planning, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Infrastructure, to make minor or technical amendments to the Planning Enforcement Policy prior to their publication or as otherwise required following publication.

Reason for decisions:

(1) To publicise the Council’s expectations for the delivery of the planning enforcement function.

(2) To make minor amendments to address technical or drafting issues.

The Chief Executive considers that discussion of the following items is likely to disclose exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and may therefore need to take place in private session.  The exempt information reasons are shown beneath the items listed below.  Furthermore, in relation to paragraph 10 of Schedule 12A, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. (The requisite notices having been given under regulation 5 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.)

(Note: Exempt papers are printed on pink paper).

Resolved:

That the public be excluded from the remainder of the remote meeting as otherwise there was a likelihood of disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. The relevant paragraph of schedule 12A and a description of the exempt information was shown below. (The requisite notice having been given under regulation 5 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.)

Report of Assistant Director for Human Resources and Transformation

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Colin Swansborough

Exempt information reasons 1 and 2: Information relating to an individual or likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

(Key decision):

(1) To note the actions taken to manage implications of change for displaced individuals through support, redeployment and assistance with self-marketing under the redundancy and redeployment procedure.

(2) To agree the financial implications of severance for those identified.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Assistant Director for Human Resources and Transformation, setting out current activity within the redundancy and redeployment procedure and describing action taken to support affected individuals.

The Cabinet expressed their sincere thanks for the service of those staff that had left the authority during the pandemic.

Resolved (Key decision):

(1) To note the actions taken to manage implications of change for displaced individuals through support, redeployment and assistance with self-marketing under the redundancy and redeployment procedure.

(2) To agree the financial implications of severance for those identified.

Reasons for decisions:

(1) The Corporate Management Team (CMT) is able to offer Voluntary Redundancy on a discretionary basis and made the decision during 2020, as a result of the significant financial challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, to take applications for a limited 2-week period.

(2) These applications were individually considered by CMT in September 2020 and those approved and accepted then had mutually agreed leaving dates between October 2020 and 31 March 2021. This meant that following information transfer and handovers, these presented in year savings.

Notes: (1) The report remains confidential. (2) Exempt information reasons 1 and 2 – Information relating to an individual or likely to reveal the identity of an individual.