BRIGHTON & HOVE CITY COUNCIL
Policy & Resources Committee
4.00pm 21 January 2021
Virtual
decision list
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Part One |
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125
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Brighton & Hove Climate Assembly
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Contact Officer: |
Rachel Williams |
Tel: 01273 291098 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Welcomed the final report of the Brighton & Hove Climate Assembly (Findings Report attached in Appendix 1) and the interim report of the Youth Climate Assembly (attached in Appendix 2);
(ii) Noted the findings of the Brighton & Hove Climate Assembly, including the Assembly’s 10 key recommendations that are set out on page 4 of the Climate Assembly report at Appendix 1, and notes the interim findings of the Youth Climate Assembly at Appendix 2;
(iii) Noted the initial response of the city council as set out in Appendix 3;
(iv) Requested that officers consider the findings of the Brighton & Hove Climate Assembly and the Youth Climate Assembly in the development of the 2030 Carbon Neutral Plan. |
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126
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Covid-19 Staff Recognition Options
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Agreed to an additional day’s leave being awarded to all directly employed staff, as set out in paragraphs 3.10 – 3.13, during the 21/22 annual leave year;
(ii) Noted that the council will introduce a new scheme to recognise those individuals and teams who have made a significant contribution to our Covid-19 response;
(iii) Noted that further work will be done to promote the benefits to wellbeing of taking time off;
(iv) Agreed that the Chief Executive writes to the Chancellor highlighting the significant contributions of Council staff in responding to the pandemic, and urging the public sector pay freeze be lifted, in favour of an improved pay award for Local Government staff. |
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127
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Update on Covid Winter Grant Scheme
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Contact Officer: |
Richard Barker |
Tel: 01273 290732 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Noted the remaining allocation of the Covid Winter Grant through a series of methods, including a grant application process for community and voluntary sector organisations direct awards to groups working with specific cohorts of children and young people and discretionary awards;
(ii) Noted the amount of grant funding already allocated in line with the recommendations from the committee held on 3 December 2020. |
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128
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Council Tax Reduction Review
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Contact Officer: |
Paul Ross-Dale |
Tel: 01273 291969 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
recommends to Council
that: (i) The maximum rate of Council Tax Reduction discount be increased from 80% of Band D to 82% of Band D.
(ii) The minimum award of Council Tax Reduction be reset to 1p per week.
(iii) Funding of £0.200m be allocated for the Discretionary Council Tax Reduction fund.
(iv) The requirement for completing a Council Tax Reduction claim form be removed for Universal Credit recipients, in the circumstances described in paragraph 4.9 of the report.
(v) It is noted that the council’s appointed S151 Chief Financial Officer will, prior to 1 April 2021, exercise delegated powers to increase the appropriate calculative elements of the scheme to give effect to national changes.
(vi) It is noted that a more fundamental review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme will be undertaken and consulted on for 2022/23, including the alignment of the scheme with a wider review of the council’s Welfare Support Framework. |
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129
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Council Tax Base 2021/22
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Contact Officer: |
Heather Bentley |
Tel: 01273 291244 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Approved the calculation of the council’s Council Tax base for the year 2021/22 as set out at paragraphs 3.5 to 3.8 and Appendices 1 and 2, subject to council approval of the recommended changes to the CTR scheme and delegates authority to the Acting Chief Finance Officer to amend the tax base accordingly in the case of amendment to, or non-approval of, the CTR scheme recommendations;
(ii) Noted the collection rate for 2021/22 has been assessed at 98.30%;
(iii) Agreed that in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amounts calculated by Brighton & Hove City Council as its council tax base for the year 2021/22 shall be as follows: 1. Brighton and Hove in whole – 89,493.0 (as detailed in appendix 1) 2. Royal Crescent Enclosure Committee – 31.0 (as detailed in appendix 2) 3. Hanover Crescent Enclosure Committee – 39.5 (as detailed in appendix 2) 4. Marine Square Enclosure Committee – 70.7 (as detailed in appendix 2) 5. Parish of Rottingdean – 1,576.7 (as detailed in appendix 2)
(iv) Agreed that for the purposes of Section 35(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the expenses of meeting the special levies issued to the council by the Enclosure Committees shall be its special expenses;
(v) Agreed that the Enclosure Committees and Rottingdean Parish are paid the required Council Tax Reduction Grant of c£4,000 in total, to ensure they are no better or no worse off as a result of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for the reasons set out in paragraph 3.8. |
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130
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Business Rates Retention Forecast 2021/22
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Contact Officer: |
Heather Bentley |
Tel: 01273 291244 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Noted that the amount forecast to be received by the council in 2021/22 from its share of local business rates and section 31 Local Government Act 2003 compensation grants is £67m, based on the latest data;
(ii) Delegated the agreement of the final business rates forecast and the NNDR1 2021/22 return to the Acting Chief Finance Officer following consultation with the Chair of this Committee for the reasons given in paragraph 1.2. |
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131
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Draft General Fund Budget and Resource Update 2021/22
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Contact Officer: |
Jeff Coates |
Tel: 01273 292364 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Noted the updated forecasts and latest resource information set out in the report;
(ii) Noted the draft budget savings proposals at Appendix 1 and accompanying Equality Impact Assessments at Appendix 2;
(iii) Noted that subsequent decisions, updated financial data and information from central government regarding the final Local Government Financial Settlement (LGFS) may impact further on the development of budget proposals for 2021/22. |
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132
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Appointment of Deputy Electoral Registration Officers
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Contact Officer: |
Michael Appleford |
Tel: 01273 291997 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Formally appoints the Monitoring Officer and the Electoral Services & Local Land Charges Manager for the time being to act as Deputy Electoral Registration Officers;
(ii) Delegates the power to the Electoral Registration Officer to appoint one or more Deputy Electoral Registration Officers and revoke or vary such appointments from time to time. |
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133
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Life Events Fees and Charges review for Registration Services 2021-2022
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Contact Officer: |
Paul Holloway |
Tel: 01273 292005 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee approved the various fees and charges increases to non-statutory services by varying amounts above the annual inflationary uplift as set out in Appendix One. The proposals take account of the current pandemic conditions that the service is working in. |
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134
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Review of Valley Gardens, Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan and Stanmer Park Restoration Project Task and Finish Member Working Groups
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Contact Officer: |
Andrew Renaut |
Tel: 01273 292477 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Noted the achievements of the three Task & Finish Member Working Groups for Valley Gardens, the Local Walking & Cycling Infrastructure Plan and the Stanmer Park Restoration Project, as summarised in Appendix 1 of this report;
(ii) Agreed that the Valley Gardens, Local Walking & Cycling Infrastructure Plan and Stanmer Park Restoration Project Task & Finish Member Working Groups status, be made permanent;
(iii) Agreed the Terms of Reference for the Valley Gardens, Local Walking & Cycling Infrastructure Plan and Stanmer Park Restoration Project Member Working Groups as set out in Appendices 2, 3 and 4 of this report, and that the Constitution be amended accordingly. |
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135
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New England House
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Contact Officer: |
Alan Buck |
Tel: 01273 292287 |
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Ward Affected: |
St Peter's & North Laine |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Approved the preparation and submission of a planning application to provide for the refurbishment and extension of New England House;
(ii) Delegated authority to the Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture to undertake any necessary procurements and seek financial opportunities to enable the project to move forward to the implementation stage. |
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136
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Procurement of a Corporate Cleaning Contract
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Approved the procurement and the award of contracts for a Corporate Cleaning Service for an initial term of 4 years commencing on the 1st May 2022 with an option to extend for a further 2 year period, by way of a restricted tender process based on dividing the estate into 3 separate geographical lots, where a maximum of one lot can be won by each tenderer, in order to encourage local SME cleaning contractors to participate;
(ii) Grants delegated authority to the Executive Director, Economy, Environment and Culture – 1. To carry out the procurement referred to in 2.1 above, including the award and letting of Corporate Cleaning Service Contracts. 2. To grant an extension to Corporate Cleaning Service Contracts referred to in 2.1 above, of two years subject to performance and the Executive Director, Economy, Environment and Culture considering it appropriate to do so. |
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137
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Fleet Strategy 2020 -2030
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Contact Officer: |
Rachel Chasseaud |
Tel: 01273 290753 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Agreed to adopt the Fleet Strategy 2020-2030 (appx 1) and Action Plan (appx 2);
(ii) Agreed that the model of centralised purchasing through the Fleet Service using unsupported borrowing is preferred to leasing;
(iii) Approved £1 million additional capital investment funded from unsupported borrowing in 2021/22 to enable the decarbonisation of the council’s refuse vehicle fleet. |
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138
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BHCC Accountable Body for Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Council
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Contact Officer: |
Paul Lavery |
Tel: 01273 290760 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Agreed in principle that the City Council becomes the Accountable Body for Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (C2C LEP) for the period April 2021- March 2024;
(ii) Delegated authority to the Chief Executive following consultation with the Council’s Chief Finance Officer, Monitoring Officer and Head of Legal Service to conclude final agreement with the C2C LEP;
(iii) Agreed that the Chief Executive implements the necessary staffing commitments to ensure that the Strategy Governance & Law and the Finance & Resources directorates are resourced to provide the service;
(iv) Agreed that an annual update is made available to the Committee. |
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139
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Timetable of Meetings for 2021/2022
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Contact Officer: |
Mark Wall |
Tel: 01273 291006 |
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Ward Affected: |
All Wards |
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RESOLVED: That the Committee agree that the proposed timetable of meetings for the 2021-2022 municipal year be agreed; subject to any necessary amendments following changes to the Constitution and/or Committees’ requirements. |
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NB The above decisions will be implemented after close of business on XXXXXX unless they are called in.
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a) FIELD_TITLE
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