Policy and Resources Committee - 4 September 2018

POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE

NOTICE AND AGENDA

For a meeting to be held in the Penn Chamber, Three Rivers House, Rickmansworth, on Tuesday 4 September 2018 at 7.30pm.

Members of the Policy and Resources Committee:-

Councillors Sara Bedford (Chairman)      Chris Lloyd (Vice-Chairman) (Leisure)

Rupert Barnes

Matthew Bedford (Resources and Shared Services)      Alex Michaels (Environmental Services)

Angela Killick

David Sansom

Stephen Cox      Andrew Scarth (Housing)

Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Economic Development)      Roger Seabourne (Community Safety and Partnerships)

Alex Hayward

Paula Hiscocks      Martin Trevett (Infrastructure and Planning Policy)

Alison Wall

Steven Halls, Chief Executive

24 August 2018

The Policy and Resources Committee welcomes contributions from Members of the public to its discussion on agenda items. Contributions will be limited to one person speaking for and one against each item for not more than three minutes. Please note that in the event of registering your interest to speak on an agenda item but not taking up that right because the item is deferred, you will automatically be given the right to speak on that item at the next meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee. Details of the procedure and the list for registering the wish to speak will be available for a short period before the meeting.

In accordance with The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 any matters considered under Part I business only of the meeting may be filmed, recorded, photographed, broadcast or reported via social media by any person.

Recording and reporting the Council’s meetings is subject to the law and it is the responsibility of those doing the recording and reporting to ensure compliance. This will include the Human Rights Act, the Data Protection Legislation and the laws of libel and defamation.

1.         APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2.         MINUTES

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting held on 18 June 2018.

3.         NOTICE OF OTHER BUSINESS

Items of other business notified under Council Procedure Rule 30 to be announced, together with the special circumstances that justify their consideration as a matter of urgency. The Chairman to rule on the admission of such items.

4.         DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

To receive any declarations of interest.

POLICY

5.    CALENDAR OF MEETINGS 2019/2020

To consider the draft Calendar of Meetings for the Local Government Year 2019/2020.

6.    PUBLIC SPACES PROTECTION ORDER (VARIATION TO ORDER REQUIRING DOGS TO BE KEPT ON A LEAD) - OUTCOME OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION

To advise on the outcome of the consultation taken regarding making a variation to the existing Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) relating to dogs in accordance with the Anti-Social Behaviour, crime and Policing Act 2014 (“the Act”). The variation would be to include the public rights of way that run through land owned by the Grove, Watford in the ‘dogs must be kept on a lead’ restriction already in place for the area directly surrounding the café at The Aquadrome.

7.    LEISURE, COMMUNITY & CAPITAL GRANTS REPORT

The Committee is asked to agree a change of policy with regards to Leisure & Community and Capital Grants.  Officers request that the Leisure & Community and Capital Grants budgets be used to commission health and wellbeing projects.

8.   AWARD OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS, WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN), PERSONAL IT CONTRACTS

Unified Communications, new personal IT equipment and a refreshed WAN are key technology enablers of agile and flexible working and are fundamental to enabling accommodation space rationalisation for Three Rivers District Council (TRDC).

9.     BUSINESS RATES PILOT FOR 2019/2020

The Government has issued an invitation to apply to become a pilot for 75% Business Rates Retention in 2019-20. The pilot schemes are in advance of a proposed extension of the business rates retention scheme nationally from 50% to 75%. The deadline for applications is 25 September 2018. If successful, the pilot would begin 1 April 2018. Discussions at Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer have agreed in principle to make a bid to become a pilot for 2019/20 and work has commenced on preparing a potential bid and modelling the financial impact.

RESOURCES

10.   ACTIVE HERTS PROJECT

The Committee is asked to agree to allocate £15,000 from the 2018/19 Leisure & Community Grants budget towards Watford Football Trust’s Active Herts Project.

11.   STRATEGIC, SERVICE AND FINANCIAL PLANNING 2019-2022

The purpose of this report is to seek agreement to the process whereby the Council will determine its three-year medium-term strategic plan for 2019-2022, the related service plans, and the allocation of financial resources to achieve them.

12.   BUDGET MONITORING REPORT

The Budget Monitoring report is a key tool in scrutinising the Council's financial performance.  It is designed to provide an overview to all relevant stakeholders.  It is essential that the Council monitors its budgets throughout the year to ensure that it is meeting its strategic objectives and that corrective action is taken where necessary.

This report seeks approval to a change in the Committee's 2018-2021 medium-term revenue financial plan.  The report shows the Council's overall consolidated medium term financial plan for both revenue and capital.

13.   WORK PROGRAMME

To receive the Committee’s work programme.

14.    OTHER BUSINESS – If approved under Item 3 above

15.    EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

If the Committee wishes to consider the remaining item in private, it will be appropriate for a resolution to be passed in the following terms:-

“that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined under paragraphs (1 -7) of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act. It has been decided by the Council that in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”

(Note: If other confidential business is approved under item 3, it will also be necessary to specify the class of exempt or confidential information in the additional items.)

1.    OTHER BUSINESS – If approved under item 3 above.