BOSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

NOTICE OF DECISIONS TAKEN BY CABINET ON 5 SEPTEMBER 2018

DATE OF PUBLICATION: FRIDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2018

DEADLINE FOR CALL-IN: FRIDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2018

NOTES:

A COPY OF THE CABINET AGENDA HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY CIRCULATED TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. IF YOU REQUIRE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON ANY ISSUE PLEASE CONTACT, IN THE FIRST INSTANCE, THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER OR OFFICER NAMED IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN.

MEETING OF THE CABINET 5 September 2018

Present: Councillor Michael Cooper, in the Chair Councillors Aaron Spencer, David Brown, Martin Griggs, Claire Rylott, Paul Skinner and Nigel Welton

In attendance: Councillor Paul Gleeson, Chairman of the Corporate and Community Committee

Officers – Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Director & Monitoring Officer), Head of Place and Space, Head of Environmental Operations, Head of Corporate Services, Accountancy Manager (Revenues and Systems), Transformation and Governance Manager, Communications Manager and Senior Democratic Services Officer

22 MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 27 June 2018 were received and signed by the Chairman.

23 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (STANDING ITEM)*

The Markets Review report had been considered by the Environment and Performance Committee on 17th July and its recommendations appeared in the report.

The Leisure, Guildhall and Sport – Future Operational Arrangements report had been considered by the Corporate and Community Committee on 30th August and the Committee’s recommendation was circulated to the meeting.

24 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE BOSTON TOWN AREA COMMITTEE (BTAC) (STANDING ITEM)

There were no recommendations from the Boston Town Area Committee.

25 QUARTER 1 REPORT - PERFORMANCE, RISK AND FINANCE

Portfolio DECISION Holder and 1. That the quarterly monitoring information for Q1 be noted. Officer

2. That the specific finance recommendations, summarised below, be Cllr agreed: Spencer

 F1: That the increase in plannng fees and the amendments to SR/TS the Homeless Hostel weekly rent schedule (section 5) be noted

 F2: That the reserve movements detailed in table 6 (section 6) be approved  F3: That the updated capital programme as detailed in table 8 (section 8) be approved  F4: That five irrecoverable Housing Benefit Overpayments totalling £41,317.58 (section 10) be written off  F5: That the supplementary estimates in respect of Flexible Homelessness Support Grant, new burdens payment and VEP funding (section 11) be approved

Councillor Spencer introduced a report setting out the performance, risk and financial monitoring information for quarter 1, covering April to June 2018.

Performance information was set out in Appendix A and the following key points were highlighted:

Areas of success / improvement:  Number of businesses visited to support business growth (CP1)  Empty homes (CP2)  Benefit and Council Tax Support processing times (CP2)  Compliant food businesses (CP2)  Swim sessions at GMLC (CP2)  Household waste reused, recycled, composted (CP3)  Car parking income against monthly profile (CP3)  Time taken to respond to FOI / EIR / Subject Access Requests (CP4)  Sickness absence (CP4)

Areas of concern / watching brief:  Planning performance (CP1) – action taken and improvement already made in July  Food safety inspections (CP2) – already addressed in Q2  Residual household waste per household (CP3) – Waste Strategy currently in development Cabinet 5 September 2018

 Market income (CP3) – impact of bad weather in Q1  Switchboard (CP4) – impact of staff shortages; already addressed and performance had improved in July

Other items of note:  Housing Standards (CP2) – proactive work to begin in Q2  Commercial waste increase in income and number of customers (CP3)  936 fixed penalty notices had been issued since the service started in April 2017 to the end of Q1 (CP3)  Inclusive Boston Project reporting (transformation projects)

There were no new strategic risks to report in quarter 1. The Corporate Management Team had completed their in-depth review of the strategic risks and the outcome for each risk was set out in Appendix B.

Financial management information was set out in Appendix C and the main headlines were:

 The projected outturn position for this year for revenue and capital spending, and reserves; plus other finance-related information  Revenue – projected spend to the end of the year was expected to be slightly above the budget, mainly due to projected income in some areas being below the budgeted amounts. Tables 1, 2 and 3 showed the position by service area, portfolio holder, and the Council’s priorities  The detailed variances that made up the projected outturn position were shown in part 3; main areas of difference from the budget related to planning and leisure income, the receipt of monies from Government to support initiatives in housing and housing benefit, and changes to the capital programme  Trading income overall was anticipated to be £47,000 below the budget. There were pressures on planning and leisure income, although commercial waste was expected to deliver above the budget  Fees and Charges – recommendation this quarter to note the implementation of the 20% uplift in Planning fees and slight changes in homeless hostel fees in Housing  Reserves – the position at the year end, as shown in table 6, showed a slightly lower than anticipated level of reserves being held, mainly to do with the capital programme, the timing of spend from the housing reserve, and the controlling migration fund. There was a recommendation to approve the movements set out in the table  Despite the ongoing low bank base rate, Treasury Management returns were set to achieve the budget figure, due mainly to the performance of the Property Funds where the returns to date were very encouraging, as shown in graph 2  Capital – the projected spend for this year was £26.2m including slippage from 2017/18. There was a recommendation to note and approve the revised capital programme, with the addition of two schemes reviewed by the Capital Working Group (upgrade of Bartec software and accommodation at St John’s Depot).  Consultancy spend for the quarter was £17,000  Debt collection – there were some write-offs in the quarter under Section 151 Officer delegation, as set out in section 10 of the appendix, and there was a recommendation for the write-off of five Housing Benefit Overpayment cases above

£5,000, where all available recovery actions had been pursued. This would be funded from the provision already set up for this purpose.  Supplementary estimates – the Council had received notification of three amounts since the budget was set, for specific initiatives as set out in the report. There was a recommendation to approve them.  Insurance – positive news, with only three claims received in the quarter  Business rates – concerns continued regarding the level of outstanding appeals and other decisions to reduce Rateable Values by the Valuation Office Agency, although the positive outcomes from the work of the Business Rates Assurance function were noted  Council Tax Support – regular monitoring was undertaken and at this stage the projected spend for this year was expected to be within the budgeted sum.

Reference was made to the issue of pressure on high street rentals with respect to property funds investments. In response, Councillor Spencer assured Members that the Council’s property fund investments were monitored regularly and any effect would be mitigated due to the long-term nature of the investments.

26 TASK AND FINISH GROUP - MARKETS REVIEW

Portfolio DECISION Holder and That: Officer

1. The amended Markets Policy at Appendix E be adopted with the Cllr amendment of paragraph 17.1 by deleting the words “but shall Welton determine the application having due regard to the currently adopted tenant mix” and the deletion of paragraph 9.5; PP 2. Investigations into the possibility of implementing a Welcome Archway at the entrance to the market place from Narrow Bargate be agreed, with a report being returned once the investigations are completed; 3. The introduction of a ‘Cultural’ offer supporting the markets be agreed; 4. The consideration of providing stalls for students to trade on during school holidays to encourage potential future Traders be supported; 5. An increase to the size of the existing signage to provide larger scale signs, in particular showing direction from the Market Place to Bargate Green Market and vice versa be agreed; 6. The importance of the contribution of the four schools within the consultation process and the quality of their reporting at Appendicies A,B,C and D be recognised and agreed.

The Head of Place and Space presented a report from the Markets Review Task and Finish Group.

The review had been carried out to look at improving the offer of Boston’s Markets by a Task and Finish group convened from the Environment and Performance Committee. Cabinet 5 September 2018

The groups’ remit was to look at ways to maintain Boston’s historical market and its unique selling offer, in an ever changing world of consumer buying.

The review was carried out over a period of 8 months whereby 5 meetings of the group took place with an additional meeting being held to receive reporting from the local students who had taken part in the consultation process.

By way of background, this review followed the conclusion of a substantial task and finish review which had scrutinised many service areas across Boston with a view to improving the offer of Boston as both a tourist destination and for the benefit of local people, one area was identified as requiring a more in-depth level of scrutiny and the group agreed to re-visit the current provision of Markets within Boston.

The group agreed to replicate the consultation practice used within the parent review which had proved so successful and consultation was scheduled over an eight week period and included all Market Traders; local businesses; and members of the public, both local and visitor. The key comments from the consultation were outlined in section 3 of the report and included:

 Better promotion of Boston  People liked a traditional look to a market  They wanted more choice of goods and fewer restrictions  Better and larger signage  The market needed a refresh, and  The need for a farmers’ market

To progress an overall review, the group realised the importance of consultation with the people who would very likely become the future residents of Boston, namely the students. Furthermore, it was recognised that the involvement of the students might also assist in their own timetable to support their studies.

Seven local senior schools were contacted and four responded; these were:   Giles

Students were challenged by the Chairman to: 1. Undertake their own review of the markets by completing the questionnaire produced; 2. On completion of their review students were then to collate the information and produce their own report based on their findings; and to 3. Attend an official meeting of the review group on the evening of Monday 18th June and to present their report to members of the group along with the Leader of the Council, the Monitoring Officer and the Portfolio Holder for the markets and to answer questions they may have.

All four schools carried out their reviews on Wednesday 27th April considering both the markets on Bargate Green and also in the actual market place and students then

attended the meeting of the group on Monday 18th June and presented their reports and took questions from the Councillors and Officers in attendance. The reports were appended to the report.

On collation of the information from the schools the group identified a number of recommendations, which were all detailed in paragraph 3.7. Key comments included:  A ‘Welcome’ sign needed to be implemented at the entrance to the market place from Wide Bargate.  New bigger signs were needed.  There is no sign from Wide Bargate showing where the Market Place is.  Street performers, local theatre groups and musicians should be encouraged to create an atmosphere as the market place lacked any atmosphere at all and was dull and drab, with specific Cultural events being put on in the summer time.  Competition of products was good and it offered greater choice for customers.  The Market should be zoned.  The Market Place needed to be cleaner.  The Tourist Information Centre should be re-located onto the market especially in the busy months.

There was a common view from all groups constituted that:  The market place should be pedestrianised  A large public notice board should be put in the market place.  The Farmers Market and Artisan food area should be re-introduced and could support the Auction on Bargate Green making that area very specific.  A youth market or stalls for students should be introduced during the summer holidays.  The cleanliness of the markets needed improving.  Smoking and Vaping should not be allowed on the markets.

Referring to the consultations, the Task and Finish Group also looked at improving the appended Markets Policy to encourage traders and improve the market’s overall the group agreed on three amendments as noted below:

 That no smoking or vaping by traders be permitted on the markets.  That the Tenant Mix be simplified.  That casual traders to be allocated available pitches on the day of the market.

The report was taken through the Environment and Performance Committee on 17th July where Members agreed the recommendations for Cabinet. The minutes of this meeting were attached at Appendix F.

In conclusion, the Markets Review had produced quality consultation responses which confirmed support for the continuation of Boston’s Markets from both members of the public including students, and from the many businesses in and around the town. Furthermore the responses provided options on a number of new ways of facilitating the markets in taking them forward and improving their offer.

Councillor Welton thanked all involved with the review, which had been a long process. A significant amount of work had been carried out that had not required procedural changes and much more would be achieved. Councillor Welton commended the six Cabinet 5 September 2018 recommendations to Cabinet with two changes to the amended Markets Policy, being the deletion of wording in paragraph 17.1 referring to the determination of applications having due regard to the currently adopted tenant mix, and the deletion of paragraph 9.5, which stated that traders were not permitted to smoke or vape, for which the Council did not have reasonable enforcement procedures in place to deal with.

Other Members agreed that a condition not to permit smoking and vaping would be too prescriptive. The market’s offer had to be right in order to succeed, as in the high street, but it was suggested it would be possible to work to introduce craft goods, farmers’ markets and entertainment and that it was important to provide the ability for the market to flourish, though its success would be dictated by market forces.

The Portfolio Holder for the Environment referred to comments about litter. During a recent walkabout, he had observed that the waste bins were emptied at 7.30 and 10 am and had been filled purely with cardboard from the traders. If the cardboard was flattened it would fit in bins more easily; this was the traders’ responsibility and out of the Council’s control.

The contribution from the students was commended and their fresh perspective was appreciated.

27 LEISURE, GUILDHALL AND SPORT - FUTURE OPERATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

Portfolio DECISION Holder and 1. That officers fully explore and progress the Expressions of Interest Officer received from the ‘light touch’ regime of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in respect of the future operational and Cllr Rylott development arrangements for the Council’s leisure, Guildhall and

sports services, the outcome and detail to then be reported back to PP the Corporate and Community Committee for further consideration and recommendation, and

2. That improvements, efficiencies and savings to current services continue to be explored where possible.

The Head of Place and Space presented a report regarding the future operational arrangements for the running of its Leisure, Guildhall and Sport services following a tender exercise seeking Expressions of Interest (EoI).

Continuing reductions in Government funding to support the Council’s services meant that the Transformation Programme, agreed in June 2016, and the Medium Term Financial Strategy, agreed in February 2018, included a savings target for leisure and associated services of £250,000 in 2019/20. Officers had already identified approximately £50,000 through reorganisation, which would be progressed through the budget process, leaving in the region of £200,000 still to find.

On 16 May 2018, Cabinet agreed to seek expressions of interest from companies wishing to work with the Council to help meet the target.

A Prior Information Notice (PIN) was published on 5th July with a deadline for completed selection questionnaires and initial proposals being set for 6th August, covering:

 Lot 1 – The Geoff Moulder Leisure Centre  Lot 2 – The Guildhall  Lot 3 – Sport & Play Development Services

The PIN had been used as a call to competition as allowed for in the light touch regime through the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. A PIN notice enabled an authority to seek market information to support a prospective procurement process, and it provided suppliers with as much information as possible at an early stage.

Support for the tendering process was provided by officers from the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, using the Delta e-sourcing procurement portal.

At the deadline for the return of EoI, several organisations with not for profit distributing organisational status had submitted documentation to express their interest.

Details of the individual EoIs would not be made public at this stage in order to preserve the integrity of any future procurement process and were set out in Appendix 1.

The report and appendix had been considered by the Corporate and Community Committee on 30th August and the Committee had resolved:

1. That it be recommended that Cabinet fully explore and progress the Expressions of Interest received from the ‘light touch’ regime of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in respect of the future operational and development arrangements for the Council’s leisure, Guildhall and sports services, the outcome and detail to then be reported back to the Corporate and Community Committee for further consideration and recommendation, and

2. That improvements, efficiencies and savings to current services continue to be explored where possible.

28 EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC AND PRESS

DECISION

IT WAS RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A) (iv) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information)(Variation) Order 2006, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Order.

Cabinet 5 September 2018

29 APPENDIX 1 - REVIEW OF OFFERS, AND POTENTIAL CONTINUING COUNCIL OPERATIONS

[An exempt minute of the discussion on this appendix has been lodged with the Council.]

Cabinet moved back into open session to make the decision (Minute 30 refers).

The Meeting ended at 10.58 am

Signed by the Chief Executive

7 September 2018

These decisions will come into force (and may then be implemented) on the expiry of five clear working days after the date of this notice UNLESS the decisions are subjected to the Call-In procedure or are starred minutes requiring Full Council approval.