Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Scaitcliffe House, Ormerod Street, Accrington. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services (01254) 380116/380109/380184
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor Vanessa Alexander.
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Declarations of Interest and Dispensations Minutes: There were no reported declarations of interest or dispensations granted.
Agenda Item 15 on the Supplemental Agenda was taken next at the meeting.
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Payment of Grant Funding to Hyndburn Leisure and Conclusion of the Leisure Review Report attached. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Leader of the Council sought the agreement of the Cabinet to withdraw this item from the Agenda. Approval was granted and, accordingly, the item was withdrawn.
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To approve the Minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 4th December 2024.
Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 4th December 2024 were submitted for approval as a correct record.
Councillor Zak Khan raised a matter in respect of Minute 255 – Reports of Cabinet Members (Pay and Display On-Street Parking Consultation). He indicated that he had followed up this matter with representatives of Lancashire County Council and that they had confirmed that there were no current proposals to implement on-street parking charges in Hyndburn. Any request for such arrangements would need to be initiated by the Borough Council.
The Leader responded that the announcement at the last meeting was made in good faith and based upon information which had been circulated at that time to Lancashire district council leaders and chief executives:
Resolved - That the Minutes be received and approved as a correct record.
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Urgent Decisions Taken In accordance with Executive Procedure Rule B16(c), to receive a report on decisions taken under urgency procedures. The following decisions are attached:
Minutes: In accordance with Executive Procedure Rule B16(c), Members considered a report on the following decisions taken under the urgency procedure:
Resolved - To note the report on urgent decisions taken.
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Reports of Cabinet Members To receive verbal reports from each of the Portfolio Holders, as appropriate. Minutes: Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities
Councillor Melissa Fisher reported on the following:
Hoarders Forum
The first meeting of the Hoarders Forum would take place on 28th January 2025 at 2.00pm.
Accrington Victoria Hospital Strategy Group
A meeting of the newly formed Accrington Victoria Hospital Strategy Group was due to be held on 26th February 2025.
Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Education and Skills
Councillor Noordad Aziz reported on the following:
Wilson Playing Field Site
In respect of Agenda Item 14, Urgent Decisions Taken (Wilson Playing Field Site), the decision was required to be taken urgently in order to appoint the new construction contractors, Universal Civils and Build, as soon as possible, to recommence the building works.
Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services
Councillor Stewart Eaves reported on the following:
Refuse Vehicles
The tender had now gone out for new refuse vehicles, including the food waste pods.
Damage in the region of £6k had been caused to an existing refuse vehicle, by the collapse of a wall. The wall was the property of Onward Homes, who would be liable for the cost of the repairs.
Taxi MOT Testing Station
A report on the possible establishment of an independent MOT testing station, to support the taxi trade, was currently being finalised and should be ready at the end of the week.
Whinney Hill Landfill Site
Lancashire County Council had recently signed an extension to the waste disposal contract, until 31st March 2026, to continue to use the facilities at Whinney Hill. The Borough Council was also continuing to look at options for the future provision of waste disposal.
Councillor Zak Khan reminded Members that, at the Council meeting on 16th January 2025, Councillor Steven Smithson, had proposed an extension to this contract to coincide with the date for reorganisation of local government in Lancashire. Councillor Eaves responded that this suggestion had not yet been formally considered. The Chief Executive added that he had recently met with the new head of service at Lancashire County Council. A further extension of the contract for Whinney Hill was not considered to be the best option, but other options were currently being explored including taking waste to the Suez site at Darwen, or to Farington Waste Recovery Park, near Leyland. Councillor Whitehead clarified that the current contract extension had come about following on-going discussions with Lancashire County Council, separately from the matter raised at the Council meeting.
Food Waste
The food waste caddies for the new collection service had now been ordered and should be received next week. The order had been placed for 10 councils across Lancashire working in partnership to achieve maximum value for money
Skip Days
Further Skip Days had been arranged, as follows:
· Barnfield – 1st February 2025 · Netherton – 8th February 2025 · Overton – 15th February 2025
Dates were due to be arranged in three additional wards.
Trade Waste
The Council was proposing ... view the full minutes text for item 308. |
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LGA Peer Review Report and Action Plan Report attached. Additional documents:
Minutes: Members considered a report of Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, Leader of the Council, regarding a process for developing an action plan addressing the recommendations of the recent Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC).
Councillor Dad reminded Members that the background set out in the report had also been provided to the Council at its meeting on 16th January 2025. The peer review findings would guide the Council towards making improvements. The current report set out proposals for the development an action plan and would include the involvement of a cross-party working group. Councillor Khan thanked the Leader for supporting cross-party working.
Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.
Reasons for Decision
The Council had invited a team of senior local government councillors and officers to undertake a Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge, including a visit to Hyndburn between 29th and 31st October 2024.
A CPC was a comprehensive review of key finance, performance and governance information and formed a key part of the improvement and assurance framework for local government. CPC assisted councils in meeting part of their Best Value duty, with the UK Government expecting all local authorities to have a CPC at least every five years. Peer challenges were improvement focused, not inspections, and the process was not designed to provide an in-depth or technical assessment of plans and proposals.
The Peer Team
Peers, who were experienced elected members and officers, were at the heart of the peer challenge process and provided a ‘practitioner perspective’ and ‘critical friend’ challenge. Peers took time away from their busy “day job” to contribute to improvement within the local government sector. The peer team for Hyndburn Borough Council comprised:
The peer team had prepared by reviewing a range of documents and information and had then spent three days on site at Hyndburn Borough Council, during which they had spoken to more than 110 people, including a range of council staff, members and external stakeholders. They had toured Accrington Town Square regeneration projects, visited the Raza Jamia Masjid mosque, and attended a meeting of HBC’s Cabinet.
Findings and Recommendations
The team had presented their main findings and recommendations verbally to the Council on their final day here and had now provided a formal report.
The report included a number of recommendations, listed below, which were designed to help the Council improve and build on the many positive findings of the peer team. ... view the full minutes text for item 309. |
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Council Tax Base - 2025/26 Report attached. Minutes: The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, Leader of the Council, informing Members of the Council Tax Base for the financial year 2025/2026.
Councillor Dad provided a brief introduction to the report.
Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.
Reasons for Decision
In accordance with Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the Council was required to formally determine the Council Tax Base for 2025/2026 prior to 31st January 2025. This allowed the Council to notify the major preceptors (Lancashire County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire and Lancashire Combined Fire Authority) by the 31st January of the Council Tax Base.
The requisite calculation (set out at Appendices A and B of the report) had to be carried out in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 2012. Once determined, the Council Tax Base could not be changed and had to be used when the Council set its Council Tax for the financial year 2025/2026.
The calculation of the Tax Base for Hyndburn and Altham for 2025/2026 was provided in the report. It was proposed that the Tax Base for Hyndburn 2025/2026 should be 22,163. This was an increase from last year’s Tax Base of 22,095. The 2025/2026 Tax Base for Altham was 320, an increase from last year’s Tax Base of 317.
The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 2012 specified formulae for calculating the Council Tax Base, which had to be set between the 1st December 2024 and the 31st January 2025.
The Council Tax Base was the measure of the number of chargeable dwellings held on the valuation list as at the 15th September 2024 and then adjusted to take account of discounts, exemptions, re-bandings and Council Tax Support to arrive at the Authority’s Council Tax Band D.
There were no alternative options for consideration or reasons
Resolved - That Cabinet notes the report on the Council Tax Base for the financial year 2025/2026 and approves the following:
(1) That in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by the Council for its Council Tax Base for the financial year 2025/2026 shall be 22,163.
(2) That in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by the Council for its Council Tax Base for the parish of Altham for the financial year 2025/2026 shall be 320.
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Aids and Adaptations - Pilot Project Report attached. Additional documents: Minutes: Members considered a report of Councillor Melissa Fisher, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, seeking approval to allocate up to £250,000 of the Disabled Facilities Grant (Better Care Funding) programme for a pilot project in partnership with the National Health Service (Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board), Lancashire County Council and the Peel House Medical Practice. The project aimed to fund early aid and adaptation interventions to prevent falls and hospital admissions and reduce the health burden cost.
Councillor Fisher provided a brief introduction to the report.
Members discussed the following maters:
· The difficulties in committing the full DFG allocation in previous years, which could be improved by this type of scheme; · A previous successful example of using DFG funding flexibly, to support the development of respite facilities on the site of the former North Cliffe School in Great Harwood; · A concern, based on a recent example, that sufficient DFG funding was sometimes difficult to secure for those in need, particularly where extensive adaptations were required, due to funding limits; · A concern that the allocation of £250k for this programme might lead to a shortfall in funds available for other aids and adaptations.
The Head of Regeneration and Housing, Mark Hoyle, responded that DFG funding was part of a wider pot of money allocated to the Council, via Lancashire County Council, from the Government. One element of this funding was ring-fenced for DFG. The regulations now allowed grater flexibilities in the use of this funding. In previous years, the Council had struggled to utilise all of the money available. The new legislation allowed the Council to broaden the scope of the grants available and the Council had appropriate policies in place to manage this wider remit. For example, funding could be used to provide facilities to safely support people returning to the community from hospital. This programme would operate in a similar manner.
On the question of funding limits, a mandatory limit of £30k was set for individual DFG allocations, but there was discretion to increase this to £50k in appropriate circumstances.
In respect of the overall level of grant funding, for the current year, an additional £164k had been allocated to the Council and this would be repeated in 2025/26. An assurance was provided that no-one would lose out by the introduction of this pilot programme. The preventative measures proposed by the new programme should save on future spending on more complex adaptations, or on future expensive hospital admissions.
Councillor Whitehead placed on record her personal thanks to Homewise for adaptations made to her own home.
Councillor Walsh asked if a similar scheme to enable dementia patients to remain in their own homes for longer could be considered. Mr Hoyle undertook to look into the matter.
Approval of the report was not considered to be a key decision.
Reasons for Decision
Injury from trips and falls especially among older, vulnerable adults was a significant reason for hospital admissions and a future burden on health budgets. Discussions had taken ... view the full minutes text for item 311. |
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Market Chambers Operating Costs Report attached. Additional documents: Minutes: The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Noordad Aziz, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Education and Skills, seeking confirmation that the Council was committed to financially supporting the proposed development of Market Chambers through a commitment to provide annual funding towards the operational costs of Market Chambers once opened in late 2027 in accordance with the estimated sums set out in paragraph 4 of that report.
Members were also advised that such funding would need to remain in place unless and until the Market Chambers scheme was in a position to self-fund without the need for significant support funding from the Council. The Council's independent advisors, Bradshaw Advisory, had produced financial forecasts confirming their advice that Market Chambers would be largely self-financed within 10 years from opening. Although from that point onwards, the Council should assume that it might be required to provide some funding in the region of up to £50,000 to £60,000 per year whilst identifying alternative revenue generating opportunities to ensure that Market Chambers no longer required any Council support.
Councillor Aziz provided a brief introduction to the report.
Councillor Khan asked how frequently the level of future financial support from the Council for the operation of Market Chambers would be reviewed. He noted that, given the projected timescales, this responsibility would become a matter for the proposed new unitary authority, which introduced an element of risk to any long-term arrangements. Councillor Aziz responded that the level of financial support would be reviewed from time to time, as necessary. In respect of the long-term arrangements, the new unitary authority would be fully apprised of the situation and elected councillors for Hyndburn wards within that council would need to be a strong advocate for supporting this project.
Approval of the report was considered to be a key decision.
Reasons for Decision
The Council was currently promoting a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for Market Chambers, Accrington. An Inquiry had been opened with an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in December 2024. That inquiry had not yet closed but had been adjourned for closing submissions to take place in early 2025. The Inspector had not yet determined whether or not the CPO would be confirmed.
To provide the best opportunity for the CPO to be confirmed by the Inspector, it was necessary for the Council to demonstrate that the proposed development, was likely to contribute to achieving the promotion or improvement of the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the Council's area. The Council also had to show that it had a clear plan for the land's use including confirmation that the required funding was available. This included both development costs and reasonable ongoing operation costs for the proposed development. There should be no physical or legal impediments that would prevent the development from being implemented and maintained in the future.
In January 2022, Cabinet had given its formal approval in support of the Town Centre Stakeholder Board’s recommendations that ... view the full minutes text for item 312. |
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Report attached. Minutes: Members considered a joint report of Councillor Noordad Aziz, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Education and Skills, and Councillor Vanessa Alexander, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Council Operations Updating Cabinet on the Treasury Management activities since the start of this financial year.
Councillor Aziz provided a brief introduction to the report. He indicated that Levelling Up Fund (LUF) money received in advance and slippage in the capital programme, including delays to and Wilson Sports Village, as well as higher than expected interest rates, had led to a strong cash position for the Council.
Councillor Khan noted the strong financial position and asked whether there was any scope to reallocate capital funding to support the renovation of the Civic Theatre, Oswaldtwistle. Councillor Aziz responded that LUF monies were allocated for specific interventions and could not be reallocated.
Councillor Khan noted the balance for the Climate Change Reserve (included in Table 12 of the report) and that there had been little call upon this reserve as at Quarter 3. He enquired if the Net Zero Working Group had any related expenditure plans. Councillor Aziz undertook to look into this matter.
Approval of the report was not considered to be a key decision.
Reasons for Decision
The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities required the Council to set Prudential Indicators annually for the forthcoming three years to demonstrate that the Council’s capital investment plans were affordable, prudent, and sustainable. The Council had adopted its prudential indicators for 2024/2025 at its meeting in February 2024.
The Prudential Code required the Council, having agreed at least a minimum number of mandatory prudential indicators (including limits and statements), to monitor them in a locally determined format on a quarterly basis.
The indicators were purely for internal use and were not designed to be used as comparators between authorities. If it should be necessary to revise any of the indicators during the year, the Executive Director (Resources) would report and advise the Council further.
‘Treasury Management’ related to the borrowing, investing and cash activities of the authority, and the effective management of any associated risks. In February 2024, in the same report referred to above, the Council had also set out and then approved its current Treasury Management Strategy. This was in accordance with the CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy) code of practice on treasury management in public services, the Council having previously adopted, via Cabinet, the then revised code of practice. Associated treasury management Prudential Indicators had been included in the February 2024 report.
Prudential Indicators Monitoring
Appendix 1 of the report set out the monitoring information for each of the prudential indicators and limits. These related to:
· External debt overall limits; · Affordability (e.g. implications for Council Tax); · Prudence and sustainability (e.g. implications for external borrowing); · Capital expenditure; and · Other indicators for Treasury Management.
Treasury Management Update
The forecast balance sheet position at 31st December 2024 for treasury management activities was shown in the table below.
Forecast ... view the full minutes text for item 313. |
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Revenue Budget Monitoring 2024/2025 - Quarter 3 to end of December 2024 Report attached. Minutes: The Cabinet considered a joint report of Councillor Noordad Aziz, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Education and Skills, and Councillor Vanessa Alexander, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Council Operations, regarding the financial spending of the Council up to the end of December 2024 for the financial year 2024/25 and the forecast impact on the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2024/25 to 2026/27.
Councillor Aziz provided a brief introduction to the report. A positive variance of £96k was forecast as at Quarter 3. However, there were still some potential budget pressures ahead, including costs around the waste disposal site/waste transfer station and food waste collections. The Council needed to remain prudent as regards its expenditure.
Approval of the report was not considered to be a key decision.
Reasons for Decision
At the Full Council meeting on 27th February 2024, Council had agreed the General Fund Revenue Budget for 2024/25. This had set a budget for the Council’s total spend in 2024/25 of £16.122M.
The current forecast spend to the end of the financial year in March 2025 was £16.026M. This brought the forecast underspend for the year against the budget to £0.096M. Further analysis of changes in forecast spend were shown in Section 4 of the report. A summary is as shown below.
Table 1: Forecast Performance Against Budgets
The current forecast spend to the end of the financial year showed an increase of £0.011M from the last report at QTR2, which brought the forecast underspend for the year against the budget to £0.096M. Two further tables in the report (Nos. 2 to 3) set out details of changes by service since the last report at QTR2 and the most significant changes in the forecast variance.
Section 4 of the report included a narrative and additional tables (Nos 4 to 11) on Variance by Service, which provided more detailed information on the areas identified in Table 1 above.
Reserves
The Council was currently forecasting a reduction of £8.618M in its usable reserves during the year, bringing them to £17.486M at the end of the year. Forecast movements in reserves were shown in Table 12 of the report. The most significant movements in reserves were the forecast spending on the capital programme.
Potential Pressures and Risks in Year
Although the forecast ... view the full minutes text for item 314. |
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Capital Programme Monitoring 2024/25 - 3rd Quarter Update to 31st December 2024 Report attached. Additional documents: Minutes: Members considered a joint report of Councillor Noordad Aziz, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Education and Skills, and Councillor Vanessa Alexander, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Council Operations, which provided an update for Cabinet on the Council’s Capital Programme Monitoring. It set out the latest phasing of the programme including the latest estimate of available resources and any additions or changes in forecast outturn since the last monitoring position had been presented to the Cabinet on 30th October 2024.
Councillor Aziz provided a brief introduction to the report. As mentioned previously, there had been some slippage around Levelling Up Fund (LUF) projects and Wilson Sports Village, which would roll over into next year. However, this had produced a positive effect on the Council’s revenue position. The Government had agreed to an extension to the timelines in respect of the LUF interventions. The Wilson project had been subject to a short delay, due to the previous contractor, ISG, entering into administration. It was reported that, in view of the additional grant of £240k provided by Sport England, there would be no additional funding required from the Council to complete the project.
Approval of the report was not considered to be a key decision.
Reasons for Decision
The Council had authorised new additions to the capital programme of £4.404m at its meeting on the 27th February 2024.
Since the Council meeting in February 2024, new schemes totalling £1.443m had been approved and added to the programme. The additional expenditure approved was to be fully funded from by external grants and receipts that had been awarded and or / received.
In addition, the capital spend outturn from 2023/2024 had slipped £40.656m into 2024/2025, of which £37.769m related to the Levelling Up scheme for Accrington Town Centre, the Leisure Estate Investment and Housing Schemes, including Disabled Facilities Grants.
The total approved Capital programme now totalled £44.866m and was as shown in the table below:
Current Approved Capital Programme
The financing of the programme in 2024/2025 was set out in a pie chart within the report.
The current programme of £44.866m would not be capable of being delivered in the current financial year and it was proposed to now rephase the programme into the years in which it was now expected to be spent. The phasing of the programme was now summarised as below.
Summary of the Scheme Profiles over the Medium-Term Financial Strategy
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Exclusion of the Public Recommended That, in accordance with Regulation 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, the public be excluded from the meeting during the following items, when it is likely, in view of the nature of the proceedings that there will otherwise be disclosure of exempt information within the Paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 specified at the items. Minutes: Resolved - That, in accordance with Regulation 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, the public be excluded from the meeting during the following item, when it was likely, in view of the nature of the proceedings that there would otherwise be disclosure of exempt information within the Paragraph at Schedule 12A of the Act specified at the item
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Urgent Decisions Taken Exempt information by virtue of Paragraph 5 - In respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings
In accordance with Executive Procedure Rule B16(c), to receive a report on decisions taken under urgency procedures. The following decisions are attached:
Minutes: Exempt information by virtue of Paragraph 5 - In respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings
In accordance with Executive Procedure Rule B16(c), Members considered a report on the following decisions taken under the urgency procedure:
Further information on the above decision had been provided at the Council meeting on 16th January 2025.
Resolved - To note the report on urgent decisions taken.
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