RECORD OF DECISION

The following decisions were taken on 6 MARCH 2007 by the CABINET

THE CALL IN PERIOD FOR THESE DECISIONS EXPIRES AT 5.00 PM ON THURSDAY, 15 MARCH 2007

Members of the Cabinet who were present :

Cllrs Andy Sutton (Chairman), Barry Abraham, George Brown, Dawn Cousins, Tim Hunter‑Henderson, Jilly Wood

Members also present (non-voting) :

Cllrs Jonathan Fitzgerald-Bond, Geoff Lumley, Susan Scoccia

Also present :

Alastair Rankine, Charlotte Smith, Stephen Taylor

Apologies :

Cllrs Patrick Joyce, David Pugh, Melanie Swan, Ian Ward

Confirmed as a true record of decisions taken ……………………………………………

Leader of the Council

Agenda item	Minutes of the Last Meeting
Decision reference	62/06
Decision Taken	The minutes of the meeting held on 21 February 2007 were agreed.
Questions/ Amendments	None.
Agenda item	Public Question Time
Decision reference	63/06
Questions	Mr Dennis Russell asked a question related to the Ventnor Eastern Esplanade Development Brief. He wished to know whether the Council still subscribed to the terms of the brief and whether it would ensure that no planning application was approved, which did not meet those terms. The Head of Planning Services responded, stating that the development brief, at present, still formed part of the development plan and that any development proposal, at present, would have to be considered in relation to the contents of that brief alongside other material planning considerations.
	Mr Simon Perry asked a question related to planning enforcement. He wished to know how many planning enforcement officers were employed by the Council. The Head of Planning Services stated that at present the Council employed two officers, who were dedicated to planning enforcement work, and a number of senior planning officers in development control who carried out a mixed function role, both determining planning applications and undertaking elements of investigation regarding planning enforcement issues. Mr Perry asked a supplementary question with regard to the number of officers the Authority believed it required to effectively enforce the planning system on the Island. Cllr Abraham stated that the Council was currently undertaking a review of enforcement across the Authority, which included planning enforcement, and that pending the outcome of this review, the Authority would ensure it had adequate resources in place to carry out its enforcement duties. The Director of Environment and Neighbourhoods stated that, at present, the Authority could not comment on the precise number of officers required to do this. Mr Perry asked the District Auditor why he believed there was no need to take further action with regard to the severance issue. The District Auditor explained that he had limited powers and could do two things; report the issue publicly, which he had done. apply to the courts to have the item declared unlawful. This he felt was not in the public interest due to the cost involved. Cllr Wood stated that the Council had taken action to tighten severance arrangements and a decision would be made under her delegated powers on 14 March 2007 regarding this issue. Mrs Helen Slade stated that she was aware the Council had introduced a new electronic procurement system. She wished to know whether the Cabinet or District Auditor were aware that the system was incompatible with the Council’s internal financial management system, which made it difficult for budget holders to monitor their budgets. Cllr Sutton stated that the electronic procurement system brought in was new and the financial management system, inherited from the previous administration, was not fit for purpose. He assured Mrs Slade that changes would be made to ensure the Council’s systems were fit for purpose.
Agenda item	Annual Audit and Inspection Letter
Decision reference	64/06
Decision taken	THAT the Annual Audit and Inspection Letter be noted and the action plan in response to the recommendations of the Letter be approved.
Reason	To enable the Council to achieve its corporate objective to be a ‘high-performing, cost-effective council’.
Options considered and rejected	Option ii. That the action plan not be approved.
Interests	None declared.
Additional advice received	None.
Agenda item	Quarterly Financial and Performance Management Report
Decision reference	65/06
Decision taken	THAT: 1. the performance of the Council at the end of the third quarter be noted. 2. the resolutions of the Audit and Performance Committee of the 13 February 2007 be adopted. 3. specific areas of performance, which required further explanation by the responsible Cabinet Member, be identified.
Reason	To enable the Council to achieve its corporate objective to be a ‘high-performing, cost-effective council’.
Options considered and rejected	None.
Interests	None declared.
Additional advice received	None.
Agenda item	Policy Commission Blue Paper on Affordable Housing
Decision reference	66/06
Decision taken	THAT the Policy Commission’s recommendations in the Blue Paper be accepted as set out in paragraph 4 of the report.
Reasons	1. To enable the Council to progress the development of Affordable Housing and Low Cost Housing on the Island. 2. To ensure that recommendations made by the Policy Commission for Care, Health and Housing, informed the work to develop a Housing Strategy for Affordable and Low Cost Housing on the Island. 3. To enable the Council to achieve the following aim as set out in the Local Area Agreement; to ‘provide healthy, safe, affordable housing accommodation according to the needs of Island people, including those in rural areas and those with least housing choice.’
Options considered and rejected	Option 1. To accept all recommendations in the Blue Paper. Option 3. To reject all recommendations in the Blue Paper.
Interests	None declared.
Additional advice received	None.
Agenda item	Consideration of the Forward Plan
Decision reference	67/06
Amendments / Additions / Removals	Cllr Brown informed the Cabinet that the Housing Strategy would be decided at Full Council on 16 May 2007. Cllr Abraham informed the Cabinet that the Policy Commission Blue Paper on Corporate Enforcement needed to be removed from the Forward Plan.
Interests	None declared.
Agenda item	Delegated Decisions
Decision reference	68/06
Questions	No questions were asked.
Interests	None declared.
Agenda item	Members Question Time
Decision reference	69/06
Questions	Cllr Barry Abraham asked the District Auditor whether the openness, in which the findings of the Annual Audit Letter had been dealt with, occurred in other Local Authorities. The District Auditor stated that the openness of the process was routine and had occurred in previous years. Cllr Lumley asked the District Auditor why the issue of Undercliff Drive had not been exposed by previous inspections. The District Auditor stated that he was unaware of the issue until it was brought to his attention by a concerned member of the public. Further, he explained that the audit was based on risk and that his team did not scrutinise every transaction that the Council had made. He suggested that the Council had a role to examine the rigor of its transactions. Cllr Sutton stated that a Committee had been set up to investigate the issue of Undercliff Drive. Information from independent specialists would be received by the Committee throughout the investigation. Cllr Lumley asked a question related to sickness absence indicators in the Quarterly Financial and Performance Management Report. He asked whether the Cabinet would comment on those indicators. Cllr Sutton stated that when compared to the national average those indicators might not be as alarming as Cllr Lumley had first thought. The Director of Children’s Services stated that there had been some inconsistencies in reporting sickness absence figures, for example, staff that had been on long term sickness absence and had since retired through sickness absence, were still included in the figures. He informed Cllr Lumley that the Director of People and Organisation Development was undertaking a review of how the Authority records and reports sickness measures, to ensure that information was up-to-date and accurate.
Interests	None declared.