Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26 August 2020 be confirmed.

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

No declarations of interest were received.

To present the first quarter performance on the Council’s General Fund, Housing Revenue Account, Housing Repairs Service and Capital Programme, specifically including the financial impact of the Covid 19 pandemic in these areas.

Decision

(1)       The progress on the financial performance for the period 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020, the projected outturns for 2020/21 and the impact of Covid 19 on the Council’s financial position be noted.

(2)       The underlying impact of the pressures and underspends identified in paragraphs 3.2, 4.3 and 5.2 of the report, as set out in Appendices B, D and F respectively be noted.

(3)       The budget revisions to the General Fund as summarised in paragraph 3.18 of the report and to the Housing Revenue Account as summarised in paragraph 4.11 of the report be approved.

(4)       The proposed contributions from earmarked reserves as set out in paragraph 3.19 of the report be approved.

(5)       The changes to the Housing Investment Programme approved by the Chief Finance Officer as detailed in paragraph 7.10 of the report be noted.

As an alternative to the measures set out in this report, Executive could decide to take no action at this point and wait until later in the year to make any required changes to the budget. However, the S151 Officer with a responsibility to ensure that the Council maintained a balanced budget, offered caution with this approach, and the likelihood of an unbalanced budget that would arise. 

Updates were reported as follows:

General Fund Revenue Account

For 2020/21 the Council’s net General Fund revenue budget was set at £12,963,220, including a planned contribution from balances of £286,310, resulting in an estimated level of general balances at the year-end of £2,522,188 after allowing for the 2019/20 outturn position.

The General Fund summary was currently projecting a forecast overspend of £78,802, as set out in Appendix A of the report. Although this represented a relatively minor overspend in comparison to the net budget there were a significant number of forecast year-end variations in income and expenditure against the approved budget, primarily as a result of Covid 19 along with variances arising from measures taken to address the budget pressures and the financial support provided by Government. Full details of the main variances were provided in Appendix B of the report while the key variances were noted as follows:

The most significant of the forecast variations was income  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To approve the proposed changes to the Trusted Landlord Scheme, following review by Policy Scrutiny Committee at its meeting held on 18 August 2020.

Decision

That the proposed changes to the Trusted Landlord Scheme be approved.

None. 

The impact of student demand and the increase in the number of houses in multiple occupation led to a series of studies and reports in 2014 which resulted in the development of the Trusted Landlord Scheme (TLS). The TLS was launched in March 2017 and worked with five existing national, regional and local accreditation schemes operating in Lincoln, bringing landlords accredited with those schemes under the common badge of the TLS.

The TLS provided collective public recognition for responsible landlords who deliver private rented accommodation in the city. The purpose of the Scheme was to improve standards of accommodation and management, help improve neighbourhood relations and to recognise and support those landlords participating in the Scheme.

There had been many changes in legislation applicable to the private rented sector over the past 5 years including the introduction of banning orders; a database of rogue landlords and property agents; improved electrical safety standards; and civil penalties. The General Data Protection Regulations also came into effect in May 2018, prior to the launch of the scheme. As a result of these legislative changes, and given the current scheme had not met the targets set, and improvements to the operational procedures had been identified, the Private Sector Housing Team had taken this opportunity to review the scheme. As initial members of the scheme were due to renew their membership, this would also be an appropriate time to review the scheme document as per the main changes outlined at paragraph 4.5 of the officer’s report.

(Councillor Burke joined the virtual meeting at this stage in proceedings)

To approve the implementation of a Public Space Protection Order to provide additional tools and powers to reduce and manage incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and drug use within our multi-story carparks in the areas of Lucy Tower Multi-Storey Carpark, Broadgate Multi-Storey Carpark and Lincoln Central Multi-Storey Carpark, following consideration by Policy Scrutiny Committee at its meeting held on 18 August 2020.

Revised maps of Lucy Tower Multi-Storey Carpark, Broadgate Multi-Storey Carparkand Lincoln Central Multi-Storey Carpark were made available to Executive members.

Decision

That the implementation of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to prevent Anti-Social Behaviour in the areas of Lucy Tower Multi-Storey Carpark, Broadgate Multi-Storey Carparkand Lincoln Central Multi-Storey Carpark be approved, as per the draft order laid out within Appendix D of the officers report.

To take no further action – without the PSPO the council could continue to use other powers such as Community Protection Notices and Injunctions in cases of extreme ASB. This process was being used currently however due to the incremental requirements of community protection notices and other powers the process could be lengthy and did not give any immediate sanctions to deter persons causing ASB.

In October 2014 the Secretary of State enacted new powers from the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, relevant to tackling Anti-Social Behaviour.

The PSPO was flexible and could be applied to a much broader range of issues, with local authorities having the ability to design and implement their own prohibitions or requirements where certain conditions were met. These conditions centred on the impact to the quality of life in the locality, persistence, and whether the impact made the behaviour unreasonable.

For a number of years City of Lincoln Council had received significant complaints relating to the Anti-Social Behaviour taking place in our multi-story carparks.

Areas of the carparks were often unsanitary and posed a health and safety risk to both the Public and Employees that used the areas. Additionally the carparks were often the first and last image that visitors had of Lincoln and did not portray Lincoln as a vibrant, safe and welcoming city.

As well as recommending the introduction of a PSPO the council had already taken positive steps to address the number of reported incidents. The Council had recently introduced CCTV at both the Lucy Tower Street and Broadgate Carparks. Central Carpark had CCTV in already. CCTV was assisting with deterrence, and would also assist in the enforcement aspects of the PSPO. The Council had also put on additional security patrols to support staff and give reassurance to the public.

Through the consultation process the views of partner agencies had been sought as detailed within the officer’s report.

The purpose of the PSPO was to provide additional tools and powers to tackle ongoing and protracted ASB occurring on a regular  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.