Councillor Grajewski questioned what due diligence was carried out before the Council decided to purchase a property.  The Land Registry indicated that the property in question was sold for £1.385m in March 2017.  Councillor House responded that the Council had carried out appropriate due diligence and received good value for money.  The Council’s policy was not to purchase property at over market value.

To consider the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2018.

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2018 be agreed as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest relating to items of business.

Issue

Fees and Charges for Council Services are reviewed on a regular basis.  In accordance with the Budget Strategy, fees and charges levied by the Council are being reviewed with the intention of increases being introduced with effect from January 2019 where possible (paper 4).

Considerations

The report contains the fees and charges for services directly managed by Cabinet.  The increases in this report will be budgeted to achieve an additional yield of £185,070 in 2019/20 which is in line with the Medium Term Financial Plan.  An error in appendix E had been noted relating to Riding Establishments on page 25; these figures should be deleted and replaced with the figures on page 29 that meet new licensing regulations from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

RESOLVED –

That, subject to the above amendment, the fees and charges set out in Appendices A to H be approved and come into effect on the dates outlined in the report.

(NOTE: A regular hirer of the Point Theatre spoke on this item.)

Issue

The report presents the Council’s overall financial position for the period from 1 April 2018 to 30 September 2018 and looks to forecast how the Council’s finances will perform in 2018/19 (paper 5).

Considerations

Appendix A of the report shows a forecast of a favourable position of £10,000.  The Community Investment Programme budget for 2018/19 is £133m of which £74.6m had been spent as at 30 September 2018.

RESOLVED –

(1)  That Cabinet considered the General Fund Revenue position as at 30 September 2018 and forecast for 2018/19; and

(2)  That Cabinet considered the financial performance of the Community Investment Programme as at 30 September 2018 and forecast for 2018/19.

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 in respect of the following items of business on the grounds that they are likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Schedule 12A categories have been amended and are now subject to the public interest test, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  This came into effect on 1 March 2006.

It is considered that the following items are exempt from disclosure and that the public interest in not disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED -

(1)  That, in pursuance of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they are likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act; and

(2)  That, in pursuance of the public interest test, the public interest in disclosing the information contained in the following item of business was outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

Issue

To consider issues in relation to Hamble Library (paper 7).

Considerations

The report sets out a number of matters relating to Hamble Library.

RESOLVED –

That the recommendation in the report be approved.

Issue

To consider a property transaction (paper 8).

Considerations

The report sets out a number of matters relating to a property transaction.

RESOLVED –

That the recommendation set out in the report be approved.