This meeting was scheduled to confirm the minutes of the previous meeting and receive reports from previous meetings of the Cabinet, Committees and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The meeting was also scheduled to consider a Notice of Motion on Section 106 Agreements.

Notice of Motion - Section 106 Agreements

A Notice of Motion was scheduled to be considered, that was submitted by Councillor Peter Cullum.

This Council believes that residents should receive the infrastructure and amenities they are promised when they buy a new home or when new development takes place nearby and that developers and this Council should be held accountable for their legal obligations within S106 agreements. This Council will produce a quarterly report detailing performance against financial, programme and other obligations of all parties within S106 agreements of which this Council is a party and a breakdown of this by ward.

The motion goes on to say that the report will be issued to all members of the council and that:

Increasing transparency on performance against commitments will provide confidence to communities that promises will be delivered on while local councillor input will help target available funds more effectively.

Reports of Cabinet and Committees

The meeting was scheduled to receive reports from the meeting of the Corporate Governance, Audit and Standards Committee held on 21 November 2024.

Corporate Governance, Audit and Standards Committee - 21 November 2024

This meeting was largely concerned with receiving updates on the work that had taken place since the previous meeting. These included an update from Ernst and Young on the Statement of Accounts audit for the 2023/24 financial year. The committee was advised that the audit was on track and that completion was expected in January 2025.

The meeting was also scheduled to note a report on the progress towards implementing the actions recommended in the Annual Governance Statement.

The Financial Resilience Plan had been agreed and was regularly reviewed by the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The self-assessment against the CIPFA Financial Management Code was still to be carried out. It did, in part, form the wider review being carried out around Governance and the Financial Resilience Plan. The self-assessment had been reviewed with two high-priority actions being brought for review by ELT and the Corporate Governance Group.

The meeting was also scheduled to note a verbal update on the committee structure review being led by Ed Hammond from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny.

Reports of Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Policy and Project Advisory Board

The meeting was scheduled to note the reports of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 24 October 2024 and the Policy and Project Advisory Board meeting held on 19 November 2024.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee - 24 October 2024

This meeting received a presentation from Rushmoor Voluntary Services. It was noted that:

RVS and Hart Voluntary Action (HVA) intended to work jointly going forward, condensing the number of meetings held per year by hosting jointly and using survey data to seek opportunities for more collaborative working.

The meeting recommended that the Cabinet consider:

a multi-year funding agreement from 2025/26

and:

bridging the gap in funding as a result of any withdrawal of the Hampshire County Council grant to RVS from 2025/26

and:

waiving the rent of £20,000 due to Rushmoor Borough Council through 100% rent relief

Policy and Project Advisory Board - 19 November 2024

This meeting received a presentation of the council's Climate Change Action Plan, which was described as covering the period 2023-2026.

The Board was reminded that the Council had declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and had set a target of the Council’s operational emissions being carbon neutral by 2030.

The plan contains 12 actions:

Action 1: Transition electricity across the Council’s sites to 100% renewable tariffs. Action 2: Switch the Council’s car fleet to electric alternatives and investigate options for other Council vehicles. Action 3: Achieve a 5% annual reduction in overall travel from employee-owned vehicles for business purposes and refresh the Council’s Workplace Travel Plan. Action 4: Consider opportunities arising from a relocation of the Council’s offices to reduce gas consumption and/or increase renewable energy generation on site. Action 5: To continue to engage young people on climate change through the schools’ programme which is now running in four junior schools within Rushmoor. Action 6: To use the Council’s communications channels (including through Member engagement) to promote opportunities for residents and local businesses to reduce their own carbon footprint, including promoting schemes to the improve energy efficiency of their home or business. Action 7: To hold an eco-fair in September 2023 at Southwood Country Park and Field Centre to allow residents to find out more about climate change and opportunities to reduce their own carbon footprint and to hold an event for local businesses on low carbon opportunities. Action 8: To work with Hampshire County Council to improve access to EV charging facilities across Rushmoor. Action 9: To refresh the Council’s procurement strategy to ensure that the goods and services that the Council buys support the aim of the Council being carbon neutral by 2030. Action 10: To review processes for the Council’s capital programme so that environmental impacts are incorporated into business case development and whole life cycle carbon assessments are undertaken. Action 11: To develop the Council’s offsetting approach with a view to ensuring that any offsetting undertaken by the Council has a local impact. Action 12: To review, update and publish the Council’s carbon footprint on an annual basis, publish an annual report detailing all that the Council has achieved in relation to its climate action plan and associated strategies (e.g. Green Infrastructure Plan).