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Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Executive Meeting Room - Third Floor, The Guildhall, Portsmouth. View directions

Contact: Vicki Plytas 023 9283 4058  Email: Vicki.plytas@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Frank Jonas, welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.  He then advised all attendees of the evacuation procedures and notified everyone that the meeting was being live streamed.

 

There were no apologies for absence.

2.

Declaration of Members' Interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of members' interests.

3.

Volunteering Strategy 2018-2021 pdf icon PDF 191 KB

The purpose of the report is to seek approval for the Portsmouth City Council Volunteering Strategy 2018-21

 

 

RECOMMENDED that approval is given to implement the Volunteering Strategy attached as appendix 1.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN REPORT)

Louise Wilders, Director of Community and Communication, introduced the report. She explained that , there is a need to start exercising more creativity and flexibility in the way volunteer roles are identified and set up to ensure that they will match the expectations of existing and prospective volunteers now and in the future.  The Portsmouth City Council Volunteering Strategy 2018-21 provides a corporate strategy and action plan to not only increase the number of volunteer hours gifted to PCC services, but also to measure the impact of what has been delivered by volunteering to the residents of Portsmouth.

For the reasons outlined, approval is sought to implement the Volunteering Strategy attached as appendix 1.

In response to queries,

·         People are drawn in to volunteering in a variety of ways such as via events they have attended often put on by Culture and Leisure, through their general interests, through Portsmouth University, through push events, through local publicity, as a result of information on the website etc. Volunteering is often seen as a potential way into employment as volunteering helps build skills and knowledge

·         Portsmouth Together came about several years ago and is about community activism - pride in your place.  Much support from businesses,  Works with external partners - looking to place outside the authority so that can take forward bids.  Developing a database to match volunteers with available voluntary work.

·         Taking Portsmouth Together outside PCC is a work in progress and is a result of consultation with the Voluntary and Community Sector and is an event coming up to further explore this especially in terms of applying for funding bids and also as it will probably be more flexible.

·         Re Website - we are not actively marketing through PCC website.  Portsmouth Together  will eventually have its own identity but still being worked on.  Happy to bring a further report back when things are further developed.

·         It was confirmed that significant plans for collaborative working are underway with the CCG and other social enterprise partners. It was suggested that a presentation could be given at a future meeting on  Project Bridge.

·         It was confirmed that there is a need to recognise the value of volunteers and to understand the full picture of all volunteering taking place across the area.  The aim is to have a single point of contact in terms of a specific building focused on how to support the community. 

 

 

DECISION:

 

The Cabinet Member for Resources gave approval to implement the Volunteering Strategy attached as appendix 1 to the report.

 

4.

City Priority Standard pdf icon PDF 123 KB

The purpose of the report is to seek approval for the implementation of  the Portsmouth City Priority Standard to support colleagues in the voluntary and community sector with applications they make for external funds.

 

Recommendations

 

(1)          That the Cabinet Member approves the Portsmouth City Priority Standard (the Standard)

(2)          That the Cabinet Member requests that the Director of Community and Communications ensures that the Standard is communicated to colleagues in the Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) and statutory partners

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN REPORT)

Louise Wilders, Director of Customer and Communication, introduced the report.  She advised that the report is to seek approval from the Cabinet Member for the implementation of  the Portsmouth City Priority Standard to support colleagues in the voluntary and community sector with applications they make for external funds.

Section 3 of the report sets out the background.  For the reasons set out in section 4 of the report, It is hoped that the introduction of the Portsmouth City Priority Standard will give greater weight to applications from Voluntary and Community Sector partners in Portsmouth.  

Members agreed that as long as the purpose is just to set priorities, this will be a useful tool.

 

DECISION:

 

The Cabinet Member for Resources

(1)  Approved the Portsmouth City Priority Standard (the Standard)

(2)  Requested that the Director of Community and Communications ensures that the Standard is communicated to colleagues in the Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) and statutory partners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.

Monuments and Memorials Policy pdf icon PDF 128 KB

To consider the adoption of a comprehensive memorials policy in the city of Portsmouth, to govern the decision making criteria with regard to requests for stone and sculpture memorials, benches and plaques, trees and urban meadows.  Secondly to make clear the Authority's position, with regard to roadside memorials.

 

RECOMMENDED that the Cabinet Member approves the adoption of the memorials policy.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN REPORT)

Claire Watkins and David Evans introduced the report which was to consider the adoption of a comprehensive memorials policy in the city of Portsmouth, to govern the decision making criteria with regard to requests for stone and sculpture memorials, benches and plaques, trees and urban meadows and also to set out the Authority's position, with regard to roadside memorials.

 

In answer to a query, it was confirmed that the process for decommissioning or removal of memorials is set out on page 5 of the policy and ultimately the designated memorials officer would take the final decision on which memorials would be removed.

 

DECISION:

 

That the Cabinet Member for Resources approved the adoption of the

memorials policy.

 

6.

Cemetery Fees - Fees and Charges for 2018-2019 pdf icon PDF 99 KB

The purpose of the report is to seek Member approval to the proposed revision of Cemetery Fees for 2018/19 as permitted by Local Authority Cemeteries Order 1977.

 

RECOMMENDED that charges for burials and associated services be increased as per Appendix 1 with effect from 1 April 2018.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN REPORT)

Gerry O'Brien introduced the report which sought approval for the proposed revision of Cemetery Fees for 2018/19 as permitted by Local Authority Cemeteries Order 1977.

The Cabinet Member thanked Mr O'Brien for his report which he thought was well written and presented. Members considered the service was good value for money.

 

DECISION:

 

That the Cabinet Member for Resources gave approval for charges for burials and associated services to be increased as per Appendix 1 of the report with effect from 1 April 2018.

 

7.

Resources Monitoring Report Q3 pdf icon PDF 112 KB

 

 The purpose of the report is to inform the Cabinet Member and Opposition Spokespersons of:

·         The forecast revenue expenditure for the year compared with the cash limited budget.

 

·         The forecast capital expenditure against the revised capital programme for the Resources portfolio.

 

Recommendations

That the content of this report be noted.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN INFORMATION ONLY REPORT)

Sue Page, Finance Manager, introduced the report, which was to inform members of

 

·         The forecast revenue expenditure for the year compared with the cash limited budget.

 

·         The forecast capital expenditure against the revised capital programme for the Resources portfolio.

 

Section 5 of the report draws members' attention to some particular underspends and overspends and a summary of the forecast revenue outturn position is provided in section 6.

Section 7 draws members' attention to aspects of the Capital Programme and states that the forecast outturn for the portfolio capital programme compared to the approved budget is a net breakeven position.

 

A query was raised on Item 23 -  Welfare Burials overspend £77,900 concerning why the debt was allowed to run on for so long,  It was confirmed that all these historic debts were recently reviewed and a decision was taken to write this amount off as there was no chance of recovering the amount due. In future, this will be done in each year.

 

The Cabinet Member noted the report and thanked all officers for their attendance and for their reports.