Public reports pack PDF 2 MB - Blaby District Council

Cllr. R. J. Berrington 

Cllr. L. M. Breckon 

Cllr. M. G. Broomhead 

Cllr. D .R. Clements 

Cllr. K .D. Coles 

Cllr. J. A. Dickinson 

Cllr. J. A. Dolby 

Cllr. D. J. Findlay 

Cllr. J. Forey 

Cllr. J. M. Fox 

Cllr. D. Freer 

Cllr. B. Garner 

Cllr. A. V. Greenwood 

Dear Councillor, 

Blaby District Council Council Offices Desford Road Narborough Leicestershire LE19 2EP 

Telephone: 0116 275 0555 Fax: 0116 275 0368 Minicom: 0116 284 9786 Web: www.blaby.gov.uk 

This document is printed on recycled paper 

To Members of the Council 

Cllr. J. Blackwell (Chairman) 

Cllr. A. C. Tanner (Vice-Chairman) 

Cllr. I. M. Hewson 

Cllr. J. O. Hudson 

Cllr. F.G.H. Jackson 

Cllr. D. Jennings 

Cllr. S.J. Maxwell 

Cllr. C. A. Merrill 

Cllr. P. L. Moitt 

Cllr. A. Moseley 

Cllr. M. L. Potter 

Cllr. B. M. Parkins 

Cllr. D. R. Parsons 

Cllr. E. Parsons 

Cllr. T. J. Richardson 

DATE: 14 November 2012 

MY REF: Council 

YOUR REF: 

CONTACT: Miss Sandeep Mander 

TEL NO: 0116 272 7640 

FAX NO: 0116 272 7596 

EMAIL: committees@blaby.gov.uk 

Cllr. G. Sanders 

Cllr. S. Scott 

Cllr. S. Smith 

Cllr. J. Springthorpe 

Cllr. R. C. Ward 

Cllr. J. L. Weatherstone 

Cllr. B. J. Welsh 

Cllr. G. L. Welsh 

Cllr. E. F. White 

Cllr. M. A. Wright 

Cllr. W. A. Wright 

A meeting of the COUNCIL will be held in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, 

Narborough at these offices on TUESDAY, 27 NOVEMBER 2012 at 5.30 p.m. for the 

transaction of the following business and your attendance is requested. 

Yours faithfully 

Colin Jones 

Corporate Services Group Manager 

SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION 

AGENDA

To receive apologies for absence, disclosures of interest from Councillors, and 

Minutes of the previous Council meeting. 

1. Apologies for absence 

2. Disclosures of Interests from Members 

To receive disclosures of interests from Members (i.e. the existence and the nature 

of those interests in respect of items on this agenda). 

3. Minutes (Pages 1 - 16) 

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 25 September 2012 and 22 

October 2012 (enclosed). 

SECTION 2 - STANDARD COUNCIL BUSINESS 

To receive announcements from the Chairman and the statement of the Leader of 

the Council. 

Any reports for consideration listed under this section will be moved in one block 

without discussion, unless any Member present requests otherwise. 

4. Amendments to Appointments to Committees (Pages 17 - 18) 

To consider the report of the Interim Democratic Services and Governance Manager 

(enclosed). 

5. Chairman's Announcements 

6. Leader's Statement 

SECTION 3 - QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC & PRESENTATION OF 

PETITIONS 

To receive questions to Councillors submitted by members of the public and to 

receive any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s petitions scheme. 

7. Public Speaking Protocol 

Requests received by the Protocol deadline to be reported by the Democratic 

Services and Governance Manager with details of the Agenda Item to which they 

relate. (Such persons entitled to use the Protocol attend for the purpose of making 

representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the business of 

the meeting and the time allocated to each person is a maximum of three minutes 

unless extended at the discretion of the Chairman). 

SECTION 4 - REPORTS FOR DECISIONS 

To consider any reports submitted for consideration by Council.

8. Recommendations of the Cabinet Executive: Revised Capital Programme 2012/13 

(Pages 19 - 32) 

To consider the report of the Cabinet Executive (enclosed). 

9. Recommendations of the Cabinet Executive: Amendment to Lease of Land to 

Narborough Parish Council (Pages 33 - 40) 


10. Recommendations of the Cabinet Executive: Green Space Strategy (Pages 41 - 56) 


11. Recommendations of the Cabinet Executive: Corporate Plan Refresh (Pages 57 - 

66) 

To consider the report of the Cabinet Executive (enclosed) 

12. Recommendations of the Cabinet Executive: Climate Local (Pages 67 - 74) 


13. Recommendations of the Cabinet Executive: Strategy for Supporting Vulnerable 

People (Pages 75 - 96) 

To consider the report of the Cabinet Executive (enclosed) 

14. Final Council Tax Support Scheme for Adoption (Pages 97 - 126) 

To consider the report of the Director (enclosed). 

15. New Customer Complaints Policy (Pages 127 - 138) 

To consider the report of the Interim Democratic Services and Governance Manager 

(enclosed). 

SECTION 5 - MEMBERS' QUESTIONS 

To receive any questions submitted by Councillors. 

16. Questions from Members 

Any Members wishing to submit questions must do so to the Democratic Services 

Manager no later than 3 working days before the meeting. 

The Democratic Services Manager will report if any questions have been submitted. 

SECTION 6 - MOTIONS/ DEBATES/ PRESENTATIONS/ CONSULTATIONS

To consider any Motions submitted by Councillors, or take part in a debate or 

receive a presentation/consultation from an external body/partner agency. 

17. Motion under Council Rules of Procedure 

Cllr. G. L. Welsh to move the following motion, seconded by Cllr. A. Moseley: 

1. That this Council notes that the continuing charge to shoppers to park in the 

district car parks behind Johns Court and on Enderby Road in Blaby centre 

risk damaging the long term viability of the Blaby shopping area. 

2. Council therefore resolves to amend the current parking charge structure and 

return to a free three hour parking period for shoppers at these two car parks. 

SECTION 7 - EXEMPT REPORTS 

To receive any reports submitted which require consideration under exempt status. 

18. Exempt Paragraph 

To consider passing the following resolution: 

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public be 

excluded from the meeting for the following item on the grounds that the item 

involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 

1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act. 

Exemption Category: 1 

Reason for Exemption: the report contains personal information about the financial 

affairs of individual members of staff. 

Public Interest Test: The public interest test has been considered and, in all the 

circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption is 

considered to outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information.”


Cllr. L. M. Breckon 










117 

Council - Tuesday, 25 September 2012 

COUNCIL 

Minutes of a meeting held at the Council Offices, Narborough 

TUESDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2012 

Present:- 





Cllr. J. O. Hudson 






Cllr. A. Moseley 



Officers present:- 






Cllr. R. C. Ward 


Cllr. B. J. Welsh 




Mrs S. Whiles - Chief Executive 

Mr S. Beard - Director 

Mrs. J. Toman - Director 

Mr. C. Jones - Corporate Services Group Manager 

Mrs S. Pennelli - Financial Services Group Manager 

Ms. Q. Quinney - Community Services Group Manager 

Mrs L. Bendall - Interim Democratic Services & Governance 

Manager 

Mrs. L. McBean - Scrutiny Manager 

Mr M. Berry - Senior Democratic Services Officer 

Apologies:- 

Cllr. A. V. Greenwood, Cllr. B. M. Parkins and Cllr. M. A. Wright 

Page 1 

Agenda Item 3

140. DISCLOSURES OF INTERESTS FROM MEMBERS 

118 

Cllr. D. Findlay - Agenda Item 12 

Nature of Interest - Non-Pecuniary 

Extent of Interest - Member of Countesthorpe Parish Council 

Cllr. J. Fox - Agenda Item 13 


Extent of Interest - Board Member of East Midlands Housing 

Group 

Cllr. J. Hudson - Agenda Item 13 


Extent of Interest - Member of Three Oaks Homes Board 

Cllr. D. Jennings - Agenda Item 12 


Extent of Interest - Member of Countesthorpe Parish Council 

Cllr. D. Parsons - Agenda Item 13 

Nature of Interest - Pecuniary 

Extent of Interest - Director of company providing an advisory 

consultancy service to an involved party. 

Cllr. J. Springthorpe - Agenda Item 13 


Extent of Interest - Member of Three Oaks Homes Board 


Page 2

141. MINUTES 

119 

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2012, as circulated, were 

approved and signed as a correct record. 

142. CHEQUE PRESENTATION TO MARIE CURIE CANCER CARE 

The Leader of the Council presented a cheque for the sum of £444.88 to a 

representative from Marie Curie Cancer Care following the Fosse Meadows 

charity walk which took place to raise funds in memory of Cllr. P. Fox. 

Cllr. G. Sanders arrived at the meeting during this item. 

143. CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 

The Chairman made announcements in respect of the following items: 

• Welcome back to the Leader and Cllr. B. Garner following their recent 

illnesses; 

• Civic events attended; 

• Upcoming charity fashion show; 

• Thank you and farewell to the Senior Democratic Services Officer for 

the help and support provided to Members during his time with the 

Council. 

Cllrs. Broomhead, Maxwell, D. Parsons and E. Parsons arrived at the 

meeting during this item. 

144. STATEMENT FROM CLLR. R. C. WARD 

The Chairman invited Cllr. Ron Ward to read out the following statement 

which he had prepared: 

“I want to apologise to members and staff of the Council, together with parish 

councils, for what I now understand to be an inaccurate portrayal of the 

Lubbesthorpe consultation process, on a recent BBC Radio Leicester phonein 

programme. 

I had been contacted by a number of residents in my ward, voicing their 

concerns about the proposals. I meant to articulate those concerns in the 


Page 3

120 

interview, but I failed to do so clearly. 

In hindsight, I should have made it clear in the interview, that members were 

yet to consider the matters and when they did, they would determine the 

application with an open mind. I am sorry I did not make that position clear in 

the broadcast. 

I would be grateful if you would convey this sincere apology to all members 

and staff of the Council, together with parish councils.” 

145. LEADER'S STATEMENT 

The Leader of the Council presented his Statement, copies of which were 

circulated in advance of the meeting, in respect of the following: 

• Leader’s walk; 

• Blaby District Local Plan (Core Strategy); 

• Blaby District Olympic Legacy; 

• Best Village/Community Hall Win for Elmesthorpe; 

• The Local Authority Mortgage Scheme; 

• Findings of the External Auditors; 

• Children and young people participate in physical activities at The 

Pavilion; 

• Working with Parish and Town Councils; 

• Launch of Athena – Blaby’s new e-learning tool. 

The Leader then announced two additional items which had been received 

after publication of the Statement: 

• Lucy Garner – retained Junior World Road Race Championship title; 

• Blaby police volunteers – awarded Police Support Volunteer Team of 

the Year for the third time in four years by the National Police 

Improvement Agency. 

Cllr. J. Forey arrived at the meeting during this item. 


Page 4

146. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 

121 

Considered – Report of the Corporate Services Group Manager. 


DECISION 

That the amendments to the Constitution attached at Appendices 1, 2 and 3 

to the report of the Corporate Services Group Manager be approved. 

Reasons: 

1. Changes are required to the Officer Delegation Schemes for the 

Development Control, Licensing-Sub and Regulatory Committees to allow 

a greater number of officers in the Regulatory & Leisure Services Group 

to carry out specific functions as set out in the Scheme. 

2. The Access to Information Procedure Rules have been updated to reflect 

legislative changes which came into force on 10 September 2012. 

3. Following changes to the Cabinet Executive membership which took 

effect from 03 September 2012, it has been necessary to update the 

portfolio responsibilities of some Cabinet members. 

147. APPOINTMENTS TO COMMITTEES 

Considered – Report of the Senior Democratic Services Officer. 

DECISIONS 

1. That Cllr. L. Breckon be appointed Chairman of the Audit Committee in 

place of Cllr. T. Richardson. 

2. That Cllr. L. Breckon be appointed to the Joint Consultative Committee. 

3. That Cllr. I. Hewson be appointed to the Appeals Against Dismissals 

Committee. 

Reason: 

It is appropriate to give effect to the wishes of the political groups. 

148. OMBUDSMAN'S REPORT 

Considered – Report of the Monitoring Officer. 

Page 5

122 


DECISION 

That the report of the Ombudsman be considered and accepted. 

Reason: 

The report from the Ombudsman is comprehensive. Payment has been 

made in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused to the 

individual concerned. 

149. PUBLIC SPEAKING PROTOCOL 

No requests were received. 

150. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CABINET EXECUTIVE: POLICE AND 

CRIME PANEL - ARRANGEMENTS AND COMPOSITION 

Considered – Report of the Cabinet Executive (presented by Cllr. E. F. White 

– Leader of the Council). 

Cllr. J. Weatherstone arrived at the meeting during this item. 

DECISIONS 

1. That Leicestershire County Council continue to operate as the host 

authority for the Police and Crime Panel. 

2. That the Panel arrangements as required by the Police Reform and 

Social Responsibility Act 2011 and the Terms of Reference of the Panel 

as set out in Appendices A and B to the report of the Cabinet Executive 

be approved. 

3. That the Chief Executive be granted delegated authority to make such 

further practical arrangements with regard to the procedures and 

protocols to be followed in relation to the Police and Crime Panel as may 

be appropriate to facilitate its operation. 

4. That as a matter of principle, co-option of members from constituent 

authorities should be used to secure the balanced appointment objectives 

in relation to political balance and representation of the area covered by 

Leicestershire Police. 

5. That subject to ongoing review, as provided by the Panel arrangements, 

the Police and Crime Panel should consider co-option of three additional 

members from the Leicester City Council to achieve the balanced 

Page 6

123 

appointment objectives. 

6. That Councillor White be nominated as Blaby District Council’s 

representative on the Panel for the remainder of the 2012/13 civic year 

with Councillor A. V. Greenwood as his nominated substitute. 

Reasons: 

1. To confirm host arrangements. 

2. The steps set out in the recommendations are required in order to 

establish the Police and Crime Panel and to advise the Home Office of 

actions taken, as required by the Police and Crime Panels Nominations, 

Appointments and Notifications) Regulations 2012. 

3. To enable further arrangements in preparation for the establishment of 

the Panel. 

4. To enable balanced appointment objectives. 

5. To appoint a representative and a nominated substitute from Blaby 

District Council to the Panel. 

151. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CABINET EXECUTIVE: 

COUNTESTHORPE COUNTRY PARK 

Considered – Report of the Cabinet Executive (presented by Cllr. D. R. 

Clements – Corporate Services, Performance & Leisure portfolio holder). 


DECISION 

That the lease of the public open space (known as Countesthorpe Country 

Park) to Countesthorpe Parish Council be approved, subject to the transfer of 

ownership to the Council and that delegated authority be given to the 

Financial Services Group Manager in consultation with the Portfolio Holders 

to agree terms and conclude the legal arrangements. 

Reason: 

The land is considered of strategic value forming a natural border to the built 

edge of Countesthorpe with Blaby. It also affords wider and strategically 

important green infrastructure links, provides opportunities for formal and 

informal sport and recreation, children’s play, nature conservation and 

improving health and well being. As such this will be an integral part of the 

community and leasing to the Parish will ensure a coordinated approach is 

taken to develop, enhance and maintain this facility. This approach is 

consistent with the recommendations in the draft Green Space Strategy. 

Page 7

152. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CABINET EXECUTIVE: AFFORDABLE 

HOUSING PROPOSALS FOR BLABY DISTRICT COUNCIL GARAGE 

SITES 

124 

Considered – Report of the Cabinet Executive (presented by Cllr. T. 

Richardson – Planning, Economic Development & Housing Strategy portfolio 

holder). 

Cllr. D. Parsons left the meeting for the consideration of this item, having 

declared a Pecuniary interest in it. 


DECISIONS 

1. That plans to dispose of 7 Council owned garage sites at nil value to East 

Midlands Housing Association for the purpose of developing 18 affordable 

housing units be approved. 

2. That the release of the remaining 5 Council owned sites for sale be 

approved. 

Reasons: 

1. Development of affordable housing complies with the local ambitions and 

the objectives of the District’s Community Plan (Sustainable Community 

Strategy) 2011-2014 and the Blaby District Council Corporate Plan 2011- 

2014 

2. In management terms the 12 retained sites listed in the report have 

increased in liability for the Council from a Health and Safety perspective. 

153. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SCRUTINY COMMISSION 

Considered – Report of the Scrutiny Commission (presented by Cllr. G. L. 

Welsh – Chairman of the Scrutiny Commission). 

Cllr. D. Parsons returned to the meeting at the start of this item. 

DECISION 

That the Scrutiny Annual Report 2011/12 be accepted. 

Reason: 

Part 3, Section 6 of the Council’s Constitution states that ‘the Scrutiny 

Commission must report annually to Council on their work and make 

Page 8

125 

recommendations for future work programmes and amended working 

methods if appropriate.’ 

154. PROPOSED RENEWAL OF LEASE TO ENDERBY BAND 

ORGANISATION 

Considered – Report of the Financial Services Group Manager (presented by 

Cllr. J. O. Hudson – Finance, Efficiency & Assets portfolio holder). 


DECISION 

That the current lease agreement with Enderby Band Organisation (EBO) be 

renewed on similar terms to the existing lease and delegated authority be 

given to the Financial Services Group Manager in consultation with the 

Portfolio Holder to agree terms and conclude the legal arrangements. 

Reason: 

The current lease was entered into when the building of the Children’s 

Centre required the re-siting of the EBO structure to the present location on 

site at the Pavilion. Renewing the lease supports the decision that was made 

in 2009 to approve additional capital expenditure in that year to re-site the 

structure in addition to supporting an organisation which benefits the 

community. 

155. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CABINET EXECUTIVE: REVIEW OF 

PARKS AND OPEN SPACES 



DECISIONS 

1. That the restructuring of the management of the parks and open spaces 

be approved. 

2. That the Director be given delegated authority to take any consequential 

action resulting from the implementation of the report. 

Reasons: 

1. The proposed changes will deliver a fit for purpose management of parks 

and open spaces and reflect the current business needs. 

2. It is appropriate to give the Director delegated authority in the 

circumstances specified. 

Page 9

156. QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS 

126 

No questions were received. 

157. EXEMPT PARAGRAPH 

Considered – A proposed resolution to exclude members of the public from 

the meeting for the following item. 

Resolved: 

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public 

be excluded from the meeting for the following item on the grounds that the 

item involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in 

paragraphs 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act. 

Exemption Categories: 1 and 3 

Reason for Exemption: Personal and financial information in relation to 

individual staff members is contained in the report. 

Public Interest Test: The public interest test has been considered and, in all 

the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the 

exemption is considered to outweigh the public interest in disclosing the 

information.” 


Page 10

158. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CABINET EXECUTIVE: REVIEW OF 

PARKS AND OPEN SPACES (EXEMPT) 

127 



Before the close of the meeting, Members gave thanks to the Senior 

Democratic Services Officer for the help and support he had provided to 

them during his time with the Council. 


DECISIONS 

1. That the redundancy and associated costs of post number 015322 be 

approved. 

2. That the Director be granted delegated authority to implement the 

decision recommended in this report and take necessary consequential 

action. 

Reason: 

The proposed changes will deliver a fit for purpose management of parks 

and open spaces and reflect the current business needs. 

THE MEETING CONCLUDED AT 6.25 P.M. 

Page 11

This page is intentionally left blank 

Page 12











1 

Council - Monday, 22 October 2012 

SPECIAL COUNCIL 

Minutes of a meeting held at the Council Offices, Narborough 

MONDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2012 

Present:- 




Cllr. A. V. Greenwood 









Officers present:- 

Cllr. M. L. Potter 








Cllr. M. A. Wright 


Mrs S. Whiles - Chief Executive 

Mr. J.L. Holden - Deputy Chief Executive 

Mr S. Beard - Director 

Mrs. J. Toman - Director 

Mr. C. Jones - Corporate Services Group Manager 

Mr K. Pegg - Neighbourhood Services Group Manager 

Mrs L. Bendall - Scrutiny Officer 

Miss S. Mander - Senior Democratic Services Officer 

Mrs J. Robinson - Democratic Services Officer (Civics) 

Apologies:- 

Cllr. L. M. Breckon, Cllr. J. O. Hudson, Cllr. A. Moseley, Cllr. R. C. Ward, Cllr. B. J. Welsh and 


1. WELCOME TO COUNCILLOR M. L. POTTER 

The Chairman welcomed Cllr. M. L. Potter as the new member for Pastures 

Ward following a by-election on 27 September 2012. 

Page 13

2. DISCLOSURES OF INTERESTS FROM MEMBERS 

2 

No disclosures were received. 

3. PUBLIC SPEAKING PROTOCOL 

No requests were received. 

4. BUSINESS RATES RETENTION - POOLING PROPOSITION 

Considered – Report of the Deputy Chief Executive. 

That it be approved that: 


DECISIONS 

a) Business rates be pooled with Leicestershire County Council, Leicester 

City Council, all Leicestershire District Councils and Leicester, 

Leicestershire and Rutland Fire Authority as set out in this report. 

b) That delegation of authority be given to both the Chief Executive and the 

Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader and Finance, 

Efficiency & Assets Portfolio holder to agree the pooling governance 

arrangements, including the legal agreement, and to withdraw from the 

pool if information in the Local Government Finance settlement in 

December indicates that continued pooling would not be in the best 

interest of this Council. 

c) That a report containing an update be brought back to the next meeting 

of Council. 

Reason: 

To enable a pooling proposal to be agreed that would ensure that resources 

are retained in the sub region for economic development. 

5. PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE RECYCLING SERVICES 

Considered - Report of the Director. 

An updated version of the “Waste Research: Blaby District Council: 

Recycling Services – Options for Change 2012” was circulated at the 

meeting. 

Page 14

3 


DECISIONS 

1. That the Council introduce a “co-mingled” collection system for kerbside 

recyclables as soon as possible. 

2. That the collection frequency for the new service remains at fortnightly. 

3. That glass is not included in the co-mingled recycling collection service 

(unless the income generated by its inclusion improves to the extent that it 

becomes beneficial to the net cost of the service). 

4. That Officers are authorised to make the necessary arrangements and 

incur expenditure as set out in Appendix 2 of the report for the new 

service. 

Reason: 

The service will be an improvement for residents, more efficient 

and more environmentally friendly than the current arrangements. The 

market prices for recyclate mean that it is very costly to collect glass at 

present, however the markets are so volatile that flexibility to change is 

needed. 

THE MEETING CONCLUDED AT 5.45 P.M. 

Page 15


Page 16

Meeting: Council 

BLABY DISTRICT COUNCIL 

Date: 27 November 2012 

Subject: Amendments to Appointments to Committees 

Report author 

and contact 

details: 

Portfolio Holder: 

Status: Public 

1. Purpose of Report 

• Leona Bendall 

• Interim Democratic Services and Governance 

Manager 

• Council Offices 

• 0116 272 7706 

Councillor David Clements - Corporate Services, 

Performance and Leisure 

1.1 To consider the following changes to the appointments of committees. 

2. 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

3. 

3.1 

3.2 

Recommendation to Council 

That Cllr M. L. Potter be appointed to the vacant seat on Scrutiny 

Commission. 

That Cllr. L. Breckon replaces Cllr J. Dickinson as the Chairman of the 

Appeals Against Dismissal Committee. 

That Cllr I. Hewson is appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Appeals Against 

Dismissal Committee. 

Reasons for Decision Recommended 

Following the Pastures by-election held on 27 September 2012, the 

Conservative Group requested that Cllr. M. Potter be appointed to the 

vacant seat on Scrutiny Commission. 

Part 3, Section 6 of the Constitution stipulates that a member of the Cabinet 

Executive cannot hold the position of Chairman/Vice-Chairman of the 

Appeals Against Dismissal Committee. 

4. Forward Plan 

4.1 Not applicable. 

Page 17 

Agenda Item 4

5. Key Decision 

5.1 No, this is a decision reserved for Council. 

6. Matters for Consideration 

6.1 Following the resignation of Cllr. E.A Webster-Williams and the appointment 

of Cllr. T. Richardson to the Cabinet Executive, a vacant seat had arisen on 

the Scrutiny Commission. The Conservative Group requested that Cllr. M. 

Potter be appointed to the vacant seat on Scrutiny Commission. 

6.2 Part 3, Section 6 of the Constitution refers that a Member of the Cabinet 

Executive is not eligible to hold a position of Chairman or Vice-Chairman of 

the Appeals Against Dismissal Committee. It has therefore become 

necessary to amend the Chairmanship appointments and replace Cllr J. 

Dickinson with Cllr. L. Breckon. 

7. Other Relevant Considerations 

7.1 There are no other considerations relevant to this report. 

8. Other Options Considered 

8.1 There are no other considerations relevant to this report. 

9. Appropriate Consultations 

9.1 Relevant Group/Whips. 

10. Financial and Efficiency Implications 

10.1 None in the context of this report. 

11. Appendices to this report 

11.1 None. 

12. List of Background Papers 

12.1 None. 

The following Officers/Members have been consulted: 

(insert � below to show relevant consultation has taken place) 

Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) 

S. 151 Officer (Deputy Chief Executive) 

� Monitoring Officer (Corporate Services Group Manager) 

� Cabinet Executive Portfolio Holder (Cabinet Executive/Council reports only) 

Page 18




Subject: Recommendations of the Cabinet Executive: 

Revised Capital Programme 2012/13 

Report of: Cabinet Executive 

Portfolio Holder: Cllr J. Hudson – Finance & Efficiency 



1.1 To present to Council the recommendations of the Cabinet Executive made at 

its meeting held on 19 November 2012 in respect of the above item. 

2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


To follow. 

Reason for Decision Recommended 

To follow. 


4.1 Yes 


5.1 Not applicable it is a matter for Council. 


Agenda Item 8 

6.1 A supplemental report in respect of this item will be circulated to Members 

following the meeting of Cabinet Executive to be held 19 November 2012, 

detailing the recommendations agreed at that meeting. 

6.2 Attached at appendix 1 is a copy of the report to be considered by Cabinet 

which relates to this agenda item. 

Page 19


7.1 No other considerations are relevant to this report. 


8.1 None. 




10.1 As detailed in section 6 of this report. 


11.1 Revised Capital Programme 2012/13 


12.1 None. 

The following Officers/Members have been consulted (identified by �): 

� Monitoring Officer (Corporate Services Group Manager/Director) 


Page 20


Meeting: Cabinet Executive 

Date: 19 th November 2012 

Subject: Revised Capital Programme 2012/13 

Report author 

and contact 

details: 

Sarah Pennelli 

Financial Services Group Manager 

Council Offices 

0116 272 7650 

Portfolio Holder Councillor J. Hudson – Finance & Efficiency 

Portfolio Holder 



1.1 To inform Members of the available capital resources, the progress of the 

Capital Programme 2012/13 and to gain approval for additional items to the 

programme. 

2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


That the report be accepted and that the additional capital expenditure of 

£112,000 be authorised as an addition to the Capital Programme. 


The additional expenditure is required to ensure resources are available to 

implement the new Revenues and Benefits system with as little risk to 

customers as possible. To ensure the appropriate vehicles and machinery 

are provided to operational areas of the Authority. 


4.1 Yes 


5.1 Not applicable it is a matter for Council 

Page 21


6.1 The 2012/13 Capital Programme was formally approved by Council on 20 th 

February 2012. The detailed programme, which is set out in Appendix A, 

amounted to an investment of £1.584m. Added to this there were a number 

of schemes brought forward from previous years together with the associated 

funding allocation, which amounted to £1.087m, as well as net expenditure on 

new projects totalling a further £1,772m. Altogether this leads to a revised 

capital programme of £4.443m for 2012/13. 

6.2 In accordance with the Council’s Capital Strategy, the Officer Asset 

Management Group is charged with constantly monitoring and reviewing 

progress on the capital programme. This includes those schemes brought 

forward from previous years, to seek to ensure that the resources available 

are deployed efficiently and effectively. Each capital project has a nominated 

project manager who is responsible for the delivery of the project. 

6.3 Capital Expenditure 2012/13 

6.3.1 Appendix B gives details of the actual spending against budget for all 

schemes in the approved capital programme for the period 1 st April 2012 to 

31 st October 2012. The table includes any in-year changes and identified 

variations in project costs. 

6.3.2 The overall position at 31 st October 2012 is that actual expenditure of 

£1.655m has been incurred, with additional commitments of £0.243m against 

the overall revised budget of £4.443m. This represents 42.72% of the 

proposed programme. The Asset Management Group are monitoring the 

schemes closely to ensure completion by the end of the financial year and 

where possible reallocate unused funding to allow additional capital projects 

to be undertaken but stay within the agreed programme budgets. 

6.3.3 As part of the monitoring process a number of amendments to the original 

programme have been identified. The additional expenditure on these 

projects have been authorised through separate reports that have been 

brought before Council or have been added through the monitoring of 

received funds. S106 Monies being an example of this. In addition to this an 

additional requirement has been identified for £112,000 to be added to the 

Capital Programme for which Authorisation is sought. The movement in the 

total Capital Programme is detailed in the table overleaf and additional 

narrative around each item is provided in further depth in the text. 

Page 22

Authorised Capital Programme 2012/13 ( inlcuding 2011/12 B/Fwd) 2,670,726 

Authorised Additions 

Bin Purchase (Boxes to Bins) 900,000 

Local Authority Mortgage Scheme 1,000,000 

Contribution from NHB - empty properties 50,000 

Revised Authorised Programme 4,620,726 

Vehicle Saving (Boxes to Bins) (390,000) 

Disabled Facility Grants - further funding rec'd 23,831 

Additional S106 Monies Rec'd 70,415 

Additional Enhancement to Payroll - funded within revenue budget 5,901 

Net savings to Capital Programme net of self funded additions (289,853) 

Revenues & Benefits Replacement System 25,000 

Additional Vehicles - Three Oaks Homes 35,182 

Operational Vehicles/Mowers 51,624 

Proposed Additions to Capital Programme 111,806 

Total Revised Capital Programme 4,442,679 

Note : The following items have been funded from the contingency within the Capital 

Programme and therefore do not form additional capital investment over and above 

that authorised. 

Formation of additional Staff Car Park Area 7,000 

Installation of Ramp at the Pavilion 4,000 

Contribution towards Narborough Park Fencing 5,000 

Online Booking System at the Pavilion – to integrate to corporate systems 10,697 

Covers for Inspection Pits at Depot 4,900 

31,597 

6.3.4 The original 2012/13 Capital Programme included the sum of £978,000 for the 

replacement of fleet vehicles, including four kerbside recycling vehicles. The 

Boxes to Bins initiative that was approved at Council on the 22 nd October 

removed the requirement to replace the four kerbside recycling vehicles but 

required an additional refuse vehicle be purchased in addition to those 

already included in the initial Capital Programme. This revision generates a 

net saving in capital expenditure of £390,000 on vehicles that is attributable to 

the Boxes to Bins initiative. 

6.3.5 Offset against this is a further requirement to fund additional vehicles as 

follows: 

• £35,000 leased to Three Oaks Homes, the cost of which is recovered 

in the recharge made to Three Oaks Homes 

• £51,624 for operational vehicles and mowers 

6.3.6 The requirement to borrow £900,000 to purchase 40,000 240 litre wheeled 

bins was identified in the Boxes to Bins initiative approved by Council on 22 nd 

October 2012. 

6.3.7 On 19 th July 2011 the Council approved an advance of £1m to Lloyds Banking 

Page 23 

£

Group as part of the Local Authority Mortgage Scheme. This scheme is aimed 

at first time buyers and the advance equated to the Council’s share of 

financial assistance through the provision of an indemnity. The scheme has 

proven to be a great success and the Council, therefore, agreed to support 

the scheme with a further £1m advance which was transferred to Lloyds in 

July 2012. This additional £1m has now been fully utilised and additional 

funds from Leicestershire County Council are in the process of being made 

available to Blaby District residents. 

6.3.8 Along with East Midlands Housing Association, the Council has also 

contributed £50,000 from its New Homes Bonus grant allocation towards 

bringing empty homes back into use on a purchase and repair basis. It is 

estimated that the Council’s contributions will lead to 2 to 3 empty properties 

being brought back into use during this financial year. 

6.3.9 Included within the 2011/12 capital programme was an amount of £175,000 

for the replacement Revenues and Benefits system. The remaining amount of 

£105,000 was brought forward into this financial year and this project is 

anticipated to be delivered in the coming months. A further provision of 

£25,000 has been included within the revised capital programme to make 

allowance for additional staffing costs during the ‘go live’ period. This will 

ensure any backlogs that have built up over the ‘go live’ period is processed 

quickly and brought fully up to date. Provision has been made for the resource 

requirements for both the Revenues and Benefits departments. 

This project was funded through spend to save reserves and the payback 

period including this additional expense is still within a five year period. 

6.3.10 Spend on Disabled Facilities Grants is shown in the table below. Although 

this only equates to 47% of available DFG resources, it is expected to require 

the ability to commit 2013/14 funding towards the end of this financial year to 

allow an earlier start on next year’s grant awards. Of the £626,185 2012/13 

funding, £409,354 is funded through borrowing. 

Brought Forward from 2011/12 209,354 

New resources made available in 2012/13 416,831 

Expenditure to date (238,062) 

Commitments to date (91,692) 

Balance Carried Forward 296,432 

6.3.11 The improvements to the Pavilion and the development of a golf range are 

included within the Capital Programme and Appendix B in line with the original 

investment proposals. A separate report providing an update on the Pavilion 

Capital Expenditure has capital implications which will be incorporated in the 

Capital Programme should the recommendations be accepted by Council. 

6.4 Capital Resources 

6.4.1 The Council’s projected available capital resources are determined at the 

beginning of each financial year and a detailed breakdown of the resources 

required to support the programme are shown at Appendix C. The funding 

shown in Appendix C assumes that all schemes will be fully implemented. 

Page 24 

£

6.5 Estimated Resources Carried Forward 

6.5.1 The total resources estimated to be carried forward into 2013/14 are £985,499 

but of this £809,620 is already committed or ring fenced as follows: 

VAT Shelter Receipts from Three Oaks Homes 

277,441 

Special Schemes Reserve Fund 42,763 

Computer Room Reserve Fund 100,000 

Leisure Centre Renewals Fund 389,416 

Total 809,620 

6.5.2 This leaves only £197,879 available to spend on new projects or variations 

within current projects. The Asset Management Group are monitoring spend 

against projects very closely to ensure that the resources are maximised in 

this financial year. 

6.5.3 Should any significant asset issues arise requiring immediate attention, 

having only £197,879 available is cause for concern. It is not sustainable to 

continue to borrow regardless of the current interest rates available as 

repayments of principle/interest have to be found from within an ever 

constrained revenue account. This concern was highlighted in the 2009/10 

Financial Statement Audit report by the authority’s external auditors, 

PriceWaterhouse Coopers. 

“With lower levels of receipts now available to the Council in the Usable 

Capital Receipts reserve, future capital funding will need to come from 

increased borrowing or through the use of revenue resources. In either 

case the long term consequences will mean an additional charge to 

revenue, either through the impact of financial capital expenditure directly 

with revenue resources or through the additional interest payments of 

long term borrowing. The Council should consider the long term 

consequences on the revenue budget of future capital expenditure.” 

6.5.4 Accordingly, any capital projects that gain approval for 2013/14 will again 

largely have to be funded from borrowing. Asset disposals have diminished in 

recent years from an already low base of building assets. It is, therefore, likely 

that Members will once again be asked to consider a substantially reduced 

capital programme for the forthcoming financial year. 


Human Rights Act 1998 

N/A 

Legal Implications 

N/A 

Page 25 

£

Equalities 

N/A 

Nottingham Declaration and Climate Change 

N/A 

Crime & Disorder 

N/A 

Human Resources Implications 

N/A 

Risk Assessment 

N/A 

Other 

N/A 


8.1 The option of proceedings with the current year’s capital programme without 

review and amendment could lead to a mismatch at resources and needs. 


9.1 This report has been produced in consultation with the Asset Management 

Group. 


10.1 This report sets out the up to date position with regard to the Council’s 

2012/13 Capital Programme. 

11. Appendix to this report 

11.1 Appendix A – Capital Expenditure and Funding Summaries 

11.2 Appendix B – Detailed Revised Capital Programme 2012/13 

11.3 Appendix C – Budgeted Capital Resources 


12.1 Asset Management Group working papers 

Page 26


� Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) 

� S. 151 Officer (Deputy Chief Executive) 

� Monitoring Officer (Legal Services Manager) 


Page 27


Page 28

Capital Expenditure - 2012/2013 

Prior Years 

Schemes 

B/Fwd 

Approved 

Allocations 

March 2010 

In-Year 

Movements 

Revised 

Expenditure 

Expenditure + 

Commit's to 

Period 7 

2012/2013 

APPENDIX A 

Unspent Project 

Budget C/Fwd 

£ £ £ £ £ £ 

HOUSING 

Emergency Boiler Replacement Contingency 8,496 20,000 0 28,496 7,321 21,175 

Local Authority Mortgage Scheme (LAMS) 0 0 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 0 

Contribution Towards Empty Homes Scheme 0 0 50,000 50,000 0 50,000 

Disabled Facilities Grants - Major Works 209,354 200,000 23,831 433,185 234,243 198,942 

Disabled Facilities Grants - Minor Works 0 193,000 0 193,000 95,510 97,490 

GENERAL FUND 

Assets - New Builds 0 0 15,788 15,788 15,788 0 

- In year Additions 15,788 

- In year Reductions 0 

Asset Maintenance 383,148 11,000 11,000 405,148 54,273 350,875 


- In year Reductions 0 

Community Projects 201,197 144,500 59,627 405,324 196,748 208,576 


- In year Reductions ( 52,533 ) 

Corporate Equipment and Information Technology 247,992 1,015,000 611,899 1,874,891 282,957 1,591,933 


- In year Reductions ( 334,597 ) 

Environmental Services 37,039 0 0 37,039 11,176 25,863 

Land Use and Economic Development 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TOTAL 1,087,226 1,583,500 1,772,145 4,442,870 1,898,016 2,544,854 

Funding - 2011/2012 

Funding for 

Schemes 

B/Fwd 

Original Total 

Funding 

2011/2012 

Supplementary 

Funding 

2011/2012 

Total Capital 

Programme 

Funding 

2011/2012 

Capital 

Expenditure 

Funding 

2011/2012 

Funding 

C/FWD 

£ £ £ £ £ 

Internally Funded: 

Prudential Borrowing 622,058 1,359,500 593,722 2,575,281 ( 538,539 ) 2,036,741 

Useable Capital Receipts 0 0 37,153 37,153 ( 29,599 ) 7,554 

Useable Capital Receipts / Investments (LAMS) 0 0 1,000,000 1,000,000 ( 1,000,000 ) 0 

Leisure Centre Renewals Fund 3,714 0 3,140 6,854 ( 5,836 ) 1,018 

Special Schemes Reserve 27,365 31,000 0 58,365 ( 7,321 ) 51,043 

Revenue Funded Capital Expenditure 227,257 0 59,672 286,929 ( 125,130 ) 161,798 

Externally Funded: 

Disabled Facilities Grant 0 193,000 0 193,000 ( 95,510 ) 97,490 

Leicestershire CC - Blaby Town Centre Works 7,957 0 0 7,957 ( 7,876 ) 82 

Leicestershire CC - Bouskell Park 15,000 0 0 15,000 ( 15,000 ) 0 

Leicestershire CC - Cycle Facilities 3,921 0 0 3,921 ( 3,140 ) 781 

Leicestershire CC - Play Builder 1,909 0 0 1,909 0 1,909 

Housing Association Contibutions to DFG Grants 0 0 23,831 23,831 ( 5,456 ) 18,375 

S106 Contributions - Various 141,006 54,625 195,631 ( 53,434 ) 142,197 

DEFRA - Air Quality Grant 37,039 0 0 37,039 ( 11,175 ) 25,864 

Total Funding 1,087,226 1,583,500 1,772,145 4,442,870 ( 1,898,016 ) 2,544,854 

Page 29 

D:\moderngov\Data\AgendaItemDocs\2\1\9\AI00009912\$35lippck.xls 13/11/1211:39

REVISED CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2012/13 APPENDIX B 

GENERAL FUND 

Assets - New Builds 

Budgets bfwd from 

2011/12 

Original Approved 

Budget 

Programme 

2012/2013 

Virements / 

Additions etc 

within the year 

REVISED BUDGET 

PROGRAMME 

Expenditure + 

Commit's to Period 

7 2012/2013 


Budget C/Fwd 

£ £ £ £ £ £ 

Thorpe Astley Community Centre 0 0 15,788 15,788 15,788 0 

Asset Maintenance 

Blaby Joint Service Shop Remodelling 899 0 0 899 776 123 

Carbon Management Works 2,761 0 0 2,761 0 2,761 

Create Fitness/Dance Studio At Pavillion 40,000 0 0 40,000 0 40,000 

Create Golf Driving Range At Pavillion 220,954 0 0 220,954 34,707 186,247 

Refurbishment Of Facilities At Pavillion 37,420 0 0 37,420 0 37,420 

Improvements To Pavillion Car Park 53,000 0 0 53,000 0 53,000 

Installation Of Extra Pavillion Heating 6,854 0 0 6,854 5,838 1,016 

Improve Cycle Facilites At Council Offic 6,440 0 0 6,440 3,140 3,300 

Increase Size Of Depot Yard 9,820 0 0 9,820 9,812 8 

Create Additional Staff Car Parking Spaces 0 0 7,000 7,000 0 7,000 

Install Ramp Outside Pavillion Portcabin 0 0 4,000 4,000 0 4,000 

Refurbishment Of Shower Facilities At Co 0 11,000 0 11,000 0 11,000 

Fire Alarm Installation At The Depot 5,000 0 0 5,000 0 5,000 

Sub Total 383,148 11,000 11,000 405,148 54,273 350,875 

Community Projects 

Improvements To Btc Paving & Landscaping 3,840 0 0 3,840 3,840 0 

Blaby Town Masterplan Improvements 1,990 0 0 1,990 0 1,990 

Improvements To Btc Hanging Baskets 5,522 0 0 5,522 5,428 94 

Improvements To Btc Addnl Benches & Bins 4,780 0 0 4,780 4,682 98 

Improvements To Btc Addnl Notice Boards 5,000 0 0 5,000 4,935 65 

Installation Of Benches - 2012 0 0 4,000 4,000 2,750 1,250 

Blaby Town Masterplan Improv. 12-13 0 25,000 -4,000 21,000 0 21,000 

Addnl Bollards In Blaby Town Centre 3,606 0 0 3,606 2,800 806 

Whistleway Steps Improvements 0 15,000 0 15,000 12,000 3,000 

Bouskell Park Better Places Project 30,000 0 0 30,000 24,355 5,645 

S106 Contrib To Littlethorpe Play Area 0 0 53,891 53,891 53,891 0 

Contrib. towards fencing of Narborough Park 0 0 5,000 5,000 0 5,000 

Whistleway Countryside Bridges 12-13 975 30,000 0 30,975 28,027 2,948 

Capital Grant Programme - 2012/13 0 54,500 0 54,500 54,500 0 

On-Street Parking Schemes 12-13 0 20,000 0 20,000 0 20,000 

Whistleway / Speedwell Cl. Play Area 1,909 0 0 1,909 0 1,909 

Childrens Play Programme 2,569 0 0 2,569 0 2,569 

S106 Receipts 

S106 - Stoney Stanton 0 0 0 0 -460 460 

S106 - 4A Duncan Avenue, Huncote 2,436 0 0 2,436 0 2,436 

S106 - Coventry Road, Narborough 48,533 0 -48,533 0 0 0 

S106 - Barns Lane, Kirby Muxloe 61,414 0 0 61,414 0 61,414 

S106 - Oakfield Avenue, Glenfield 0 0 556 556 0 556 

S106 - Huncote Road, Croft 0 0 3,897 3,897 0 3,897 

S106 - Nowell Close, Glen Parva 0 0 2,436 2,436 0 2,436 

S106 - Groby Road, Glenfield 0 0 2,436 2,436 0 2,436 

S106 - Fairview Avenue, Whetstone 0 0 11,691 11,691 0 11,691 

S106 - Church Farm, Elmesthorpe 0 0 4,871 4,871 0 4,871 

S106 - Barry Drive, Kirby Muxloe 0 0 4,872 4,872 0 4,872 

S106 - Hillborough Close, Glen Parva 0 0 2,436 2,436 0 2,436 

S106 - Desford Road, Kirby Muxloe 0 0 4,871 4,871 0 4,871 

S106 - Wigston Street, Countesthorpe 0 0 1,461 1,461 0 1,461 

S106 - Forest Drive, Kirby Muxloe 0 0 4,871 4,871 0 4,871 

S106 - Tournament Drive, Glenfield 0 0 4,871 4,871 0 4,871 

S106 - St. Johns - Enderby 28,623 0 0 28,623 0 28,623 

Sub Total 201,197 144,500 59,627 405,324 196,748 208,576 

Page 30 


REVISED CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2012/13 APPENDIX B 

Budgets bfwd from 

2011/12 

Original Approved 

Budget 

Programme 

2012/2013 

Virements / 

Additions etc 

within the year 

REVISED BUDGET 

PROGRAMME 

Expenditure + 

Commit's to Period 

7 2012/2013 


Budget C/Fwd 

£ £ £ £ £ £ 

Corporate Equipment and Information Technology 

Personnel & Payroll System 831 0 5,901 6,732 6,732 0 

Upgrade Of Council Web Services 71,788 0 0 71,788 67,304 4,484 

Power Standby Generator 6,732 0 0 6,732 4,534 2,198 

Pv Polar Systems 1,966 0 0 1,966 1,943 23 

Litterbin Replacement Programme 12-13 0 12,000 0 12,000 11,836 164 

Purchase Fleet Vehicles - 2012-13 Prog. 0 978,000 -303,000 675,000 138,377 536,623 

Purchase 240Ltr Bins For Boxes To Bins 0 0 900,000 900,000 0 900,000 

Covers for Inspection Pits at Depot 0 0 4,900 4,900 4,778 122 

Gas Monitoring Works At The Pavillion 16,350 0 0 16,350 0 16,350 

E-Financials Upgrade To 4.1 0 25,000 0 25,000 0 25,000 

Online Booking System At The Pavillion 228 0 10,695 10,923 10,923 0 

Replacement Revenues & Benefits System 105,317 0 25,000 130,317 36,530 93,787 

CONTINGENCIES : 

Amg Capital Contingency 44,780 0 -31,597 13,183 0 13,182 

Sub Total 247,992 1,015,000 611,899 1,874,891 282,957 1,591,933 

Environmental Services 

Air Quality Action Plan 37,039 0 0 37,039 11,176 25,863 

Sub Total 37,039 0 0 37,039 11,176 25,863 

Land Use and Economic Development 

Sub Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TOTAL GENERAL FUND CAPITAL PROGRAMME 869,376 1,170,500 698,314 2,738,189 560,942 2,177,247 

HOUSING 

Private Sector Housing 

Disabled Facilities Grants - Major Works 209,354 200,000 23,831 433,185 234,243 198,942 

Disabled Facilities Grants - Minor Works 0 193,000 0 193,000 95,510 97,490 

Contribution Towards Empty Homes Scheme 0 0 50,000 50,000 0 50,000 

Contribution To L.A. Mortgage Scheme 0 0 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 0 

Provision Of Heating Grants 8,496 20,000 0 28,496 7,321 21,175 

Sub Total 217,850 413,000 1,073,831 1,704,681 1,337,074 367,607 

CAPITAL PROGRAMME - SUMMARY 

HOUSING 217,850 413,000 1,073,831 1,704,681 1,337,074 367,607 

GENERAL FUND 869,376 1,170,500 698,314 2,738,189 560,942 2,177,247 

TOTAL - 20112/13 PROGRAMME 1,087,226 1,583,500 1,772,145 4,442,870 1,898,016 2,544,854 

Page 31 


INTERNAL FUNDING 

Useable Capital Receipts - Sale of General Fund Assets 188,360 

- TOH VAT Shelter Receipts 

(Ringfenced for Investment) 

998,592 

Unsupported Borrowing - General Fund - Prudential Borrowing 622,058 

Renewals Fund - Leisure 396,270 

Special Schemes Reserves - Various Projects 101,128 

- Computer Room Reserve 100,000 

Revenue Funded Capital Expenditure 227,257 

EXTERNAL FUNDING 

BUDGETED CAPITAL RESOURCES STATEMENT 

for the financial year 2012/13 as at Period 7 

TOTAL INTERNAL FUNDING 2,633,666 

Disabled Facilities Grant - DCLG - 

- Housing Association Contrib. - 

S106 Contributions - Various 171,765 

DEFRA - Air Quality Grant 37,039 

Leicestershire County Council - Better Places - Blaby 22,957 

- Playbuilder 1,909 

- Cycle Facilities 3,921 

TOTAL EXTERNAL FUNDING 237,591 

TOTAL FUNDING 2,871,257 

OF WHICH COMMITTED 2,683,217 

FREE BALANCE 188,041 

Page 32 

APPENDIX C 

BALANCE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FUNDING OF BALANCE 

B/F FUNDING UTILISED REMAINING C/F 

as at IN as at CAPITAL as at 

01-Apr-12 2012 / 13 31-Oct-12 PROGAMME 31-Mar-13 

(IN RESERVES) (Estimated) * (Estimated) * 

£ £ £ £ 

47,671 

278,848 

1,939,222 

- 

- 

- 

59,672 

2,325,414 

193,000 

23,831 

23,866 

- 

- 

- 

240,697 

2,566,111 

(29,599) 

(1,000,000) 

(538,539) 

(5,836) 

(7,321) 

- 

(125,130) 

(1,706,425) 

(95,510) 

(5,456) 

(53,434) 

(11,175) 

(22,876) 

- 

(3,140) 

(191,591) 

(1,898,016) 

(7,554) 

- 

(2,022,741) 

(1,018) 

(51,043) 

- 

(161,798) 

(2,244,156) 

(97,490) 

(18,375) 

(142,197) 

(25,864) 

(82) 

(1,909) 

(781) 

(286,698) 

(2,530,854) 

198,879 

277,441 

- 

389,416 

42,763 

100,000 

- 

1,008,499 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

1,008,499 

809,620 

198,879





Amendment to Lease of Land to Narborough Parish 

Council 


Portfolio Holder: Cllr J. Hudson – Finance, Efficiency & Assets 





2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


To follow. 


To follow. 


4.1 Yes 




Agenda Item 9 






Page 33




8.1 None. 






11.1 Amendment to Lease of Land to Narborough Parish Council & Appendix 1 


12.1 None. 




Page 34




Subject: Amendment to Lease of Land to Narborough Parish 

Council 

Report author 

and contact 

details: 




Sarah Pennelli 

Financial Services Group Manager 


0116 272 7650 

Cllr J.Hudson – Finance & Efficiency Portfolio 

Holder 

1.1 To seek authority to amend and combine the existing leases in relation to the 

open space known as “Narborough Park”. 

2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


• That the existing lease to Narborough Parish Council be amended to 

combine the areas of land as highlighted on the plan in Appendix 1 and 

delegated Authority be given to the Financial Services Group Manager 

in consultation with the Portfolio Holder to agree terms and conclude 

the legal arrangements. 


• It is appropriate to amalgamate the lease agreements with Narborough 

Parish Council and alter the boundary of those leases to coincide with 

the replacement fencing. 


Yes 


5.1 Not applicable it is a matter for Council 

Page 35


Narborough Parish Council currently lease the area known as Narborough 

Park under two lease agreements dated 4 th November 2009. 

Discussions in relation to the replacement of the fencing on the boundary 

between Narborough Park and the Council Offices have led to a proposal to 

alter the boundary of the area leased by Narborough Parish Council and also 

to amalgamate the two leases that are currently in existence. 

Extended discussions between Officers of Blaby District Council and the 

Parish Council have taken place and the following are elements that have 

been considered in the process: 

o The replacement fencing should be of the type to ensure safety of the 

public utilising the park in relation to vehicles accessing the Council 

Offices via the driveway. 

o That a contribution is made by Blaby District Council to reflect some of 

the additional expenditure that has resulted in this enhanced 

specification. 

o That the boundary of the leased area be amended to extend the verge 

as shown in Appendix A in order that a further six spaces be 

accommodated within the staff car park and to allow access for 

emergency vehicles. 

o That the annual lease value of £1,065 be reduced to a nominal sum. 

Recent arrangements where Parish Councils have taken on the 

responsibility and costs of maintenance have been at a nominal 

amount to recognise the expenditure that the Parish Councils take on 

with maintenance and upkeep of such areas. 



Not Applicable 


All legal implications will be considered throughout the process. 


There are no Human Resources implications. 

Risk Assessment & Business Continuity 

The considerations for the replacement fencing took into account the physical 

barrier that was needed along the boundary between the park and the 

driveway leading to the Council Offices. It is anticipated that a fence line 

providing a physical barrier reduced the risk of incidents of children running 

into the path of oncoming vehicles. 

Equalities 

No EINA is required for this report. 

Page 36


There are no Nottingham Declaration implications. 


There are no Crime and Disorder implications. 


Not to make alterations to the lease agreement. With the replacement of the 

fencing it seemed the appropriate time to consider the boundary of the area 

used and take the opportunity to revise the boundary and to amalgamate the 

agreements. For this reason not altering the existing leases was not 

considered. 


Narborough Parish Council has been consulted through discussions with the 

Parish Clerk. 

The Regulatory Services Group Manager has also been consulted throughout 

this process. 


It is proposed that a nominal rent is charged for the amalgamated lease 

agreements. 

A contribution towards the replacement fencing equating to approximately 

50%,(£5,000) of the cost is proposed. This has been included within the 

Report detailing the Revised Capital Programme 2012/13. 

Per annum 

Revenue/Cost £1,065 

Capital £5,000 

11. Appendix/Appendices to this report 

11.1 Appendix 1 : Plan of Land to be Leased to Narborough Parish Council. 


12.1 Counter Part Lease 1 between Blaby District Council dated 4 th Nov. 2009 

12.2 Counter Part Lease 2 between Blaby District Council dated 4 th Nov. 2009 






Page 37

Page 38

Page 39


Page 40




Subject: Recommendations of the Cabinet Executive: Green 

Space Strategy 





Cllr David Clements – Corporate Services, 

Performance and Leisure 



2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


To follow. 


To follow. 


4.1 Yes 




Agenda Item 10 






Page 41




8.1 None. 






11.1 Green Space Strategy and Appendix 


12.1 None. 




Page 42




Subject: Green Space Strategy 

Report author 

and contact 

details: 




Phill Turner 

Health & Recreation Manager 

Pavilion 

0116 2727647 

Cllr David Clements, Portfolio Holder for Corporate 

Services, Performance & Leisure 

1.1 To approve a Green Space Strategy for the Council. 

2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


That the Green Space Strategy at Appendix 1 be approved. 


The Council needs to develop and adopt a Green Space Strategy in order 

to strengthen its strategic approach to the provision of green space within 

the District and ensure a co-ordinated approach with partners. 


4.1 Yes 


5.1 Yes 


6.1 At present the Council does not have a Green Space Strategy and therefore 

has no formalised strategic direction for green space. 

6.2 Green space is an essential ingredient of successful neighbourhoods and it 

provides a wide range of social, economic and environmental benefits to local 

communities. There is huge national demand for better quality green spaces. 

Page 43

Surveys repeatedly show how much the public values them, while research 

reveals how closely the quality of green spaces links to levels of health, crime 

and the quality of life in every neighbourhood. Well designed green space 

provides space for recreational activities, improving physical health and 

fitness and improving mental health and well being. 

6.3 National best practice guidance for developing Green Space Strategies has 

been used to provide the structure of the Green Space Strategy. 

6.4 An earlier version of the Green Space Strategy was brought to Cabinet 

Executive on 11 June 2012 (minute 48 refers). Following Scrutiny ‘call in’ a 

further report was taken to Cabinet Executive on 30 July 2012 (minute 101) 

withdrawing the Strategy: recognising it needed further development work and 

consultation. This process is now complete and the version appended to this 

report is a complete revision taking on board the views of the Council’s 

Scrutiny Commission and those of local Parish Councils and other external 

community groups. 

6.5 The Strategy now has a clear purpose, to: 

• Provide a shared vision for the future and ensure linkages are evident. 

• Provide a framework for Parish / Town Council’s and community 

groups. 

• Help to identify improvements required and to set priorities. 

• Help make the case for funding opportunities and planning obligations. 

• Be responsive to the changing financial, planning and policy 

environment. 

� Understand and manage public expectations in relation to green space 

issues. 

• Improve access and usage. 

6.6 To deliver the strategy an action plan has been developed using the following 

themes: 

• Provide - we will seek to provide sufficient accessible green space to 

meet current and future demand 

• Improve - we will seek to maintain and raise the quality of our green 

spaces 

• Connect - we will work in partnership to develop and manage 

continuous green networks for people and wildlife 

• Involve - we will work in partnership with the community and 

stakeholders to develop, manage and promote green spaces 

• Resource - we will seek to ensure sufficient resources are available to 

develop, manage and maintain green spaces 

• Sustain - we will work to ensure that the management of our green 

spaces have a positive impact on people, the local economy and the 

environment 

• Conserve - we will ensure that green space biodiversity, landscape 

and natural heritage is protected and conserved 

6.7 The action plan will be monitored through quarterly Portfolio Reports and 

internal working groups and will remain a working document. 

Page 44

6.8 The Strategy has been developed jointly with our partners, through 

consultation with related statutory and voluntary sector organisations, service 

providers and customers. 



Human rights have been considered but there are no overarching matters for 

concern in relation to this report. 


There are no legal implications. 


There are no human resources implications. 


There are no risks, business continuity or resilience issues associated with 

this report. 

Equalities 

An EINA has been carried out and any adverse impacts identified have been 

mitigated in the EINA Action Plan. 


Climate Change has been considered within the strategy. On page 4 of the 

strategy it is stated that in delivering the strategy we will recognise the 

changing climate and manage sites accordingly. 


Through the strategy we will work to reduce anti-social behaviour (ASB) by 

implementing good design principles and by working with local agencies to 

address ASB when it occurs. 


8.1 To not adopt the strategy – this would continue the present position with 

uncertainty around required provision and lack of clarity of role and ownership 

of sites. 


9.1 Consultations with internal and external partners have been undertaken with 

139 comments, suggestions or amendments put forward. 

Page 45

9.2 The following internal groups were consulted: 

• Green Infrastructure Forum 

• S106 Working Group 

• Management Board 

• Scrutiny Commission 

• Cabinet Briefing 

• Cabinet Executive 

• Quality Services Working Group 

9.3 The following external partners were consulted: 

• Environment Agency 

• Natural England 

• Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust 

• The Woodland Trust 

• Parish Council’s 

• Leicestershire Access Forum 

• The Friends of Fosse Meadows 

• Stepping Stones 

• Leicester City Council 

• Leicestershire County Council 


10.1 There are no financial implications arising directly from the adoption of the 

strategy. Implementation of the action plan will have budgetary implications 

which will be subject to the usual budgetary processes. 


11.1 Appendix 1 – Green Space Strategy 


• Planning Policy Guidance – PPG17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and 

Recreation (2002) 

• Urban Green Spaces Task Force report – Green Spaces Better Places (2002) 

• Living Spaces, Cleaner, Safer, Greener (2002) 

• European Landscape Convention 

• The Natural Environment & Rural Communities (NERC) Act 

• Green Space Strategies – A Good Practice Guide (2004) 

• 6C’s Green Infrastructure Strategy (2010) 

• East Midlands Green Infrastructure Scoping Study (2009) & Stepping Stones 

Project 

• Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Landscape and Woodland Strategy 

• Building a Big Society for our area – A Community Plan for Blaby District 

(2011) 

• Blaby District Council Local Development Framework (LDF) Core Strategy 

Submission Version (January 2012) 

Page 46

• Blaby District Council PPG 17 Open Space, Sports & Recreation Facilities 

Assessment (2009) 

• Blaby District Council Children’s Play Strategy (2007-2012) 

• Local Health Data (various sources) 

• Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Biodiversity Action Plan 

• Areas of Separation Policy (included in Core Strategy) 

• Countryside Policy (included in Core Strategy) 

• Leicestershire Rights of Way Improvement Plan 

• Leicester City Rights of Way Improvement Plan 







Page 47 

REPORT END


Page 48

BLABY 

GREEN SPACE 

STRATEGY 2012 

Draft – October 2012 

Page 49

Introduction p.3 

Purpose of the Strategy 

Scope 

Vision for our Green Space p.4 

How will we deliver this? 

Current Green Space Provision p.5 

Consultation Key Findings p.5 

Green Space Standards & Practice p.6-7 

Summary of Green Space 

Standards 

Assessing Green Space 

Adoption, Ownership 

and Management 

Disposal or Leasing 

of Sites 

Developer Contributions 

Safeguarding Green Space 

Partnership Working 

Blaby District Council Strategic Sites p.8 

Delivering the Strategy p.8 

2 

Action Plan 

Evaluation & Review 

Page 50

Blaby District Council has risen to the challenge of preparing a strategy for its green 

spaces in the light of the current fi nancial situation to make the greatest use of the 

resources and meet the needs of local residents. The Green Space Strategy is one of 

a number of plans refl ecting the Community Plan and will inform the development 

of the Council’s Local Development Framework. The Strategy will inform planning 

policy and enable the Council to protect and enhance Green Spaces. The strategy 

should become the reference point for all the Council’s decisions in relation to the 

design, development, management, maintenance and funding of green spaces. 

Purpose of the Strategy: 

Scope 

Provide a shared vision for the future and ensure the linkages are evident 

Provide a framework for parish / town councils and community groups 

Help to identify improvements required and to set priorities 

Help make the case for funding opportunities and planning obligations 

Be responsive to the changing fi nancial, planning and policy environment 

Understand and manage public expectations in relation to green space issues 

Improve access and usage 

The scope of this strategy will include the following classifi cations of green space: 

Green Space Classifi cation Description 

Parks and Recreation Grounds Recreation grounds, parks, and formal gardens often with a wide range 

of uses 

Outdoor Sports Space Fixed sports spaces that are accessible to the public (sports pitches, tennis 

courts etc) 

Children’s and Young People’s Space Equipped space (play areas) and provision for teenagers (multi-use games 

areas) 

Informal Open Space Spaces open and free to use but neither laid out or managed for a specifi c 

function 

Natural Green Space Natural Green Space open to the public (meadows, river fl oodplain & woodland) 

Allotments Areas for people to grow their own produce and plants 

Churchyards and Cemeteries Churchyards & cemeteries which can provide a tranquil haven for people 

and wildlife 

Green Corridors Green links from urban areas to the countryside and other settlements 

Green Wedges Strategic green space to prevent settlements merging and to guide development 

Public Rights of Way Public rights of way can include bridleways, paths and cycle routes 

Civic Spaces This includes Market Squares, often in busy shopping areas 

Sites of Special Scientifi c Interest (SSSI) Sites designated as being ecologically or geologically important 

Page 51 

3

The Strategic vision for Blaby’s green spaces was developed by the Council’s Green 

Infrastructure Forum with key stakeholders and has the support of Elected Members. 

The strategic vision for Blaby’s green space strategy is shown below: 

“ To provide green spaces that make a positive contribution to the quality and 

diversity of the local environment and to the health and well-being of our residents. 

Our green spaces can be used, valued and enjoyed by everyone.” 

4 

How will we deliver this? 

Promote our green spaces to increase usage 

and encourage the use of green spaces as part 

of a healthy lifestyle 

Listen to the views of local residents about what 

they want in relation to green space 

Provide events and activities on our green spaces 

Reduce defi ciencies in green space across the 

district through the planning system 

Prioritise our green space sites and identify sites 

of strategic importance 

Prioritise investment and improvements at our 

green space sites 

Work in partnership with Parish / Town Councils 

and other relevant organisations to ensure a coordinated 

approach to green space issues. 

Monitor this strategy and review it annually. 

Encourage voluntary & community groups to 

participate in the management & development of 

green spaces. 

Manage & maintain green space sites to provide 

quality local facilities. 

Recognise the changing climate and manage sites 

accordingly. 

Page 52

2.5 

2.0 

1.5 

1.0 

0.5 

0 

The charts below provide an overview of the supply and defi ciencies of green space 

throughout the District: 

Category Current level of provision 

(Hectares/1000 population) 

Current level of provision (hectares/1000 population) 

National standard (hectares/1000 population) 

Allotments Children and 

young people 

Churchyards 

and cemetaries 

Informal 

open space 

Natural 

green space 

National standard 

(Hectares/1000 population) 

Allotments 0.16 0.3 

Children and young people 0.05 0.3 

Churchyards and cemetaries 0.19 0 

Informal open space 1.31 0.5 

Natural green space 2.24 1 

Outdoor sport 1.52 1 

Parks and recreation grounds 0.41 0.8 

Outdoor 

sport 

Parks and 

recreation grounds 

A range of consultation has taken place with residents in relation to green space, 

including a Community & Young Persons survey, a Public Satisfaction with Parks 

& Open Spaces report and the Blaby Residents survey. Common themes can be 

drawn from these different consultations, these are shown below: 

Increasing the amount of provision for teenagers 

Increasing the amount of park furniture (benches, bins & lighting) 

Reducing the amount of dog fouling 

Satisfaction levels with open spaces remains high 

Only a small proportion of local residents want to 

volunteer at a local open 

space. 

Page 53 

5

The following information highlights key standards and practice which will be 

undertaken by the District Council when managing green space: 

Summary of Green Space National Standards 

This table below summaries the proposed quantity and access standards for green 

space across the District. 

Typology Quantity Standard Access Standard 

Parks and Recreation Grounds 0.8 ha/1000 800 metres (15 mins straight line walk time) 

Outdoor Sports Space 1.0 ha/1000 480 metres (10 mins straight line walk time) 

Children & Young People’s Space 0.30 ha/1000 Junior Provision – 450m (just under 10 mins straight line walk time) 

Youth Provision – 800 m (15 mins straightline walk time) 

Informal Open Space 0.5 ha/1000 480 metres (10 mins straight line walk time) 

Natural Greenspace 1.0 ha/1000 960 metres (20 mins straight line walk time) 

Allotments 0.3 ha/1000 480m (10 mins straight line walk time) 

A comparison with existing provision establishes the following key themes: 

Assessing Green Space 

Existing green space and new green space submitted through the planning process 

will be assessed against a strategic criteria to determine its strategic value. The 

Council’s criteria for assessing green space is based on the following elements: 

6 

Protect and enhance existing sites 

Increase play areas and facilities for 

young people 

Increase and improve rural provision 

Usage 

Facilities 

Size 

Biodiversity & wildlife 

Develop multi-functional sites 

Improve access and quality of sites 

Increase allotment provision 

Utilise existing natural green space 

Linkages to strategic green 

infrastructure / wedges or corridors 

Other considerations 

(historical and cultural) 

This strategic value will be used to determine our approach to adoption, ownership 

and management to help establish future priorities and create a positive change in 

service delivery. 

Adoption, Ownership and Management 

Following the above assessment, the process below will be followed to determine 

who will take ownership of the site: 

Stage 1 – Blaby District Council to adopt (if no, progress to stage 2) 

Stage 2 – Parish / Town Council to adopt (if no, progress to stage 3) 

Stage 3 – Management Company to adopt (minimum standards to be applied) 

Page 54

Disposal or Leasing of Sites 

The Council will use the following criteria when considering any sites for disposal 

and in relation to any requests made to BDC by Parish / Town Councils or Community 

Organisations wishing to take ownership of a BDC site: 

Is there suffi cient quantity 

in the locality? 

Is there suffi cient access to 

other similar opportunities? 

Is there suffi cient quality in the locality? 

What is the current and future value of the land? 

Will the green space be improved or 

alternative/additional facilities provided? 

The District Council will endeavour to re-invest into green space sites with receipts and 

maintenance resources released from any such arrangements. 

Developer Contributions 

Contributions are typically secured against residential development but can also be 

required for non residential development if it would have an impact on the area. The 

provision of infrastructure, facilities and services which are required by a planning 

obligation should, where possible, be provided on site. However, there will be 

circumstances where this may not be practical or appropriate. In these circumstances, 

the Council will seek fi nancial contributions towards the provision and / or maintenance 

of infrastructure, facilities and services at an alternative off-site location. 

In relation to off-site contributions, due to the variation between sites and locations of new 

residential housing developments, it is considered to be impractical (given the time scale 

allowed to determine planning applications) to individually cost up each application where 

an off-site contribution is required. Therefore the Council has developed a standard formula 

for calculating the cost of providing the required facilities offsite. This model considers 

the diverse range of recreational, play and sporting needs of the community along with 

providing areas natural green space that will benefi t wildlife and ecology. 

Planning legislation requires for these off-site contributions to be invested in local 

infrastructure that will benefi t the residents of the new development. The Council has 

established a Working Group to make recommendations on how these contributions are 

used in consultation with local Parish / Town Councils. 

Safeguarding Green Space 

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) provides against building on green 

spaces and the sites of sports and recreational buildings for non-recreational uses. The 

NPPF indicates that local communities can identify for special protection green areas of 

particular importance by designating land as Local Green Space. Green Wedges and Areas 

of Separation along with their detailed boundaries will be reviewed through the District 

Council’s Allocations, Designations and Development Management Plan Document. 

Partnership Working 

We will work in partnership with the County Council, Parish / Town Councils and 

Community Groups to manage and enhance our green spaces. The Council needs to 

develop strong relationships with external organisations and its residents to provide, 

develop and enhance services. It will continue to work with its partners to improve 

the District’s green spaces, from listening to what local users want to adopting new 

ideas on their use, layout and management. 

7 

Page 55

The sites listed below are the District Council’s strategic sites (these sites have the highest 

score using the assessment described on p6 and will be prioritised for investment) 

8 

Fosse Meadows (Sharnford) 

Bouskell Park (Blaby) 

Glen Hills Nature Reserve (Glen Parva) 

Crow Mills Way (South Wigston) 

Osiers Nature Reserve (Braunstone) 

Action Plan 

An Action Plan has been developed to implement the Strategy, this will deliver 

against the following strategic themes: 

Provide - we will seek to provide suffi cient accessible green space to meet 

current and future demand 

Improve - we will seek to maintain and raise the quality of our green spaces 

Connect - we will work in partnership to develop and manage continuous 

green networks for people and wildlife 

Involve - we will work in partnership with the community and stakeholders 

to develop, manage and promote green spaces 

Resource - we will seek to ensure suffi cient resources are available to 

develop, manage and maintain green spaces 

Sustain - we will work to ensure that the management of our green spaces 

have a positive impact on people, the local economy and the environment 

Conserve - we will ensure that green space biodiversity, 

landscape and natural heritage is protected and conserved 

Evaluation and Review 

The Green Space Strategy will be monitored and evaluated 

through the following mechanisms: 

The Council’s Green Infrastructure Forum 

The Council’s Planning Obligations Monitoring Group 

Public Satisfaction Surveys 

Quality Audits 

Regular Strategy Updates and Annual Review 

Cabinet Executive Portfolio 

Reports 

Tel: 0116 275 0555 

www.blaby.gov.uk 

Page 56 

Jubilee Park (Enderby) 

Whetstone Way (Whetstone) 

Whistle Way (Narborough / Enderby) 

Countesthorpe Country Park





Corporate Plan Refresh 


Portfolio Holder: Cllr E White – Leader 





2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


To follow. 


To follow. 


4.1 Yes 










Page 57




8.1 None. 






11.1 Corporate Plan Refresh 


12.1 None. 




Page 58




Subject: Corporate Plan Refresh 

Report author 

and contact 

details: 

Sandra Whiles, Chief Executive 

0116 272 7501 

sw2@blaby.gov.uk 

Portfolio Holder: Cllr E White - Leader 



1.1 To advise Members of the outcome of the Corporate Plan refresh and to seek 

approval for the revised critical activities 

2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 

Recommendation / Recommendation to Council 

To approve the refreshed Corporate Plan 


It is timely to update the plan to reflect current and known future challenges 


Yes 


5.1 Yes 


The Corporate Plan is the document which sets out how Blaby District Council 

will deliver its commitments set out in the Community Plan which is the 

vision developed with other public services, outlining what we want the district 

to be like in 2026. 

The Corporate Plan is based on information about the district and customer 

feedback and identifies how we will contribute to improvements over the next 

3 years which will help us to deliver our long term vision. 

Page 59

Since the 3 year Corporate Plan was approved by Council in April 2011, the 

landscape has changed both due to reducing resources and changing 

priorities, be they national or local and, it was therefore considered timely to 

review the critical activities set out within the Plan. As they were developed by 

the community and our partners, the priorities and ambitions within the report 

remain unchanged with the 4 priorities for the council being: 

• Vibrant Places – Sustaining and Improving the Environment 

• Access to Quality Provision for Children and Young People 

• Health & Well Being for All 

• High Quality, Responsive, Efficient and Valued Public Services 

There are 24 ambitions within the plan which will remain the same for reasons 

already stated. The critical activities have been revised to incorporate new 

priorities such as the implementation of the Supporting Leicestershire 

Families model and the implementation of the scheme for the Localisation of 

Council Tax as well as responding to the impact of Welfare Reform. 

The revised critical activities are high level activities and each of these may 

require several different services working on a number of projects in order to 

achieve. These individual activities will be identified within service plans and 

will be reported on via the quarterly performance reports. A report setting out 

the revised performance management framework will be the subject of a 

report to the Cabinet Executive on 14 th January 2013. 

The revised Critical activities are detailed at Appendix 1 of this report. 






There are none associated with this report. 





Equalities 

As the priorities within the plan have remained unchanged, there is no EINA 

for this report. 

Page 60


• No other options were considered as the Corporate Plan should reflect 

current priorities. 


• The Medium Term Financial strategy details how we will deliver our 

Corporate Priorities and the annual budget is agreed by Council each 

February. There are no additional resource implications as an outcome of 

this report. 


10.1 Revised list of critical activities 2011 - 14 








Page 61


Page 62

Priority 1 - Vibrant Places – Sustaining & Improving the 

Environment 

Ambition 1: There will be less nuisance and fewer community safety 

issues relating to traffic. 

• Consider and represent community views to Leicestershire County Council and partners etc on 

traffic issues, relating to infrastructure, development proposals and Core Strategy. 

• Deliver and update Air Quality Action Plans. 

Ambition 2: There will be greater opportunities for people to travel by 

public transport and means other than the car. 

• To ensure that the Development Plan enables opportunities for reduced car use, increased 

public transport networks and for us to influence the provision of infrastructure. 

Ambition 3: Community areas including recreation, parks and open 

spaces and streets will be clear for all to enjoy and use. 

• Deliver the Clean & Safe Strategy. 

• Deliver the Green Space Strategy Action Plan. 

Ambition 4: Blaby town centre will provide a greater retail experience 

for shoppers. 

• Support and develop the Blaby Town Centre Partnership to improve the Town Centre ‘offer’ for 

residents, businesses and customers. 

Ambition 5: Use of current infrastructure (roads, community facilities, 

public realm) will be maximised and improved where economically 

viable. 

• Put a rigorous process in place to deal with potential challenge through ‘The Community Right to 

Bid’. 

Ambition 6: New infrastructure (roads, community facilities etc) will 

be included as appropriate to support any proposed growth through 

development. 

• Use the planning system to support the provision of new infrastructure. 

Ambition 7: The housing needs of communities will be met, including 

ensuring affordable housing for all age groups across the District. 

• Deliver the Development Plan. 

• Review and deliver the Housing Strategy and associated policies including production of an 

affordable housing supplementary planning document and a vulnerable persons housing 

strategy. 

Page 63

Ambition 8: Development of the right quality and quantity (housing 

and employment sites) to take place in the right places, informed by 

local communities and their representatives. 

• Deliver the Local Plan, and build confidence in Blaby District Council around influencing 

planning matters appropriately. 

Ambition 9: Communities make appropriate adaptations to climate 

change and take steps to reduce its impact. 

• Commit to and Implement ‘Climate Local’ and deliver the critical activities. 

Priority 2 - Access to Quality Provision for Children & Young 

People 

Ambition 10: There will be better and more facilities and activities for 

Children and Young People. 

• Revise and implement the Children’s and Young People’s Strategy 

Ambition 11: Integrated youth support work available for the most 

vulnerable young people. 


Ambition 12: Greater support for families with young children and 

teenagers. 

• Deliver a local model for Supporting Families Leicestershire 

Ambition 13: Young people are actively involved in planning and 

delivering improvements to services. 


Ambition 14: All children and young people reach their potential, 

including in education. 


Priority 3 - Health & Well Being for All 

Ambition 15: The health of residents will improve through 

preventative measures. 

• Develop and deliver a local health plan for Blaby District 

Page 64

Ambition 16: Vulnerable people are more involved, valued and 

supported to live independently within the community with a good 

quality of life. 

• Deliver a Vulnerable Persons Strategy and Action Plan. 

• Maximise our ability to provide an advice service, including welfare reform, to enable people to 

access income appropriately. 

Ambition 17: There will be greater opportunities for people to 

improve their chances of employment. 

• Develop and implement the Economic Development Strategy. 

Ambition 18: People feel a greater sense of pride, local identity and 

get on well together in their communities irrespective of personal 

background. 

• Working with parishes, key community groups and the voluntary sector to share and achieve 

common goals, including an effective community engagement mechanism. 

Ambition 19: Crime levels including Anti-Social Behaviour will fall; 

people will feel safer and have a greater public confidence in all 

community safety services. 

• Deliver the Community Safety Plan 

Priority – 4 High Quality, Responsive, Efficient and Valued 

Public Services 

Ambition 20: High performing accessible services that meet the 

needs of our community. 

• Deliver continuous improvement by challenging our services to provide what matters to the 

customer as efficiently and effectively as possible. 

• Improve access to services based on an understanding of the customer’s needs and point of 

view. 

Ambition 21: Transparent reporting and involvement of the local 

community. 

• Provide relevant and accessible information that matters to the local community. 

• Improve service delivery by ensuring services are shaped by customer demand. 

Ambition 22: Efficient services that provide value for money. 

• Continually challenge and review service costs and quality. 

Ambition 23: Fairness and respect for all with no one suffering 

disadvantage. 

• Ensuring that services meet the diverse needs of the community. 

• Deliver the People Strategy (The Blaby Way). 

Page 65

Ambition 24: There are talented people within the Council who have 

the skills to deliver high quality, responsive, efficient, valued public 

services. 

• The People Strategy (The Blaby Way) is in place, communicated and delivered 

• Deliver the Member Development Strategy. 

Page 66





Climate Local 





Cllr Guy Jackson – Neighbourhood and 

Environmental Health Services 



2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


To follow. 


To follow. 


4.1 Yes 










Page 67




8.1 None. 






11.1 Climate Local & Climate Local Discretion 


12.1 None. 




Page 68




Subject: Climate Local 

Report author 

and contact 

details: 


• Jon Wells 



• Group Manager, Regulatory and Leisure Services 


• 0116 2727545 

Cllr Guy Jackson – Neighbourhood and 

Environmental Health Services Portfolio Holder 

1.1 To advise members of the Local Government Association ‘Climate Local’ 

initiative and seek the Council’s approval to sign up to it. 

1.2 To outline the implications of making such a declaration. 

1.3 Seek approval for the Climate Change Working Members Group to progress 

the next stage of the process; which is, to propose an ambition and set out 

clear and measurable actions. The Regulatory and Leisure Services Group 

Manager will then bring a further detailed report back to Council setting this 

out for approval. 

2. 

2.1 

2.2 

3. 

3.1 

3.2 


The Council sign up to Climate Local. 

The Climate Change Working Members Group be requested to set out a 

level of ambition, develop an action plan and report this back to a future 

Council meeting for approval. 


The initiative supports the Council’s continued drive and ambition to act on 

a changing climate following the signing of the Nottingham Declaration in 

2006. 

This will help the Council to capture opportunities and benefits of action on 

climate change through: 

Page 69

3.3 

1) Saving on energy bills. 

2) Generating income from renewable energy. 

3) Attracting new jobs and investment in ‘green’ industries. 

4) Reduce flood risks and help to manage the impacts of extreme 

weather (such as drought). 

5) Tackling fuel poverty. 

6) Protecting the natural environment. 

This will provide a way to show the Council’s leadership on climate change 

to our communities, partners and collectively to government and other 

national stakeholders. 


4.1 Yes 


5.1 Yes 


6.1.1 The Council signed the Nottingham Declaration in December 2006 thereby 

demonstrating its commitment to act on a changing climate. Following on 

from this the Council implemented a Fuel Poverty Strategy and developed 

and delivered action plans for Climate Change, Green Travel and Carbon 

Management. Some of the key work carried out is detailed below: 

• The installation of a Combined Heat and Power System at Enderby 

Leisure Centre giving a carbon dioxide saving of 351.9 tonnes ongoing 

• Installation of a Solar PV system at the Pavilion which has provided 

£3,500 in Feed In Tariffs (FITs) in its first year 

• Bike week cycle servicing and car tyre checks 

• The installation of automatic meter reading for all utilities throughout the 

organisation 

• Refuse and recycling round rationalisation 

• Safe and efficient driving SaFeD training sessions for all staff 

This has resulted in the following achievements: 

• A Green Apple Award for our Time 4 Change programme 

• Silver and Gold Motorvate Awards for a reduction in vehicle emissions 

• Top performer in the East Midlands with a 21.7% reduction in carbon 

emissions in three years 

• Established a knowledge partnership with DeMontfort University to support 

local communities in reducing costs associated with running a home 

• A greater awareness of resource usage, saving over £25,000 year on year 

in fuel bills 

6.2 Climate Local is an initiative to drive, inspire and support Council action on a 

changing climate. The initiative supports our efforts both to reduce carbon 

Page 70

emissions and also to improve resilience to the affects of our changing climate 

and extreme weather. Climate Local will help the Council to capture 

opportunities and benefits of action on climate change, through saving on 

energy bills, generating income from renewable energy, attracting new jobs 

and investment in ‘green’ industries, reducing flood risks and managing 

impacts of extreme weather, tackling fuel poverty and protecting our natural 

environment. 

6.3 By signing Climate Local the Council will commit to: 

• Set out actions we intend to take locally to further reduce our carbon 

emissions and respond to changes in the climate within our own 

operations, services and with the local community 

• Set a level of ambition and actions in the following areas: mainstreaming 

climate change, energy, local economic growth, natural environment, 

planning and the built environment, transport, waste, health and our 

communities. 

• Share actions, progress and learning with other partners 

6.4 To ensure delivery against the Nottingham Declaration a Climate Change 

cross-party Members Working Group was established. This has successfully 

helped to guide and aid delivery of Climate Change and Green Travel actions 

while raising carbon awareness among members and staff. The success of 

the Group is such that if the Council are minded to commit to Climate Local 

then they should be asked to develop future actions and outcomes. This will 

also ensure leadership within the local community. 


7.1 Human Rights Act 1998 



7.2 Legal Implications 

All legal implications will be advised upon when an action list is developed 

subsequent to this Report being approved. 

7.3 Human Resources Implications 

There are no Human Resources implications. 

7.4 Risk Assessment & Business Continuity 

Financial risks and future revenue streams will be considered as part of this 

process. 

7.5 Equalities 

No EINA is required for this report. 

7.6 Nottingham Declaration and Climate Change 

The Nottingham Declaration has now been replaced by the Climate Local 

document, and it is recommended the Council sign up to the new Climate 

Local to show its continued support to the Environment, and allow the Council 

to continue to excel in this area of work. 

Page 71

7.7 Crime & Disorder 

There are no Crime and Disorder implications. 


8.1 Do nothing and risk reputational damage through lack of commitment to the 

climate change agenda. 


9.1 Climate Change Members Working Group 

Leicestershire Together Environment Hub 


10.1 Costs associated with any actions will be brought forward for discussion in the 

next paper. Resource costs are already incorporated within revenue budgets. 

10.2 Resource for delivery exists within the Environmental Health Service. There 

maybe implications moving forward dependent on final actions agreed. 


11.1 Appendix 1 – Climate Local Declaration 


12.1 Cabinet Executive 7 December 2006 

12.2 Cabinet Executive 30 June 2008 

12.3 Cabinet Executive 8 September 2008 

12.4 Cabinet Executive 6 October 2008 

12.5 Cabinet Executive 1 December 2008 

12.6 Cabinet Executive 23 March 2009 

12.7 Cabinet Executive 18 January 2010 

12.8 Cabinet Executive 22 March 2010 







Page 72

APPENDIX 1 – CLIMATE LOCAL DECLARATION 

Climate Local 


Our commitment to taking action in a changing climate 

We recognise that our council has an important role to help our residents and 

businesses to capture the opportunities and benefits of action on climate change. 

These include saving money on energy bills, generating income from renewable 

energy, attracting new jobs and investment in ‘green’ industries, supporting new 

sources of energy, managing local flood-risk and water scarcity and protecting our 

natural environment. 

We will progressively address the risks and pursue the opportunities 

presented by a changing climate, inline with local priorities, through our role 

as: 

• Community leader – helping local people and businesses to be smarter about 

their energy use and to prepare for climate impacts; 

• Service provider – delivering services that are resource efficient, less carbon 

intensive, resilient and that protect those who are most vulnerable to climate 

impacts; 

• Estate manager – ensuring that our own buildings and operations are 

resource efficient, use clean energy, and are well prepared for the impacts of 

a changing climate. 

In signing this commitment, we will: 

[Date] 

• Set locally-owned and determined commitments and actions to reduce 

carbon emissions and to manage climate impacts. These will be specific, 

measurable and challenging; 

• Publish our commitments, actions and progress, enabling local 

communities to hold us to account; 

• Share the learning from our experiences and achievements with other 

councils; and 

• Regularly refresh our commitments and actions to ensure they are current 

and continue to reflect local priorities. 


[Signature of Leader] 

Page 73


Page 74





Strategy for Supporting Vulnerable People 2012- 

2014 


Portfolio Holder: Cllr D. Jennings – Community Services 





2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


To follow. 


To follow. 


4.1 Yes 










Page 75




8.1 None. 






11.1 Strategy for Supporting Vulnerable People. 


12.1 None. 




Page 76



Date: Monday 19 th November 2012 

Subject: Strategy for Supporting Vulnerable People 

2012-2014 

Report of: Teresa Neal 

Community Services Manager 


0116 272 7785 




Community Services Portfolio Holder 


1.1 To advise Members of the new Vulnerable Persons Strategy and to 

recommend endorsement of the strategy. 

2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 


That the Vulnerable Persons Strategy be approved. 


Blaby District Council is committed to ensuring access to our services is 

available to all parts of our community including those that are the most 

vulnerable. 


4.1 Yes. 


5.1 Yes. 


6.1 At present the Council does not have a Vulnerable Persons Strategy and 

therefore has no formalised strategic direction. 

6.2 Blaby District Council is committed to assisting vulnerable people in 

sustaining independent living. We will throughout our business processes 

ensure that vulnerable and potentially vulnerable people are identified at an 

early stage and receive the appropriate advice and support either through 

direct service provision or through partnerships with key stakeholders such as 

Leicestershire County Council, Police and voluntary sector. 

Page 77

6.3 The Strategy outlines an approach which will meet the expectations of 

vulnerable people and their supporting agencies whilst meeting the overall 

objectives of the Government, including the focus on supporting families 

without compromising Blaby District Council’s business objectives. 

6.4 The purpose of the strategy is to ensure services to vulnerable adults are 

more personalised, more preventative and more focused by: 

• Providing a shared vision and commitment to assisting vulnerable people 

• Improved access and usage of services by vulnerable people 

• Ensuring all departments within Blaby District Council consider the impact of 

any changes in service provision, funding or policies on vulnerable people. 

• Vulnerable people are consulted and help us shape services of the future. 

• District and parish councillors understand what we mean by vulnerability and 

know where to refer individuals and families to. 

• The safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children is considered in respect of 

any information we become aware of. 

6.5 All teams within Blaby District Council should: 

• Support people to live as independently as possible and have a good quality 

of life. 

• Ensure people have the opportunity to make choices and have as much 

control as possible over their lives. 

• People get the support they need in local and community settings. 

• Ensure the most vulnerable people are safeguarded against abuse. 

• Support and encourage individuals to adopt a healthier lifestyle and behaviour 

and be self-reliant. 

• Provide people with information about the range of services available to them 

as a first response to need. 

6.6 The Vulnerable Persons Strategy 2012-2014 has been developed jointly by 

the council and its partners, through consultation with related statutory and 

voluntary sector organisations and service providers. The strategy comprises 

of the strategy itself, identification of vulnerable people, map of services and 

an action plan. The action plan will be reviewed quarterly through the 

Vulnerable People & Places Forum. 



• Human rights have been considered but there are no overarching matters 

for concern in relation to this report. 


• There are no legal implications 


• There are some implications in terms of human resources in relation to 

ensuring staff and members receive training on what we mean by 

vulnerability, identifying and signposting individuals. 


• There are no risks, business continuity or resilience issues associated with 

this report. 

Page 78

Equalities 

• An EINA has been carried out and any adverse impacts identified have 

been mitigated in the EINA Action Plan. 


• N/A 


• The strategy supports the Community Safety Strategy for 2012-2014, in 

relation to ensuring that those most vulnerable within our communities 

including offenders are supported to reduce the chance of them 

reoffending or individuals becoming involved in crime and disorder. 


8.1 There is an expectation on the Council to develop and adopt a Vulnerable 

Persons Strategy. There are no alternative options available. 


9.1 The consultation period has proved successful with internal and external 

partners contributing comments, suggestions and amendments. 

9.2 The following internal partners were consulted: 

• Service Managers with responsibility for front facing teams & strategic 

housing 

9.3 The following external partners were consulted: 

• Members of the Vulnerable People & Places Forum 

• Police 

• Leicestershire County Council 

• Community Action Partnership 


10.1 Recommendation can be implemented within existing resources. 


11.1 Appendix A – Strategy for Supporting Vulnerable People 2012-2014. 


• The Vulnerable People & Places Forum has been operational for over twelve 

months and the cases we have dealt with at this meeting have informed this 

strategy. The notes from the meeting are confidential as they name 

individuals/families but the support required for these persons has helped us 

develop both the strategy and the action plan. 

• The Vulnerability Action Plan is attached to this report to inform on how we 

intend to implement the strategy at an operational level. 






Page 79


Page 80

Blaby District Council 

Strategy for supporting vulnerable people 

2012-2014 

This document sets out the commitment and approach of Blaby District 

Council towards supporting vulnerable people in all aspects of its service 

planning and delivery. 

Page 81

Contents 

Introduction 

Section 1 Purpose & Scope 

• Local Priorities 

• Policies 

Section 2 Evidence of local need 

• Definition of vulnerability 

• Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 

Section 3 Identifying Vulnerability 

• Vulnerable People & Places Forum 

Section 4 Delivering the Strategy 

• Support services 

• Leicestershire Supporting Families 

Section 5 Measuring outcomes 

• Social Return on Investment 

Section 6 Conclusion & Summary 

Appendices 

Appendix 1 Identification of vulnerable people 

Appendix 2 Map of services 

Page 82

A Strategy to Support Vulnerable People within Blaby District 2012 

Introduction 

Improving the life chances of our most vulnerable residents is a key strategic 

priority for Blaby District Council (BDC). We know that increasingly people 

with care and support needs expect a better quality of life and services that 

are tailored to their needs. 

Delivering this requires people to have a real choice and control over services 

and access to the resources they need when they need them to ensure they 

live a healthy life and remain independent for as long as possible. 

Blaby District Council is committed to assisting vulnerable people in 

sustaining independent living. We will throughout our business processes 

ensure that vulnerable and potentially vulnerable people are identified at an 

early stage and receive the appropriate advice and support either through 

direct service provision or through partnerships with key stakeholders such as 

Leicestershire County Council, Police, and the voluntary sector. 

Whilst there continues to be a focus on high performance across the council, 

it is essential that we are able to demonstrate that our service provision is 

tailored to meet the needs of our most vulnerable customers. 

The purpose of this strategy is to ensure services to vulnerable adults are 

more personalised, more preventative and more focused. 

This strategy outlines an approach which will meet the expectations of 

vulnerable people and their supporting agencies whilst meeting the overall 

objectives of the Government, including the focus on supporting families, 

without compromising Blaby District Council’s business objectives. 

The strategy has been informed by national policy such as the Welfare 

Reforms, Localism Bill and the Health & Social Care Bill. 

Page 83

Section 1 Purpose & Scope 

1.1 The purpose of the strategy is to: 

• Provide a shared vision and commitment to assisting vulnerable people 

• Improve access and usage of services by vulnerable people 

• Ensure all services within Blaby District Council consider the impact of 

any changes in service provision, funding or policies on vulnerable 

people. 

• Vulnerable people are consulted and help us shape services of the 

future. 

• District, Parish Councillors and officers understand what we mean by 

vulnerability and know where to refer individuals and families to. 

• The safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children is considered in 

respect of any information we become aware of. 

1.2 The scope of the strategy is that vulnerable people are everyone’s 

business. This is supported by Blaby’s principles and our policies 

which are detailed below: 

• Personalisation – recognition that service users play a central role in 

the shaping of their own care. 

• Prevention and early intervention - High quality universal services can 

act to prevent problems occurring. 

• Personal responsibility – To note that prevention is not something 

services can do alone and that the empowerment of individuals and 

communities is key in people improving their own lives. 

• Building Community Capacity – in recognition of the role of active 

communities in directly promoting the well being of individuals. 

• Service development – to facilitate the growth of an improved range of 

service provision (working alongside service users, providers, potential 

providers and partners.) 

All teams within Blaby District Council will: 

• Support people to live as independently as possible and have a good 

quality of life. 

• Ensure people have the opportunity to make choices and have as 

much control as possible over their lives. 

• Ensure people get the support they need in local and community 

settings 

• Ensure the most vulnerable people are safeguarded against abuse. 

• Support and encourage individuals to adopt a healthier lifestyle and 

behaviour and be self-reliant. 

• Provide people with information about the range of services available 

to them as a first response to need. 

Page 84

Section 2 - Evidence of Local Need 

. 

2.1 Definition of vulnerability 

We recognise that we have a responsibility to ensure that the 

vulnerable and socially excluded are protected. Our policies and 

processes need to be sensitive and provide adequate opportunity for 

the less resourceful to access and obtain relevant assistance and 

support both in the short term and beyond. 

A vulnerable adult is a person aged 18 or over, “who is or may be in 

need of community care services by reason of mental or other 

disability, age or illness: and who is or may be unable to take care of 

him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant 

harm or exploitation.” Section 2 “no Secrets”, Department of Health and 

the Home Office (2000) 

2.2 Those that might be potentially vulnerable therefore include but not 

limited to; 

• · Supporting Leicestershire Families 

• · Tenant under 18; 

• · Tenant under 25; 

• · Pensionable age; 

• · Leaving care; 

• · Homeless; 

• · First Tenancy; 

• · Ex-offender; 

• · Fleeing domestic abuse/harassment; 

• · Misusing drugs; 

• · Misusing alcohol; 

• · Neurological impairment; 

• · Sensory impairment; 

• · Physical impairment; 

• · Mental health impairment; 

• · Chaotic lifestyle; 

• · Literacy; 

• · Learning difficulties; 

• · Life skills issues; 

• · Involvement with Social Services; 

• · Cultural/religious/sexual orientation 

• · Recently bereaved; 

• · Single parent families; 

• · Pregnant women (particularly teenagers); 

• · Unemployed people; 

• · People who are considered to be financially excluded; and 

• · Those who have difficulty in understanding, speaking or reading 

English. 

Page 85

2.3 Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) 

The Blaby JSNA is the primary document which describes the health 

and wellbeing needs in Blaby District. It tell us that 

• In 2010 the population of Blaby was estimated to be 128200. Around 

42% of the population are aged 60 years and over. By 2030 the 

population of over 65’s is estimated to increase by 60%. 

• In 2010 there were 54100 people over 60 years and 27500 aged over 

80. 

• In 2010 there are estimated to be around 7500 people in Blaby over 

the age of 65 with a limiting long term illness. By 2030 this is estimated 

to increase to around 12200, an increase of 63.6%. 

• It is estimated that 19, 400 adults are obese, 6.4% of reception 

children and 14% of year 6’s. 

• 14, 700 adults smoke 

• There are an estimated 13700 adults who binge drink (18.2%) 

• In 2010 there are estimated 1170 people in Blaby with dementia. By 

2030 this is estimated to increase to 2280 people, an increase of 96%. 

• In 2010/11 there were 499 people in Blaby registered with their GP as 

having a mental health disorder including schizophrenia, biopolar 

disorder and other psychoses. 

This evidences a greater need for mental health support services. 

The facts and figures inform us that in the longer term an ageing 

population will mean there will be a rise in demand for health services 

and long term care, creating a challenge for the funding of public 

services. We will also need to provide more choice in homes for the 

elderly. Current supported (sheltered) stock is out of date and fails to 

meet decent homes standard. We need to work towards improving the 

choice for the elderly. 

Alongside this there are those individuals within the district whose 

unhealthy lifestyles have a significant impact on people’s quality of life 

and ability for people to maintain independence. They also have a 

significant impact on the demand for health and social care services. 

These choices and behaviours include alcohol, substance use, 

smoking and healthy weight. 

Section 3 Identifying vulnerability 

3.1. The key element is that we identify a vulnerable person at the earliest 

possible stage. Identification can be difficult as vulnerable people often 

demonstrate quite rational and normal behaviour with the 

characteristics being fragmented, obscure and particular to individuals. 

Identification of a vulnerable person can occur at any time during the 

course of an individuals’ contact with us and staff should ensure that 

they use any contact as a way by which potential vulnerability can be 

identified. 

Page 86

3.2 Blaby District Council will use all the sources of information available to 

help us to identify vulnerability. It is more difficult where a vulnerable 

person is not on our radar and this is where we need staff and 

councillors to share knowledge with the Community Services Team. 

The sharing of this information then allows the team to support the 

vulnerable person using a range of tools that are available to us. 

3.3. The current service provision at BDC has a breadth of experience of 

supporting people in independent living across a wide range of client 

groups such as, households where there is Domestic Abuse; rehousing 

of high risk offenders, drug and alcohol users, families with complex 

needs, children with behavioral difficulties; etc. Many of the service 

users span several groups and over 30% have mental health 

difficulties. BDC workers have developed skills and expertise at 

working with clients on many issues simultaneously. 

3.4. Alongside this the Vulnerable People & Places Forum (VPPF) allows 

those individuals or families that are identified by other teams within the 

local authority, partners and other external organisations to be brought 

to a multi agency meeting to discuss their needs and ensure the 

relevant support is put in place. A single referral process is used which 

all internal teams and external agencies have adopted. 

3.5. In anti social behaviour cases a ‘vulnerability matrix’ is completed 

which prompts a series of questions and subject areas aimed at being 

able to identify and determine the extent of vulnerability. Where the 

matrix comes out as high risk then a referral to the Vulnerable People 

and Places Forum (VPPF) is made automatically. 

3.6. The completion of the referral form and in ASB cases the vulnerability 

matrix enables us to assess what support if any is required. In 

particular we will ensure; 

• Appropriate agencies are advised of the service user’s circumstances 

and if required a referral made for specialist support 

• Policy and procedures are adopted and regularly reviewed to ensure 

synergy across disparate teams 

• Capture and record all relevant details and actions through the VPPF 

• Where appropriate hold to account agencies to ensure actions are 

followed through. 

• Individual/family will remain as a case at the VPPF until their risk has 

been reduced or the case has moved to the responsibility of one 

agency. 

3.7. The purpose of identifying potential vulnerability is to ensure that the 

service provided is wherever possible tailored to meet the needs of the 

individual. Where we do not directly provide a service, identifying 

vulnerability can prompt staff to signpost people to relevant 

organisations that can provide support. 

Page 87

3.8. We have access to a great deal of information through direct and 

indirect contact with individuals. Whilst sensitivity and discretion are 

obviously important in protecting the privacy of individuals it is essential 

that data is shared amongst different sections of the organisation and 

partners, and is used to maximum effect to ensure that vulnerable 

people are known and identified. Data will be shared in line with the 

Data Protection Act. It is also important that internal relationships are 

effective especially the relationship between key teams such as our 

Environmental Health Officers and those officers who work within the 

Community Services Group. 

Section 4 - Delivering the strategy 

4.1. The pathway by which vulnerable people are identified and potentially 

supported is outlined in Appendix 1 .The provision of support may be 

long term or may also be time limited to enable an individual to gain the 

skills, motivation and confidence to move on to greater independence. 

4.2. Level of support and roles of support services will be determined 

following an assessment of individual’s circumstances. 

4.3 Blaby District Council provides the following services:- 

• · Domestic abuse outreach service 

• · Substance use support 

• . Alcohol Support Group 

• · Resident Support 

• · Children’s Worker 

• · Anti Social Behaviour 

• · First Contact 

• · GP referral scheme 

• · Home Security Scheme 

• · Youth provision via BB19 Bus 

• · Financial & Debt management advice 

• · Benefit & Housing advice 

• · Positive Activities for Young People 

• · Disability Facilities Grant 

• .Environmental Protection 

• · Translator service 

• · Assisted bin collection 

• . Memo cameras 

4.4 Provision provided by external agencies includes:- 

• · Befriending service 

• · Victim support for people who have been victims of ASB or hate 

• · Mental Health Forum 

• · Carers Forum 

Page 88

• · Children’s Centres, associated provision through these 

• · Place to grow 

• · 20:20 mentoring 

• . Safe Inside Safe Outside 

• Housing Related Support from Nottingham Community Housing 

Association 

• Employment support by Acorn Training 

Please see Appendix 2 map of services. 

4.5 Vulnerability can affect an individual, a couple and families. The 

Government is committed to significantly improving outcomes for 

families and their children while reducing the current costs to the public 

services. Leicestershire Supporting Families Programme will roll out in 

April 2013. 

The service will be provided for families across Leicester, 

Leicestershire & Rutland across housing tenures and referrals will 

come from a wide range of services including self-referrals, local 

Registered Social Landlords, Social Services, Health, Education, 

Police, Probation and Voluntary Sector agencies. This will build on the 

work we already undertake as detailed within this strategy with 

vulnerable people. 

4.6 The family workers will network with other local initiatives and the full 

range of statutory agencies to build a network of support to assist 

families to settle into the area, break social isolation and to improve the 

quality of family life. It is anticipated that the workers will sit within a 

multi-disciplinary team to aid this initiative. The emphasis will be on 

supporting and empowering service users to build on their independent 

living skills and parenting skills. 

4.7 The eligibility criteria for the programme will be families who: 

• Consist of at least one adult and one child, who are involved in crime 

and anti-social behaviour and or, 

• Have children not in school and or 

• Have an adult on out of works benefits and or, 

• Cause high cost to the public purse 

• Who agree to work with the BDC team and allow the worker to meet 

with them on a pre-agreed basis (for example, once or twice a week) 

• Have basic self care skills of budgeting, cooking or cleaning or be 

willing to develop these with staff support 

4.8 The worker will complete a holistic assessment with the client which will 

include: 

• Parenting 

• Education 

• Housing 

Page 89

• Health and associated needs 

• Income and expenditure 

• Debts and loans 

• Life skills 

• Community activity 

Under these broad headings an action plan will be agreed between the 

worker and the family, prioritised by the family. 

4.9 Specific problems that have been identified include families 

experiencing and/or causing ASB, mental health, drug and alcohol 

issues, parenting skills and money management. Specific support 

services will focus on these issues and will link with local communities 

and other services. 

4.10 Therefore, this service has been identified as a key strategy to break 

the cycle of disadvantage by: 

� Directly delivering supportive services which will include referrals to 

appropriate agencies, practical assistance with life skills, welfare rights 

and ongoing support as agreed in a support contract with the family. 

� Enable the family to be able to disclose abuse situations (our 

experience in working with women experiencing Domestic Abuse will 

assist with this process) Latest figures suggest 77% of Leicestershire 

Supporting Families would have experienced domestic abuse. 

� Enable the family to benefit from our experience of multi-agency 

working and of being the ‘lynch pin’ in bringing services together. 

� Enable the family to make a successful transition to sustaining 

independent tenancies in the community. 

� To identify at an early stage families that are struggling to maintain 

their tenancy and to work with them to ensure they continue to live 

independently. 

� Maximise independence of clients including active encouragement to 

use and engage with local community facilities, services and groups. 

� Ensure that people are aware of and engage with relevant health 

provision such as GP, community health visitors, and specialist health 

providers. 

� Assist and work with Social Care and Health, Education and Probation 

services to ensure that those interventions are completed and 

supported. 

� Commit to and provide a quality service that is client focused and 

committed to developing good practice across statutory and voluntary 

agencies. 

4.11 Intensive work will be provided through joined-up relationships with 

other organisations in the area with the aim of forming effective links to: 

� Drug and alcohol treatment programme 

� General medical services 

� Peer support 

Page 90

� Encourage the family to develop social networks with the community 

e.g. through take up of life time learning 

� Basic skills development including literacy and numeracy 

� Money Management 

4.12 The development of the supporting families programme is in its early 

development and Blaby will form a key part of this development and 

ensure it fits into our wider strategy for supporting vulnerable people. 

Section 5 - Measuring outcomes 

5.1 Social Return on Investment is a framework for understanding, 

measuring and managing the outcomes of an organisation’s activities. 

SROI can include all types of outcomes, social, economic and 

environmental the key is that they are based on involving the service 

user in determining distance travelled. SROI is different from other 

performance measures as it places a monetary value on outcomes 

which can then be measured against investments made. 

5.2 Blaby District Council is committed to evidencing the difference our 

support services have made. We have already begun to collect SROI 

data for our support services within the Community Services Team 

which includes service users scoring themselves on several different 

elements such as accommodation, finance, safety, health and 

wellbeing. These scores are collected when they access support 

services and reviewed every three months. 

5.3 On closure of a case where support is no longer required the scores 

will be collected again and alongside data about changes within their 

lifestyle i.e. starting work will evidence the distance an individual or 

family have travelled during the support process. This will evidence the 

difference BDC and its partner agencies have made to the individual or 

the families lives. 

Section 6 - Conclusion & Summary 

6.1 Blaby District Council acknowledges the strides that it has made to 

improve services to vulnerable people and recognises the need to 

make further progress. The development and roll out of Leicestershire 

Supporting families across the district will see an alignment of current 

support services to take forward this agenda. A vulnerability action plan 

has been developed which identifies key actions and lead officers to 

progress this work. The action plan will be reviewed quarterly. 

6.2 A report be brought back to Cabinet Board identifying progress made. 

on a regular basis. 

Page 91


Page 92

Page 93 

Appendix 1 Identification of vulnerable people 

Identification Key Worker Process 

First Contact Coordinator One form completed, signpost to a range of agencies, provide support to 

Self Referral to 

Community Services 

Team 

Vulnerable People & 

Places Forum 

Internal referral from 

another team within 

BDC 

Domestic Abuse 

Children’s Worker 

Substance Use Officer 

Resident Support 

Officer 

Local Authority 

Police 

Social Services 

Housing Associations 

Community Action 

Partnership 

Youth Service 

Youth Offending Team 

Probation 

Integrated Offender 

Management 

Family Intervention 

Project 


Manager 

By external agency Community Services 

Manager 

individual/family, and provide feedback on work undertaken. 

Allocated to worker, assessment undertaken, action plan agreed with 

individual/family. Regular face to face contact undertaken to provide 

support. Regular recording of performance information to show social 

return on investment. 

All relevant agencies involved in managing a vulnerable individual or 

family. Monitor progress, reduce vulnerability and risk, case closed at 

agreement of all agencies. 

Consider case and decide on most appropriate worker, then rest of 

process as for a self referral. 

Consider case and decide on most appropriate worker, then rest of 

process as for a self referral.


Page 94

Appendix 2— Map of Services 

Leicestershire Police 

Comprehensive Referral 

Desk 

DAIO’s (Domestic Abuse 

Specialist Officers) 

Vulnerability Identified / 

History markers on 

address 

Strategic Housing 

Gap analysis on housing 

provision. 

Provision of affordable 

housing. 

Benefits 

Advice 

Home visits 

Housing benefit 

Council tax benefit 

Council tax support 

Hardship funding 

Environmental 

Protection 

Noise Nuisance 

Fly tipping/litter 

Dog Warden 

Community Action 

Partnership 

Carers Forum 

Mental Health Forum 

Place to Grow 

Befriending 

Children’s Centre 

Range of support to 

parents with children 

aged 0-5 

Police Volunteers 

Memo Camera’s 

Service Users 

Page 95 

Children’s Social 

Services 

Safeguarding of children 


Resident Support 

First Contact 

Domestic Abuse 

Children’s Worker 

Anti Social Behaviour 

Youth Provision 

Probation 

Integrated Offender 

Management 

Mappon 

Mappa 

Health & Recreation 

Health Improvement 

Officer 

Positive Activities 

Referral Scheme 

Blaby District Staying 

Healthy Forum 

Housing Options 

Housing Advice 

Choice based letting 

Adult Social Services 

Safeguarding of adults 

Leicestershire County Council 

Voluntary Sector 

Blaby District Council 

External Organisations


Page 96




Subject: Localisation of Council Tax Benefit Scheme 

Report author 

and contact 

details: 




Steve Beard - Director 

0116 272 7504 

Steve.Beard@blaby.gov.uk 

Cllr. John Hudson – Finance, Efficiency & Assets 

Cllr. David Jennings – Community Services 

1.1 To seek approval for a final Council Tax Support scheme for the District 

following consultation, in order that this can be used as the basis for the 

Council Tax calculations and implemented from the new financial year. 

1.2 To finalise the Council’s position on the application of funds to partially absorb 

the reduction in Government funding for Council Tax Support as agreed with 

major preceptors. 

2. 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

2.4 

3. 

3.1 


To approve the proposed Blaby District Council Tax Support scheme as 

set out in the report. 

To take advantage of new powers set out in the Local Government Finance 

Bill to vary statutory exemptions from Council Tax in respect of vacant and 

unoccupied dwellings, as set out in the report. 

To authorise to bid for funding from the Government’s Transitional Relief 

Fund on 1 February 2013 and to utilise an agreed amount from each of the 

major preceptors to offset the remaining shortfall and administration costs, 

etc. 

That delegated authority be given to the Director, in consultation with the 

portfolio holders to make all detailed arrangements required to implement 

the proposed local scheme of Council Tax Support and the variations to 

statutory exemptions from council tax. 

Reasons for Decision Recommended 


The Council must have considered, consulted upon and adopted a Council 

Page 97

3.2 

3.3 

3.4 

Tax Support scheme in time for the Council Tax setting process to take 

place in time for the 2013/14 budget. 

To spread the financial burden arising from the implementation of the 

proposed local scheme of Council Tax Support and to encourage owners 

to bring empty homes back into use. 

Having modified the draft scheme in light of the consultation and to meet 

the requirements of the Transitional Relief Fund, the reduction in Council 

Tax Support does not match the reduction in grant anticipated. 

To allow proposals to be implemented in accordance with the required 

timescales. 


Yes 


Yes 


6.1 National Context 

At Spending Review 2010 the Government announced that it would localise 

support for Council Tax from 2013-14, reducing expenditure by 10 percent. 

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 contains provisions for the abolition of Council 

Tax Benefit, paving the way for new localised schemes. 

The Local Government Finance Act has now completed its passage through 

Parliament and has received Royal Assent. This imposes a duty on billing 

authorities to make a localised Council Tax reduction scheme by 31 January 

2013 and to consult with major precepting authorities and such other persons 

as it considers likely to have an interest in the scheme. 

6.1.1 Under the current national system of Council Tax Benefit the Government 

reimburses Billing Authorities for expenditure incurred in the payment and 

administration of the benefit. The proposals will result in the payment of grant 

direct to major preceptors – Districts, Counties, Unitaries, Police and Fire 

Authorities. This grant will probably be based on 90% of the forecast Council 

Tax Benefit expenditure for 2013-14, subject to “floors and ceilings” 

adjustments to take account of particular local circumstances. Provisional 

grant figures have been published and are set out later in this report. 

6.1.2 In October the Secretary of State announced a Transitional Relief Fund for 

the first year of the new scheme, under which if Councils adopted a scheme 

which met certain criteria they would be eligible for additional grant funding for 

the first year only. This grant will be paid directly to major preceptors as listed 

above together with the base grant. 

Page 98

6.1.3 Schemes once adopted have to remain unchanged for the duration of the 

financial year. This creates a financial risk for Preceptors. As the grant will be 

fixed but entitlement to Support will be demand led and closely linked to the 

local economy any significant change in the numbers of those entitled to 

support under the locally adopted schemes could see a greater than 

anticipated reduction in the amount of Council Tax received. The need for 

very careful modelling and identification of the effects of the proposed scheme 

is therefore paramount. 

6.2 Local Schemes 

6.2.1 In formulating local schemes Billing Authorities have to take account of a 

number of factors; 

Government Prescribed Requirements. 

The Government has prescribed certain classes or groups who must receive 

reductions in their Council Tax liability. This includes classes of eligible 

pensioners, based on the same factors that have determined pensioner 

eligibility and award under the Council Tax Benefit system. The prescription is 

designed to ensure that pensioners (those who have attained state pension 

age) should be no worse off under any new scheme than they would have 

been under the national Council Tax Benefit scheme. 

6.2.2 Process for Adopting a Scheme 

Before adopting a scheme, the billing authority must in the following order: 

a. consult any major precepting authority which has power to issue a 

precept to it, 

b. publish a draft scheme in such manner as it thinks fit, and 

c. consult such other persons as it considers are likely to have an interest 

in the operation of the scheme. 

Consultation has been undertaken with major preceptors. Their responses 

are shown at Appendix 1. 

Consultation with the public, service users and other interested parties has 

been undertaken. The feedback is attached at Appendix 2. The full document 

is available in the Members’ Room. 

The draft proposals that were the subject of the consultation are set out in 

Appendix 3. Under the scheme now proposed (6.4.1 below) nobody would be 

worse off than they would have been under the initial proposals, the 

consultation undertaken is considered to have been robust and therefore it is 

not considered necessary to undertake another full consultation exercise. A 

short focussed exercise is due to take place w/c 19 November 2012 with 

invited organisations and contacts. 

6.3 Local Context 

6.3.1 Pensioners make up 58% of the current Blaby Council Tax Benefit caseload 

of around 5,200. This presently accounts for £2,599,831 of the total spend of 

£4,414,970 on Council Tax Benefit per year. A 10% reduction in this 

expenditure equates to around £460,000 for Blaby District residents. The 

Page 99

protection for pensioners means that the reduction in benefit will fall upon the 

remaining 42% (2,284) claimants. If spread evenly this would have meant an 

average increase in Council Tax liability of £209.52 per year. The proposed 

measures are estimated to reduce the total benefit/support by around 

£260,000 as opposed to the draft scheme which would have saved in excess 

of the £460,000 funding reduction. 

6.3.2 The proposed scheme, set out at 6.4.1 below is compliant with the 

requirements of the Transitional Relief Fund. However these changes result in 

substantially more Council Tax Support being made available than was the 

case under the draft scheme. After taking account of the additional transitional 

relief expected to be received from the fund there remains a substantial gap 

(approximately £100,000) between the total grant reduction and the amount of 

Council Tax Support anticipated to be awarded under the proposed scheme. 

It is proposed to utilise “new” income resulting from flexibilities contained in 

the new LG Finance Act to reduce exemptions from Council Tax on two 

classes of vacant property and this will require a number of additional steps to 

put this mechanism in place. 

6.3.3 The Council can take advantage of changes in Council Tax and reduce or 

eliminate discounts and exemptions on empty properties. 

These are: 

• Class A - Vacant dwellings where major repair works or structural 

alterations are required, under way or recently completed (up to 12 

months). Currently 100% exemption for a 12 month period is given. 

• Class C - A vacant dwelling, i.e. empty and substantially unfurnished (up 

to 6 months). Currently 100% exemption for a 6 month period is given. 

6.3.4 A and C exemptions are financially significant; it is proposed to reduce these 

exemptions to 50% which could create additional annual revenue in the order 

of £44,000 and £239,000 respectively. All preceptors will have to recognise 

that this “new” income will arise and adjust their Council Tax requirement 

accordingly in the same way that the grants will be treated. 

6.3.5 Each financial year the Council will have to consider whether to revise its 

scheme or replace it with another. The proposed scheme is only intended to 

be used for the first year. During this time the actual operation of the scheme 

will have to be very closely monitored and any lessons for its use will be 

incorporated into the scheme to be used for the year after. In addition various 

factors will change over time. These include local demographics affecting the 

numbers of residents entitled to support and changes to the national benefits 

schemes with the move to UC. These will remove a number of the factors that 

currently determine eligibility for Council Tax benefit - such as Child Benefit. 

6.4 Proposed Council Tax Support Scheme for Blaby District 2013/14 

6.4.1 The table below shows the proposed changes to the current national Council 

Tax Benefit scheme which forms the scheme of Council Tax Support 

proposed for adoption by this Council. 

Page 100

Table 1: Proposed variations from the existing Council Tax Benefit Scheme. 

Proposed change Impact Number 

of h’holds 

91.5% maximum award 

for all working age 

householders 

This will have an ‘across 

the board’ effect on 

those under 60, lone 

parents, couples, single 

people and disabled 

people 

Increase taper to 25% For every £1 over the 

needs allowance the 

benefit is reduced by 

25p (this is currently 

20p) 

Second Adult Rebate This will affect 

householders who 

reside with a second 

adult who is on a low 

income 

Disregard of 100% for 

military compensation 

payments, including War 

Disablement Pensions, 

War Widow’s Pensions 

and Armed Forces 

Compensation Scheme 

payments. 

Page 101 

Comments 

2284 Maximum award 

increased from 85% 

in the consultation 

draft. This change is 

required to meet the 

qualifying criteria for 

the Transitional 

Relief Fund and will 

reduce the financial 

impact on families for 

the first year. Due to 

its generality this 

measure affects a 

broad range of 

people equally. 

1098 This is an increase to 

a taper that already 

exists and brings it 

more in line with the 

taper proposed for 

Universal Credit. This 

is unchanged for the 

initial proposals. 

42 This enables people 

who would not qualify 

for a reduction if they 

lived alone to qualify 

for benefit if they 

have a low paid 

second adult living 

with them. This is 

unchanged from the 

initial proposal. 

24 

(including 

pension 

age) 

This is the case 

currently under local 

discretion and it is 

proposed to continue 

this practice.

All the above would generate a total benefit 

reduction of 260,000 


2284 

The impact of the changes proposed has been assessed using a number of 

sample cases to represent typical benefit recipient segments. 

These examples are set out in Appendix 4 and show both the impact of the 

original proposals and the revised scheme now recommended. 





• The existing Council Tax legislation will end on 31 st March 2012. The 

Council will have a duty to put into place appropriate replacement 

legislation which will need to be able to withstand legal challenge. 


• It is anticipated that additional resources will be needed during the 

transitional period and this will be reviewed frequently. 


There are a number of risks identified; 

1. Technical 

a. IT systems will have to be modified and will be importing data from 

other external agencies. There is the potential for data mismatch or 

errors resulting from inaccurate information. 

b. IT suppliers say they will struggle to deliver thoroughly tested 

modifications to systems in time for the implementation date. 

2. Social/Political 

a. Schemes must comply with the Government’s requirements and 

Councils will be open to challenge via judicial review from major 

precepting authorities if they have not been fully consulted or from local 

tax payers. This risk is now considered minimal as thorough 

consultation and dialogue has taken place. 

b. Many people who previously paid no Council Tax bills will find 

themselves having to find 8.5% of the full liability. This will place strain 

on family budgets and generate considered additional administrative 

work. 

c. Wilful obstruction of process – there is a potential that a “poll tax” type 

situation could arise with significant numbers either refusing to pay or 

Page 102

3. Financial 

appeal their tax liability. Either possibility could severely impact on the 

Council’s ability to collect tax and create cash flow issues. 

a. Grant is fixed – demand is not. Changing demographics or 

miscalculations in design could mean Council Tax Support awarded is 

more than anticipated and hence tax collected and distributed will not 

equate to that budgeted for. 

b. Ability to pay may impact on collection rates. 

c. The use of new flexibilities to generate additional income from empty 

properties to offset the shortfall between the amount of Council Tax 

Support anticipated and the amount of grant paid to preceptors will 

need to be agreed and a suitable mechanism put in place. 

These risks are being minimised by; 

1. Technical 

Working closely with suppliers and having contingency plans where 

possible to use temporary staff to manually calculate entitlement to 

support. 

2. Social/Political 

Consulting closely with major preceptors, other districts, members, public 

and specialist groups e.g CAB to identify as far as possible the impact of 

proposals. 

A hardship fund will be provided with criteria for applying additional 

support where the impacts of the changes could result in unwanted 

consequences e.g. homelessness, family breakdown, severe financial 

hardship etc. 

3. Financial 

A contingency or “hardship” fund is being established. The Council’s 

balances have been increased to take account of increased financial risks 

in the current economic climate. 

A member/officer working group is to be established, which will monitor 

closely the application of the adopted scheme and watch for unintended 

consequences or instances of hardship. This group will advise on the 

working of the adopted scheme and input to the review of the scheme for 

the next financial year. 

Equalities 

An EINA has been prepared and no particular group appears to be 

disproportionately disadvantaged. 

The anticipated impacts on residents are set out in the report above and 

consultation has not thrown up any previously unidentified impacts. 


Page 103

There are no Climate Change implications arising from this report. 


There are no Crime and Disorder implications arising from this report 


1. Do nothing 

If Billing Authorities fail to adopt a local scheme the legislation will result in the 

application of a default scheme. This scheme will be the existing national 

scheme. If this situation came about it would mean that Council Tax liability 

was reduced by 10% more than the total compensatory grant paid to major 

preceptors. 

2. Adopt a scheme which results in the full reduction in support being applied 

to tax liability. 

The initial proposal would have recovered the full reduction in grant however 

the requirements of the Government’s Transitional Funding include the 

proviso that no one who previously paid no Council Tax should have to pay 

more than 8.5% under the new local scheme. This makes recovery of the full 

reduction impossible and the additional grant does not fully compensate. 

Consequences of this would be similar to those in the “do nothing” option 

above, but the financial impact for benefit recipients would be reduced 

proportionately. The work required to implement the changes would be the 

same as for a full recovery and given the relative size of the funding cuts this 

is not recommended. The preferred option would be to either absorb or 

recover the full amount. 

3. Adopt the current national scheme unamended. 

The Authority could decide to provide Council Tax Support at the current level 

of benefit i.e. to continue with the current scheme of entitlement. This in effect 

would be similar to 1 above but would be a conscious decision of the Authority 

after consultation with the other major preceptors rather than a simple default. 

This would ideally require the acquiescence of the other major preceptors in 

agreeing to absorb the reduction in their income, so far there has been no 

indication of any willingness to go down this route and failure to secure their 

willing compliance could result in judicial review. 

The net loss of income for this Council would be £41,860 if all major 

preceptors agreed to continue the current level of support. This is not a huge 

sum in itself but comes on top of other cuts in Government funding, is likely to 

increase in size in future years and would effectively mean that all Council 

Tax payers will be subsidising the local support scheme through their Council 

Tax. This is a route that some unitary authorities have decided to follow. 

The advantages of this course would be the reduction in workload required to 

implement a new scheme and the reduction of many of the risks – particularly 

those related to non-collection. It is recommended that this option is kept open 

and consulted upon with the other preceptors. 

Page 104

4. Apply different modifications to those suggested. 

A wide range of changes were considered and detailed in the earlier report. 

However to meet the requirements of the Transitional Fund only those shown 

above can be applied. 


Consultations and liaison is on-going with all other Billing Authorities and 

major preceptors in Leicestershire. A briefing session has been held for 

Parish and Town Councils and another will be held when the final details of 

the scheme and grant arrangements are known. 


The provisional figures published in May 2012 in the DCLG Funding 

Arrangements Consultation show that this Council will receive a grant of 

£375,000, with £203,000 allocated for distribution to Parish and Town 

Councils in the District. 

This level of allocation appears to be based on 90% of a forecast expenditure 

of £4.6 million. The grant to this Council appears to have been reduced 

slightly under the “floors and ceilings” damping arrangements. 

There will be a need to establish a contingency and hardship fund but this will 

be considered in greater detail when the consultation is completed and 

decisions can be made as to the scheme that will be adopted. 


11.1 Consultation responses from Major Preceptors 

11.2 Public Consultation feedback 

11.3 The draft proposals that were the subject of the consultation 

11.4 Examples of how the proposals could impact upon existing cases 


Localising Support for Council Tax - A Statement of Intent: Department for 

Communities and Local Government: May 2012 

Localising Support for Council Tax – Funding Arrangements Consultation: 

Department for Communities and Local Government: May 2012 

Letter dated 1 November from the Director General of the Royal British legion. 

The following Officers/Members have been consulted (identified by ): 

Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) 

S. 151 Officer (Deputy Chief Executive) 

Monitoring Officer (Legal Services Manager) 

Cabinet Executive Portfolio Holder (Cabinet Executive/Council reports only) 

Page 105

Appendix 1 - Consultation responses from Major Preceptors 

First response to consultation: 

From: John Sinnott [John.Sinnott@leics.gov.uk] 

Sent: 02 August 2012 12:16 

To: Wilson Leila-Jane 

Cc: Brian Roberts; Chris Tambini 

Subject: RE: Localisation of Council Tax Scheme 2013 

Dear Leila 

Thank you for your letter dated 27th July 2012 (on behalf of District Council Chief 

Executives) on the localisation of Council Tax Scheme 2013. The County Council will 

need to agree a response through Cabinet on the 14th September and at this stage I 

will formally respond. However, at this early stage I think it may be useful to set out 

some initial comments given that the overall timescale is extremely tight. 

It is pleasing to note the partnership approach being taken by the District Councils 

and also the involvement of the City and Rutland Councils and all the preceptors to 

this complex and difficult issue. I think it is important that as far as is possible a 

broadly similar scheme is adopted across the County. There will be advantages to 

both Districts and preceptors in this approach. 

I support the proposal for a scheme to be developed that will seek to recover at least 

some of the funding reduction. I also agree that Councils across Leicestershire 

should use some of the new flexibilities around removal of discounts for empty and 

second properties to make up the shortfall and reduce the impact on current 

recipients of Council Tax benefit. I probably do not need to state the obvious but, if 

the default scheme was introduced across the county, there would be a major 

impact on the County Council’s budget both in the short and longer term. The 

additional cost would no doubt need to be offset by further service cuts. 

I agree the design of a new scheme needs to take account of the two principles set 

out in your paper (support for the most vulnerable and supporting people into work) 

but also should as far as is possible align with other welfare changes such as the 

universal credit. 

In the letter you raise the issue of the preceptors funding a common framework. It 

would be useful to understand exactly what this means and it would be very helpful if 

additional information could be shared with us as soon as possible. Obviously we 

would want to minimise any extra costs by ensuring there are efficient processes in 

place across the county. 

We are keen to continue the partnership approach to this issue and I will respond 

formally in September. 

Yours sincerely 

John Sinnott 

Chief Executive 

Leicestershire County Council 

Telephone: 0116 305 6000 

Page 106

john.sinnott@leics.gov.uk 

Second response to consultation: 

COUNTY COUNCIL’S RESPONSE TO THE FURTHER INFORMATION 

PROVIDED BY THE DISTRICTS ON COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT LOCALISATION 

2 nd OCTOBER 2012 

This is the County Council’s response to the supplementary information provided by 

the District Councils on: 

• Hardship Fund 

• Administration Funding Proposal 

HARDSHIP FUND 

The County Council is supportive of the establishment of a severe hardship fund for 

those people who will have great difficulty paying Council Tax. We also accept that 

the County Council should fund its fair share of the cost of such a fund and are 

supportive of this being shared in proportion to the precept (this means the council 

will fund c70% of the cost of such a fund which would be c£250,000). If this type of 

fund was not established we believe there would not be a financial saving as the 

effect would be an increase in the number of small bad debts and potentially an 

impact on demand for public services more generally. 

We would, however, make the following points which we see as important to our 

funding support; 

a) The Council Tax Discount Scheme that is introduced, along with the changes 

to A and C exemptions, will fully absorb the 10% funding reduction. 

b) The scheme will have a key principle that customer access is both efficient 

and user friendly, i.e. the application process for all the hardship funds in the 

paper (crisis loans, social fund loans, discretionary housing payments and 

council tax benefit) are streamlined so there is one process (and if possible 

one form) for these funds. This process should as far as is practical have 

consistent eligibility criteria. We would want to ensure for example crises 

loans eligibility is consistent and complimentary with council tax discounts 

and discretionary housing payments. 

c) The partners should seek to make further improvements to the customer 

access and efficiency of the operation of these funds. It is recognised that in 

the first year a pragmatic approach will need to be taken to ensure that the 

funds are in place for the start of the year. In future we would also want to 

consider links to debt and financial advice services. 

d) The County Council does have concerns about the ‘cash limited’ nature of 

these funds and whether this is either practical or legal. i.e. is it fair that a 

Page 107

person with a recognised need could access the fund in June but not in 

February? There could be unintended consequences if this rule is adopted. 

We believe this aspect needs further consideration. The preferred method of 

containing costs should be the application of clear and tightly defined 

eligibility criteria. Eligibility may need to be tightened in response to the 

demand for these funds. 

e) Once established, the County Council would want to receive regular budget 

monitoring and performance information. 

f) The County Council is currently talking to Districts about their role in 

administering Crisis and Social Fund loans. The County believes that joint 

administration by Districts of all these hardship funds is the sensible 

approach both for the service user and for operational efficiency. If adopted 

this could mean that Districts are in a stronger position to have a continuing 

role on the ‘face to face’ contact on benefits following the introduction of the 

universal credit. 

In summary the County Council is broadly supportive of the paper. We would want 

to be involved in agreeing detailed operational aspects along the lines set out in this 

paper and consider bringing together the operation of all these hardship funds as 

important. 

ADMINISTRATION FUNDING PROPOSAL 

District Councils are funded by government for the administration of Council Tax 

which involves both collection and application of discounts. We also understand that 

government will review the funding position in the context of the new burdens 

doctrine whereby Central Government would fund any new burdens, that have a 

financial cost, of which this could be one. We are also aware that the number of 

County Councils who are currently looking to fund districts is very small (4 from the 

15 we surveyed). 

Despite the above, the County Council recognises that there could be unfunded 

extra costs and is extremely supportive of the good partnership approach adopted on 

this programme to date. 

As such the Council is willing to make a contribution shared in proportion to the 

precept (c70%). However, it was noted that the proposal showed a range of 

contributions depending on the district council. This ranged from £7.40 to £29 per 

existing Council Tax Benefit case. It is difficult to rationalise this when we would 

expect that the systems and procedures would be broadly similar and as a result so 

would costs. As such it is proposed to make the contribution based on the following 

costs which are considered to be consistent as they are based on the figures 

provided but assuming a consistent cost per case based on the most efficient District 

(Charnwood). We do recognise that for some districts this is a fairly large reduction 

and we are willing to consider any further compelling evidence. In total the reduction 

is £130,000. 

Page 108

Affected 

eligibility 

cases (1) 

Admin 

Cost 

Charnwood 5300 £39,200 

Blaby 2350 £17,400 

Oadby & Wigston 1630 £12,000 

North West 

3260 £24,000 

Leicestershire 

Hinckley & Bosworth 3130 £23,100 

Melton 1430 £10,600 

Harborough 1640 £12,100 

Total £138,400 

(1) Source Coactiva report 

We also believe it would be very sensible to review the position at the end of the first 

year to take account of what has happened in practice. 

We would want also to be assured that we are contributing to an efficient service and 

in future would request performance information is provided that would show unit 

costs and performance information. 

Page 109

Appendix 2 - Public Consultation feedback 

Web Consultation 

Preliminary analysis for: Blaby District Council 

Data range: Thursday 2 nd August- Friday 28 th 

September 

Consultation closes 28 th September 2012 

Preliminary report V1.0 (Confidential) 

If you have any queries please contact: 

Leila Wilson Programme Manager 

Localisation of Council Tax Scheme 

Leila-Jane.Wilson@charnwood.gov.uk 

01509 63 2554 

Page 110

Summary 

Data range: Thursday 2 nd August 2012- Friday 28 th September 2012 

Number of responses: 660 

Number of responses across Leicestershire and Rutland: 1807 

Method: 

Individual letters with questionnaires and freepost envelopes were sent out to 

households at the beginning of the period by Blaby District Council which resulted in 

a response of 11% as a percentage of current claimants. 

60 responses were completed by respondents online, the remaining responses were 

returned as paper questionnaires, and then manually input online. 

The consultation was also heavily promoted throughout September through debt 

road shows. 

A higher proportion of respondents are of working age, which is to be expected with 

the demographic profile. 

Page 111

Who is responding? 

Are you… 

Male 225 34.09% 

Female 376 56.97% 

Prefer not to say 7 1.06% 

Not answered 52 7.88% 

Gender assignment same as at birth? 

Yes 341 51.67% 

No 4 0.61% 



ONS Data Consultation 

Under 25 28.7% Under 16 0% 

25-65 55.6% 16-19 0.76% 

Over 65 15.8% 20-29 7.42% 

30-44 26.06% 

45-59 35.61% 

60-74 13.48% 

Over 75 1.36% 

Prefer not to say 0.61% 

Did not answer 14.70% 

Are you disabled or do you have a long term 

limiting illness or condition? 

None 299 45.30% 

Physical disability 98 14.85% 

Visual disability 21 3.18% 

Hearing impairment 25 4.24% 

Learning difficulty 29 4.39% 

Mental health problem 63 9.55% 

Cognitive impairment 13 1.97% 

Longstanding illness/health problem which limits 

your day to day activities 142 21.52% 

Depression 97 14.70% 


Not Answered 91 13.79% 

Page 112

Ethnic Origin Sexual Orientation /Sexuality 

Asian 1 Heterosexual/Straight 483 73.18% 

Asian Bangladeshi 3 Bisexual 8 1.21% 

Asian Indian 18 Lesbian/Gay 6 6.06% 

Black 2 Prefer not to say 40 5.91% 

Black British 3 Not Answered 123 18.64% 

Chinese 4 

English 7 

Gypsy Travellor 2 

Mixed White & Black 4 

Other 4 

Other asian 7 

Other European 7 

Sikh 1 

White & Asian 2 

White British 512 

White English 6 

White Irish 5 

Prefer not to say 9 

Area of residence 

Aston Flamville 0 

Blaby 87 

Braunstone Town 97 

Cosby 25 

Countesthorpe 40 

Croft 8 

Elmesthorpe 1 

Enderby 46 

Glen Parva 25 

Glenfield 43 

Huncote 10 

Kilby 0 

Kirby Muxloe 21 

Leicester Forest East 21 

Leicester Forest West 0 

Lubbesthorpe 0 

Narborough & Littlethorpe 48 

Potters Marston 0 

Sapcote 21 

Sharnford 6 

Stoney Stanton 21 

Thurlaston 2 

Whetstone 47 

Wigston Parva 1 

I live outside the district 34 

Not Answered 56 

Page 113

Religious Belief 

Christian 347 52.58% 

Hindu 9 1.36% 

Jewish 0 0% 

Sikh 10 1.52% 

Muslim 3 0.45% 

No religious belief 167 25.30% 


Other (please tell us) 12 1.82% 


Other, Agnostic, Catholic, C of E, Wait till I see the man upstairs, Athiest Devout, 

Jehovah’s Witness, Don’t know, Wiccan, Pagen, Pagan, Jain, Jedi, Methodist 

(Scottish) 

First Language: 

English 548 84.18% 



Other - please specify below 8 1.23% 

Hindi 1 

Russian 1 

Portuguese 3 

Polish 4 

Punjabi 2 

Gujarati 4 

Latvian 1 

Cantonese 2 

Goan 1 

British Sign Language 1 

Page 114

Responses 

Q1. 

Do you think that everyone apart from pensioners should pay something towards 

their council tax? 

Yes 293 44.39% 

No 299 45.30% 

Don't know 64 9.70% 

Did not answer 4 0.6% 

Q2. 

Pensioners are not affected by these changes. Do you think that everyone else 

should pay a minimum of 15% towards their council tax? 

Yes 282 42.73% 

No 318 48.18% 



Q3. 

At the moment people who live in more expensive properties get more Council Tax 

Benefit. In the new support scheme we plan to limit the amount of council tax 

support to Band D of Council Tax rates. Do you agree with this? 

Yes 421 63.79% 

No 155 23.48% 

Don't know 80 12.12% 


Q4. 

At the moment people with savings of more than £16,000 don’t get any council tax 

benefit. Under the new scheme we plan to use a lower savings limit, Do you agree 

with this? 

Yes 417 63.18% 

No 184 27.88% 



Q5. 

Page 115

If we used a lower savings limit in the new support scheme, what do you think it 

should be? 

£12,000 201 30.45% 

£10,000 179 27.12% 

£6,000 210 31.82% 


Q6. 

At the moment any savings below £6,000 are ignored when calculating Council Tax 

Benefit. If we reduced the amount that is ignored in the new support scheme what do 

you think it should be? 

£4,000 393 59.55% 

£3,000 104 15.76% 

£2,000 89 13.48% 


Q7. 

At the moment if the amount of income people have is more than the Benefit 

Regulations say they need to live on, the current benefit calculation reduces their 

council tax benefit by 20p for every £1 of extra income. In the new support scheme 

we plan to increase this to 25p for every £1 of extra income. Do you agree with this? 

Yes 291 44.01% 

No 239 36.21% 

Don't know 120 18.18% 


Q8. 

At the moment the benefit rules allow help for people who live with someone who is 

not their partner to get help with council tax. This is called “second adult rebate”. In 

the new support scheme we plan to end this rebate. Do you agree with this? 

Yes 331 50.15% 

No 223 33.79% 

Don't know 98 14.85% 


Q9. 

At the moment all income in the form of Child Benefit is ignored when calculating 

Council Tax Benefit. In the new support scheme we plan to ignore Child Benefit 

income for the first or eldest child only and include all other Child Benefit income 

when calculating the amount of support provided. Do you agree with this? 

Yes 278 42.12% 

No 307 46.51% 

Page 116



Q10. 

At the moment Lone Parents have the first £25 of their weekly earnings ignored 

when calculating Council Tax Benefit. In the new support scheme we plan to reduce 

this to the first £10.00 per week (the same amount that is ignored for a couple). Do 

you agree with this? 

Yes 211 31.97% 

No 372 56.36% 

Don’t Know 71 10.76% 


Q11. 

At the moment if people receiving Council Tax Benefit work extra hours an extra 

amount of their earnings are ignored. This is called an “additional earnings 

disregard”. In the new support scheme we plan to count all of this “additional” income 

when calculating the amount of council tax support. Do you agree with this? 

Yes 286 43.33% 

No 280 42.42% 

Don’t Know 78 11.82% 


Page 117

Appendix 3 - The draft proposals that were the subject of the consultation 

Proposed change Impact Potential 

saving 

(£000) 

85% maximum award for all 

working age householders 

Limit the amount of Child Benefit 

which is disregarded to the first 

child payment of £20.30 

This will have an ‘across the 

board’ effect on those under 60, 

lone parents, couples, single 

people and disabled people 

This will affect all families with 

more than one child, the more 

children the greater the impact. 

Band D restrictions Restricts those in larger 

properties (band E and above) 

to a discount equivalent to a 

Band D property. 

Increase taper to 25% For every £1 over the needs 

allowance the benefit is reduced 

by 25p (this is currently 20p) 

Second Adult Rebate This will affect householders 

who reside with a second adult 

who is on a low income 

Limit the amount of disregarded 

capital to £3,000 

This will affect claimants who 

have savings between £3,000 

and £16,000 

Reduce Lone Parent disregard Presently a lone parent has £25 

pw ignored from their earnings. 

This proposal suggests 

reducing this to £10 pw 

Remove Additional Earnings 

Disregard 

The first £17.10p of “Additional 

earnings” are currently 

disregarded for working 

claimants who work more than a 

certain number of hours. The 

proposal is to remove this 

enhancement and will impact on 

those working full time. 

Number 

of 

h’holds 

Reason for inclusion 

333 2284 Generates a significant 

amount of saving & due to 

its generality will affect 

more equally 

64 357 All child benefit used to be 

taken account pre-2008 

39 181 Those living in substantially 

larger properties are 

expected to pay more 

towards their council tax 

73 1098 This is an increase to a 

taper that already exists 

and brings it more in line 

with the taper proposed for 

Universal Credit. 

30 42 This enables people who 

would not qualify for a 

reduction if they lived alone 

to qualify for benefit if they 

have a low paid second 

adult living with them. 

35 603 Those with savings can 

afford more Council Tax. 

54 342 

91 593 

This amount of disregard 

would be the same allowed 

for a couple. 

Generates large savings 

All the above would generate a total benefit reduction of £546,999 This is not the sum of each 

measure as application of 

the package results in 

smaller savings. 

Page 118

Appendix 4 – Examples of how the proposals could impact upon existing 

cases 

Scenario 1 

Mr R is a single man and has recently lost his job. 

Mr R receives Contribution-based Job Seekers Allowance and has savings of 

£1,500. His total household income is £71.00 per week 

His weekly Council Tax charge is £14.71 and he currently receives maximum 

Council Tax Benefit (100%). 

This means that he has to pay £0.00 every week/month towards his Council 

Tax. 

Original Draft Scheme Proposed Scheme 

If Mr R’s circumstances remain the 

same he might receive £12.50 every 

week under Council Tax Support. 

This means that he might have to pay 

£2.21 each week or £9.60 every 

month (over 12 months) towards his 

Council Tax. The extra amount to 

pay is 3.1% of his weekly income. 

The elements of Blaby’s Council Tax 

Support proposal that affect Mr R are: 

• maximum benefit of 85% 

If Mr R’s circumstances remain the 

same he might receive £13.45 every 


This means that he might have to pay 


month (over 12 months) towards his 


pay is 1.8% of his weekly income. 


Support proposal that affect Mr R are: 

• maximum benefit of 91.5% 

Page 119

Scenario 2 

Mr and Mrs W are a working couple with no children. Mr W is disabled. 

Mrs W works and brings home £211.92 every week in earnings. They also 

receive Working Tax Credit and Disability Living Allowance. The total 

household income is £358.77 

Their weekly Council Tax charge is £18.95 and they currently receive £6.73 

every week Council Tax Benefit. 

This means that they have to pay £12.22 each week or £53.10 every month 

towards their Council Tax. 


If Mr and Mrs W’s circumstances 

remain the same they might receive 

£0.00 every week under Council Tax 

Support. 

This means that they might have to 

pay the full charge of £18.95 each 

week or £82.34 every month (over 

12 months) towards their Council Tax. 

The extra amount to pay is 1.8% of 

their weekly income. 


Support proposal that affect Mr and 

Mrs W are: 


• taper increase to 25p 

• removal of additional earnings 

disregard 

If Mr and Mrs W’s circumstances 



Support. 


pay £16.88 each week or £73.34 

every month (over 12 months) 

towards their Council Tax. The extra 

amount to pay is 1.3% of their weekly 

income. 



Mrs W are: 



Page 120

Scenario 3 

Mrs T is a lone parent not working with 2 children under 10. 

Mrs T receives Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, Child Benefit and 

Child Tax Credit. Her total household income is £218.38 each week. 

Her weekly Council Tax charge is £14.71 and she currently receives 

maximum Council Tax Benefit (100%). 

This means that she has to pay £0.00 every week/month towards her 

Council Tax. 


If Mrs T’s circumstances remain the 

same she might receive £12.50 every 


This means that she might have to 

pay £2.21 each week or £9.60 every 

month (over 12 months) towards her 


pay is 1% of her weekly income 


Support proposal that affects Mrs T 

are: 


If Mrs T’s circumstances remain the 




pay £1.25 each week or £5.43 every 

month (over 12 months) towards her 


pay is 0.6% of her weekly income 


Support proposal that affects Mrs T 

are: 


Page 121

Scenario 4 

Mr and Mrs B are a couple, not working with 4 children. 

Mr B has recently been made redundant and is now claiming Contributions 

Based Job Seekers Allowance along with Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit. 

They have savings of £12,500. Their total household income is £388.81 each 

week. 

Their weekly Council Tax charge is £27.88 and they currently receive 

maximum Council Tax Benefit (100%). 

This means that they have to pay £0.00 every week/month towards their 

Council Tax. 


If Mr and Mrs B’s circumstances 

remain the same they may not 

receive any Council Tax Support as 

their savings may exceed the 

proposed capital and savings levels 

under Council Tax Support. 

This means that they may have to 





the weekly income. 


Support proposal that affects Mr and 

Mrs B are: 

• changes to the maximum 

permitted capital/savings amount 

levels 

If Mr and Mrs B’s circumstances 



Support. 

This means that they may have to 




amount to pay is 0.61% of the weekly 

income. 


Support proposal that affects Mr and 

Mrs B are: 


Page 122

Scenario 5 

Mr and Mrs A are a working couple with two children under 11. 

Mr A works full time and brings home £249.87 every week in earnings. The 

total household income is £400.46 which includes the earnings, Child Benefit, 

Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. 






If Mr and Mrs A’s circumstances 



Support. 






their weekly income. 



Mrs A are: 




disregard 

• changes to the amounts of Child 

Benefit that are ignored 

If Mr and Mrs A’s circumstances 



Support. 





amount to pay is 1.5% of their weekly 

income. 



Mrs A are: 



Page 123

Scenario 6 

Miss S is a single woman and working. 

She has an income of £105.68 every week and savings of £1,700. 

Her weekly Council Tax charge is £25.71 and she currently receives £18.77 


This means that she has to pay £6.94 each week or £30.16 every month 

towards her Council Tax. 


If Miss S’s circumstances remain the 






towards her Council Tax. The extra 

amount is 6.4% of her weekly income. 


Support proposal that affect Miss S 

are: 


• taper increase to 25% 


disregard 

If Miss S’s circumstances remain the 






towards her Council Tax. The extra 

amount is 2.5% of her weekly income. 


Support proposal that affect Miss S 

are: 



Page 124

Scenario 7 

Ms V is a lone parent working with 2 children under 16. 

Ms V works and brings home £87.60 every week in earnings. Her total 

weekly household income is £308.99 which includes Child Benefit, Working 

Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. 

Her weekly Council Tax charge is £19.61 and she currently receives £16.65 


This means that she has to pay £2.96 each week or £12.86 every month 

towards her Council Tax. 


If Ms V’s circumstances remain the 






towards her Council Tax. This extra 

amount is 4.9% of her weekly income 


Support proposal that affect Mrs V 

are: 


• reduction of unearned income 

disregard to £10.00 

• changes to the Child Benefit 

ignored amount 



disregard 

If Ms V’s circumstances remain the 






towards her Council Tax. This extra 

amount is 0.8% of her weekly income 


Support proposal that affect Mrs V 

are: 



Page 125

Scenario 8 

Mr and Mrs H are pensioners 

They receive Pension Savings Credit, a small private pension and have 

savings of £13,000. The total weekly household income is £243.80. 






If Mr and Mrs H’s circumstances 

remain the same the benefit they are 

receiving will not change. 

This is because Blaby’s Council Tax 

Support proposal does not affect 

pensioners. 

This means that they still have to pay 


month (over 12 months) towards 

their Council Tax. There is no extra 

amount to pay. 

If Mr and Mrs H’s circumstances 

remain the same the benefit they are 

receiving will not change. 

This is because Blaby’s Council Tax 

Support proposal does not affect 

pensioners. 

This means that they still have to pay 


month (over 12 months) towards 

their Council Tax. There is no extra 

amount to pay. 

Page 126




Subject: New Customer Complaints Policy 

Report author 

and contact 

details: 




• Leona Bendall 

• Interim Democratic Services & Governance 

Manager 


• 0116 272 7706 

Cllr David Clements 

Corporate Services, Performance & Leisure 

1.1 To provide information on a proposed new approach to customer 

feedback and seek approval for a new Customer Complaints 

Policy. 

2. 

2.1 

3. 

3.1 

Recommendation 

The Council is requested to approve the new Customer Complaints Policy. 


Listening and responding to customer feedback, including dealing with 

complaints effectively, is an essential part of the service that the Council 

provides to customers. The new policy will help strengthen the culture of 

learning and lead to improvements in service design and delivery. 


Not applicable. 

Page 127 

Agenda Item 15


No. 


Background 

6.1 The Council is developing a new approach to customer feedback based on 

the principles of concerns; compliments, comments and complaints. All staff 

are being encouraged to address customer concerns as soon as they arise to 

try and prevent these escalating into complaints. Compliments are 

acknowledged and welcomed and then passed-on to the relevant staff. 

Comments and suggestions for improvement to services are also warmly 

welcomed and will be actively considered by the relevant service areas. A 

more positive approach will be used to promote and address complaints 

within a structured policy framework. 

6.1 Currently the Council responds to complaints through procedures that were 

put in place some years ago. On the whole the Council promotes its feedback 

and complaints service well. This was evidenced by a recent Leicester & 

Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership survey that measured all the complaints 

processes for public authorities in Leicestershire, however when it came to 

‘what will happen next’ Blaby scored less well. 

6.2 The purpose of the new policy is to provide a clear and transparent process 

for customers and provide procedures (implementation), guidance (advice), to 

assist staff to understand their responsibilities in respect of complaints from 

members of the public, partners and the organisations and businesses that 

operate within Blaby District. 

6.3 In addition to the formal policy, a new customer leaflet is being produced, and 

these documents together with the Complaints Management Toolkit will be 

made available to the public and published on the Council website to guide 

customers through our processes and help manage their expectations. A 

guide to help Elected Members fulfil their community champion role in respect 

of complaints will be produced. 

The Policy 

6.4 A copy of the policy is attached as Appendix 1. 

6.5 The principle elements of the policy are: 

• Providing a definition for a complaint and explaining what will not be 

considered under the complaints policy (such as complaints where a 

statutory process already exists or complaints against elected members.) 

• Outlining the three stage complaints process: initial report, review and 

ombudsman. 

Page 128

• Guiding principles of the policy are: welcome opportunity; access; 

investigation; confidentiality; timely; admitting fault; explaining; learning 

from complaints. 

• Support for customers and staff 

• Learning from complaints 

• Reporting and Monitoring 

• Dealing with vexatious (and unreasonably persistent) complaints 

• Responsibility, implementation and review 

6.5 The proposed implementation date for the policy is 1 January 2013 and in the 

meantime staff awareness and training will begin. 

6.6 Lessons learned will be shared and the insight from this information will be used 

to review practices and policies and inform decision making. 

6.7 Statistics on complaints will be reported through the quarterly performance 

reports to Cabinet. Once a year a formal report on the complaints process and 

the lessons learned will be discussed with Scrutiny Commission and this 

information, together with the findings from Scrutiny, will be reported to Cabinet. 

6.8 The policy will be monitored to ensure that it delivers equality of access across 

our diverse communities and officers will endeavour to identify which sectors of 

our communities are not using the process and try to address any perceived 

barriers. 



• Human rights have been considered but there are no overarching matters 

for concern in relation to this report. 


• There are no legal implications. 


• The Human Resources implications will be dealt with through changes to 

the induction programme and inclusion of complaints handling within the 

e-learning and training programmes. Staff awareness will also be raised 

by the inclusion of the Policy on NETconsent – a new software programme 

that requires all staff to read, consider and accept Council policies. 


• There are no risks, business continuity or resilience issues. 

Page 129

Equalities 

• An initial EINA has been prepared and this will be kept as a live document 

and amended in light of feedback and monitoring of the policy. 

• Training and awareness of equalities and access issues for staff will 

enable them to better support customers who make complaints. 


• N/A 


• N/A 


• None 


• Internal only. 


• The recommendations can be implemented within existing resources 


Appendix 1: Corporate Complaints Policy – November 2012 

Appendix 2: Extract from the Complaints Management Toolkit on identifying 

“Vexatious (and unreasonably persistent) complainants “ 


None 







Page 130

Blaby District Council: Corporate Complaints Policy 

Version 1: November 2012 

APPENDIX 1 

Introduction 

1. Putting the customer at the heart of everything we do is the way we work at 

Blaby District Council. As an organisation, the Council is committed to getting 

things right first time, but recognises that sometimes things go wrong and 

customers might not always be happy with the service they receive. If this 

happens or customers feel Blaby’s services are failing to meet their needs, then 

the Council wants to know to put things right. 

2. The lessons learned from complaints, and customer feedback in general, will be 

shared across the organisation and embedded into operational practices and 

reflect the Council’s passion to become a truly learning organisation. 

Purpose 

3. The purpose of this policy is to provide a clear and transparent process for 

customers if they wish to make a complaint against the Council. It also provides 

guidance to assist staff to understand their responsibilities in respect of 

complaints from members of the public, partners and the organisations and 

business that operate within Blaby District. 

4. This policy applies to all employees working for the Council, including those 

working from home or at non-Council locations. It also applies to Elected 

Members, consultants, agency staff and contractors working for the Council 

while engaged on Council business. 

5. This formal Complaints Policy is supported by a new approach to customer 

feedback (while the operational aspects will be delivered and guided through a 

Complaints Management Toolkit. The Feedback leaflet, Complaints 

Management Toolkit, together with Policy will all be available to customers and 

published on the Council website to better manage customers’ expectations. 

Definition of a complaint 

6. Complaints arise when the Council has failed to 

• provide the standard or quality of service promised 

• followed its own policies 

• responded promptly to an enquiry or request for service 

• treat a customer fairly or with courtesy 

7. A first request for a service, or reporting of a fault is not a complaint. 

Page 131 

1

8. Complaints that have a statutory appeals process (such as appeals against 

Council Tax) or where a customer is reporting a nuisance to be dealt with 

through the Enforcement Service will not be dealt with under this policy. 

9. Complaints against Elected Members will continue to be dealt with through the 

Standards Committee. 

10. Anonymous complaints cannot be handled under this process as a guiding 

principle is the need to respond to customers; however information provided 

anonymously will be carefully reviewed and where relevant, action will be taken. 

Policy Statement 

11. Blaby District Council is committed to dealing with complaints in ways that are 

open, fair and proportionate. The Council’s policy-led approach helps staff to 

understand clearly what is expected of them, what options for action are 

available, and who can authorise these actions. 

12. There are three stages to the Council’s complaints process 

a. Initial stage: where the complaint is received, logged on a shared central 

system and answered by an officer who will be familiar with the 

circumstances of the complaint. This process will normally be completed 

within 15 working days. 

b. Review stage: should a customer be unhappy with the response they can 

request a review of the response to their complaint. This will be logged and 

the Monitoring officer will appoint a suitable officer, who has not been 

involved in the complaint or the initial response, to review the case and 

respond to the customer. This review will normally be completed within 15 

working days. 

c. Local Government Ombudsman (LGO): if following the independent officer 

review, a customer is still unhappy with the complaint they will be advised of 

their rights to approach the LGO for support. Contact details for the LGO are 

given on our website and in the customer leaflet. 

13. The Complaints Policy comprises five elements: 

13.a The guiding principles 

13.b Support to customers and staff 

13.c Learning from complaints 

13.d Reporting and Monitoring 

13.e Dealing with vexatious and unreasonably persistent complaints 

13.a Guiding Principles 

i. Welcome opportunity: complaints are welcomed for the opportunity they 

give the Council to re-shape its policies and improve service delivery. 

ii. Access: it has been made easier for customers to make a complaint using 

a range of communications channels and staff are briefed to facilitate this 

process. 

Page 132 

2

iii. Investigation: all complaints are investigated thoroughly , objectively and 

without bias to any individual or group. 

iv. Confidentiality: complaints are handled in confidence. 

v. Timely: all complaints are dealt with promptly, and within the published 

timescale. If however a longer timescale is required to complete a 

thorough investigation, then the customer will be advised. 

vi. Admitting fault: if the Council is at fault, a sincere apology will be issued 

and steps will be taken to put things right. In cases of maladministration 

it may be appropriate to make financial redress. 

vii. Explanation: if after investigation the Council concluded that it was not at 

fault, an explanation will given to the customer to show why this view has 

been reached. 

viii. Learning: lessons learned from complaints will be shared across the 

organisation and embedded into practices and procedures. Lessons 

learned will also be used to inform future decision making. 

13.b Support for customers and staff 

i. Representative: the Council is happy to work with a customer representative 

who has been asked to support or take forward a complaint on their behalf. 

The customer will be asked to provide confirmation of the appointment of a 

representative (preferably in writing) to ensure data protection requirements 

are met. 

ii. Role of Elected Members: acting as a Community Champion is a key role for 

ward councillors. Officers recognise this, and will help councillors to support 

their constituents in taking forward complaints. 

iii. Stress: making a complaint can be a stressful process for a customer and the 

Council will help customers to express themselves effectively. Staff training 

on complaint handling will reflect appropriate access and equality standards. 

iv. Duty of care: the Council will exercise its duty of care to support staff who 

face abusive or threatening behaviour when dealing with a complaint. Such 

behaviour will not be tolerated. The initial step will be to offer support to the 

customer, but if behavioural issues continue, a warning will be issued and 

appropriate action will be taken to support staff (see paragraph:13.e.vi) 

v. Multiple complaints: at times staff can be overwhelmed by multiple complaints 

on the same issue and the Council will balance the rights of customers for 

timely and appropriate responses with the need to support staff and allow 

them to operate efficiently. 

vi. Simplicity: the council’s processes enable staff to respond to complaints with 

straightforward and efficient processes. 

13.c Learning from complaints 

i. The Council’s performance framework, online learning platform and other 

channels will be used to ensure lessons from complaints are captured, 

Page 133 

3

shared and embedded into operational practices and processes. This 

information will also be used to inform the decision-making process. 

ii. Trends will be identified to see if practices (or policies) need to be amended 

and this insight will be reviewed on a regular basis by the Council’s senior 

leadership team. 

13.d Reporting & Monitoring 

i. Statistics on complaints will be reported through the quarterly performance 

process to Cabinet 

ii. Each year (usually between January and March) the Scrutiny Commission 

will be asked to consider the complaints process and statistics in the year and 

make recommendations on what could be done better. 

iii. Each year (usually between April and June) a formal report will be presented 

to Cabinet on complaints received in the year and the lessons learned from 

these, together with any recommendations from Scrutiny. 

iv. Complaint management processes will be monitored on a regular basis to 

ensure they are fit for purpose 

13.e Dealing with vexatious (or unreasonably persistent) complainants 

i. On occasions the Council may receive complaints where the customer 

displays unreasonable behaviour or becomes unreasonably persistent in their 

demands for information or contact with the Council. 

ii. At times contact between the customer and officers involved may be 

emotionally charged and stressful for everyone involved – even after support 

is offered to help the customer through the process By contrast the contact 

may be amicable but the nature of the complaint or unreasonable persistence 

can still place very heavy demands on staff time and council resources. 

contrast 

iii. Unreasonable behaviour does not mean that a customer’s complaint is not 

justified and the Council will always do its best to pursue its open and fair 

approach to complaint management but if this is clearly not working then the 

complaint will be handled through a different process. This type of complaint 

is generally known as a ‘vexatious’. 

iv. Declaring a customer as ‘a vexatious, abusive or an unreasonably persistent 

complainant’ is not something to be undertaken lightly and it will only ever be 

undertaken by the Chief Executive, acting on advice from the Council’s 

Monitoring Officer. (The attributes and method of dealing with vexatious 

complainants are included in the Council’s Complaint Management Toolkit). 

v. If a customer is declared ‘vexatious’ the Council will follow one of two options. 

For both options, an action plan will be prepared and shared with the 

customer. Staff will be given clear guidance on how to proceed and detailed 

records will then be kept of all and any contact. 

a. management – sending a letter with a clear explanation to the 

customer that sets out proposals on how the customer can approach 

Page 134 

4

the Council on this issue (detailing both the method and timescale for 

contact) and explaining how the council will respond. 

b. disengagement – sending a letter to the customer that ‘for this issue 

and relevant associated matters’ the Council will no longer respond to 

communications from the customer and give the reasons. It will be 

explained that any communication will be read and if appropriate the 

relevant officers will be informed but no response will be sent. 

vi. A similar route of management or disengagement may also be implemented if 

a customer is abusive. 

vii. The disengagement route is only applicable when a customer is pursuing a 

particular issue and should the customer return in the future with a completely 

‘new’ complaint they will not be excluded from exercising their right to make a 

complaint. 

Responsibility, Implementation and Review 

14. The overall responsibility for corporate complaints monitoring and management 

within the Council rests with the Monitoring Officer who will assign specific 

responsibility to an officer (officers) to manage and monitor complaints. 

15. All staff will be provided with access to training and guidance on procedures to 

enable them to implement the policy. Deliberate failure to follow the policy after 

training may result in informal or formal disciplinary process. 

16. The implementation date for the policy is 1 January 2013 to enable training and 

guidance to be put in place. 

17. The policy, complaints management process and customer information will be 

monitored to ensure they remain fit for purpose and that equality of access is 

being facilitated. The first formal review will be in January 2014, with further 

reviews on a two year rolling programme. 

Document Control 

Document Title Date approved 

Version Date Modified 

Review due 

Author Sign & Date 

Owning Service 

Equality Impact 

Assessment 

Date undertaken I 

Issue found 

Page 135 

5


Page 136

Appendix 2 

Council Report: 27 November 2012 

Blaby District Council: Corporate Complaints Management Toolkit 

Extract to provide members with a better understanding of how 

vexatious complainants will be identified. 

a. A vexatious or unreasonably persistent complainant is an individual whose 

behaviour puts undue pressure on staff and resources and as a 

consequence hinders the Council’s ability to operate effectively. 

b. Persistence in itself is not a reason to categorise a customer as vexatious. 

Examples of where behaviour is persistent - but not unreasonably so - 

might include: 

o Criticising Blaby’s complaints procedure if our standards are not met 

is not unreasonable. If complaints procedures are operating 

properly, then responding to expressions of dissatisfaction and 

requests for information should not cause us particular problems. 

o The fact that a customer is unhappy with the outcome of a complaint 

and seeks to challenge it. Customers have the right to challenge 

and we will accept challenge in a positive way and this should not 

cause them to be labeled unreasonably persistent. 

o Seeking more information if the information supplied by Blaby or the 

formal response to a complaint lacks clarity. We need to ensure 

that information or responses are in plain English and use of Council 

jargon is avoided so that we do not regard reasonable requests for 

clarification as a problem.. 

c. The characteristics of a vexatious or unreasonably persistent complainant 

are likely to include two or more of the following: 

• Refusing to specify the grounds of a complaint, despite offers of 

assistance. 

• Refusing to co-operate with the complaints investigation process. 

• Refusing to accept that certain issues are not within the scope of a 

complaints procedure. 

Page 137

• Insisting on the complaint being dealt with in ways which are 

incompatible with legislation, Blaby’s adopted complaints policy or with 

good practice. 

• Making unjustified complaints about staff who are trying to deal with the 

issues, or seeking to have them replaced. 

• Changing the basis of the complaint as the investigation proceeds. 

• Denying or changing statements made at an earlier stage. 

• Introducing trivial or irrelevant new information at a late stage. 

• Raising numerous, detailed but unimportant questions and insisting that 

they are answered. 

• Covertly recording meetings and conversations. 

• Submitting falsified documents from themselves or others. 

• Adopting a 'scatter gun' approach: pursuing parallel complaints on the 

same issue with a variety of other organisations. 

• Making excessive demands on the time and resources of staff with 

lengthy telephone calls, emails to numerous council staff, or 

detailed letters every few days, and expecting immediate responses. 

• Submitting repeat complaints with minor additions/variations that the 

complainant insists make these 'new' complaints. 

• Refusing to accept the decision; repeatedly arguing points with no new 

evidence. 

Page 138

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