| Number | Item |
| | Tabled Papers  |
| | Tabled Paper |
| | Minutes for this Meeting |
| | Agenda Front Page |
| | Agenda Papers |
| 1. | Apologies |
| 2. | Declarations of Interest |
| 3. | Minutes – To approve the Minutes of the Meeting of the Cabinet held on the 12th November 2015 |
| 4. | To receive any Petitions |
| 5. | Leader’s Announcements |
| 6. | Part I – Matters Referred to the Cabinet - None for this Meeting |
| | Part II – Consideration of Reports from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee - None for this Meeting |
| | Part III – Ordinary Decision Items - Key Decisions Annotated* |
| | This is the preliminary draft budget for 2016/17 for the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account.The Comprehensive spending review is yet to be announced due on 25th November however if there is time after the announcement but before the Cabinet meeting a tabled paper will be available on the day.There has been communication that has indicated that the draft supplement will be released on 16th December.The draft budget outlined in this report will form the basis of budget scrutiny and budget consultation processes. Overall the General Fund draft budget has a variance of £76000 against the Medium Term Financial Plan.The report also includes the draft Housing Revenue Account budget which includes the reduction in rent of 1% for 2016/17. |
| | *Preliminary Draft Budget 2016/17 |
| 7. | In October Cabinet considered a suite of reports entitled ‘The Next Five Years’ which included an initial version of The Corporate Plan 2015 to 2020.At that October meeting Cabinet agreed the four priorities for the Corporate Plan and the underpinning principles which supported them and the work of the Council generally.This report now attaches the final version of the Corporate Plan 2015 to 2020 for Cabinet’s approval; it has been amended to reflect Cabinet’s feedback from the first document and has been designed and produced so that it is publication-ready. It also has an accompanying appendix (entitled ‘Context & Facts’) which includes some of the statistical evidence used to back up our priorities. |
| | *The Next Five Years - The Corporate Plan 2015-2020 (final version) |
| 8. | This Council is required to approve the tax base used to calculate the level of Council Tax for 2016-17. It is calculated with regard to the number of domestic properties (including a forecast of new properties) which are then converted to Band D equivalents.The tax base has been calculated at 43750 band D properties and is an increase of 1385 (or 3.17%) on the current year. |
| | *Council Tax Base 2016/17 |
| 9. | The Council has a statutory duty to consider annually whether to revise its Council Tax Support local scheme (complete details of the current scheme are published on the council’s website1) or replace it with another scheme and consult with interested parties if it wishes to revise or replace it.An agreement has been reached in principle by all Kent districts and the precepting authorities to recommend the extension of current schemes for one further year. It is therefore recommended that we consult on retaining the current scheme that Cabinet approved last year with some slight amendments based on changes to Housing Benefit from April 2016. Our financial operational and customer service performance based on the current local scheme allows us the opportunity not to pass on further reductions in council tax support to claimants. This recommendation has been made by the Council Tax and Welfare Reform Task Group chaired by Councillor Shorter.Following the period of public consultation the final scheme for 2016/17 must be finalised by 31 January 2016. For this purpose the report recommends a delegation to agree any final amendments to the proposed scheme. |
| | *Council Tax Support Scheme for 2016/17 |
| 10. | To update members on the Phase 1 feasibility study (copyplaced in the members’ room) carried out by the Fourth StreetConsultancy to consider deliverable options for the futureprovision of an international observatory in the borough andthe inter-related issue of securing a ‘dark sky communitydesignation’ from the International Dark Sky CommunityAssociation (IDSA).To assist in securing this international designation it isproposed that Phase 2 of the proposal would be for theAshford Astronomical Society (AAS) to lead a communityconsultation on the application and this report details theexciting and innovative way in which this would beundertaken.If members approve this course of action an internationaldark sky community designation would have the status ofbeing the very first such designation in mainland UK. |
| | *Ashford Dark Sky and International Observatory |
| | Background Paper |
| 11. | Trading and Enterprise Board – Notes of the Meeting held on the 9th November 2015 |
| 12. | Part IV – Information/Monitoring Items |
| | Local Plan and Planning Policy Task Group – Notes of the Meeting held on 28th October 2015 |
| 13. | Town Centre Regeneration Board – Notes of the Meeting held on the 18th November 2015 |
| 14. | To set out the latest Schedule of Key Decisions to be taken by the Cabinet of Ashford Borough Council. |
| | Schedule of Key Decisions |
| 15. | Items for Future Meetings |
| 16. | Part V – Cabinet Member Reports - None for this Meeting |
| | Part VI – Ordinary Decision Items - None for this Meeting |