Agenda and draft minutes

Lead Member for Resources and Climate Change - Tuesday, 31st March, 2026 3.00 pm

Venue: Remote Meeting via Microsoft Teams. View directions

Contact: Grace Addison Governance and Democracy Officer

Items
No.	Item
58.	Decisions made by the Lead Cabinet Member on 2 March 2026 PDF 120 KB Minutes: 58.1 The Lead Member approved as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2026.
59.	Disclosure of Interests Disclosure by all Members present of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the Members regard the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct Minutes: 59.1 There were none.
60.	Urgent items Notification of any items which the Lead Member considers urgent and proposes to take at the appropriate part of the agenda. Minutes: 60.1 There were none.
61.	Reports Minutes: 61.1 Reports referred to in the minutes below are contained in the minute book.
62.	Write-off of Debts 2025/26 PDF 222 KB View item 62. as HTML 37 KB View the background to item 62. View the decision for item 62. Report by the Chief Operating Officer Additional documents: Appendix 1 , item 62. PDF 42 KB View as HTML (62./2) 86 KB Minutes: 62.1 The Lead Member considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer together with exempt information in a later agenda item. DECISIONS 62.2 The Lead Member RESOLVED to: 1) Approve the writing-off of 14 debts amounting to £308,272.83 in the Council’s 2025/2026 accounts; 2) Note that provision is made for bad and doubtful debts; and 3) Note the current debt position and positive steps being put in place to make improvements. REASON 62.3 There is no prospect of recovering the 14 outstanding debts. Despite efforts made to recover the outstanding sums, all routes have now been exhausted.
63.	Dilapidations Settlement - St Mark's House, Eastbourne PDF 204 KB View item 63. as HTML 28 KB View the background to item 63. View the decision for item 63. Report by the Chief Operating Officer Additional documents: Appendix 1 , item 63. PDF 528 KB Minutes: 63.1 The Lead Member considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer together with exempt information in a later agenda item. DECISIONS 63.2 The Lead Member RESOLVED to: 1) Agree that the Council seeks to settle the claim by mutual agreement in the first instance, as set out in paragraph 2.2 of the report; and 2) Delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer, to take all actions necessary to give effect to the recommendations in the report, including, but not limited to, approving the amount of any settlement. REASONS 63.3 The Council has taken appropriate professional advice with regard to the Landlord’s dilapidations claim in respect of St Mark’s House, Eastbourne. 63.4 The Council will seek to mutually agree the settlement of the claim with the Landlord in the first instance to limit the Council’s exposure to additional risk and cost. 63.5 Delegating authority to the Chief Operating Officer in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer to take all actions necessary to give effect to the recommendations in the report, including, but not limited to, approving the amount of the settlement, the estimate for which is detailed in an exempt report later on the agenda, will facilitate the timely completion of the settlement.
64.	Exclusion of the Public and Press To consider excluding the public and press from the meeting for the remaining agenda item on the grounds that if the public and press were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as specified in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), namely information which relates to one or more individuals and information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). Minutes: 64.1 It was RESOLVED to exclude the public and press from the meeting for the remaining agenda item on the grounds that if the public and press were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as specified in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), namely information which relates to one or more individuals and information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).
65.	Write-off of Debts 2025/26 - Exempt Information View the reasons why item 65. is restricted Report by the Chief Operating Officer Minutes: 65.1 The Lead Member considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer which provided exempt information in support of an earlier item on the agenda. DECISION 65.2 The Lead Member RESOLVED to note the exempt information in relation to an earlier item on the agenda. REASON 65.3 The report contained exempt information in relation to an earlier item on the agenda.
66.	Dilapidations Settlement – St Mark’s House, Eastbourne – Exempt Information View the reasons why item 66. is restricted Report by the Chief Operating Officer Minutes: 66.1 The Lead Member considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer which provided exempt information in support of an earlier item on the agenda. DECISION 66.2 The Lead Member RESOLVED to note the exempt information in relation to an earlier item on the agenda. REASON 66.3 The report contained exempt information in relation to an earlier item on the agenda.