Committee details

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Spending Board

Purpose of committee

1.          Terms of Reference of the Board

1.1.      The Board shall consider bids for Community Infrastructure (CIL) funding (in accordance with Appendices 1 and 2), and submit recommendations to Cabinet for ratification. If Cabinet chooses not to ratify a particular recommendation, then it shall provide an explanation setting out its concerns and request that the Board reconsiders the issue.

2.          Membership of the Board

2.1.      The Board will comprise of 15 Members of the Council to be chosen according to political proportionality rules, none of whom may be members of the Cabinet.  The membership of the Board can be found at Appendix H – Membership of Council Committees, Cabinet and Advisory Committees and Boards.

2.2.      When appointing the membership, Cabinet will appoint the Chairman and Vice Chairman, who will form part of the 15 members.

2.3.      Membership to be agreed annually.

3.     Role of members of the Board and members conduct

3.1     It is incumbent that Members of the Spending Board ensure that they remain impartial and receptive to all points of debate before reaching a decision on how to vote on a Bid.

3.2     Members of the Board should remain at meetings of the Board until the end of the meeting unless they have a compelling reason not to do so.

3.3     Members of the Board who are not present for consideration of all Bids, or who are not present during the whole of the discussion, should not vote on any Bid as they will not have heard all the arguments for and against the proposals.

3.4     Members of the Board should be informed when a Bid is submitted by the Council or involves the provision of infrastructure on Council land.

3.5     Subject to the Council’s Code of Conduct and the Localism Act 2011 (or any Act superseding these Acts), Members of the Board can vote on all Bids but must make declarations of interest, Lobbying and Pre-determination before any Bids are debated.

3.6     Members of the Board should contact Legal and Democratic Services before a meeting if they have any doubt in their minds regarding a potential Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI).

3.7     All members of the Board must avoid reaching a judgement before all relevant evidence is presented to the Board. All sitting Board members must ensure that they never give the impression of closing their minds to information relevant to the Bid.

4.     Quorum

4.1     The quorum shall be 5 members.

5.     Board structure, procedures and speaking protocol

        (“Local Member” means a member of the District Council whose ward, in the opinion of the Chairman, is affected by a bid which is to be included on an agenda for consideration by the CIL Spending Board.)

5.1     At the beginning of the meeting the Chairman will move the          recommendation and indicate the Bids on which Local Members, the Town or Parish Council, applicants or members of the public have asked to speak,    which shall automatically be reserved for debate.

5.2     Officers will be invited to introduce a summary of CIL at the beginning of          the meeting to include:

  • Summary of current CIL Legislation
  • Amount of funding available
  • Where CIL receipts have come from

5.3     The Chairman will read out each project title.

5.4     The officer will introduce the bid then lay out the key         considerations and summarise the recommendation for each bid.

5.5     Speakers who have previously registered will be invited to do so by the    Chairman in the following order for a maximum of 3 minutes (Local Members         will have 4 minutes):

·         company/person/body responsible for the Bid

·         A member of the public wishing to speak for the Bid.

·         A member of the public wishing to speak against the Bid

·         The Local Council representative.

·         The Local Member

         Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Chairman retains discretion to allow additional speakers as s/he sees fit.

5.6     Those wishing to speak must contact the District Council before 5pm       on the day of the Spending Board at the latest. However at the Chairman’s   discretion, late registration maybe accepted until the start of the meeting.       

5.7     The company/person/body submitting the Bid will be expected to present their Bid to the Spending Board. A bid is likely to be      deferred if the Board considers that they reasonably require         further information in order to determine it.

5.8     Speakers are allowed visual aids (of up to 5 slides).

5.9     Members of the Spending Board will then have an opportunity to ask       questions of clarification of the Speakers present.

5.10    Members of the Spending Board will then have an opportunity to ask       questions of the officers present.

5.11    Discussion of each Bid will then take place. Any proposed changes shall   be treated as an amendment to the motion and voted on          accordingly.

5.12    A decision on the motion will only be made at the end of the         meeting after all the Bids have been discussed. This ensures that every   bid is considered and discussed before any decision is made. 

5.13    The Board can only consider the bid put before them and the details       provided by the applicant. This means that the Board cannot amend any details of the bid or the amount of money awarded at the meeting.   They   can only agree, refuse or defer if they consider more           information is needed or that further investigation is required to be        carried out in regard to the costs of the project.

5.14      Each bid should be given the following considerations during the   decision making process:

·         Whether sufficient evidence has been provided to demonstrate a strong social, environmental or economic justification for the scheme.

-      Whether sufficient evidence has been provided to demonstrate a strong link between new development and the scheme.

·         Whether sufficient evidence has been submitted to show that the project involves partnership working.

·         Whether the scheme forms part of a planned, local, economic or community strategy to address the need for local or strategic infrastructure.

·         Whether sufficient evidence has been provided to show the clear public benefit to the scheme.

·         Whether sufficient evidence has been provided to show that funding has been maximised from other funding sources.

·         Whether there is sufficient certainty that the scheme will be delivered, including considering whether the project has all the necessary permissions in place and evidence has been provided to demonstrate that there are sufficient maintenance arrangements in place.

·         Whether the scheme has local support.

·         Whether the project has already benefited from CIL through the Parish and Town Councils.

·         Whether overall the scheme provides a strong community benefit.

5.15   After all the bids have been considered individually and any amendments made, a vote will take place on the motion / substantive motion and the Chairman will advise the meeting of the result.

5.16   Board meetings to be held at the Chairman’s discretion taking into account the level of CIL income.

5.17   The above arrangements shall be reviewed after 12 months.

Membership

Contact information

Support officer: Email: Democratic.Services@sevenoaks.gov.uk 01732 227199.

 

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