Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Law and Governance

(Listing Officer: J Newman, Tel: 024 7697 6891)

Further to Minute 24 above, the Cabinet considered a private report of the Director of Law and Governance, setting out the commercially confidential matters relating to the restructuring of Coventry City Council subsidiaries.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Approves the following recommendations from Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, that:

  I.  Cabinet agrees the recommendations contained in the report.

  II.  Training is offered to other relevant Elected Members as well as those specifically appointed to the Board of Directors, on an annual basis.

  III.  Annual reports to Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee include information about the income provided by HoldCo. that is spent on public services and that appropriate communications reflect this.

2)  Approves the use of its powers under Section 12 of Local Government Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 to establish HoldCo, a wholly owned subsidiary to act as a holding company.

3)  Approves the use of its powers under Section 12 of Local Government Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 to transfer the current shares in Tom White Waste Limited, Coombe Abbey Park Limited, and North Coventry Holdings which are currently held by the Council, into HoldCo and set up the subsidiary companies as set out in paragraph 3.2 of the report.

4)  Delegates authority to the Chief Executive, following consultation with the Director of Finance, Director of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources, to finalise the necessary due diligence and finalise the terms of, and enter into, the relevant legal agreements as well as any associated documents deemed necessary to complete the transaction.

5)  Approves the implementation of the governance structure and Terms of reference for the Shareholder Committee, Delegations Policy and the Conflicts Policy as shown in the appendices to the report.

6) Notes that the Leader shall exercise his authority under Local Government Act 2000 to appoint Members onto the Shareholders Committee to represent the Council as sole shareholder of HoldCo.

The Cabinet recommends that Council:

7)  Delegates authority to the Director of Finance following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources, the ability to carry out the necessary legal and financial transactions to facilitate a reduction in the share capital in North Coventry Holdings. The authority under this delegation shall also include the power to determine how any payments released as a consequence of the reduction in share capital in North Coventry Holdings is to be treated.

8)  Authorises the Director of Law and Governance to make the necessary amendments to the Council’s Constitution arising from this report.