Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor David Smith and Councillor Mike Hallam

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

None

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on XXXXX.

The minutes from the Cabinet meeting of the 7^th December were approved and signed as a true and accurate record.?

To receive communications from the Chair.

None

The Chairman to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

None

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

a) Noted the forecast outturn position for 2021-22 and associated risks;

b) Noted the deliverability assessment of West Northamptonshire Council savings requirement for 2021-22 and 2022-23 in Appendix B.

REASONS RESOLVED: To ensure that the Authority complied with its financial regulations.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Malcolm Longley presented the report. The main points of the report were highlighted.

Councillors made the following comments.

·         The report was very detailed, the same level of detail was requested to be included in subsequent reports and with more regularity.

·         It was noted that there was still a significant deficit and it was questioned whether the actual cost of running the authority was known.

·         There was a large amount of capital spent on special expenses. An explanation of this was requested.

·         It was noted that there was an underspend in education, was the Council receiving statutory advice on this?

·         Staffing levels were a concern with a large amount of vacancies and staff being pulled from different areas to cover others.

·         It was advised that some staff were feeling overwhelmed with mental health being a concern.

·         The report did show some fragility with large gaps in the budget. The Council should be making strong representation to the Government regarding these.

·         The Transformation journey was queried, whether it was it working as it should, it was felt that it was a strain on services.

·         It was queried whether any mitigations were already known of and if so what plans were in place to address them.

·         Educational Psychology was mentioned as a particular issue which would require more focus.

·         It was requested that more information be provided at the monthly briefings.

Councillor Malcolm Longley made the following comments.

·         With regards to special expenses this would be looked into.

·         Some items mentioned were not within the financial remit and as such could not comment on them.

·         It was agreed that there was a level of fragility.

·         The concerns raised over Transformation were noted and it was advised that there would be a new approach to this in the new year.

·         The mitigations expected would be fairly normal ones.

·         Meetings would continue to take place with Councillors Harris and Stone, extra information would be given if requested.

The Executive Director of Finance noted that there had been some pressures and issues which would be addressed going into the new year.

The Chief Executive made the following comments;

·         It was noted that there were vacancies within the Educational Psychology Team. Discussions in relation to pay and terms and conditions were being undertaken with trade unions.

·         There were various vacancies across the council. This was a national issue, as far as was known no services had been overly affected by this.

·         Only three areas had been restructured, conversations had taken place with staff throughout.

Councillor Lizzy Bowen noted that there were regular staff surveys carried out where staff can make their thoughts known.

The Chair advised that with regards to the mental health of staff there were anonymous ways for staff to raise issues and seek help. It was agreed that the Executive Director Corporate would mention this in the next newsletter.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

a) Noted the latest capital monitoring position for the GF and HRA

b) Noted the new schemes that have been approved since the Q1 Capital Report which was presented to Cabinet in September 2021.

c) Noted the virements that have been approved since the last report

REASONS RESOLVED: In order to ensure sound management of the council’s finances.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Malcolm Longley presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated. Cabinet was advised that a Capital Assets board had been created which would include The Executive Director of Finance, Councillor Malcolm Longley and Councillor Lizzy Bowen. All future capital projects would come through the board. Members were informed that there were a large number of projects in the pipeline.

Councillors made the following comments.

·         Did the costs mentioned in the report include the increase in the cost of materials?

·         It was queried whether the school building costs would be received from central Government.

·         It was noted that schools were still having to fund their own covid-prevention measures.

·         The Disabled Facilities grant was mentioned. Details of where this money would be spent were requested.

·         It was noted that there were many programmes from the previous authorities in progress, how many would be reliant on funding provision?

·         The Active Travel scheme and its rephasing had been mentioned in the report, could what was meant by this be clarified with a full briefing?

·         The EV charge points project had been agreed for specific areas, was this still going ahead?

The Executive Director of Finance advised that there was a plan to capitalise revenue and transformational costs. There were various funds available to Educations schemes, this information would be provided. The re-phasing that had been mentioned was ‘slippage’ that would be moved forward.

Councillor Fiona Baker advised that any expenditure related to Covid within schools was dealt with by the Department of Education.

Councillor Matt Golby advised that the Health and Wellbeing Board would send any relevant information when requested.

Councillor Lizzy Bowen mentioned that contingency plans were always in place when dealing with construction costs, these were reviewed regularly at the Capital and Assets Board.

Councillor Phil Larratt advised that the active travel scheme was still being working on with various ideas coming through.

The Executive Director of Place and Economy advised that he would have to take away the question regarding EV charge points and come back with an answer.

RESOLVED AND REASONS RESOLVED: That Cabinet note the report and the treasury activity for the first half of the 2021-22 financial year and forward it to full council for consideration.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Malcolm Longley presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated.

Councillors made the following comments.

·         It would be useful for members to know where the Council’s money was invested at present.

·         The report mentioned repaying Cornwall Council £5 million, had there been more borrowing from other authorities?

·         It was noted that there was a good level of borrowing, was there a cap on how much could be borrowed?

Councillor Malcolm Longley advised that the council should be slowing borrowing and increasing its reserves.

The Executive Director of Finance advised that a list of investments could be provided.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

a)    Approved for consultation the 2022-23 Draft Budget, including

i) an estimated net revenue budget of £733.8m (£336.4m excluding Dedicated Schools Grant) as set out in Appendix A.

ii) an average Band D Council tax of £1,613.23 for West Northamptonshire Council, which represents an increase of 2.99%. (1.99% increase in ‘core’ Council Tax and 1% Adult Social Care Precept).

iii) proposed Fees and Charges as detailed in Appendix C

iv)  provisional dedicated schools grant budget of £397.4m as detailed in Appendix D

v) the draft Capital Programme additions as set out in Appendix E

b)    Set the tax base for West Northamptonshire at 139,604 Band D equivalents, as set out in paragraph 6.63

c)    For the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG):

i) Noted the provisional allocations and planned usage of the DSG for 2022-23 pending the final DSG settlement, and

ii) Following consultation with the Schools Forum, delegated authority to the Executive Director for Children’s Services to determine the DSG 2022-23 schools funding formula, high needs funding arrangements and the Early Years Funding Formula in line with Department for Education guidance.

d)    Endorsed and supported the review of reserves that has taken place as set out in 6.90 to 6.105.

REASONS RESOLVED:

To ensure that the Council complied with its Constitution and all other relevant requirements in setting the budget for West Northamptonshire Council.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Malcolm Longley presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated. Cabinet was advised that this was a draft plan and not finalised. Members were reminded that this year four authorities had come together as one with the stabilisation of the area being a main objective. The reserves were currently circa £100 million but would rise and fall as the months passed.

Councillors made the following comments.

• It was queried whether the council was able to balance due only to the amount of vacancies.
• It was noted that the transformative capacity was linked to staffing levels.
• The Overview and Scrutiny committee would need to revisit various areas of this report.
• There were concerns about the rise in Council Tax and how it would affect poorer people, it was queried how this fitted into the councils anti-poverty strategy.
• Strong recommendation needed to be taken to central government with regards a 4 year budget which had been requested consistently.
• The National Insurance increase had been mentioned, how much added social care money would come to the Council through this?
• With regards to staffing, it was questioned whether the current offer given to potential staff was enough? Could this be why staffing levels are so low?
• It was suggested that the public supported keeping the Council’s money local.
• It was noted that there had been an increase in the parking charges at the country parks, with some parks requesting payment for the entire day and not hourly.
• West Northamptonshire had a rapidly aging population, it was important to help keep people in their own homes for as long as possible for their own mental health.
• Daventry had increased residents parking permits but Northampton had not, harmonisation these charges would be appreciated.

Councillor Adam Brown made the following comments.

·         There would be central Government funding for homelessness.

·         Residents would see tangible results from the council tax rise.

·         It was advised that without raising funds it would not be possible to raise wages and fund services.

·         Members were informed that there was a constant dialogue with central Government about the county’s needs.

Councillor Phil Larratt noted the differences in the costs of parking at country parks and that once all of the services had come together costings would be looked at.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

a)    Approved for consultation the draft HRA budget as detailed in appendices 1 and 4 for public consultation.

b)    Approved for consultation the 4.1% (£3.84) increase in average rents from £93.66 to £97.50 per week in accordance with the government’s Rent Standard with effect from the 4th April 2022.

c)    Approved for consultation the draft HRA Capital Programme and financing, as detailed in appendix 2 and notes the forecast programme from 2023/24 to 2026/27.

d)    Approved for consultation the 3.1% increase in tenants and leaseholder service charges with effect from the 4th April 2022 as set out in Appendix 3.

e)    Noted the draft Total Fees proposed for NPH in appendix 4 to deliver the services in scope.

f)     Note the bid that the Council has made in partnership with NPH for the Wave 1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation fund for £6.08m and approved delegated authority to the Executive Director of Finance to enter into a funding agreement with the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) if successful in the bid process.

REASONS RESOLVED:

The HRA reflected the statutory requirement under Section 74 of the Housing and Local Government Act 1989 to account separately for local housing services. It is a ring-fenced account which records the cost of managing the Council’s housing stock.

These costs are offset by tenants’ rents, tenants/leaseholders’ services charges and other contributions. The Council has a statutory duty to set a balanced HRA and avoid going into deficit.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Adam Brown presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated. It was advised that there had been a rent increase with universal credit and housing benefits increasing in tandem with this. Cabinet was reminded that there was a national shortage of housing with over 3000 families on the Northampton housing list at present. Members were advised that the Council had been active in seeking funding from various routes.

A Councillor noted that not much detail had been mentioned with regards to the housing strategy and that the Overview and Scrutiny committee had requested to see this information pre-decision.

RESOLVED: That the West Northamptonshire Council Cabinet: 

a)    Noted continued progress to deliver the Northampton North West Relief Road;

b)    Continued to support the capital investment required to complete this scheme as set out in Section 7.1 of this report and required to proceed to construction including forward funding against future S106 and Community Infrastructure Levy payments;

c)    Agreed that in light of not receiving Levelling Up Funding, under the urgency procedure, to commit £20 million to the project to make up the funding shortfall to enable the scheme to progress to site;

URGENCY;

Please note that part c) of the resolution constitutes an urgent decision outside the Budget and Policy Framework. The consent of the Chair of the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee was sought and obtained in accordance with the requirements of the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules. It was not practical or safe to convene a quorate meeting of the Council to take this decision in the timeframe. This was because there was a need to review the business case for the project in the light of the funding decision, which has caused delay.  The current procurement price will expire on 8th January 2021 and further delay will lead to increased costs.

REASONS RESOLVED:

(i)    The scheme was identified within the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy as being required to support anticipated additional growth, much of which is already consented requiring the additional highway capacity the scheme provides to mitigate their impacts.

(ii)  Since 2016 the North West Relief Road had been an important planning consideration in the determination of a number of developments including Buckton Fields and the Strategic Urban Extension at Dallington Grange, with some of this development having since commenced. Should the North West Relief Road not proceed then this consented development may either not happen due to viability concerns or could take place without effective mitigation of the traffic impacts. Either scenario would have negative implications for the Authority and the local area.

(iii)As currently planned, the scheme offers the required traffic benefits to facilitate planned growth in the area. A reduced scheme would not offer the same traffic benefits in terms of reducing congestion and journey times and would result in a delay to delivery which will increase costs and result in the scheme facing an increased funding gap to deliver a project with a less beneficial business case.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS;

Option 1 – Do not proceed with the Scheme

·         Not proceeding with the scheme could impact on the viability of existing consented developments resulting in land not being developed or existing developments not being fully built out.

·         Alternatively, if consented developments continued to be built out then the traffic impact of allowing significant development whilst not building the North West Relief Road would be significant.

·         The future delivery of the Northampton Northern Orbital (currently proposed route options) would be compromised as these route options would require the North West Relief Road to connect to the highway network at its  ...  view the full decision text for item 92.

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Phil Larratt presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated. Cabinet was reminded that this was a legacy project with planning consent given in 2020. It was advised that this item would also come back to Cabinet at a later date.

Councillors made the following comments.

• It was queried whether the levelling up fund had made it past the gateway and whether there had been any feedback with regards a re-submission.
• As the bid had not been successful would the Council be reviewing its funding process.
• It was noted that the report could have been presented at the December 2021 Council meeting.
• Cabinet was reminded that the Flore bypass had been built in order to improve travel between Daventry and the M1 but was a single carriageway.
• It was felt that central Government should also fund part of this as they had requested the extra housing mentioned in the report.
• The report noted that there would be a limited effect on climate. It was felt that this could not be correct as any new road would contribute to pollution.
• It was queried whether the 10% contingency that was in place would be enough and whether this would be a fixed price contract?
• It was noted that there had been a significant increase in the overall costs as building materials had risen in price.
• What would happen should some of the houses not be built, would the Council need to request another loan?

Councillor Phil Larratt made the following comments.

• The Flore bypass would remain a single carriageway for now, but duelling in the future was an option as it had been built with that in mind.
• The concern for the environment was echoed, and work would go into looking for different construction methods to ensure the project would be as carbon efficient as possible.
• The contingency worries were understood.

The Executive Director of Place & Economy made the following comments.

• There had been no feedback at present about the levelling up fund.
• Members were advised that the strategy used to applying for funding was continuously under review.
• It was advised that the contract was a fixed price one with all risk being transferred to Balfour Beatty.
• The contract had taken inflation and the price of materials into consideration.
• It was advised that part of the road would also be built by the developers.
• The project would be continually monitored.