Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: The Forum, Towcester, NN12 6AF

Contact: Sofia Neal-Gonzalez, Democratic Services 

Note: Please use the following link to view the meeting from 6pm: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDyc2cNcl19OvcGOCuZDTBQ 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Councillor Malcolm Longley

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

None

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 250 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 12th April 2022.

Decision:

The minutes from the Cabinet meeting of the 12th April 2022 were approved and signed as a true and accurate record.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the minutes from the Cabinet meeting on the 12th of April 2022 were approved and signed as a true and accurate record.?

 

4.

Chair's Announcements

To receive communications from the Chair.

Minutes:

None

5.

Urgent Business

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

 

Minutes:

None

6.

Highways Contract Procurement Update pdf icon PDF 710 KB

Decision:

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

a)    Noted the continued progress to procure new arrangements for highways and transport services and the readiness to make an award post Final Tender submission and evaluation in May 2022;

b)    Agreed to delegate authority to the Executive Director Place, Economy and Environment and Executive Director Finance, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste Services, and the Portfolio Holder for Finance to award the contract.

 

REASONS RESOLVED:

a)    The Council had a statutory duty to provide highways services as set out in the Highways Act 1980.

b)    The Council must provide these services and the Council is procuring a new contract in order to do so in the future.

c)    Failure to make an award would have a number of implications for the Council, not least the need to establish and mobilise alternative delivery arrangements from the end of the KierWSP contract in September 2022 and the cost and risk associated with commissioning and /or delivering an alternative solution in the medium to long term.

d)    The delegations requested would enable the procurement process to proceed with appropriate governance through to its conclusion.

 

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

Minutes:

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Phill Larratt presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated. Members were advised that the procurement process had been a competitive one and that two separate contracts would be awarded. The final decision would be taken in consultation with the portfolio holder for finance, Councillor Malcolm Longley, and there was a plan in place arrange an all-member briefing on the subject. It was advised that the team was evaluating the tenders of the final 3 bidders with a decision due in early June and the new contract starting in September of 2022.

 

The Monitoring Officer advised that the delegation of the decision would be given to those who would have direct involvement in the bidding process.

 

 

Councillors made the following comments.

  • It was questioned whether this item should also be presented at the Scrutiny Committee.
  • What inflation rate had been built into the contract? The previous one had built in 3%.
  • It was queried whether the council was confident in their capacity monitor the contractor.
  • Would the council be leading in the promotion of the net zero emission promise for this project, or would that be the contractor? It was important to make demands on of the contractor on environmental standards.
  • It was noted that the Central Government had reduced local authority funding for highways projects, how constrained would the council be by this?
  • Would the contract include provision for the bringing of roads up to standard, such as the filing of potholes or resurfacing, the investment in this had been stopped in the past.
  • What penalties if any would be in place?
  • Public maintenance schedules seemed to be different to the information that the public sees. 

 

Nick Henstock, Head of Highways and Transport, made the following comments.

  • The contract did include movement for inflation, this would be reviewed on an annual basis.
  • Environmental standards had been part of the bidding process.
  • Contractors were aware of the importance of communication and the consistency of service to the council.
  • It would be possible for contracts to be extended, this would be based on the relationship created between the council and the contractor.

 

Councillor Phil Larratt made the following comments.

  • The restoration of standards was important, and it was hoped that some would be able to be included in the work due to be carried out.
  • Scrutiny could be provided with a briefing, but it was important to follow due process.
  • It was important to have a strong contract management team in place.
  • It was advised that the council had its own net zero emissions ambitions in place but was open to the contractors being innovative about this.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

a)    Noted the continued progress to procure new arrangements for highways and transport services and the readiness to make an award post Final Tender submission and evaluation in May 2022.

b)    Agreed to delegate authority to the Executive Director Place, Economy and Environment and Executive Director Finance, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Modern Income Management Solution pdf icon PDF 460 KB

Decision:

RESOLVED: That Cabinet.

a)    Completed the procurement and award of contract of the Income Management Solution - contract value of over £500k therefore requires a key decision from the Cabinet; and

b)    Delegated authority to Executive Director Corporate in consultation with Cabinet Member for HR & Corporate Services to award the contract to the identified best fit supplier.

 

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    Expiry of the incumbent contracts – all contracts expire in 2023 without the ability to extend any further. A competitive process needed to be followed to ensure continuity of the functionality required of income management systems, whilst creating an opportunity to harmonise and modernise the income management systems inherited by West Northamptonshire Council.

2.    Economies of scale – by choosing to implement the Income Management Solution with partners, implementation and support costs would be shared, providing better value for money for the taxpayer. Furthermore, expertise and experience gained from partner organisations can be used to benefit citizens of West Northamptonshire Council.

 

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

Option 1 – Shared Income Management Solution

·         This option would have seen West Northamptonshire Council pool their resources with partner organisations with whom they currently share Accounting System and back-office support teams to procure, develop and implement an Income Management Solution benefitting from economies of scale and scope, and accumulated expertise and knowledge across all partner organisations.

·         This option was recommended having scored the highest in the Options Appraisal.

 

Option 2 – Individual Income Management Solution

·         This option would have seen West Northamptonshire Council independently procure, develop, and implement an Income Management Solution for sole use of the council. Technically, this is equally as viable as Option 1, however, it does not offer the opportunity for additional efficiencies and the benefits of economies of scale and therefore would result in reduced long term cost savings. West Northamptonshire Council would be fully responsible for the procurement, development, implementation and ongoing support of the solution and therefore incur the whole burden of the cost.

 

Option 3 – Extend Existing Contracts

·         West Northamptonshire Council to extend the contracts with the incumbent suppliers.

·         This option was deemed not viable as West Northamptonshire Council will be in breach of Public Contract Regulation 2015 opening them to challenge from prospective suppliers denied the opportunity to bid for the business.

 

Option 4 – Do Nothing

·         This option was deemed not viable as after the current contracts expire in 2023, West Northamptonshire Council would lose the ability to effectively receive, manage and allocate monies from their service users.

Minutes:

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

 

Councillors made the following comments.

·         It was noted that there hadn’t been an explanation of the possible risks involved, such as the capacity of the finance teams.

·         It was queried how capacity within the service would be increased as the council had been unable to fill some vacancies.

·         Why had the council chosen to continue to look at shared services after LGSS?

Councillor Mike Hallam made the following comments in response.

·         The service was more of a shared procurement than a shared service.

·         It was important for the service to be able to integrate with the systems from the previous authorities.

·         The number of vacancies would be kept under review. 

·         Members were advised that payment options were not being removed, but new ways of paying were being added

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet.

a)    Noted the completion of the procurement of the Income Management Solution; and

b)    Delegated authority to Executive Director Corporate in consultation with Cabinet Member for HR & Corporate Services to award the contract to the identified best fit supplier

 

8.

Hunsbury Park SEND unit pdf icon PDF 600 KB

Decision:

RESOLVED: That Cabinet.

a)    Approved the publication of the statutory notice of its intent to establish a new, 50 place, SEND unit catering to pupils with a primary need of ASC, at Hunsbury Park Primary School.

b)    Noted that following the publication of the statutory notice a four week period of consultation on this matter will commence.

c)    Noted that a further, final decision will be required in July as to whether or not to establish the proposed SEND unit at Hunsbury Park Primary School.

 

REASONS RESOLVED:

·         The proposal would help ensure that the Council is able to fulfil its statutory obligation of providing a sufficiency of SEND places within West Northamptonshire.

·         The proposal would provide an increased number of SEND places and will help ensure that children with additional needs were able to access education in a provision that is best placed to meet their individual needs.

·         The proposal could be considered to benefit all West Northamptonshire primary schools as it will reduce the need for mainstream school settings to provide places to children with additional needs where that provision is not best placed to meet a child’s additional needs.

·         The recommended course of action was the most cost-effective and will reduce pressure on the High Needs Block (HNB) element of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) via a reduction in the number of children being required to be placed in more expensive out of county and independent provisions to meet their individual needs.

·         The Council and its customers would receive the maximum benefit from the option proposed.

 

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

·         Do nothing: This option would result in the failure of WNC fulfilling its statutory obligation of providing a sufficiency of SEND places in West Northamptonshire. It would also result in the requirement to utilise places in increasingly distant and more expensive places within the independent sector, which would place a further strain on the HNB of the DSG. If WNC cannot demonstrate that it is able to manage its DSG allocation in a balanced position (or have plans to do so) this would result in intervention by the DfE. This option would have also prevented WNC from addressing issues relating to the timely provision of places in an appropriate setting for pupils in receipt of an EHC plan. This option was discounted for these reasons.

·         To provide the additional SEND places at another education setting: WNC officers have engaged in discussions with a significant number of area schools relating to the possible provision of additional SEND places. However, a number of important criteria must be considered and met before a setting can be considered suitable to provide SEND places;

Ø  The setting/operator must have the relevant expertise or proven track record of delivering a successful SEND provision;

Ø  The setting must be willing to provide places that would meet the type of need specified by WNC;

Ø  The capital cost of the proposed scheme must be cost effective and meet value for money considerations;

Ø  The school must be located  ...  view the full decision text for item 8.

Minutes:

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Fiona Baker presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated. Members were advised that this project was part of an ambitious programme and was a statutory requirement. Action was required as there were not enough places for children and sending them to out of county schools was expensive and detrimental to the child.

The recommendations were presented to Cabinet who were advised that the item would return to Cabinet in July after the consultation has occurred.

 

Councillors made the following comments.

  • The numbers of places needed might increase, how confident is the council in being able to provide for these going forward and where would any additional facilities be located?
  • It was noted that the report stated that £12 million had been provided, would this be enough?
  • Provision was also needed in mainstream school.

 

The Assistant Director for Education made the following comments.

  • Confidence was high, there had been agreements with schools and capital was in place for those places.
  • The consultation for the new 250 place special school would begin the next day.
  • It was noted that the £12 million from the DfE was a larger amount that had been provided to the council in the past.

 

Councillor Fiona Baker made the following comments.

  • It was for the benefit of the child that they be educated near their own homes.
  • There would continue to be conversations with all the schools in order to work on what they could provide.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet.

a)    Approved the publication of the statutory notice of its intent to establish a new, 50 place, SEND unit catering to pupils with a primary need of ASC, at Hunsbury Park Primary School.

b)    Noted that following the publication of the statutory notice a four-week period of consultation on this matter will commence.

c)    Noted that a further, final decision will be required in July as to whether or not to establish the proposed SEND unit at Hunsbury Park Primary School.

 

9.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following report(s) contain exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1, Schedule 12A of Local Government Act 1972.

 

Members are reminded that whilst the following item(s) have been marked as exempt, it is for the meeting to decide whether or not to consider each of them in private or in public. In making the decision, members should balance the interests of individuals or the Council itself in having access to the information. In considering their discretion members should also be mindful of the advice of Council Officers.

 

Should Members decide not to make a decision in public, they are recommended to resolve as follows:

 

“That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that, if the public and press were present, it would be likely that exempt information falling under the provisions of Schedule 12A, Part I, would be disclosed to them, and that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”