Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Rebecca Breese

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 on the 12^th July 2022 were approved and signed as a true and accurate record.?

To receive communications from the Chair.

The leader paid tribute to the queen. He made reference to the fact that only essential meetings would be held during the period of mourning as a mark of respect.

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

None

RESOLVED:

a)     The consultation process for Levelling Up - Round 3 was reviewed in order that early in the consultation process all ward Members and the voluntary sector are included as consultees (recommendation from Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee).

b)    Cabinet recognised the need to improve performance from the current position of 47% of children in care receiving an initial health assessment within 28 days of entering care (recommendation from People Overview and Scrutiny Committee).

c)    Cabinet looked into issues arising from the change of use of Riverside House from office space to housing that have affected its continued suitability as a site for outpatient renal dialysis, in order to support effective partnership working (recommendation from People Overview and Scrutiny Committee).

REASONS RESOLVED:

The recommendations sought to bring to the attention of the Cabinet issues identified by the Council’s overview and scrutiny committees arising from recent scrutiny work.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

The Chair invited Councillor Rosie Herring to speak in her role as the Chair of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Councillor Herring summarised the findings of the committee to members and noted that the process should also be seen as a learning experience.

Councillor Adam Brown advised that he would be happy to go back to Northampton Partnership Homes to discuss any lessons to be learnt.

Councillors made the following comments.

·         The consultation of ward councillors early in the process was important, this should happen going forward.

·         It was queried why the highways scrutiny paper had not been included on the agenda.

RESOLVED:

a)    The consultation process for Levelling Up - Round 3 was reviewed in order that early in the consultation process all ward Members and the voluntary sector were included as consultees (recommendation from Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee).

b)   Cabinet recognised the need to improve performance from the current position of 47% of children in care receiving an initial health assessment within 28 days of entering care (recommendation from People Overview and Scrutiny Committee).

c)    Cabinet looked into issues arising from the change of use of Riverside House from office space to housing that have affected its continued suitability as a site for outpatient renal dialysis, in order to support effective partnership working.

RESOLVED: Cabinet recommended to Council the approval of the Youth Justice Plan 2022-23.

REASONS RESOLVED:

As well as being a requirement of statute, the Youth Justice Plan forms part of the Council’s Policy Framework and approval by the Council is therefore required.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation councillors made the following comments.

·         The report was full of information and very accessible.

·         It was noted that more youth services were required in the county, specifically youth workers.

·         Although there had been an uplift in spend and investment in this area it was barely above inflation.

·         Out of 173 councils WNC had the 14^th lowest spending on youth services and was above average on custodial sentences.

·         Could there be clarification as to how many children were living in poverty within the county.

Councillor Fiona Baker presented the report and advised Cabinet that the Youth Justice Service took a child first/whole family approach. Members were advised youth violence was a concern and that a pilot programme to address the issue was due to begin, starting in Wellingborough.

RESOLVED: Cabinet recommended to Council the approval of the Youth Justice Plan 2022-23.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet.

a) Noted the contents of this report

b) Approved the proposed LCTRS for 2023-24 as outlined in the report.

c) Recommended to Council a no change LCTRS for 2023-24.

REASONS RESOLVED:

To enable a Council Tax Reduction Scheme to be agreed for West Northants Council for the financial year 2023-24 and be approved by Council and in place by 31 January 2023.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

·         Modelling has been carried out to show the financial impact of retaining the current scheme as shown in the table below. A 1% increase in the minimum payment would result in a reduction in expenditure of £142,521 (compared to £155,00 in 2022-2023).

·         In light of the on-going impacts from the COVID pandemic and the current economic climate members may wish to retain the current level of 20% minimum contribution and recommend to Council a no change LCTRS for 2023-2024. LCTRS Regulations for pensioners must be increased in line with uprating announced by DLUHC and the working age Regulations uprated in line with those announced by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

At the Chairs invitation councillors made the following comments.

·         Had any KPIs been put into place in order to measure effects?

·         It was suggested the relevant systems were complex, which in turn made it more difficult for residents to cope.

Councillor Adam Brown noted that the council would continue to prioritise those who were less well off, this had been a cross party consensus.

RESOVLED: That Cabinet;

a) Noted the contents of this report

b) Approved the proposed LCTRS for 2023-24 as outlined in the report.

c) Recommended to Council a no change LCTRS for 2023-24.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

a)    Noted that the selection process for the new school involves the Council putting forward a recommendation to the DfE for the preferred trust, following a rigorous selection process.

b)    Note the linked paper, ‘St John Tiffield property arrangements’ on the use of the St John’s Tiffield Site, St. John’s Road, Tiffield, NN12 8AA for the new school.

c)    Agreed in principle borrowing up to £10,000,000 to make up the shortfall for the cost of building the new school, which is up to £23m, with delegated authority to the s151 officer to amend the capital programme once full feasibility works are completed. Note that the remaining cost of the build will be met through capital grant funding received by the Council.

Note: the estimated building and capital required is subject to construction cost inflation. This had been estimated at one per cent per month currently. Compounded, this could be as much as 13-14 per cent a year. Delay in construction work will lead to further risk of cost rises.

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    The proposed new school will help to ensure that the council is able to fulfil its statutory obligation of providing a sufficiency of ASC, SLCN and SLD SEND places within West Northamptonshire in future years. It will also provide new learners with access to excellent specialist provision that will significantly improve future lifelong outcomes.

2.    The establishment of a new ‘all-through’ special school can also be considered a benefit to all of West Northamptonshire’s mainstream primary and secondary schools. It will reduce placements at a mainstream school setting where a child’s needs can only be appropriately met at a special school.

3.    The new school will also 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 out of county and independent provisions to meet their individual needs. The average cost of an independent placement is £61,000 whilst the average cost at a non-independent school is £25,000 – a reduction on average of £36,000 per place.

4.    Based on previous placements, around 50 per cent of the expected new school intake, would have been placed at an independent placement due to the lack of state-sector funded special schools or resourced provisions. Placements at the new school will result in approximate net cost avoidance of £4,000,000 once the school is full. A reduction in spend against the revenue general fund is also expected to be secured through reduced home to school transport costs as a result of fewer further away placements being made.

Note: cost avoidance is NOT the same as a cost-saving. It is not cashable as the council will be spending more money each year on the extra costs of pupils who have significant additional needs. For example, 100 pupils

with the level of need requiring a place at the new free special school will cost approximately £2,500,000. This was an extra cost to the  ...  view the full decision text for item 50.

At the Chair’s invitation councillors made the following comments.

·         It was important to know how long the journey time to the school would be for the pupils.

·         There was an increasing need for SEND places across the county.

·         It was queried whether there were plans to broker the school or would it remain within the local authority.

Councillor Wendy Randall then read out a statement on behalf of the West Northants SEND action group.

Councillor Fiona Baker presented the report and noted that there was a huge demand for specialist places and a historic lack of investment in the area. She advised that children currently placed in a setting would not be expected to move to the new school. A recommendation as to the preferred trust to run the school had been put to the Department for Education.

RESOLVED: Cabinet;

a)    Noted that the selection process for the new school involves the Council putting forward a recommendation to the DfE for the preferred trust, following a rigorous selection process.

b)   Noted the linked paper, ‘St John Tiffield property arrangements’ on the use of the St John’s Tiffield Site, St. John’s Road, Tiffield, NN12 8AA for the new school.

c)    Agreed in principle borrowing up to £10,000,000 to make up the shortfall for the cost of building the new school, which is up to £23m, with delegated authority to the s151 officer to amend the capital programme once full feasibility works are completed. Note that the remaining cost of the build will be met through capital grant funding received by the Council.

Note: the estimated building and capital required would be subject to construction cost inflation. This has been estimated at one per cent per month currently. Compounded, this could be as much as 13-14 per cent a year. Delay in construction work will lead to further risk of cost rises.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet considered the proposed WNC Hackney Carriage Tariff table of fares at shown in Appendix B and resolved to vary the three existing hackney carriage tariff fare tables currently in force in the WNC taxi licensing area accordingly.

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    The option proposed aligns all existing hackney carriage tariff fare tables to create a consistent set of fares for all hackney carriage journeys undertaken across the WNC area, providing consistency for members of the public whilst benefiting the licensed trade. Due to the rising cost of fuel and in order for the licensing trade to make a sufficient income, it is essential a review of fares is undertaken.

2.    The increase proposed took into consideration a % increase in the cost of taxi journeys that strikes a balance between an increase in income for the trade and the impact of increased taxi fares upon members of the public.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

1.    Cabinet can resolve to vary the three existing WNC Hackney Carriage tariff table of fares in line with the document at Appendix B, as recommended in the report.

2.    Cabinet can resolve not to vary the three existing WNC Hackney Carriage tariff table of fares in line with the document at Appendix B and instead resolve to recommend whatever tariff table of fares it decides is more appropriate. However, Cabinet should be mindful that any increase in fares, especially one higher than proposed at Appendix B, will be passed onto those using public transport and for this reason this option is not recommended.

3.    Cabinet can resolve not to recommend any variation of the three existing WNC Hackney Carriage tariff table of fares. This option is not recommended, for the reasons set out in report.

 At the Chair’s invitation councillors made the following comments.

·         It was queried whether there could be more meetings of the licensing committee.

·         Many Hackney Carriage drivers had been vocal in their concerns about the rising cost of fuel.

Councillor David Smith presented the report and advised that this would bring forward the harmonisation of tariffs across the county, which had already been in the plan. Members were advised that the tariffs would be set to the maximum amount and drivers may decide to charge less.

RESOLVED: Cabinet considered the proposed WNC Hackney Carriage Tariff table of fares at Appendix B and resolved to vary the three existing hackney carriage tariff fare tables currently in force in the WNC taxi licensing area accordingly.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet agreed to award a transition contract to WSP via an appropriate framework to mitigate the financial and reputational risks to the Council and potential delays. The value of the proposed contract would be above £500,000.

REASONS RESOLVED:

To mitigate the financial and reputational risks to the Council and potential delays associated with ongoing activity and projects that are currently being delivered by KierWSP utilising WSP resources that would not TUPE to kier at the end of the current contract.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

1.    As is normal at the point of one contract ending and another beginning there are a number of significant projects and activities that WSP are engaged in delivering that will not be completed or at the end of a design stage.

2.    The Council has a number of options regarding how to manage these projects namely:

•      Passing them onto the new Highways Services supplier, Kier, to pick up the remaining work and continue it until it is completed.

•      Procuring a new supplier to pick up the remaining work and continue it until it is completed.

•      Procuring a contract with WSP Ltd to continue with the work until it is completed or at a suitable stage to hand over to another supplier.

1.    Either of the first two options would result in additional risks and cost to the Council. This is because a new supplier who had not previously worked on the project would need to satisfy themselves as to the adequacy of any previous work undertaken by others prior to taking on liability for that design – if indeed they were willing to do so.

2.    They would also result in delays to projects while this process took place and furthermore whilst the new supplier became acquainted with the project.

3.    The third option awarding a contract to WSP to continue the projects and activities would not result in these risks.

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Phil Larratt presented the report and advised that the new contract would be with KIER, WSP would no longer be part of the contract going forward. Members were advised that the majority of the funding would be Section 106 money.

RESOLVED: Cabinet agreed to award a transition contract to WSP via an appropriate framework to mitigate the financial and reputational risks to the Council and potential delays. The value of the proposed contract would be above £500,000.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet noted the decisions taken by the Leader of the Council set out at Appendix A.

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    Where decisions that would otherwise be taken by the Leader and Cabinet have been taken by the Leader alone, in the interests of transparency, the decision is reported to the next available meeting of the Cabinet.

2.    The decision taken provided the authority for the Council to renew our Microsoft 365 licences, which are critical to the functioning of council systems.

3.    Full reasons for the decision taken are set out in the decision records appended to this report.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation a councillor made the following comments.

·         What was the WNC budget for IT?

·         It was queried whether the council has an IT renewal policy.

·         Could there be clarification as to what error had occurred?

Councillor Mike Hallam advised that the error had not been one of authorisation rather than procurement as Cabinet had not been given the required time to approve the new contract. All IT service budgets were centrally managed.

RESOLVED: Cabinet noted the decisions taken by the Leader of the Council set out at Appendix A.

RESOLVED: Cabinet noted the contents of the report and tasked the all-party Anti-Poverty Working Group to oversee the actions planned for the next

year and support the development of other interventions that respond to local need.

REASONS RESOLVED:

West Northants Council is committed to ensuring that children, young people and adults will be supported to live their best lives through delivery of a number of aims. Some of these will be negatively impacted if no action is taken to mitigate the impact of the financial hardship:

·         Children and young people are supported to get the best start in life with high aspirations promoted for everyone

·         When people ask for help, we help them get back on track and regain independence

·         Reduced poverty with more help for people in a crisis and greater access to education and employment

·         People have access to information and support to help them stay well and make positive choices

·         We support families to thrive and provide early help when they face crisis.

This is also underpinned by the Council’s Anti-Poverty Strategy aims and approach.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation councillors made the following comments.

• No timescale had been given for the working group, this should happen soon due to the urgency of the situation.
• Members were advised of the Resolution Foundation and a report they had released on this subject.
• Could a petition be made to central government to request a 6 month review of benefits.
• It was questioned whether the impact of Brexit should be provided within in each report.
• The children living in poverty figures are different to those mentioned in the youth justice report.

Councillor Mike Hallam made the following comments.

• The working group discussions were already underway, it was agreed that this was urgent.
• Thanks and acknowledgement  were given to the voluntary sector for all the work they do.
• A deadline could be added to the covid-fund, this would free up more capital, but would need to be looked in to.
• There had been unprecedented help from central government.

RESOLVED:

a) Noted the contents of the report

b) Tasked the all-party Anti-Poverty Working Group to oversee the actions planned for the next year and support the development of other interventions that respond to local need

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

Paragraph 3 – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

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, Paragraph 3 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.”

RESOLVED: The recommendations as set out in the report, which was exempt from publication, were approved’

Minutes exempt from publication

RESOLVED: The recommendations as set out in the report, which was exempt from publication, were approved,

Minutes exempt from publication

RESOLVED: The recommendations as set out in the report, which was exempt from publication, were approved.

Minutes exempt from publication

RESOLVED: The recommendations as set out in the report, which was exempt from publication, were approved.

Minutes exempt from publication