Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Rebecca Breese sent her apologies.

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.

RESOLVED: That the minutes from the Cabinet meeting on the 8^th November 2022 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 welcomed the recommendations of the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee in relation to the Tree Policy and Strategy and undertook to review the recommendations and respond with detailed proposals at a future meeting.

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee established a Task and Finish Group with the purpose of making recommendations to Cabinet to achieve a harmonised current Tree Policy and Strategy which includes initiatives which support the goals of the Council’s Corporate Plan.

2.    Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 18 October 2022 approved the report of the Tree Policy and Strategy Task and Finish Group (Task and Finish Group) for submission to Cabinet for its consideration at its meeting on 8 November 2022.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation the report was presented to Cabinet by Councillor Pinder Chauhan. Members were advised that there had had input from 7 councillors and the report  had taken 6 months to complete. Various groups had been involved in the work, including the Woodland Trust and the Queens green canopy project. Work was being done to fill the role of Tree Strategy and Project Officer.

In his capacity as chair of the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee Councillor Dermot Bambridge advised that this had been the first major piece of work undertaken by the task and finish group. Its importance with regards to environmental assets was also discussed.

Councillors made the following comments.

• This report was a great example of good scrutiny.
• It was noted that it was important to have the right trees planted in the right places.
• Ancient Woodland had compiled an inventory of ancient trees, many of these were found in West Northants.
• It was hoped that the March deadline would be enough time.
• It was queried whether distance to woodland would be aligned with the Council’s active travel strategy.
• How would the authority deal with any issues of tree disease?
• The council did have a legacy obligation to properly maintain trees.
• It was noted that the grading and salary of the Tree Strategy and Project Officer role needed to be looked at as it was not sufficient.

Councillor Adam Brown queried how this new policy would affect trees on NPH land.

Councillor Phil Larratt agreed that the project had been a major piece of work and welcomed the recommendations, however, concern was shown at the tightness of the March deadline. It was hoped that WNC would work in partnership with NPH regarding any trees on their land.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet welcomed the recommendations of the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee in relation to the Tree Policy and Strategy and undertook to review the recommendations and respond with detailed proposals at a future meeting

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet noted the content of the appendix covering the second quarter of 2022-23.

REASONS RESOLVED:

To comply with the requirements of the Local Government Act 1972 to report Council performance to members

This report is for information purposes and discussion only, there were no direct decisions made following the report.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

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

• With regards to priority 2, did the council differentiate between full and part time work?
• There had been no target or description of works carried out by highways.
• There had been a delay with some of the new council houses, could there be an update?
• With regards to school complaints, it was queried whether councillors could be given a number and not a percentage.
• It was noted that fly tipping figures had continued to rise despite campaigns. How much had this cost the Council so far?
• The amount of social housing being provided was still small. There were currently 4000 people on the waiting list for one.
• Recognition was given to the re-settlement teams working with people from Ukraine and Afghanistan. It was queried how many families had actually been resettled in the area. 
• It would be helpful to see how WNC compares to other authorities on apprenticeships, and how many of these were existing employees.
• It was queried how the Council planned to re-coup the 90 day overdue debt.

Councillor Adam Brown noted that the housing delays caused by snagging had since been completed, specifically related to Beaumont House.

Councillor Matt Golby noted that there had been good performance throughout the Public Health department.

Councillor Mike Hallam advised that customer service satisfaction was at 91%, the number of complaints could be added to future reports.

Councillor Phil Larratt noted that the quarter discussed in the report was covered by the old contract and that scrutiny would have more of a role going forward. It was noted that the cost of clearing fly tipping was part of the overall contract.

Councillor Malcolm Longley advised that he was happy to discuss the debt with councillors should they wish to. 

RESOLVED: Cabinet noted the content of the appendix covering the second quarter of 2022-23.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet.

1.    Reviewed and considered the draft ICN Strategy and endorse the system direction of travel, vision, ambitions and outcomes.

2.    Provided comments and feedback to the Place Director (People Directorate) on fundamental points of difference.

3.    Endorsed plans to build upon the West Northants Health & Wellbeing Strategy and ensure alignment with the adopted ICN Strategy going forward.

4.    Recommended the adoption of the ICN Strategy to the Integrated Care Partnership on 1^st December 2022

5.    Supported the further alignment of the WNC Corporate Strategic Plan with that of the ICN strategy and outcomes framework particularly in relation to how WNC work with partners in Local Area Partnerships

6.    Agreed to receive an annual report on the progress of the ICN strategy and outcomes framework.

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    In June 2022 Members agreed the Live Your Best Life ambitions and the new ICN Operating Model which are the fundamental building blocks of the draft ICN Strategy.

2.    In July 2022 the systemwide Strategy Development Board (SDB) took on the responsibility to produce the draft ICN Strategy. The members of the SDB include representatives from both West and North Local Authorities, Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Northamptonshire, Integrated Care Board, Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise, General Practice, Pharmacy, Healthwatch, Public Health and supported by communications and engagement colleagues. Given the range of stakeholder involvement in the development of the draft ICN Strategy throughout the production period, all partners should endorse and commit to the 10 ambitions and delivery of their associated outcomes described in the document.

3.    The draft ICN Strategy sets out the long-term vision, ambitions, outcomes framework and the ICN Operating Model and how they all interconnect to support successful integrated working.

4.    Metrics in the form of a scorecard for each ambition are currently in development and although don’t form part of the final ICN Strategy will help inform the delivery plans included in the Health & Wellbeing Strategy and the ICB 5 Year Joint Forward Plan. Measurement and reporting against the agreed metrics will demonstrate whether delivery of the outcomes included in the ICN Strategy are achieving success or whether activities and resources need to be refocused. An annual report will be presented to cabinet to evidence the progress against the strategy and the associated outcomes.

5.    The WNC Corporate Strategy should be further enhanced in its delivery by WNC’s commitment to the delivery of the ICN strategy. There are opportunities in relation to WNC services working to the Local Area Partnership (LAP) footprints.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

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

• It was noted that the strategy would require serious funding.
• The home education figures were high, but there had been no information given as to why.
• There had not been a reference made within the report to the ‘real living wage’.
• More information was required on how residents could access out of hours health and social care help.
• It was queried how deliverable this strategy would be.
• The voluntary sector had been acknowledged but it was noted that this area was very under resourced.
• It was noted that equality impact assessments were no longer provided with reports, could this practice be restarted.
• Could there be more follow up of SEND students who were being educated at home.

Councillor Matt Golby advised that he viewed this strategy as a big opportunity and presented the report to Cabinet. The following comments were made;

• It was advised that the strategy was a 10 year plan with lots of the work being undertaken involving local partnerships and communities.
• It was noted that funding would always be an issue.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

1. Reviewed and considered the draft ICN Strategy and endorse the system direction of travel, vision, ambitions and outcomes.
2. Provided comments and feedback to the Place Director (People Directorate) on fundamental points of difference.
3. Endorsed plans to build upon the West Northants Health & Wellbeing Strategy and ensure alignment with the adopted ICN Strategy going forward.
4. Recommended the adoption of the ICN Strategy to the Integrated Care Partnership on 1^st December 2022
5. Supported the further alignment of the WNC Corporate Strategic Plan with that of the ICN strategy and outcomes framework particularly in relation to how WNC work with partners in Local Area Partnerships
6. Agreed to receive an annual report on the progress of the ICN strategy and outcomes framework.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet gave approval to procure a new fleet management contract.

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    To ensure that the Council complied with statutory and regulatory duties.

2.    To ensure that the Council vehicles were safe and fit for use.

3.    To maximising cost-effectiveness.

4.    To provide customers and staff of the Council with vehicles which would be fit for purpose and welcoming.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

·         Insourcing of the service. Insourcing can make sense in some cases, notably where the Council has sufficient demand to sustain a level of staffing and expertise in the services in question, and when quality of outsourced provision is hard to control. However, the existing contracts for these services have operated well, and insourcing would also create significant new costs associated with vehicle investment.

·         Disaggregation of the contract into small lots. A disaggregation would increase the time and processes requirement for administration of the contracts and is likely to increase the contract costs too.

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Malcolm Longley presented the report and noted that where technology allowed the council would push towards electric travel.

RESOLVED: Cabinet gave approval to procure a new fleet management contract.

RESOLVED: Cabinet approved that:

A.   A new framework for the purchasing of commissioned home care services be introduced from July 2023.

B.   Duration of the framework would be four years with an inclusive option to extend for a further period of 12 months; resulting in a framework for a maximum duration of 5 years

C.   Applicants’ admission to the framework would be determined via competitive tendes.

D.   The existing homecare framework is extended until 01 October 2023 (with a recognition that it will cease before 01 October 2023 to coincide with the commencement of the new framework)

E.   The Executive Director for People Services in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health is authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to implement the above recommendations.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

1.    Entirely insourcing the provision of home care; this is not recommended due to the anticipated significant additional costs.

2.    Partially insourcing the provision of home care for rural packages. This could address the challenge of providing commissioned care in rural areas. This is not recommended; insourcing rural packages would increase the cost of home care. It would also reduce the amount of commissioned care by around 25%. This could undermine the operational and financial viability of providers.

3.    An open approved list could be introduced as an alternative to a closed framework. This is not recommended because this could increase the number of providers with an associated increase in competition for home care packages which would further erode providers’ operational and financial viability.

4.    With the relevant approvals and consent of service providers the current notice period under the existing home care agreement could be extended for a further specified period. This is not recommended: commissioners have been working with providers for a considerable time on the co-produced proposal.

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

• It was noted that there had not been enough detail in economy of scale.
• The Ethical Care Charter should be at the centre of the service.

Councillor Matt Golby presented the report to Cabinet and noted that the council had a best value obligation to ensure that needs were met.

The Executive Director Adults, Communities and Wellbeing noted that this was a significant report and that it was important to have a good continuity of care. Levels of efficiency should increase.

RESOLVED:

1. A new framework for the purchasing of commissioned home care services be introduced from July 2023.
2. Duration of the framework would be four years with an inclusive option to extend for a further period of 12 months; resulting in a framework for a maximum duration of 5 years
3. Applicants’ admission to the framework would be determined via competitive tendes.
4. The existing homecare framework is extended until 01 October 2023 (with a recognition that it will cease before 01 October 2023 to coincide with the commencement of the new framework)
5. The Executive Director for People Services in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health is authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to implement the above recommendations

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

1.    Approved a capital budget of £102k in 2022/23 to extend the photovoltaic array and install a green roof at One Angel Square.

2.    Authorise the procurement of services and works and entering of contracts to facilitate the works.

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    To help with mitigating the electricity costs of the building.

2.    To support the Council’s efforts in meeting the net zero target for 2030 by increasing the generation capacity from renewable resources.

3.    To assist in keep the building in good repair.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

The choices available to the Council are as follows.

A.   Do nothing and leave the building as it is. This would not enable the Council to mitigate against increasing energy costs or carbon emissions. The area from where the pebble was removed will still need   to be covered to avoid damaging the roof insulation.

B.   Carry out the proposed installation

C.   It would also be possible to omit the green roof improvements. However, these help to secure the building against further expensive damage and also help ensure it does not contribute to flooding.

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Malcolm Longley presented the report and its contents to Cabinet.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

1. Approved a capital budget of £102k in 2022/23 to extend the photovoltaic array and install a green roof at One Angel Square.
2. Authorise the procurement of services and works and entering of contracts to facilitate the works

RESOLVED: Approved by Cabinet and then on to Council for approval due to the financial value:

A.   Agreed to proceed with the replacement of the Case Management System for the Children’s Social Care across Northamptonshire, which will be operated by Northants Children’s Trust (NCT), with a financial contribution by WNC of £1.573m as outlined in section 6.

B.   Delegated authority to the Lead Member for Children, Families, Education and Skills, in liaison with the Executive Director of People Services, to take any further decisions and actions required to implement the Case Management System and award contracts in relation to this.

C.   Recommended to Council that a budget change is made as set out in the report, and that it delegates authority to the Cabinet Member for Finance in consultation with the Executive Director of Finance to access and utilise appropriate funding for the Case Management System for Children’s Social Care.

REASONS RESOLVED:

1.    To implement a new Case Management System that is fit for purpose and meets the statutory obligations for delivering Children’s Social Care across Northamptonshire.

2.    Other alternatives considered include:

·         For the current system (CareFirst) to continue to be used impacting the transformation and process changes to be reflected on the case management system.

·         For the Eclipse system to be implemented under the current service and system. However, the contract will still expire in Jan 2025 and a reprocurement would need to begin prior to implementation of the system in order to award a new contract.

·         To have no case management system would not be a viable option that could be considered.

·         There are no other case management software applications in use within the Council that that could be utilised by NCT.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None

At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Fiona Baker presented the report and its contents to Cabinet.

RESOLVED: Approved by Cabinet and then on to Council for approval due to the financial value:

1. Agreed to proceed with the replacement of the Case Management System for the Children’s Social Care across Northamptonshire, which will be operated by Northants Children’s Trust (NCT), with a financial contribution by WNC of £1.573m as outlined in section 6.
2. Delegated authority to the Lead Member for Children, Families, Education and Skills, in liaison with the Executive Director of People Services, to take any further decisions and actions required to implement the Case Management System and award contracts in relation to this.
3. Recommended to Council that a budget change is made as set out in the report, and that it delegates authority to the Cabinet Member for Finance in consultation with the Executive Director of Finance to access and utilise appropriate funding for the Case Management System for Children’s Social Care.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

A.   Noted the contents of this report.

B.   Approved the procurement, purchase, and implementation of a single software system for Revenues and Benefits.

C.   Gave delegated authority to the Executive Director for Finance to take any further decisions and actions required to procure and implement the new system in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance.

REASONS RESOLVED:

The Council will gain productivity efficiencies from a single software system. It will also allow for harmonisation of processes and procedures and will bring the team together to deliver efficiencies and a much-improved service.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

The former Northampton area using the NEC Northgate system is not performing as well as the other sites. This may be due in part to the fact that a significant amount of Northgate modules have not been implemented. The service could consider implementing these, but it would come at a considerable cost to the service both external costs from Northgate purchasing and internally in staff time to implement.

At the Chairs invitation Councillor Malcolm Longley presented the report and its contents to Cabinet.

Councillor Adam Brown noted how glad he was so see transformation and unity in action.

RESOVLED: That Cabinet;

1. Noted the contents of this report
2. Approved the procurement, purchase, and implementation of a single software system for Revenues and Benefits.
3. Gave delegated authority to the Executive Director for Finance to take any further decisions and actions required to procure and implement the new system in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet received the Annual Report of Northamptonshire Safeguarding Adults Board 2021 – 2022 (Appendix A) and noted the findings.

REASONS RESOLVED:

To comply with statutory requirements under the Care Act 2014. To ensure that Cabinet is made aware of the work of the Northamptonshire Safeguarding Adults Board.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

The report is for information only. The report has been developed via contributions from statutory partners and has been reviewed and approved by NSAB’s Strategic Board.

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

• It would be interesting to compare performances between WNC and NNC.
• It was noted that 87% of enquiries had noted the provider of a service as the cause of the risk, which was worrying.
• It was queried whether the council had the resources to fund the assessments.
• Were there any patterns to concerns raised, were there any differences based on ethnicity.
• The Council works closely with the police force, had the impact of racism and misogyny within it been looked at.

Councillor Matt Golby presented the report to Cabinet and advised that any suggestions would be taken away and looked at.

Councillor Adam Brown advised that it is possible for councillors to challenge the Commissioner with any issues at the Police, Fire and Crime Panel meetings.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet received the Annual Report of Northamptonshire Safeguarding Adults Board 2021 – 2022 (Appendix A) and noted the findings

The following report(s) 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(s) 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 recommendation that was set out in the report was agreed by Cabinet.

Minutes are exempt