Agenda and minutes

All Cabinet members present.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 15 December 2009, attached.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 15 December 2009 were presented.

Resolved:

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes held on 15 December 2009.

(a)               Harmonisation of Waste  

The Leader referred to the conflicting press reports concerning the Council’s proposals to harmonise the waste service. The Leader reminded Cabinet that it had in November 2009 approved that a consultation exercise would be undertaken in respect of the waste service. She emphasised that the deliberations by the Environment Select Committee on 12 January 2009 on this topic concluded with recommendations being made to Cabinet rather than any decisions having been made

The report to a future Cabinet meeting on the way forward on the waste collection and disposal service would comprise evidence gathered during the consultation to include environmental and financial implications as well as considering the various options open to the Council and the recommendations of the Select Committee. The Leader stressed the importance of promoting the consultation exercise with accurate information and to this end had met with the Press this week.

(b)  Dr Keith Robinson

The Leader reminded those present that this was the last Cabinet meeting Dr Robinson would be attending as the Council’s Chief Executive. The Leader thanked him for his services to the Council and to Wiltshire and commented that he would be missed.

The Leader also welcomed Andrew Kerr, the Council’s recently appointed Chief Executive who would be officially  taking up his duties with the Council on 10 February 2010.

To receive any declarations of personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

No interests were declared.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public. This meeting is open to the public, who may ask a question or make a statement. Written notice of questions or statements should be given to Yamina Rhouati of Democratic Services by 12.00 noon on Friday 22 January.  Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

The Leader explained that as usual, she would be happy to allow the public to speak at the start of each item if they wished to do so. 

Mrs Barbara Hewitt from the Mere and District Chamber of Trade attended the meeting to voice her concerns over the introduction of car parking charges in rural towns such as Mere. She considered that such a move would add to the pressure of businesses who relied on passing trade and were already struggling to survive. Mrs Hewitt presented a letter from the Chamber which included results of a survey carried out by the Chamber to establish the use of the two car parks in Mere by residents and businesses.

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport referred to a similar presentation at the Environment Select Committee on 12 January 2010 and confirmed that all comments and representations received would be taken into account as part of the consultation. In the meantime, Councillor Tonge undertook to provide a written acknowledgement of the Letter and survey results.

Report of the Director of Community Services is circulated.

Cllr Thomson, Cabinet member for Community Services presented a report which gave an update on the National Total Place work and set out how the initiative would be progressed in Wiltshire.

It was noted that Total Place offered enormous potential for stimulating new thinking in the way public services in Wiltshire can be delivered around the needs of customers and with the purpose of achieving emotional wellbeing within communities.

The three elements to Total Place Wiltshire as outlined in the report were:

• Family Intervention Project
• Family Justice Centre
• A specific Total Place pilot project to look very closely at a number of families in one or two community areas.

A Total Place programme board was being formed in relation to the pilot project to direct the project with representation from this Council, the Police and the Primary Care Trust as well as representatives from target communities and those experienced in receiving multi-agency support.

The cost of the pilot would be met by the £250,000 funding from the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.

Resolved:

That Cabinet supports the development of a Total Place pilot project in Wiltshire, based on improving the support delivered to vulnerable families and individuals.

Reason for Decision

To secure support for the ongoing development of the Total Place pilot project in Wiltshire.

Report of the Director of Economy and Enterprise is circulated.

The Leader presented a report which sought approval for the Council’s participation in a Wiltshire Finance Initiative to address the market failure in terms of the availability of affordable credit to individuals and small businesses in Wiltshire.

In response to this issue being highlighted in the Bright Report published in March 2009, a partnership group led by the Council put together plans to address this through the ‘Action for Wiltshire’ programme. There were initial difficulties due the lack of capacity and limited funding. However, it was now possible to pursue the initiative as an opportunity had since emerged to draw down funding from the Department of Work and Pensions to provide affordable credit for individuals. The Fredericks Foundation had also come forward offering a potential solution to the problem of accessing affordable credit for businesses.

Cabinet approval was sought over the necessary expenditure to help with bringing this initiative to fruition.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.                  agree to support the Growth Fund by:

a)                 funding a capped amount towards the revenue costs associated with the delivery of the Growth Fund amounting to £42,000 over two years;

b)                 offering pro bono office space including access to private meeting rooms for use by the Credit Unions; and

c)                 exploring the extension of Credit Union membership to staff;

This support would be subject to the success of the current bid to DWP.

2          Agree to support the Fredericks Foundation Small Business Loan Fund by:

a)         approving revenue expenditure of £42,240 towards the costs of a         Wiltshire loans officer working 4 days per week over 2 years; and

b)        approving a loan of £100,000 to match GWE funding and establishing the Small Business Loan Fund.

3.         agrees to the setting up of a Wiltshire Advisory Board to oversee these projects and enable the delivery of a comprehensive package of financial inclusion measures as part of a comprehensive Financial Inclusion Strategy.

4.                  Asks the Chief Finance Officer to strongly encourage the Council's bankers to second a suitable employee to support this initiative. 

Reasons for Decision

By supporting the Growth Fund this will help to attract substantial DWP funding for personal lending in Wiltshire and would be contributing to an improvement in financial literacy, provide an alternative to costly door step lending and help to build a single credit union in Wiltshire. 

The Council’s involvement would also help to introduce this new service to those that approach the Council for help with the management of personal finances e.g. Council Tax and Housing Benefit claimants etc.

The establishment of the Small Business Loan Fund would address a major problem faced by small businesses i.e. the availability of credit. Each year, it is expected that the fund would provide up to £5000 each to 15 businesses with the result that 28 new jobs would be created with an estimated saving of £50,000 - £75,000 in benefits to the public purse.

Overall, the Wiltshire Finance Initiative would assist in building more resilient communities and help to secure economic recovery.         

Report of the Director, Children and Education is circulated.

Cllr Grundy, Cabinet member for Children’s Services presented a report which sought delegated authority to the Director of Children and Education in consultation with himself to sign the Deed of Guarantee between Wiltshire Council and the South West Grid for learning (SWGfL) prior to the award of the new broadband managed service contract on 11 February 2010.

Resolved:

That the Director of Children and Education is given delegated powers of authority in consultation with the Cabinet member for Children’s Services to sign the Deed of Guarantee between Wiltshire Council and the South West Grid for Learning.

Reason for Decision

To ensure that the Council is able to receive broadband connectivity and services for its Schools, Libraries, Youth and Development Centres through the South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL) and in turn take advantage of the reduced costs through an aggregated procurement.

Report of the Director of Resources is circulated.

Councillor Bucknell, Portfolio Holder for Customer Services presented a report which sought endorsement of a Delivering Customer Focus Programme, details of which were presented.

One of the three goals of the bid for unitary status was that the new Council would provide high quality, low cost, customer focused services with the provision of customer focused services being one of the priorities in the draft Corporate Plan.

The Programme defined what the Council needed to do across the whole organisation in order to deliver customer focused services. It was noted that a great deal of this would be done by building on the work the Council was already doing ie Workplace Transformation, Business Transformation and Total Place.

Councillor Bucknell explained that the Programme would work in the same way as the Total Place project in that the object would be to first establish the needs of the customer.

Councillor Laura Mayes, Portfolio Holder for Organisation and Culture also commented on the Programme from a culture perspective.

The Leader agreed with the objectives of the Programme although commented that it could be more concise in places and include clearer outcomes. The Leader also commented that the Council should also review the standard letters and emails which are issued to ensure clarity of language and improve the Council’s website.

Resolved:

That Cabinet endorse the report presented and request that the Corporate Leadership Team and Customer Focus Board implement the Delivering Customer Focus programme.

Reason for Decision

One of the three goals of the bid for unitary status was that the new council would provide high-quality, low cost, customer-focused services.  Providing customer-focused services is one of the priorities in the Corporate Plan. 

High quality services focus on customer purpose and what the customer values. This is where we deliver high satisfaction and a great reputation.

Low cost services operate with minimum waste (activities which do not fulfil customer purpose or deliver customer value).  Low cost services also focus on root causes. These are where we deliver major cost savings.

Report of the Director of Community Services is circulated.

Councillor Thomson, Cabinet member for Community Services presented a report which sought approval to put in place a Section 75 Agreement under the Health and Social Care Flexibilities provision with the Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust for Mental Health.

Section 75 Agreements are the legal mechanism through which health and social care agencies are able to devolve their responsibilities to another agency and performance manage the process from a distance through a contract and governance framework. The intention was for the Agreements to commence on 1 February 2010 for a period of 3 years subject to a termination clause for both parties.

Resolved:

That Cabinet approve and support the signing of the Section 75 Agreement with the Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust for Mental Health for:

a)         an integrated assessment and care management service; and

b)        the provision of the management to the approval mental health professional provision under the Mental Health legislation to meet the statutory responsibilities of the Council

on terms to be agreed by the Director of Community Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Community Services and the Solicitor to the Council.

Reason for Decision

The Agreement covers the provision of a specialist mental health service to those individuals with the most serious and enduring mental health needs, their carers and families.  All national evidence and guidance leads us to believe that this service is most effectively provided through an integrated health and social care partnership.  Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust is the chosen provider for the health provision by our Primary Care Trust partners so needs to be our chosen partner also.

Report of the Service Director, Major Projects and Service Director, Schools Branch is circulated.

Councillor Grundy, Cabinet member for Children’s Services presented a report which sought consideration and approval of a policy for the installation of fire sprinklers in schools.  This proposal stemmed from adoption of a notice of motion submitted by Councillor Jeff Osborn and Councillor Helen Osborn by Council at its meeting on 10 November 2009. Details of the report considered by Council and the notice of motion were presented for Cabinet’s information.

Resolved:

That Cabinet approve the Fire Sprinklers in New Schools policy as set out in Appendix B to the report.

Reason for Decision

To meet Central Government expectations with respect to fire sprinklers in new schools and to reduce the potential impact on the Council’s schools portfolio of a significant fire incident.

a)                                         revenue budget monitoring

b)                                         capital budget monitoring

Reports of the Chief Finance Officer are circulated

(a)       Revenue Budget Monitoring

Councillor Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cabinet member for Finance, Performance and Risk presented a report on the monitoring of the revenue budget for the period April to November 2009.  The delivery of Departmental Action Plans had reduced the previously reported financial pressures of £1.539 million down to £1.484 million. Councillor de Rhe-Philipe added that action plans were either in place or being developed to manage this reduced pressure and she would be ensuring that such plans included sufficient detail.

Resolved:

That the report be noted.

Reason for Decision

To make Councillors aware of the Council’s budgetary pressures.

(b)       Capital Budget Monitoring

Councillor Fleur de Rhe-Philipe presented a report on the monitoring of the capital budget for the period April to November 2009.  It was noted that there was a projected variation of £7.913 million against the full year budget for 2009/10. Cabinet was also asked to noted detailed budget changes as detailed in the report.

Resolved:

a)           To note the current financial position of the 2009/10 capital budget.

b)           To note the budget changes as detailed in sections 1 and 2 of Appendix B of the report presented.

Reason for Decision

To inform Cabinet of the current financial position of the 2009/10 capital budget and to identify schemes within the programme where expenditure is not progressing as anticipated.

Report of the Director of Resources is circulated.

Councillor Fleur de Rhe-Philipe presented a report which sought approval of a revised Anti Fraud and Corruption Policy for the Council. This was based on an inherited policy from the former Wiltshire County Council and revised to reflect the unitary context of the Council and the overall framework which provides for the management of fraud risk. It was therefore a harmonisation exercise.

In response to a query, the Corporate Director for Resources confirmed that there had been no significant problems with fraud for a council of this size and that staff were monitored to ensure they took their allocated leave. The latter had only been a small issue due to the volume of work around the time of transition to One Council.

Resolved:

That the Anti Fraud and Corruption Policy at Appendix 1 to the report presented be approved and its contents be communicated to all Council staff and Councillors.

Reason for Decision:

To ensure that the Council has an up to date Anti Fraud and Corruption Policy for publication to all staff and Councillors of the council as part of a strategy to raise fraud awareness throughout the Council.

Any other items of business which the Leader agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There was no urgent business.