Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Laura Mayes and Stuart Wheeler.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 17 May 2016, previously circulated.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 May 2016 were presented.

Resolved:

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 17 May 2016.

To receive and note the minutes of the Capital Assets Committee held on 17 May 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 May 2016 were presented.

Resolved:

To receive and note the minutes of the meeting held on 17 May 2016.

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

The Leader made the following announcements:

That 19 more individuals and families had recently been welcomed to Wiltshire as part of the Government Syrian Refugees scheme, and that plans to accept unaccompanied minors were being progressed on a regional basis.

The Leader outlined plans for Thursday afternoon’s Queens 90^th Birthday Party celebrations at County Hall.

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. Questions may also be asked by members of the Council.  Written notice of questions or statements should be given to Will Oulton of Democratic Services by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 8 June 2016. Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

There were no public questions or statements.

Report by Maggie Rae, Corporate Director.

Councillor Dick Tonge presented the report which provided a quarter four update on outturns against the measures and activities compiled and reported through the council’s website via the Citizens’ Dashboard and other key measures, as well as latest outturns on the council’s strategic risk register.

Resolved

1.    To note updates and outturns against the measures and activities ascribed against the council’s key outcomes.

2.    To note updates and outturns to the strategic risk register. 

Reason for Decisions

The performance framework compiles and monitors outturns in relation to the outcomes laid out in the Business Plan. The framework is distilled from individual services’ delivery plans. In doing so, it captures the main focus of activities of the council against each outcome.

The strategic risk register captures and monitors significant risks facing the council: in relation to significant in-service risks facing individual areas, in managing its business across the authority generally and in assuring our preparedness should a national risk event occur. 

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director.

Councillor Dick Tonge presented the report which advised Cabinet of the (unaudited) General Revenue Fund and Housing Revenue Account outturn positions for financial year 2015/2016. Cabinet also noted the draft Statement of Accounts.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the input of Scrutiny, including the Financial Planning Task Group; the actions taken to address overspends; the process by which the Statement of Accounts would be adopted; and that the Council was earlier than the vast majority of Councils in preparing their accounts for audit.

Resolved

That Cabinet note the report showing an outturn for the General Revenue Fund (GRF) and Housing Revenue Account (HRA), subject to external audit, of an underspend of £0.066 million and an underspend of £0.820 million, GRF and HRA respectively. That Cabinet  note appropriate transfers to the GRF and Earmarked reserves as set out in Sections 22-25 of the report presented, and return to HRA reserves. Cabinet note the draft Statement of Accounts as presented.

Reason for Decision:

As part of its role in ensuring sound financial management and financial soundness, Cabinet are required to assess and approve the final revenue outturns for 2015/2016.

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director.

Councillor Dick Tonge presented the report which informed Cabinet on the final position of the 2015/2016 Capital Programme, including highlighting budget changes.

Resolved

1.    To note the budget movements undertaken to the capital programme (shown in appendices A and B of the report presented) and the final outturn position of the Capital Programme shown in appendix A 2015/2016 as presented.

2.    To also note the reprogramming of £7.395 million between 2015/2016 and 2016/2017.

Reasons for Decision:

To inform Cabinet of the position of the 2015/2016 capital programme as at Outturn (31 March 2016), including highlighting any budget changes.

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director.

Councillor Dick Tonge presented the report which summarised the annual performance against the agreed Treasury Management Strategy. In giving his presentation, Councillor Tonge highlighted the limited exposure of the Council to LOBO loans; and that the Council had made some loans to other local authorities.

In response to a question from Councillor Jon Hubbard, it was confirmed that there had been a delay in some housing works that had led to a delay in drawing down £2m of capital funding.

Resolved

To consider and note:

a)         The Prudential Indicators, Treasury Indicators and other treasury management strategies set for 2015-16 against actual positions resulting from actions within the year as detailed in Appendix A of the report presented; and

b)        The investments during the year in the context of the Annual Investment Strategy as detailed in Appendix B of the report presented.

Reason for Decision

To give members of the Cabinet an opportunity to consider the performance of the Council against the parameters set out in the approved Treasury Management Strategy for 2015-16.

This report is required by the Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities and the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the Public Services

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director.

Councillor Philip Whitehead presented the report which updated members on the results of the public consultation on supported bus service savings options as part of the review of the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan (LTP) 2011-2026 Public Transport Strategy review.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the remit of the review; the methodology used and the large response; that whilst the review would be considering whether certain services were sustainable, no decision has been made as to a financial savings target; that the consultation sought to measure the impact of possible service changes on the public; the role of scrutiny, and how the conduct of the consultation had been viewed by various third parties; and that it was hoped to bring the final report back to Cabinet in September.

In response to a question from Councillor Jon Hubbard, Councillor Whitehead stated that he would explore the possibility of cashless technology as a way of saving money and assisting passengers.

In response to a question from the Leader, Councillor Whitehead stated that he hoped to publish information about the results in an accessible format as soon as possible.

In response to a question from the Leader, Councillor Whitehead explained that whilst   the draft Bus Services Bill would be taken into account, he would not want to delay the review from its stated timetable.

Resolved

(i)           Notes the results of the public consultation on supported bus service savings options as part of the review of the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan (LTP) 2011-2026 Public Transport Strategy review.

(ii)          Notes that a report on a proposed way forward for public transport in Wiltshire will be presented to Cabinet at a future meeting.

(iii)         Notes that over 11,000 individuals and organisations responded to, and took partin, the public consultation.

(iv)        Notes that due to the volume of consultation responses received only themajority or main consultation points have been outlined at this time; theanalysis and consideration of more detailed points will be undertaken if and when changes to individual supported bus services are proposed and consulted upon

(v)          Note that the Bus Services Bill being considered by Parliament  would be taken into account in the review.

Reason for Decision:

To provide Environment Select Committee and Cabinet with early visibility of the results of the public consultation on supported bus service savings options.  A further paper outlining options will be presented to Cabinet in the future.

 Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director.

 Councillor Keith Humphries presented the report which provided an update regarding the outcome of the recent ‘Help to Live at Home’ (HTLAH) tender process; requested approval to award to the preferred provider(s); and sought authorisation to extend two contract lots with an incumbent Provider.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the input of scrutiny members in the overview of the HTLAH service; how local councillors could be appropriately kept informed where a service needed improving; the actions that could be, appropriately taken by the Council where required and the important role of the voluntary sector.

In response to issues raised by Brian Warwick, the Leader asked that officers arrange to meet to discuss the issues raised by Mr Warwick.

As stated in the report, in view of the urgency involved in determining this, it was agreed that it would not be subject to the call-in process. This process had been instigated in accordance with the constitution and following agreement with the Chairman of Council (Part 8 of the Constitution – Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules - paragraph 41). It was noted that there had been prior scrutiny engagement on this as referred to in the report. The reason for urgency was to enable the Council to complete the formal award process and allow the preferred provider(s) the maximum transition period for implementation of the contract.

Resolved

1.    That the contracts with Somerset Care Ltd are extended for the full extension available, West 2 until September 2018 and North 2 until April 2019

2.    That following the recent tender process that the contracts currently held by Mihomecare and Leonard Cheshire for HTLAH are awarded to the preferred provider(s) identified through the current tender process.

3.    That authority is delegated to the Corporate Director and Associate Director for Adult Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health (including Public Health and Adult Social Care), to finalise the terms of the contracts and to agree the extension with Somerset Care Ltd.

Reasons for Decisions

(a) To ensure continued service delivery by Somerset Care within the West 2 and North 2 areas.

(b) To progress with awarding the tenders to the preferred provider(s) within the North 1, East 2 and West 1 areas.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Carolyn Godfrey and Maggie Rae, Corporate Directors.

Councillor Keith Humphries presented the report which provided a further update on actions carried out during 2015/16 following the Cabinet report on the 21 April 2015 in respect of recruiting and retaining social workers. The report also detailed the significant progress made from the campaign start (August 2014) until March 2016 and identified actions for 2016/2017 to sustain the improvements made. In making his presentation, Councillor Humphries acknowledged that the issues were jointly the responsibility of Councillor Laura Mayes and Councillor Stuart Wheeler.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the involvement of the Staffing Policy Committee in the development of the proposals the progress that had been made in reducing the vacancy rate; the success of using social media in recruitment; how actions, including identifying training and career progression pathways had been taken to attract and retain staff; that the actions taken had reduced the potential additional costs to the council by £600k;  that the aim was to have zero staff agency costs within three years; and that the project had been a successful example of cross-departmental working.

Resolved

1. To note the progress of the recruitment campaign to recruit social workers and support the further actions being taken and planned to recruit and retain social workers.

2. That the officers involved be congratulated for their continued efforts in making the campaign a success.

Reason for Decisions

To improve the recruitment and retention of experienced social workers and social work managers.

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director.

The Leader presented the report which provided an update of the Military Civilian Integration (MCI) Partnership’s work and sought Cabinet’s continued support for the partnership and its programme of work. In giving her presentation, the Leader asked Cabinet members to provide further detail about specific projects.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: that the last update report had been made to Cabinet in October 2013; the key aspects of the ongoing work, and how Wiltshire Council was working together with MOD (particularly SW Region Brigade, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation - DIO) and partners in bringing forward the Partnership’s workstreams; the aims of the MCI Partnership,  a key element in the Council’s Business Plan; the additional funding that had been secured as part of the funding; how the Council and partners were liaising with families to ensure a smooth transition to Wiltshire from overseas bases; and that a further update should be given to Cabinet in 2-3 years’ timefollowing the rebasing programme.

Resolved

(i)         To confirm its support for the MCI Programme, and to endorse the approach being taken to delivering the MCI Workstreams set out by the MCI Board.

(ii)        To, in particular, note:

a)    The progress and way forward on the Army Basing Programme.

b)   The Wiltshire’s Armed Forces Community Covenant (agreed in August 2011) and the success in drawing down significant grant funding to support local integration projects.

c)    The completion of the Defence College of Technical Training at Lyneham.

d)   The continued co-operation with the MOD in identifying and progressing the opportunities that military presence can bring to boost the economy of Wiltshire.

Reason for Decision

The Military has a significant presence in Wiltshire, and the nature of this presence will change dramatically over the coming years.  It is important that the Council recognises the impacts that military presence will have on Wiltshire, both in terms of the opportunities that this will offer for economic growth, and the preparations that the Council is required to make to ensure that the needs of everyone in Wiltshire are met.  Cabinet is invited to recognise the achievements that have already been made with the support of the MCI Partnership, such as the progress on a Defence College of Technical Training at the former RAF Lyneham Site, the Army Basing programme and establishment of the Higher Futures programme, while acknowledging that there will be further challenges ahead, whose successful resolution will require the support of the Council working closely with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and other partners.

This is to give further notice in accordance with paragraph 5 (4) and 5 (5) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 of the intention to take the following item in private.

To consider passing the following resolution:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Item Number 17 because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in  paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Reason for taking item in private:

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

Resolved

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the following items of business because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Reason for taking the item in private:

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

No representations have been received as to why this item should not be held in private

The meeting considered the information in the appendix made exempt from publication and in so doing, confirmed the resolutions agreed under minute number 77 above.