Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received, as all members of the Cabinet were in attendance.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 13 September 2016, previously circulated.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2016 were presented.

Resolved

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on the 13 September 2016.

To receive and note the minutes of the Capital Assets Committee held on 13 September 2016.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Capital Assets Committee held on the 13 September 2016 were presented for information.

Resolved

To receive and note the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Capital Assets Committee held on the 13 September 2016

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

The Leader had no announcements.

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 Yamina Rhouati of Democratic Services by 12.00 noon on Thursday 6 October 2016. Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

The Leader invited those wishing to make representations, to do so under the item to which they related.  The Leader also explained that, as usual at meetings of Cabinet, she would be more than happy to hear from any member of the public present on any of the items on the agenda.

 Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

 Councillor Philip Whitehead presented the item which asked the Cabinet to agree a sustainable approach to supported bus service provision in Wiltshire with a number of options and recommendations for Cabinet’s consideration.

David Redgewell, South West Transport.Network, addressed the meeting, and outlined the issues that had been brought out as part of the consultation and from interactions with users. He emphasised users concerns about the impact of potential cuts to services, and outlined how different groups of users could be particularly affected. He highlighted the importance of good quality services supported by effective marketing as a way of improving take up allowing services to be reduced.

He also drew attention to concerns about restrictive provisions within the Bus Services Bill, currently being considered by Parliament.

The Leader thanked Mr Redgewell, and his team, for engaging so positively in the consultation.

In presenting the report, Councillor Whitehead emphasised: that the review focused on what journeys are being made, and how services can be best designed to support these; that the scope of the review had primarily included the bus services supported by the Council, including those run by commercial companies with subsidy from the Council; that running services in a rural economy was complex; that the Council intended to protect the maximum number of journeys and believed it should be possible to do that within the existing policy; that the Council would want to focus on improving marketing and service changes; that as the new Services Bill, if passed, would be unlikely to be implemented until 2019, that the Council should not delay any changes.

In response to issues raised about the possibility of sharing resources with services provided by Health partners, the Leader proposed that a paper be jointly prepared for the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Councillor Simon Killane, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, commended the decision to include members of the Scrutiny Task Group onto the project board for the review.

In response to a question raised by Councillor Bridget Wayman, Councillor Whitehead stated that the length of time taken to achieve a sustainable service for a particular route would depend on the complexity of that particular area.

Councillor John Thomson made reference to the role that Area Boards can play in providing a forum for different community transport groups to learn from each other.

In response to a question raised by Councillor Mike Hewitt, Councillor

John Thomson stated that it was illegal to ask for donations from concessionary bus pass users. Councillor Whitehead made mention of a subsidy top up scheme in Norfolk that, if successful, could be applied in other areas of the country.

Cllr Peter Evans, Chair of the Task Group, drew attention to the information gathering work undertaken by the Group, and commended the public for their engagement in the consultation process.. He also commended the officers for their hard work.

In response to a question raised by Mr Redgewell, Councillor Whitehead stated that he would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

 Report by Dr Carlton Brand and Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Directors

 Councillor Dick Tonge presented the report which enabled the Cabinet to consider and assess its medium term financial plan, and the four year funding offer from Government.

Issues discussed during the course of the presentation and discussion included: that the technical consultation document was available on the website; that the Council was working with the LGA, County Council Network and society of County treasurers to address wider issues; how a four year settlement would give the council some ability to plan; how the reduction in the revenue support grant would be offset by the income from business rates, but that a funding gap would still need to be addressed; that this would amount, it was estimated, to be a required saving of £45m over four years; that the use of capital receipts, not normally to be used for revenue, but may be able to be released to fund some restructuring revenue costs; how commercialisation and trading of services can be used to offset the removal of subsidies from non-core services, and how services can be traded.

Councillor Simon Killane, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, highlighted the engagement of Scrutiny, and invited Councillor Glenis Ansell, Chair of the Financial Planning Task Group, to give a more detailed response.

Councillor Ansell noting the challenging timeframe for Councillors and officers to respond to the Government’s consultation, stated that the Group had looked at forecast and there were areas were possible savings could be made. She drew the meeting’s attention to the recommendations and the information highlighted in the Task Group’s response to Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee

In response to an issue raised in the recommendations, Councillor John Thomson invited the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to consider appointing a Scrutiny Member to the board of the One Estate project board, as he believed this may be a more efficient way of gaining insight into its work rather than creating a separate Task Group. Councillor Killane stated that this offer would be considered by the Committee

Councillors present were encouraged to attend the Members’ briefing on the Budget on Thursday 13 October,  which would offer further opportunities for Members to ask question on the MTFP ahead of the Council meeting on Tuesday 18 October.

Resolved

To recommend to the meeting of Council:

1.    That the Efficiency Statement at Appendix A for submission to the DCLG, subject to conditions at paragraph 2.7of this report, as part of the conditions to accept the current four year funding ‘deal’ offered by central government.

2.    That subject to conditions at paragraphs 2.6 and 2.7 of this report, as part of its Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) set out a Council Tax increase of 2% each year for 2017-2020. Noting that this does not fetter future administrations from having a lower Council tax increase should further savings be made.

3.    That subject to conditions at paragraphs 2.6 and 2.7 of this report, as part of its MTFP set out a Social Care Levy increase  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe presented the report which: informed Members of the timescales associated with the Development Consent Order (DCO) process for this road scheme; confirmed the project governance arrangements; and identified the resource requirements of the Council to support the DCO process and fulfil its statutory responsibilities.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the comprehensive nature of governance structure; that lessons would be learnt from other Councils, such as Cambridgeshire, that had recently undertaken the DCO process; how Area Boards would be kept informed.

Councillors Bridget Wayman, Ian West, Mike Hewitt and Graham Wright each raised specific concerns as the help that can be offered to their communities affected by increased traffic. It was agreed to keep the relevant Area Boards informed.

Councillors Fleur de Rhé-Philipe and Philip Whitehead stated that these issues would be considered.

Resolved

1.    To note the contents of this report;

2.    To agree that the Council’s interests will be properly represented through the proposed governance structure; and

3.    To note the inclusion of an indicative figure of £300,000 in the MTFS for refinement and approval at budget setting to enable the Council to fulfil its statutory responsibilities.

Reason for decision:

Government and Highways England are planning and funding improvements to the A303 to address the congestion, economic and heritage aspects. This is a major investment in Wiltshire and will bring significant changes to the area. The current funding allocation requires a DCO application to be submitted in mid-2018 in order to start on site early 2020.

In order to meet these challenging timeframes, significant resource and input from the Council will be required as both a key stakeholder and statutory consultee. Strong governance arrangements are also required to manage the process and ensure that all stakeholders are engaged.

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director

Councillor Dick Tonge presented the report which introduced an Income Management Strategy.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the links to the efficiency agenda, income collection and charging strategies; the need to continue to improve how people contact and pay for services; how support to people to help manage different debts held with the Council can be developed; how credit unions and work with other parties would be addressed in the development of the action plan; the balance to be struck between charging to enable overhead cost to be appropriately recovered, and the need to remain competitive; and the risks involved in the Council creating a new payment system rather than using a system provided by the fast-changing market.

Councillor Tonge agreed to look into a query from Councillor Hubbard on whether there had been any progress on the One Card for Wiltshire initiative previously considered by the Council. Tonge acknowledged that with technology, methods of payment were quickly evolving.

Resolved

1.    To note the contents of this report; and

2.    To adopt the income strategy. With the strategy in place engagement with officers can begin. The engagement process will involve agreeing the steps each service will need to take to meet the objectives set out in the Action Plan.

Reason for decision:

As local authorities continue to face cuts in government funding and growth in demand for Adult Care and Children’s Services to maintain key services we need to focus on raising and collecting income from our residents, businesses and visitors efficiently and to ensure the financial sustainability of our excellent service delivery. In doing so we need to be commercial in our approach and use both technology and data to make more informed decisions. We must use our knowledge and experience to offer the right services at the right price and offer the most suitable and efficient means to enable customers to pay for those services.

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director

Councillor Laura Mayes presented the report which provided Cabinet with an overview of the quality of services offered to Wiltshire care leavers and areas where further improvements are required. In giving her presentation, Councillor Mayes highlighted: that the report drew upon findings from an audit completed in the Autumn of 2015 and a recent assessment of individual need; that taken together, this provides a firm foundation from which to analyse the quality of our offer to care leavers; that through the Children and Social Work Bill 2016, the Government has signalled a clear intention to require local authorities to improve services to care leavers; and that the report provides a brief overview of the Bill and begins to consider the impact for Wiltshire Council.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: that the age for which Council’s remained responsible for looked-after children was being extended to 25; how the council would be looking at innovative solutions to provide continuing support; the important responsibility for all Councillors as corporate parents; and the role of volunteers and third sector providers in providing support.

Resolved

That the contents of the report are noted and accepted.

Reason for decision:

Local authorities have duties under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 towards eligible and relevant and former relevant children.

The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 (the Leaving Care Act) came into effect on the 1 Oct 2001. The Act amends the previous provisions for care leavers in the Children Act 1989.The Act applies in England and Wales only.

The act aims to ensure that a Local Authority will provide help until a Young

Person reaches the age of 21 and in some cases 24.

The Leaving Care Act has two main aims:

·         To ensure that young people do not leave care until they are ready.

·         To ensure that they receive effective support once they have left.

The proposed Care Leavers’ Covenant will extend the responsibilities of the Council to all care leavers up until the age of 25 years.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe presented the report which requested the approval to proceed with issuing contracts to the business support providers procured by the Council in order for the project to be able to deliver business support to SME’s across the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Area.

It was noting that the four year survival rate for new businesses in Wiltshire was relatively good.

The Leader, in commending the work already underway, emphasised the importance of face to face support.

Resolved

1.     That Cabinet approves the procurement of business providers for delivery of the ESIF SME Growth project.

2.     That Cabinet delegates authority to the Associate Director of Economic Development and Planning in conjunction with the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Skills, Strategic Transport and Strategic Property, to implement delivery of the project and to approve entering into contract with any successful supplier(s).

Reason for decision:

To enable the procured business support providers to be issued with contracts to commence delivery of the project.

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 15 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 item 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 paragraphs 3 and 5 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighed 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)

Paragraph 5 - Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings

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

 Confidential Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director.

Councillor Toby Sturgis presented the report which was exempt from publication.

The Leader emphasised, to those present, that the report was confidential and subject to legal professional privilege and should not be disclosed outside the meeting.

Resolved

To approve the recommendations in the report.

Reason for Decision:

To enable the council to maintain service delivery for residents, to comply with its statutory duties to collect and dispose of waste and to continue to progress towards achieving statutory targets until new contracts commence on 1 August 2017.