Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received as all members of the Cabinet were present.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 12 June 2018, previously circulated.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 2018 were presented.

Resolved

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 2018

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

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 Democratic Services by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 27 June. Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

The Leader reiterated the process for public participation at meetings.

Mr Colin Gale, attending on behalf of Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP), Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and Pewsey Parish Council (PPC), noted the written response to the questions circulated in the supplement and stated that they would consider their response more fully and will consider what their position was in regard to the matter.

         Report by Alistair Cunningham, Corporate Director

Councillor Toby Sturgis presented the report which sought approval for, and agreement to, implement an Emergency Stopping Places (ESP) Strategy for Gypsies and Travellers.

Matters highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: that a report would come back in the autumn once further assessment of the suitability of the sites against the identified criteria; the figures for the last three years regarding unauthorised encampments have reduced; that facilities at emergency stopping places and how the sites are secured when not in use; that these would be considered temporary sites; and the distinction between unauthorised stopping sites and unauthorised developments.

Councillor Mathew Deane, Chair of the Environment Select Committee, stated that the committee had considered the strategy and was broadly supportive of the pragmatic.

The Leader emphasised the importance of providing appropriate facilities for the Gypsy and Traveller communities as part of the wider community of Wiltshire.

In response to issues raised Councillor Ian Thorn, Councillor Sturgis stated that the appropriate planning process would be followed before sites could be made operational, and that the council had a good process in place to deal with existing illegal encampments the volume of which was decreasing year on year.

Leader emphasised important to have good sites and right services on those sites.

At the end of the debate, the meeting;

Resolved

1. To approve the Wiltshire Emergency Stopping Places Strategy for Gypsy and Travellers set out at Appendix 1; and

2. To agree that the Director for Economic Development and Planning, in consultation with the Director for Finance and Cabinet Members for ‘Planning and Strategic Asset Management’ and ‘Finance’, prepare a subsequent report for Cabinet’s consideration regarding the implementation of the Strategy including site proposals and assessments of delivery and maintenance costs.

Reason for Decisions:

Wiltshire Council currently has no operational transit site. Dealing with unauthorised encampments is a continuing issue for Wiltshire Council Highways Enforcement and Wiltshire and Swindon Police. Establishing a network of Emergency Stopping Places will enable unauthorised encampments to be dealt with more effectively, enable large groups of Travellers to be dispersed and fulfil the Council’s statutory duties to provide for the transit accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers.

         Report by Alistair Cunningham, Corporate Director

Councillor Toby Sturgis presented the report which asked Cabinet to consider the option of transferring the ownership of the Oak Tree Field, Dairy House Bridge and Odstock sites including any expenditure required to achieve transfer and maintain health and safety to enable them to receive the investment they need to continue to remain in use as gypsy and traveller sites.

Councillor Mathew Deane, Chair of the Environment Select Committee, stated that assurances had been given from the Cabinet Member that the interests of long term residents would be protected.

The Leader then invited the Reverend Jonathon Herbert, Chaplin to the Gypsy & Traveller Community in Wiltshire and Dorset, and residents from the sites to address the meeting. Matters highlighted included: the strong family connections to the sites and the wider community; the good relationship with the Council; the concern over possible increases in rents; the alternative options that could be explored; that Wiltshire Council has responsible to support the most vulnerable; that the community would welcome a creative solution; that the Council be encourage to use their wider network to see what lessons can be learnt; the hope that the Council would continue appropriate due diligence and openness to finding empathic solutions.

In response to some of the issues raised, Councillor Sturgis stated that he was open to discussion of the possibility of a community land trust or other alternative solutions; that the Council would continue to employ liaison officers and would retain responsibility to oversee that sites meet regulations; and that development of the site could include the potential for more pitches on more site.

The Leader stated that the issues raised by the families on the site were being taken seriously, and asked that the Cabinet Member continue to work with the communities to develop a solution and to address their concerns as appropriate.

Councillor Ian Thorn emphasised the relevance of the aspiration in the business plan that the Council ensures people have a good home they can afford.

At the conclusion of the debate, the meeting;

Resolved

That Approval is given to:

1. Dispose of the Council’s freehold interests in the two gypsy and traveller sites at Oak Tree Field and Dairy House Bridge including the Odstock transit sites to enable them to stay as gypsy and traveller sites; and

2. Delegate to the Director for Housing and Commercial Development authority to agree the terms of the transfer of ownership in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning, Development Management and Property, the Director of Finance and Procurement and the Director of Legal and Governance Services.

Reason for Decisions:

Dairy House Bridge, Oak Tree Field and the Odstock transit sites are in need of substantial investment. Transfer of ownership of the sites to a new owner will enable this investment to ensure the sites are able to remain in use as gypsy and traveller sites.

         Report by Alistair Cunningham, Corporate Director

Please that we will not start this item until 10:30am.

Councillor Toby Sturgis presented the report which: provided an update to Cabinet on the outcome of the formal consultation on the ‘Wiltshire Housing Site Allocations Plan - Pre-submission draft plan (June 2017); sought Cabinet’s recommendation to Council that the Plan, together with a schedule of Proposed Changes, should be approved for the purposes of submission to the Secretary of State and commencement of the independent Examination process; and sought delegated authority to make appropriate arrangements for

submitting the prescribed documents and supporting materials to the Secretary of State; and respond to any consequential actions as directed by the Inspector relating to the Examination.

In moving his proposal, Councillor Sturgis referred to the Addendum that had been prepared following the deferral of the item from Cabinet of 15 May 2018 and proposed further proposed changes be made to respond to the issues raised by the community through the consultation withWiltshire Councillors and town and parish councils on the proposed changes to the Wiltshire Housing Site Allocations Plan 15th May -11th June 2018, that:

(a)   Policy 1 to delete site allocations H1.2, H1.3 and H1.4 in relation to Market Lavington and delete section on Devizes Community Area at paragraphs 5.22 to 5.37,

(b)   Amend Policy H2 to delete site allocation H2.13 in relation to Crudwell and delete section on Malmesbury Community area at paragraphs 5.111 to 5.114,

(c)    Amend Proposed Change 39 (site allocation H2.2, land off the A363 at White Horse Business Park, Trowbridge) to reduce the proposed dwelling increase by 50 dwellings,

(d)   Add to Proposed Change 69 (site allocation H2.12, East of Farrells Field, Yatton Keynell) to delete the words “Access will be taken from Farrell Fields” from paragraph 5.110.

Councillor Sturgis also proposed that there were some technical amendments to the overall wording of the proposal.

In justifying the further proposed changes, Cllr Sturgis referred to the addendum, and provided clarification as follows: progress had been made with the Market Lavington Neighbourhood Plan and there was a good supply of housing in the Eastern Housing Market Area; housing has been permitted in the Malmesbury Community Area to bolster the housing numbers and the Crudwell Neighbourhood Plan had made good progress; and the reduction in the increase in housing numbers on site H2.2 would provide for landscape buffer for North Bradley.

Matters highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: that the documents had been prepared to ensure that an up to date development plan was in place; the importance of having a sufficient housing land to meet demand to mitigate against developer led planning; that all the comments received on the consultation would be sent to the Secretary of State and an Inspector who then decides what they want to look at before making their recommendation through the examination process; the relationship of the plan to the core strategy adopted by Wiltshire Council; the overall level of growth allocated in the proposed plan and the need to plan in excess of need; how  ...  view the full minutes text for item 257.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

Councillor Jerry Wickham presented the report which informed Cabinet of the findings and recommendations in the report of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (“the Ombudsman”) published on 27 April 2018 and to confirm the Council’s response to the report. In presenting the report, Councillor Wickham highlighted the actions proposed in response to the eleven points and reemphasised the apology that had already been made.

There being no further questions, the meeting;

Resolved

a)     To note the findings and recommendations in the Ombudsman’s

report published on 27 April 2018;

b)    To confirm the Council’s acceptance of the Ombudsman’s findings

and recommendations and the actions to remedy the injustice as set out in the report.

c)     To authorise the Director of Adult Care Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Public Protection to take the necessary steps to address the issues raised in the Ombudsman's report.

d)    To require that a progress report is made to the Standards Committee and to the Health Select Committee within 6 months.

Reason for Decision:

To enable the Council to consider the Ombudsman’s report and formally confirm its response to the Ombudsman as required by law.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

The Leader of Cabinet presented the report which asked Cabinet to consider a draft Annual Governance Statement for 2017/18 for comment before final approval is sought from the Audit Committee on 24 July 2018. In presenting the report, Councillor Richard Clewer stated that comments from the external auditors had been submitted and incorporated.

There being no further questions, the meeting;

Resolved

a)     To consider the draft AGS as set out in Appendix 1 and make any comments or changes as they see fit;

b)    To note that the draft AGS will be revised in the light of any comments by Cabinet before final approval by the Audit Committee and publication with the Statement of Accounts at the end of July 2016.

Reason for Decision:

To prepare the AGS 2017/18 for publication in accordance with the requirements of the Audit and Accounts Regulations.

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Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

Councillor Philip Whitehead presented the report which provided an update on the progress against the stated aims in the council’s Business Plan. It includes measures from the performance framework as well as the latest version of the council’s strategic risk register. The report covered the period January to March 2018. In presenting the report, Councillor Whitehead highlighted the changes made to the presentation of graphs to make their interpretation easier.

Councillor Thorn, as Chair of the Financial Planning Task Group, stated that was happy with the improvements made in the presentation of the data. In response, Councillor Whitehead thanked the task group for their work.

Resolved

To note updates and outturns:

1. Against the measures and activities ascribed against the council’s priorities.

2. To the strategic risk register.

Reason for Decision:

The current corporate performance framework compiles measures used to monitor progress in service areas against planned objectives that relate to the goals laid out in Wiltshire Council’s current Business Plan 2017-27.

The strategic risk register captures and monitors significant risks facing the council: in relation to significant in-service risks facing individual areas and in managing its business across the authority generally.

         Report by Terence Herbert, Corporate Director

Councillor Laura Mayes presented the report which outlined the proposal to ensure a sustainable, future proof and secure service across Families and Children’s Services, requesting that Cabinet approve is an additional £1.2m annual investment in Families and Children’s Services.

Matters highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the need to invest in additional capacity to meet increased demand; that reducing individual case-loads improves staff retention; the increase numbers of looked after children and care leavers; the support given to unaccompanied asylum seekers; and the increased emphasis on early intervention; that the increase in budget would form part of the base budget going forward and that the funding required would be managed through the normal budgeting processes.

Resolved

To approve an additional £1.2m annual investment in Families and Children’s Services.

Reason for Decision:

We need ensure sustainable, future proof and secure service across Families and Children’s Services. This will only be achieved by increasing the number of social workers and associated posts to ensure we can manage the current predicted increase in service demand and offer both achievable, and where required, protected levels of caseloads. The proposals will also ensure we have sufficient managerial oversight in this important and high-risk area of the council’s delivery. This proposal essentially ensures the Local Authority have the requisite capacity within core work groups to deliver on these principles.

Report by Terence Herbert, Corporate Director

Councillor Laura Mayes presented the report which provided a year-end report to Cabinet regarding the performance of the Adoption Service within Wiltshire Council, noting that it is a requirement of the condition of registration, as described in the 2014 Adoption Minimum Standards and 2013 Statutory Guidance, that Cabinet is satisfied the Adoption Agency complies with the conditions of registration, is effective and is achieving good outcomes for children.

Matters highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the profile of the children in the service; the priorities for the service; the indicators used to measure performance in the last year; the relative performance against the national average; the work to recruit adopters specifically for harder to place children; the approach used to work with foster carers with a view to becoming adopters; and the partnership approach with regional partners, now chaired by Wiltshire’s director, that will be operational in the autumn.

The Leader stated that she was pleased to see the progress made regarding on timeliness of the adoption process, and that this had not been at the expense of the cherished ethos of working hard to place those children with more complex needs.

Resolved

That the contents of the report are noted and accepted.

Reason for Decision:

Wiltshire Council is an Adoption Agency registered with Ofsted. The 2014 Adoption Minimum Standards (25.6) and 2013 Statutory Guidance (3.93 and 5.39) describe the information that is required to be regularly reported to the executive side of the local authority to provide assurance that the adoption agency is complying with the conditions of registration whilst being effective and achieving good outcomes for children and service users.

Report by Cllr Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, the Leader of Council

The Leader of Wiltshire Council presented the report which sought Cabinet’s approval to take steps to make changes to the senior management structure of the council at tier 1 following the decision to reconsider the appointment of the fourth Corporate Director role, which was to be a joint post with Wiltshire CCG, and following discussion with the current Corporate Directors.

Matters highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included:

the disappointed that a joint post had not possible to achieved; the hard work that had been undertaken with the CCG, but that the possible changes nationally had meant that NHS England would not give the joint post the necessary approval; the frustration that the forward thinking model had not been accepted; that the proposals to include the explicit responsibility within the a three corporate director model would provide stability; the continued emphasis on partnership work, and the commitment to integration between Health partners and the Council; and the possibility that more joint posts could be explored below the Corporate Director level.

Councillor Ian Thorn stated that he shared the Leader’s disappointment and expressed a hope that the Council may revisit this aspiration at a later date. Furthermore, he recognised the hard work of the existing team and stated that he broadly supported the proposals.

In making her proposals, the Leader thanked the officers for their hard work, and emphasised the final decision on the designation of the statutory Director of Adult Social Services to the Corporate Director Adult Care & Public Health would be made by Full Council.

Resolved

To approve:

I.         The proposed changes to the structure of the council at the top tier (Corporate Director), and as outlined in appendix 1 and paragraphs 10 & 11.

II.        The recommendation to Full Council, of the designation of the statutory Director of Adult Social Services to the Corporate Director Adult Care & Public Health and as outlined in paragraph 17.

III.      The proposed change to the role of the Directors with statutory responsibility for Monitoring Officer, Head of Paid Service and Section 151 Officer and as outlined in paragraphs 18 & 19 and in appendix 1.

IV.     Approve the proposed alignment of the Director, Communities & Communications and Director, Corporate Functions & Digital as outlined in paragraph, and as outlined in paragraph 21.

V.       The designation of the Senior Responsible Information Owner (SIRO) to the Director, Corporate Functions & Digital, and as outlined in paragraph 22.

To note:

Further discussion about changes to the structure with the Corporate Directors, and relevant Directors, will start immediately.

That following discussion and mutual agreement with the Corporate Directors, and relevant Directors, on changes to their role descriptions, the structure will be implemented.

Report by Alistair Cunningham, Corporate Director

Councillor Richard Clewer presented the report which provided an update to regarding the activities of Wiltshire Council’s Housing Board between December 2016 and November 2017 and comply with its Terms of Reference which requires an annual update to be provided to Cabinet. In presenting the report, Councillor Clewer highlighted the scrutiny of the board undertaken by a group of tenants who had provided good input into decision making.

The Leader expressed thanks that, especially in the current national focus on the rights of tenants, that the Board was working to support engagement with tenants in decision making.

Resolved

To note the Annual Report.

Reason for Decision:

Wiltshire Council’s Housing Board’s Terms of Reference require an Annual Report to be presented to Cabinet.

         Report by Alistair Cunningham, Corporate Director

Councillor Richard Clewer present the report which outlined the Business Case for enlarging the Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) to take on additional work for the repair and maintenance of the Council’s Housing Stock enabling the Council to continue to deliver a quality Repairs and Maintenance (R&M) service for the upkeep and improvement of the Council’s Housing Stock for the next 30 years.

In response to a question raised by Councillor Brian Dalton, Councillor Clewer stated that he would explore how best division councillors could be kept informed of works scheduled in their area.

Councillor Mathew Deane, Chair of the Environment Select Committee, stated the Committee members had unanimously supported the proposals and welcomed the discretion given to the council to respond appropriately to tenants.

Resolved

1.            To agree the business case for progressing with the enlargement of the DLO to take on all responsive repairs and voids work.

2.            That authority be delegated to the Director of Housing and Commercial Development to agree staffing and contractual changes required to deliver the responsive repairs and voids service by the DLO with effect from April 2019.

Reason for Decision:

On average Wiltshire Council plans to spend around £12 - £14m from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), both capital and revenue, each year on the repair and maintenance of the housing stock. This includes all emergency and day to day repairs, works to void properties, gas servicing, electrical testing, lift maintenance, as well as elemental replacements, such as kitchens, bathrooms and insulation, to continue to meet the Decent Home Standard.

The majority of this work is currently outsourced to contractors (value c.£13m) with just under £1m being directly delivered by the Council’s Direct Labour Organisation.

The key reasons for the proposal for the DLO to take on a greater share of the services are;

• Minimising the risk of contractor failure and the knock-on impact on our Residents
• Developing a more commercial approach to the delivery of repairs and maintenance services in-house in line with the sector
• Generating savings and avoiding paying profit margins to external organisations
• Capitalising on the higher performance already being delivered by our DLO
• Enabling opportunities to improve management of the supply chain for materials and plant as well as fleet and IT
• Providing flexibility to change and innovate in response to national and local policies changes and demands, without the need for protracted negotiations with external providers.

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 19 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 business specified in Item Number 19 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).                                                                                        

The information contained in the appendix has been made exempt from publication as it contains sensitive contract information, and sensitive staff information.

The meeting considered the information contained in the exempt report when making their decision as minute above