Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Jane Davies.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 27 September 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2022 were presented.

Resolved:

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2022, subject to the Reasons for Decision at minute 85 to read as follows :

‘The pandemic paused the SDAT programme and with the new Business Plan there is a drive to refresh the desire to ensure local Councils are best placed to look after the services and assets at a local level.

The revised policy will streamline the protracted negotiations experienced in the previous programme with an aim to make the policy clearer to those Councils wishing to pursue service devolution and asset transfer.’

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Leader had no formal announcements although he did indicate that there would be an update on the cost-of-living crises at Full Council on 18 October 2022.

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 Stuart Figini of Democratic Services stuart.figini@wiltshire.gov.uk  01225 718221 by 12.00 noon on 5 October 2022.

Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

General questions were submitted from the following members of the public:

·       Mel Boyle – Social housing

·       Dr Celia Beckett – Sites selected for council housing in Trowbridge

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Climate Change, MCI, Economic Development, Heritage, Arts, Tourism and Health & Wellbeing explained that the above questions had received written responses which were published on the Council’s website prior to the meeting a can be accessed here at supplement 1.

Dr Celia Beckett, Chair of Hilperton Area Action Group, was in attendance and asked a supplementary question about concerns raised by local residents during the Local Plan consultation process in relation to - lack of crossings for the river and canal making transport solutions impossible, frequent flooding in the Staverton area, a vital wildlife corridor, a special area of conservation for bats and these concerns being addressed. The Leader and Cllr Botterill commented on the Local Plan process and explained that the process was driven by evidence provided by the Council and considered by the Inspector.  

Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Climate Change, MCI, Economic Development, Heritage, Arts, Tourism and Health & Wellbeing presented a report which provided an update on progress and actions taken in response to the climate emergency.

The Leader explained that the council has made significant progress in responding to the climate emergency. Delivery plans have been published setting out how the Council will deliver its objectives as detailed in the Carbon Neutral Council Plan 2022-2024 and Climate Strategy Delivery Plan for Wiltshire 2022-2024. He commented in detail on the seven delivery themes for Transport, Housing and the Built Environment, Natural Environment, Energy, Green Economy, Waste and Carbon Neutral Council.

Cllr Mayes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills noted the incredible progress being made and asked about the Council influence on other organisations not under the responsibility of the Council. The Head of Climate Programme highlighted how the Council is reaching out and working with partners including Town and Parish Councils.

Cllr Blair-Pilling, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Public Protection, Leisure, Libraries, Facilities Management and Operational Assets highlighted the work being undertaken at Five Rivers Leisure Centre to install air source heat pumps and solar panels.

Cllr Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing, Strategic Assets and Asset Transfer reported that the Housing Energy Efficiency Programme has undertaken a large number of retrofit assessments with the aim of the project to reduce the amount of CO2 produced by 15,000 tonnes across the council housing stock.

Cllr Ian Thorn welcomed the report and commented on the fantastic progress made. He indicated that it was important for the council to engage with other organisations to deliver positive outcomes for the county as a whole. Cllr Thorn raised the following issues:

·       The opportunity to improve the performance of waste and recycling through public information campaigns and engaging with communities. In response, the Leader and Cllr Dr McClelland agreed that there were opportunities to increase recycling rates and to continue targeting marketing campaigns in this area.

·       Judging success, reaching targets and identify progress. The Leader noted that the council is making good progress to achieve targets by 2030.

·       The impact on the County as a whole. The Leader noted that it would be very difficult to decarbonise the County by 2030, as this would be reliant on policies set by the Government.

·       Some concern with the direction of travel of the current Government.

·       Huge opportunity to include policies in the Local Plan as it develops on about the amount of carbon being produced to build the home and then how the home is run by the owners. The Leader reminder Councillors that the Local plan needed to be compliant with national planning framework and the consideration of the inspector. The Local Plan would be as green and sustainable within these limits.

·       To oppose fracking in the County. The Leader confirmed that there were no licences for fracking in Wiltshire. The Corporate Director Place confirmed that he would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.

   Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Public Protection, Leisure, Libraries, Facilities Management and Operational Assets presented a report which sought authority to endorse the proposals outlined in the report for use against the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) funding, to fulfil the functions of the statutory duty on Tier 1 Local Authorities relating to the provision of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children residing in safe accommodation.

Cllr Blair-Pilling reported that the Secretary of State for DLUHC has determined under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 that a grant of £125m should be awarded to local authorities to enable them to fulfil their statutory
functions of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 relating to the provision of specialist
support to victims and their families fleeing domestic abuse and living in safe
accommodation.  He informed Cabinet that the Council has been allocated £832,348 for 2022-23 (year 2 funding).

Cabinet members indicated that the funding was fundamental in supporting children and adults in the area of domestic abuse and they welcomed the enhancement of the local provision.

Cllr Ian Thorn commented on funding and whether anything not spent during 2022/23 would be rolled over into an earmarked reserve and used to support the continuation of the work; He also commented on the support available for male victims of domestic abuse.  In response, Cllr Blair-Pilling confirmed that any surplus would be rolled over to support future work in this area. It was noted that the need for support was increasing, and a property was being repurposed to support male victims of domestic abuse.  

Cllr Johnny Kidney, Chair of the Health Select Committee confirmed that the Select Committee considered a draft version of the report at their meeting on 22 September 2022. They welcomed the report, noted its contents and would receive an update on outcomes from the funding and other domestic abuse work in 2022/23.     

Resolved:

·       To accept the £832,348 allocated from the DLUHC for 2022-23 and endorse the proposals for allocating the grant

·       To agree to roll any surplus funding to an earmarked reserve.

·       To agree that any further decisions relating to the distribution of this grant are delegated to the Corporate Director of Resources, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Public Health and Public Protection, Leisure, Libraries, Facilities Management and Operational Assets.

Reason for Decision:

Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 details the statutory responsibilities of the Local Authority functions relating to the ‘provision of support for all victims of domestic abuse and their children, regardless of their relevant protected characteristics, within relevant accommodation’ (as defined by the Regulations).

To support the implementation of new duties in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, Wiltshire distributed its allocated year 1 funding (£830,051) to further strengthen the local support offer to victims and their families fleeing domestic abuse and living in safe accommodation. The decision making was underpinned from evidence from the local health needs assessment, an independent review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95.

   Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste, Street Scene and Flooding presented a report which requested an increase in the budget for the Parish Steward Scheme to increase the capacity and capability of the service.

Cllr Dr McClelland explained that the Council has been operating the Parish Steward Scheme successfully for many years and is a service that is greatly appreciated by the local communities.

The Leader referred to a statement from Rushall Parish Council in support of the proposals. The Statement was published in Supplement 1 on the Council’s website at this link.

The Cabinet noted that in order to increase the capability of the Parish Stewards it is proposed to add a two-person support team with additional equipment. Cllr Dr McClelland confirmed that the Parish Steward Support Team would be shared between the stewards and deployed as required, with care taken to ensure that they are programmed to be fully utilised.

Cllr Ian Thorn welcomed the report and asked that Town and Parish Council are made aware of the additional capacity of the Teams and the scope of work that can be undertaken.

Cllr Jerry Kunkler, Chair of the Environment Select Committee confirmed that he and Cllr Bob Jones, Vice Chairman of the Environment Select Committee, received a briefing on the report on 7 October 2022. He noted that Parish Stewards are valued by both councillors and parishes alike, and the report was welcomed and supported. They were reassured that any work will be appropriately prioritised and that the scope of the Stewards scheme will be reiterated to parishes and councillors to manage expectations.

Resolved:

(i)             That a budget of £233,000 is included for each of the years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/5 to provide a Parish Steward Support Service. This one-off funding, totalling £699,000 will be provided from the Business Plan Priority reserve.

(ii)           Arrangements are made with the highways term maintenance contractor for the supply of a suitable two-person team and associated equipment to support the Parish Steward scheme.

Reason for Decision:

The Parish Steward scheme is important to the town and parish councils and the local communities, and their work contributes to improving the safety and appearance of Wiltshire’s highway network. The increased budget will enable the Parish Stewards to undertake additional work on the network.

Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Climate Change, MCI, Economic Development, Heritage, Arts, Tourism and Health & Wellbeing presented a report which provided detail of activity arising from recent community visits and pilots of ongoing community conversations.

The Leader explained that as part of Wiltshire Council’s commitment to improving social mobility and tackling inequalities, senior leaders from a range of public sector organisations took part in community visits to Studley Green, Trowbridge and Bemerton Heath, Salisbury earlier this year. Leading to the development of ongoing community conversations for these areas, with the intention of piloting a bold and innovative approach to develop solutions, tailored to the strengths and needs of local areas and then adapting and rolling this out elsewhere in Wiltshire in due course.

The Director of Public Health emphasised that the process, vision and development of action would take place over the longer term, working with partners, community groups and residents. The report detailed a number of quick wins that have been supported by public service providers following initial engagement with local communities.   

Cllr Ian Thorn referred to a successful garden tools loan project he was involved with some time ago and commented on how the community was engaged in the process. He also addressed the issue of councillors being advocates for their local area, and how the local authority can be a real motivator for change and engagement with residents. He asked about the approaches and methodologies the council was employing. The Leader agreed that councillors bring different skills to the table and suggested that engagement needs to be at a deeper level. The Director of Public Health concurred that the local authority is a great agent for change and that similar communities and groups were the focus of engagement during the recent covid pandemic.

Cllr Jo Trigg, local member for Studley Green, Trowbridge welcomed the report, supporting the action being taken and expressed her anticipation for Studley Green and Bemerton Heath and what this could develop into for similar areas. She noted that building trust and engaging in conversations were very important. However, there were concerns about budgets and the pressure on small charities, especially during the current cost of living crisis. The Director of Public Health indicated that timeframes will be held loosely and driven by the local community.

Resolved:

That Cabinet note the range of activity underway to support these communities and the ongoing opportunities for community activism and tailored support.

Reason for Decision:

Improving social mobility and tackling inequality is a guiding theme for the council’s Business Plan. In everything we do, we consider the impact of the action on social mobility and ask how we can help to tackle the disparities in opportunities that exist within Wiltshire. 

   Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste, Street Scene and Flooding presented a report which provided detail about the award of the Term Highways Maintenance contract.

Cllr Dr McClelland reminded Cabinet that in January 2022 they agreed for the Director of Highways and Transport to invite tenders for a new supplier to provide the Term Highway Maintenance Services, and to report the results of the procurement exercise back to Cabinet.

Cabinet noted that the new contract will include the provision of routine highways maintenance, Parish Stewards, pothole repairs, winter gritting, street lighting and the implementation of safety and Local Highway and Footway Improvement Groups (LHFIG) schemes. It also includes the provision for additional spend on works funded through external bids, and the option to allow other Wiltshire Council services to order works through the contract.
The new contract will start on 1 April 2023. It is anticipated that annual expenditure through the contract is likely to be in the region of £15,000,000.

Cllr Jerry Kunkler, Chair of the Environment Select Committee confirmed that he, Cllr Bob Jones, Vice Chairman of the Environment Select Committee and Cllr Pip Ridout, Chairman of the Financial Planning Task Group received a briefing about Part 1 of this report on 7 October 2022. The briefing detailed the procurement process, and the new emphasis upon carbon reduction through the contract period was welcomed. They received reassurance that risks in relation to price and cost inflation had been identified and that actions are being undertaken to mitigate those risks. They welcomed the focus upon quality, and we heard about the quality assurance process. The Select Committee will continue to monitor this contract through the annual review of performance.

Cabinet noted that a list of three potential tenderers was prepared and evaluated by officers including detailed scoring and financial information. This information was contained in a Part II report considered at agenda item 14, with the press and public excluded.

Resolved:

See minute 102 below.

   Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Climate Change, MCI, Economic Development, Heritage, Arts, Tourism and Health & Wellbeing presented a report which provided options and recommendations for the remobilisation of Salisbury City Hall as an arts, entertainment and cultural venue.

The Leader detailed the timelines for City Hall over the last few years, in particular, following Government direction on 20 March 2020, City Hall was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2020 Cabinet confirmed that the venue would remain mothballed until it was both financially viable and safe to reopen, in December 2020, City Hall was licenced to the NHS to be used as a Vaccination Centre, and the NHS have confirmed the venue will continue to be required as a vaccination centre until March 2023.

Cabinet noted that the council has applied to the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 seeking a substantial capital grant to deliver strategic improvements to Salisbury’s Cultural offer, including improvement works to both City Hall and
Salisbury Playhouse. If the bid is successful, the council and relevant
partners will commit to contribute ‘match’ funding which will amount to over
10% of the grant award and would be subject to a capital funding bid. Works would be scheduled to commence in October of 2023 and to be complete in January 2025.

Cllr Jerry Kunkler, Chair of the Environment Select Committee confirmed that he and Cllr Bob Jones, Vice Chairman of the Environment Select Committee, received a briefing on this report on 4 October 2022. They welcome and endorsed the report following consideration of the options presented and with the commitment to address some of the building’s structural issues. They noted that City Hall could be an important addition to Salisbury’s visitor and night-time economy.

Cllr Tony Jackson commented on the capital grant and queried if there was such an opportunity for Warminster to bid for a similar grant. The Leader reminded the meeting that the Council has applied to the Government for the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 capital grant in line with the approved bidding process.

Cabinet noted that a pre-pandemic staffing structure was attached as a Part II appendix and was considered at agenda item 15, with the press and public excluded.

Resolved:

1.    There are three options available to Wiltshire Council in order to remobilise City Hall:

2.    A key element of the 2020 Cabinet paper was that remobilisation should be undertaken when it was ‘financially viable’ to do so. Option 1 is the most likely to provide long-term financial sustainability in order for the venue to thrive in a manner that the other options may not.

3.    It is recommended  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

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 Numbers 14 and 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).

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 Numbers 102 and 103 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.

   Report of the Chief Executive

The Cabinet considered the detailed scoring and financial information contained in the confidential report in Part II of the agenda which was presented by the former Acting Director – Highways and Environment.

The former Acting Director confirmed the name of the preferred tenderer and responded to question which included:

·       A positive step to include a value of 10% for Social Value within the tender assessment.

·       Financial viability of the tenderers to withstand the current economic climate.

·       The tenderers experience of working in Wiltshire was not a factor considered during the tender assessment and all tenderers were treated equally.

·       Lessons from past tendering exercises and how these impacted the current tender process.

·       The track record of the preferred tenderer within the industry.

Resolved:

(i)             The Term Highways Maintenance Contract should be awarded to Contractor A.

(ii)           Cabinet authorises the Director of Highways and Transport, in
consultation with the Corporate Director Resources and Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste, Street Scene and Flooding, to satisfy themselves as to the details regarding the Contract, and then to take all necessary steps to enter into the new
Highways Contract.

Reason for Decision:

(i)          There is a need for a specialist contractor to deliver the Council’s highways andrelated services when the existing contract ends on 31 March 2023.

(ii)         Following a robust procurement exercise in accordance with the ‘RestrictedProcedure’ tenders were submitted by three companies.

(iii)        The tenders were assessed interms of price, quality, carbon and social value and the most advantageous tender has been identified and recommended for acceptance.

(iv)          The most advantageous tender for the Council, taking into account price, quality,carbon and social value, should be accepted in accordance with the procurementprocedures. The detailed scoring and financial information are contained in aconfidential report to be considered in Part 2 of this meeting.

   Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Climate Change, MCI, Economic Development, Heritage, Arts, Tourism and Health & Wellbeing presented the appendix to the report which provided detail about the pre-pandemic staffing structure at City Hall.

Resolved:

1. That the pre-pandemic City Hall staffing structure be noted.

Reason for Decision:

To aid the decision made at minute 99 above.