Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence received.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 10 November 2015, previously circulated.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 November 2015 were presented.

Resolved:

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 10 November 2015.

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

The Leader wished Tim Peake well on his trip to the International Space Station.

The Leader was pleased to announce that a number of Syrian Refugees had been housed in Wiltshire.

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 Wednesday 9 December 2015.  Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

The Leader explained that those registered to speak on the Children’s Centre item would be considered at that time.

The Leader drew the meeting’s attention to the questions, submitted in advance of the meeting, responded to in writing and circulated in a supplementary paper. The Leader invited those in attendance to ask their questions.

a)              Mr Richard Hames – Chippenham DPD

In response to a supplement to question 5, Cllr Toby Sturgis stated that a list of sites would be published once the evidence had been produced and agreement reached with the Inspector.

In response to a supplement to question 6, Cllr Toby Sturgis confirmed  that of the course, the Council would proceed with an open mind.

In response to a supplement to question 7, Cllr Toby Sturgis stated that the Council would look at evidence would be looked at for all sites.

b)              Mr Steve Perry – Chippenham DPD

In response to a supplement to questions 2 and 3, Cllr Toby Sturgis stated that he understood that Chippenham 2020 intended to submit a planning application.

c)               Mr Ian James – Chippenham DPD

In response to a supplementary question, Cllr Jonathon Seed stated the Council continued to work with the Environment Agency and would listen to their advice. In addition, Cllr Toby Sturgis stated that Council would wish to consider the advice of the Environment Agency with regard to the whole catchment area of the river Avon and made reference to the fact that one of the criteria for modern developments is that they should reduce water run-off from the site.

d)              Mrs Anne Henshaw – Chippenham DPD

e)              Mrs Anne Henshaw – Chippenham DPD

In response to a supplementary question regarding consideration as to whether the Cabinet Member’s responsibility for both Property and Strategic Planning represented a conflict of interest, the Council’s Monitoring Officer stated the he continued to take the view there is no conflict, as both roles are separate. In addition, the Leader asked that the Monitoring Officer write to Mrs Henshaw to further explain his advice on this matter. Cllr Sturgis added that the decision to adopt a plan was not his to take alone, and that the final decision rested with Full Council.

In response to a supplementary question regarding consideration as to whether the views of the public could be fully considered without a masterplan for the Chippenham Area, Cllr Toby Sturgis stated that Council was responding to the Inspector’s request for additional information and that the Council should only answer those questions put by the Inspector rather than providing additional information that had not been requested.

In response to a supplementary question regarding the changes to CIL and s106 arrangements, Cllr Toby Sturgis stated that the central government had changed the rules how monies were collected and agreements had to be negotiated, leading to some delays in the Chippenham area.

f)                Mrs Isabell McCord – Chippenham DPD

In response to a supplementary question regarding the reputational damage to the Council caused by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 137.

      Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director

 Councillor Laura Mayes presented a report which provided information on the proposals for future delivery of children’s centre services, a summary of feedback gained during the public consultation on these proposals and recommendations for future service delivery.

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

That government advice is that councils should look beyond the buildings when delivering services; that the proposals aimed to achieve savings by reducing management and building cost; the proposals to move from a universal service to more targeted provision; the feedback that had been given during the review, and how the initial proposals had been changed in response; the process by which views had been sought; how data, particularly on deprivation, had been used to inform the review; the current make-up of the service and the range of providers currently delivering services; how the new services would be tendered for and operated in four geographical areas; that negotiations would take place with providers covering Wilton and Chippenham as to whether centres there could remain open; and how volunteering and fundraising could be encourage.

Jeremy Kent spoke in objection to the proposals, specifically the closure of the centre in Bradford-on-Avon, and queried the financial assumptions of the review.

Natasha spoke in objection to the proposals, specifically the lack of suitable alternative locations in the Bradford-on-Avon area.

Cllr Alison Craddock, from Bradford-on-Avon, spoke in objection to the proposal, specifically highlighting the benefits of early years help that she was concerned would be lost; and expressed dismay as to the perceived lack of consultation with the Town Council.

Cllr Simon Killane made reference to the approach taken in Malmesbury where discussions were already taking place to look for alternative venues.

Cllr Jeff Osborn, whilst he welcomed the change to the proposal regarding Trowbridge, said that he considered that the effect of the proposed cuts in other communities would have a detrimental effect given the scale of cuts in other areas.

Cllr Jon Hubbard, in his capacity as Chair for the Children’s Select Committee, expressed annoyance that views of the Select Committee had not been adequately referenced in the report. He went on to state that whilst he believed that there should be some consolidation of provision, no town should be left without a centre. Furthermore, the benefits of the universal service had not been given due weight in the proposals, and many good aspects would be lost.

In response, Cllr Laura Mayes stated that she could not defend continuing to spend money on some centres that had low contact levels with families, and that a targeted approach, working in partnership with universal services such as Health Visitors should be an improvement.

The Leader, in response to the issue raised on Select Committee documentation, asked officers to investigate and report back to her. Furthermore, Cllr Laura Mayes thanked the Select Committee for their input which had informed the proposals.

Cllr Magnus MacDonald and Cllr Gordon King expressed concern that the cuts to the service would mean  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138.

  Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director

 Councillor Laura Mayes presented a report which sought Cabinet approval for the proposal to bring the Wiltshire Families First service in-house.

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

That the proposals aimed to improve access to and efficiency of services; the key areas of the Early Help Strategy; and how different department and partners will engage with the changes.

Resolved

1.    To approve the creation of a single family support service to be provided by the Council.

2.    That staff from the Wiltshire Families First Service will transfer into the Council to create a single intensive family and parenting support service.

3.    That the family support service will be accessible to all families who require a more intensive form of support beyond that which is offered from the Council’s Early Help Service and children’s centres and will include support for families who meet the threshold for statutory social care intervention.

Reason for Decision:

The contract for the Wiltshire Families First Service started in April 2012 and will end in March 2016. Since 2012, a number of changes to the way in which families receive support have taken place. These include establishing a multiagency Gateway Panel for allocation of family and parenting services.

Improved recording of information received on Early Help Common Assessment Framework (CAF) referrals has been established and the intelligence provided by the Gateway Panel tracker is providing new information about the needs of the families in Wiltshire and also an insight into how well existing services are responding to this. This information suggests that the Council could improve its support for families by having a single family support service with the potential to re-design and re-shape the service to meet identified need.

In addition to this the expansion of the national Troubled Families programme and the change in criteria for Phase 2 of the programme in April 2015 means that more families are now eligible for intensive family and parenting support via the Gateway Panel. Now that Central Government has announced that funding for the Troubled Families programme will continue for a further five years, a single family support service will help to ensure that the Council and partners can continue to meet the requirements of the programme. The revised criteria for Phase 2 of the Troubled Families programme cover both families requiring early help and those in receipt of statutory interventions from Children’s Social Care.

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director

Councillor Dick Tonge presented a report which provided a quarterly review of the Treasury Management Strategy. 

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

That any movements were within the limits set by the agreed Strategy; the profile of the debts, and changes in the temporary deposits; and the implications of RBS and Lloyds credit rating.

Resolved

To note that the contents of the report presented were in line with the Treasury Management Strategy.

Reason for Decision:

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

Report by Maggie Rae, Corporate Director

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

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

That the level of risk recorded for data security had been increased; the risk of flooding; how the risks to safeguarding had been addressed in the Children’s Centres decision;  and that a discussion could take place as to whether obesity could be considered as a pandemic and dealt with accordingly in the 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 Decision:

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.

Councillor Dick Tonge presented a report which advised members of the revenue budget monitoring position as at the end of period 7 (end of October 2015) for the financial year 2015/2016 with suggested actions as appropriate.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: That action had been taken to reduce budget gap down to £2.9m, and that further action should see a balance position reached by the end of the financial year; the proposal to draw down some funds from the reserves to reduce the overspend; and that there was no change in the Housing Revenue Account.

Cllr Glenis Ansell, in her capacity as Chair of the Financial Planning Task Group, noted that it was good to see action being taken to address the overspend, and that the task group would have the opportunity to discuss this further.

Resolved

1.       To note the outcome of the period 7 (31 October 2015) budget Monitoring.

2.       To approve the drawdown of £0.6 million from General Fund reserves in line with the risk assessment and advice contained within this report in respect of Children’s safeguarding. This was highlighted as a risk and potential need for reserves in setting the budget in February 2015.

Reason for Decision:

To inform effective decision making and ensure a sound financial control environment.

Councillor Dick Tonge presented a report which informed Cabinet on the position of the 2015/2016 Capital Programme, as at Period 7 (31 October 2015), including highlighting budget changes and any additional funding that had been made available.

Resolved

1.       To note the budget movements undertaken to the capital programme shown in Appendices A and B.

Reason for Decision:

To inform Cabinet of the position of the 2015/2016 capital programme as at

Period 7 (31 October 2015), including highlighting any budget changes.

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director

Councillor Dick Tonge presented a report which asked Cabinet to set the Council Tax Base for 2016/2017. In his presentation, Cllr Tonge set out the procedure followed and outlined how the calculation of the tax base is undertaken.

Resolved

1.     To approve the Council Tax Base 2016/2017 as set out in Appendix A of the report;

2.     To note that the recommended collection rate adjustments are set at 99.75% and 82.50% which reflects current expectations for collection.

Reason for Decision:

Before the Council Tax can be set by the Council in February 2016 a calculation has to be made and approved of the Council Tax Base, which is an annual requirement as laid out in the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

      Report by Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

Cllr Philip Whitehead presented the report which recommended: that tenders for the improvement scheme at A350 - A3102 Melksham Roundabout, known locally as ‘Farmers Roundabout’, be invited; and that delegated authority be given to the Associate Director and Cabinet Member for entering into a contract.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: That this scheme was part of work to address pinch points and improve traffic flow; that the proposal aimed to improve capacity and safety; that the scheme was funded from capital funding and supported by grants from central government.

Cllr Jon Hubbard expressed his dismay that local members and the  Melksham Town and Melksham Without Parish Councils had not been consulted on these proposals, and that as a result there was some consternation in the community. In response, Cllr Philip Whitehead stated the proposals would look to address revamp and resequence the whole stretch of road to increase the traffic flow along it; once proposals had been more fully worked up, these would be shared with the local Councils and Councillors – as per the approach taken in areas such as Chippenham.

Cllr Jeff Osborn expressed concern that, whilst he understood that the capital funding for these proposals had not come directly from Wiltshire Council’s own budgets, the wider public may not make that distinction, and he argued that the Council would need to consider carefully how the message was communicated.

In response to concerns raised by Cllr Terry Chivers as to whether the proposals would address the problem, Cllr Philip Whitehead stated that he considered the proposals would address the problems in that area as a whole.

Cllr Roy While spoke in support of the proposals, particularly with reference to the economic benefits.

Cllr Jonathan Seed, in his capacity as recent Chair of the Community Area Transport Group, stated that the CATG had been made aware of the principles of the proposals

In addition, the Leader stated that this work had been identified as a priority by the Local Enterprise Partnership.

Resolved

1.     To invite tenders from the select list of contractors identified; and

2.     To delegate authority to Cllr Philip Whitehead, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, and Parvis Khansari, Associate Director for Highways and Transport, to approve the award of the contract on receipt of suitable tenders.

Reason for Decision:

Inviting tenders and delegating authority for award of the contract will enable timely decisions to be made with regard to entering into a contract and proceeding with the improvement scheme on the A350/A3102 Farmers Roundabout at Melksham.

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 16 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 16 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).

           Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

 Councillor Dick Tonge presented a report which sought approval to purchase and implement a corporate Geographical Information System (GIS) to replace the existing contract which would expire in February 2016.

Resolved

1.     To approve the awarding of the GIS contract to ESRI UK Ltd for the 7 year period at a total approx. contract cost of £1m allowing the new contract to commence on 6th February 2016.

2.     To work closely with partners with the objective of having a Wiltshire wide system.

Reason for Decision:

To ensure the existing contract doesn’t expire resulting in the council having to pay per license costs for the existing software which could amount to an annual cost of over £1m per year.