Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Swansley Room, Ground Floor

Contact: Victoria Wallace  03450 450 500 Email: democratic.services@scambs.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

To receive Apologies for Absence from Cabinet members. 

Minutes:

Councillors Francis Burkitt and Nick Wright sent Apologies for Absence.

2.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 143 KB

To authorise the Leader to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2017 as a correct record.

Minutes:

Cabinet authorised the Leader to sign, as a correct record, the public Minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2017, subject to adding Councillors Anna Bradnam and David McCraith to the list of those in attendance.

3.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

4.

Announcements

Minutes:

There were no announcements.

5.

Public Questions

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

6.

General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Strategies (MTFS) 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 244 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

1.     With regard to the General Fund (GF) Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), Cabinet

 

(a)   Approved the assumptions underpinning the MTFS (Appendix 1, Section 3);

(b)   Noted the GF forecast at Section 4 and Appendix A

(c)   Noted the indicative unavoidable revenue pressures and their impact on savings requirements;

(d)   nstructed the Head of Finance to bring forward detailed draft estimates for 2018-19 based on assumptions and issues contained in the report for consideration by the Cabinet in the new year; and

(e)   Instructed the Executive Management Team (EMT) to identify and develop other options for meeting the MTFS additional income / savings requirement.

 

2.     Cabinet approved the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) MTFS, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report, to include:

 

(a)   changes in financial assumptions as detailed in Appendix B to the HRA MTFS;

(b)   mid-year revenue budget changes, as detailed in Appendix D(1) to the HRA MTFS, which impact future forecasts for the HRA;

(c)   mid-year capital budgets changes, as detailed in Appendix E to the HRA MTFS;

(d)   update to the total new build budget and the new build schemes included in the Housing Capital Investment Plan, incorporation of the latest budgetary figures in respect of new build schemes, and re-phasing of expenditure in line with anticipated build timetables;

(e)   recognition of an increase of £500,000 in the budget for the acquisition of market dwellings, to ensure that right to buy receipts are appropriately reinvested in 2017/18;

(f)     changes in anticipated receipt and use of capital resources for the HRA, as included in Appendix H to the HRA MTFS;

(g)   approval of the HRA budget strategy for 2018/19, to include the exemplification of savings against a target of £600,480, with £100,480 required from 2018/19, and £250,000 per annum sought from 2019/20 and 2020/21 onwards; and

(h)   noting the early proposals for bids and savings in the HRA, in advance of formal consideration as part of the HRA Budget Setting Report in February 2018.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report containing an update in respect of the financial position and forecasts for both the General Fund (GF) and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), allowing review of financial assumptions, approval of any mid-year budgetary changes and agreement of the budgets strategies for 2018-19 and beyond.

 

Those present discussed several issues arising from the report.

 

Regarding the General Fund (GF) Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), Cabinet

 

(a)   Approved the assumptions underpinning the MTFS (Appendix 1, Section 3);

(b)   Noted the GF forecast at Section 4 and Appendix A

(c)   Noted the indicative unavoidable revenue pressures and their impact on savings requirements;

(d)   instructed the Head of Finance to bring forward detailed draft estimates for 2018-19 based on assumptions and issues contained in the report for consideration by the Cabinet in the new year; and

(e)   Instructed the Executive Management Team (EMT) to identify and develop other options for meeting the MTFS additional income / savings requirement.

 

Cabinet approved the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) MTFS, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report, to include:

 

(a)   changes in financial assumptions as detailed in Appendix B to the HRA MTFS;

(b)   mid-year revenue budget changes, as detailed in Appendix D(1) to the HRA MTFS, which impact future forecasts for the HRA;

(c)   mid-year capital budgets changes, as detailed in Appendix E to the HRA MTFS;

(d)   update to the total new build budget and the new build schemes included in the Housing Capital Investment Plan, incorporation of the latest budgetary figures in respect of new build schemes, and re-phasing of expenditure in line with anticipated build timetables;

(e)   recognition of an increase of £500,000 in the budget for the acquisition of market dwellings, to ensure that right to buy receipts are appropriately reinvested in 2017/18;

(f)     changes in anticipated receipt and use of capital resources for the HRA, as included in Appendix H to the HRA MTFS;

(g)   approval of the HRA budget strategy for 2018/19, to include the exemplification of savings against a target of £600,480, with £100,480 required from 2018/19, and £250,000 per annum sought from 2019/20 and 2020/21 onwards; and

(h)   noting the early proposals for bids and savings in the HRA, in advance of formal consideration as part of the HRA Budget Setting Report in February 2018.

7.

Feedback from 'Let's Talk' 2017 pdf icon PDF 444 KB

Decision:

Cabinet

 

(a)   Thanked residents and organisations for their participation in the “Let’s Talk” engagement project and for the quality and breadth of the feedback provided, committing to sharing the outcomes with participants and the wider community;

 

(b)   Noted feedback from the exercise, summarised in paragraphs 9 – 10 and Appendix A attached to the report and agreed to take this into account in the development of a refreshed Corporate Plan to be adopted in February 2018; and

 

(c)   Requested that the feedback be drawn to the attention of the Council at its next meeting.

Minutes:

Cabinet received and noted a report on feedback from the ‘Let’s Talk’ listening and engagement exercise, to help inform the development of a refreshed Corporate Plan for 2018-2022.

 

Noting Cabinet’s support for the initiative, the Leader thanked the Head of Sustainable Communites and Wellbeing and the Policy and Performance Manager for contributing to its success. He welcomed the opportunity for the Council to communicate directly with its residents.

 

Councillor Bridget Smith pointed out that the Council needed to recognise several different ways to identify and achieve sustainability.

 

Cabinet

 

(a)   Thanked residents and organisations for their participation in the “Let’s Talk” engagement project and for the quality and breadth of the feedback provided, committing to sharing the outcomes with participants and the wider community;

 

(b)   Noted feedback from the exercise, summarised in paragraphs 9 – 10 and Appendix A attached to the report and agreed to take this into account in the development of a refreshed Corporate Plan to be adopted in February 2018; and

 

(c)   Requested that the feedback be drawn to the attention of the Council at its next meeting.

8.

2017-18 Second Quarterly Position Statement on Finance, Performance and Risk pdf icon PDF 316 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet

 

(a)   reviewed the provisional outturn position together with the performance and risk issues contained in the report and Appendices A-C; and

 

(b)  approved the Strategic Risk Register and Matrix (Appendices D-E).

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report providing a statement of the Council’s position with regard to its General Fund, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Capital budgets, corporate objectives, performance indicators and strategic risks. Integrated reporting in this way gave Members the opportunity to examine areas of concern and decide on the appropriate action. The report also sought Cabinet’s approval of the Strategic Risk Register and Matrix attached at Appendices D and E.

 

 

Cabinet

 

(a)   reviewed the provisional outturn position together with the performance and risk issues contained in the report and Appendices A-C; and

 

(b)  approved the Strategic Risk Register and Matrix (Appendices D-E).

9.

Business Case for the Creation of a Community Energy Grant Fund pdf icon PDF 190 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet

 

(a)  Reviewed and endorsed the Business Case for the Creation of a Community Energy Grant Fund, and approved further work to establish and launch the fund by 1 March 2018; and

 

(b)  Approved the principle of an Energy Loan Fund, with further work to take place to develop and present a business case to the Cabinet meeting scheduled for February 2018.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a Business Case for the creation of a Community Energy Grant Fund, and a report seeking its approval for further work to establish and launch the fund by 1 March 2018.

 

The proposal was well received by both Cabinet and by Opposition Members present.

 

The Leader further welcomed the initiative as building on the success of the Sustainable Parish Energy Partnership (SPEP).

 

Cabinet

 

(a)  Reviewed and endorsed the Business Case for the Creation of a Community Energy Grant Fund, and approved further work to establish and launch the fund by 1 March 2018; and

 

(b)  Approved the principle of an Energy Loan Fund, with further work to take place to develop and present a business case to the Cabinet meeting scheduled for February 2018.

10.

Withdrawal of CIL charging schedule pdf icon PDF 146 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet agreed to activate Regulation 18 of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (amended) and withdraw the Council’s submitted CIL draft charging schedule.

 

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report seeking its authority to withdraw the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) draft charging schedule and approve the outline timetable for the resubmission of a new draft charging schedule.

 

Cabinet agreed to activate Regulation 18 of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (amended) and withdraw the Council’s submitted CIL draft charging schedule.

11.

'Mind the Gap' in support and provision between schools and mental health services pdf icon PDF 283 KB

Decision:

Cabinet

 

1.               received and endorsed the following recommendations from the Partnerships Review Committee:

 

(a)             for South Cambridgeshire District Council to use proactively its networks and facilitation skills to enable appropriately timed meetings between key partners to:

·        help develop relationships and trust between professionals working to support children and young people who are experiencing poor mental health, and

·        enable strong partnerships resulting in a better support offer for children and young people within a school setting.

 

(b)             that the Council:

·        writes to NHS England expressing concern in relation to the targets they set for mental health crisis care, which results in local budgets being spent once a crisis has occurred rather than preventing the crisis in the first place, and

·        instructs officers to actively pursue, through the Combined Authority discussions, a freedom and flexibility to agree locally the split between spend on preventative care and crisis care in relation to mental health;

 

(c)             that the Council uses its position with the Combined Authority, local Members of Parliament and on key local partnerships to influence decisions that affect local and national spend on mental health services so that more is done to support children and young people, who are experiencing poor mental health so that they hopefully do not reach crisis;

 

(d)             That the Council, through the Corporate Plan, prioritises supporting young people who are experiencing poor mental health, especially during times of crisis;

 

2.               Deferred making a decision in respect of the Partnerships Review Committee’s fifth recommendation, set out in paragraph 23 of the report; and

 

3.               Agreed to review progress in 12 months’ time.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report outlining the findings of the Partnerships Review Committee about children and adolescent mental health services.

 

At the Leader’s invitation, Councillor Ben Shelton, Chairman of the Partnerships Review Committee, addressed the meeting. He thanked the Director of Health and Environmental Servives, the Head of Sustainable Communities and Wellbeing, and the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder for contributing to the Committee’s investigation of this topic.

 

Those present discussed the report, but agreed for the time being not to explore the possibility of rolling out, in all South Cambridgeshire schools, a scheme based on the Allyance model, currently operation in the south west of the District.

 

Cabinet

 

1.               received and endorsed the following recommendations from the Partnerships Review Committee, namely

 

(a)             for South Cambridgeshire District Council to use proactively its networks and facilitation skills to enable appropriately timed meetings between key partners to:

·        help develop relationships and trust between professionals working to support children and young people who are experiencing poor mental health, and

·        enable strong partnerships resulting in a better support offer for children and young people within a school setting.

 

(b)             that the Council:

·        writes to NHS England expressing concern in relation to the targets they set for mental health crisis care, which results in local budgets being spent once a crisis has occurred rather than preventing the crisis in the first place, and

·        instructs officers to actively pursue, through the Combined Authority discussions, a freedom and flexibility to agree locally the split between spend on preventative care and crisis care in relation to mental health;

 

(c)             that the Council uses its position with the Combined Authority, local Members of Parliament and on key local partnerships to influence decisions that affect local and national spend on mental health services so that more is done to support children and young people, who are experiencing poor mental health so that they hopefully do not reach crisis;

 

(d)             That the Council, through the Corporate Plan, prioritises supporting young people who are experiencing poor mental health, especially during times of crisis;

 

2.               Deferredmaking a decision in respect of the Partnerships Review Committee’s fifth recommendation, set out in paragraph 23 of the report; and

 

3.               Agreed to review progress in 12 months’ time.

12.

Reducing Social Isolation in South Cambridgeshire pdf icon PDF 279 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet considered the recommendations from the elected member Tackling Social Isolation Task and Finish Group and agreed to adopt the final recommendations, without amendments, namely

 

(a)             to adopt the group’s Vision for a Social Network Village of the Future

 

(b)             That the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder allocates staff time from within the Portfolio to develop a Parish Toolkit on Reducing Social Isolation

 

(c)             To consider further supporting timebanking in the district, following future evaluation of the work the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder is currently progressing with staff

 

(d)             that South Cambridgeshire District Council continues to support parishes to work in clusters where it makes sense to do so

 

(e)             that South Cambridgeshire District Council continues to promote community car schemes and works with partners to ensure greater community transport coverage for the north villages

 

(f)               that the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder uses existing budget to carry out a Faith Audit, in partnership with the Diocese of Ely, into Social Isolation Initiatives

 

(g)             that South Cambridgeshire District Council funds a two-year pilot of the Through the Door (social prescribing) Project with Granta Medical Practice

 

(h)             that South Cambridgeshire District Councilworks with local hospitals and village groups to ensure that patients leaving hospital are supported locally when they get home

 

(i)               that South Cambridgeshire District CouncilCouncil promotes opportunities for volunteering

 

(j)               that South Cambridgeshire District Council encourages the use of the communal rooms in sheltered housing complexes

 

(k)             that South Cambridgeshire District Council encourages retirement villages with appropriate housing design and activities

 

(l)               that South Cambridgeshire District Council commits to working with partners to evaluate any of the initiatives that are implemented, along with the programme as a whole.

 

 

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report outling the findings of the elected member Tackling Social Isolation Task and Finish Group.

 

Those present welcomed the initiative.

 

Cabinet agreed to adopt, without amendment, the final recommendations from the elected Member Tackling Social Isolation Task and Finish Group, namely

 

(a)             the group’s Vision for a Social Network Village of the Future

 

(b)             That the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder allocates staff time from within the Portfolio to develop a Parish Toolkit on Reducing Social Isolation

 

(c)             To consider further supporting timebanking in the district, following future evaluation of the work the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder is currently progressing with staff

 

(d)             that South Cambridgeshire District Council continues to support parishes to work in clusters where it makes sense to do so

 

(e)             that South Cambridgeshire District Council continues to promote community car schemes and works with partners to ensure greater community transport coverage for the north villages

 

(f)               that the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder uses existing budget to carry out a Faith Audit, in partnership with the Diocese of Ely, into Social Isolation Initiatives

 

(g)             that South Cambridgeshire District Council funds a two-year pilot of the Through the Door (social prescribing) Project with Granta Medical Practice

 

(h)             that South Cambridgeshire District Councilworks with local hospitals and village groups to ensure that patients leaving hospital are supported locally when they get home

 

(i)               that South Cambridgeshire District CouncilCouncil promotes opportunities for volunteering

 

(j)               that South Cambridgeshire District Council encourages the use of the communal rooms in sheltered housing complexes

 

(k)             that South Cambridgeshire District Council encourages retirement villages with appropriate housing design and activities

 

(l)               that South Cambridgeshire District Council commits to working with partners to evaluate any of the initiatives that are implemented, along with the programme as a whole.

13.

Date of next meeting

8 February 2018 at 2.00pm

Minutes:

The next scheduled meeting of the Cabinet would be on Wednesday 7 February 2017 at 2.00pm (rearranged from Thursday 8 February).

14.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The press and public are likely to be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items 15 and 16 in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(a)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act). Paragraph 3 refers to Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

Minutes:

The Leader proposed that the Press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items 15 and 16 in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(a)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act). He reminded Members that Paragraph 3 referred to Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

 

Cabinet agreed unanimously that the Press and public (including those officers not directly involved with the subject matter of Items 15 and 16) be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items 15 and 16 in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(a)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act)

15.

Cambourne High Street

Decision:

Cabinet agreed the recommendation contained in the report from the Executive Director.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report seeking its approval to undertake feasibility work to make a business case for the potential acquisition and development of a mixed use Commercial and residential scheme on the northern and southern side of the High Street in Cambourne.

 

Councillor Simon Edwards commended what he described as a good scheme that would be an asset to the village. He highlighted the plans for residential development.

 

Councillor Ruth Betson (a local Member for Bourn in which ward Cambourne was located) addressed the meeting. She welcomed this initiative, adding that Cambourne needed to be completed to give it a heart and vibrancy.

 

Councillors engaged in discussion.

 

The Housing Development Officer (Growth) said that the development was being investigated with both Cambourne West and a possible new village at Bourn Airfield in mind. Also of note was the bus route being developed through the Greater Cambridge Partnership.

 

 Cabinet

 

1.     approved costs to undertake feasibility work (as outlined in paragraph (3) (a) – (d) of the submitted report) to explore the business case for the Council to acquire and develop the scheme on the High Street, Cambourne; and

 

2.     noted that a detailed report and business case would be presented to a future meeting of Cabinet once feasibility work had been completed so that the next steps could be agreed.   

16.

Minute 12(b) of meeting held on 14 September 2017: Orchard Park - Confidential

Minutes:

Cabinet authorised the Leader to sign, as a correct record, the restricted Minute of the meeting held on 14 September 2017, relating to an Orchard Park Feasibility Study.