The leader of the council made opening remarks on the latest situation in the coronavirus crisis. He urged communities to work together to tackle the virus and thanked those working to support the council’s efforts.

The announcements on the spending review would inform the forthcoming consultation on the council’s budget for 2021, where some difficult choices would have to be made.  

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies from members of the cabinet.

To receive declarations of interests in respect of Schedule 1, Schedule 2 or Other Interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2020.

Resolved:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2020 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairperson.

To receive questions from members of the public.

Questions received and responses given are attached as appendix 1 to the minutes.

To receive questions from councillors.

Questions received and responses given are attached as appendix 2 to the minutes.

To receive the outcomes of the review; to agree the recommendations arising from the review; to approve the executive response to the scrutiny committees recommendations on the report of the review and to approve the peer on peer model guidance for use in all Herefordshire schools.

The cabinet member children and families introduced the report and repeated the apology previously made on behalf of the council for the mistakes that that been made in the past. She stressed that the council was committed to strengthening its support, guidance and engagement with families, schools and other partners to do all it could to protect children from further harm. The report presented was a genuine and detailed attempt to address the concerns. The cabinet member thanked the assistant director education development and skills for his work and asked him to present the report.

The assistant director explained the background to the report and that work continued on the points raised, including ongoing discussion with national experts. The assistant director had spoken with victims and their families from both within the county and outside and tried to accommodate their views in finalising the report.

In discussing the report cabinet members noted that:

·         there was a disproportionate impact on young females and the model guidance would need to ensure that this group was reached, an equality impact assessment would be needed once the final version of the guidance was ready;

·         the council had organised a number of conferences for schools on the topic and was doing more than many other councils in this regard;

·         officers were confident that schools knew what was expected of them and that they would revise their policies once the new guidance was finalised and distributed, it was recognised that this needed to be done as soon as possible;

·         the council had good relationships with both local authority schools and academies and did not anticipate any difficulty in getting them to accept the model guidance;

·         the flowchart in the model guidance was taken from national guidance and would be customised to create a local version;

·         regular audits of case records had begun and no concerns had been reported;

·         the council was also looking to influence national policy and guidance to improve how this issue was addressed across the country;

·         a new curriculum for relationships and sex education had been introduced for September 2020 but the implementation had been delayed by covid-19;

·         the number of cases reported were likely to be a small proportion of the total incidents that took place.

Cabinet members expressed concern that the additional advice and guidance available in 2017 had not been shared at that time and welcomed the forthcoming independent investigation. Cabinet members also expressed concern that it was not appropriate to say that no children were left at risk particularly as many of the records examined in this review were incomplete. It was suggested that the children and young people scrutiny committee be asked to review what the barriers were to accurate and contemporaneous record keeping.

Group leaders were invited to present the comments and queries of their group. The seriousness of the issues involved and efforts of families of victims were recognised. It was also noted that:

·         The appointment of the education safeguarding officer was welcomed;

·         Relationships with partners  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To agree proposals for the council’s Delivery Plan 2020-22.

The leader of the council introduced the new delivery plan and thanked officers for their work in producing it. He noted the impact of covid on the production of the plan and the period it now covered. The leader highlighted the priorities in the plan and how they fitted with stated expectations from central government.

The assistant director strategy explained how the plan had been brought together. Progress would be reported on through quarterly reports to cabinet and it was expected that covid would continue to impact on the work of the council for some time.

The cabinet member commissioning, procurement and assets flagged that equality impact assessments should be carried out prior to projects starting.

The cabinet member environment, economy and skills highlighted two amendments that had been suggested by Councillor Milln in response to the second round of consultation with councillors. These were set out in a supplement to the report. The cabinet member infrastructure and transport confirmed he had discussed these with Councillor Milln and proposed an amendment to the plan to partially take on board the first of these points. The second point would not be progressed at this time.

Group leaders were invited to raise comments and queries on behalf of their groups. There was support for many of the projects set out in the plan and it was noted that:

·        It was important to support the local economy and the plan set out measures to support the market towns as well as the city and to help businesses recover from the impacts of covid;

·        The plan set out an explicit focus on reaching those who did not yet have access to fast broadband and other barriers to connectivity;

·        The plan included a priority to deliver affordable homes but it would also be encouraging private enterprise to deliver other housing, for example by tackling the phosphate issue that was restricting building in the north of the county;

·        The council would have to be able to afford any projects and care should be taken particularly in the impact on the revenue budget.

Cabinet members proposed amendments to the draft plan as follows:

·        That a new item EC5.3 be added – “Take appropriate action to ensure our historic environment data is up-to-date.” (Proposed cabinet member infrastructure and transport, seconded cabinet member housing, regulatory services and community safety)

·        That the penultimate bullet point on page 5 of the delivery plan regarding reduced carbon consumption be removed and correction made to the sustainability heading in the table on page 4 of the plan to reference Herefordshire rather than Hereford. (Proposed cabinet member environment, economy and skills, seconded cabinet member health and adult wellbeing.)

On being put to the vote it was agreed that:

(a) Cabinet approves the Delivery Plan, as set out in appendix A, as amended.

The meeting adjourned at 4:33pm and resumed at 4:38pm

To review performance for Quarter 2 2020/21 and the budget forecast; and

To provide assurance that progress has being made towards achievement of the agreed revenue budget and service delivery targets, and that the reasons for major variances or potential under-performance are understood and are being addressed to the cabinet’s satisfaction. 

The chief financial officer introduced the report. He explained that the council was in a very unusual situation of reporting a very large overspend due to the impact of the coronavirus. Additional funds were being received from the government so the report represented the current best estimate of the year end position.

Cabinet members noted that every effort was being made to control spending and that the council had entered this crisis with its finances in a good position. The announcements in the government’s spending review provided helpful clarity for the year ahead but it was difficult to make long term spending plans without details of future funding. The efforts of staff during this difficult time were noted.

Group leaders were invited to raise the comments and queries of their groups. It was noted that:

•                  The council faced extraordinary difficulties and the efforts of officers to manage the situation were recognised;

•                  The council was seeing an increase in the number of people requesting support and this was likely to continue well into the next year, where individuals fell into arrears with council tax the usual processes would be followed;

•                  The chief financial officer would provide group leaders with a summary of general and earmarked reserves currently held by the council, he was comfortable that any shortfall this financial year could be comfortably accommodated;

•                  The government had revisited the public works board lending rate but the consequent reduction in the cost of borrowing would only impact on new loans as existing loans could not be renegotiated.

It was resolved that:

(a) Cabinet reviewed performance and financial outturn for quarter 2 2020/21, as set out in appendices 1 - 8, and did not identify any additional actions to be considered to achieve future improvement.

This report seeks approval to accept this grant funding from government and approval for the funds to be spent on delivering the projects submitted to government. The council has been successful in securing £750,000 Towns Fund accelerated finance from government to deliver a programme of projects across Hereford City that will provide economic and environmental benefit. 

The cabinet member environment, economy and skills introduced the report. She noted that this grant funding needed to be spend by the end of March 2021 and that this would be progressed within the framework of the towns fund.

Cabinet members noted that:

•                  The funding for the Maylords centre was mostly to cover the refurbishment of the toilets which was welcomed as it would increase footfall in the centre;

•                  The inclusion of the cycle lane in St Owen’s Street was welcomed.

Group leaders welcomed the government funding and highlighted that:

•                  Investment in the Maylords centre should be used to maximise the return on the council’s investment;

•                  The inclusion of arts, culture and heritage as a theme was welcomed.

It was resolved that:

(a)                The £750,000 funding from government for the Towns Fund accelerated projects be accepted by the council;

(b)                The spending of the £750,000 funding from government on the Towns Fund accelerated projects as detailed within this report is approved; and

(c)                The Director of Economy and Place be authorised to take all operational decisions to implement recommendation (b) including, but not limited to, the procurement and commissioning of new projects, and, following consultation with the S151 officer, the movement of budgets between projects to ensure the full expenditure of funding.

To approve the approach to the delivery housing model options available to the council to increase the supply of affordable housing in the County. Cabinet is also requested to approve Phase 2 of this strategic work to develop a pipeline of sites suitable for development as affordable housing to support discussions with key partners including Homes England.

The cabinet member housing, regulatory services and community safety introduced the report. She highlighted a typographical error in page 36 of the report where the funding from the DRP capital budget should have read £91k. The cabinet member noted the impact of a lack of housing availability and choice on the quality of life of residents and that it pushed up housing prices in the county. The report set out a number of options for the council to deliver affordable housing.

In discussion of the report cabinet members noted that:

•                  Option 1 was felt to be the most efficient and met the stated aspiration to retain ownership of the properties delivered, it would also give maximum flexibility going forward;

•                  There was no general housing support to provide specific accommodation types and development of affordable housing through Section 106 agreements was not necessarily meeting need;

•                  The appointment of an independent expert to advise on compatibility with the council’s net zero carbon goals was welcomed;

•                  By developing housing itself the council would have control over the types and standards of housing produced;

•                  It was hoped that communities would get behind this project and welcome development of these types of homes in their areas;

•                  The purchasing of second homes in the county could also be a problem in making it harder for local people to buy houses.

It was agreed at this point that the meeting should continue beyond 3 hours in length in order to properly conclude this item.

Group leaders were invited to present the comments and queries of their group. The need for more affordable homes was acknowledged and it was noted that:

•                  If the government white paper on planning came to fruition it could make the situation worse by reducing provision of affordable housing on smaller sites;

•                  Housing associations were not meeting all the local needs and it was important that the council retain control of the properties it developed;

•                  The council should look to use local firms to work on the developments;

•                  There was concern from one group leader that this proposal would create a debt burden for the council for the long term future and it was suggested that there were other ways to ensure that more affordable homes were provided, including working with other providers;

•                  Cabinet members highlighted the extraordinarily low borrowing rates and felt that it was the ideal time to borrow to invest in the local economy and produce an asset for the council.

The cabinet member housing, regulatory services and community safety noted the points raised and explained that the next report would bring forward details of the first sites. The decision now would agree the principle of development of council owned affordable housing.

It was resolved that:

a)               Having considered the options set out in the paper to deliver up to 2,500 homes in the County over the next 10 years Cabinet agree that:

i.                 the council own the affordable units  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

The leader of the council thanked officers for their work and cabinet members for their support. He noted that covid remained an issue for the county but that the council continued to try and move forward.