To approve the Herefordshire Council’s Adult and Community Learning Plan, Sub-contracting policy and Learner Fees policy for the period August 2019 – July 2022.

The plan identifies the key priorities for Herefordshire Council’s Adult and Community Learning Service (ACLS) to achieve its strategic and operational aims for the academic years 2019 – 2022.  The plan covers the use of the funding received annually from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to deliver adult skills and community learning opportunities for Herefordshire residents aged 19 and over.

That:

(a)        the Adult and Community Learning Plan for 2019 – 2022 at appendix a be approved;

(b)        the sub-contracting policy 2019 – 2022 at appendix b be approved; and

(c)        the local learner fee remission policy for 2019 – 2022 at appendix c be approved.

This report seeks approval to accept a successful funding application made to the Department of Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and to commission a detailed project development (DPD) study for a heat network in Hereford City.

The funding offer from BEIS is for £151,500 which will be matched with £49,500 from existing budgets.

An additional funding bid has been submitted to the Marches LEP’s project development fund for match funding of £20,000. If successful, this report also seeks approval to accept this funding to reduce the required match from the council.

That:

(a)  Herefordshire council accept the grant funding from BEIS;

(b)  The study be commissioned as per the application form at appendix 1;

(c)  Existing budgets be used as match funding at a cost of no more than £49,500, and

(d)  That if successful, Herefordshire Council accept the grant funding from the Marches LEP’s development fund;

(e)  The Energy & Active Travel Manager be authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to implement the scheme including determination of grant applications in accordance with scheme criteria

The purpose of this report is to agree the Information Communication Technology (ICT) requirements of new and returning ward members following the local election on 2 May, 2019.   This is in line with the council’s Digital Strategy to utilise digital technology for staff and councillors to work flexibly, responsively and making the most of technology to deliver services. 

Existing members have been consulted on their current requirements and options for the future; in addition some existing members have participated in a trial of smartphone technology and the outcome of these has informed the recommendation to provide all members with a laptop and to provide all members with the option to also use a smartphone.

The 2018/19 spend from reserves will enable a new ICT package to be procured with delegated authority to the assistant director corporate services to award contract.

That:

(a)  the following IT equipment for all  members elected in May 2019 be purchased at a cost of not more than £100k:

·         53 laptops -

·         53 smart phones be purchased on rolling two year contracts (up to a total of 4 years)

(b)  The assistant Director Corporate Support be authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to implement the above recommendation.

To approve the purchase of a residential property in Hereford in order to provide supported accommodation for vulnerable people with complex needs.

The council faces challenges in finding accommodation for vulnerable people with complex needs. Social housing providers have to prioritise commercial considerations and are often unwilling to take the risk of letting homes to this user group. The council therefore needs to find alternative accommodation solutions which are economic and sustainable. The property proposed for purchase will be used to accommodate five very vulnerable care leavers to improve outcomes and help prevent specialist high cost placements.

It is proposed to purchase a residential property in Hereford City Centre from the open market and make appropriate arrangements for housing management and the usage of rental income. It is ideally located and there is a time limited opportunity in which to acquire it.

That:

(a)   The acquisition, improvement and refurbishment of a property to provide accommodation for vulnerable care leavers be approved within a budget of not more than £740k; and

(b)   the acting assistant director for technical services be authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to complete the purchase and commissioning of improvement and refurbishment works.

The DCF introduced the report of the scrutiny working group (as appended to the agenda) which consisted of two members of the committee and received bi-monthly reports of work that was ongoing to reduce the costs associated with looked after children. During the period that the group was in operation up to 80 children and young people had been identified who could be supported in different arrangements  from care including by special guardianship order and return to parents. The number pf looked after children (LAC) in Herefordshire was comparatively high in relation to other Local Authorities. Assessments were being  made as to what was best in respect of each child and young person. The savings proposal for 2018/19 had been considered by the group and it was understood that the savings did not relate totally to the reduction in numbers of looked after children through this work alone but concerned broader aspects of service. The savings proposals would continue into 2019/20 and would focus on revising the financial approach to special guardianship.

Councillor Seldon spoke on the report as a member of the working group and thanked the DCF and the head of the service for Looked After Children for the work they had undertaken. The Group had challenged the savings outlined in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) during meetings with the DCF and the report was commended to the Executive.

The committee discussed the points below in the debate that followed:

·         The committee acknowledged the challenges in recruitment of social workers to local authorities across the West Midland. The continuing vacancies for social workers in Herefordshire were raised.  The DCF confirmed that recruitment had occurred over the year and that vacancies were now almost full, a number had been recruited through the West Midlands regional approach which was really welcome, but Herefordshire wanted to permanently recruit staff as well as retain the good staff that it has.

·         The committee welcomes those positive elements of the report including the care orders that had been revoked.

·         The shortage of places locally for children requiring intensive support was raised which was consistent with a national shortage. The DCF explained that there was a current initiative in the West Midlands which had seen local authorities join together, under a scheme originating from the Department of Education, to look at increasing local provision for intensive support.

·         The committee requested that future updates concerning performance against the savings proposal should be reported to the committee.

RESOLVED: that future updates concerning performance against the LAC reduction savings proposal added to the committee’s work programme.

To approve the annual  childcare sufficiency report for 2019-2020.  This report sets out key data about childcare provision in Herefordshire and areas for future development in the context of changing national policy and requirements, and local demography.  It provides a strategic overview within which the council, schools, and private and voluntary providers can develop services for the benefit of children and their parents.

That

the childcare sufficiency report and actions for 2019-2020 be approved.

This report seeks approval for Herefordshire Council to accept the Warm Homes Fund grant offer of £1.069m, to act as the accountable body for the project and to implement the project in accordance with the attached project applications.

Warm Homes funding will enable Herefordshire to support approximately 150 fuel poor households in the county, with the same number potentially supported in Shropshire.

That:

(a)   Herefordshire Council act as accountable body for the £1,068,900 grant funding and delivery of the Warm Homes Fund Project across Herefordshire and Shropshire;

(b)   the scheme criteria set out at paragraphs 11a and bbe approved;

(c)   the chief finance officer be requested to add the £959,830 capital grant funding to the capital programme; and

(d) the Acting Assistant Director for Regulatory, Environment and Waste Services  be authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to implement the scheme including determination of grant applications in accordance with scheme criteria.

To approve the joint Health, Safety, Wellbeing and Equality Policy statement

There is a legal requirement to have a health and safety statement which is included in the combined health, safety wellbeing and equality policy statement as well as an equality policy statement and these have been combined into one policy statement 

That:

a)     the combined health, safety, wellbeing and equality policy statement at appendix 1 be approved

To seek approval for the arrangements being made for the provision of winter service during the period of 2018 through to 2023 season, as set out in the Winter Service Plan in appendix 1, the plan will be updated annually to ensure the plan is accurate and relevant to the service required by Herefordshire.

The Winter Service Plan continues to build on existing best practice and the findings of reviews that have taken place both locally and nationally. Herefordshire Council will continue to meet its duties towards the maintenance of the highway network in full and by working in partnership with Herefordshire’s communities, wherever practicable, enhance the county’s resilience to the impact of prolonged or severe winter weather. To ensure the plan remains accurate authority is sought for officers to annually update the plan; any changes proposed which significantly alter the plan priorities would be subject to further governance.

That:

(a)        The Winter Service Plan 2018/23 be approved; and

(b)        the Acting Assistant Director  (Highways and Transport) be authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to ensure the plan is refreshed on an annual basis and remains deliverable within approved budgets.

To seek approval for the launch of the Natural Flood Management Construction Grants Scheme.

The grant scheme will help Herefordshire Council deliver the Defra funded River Wye and Lugg Natural Flood Management Project, which aims to reduce flood risk to downstream communities by working with natural process to slow the flow of water. The grant scheme will provide the necessary funding to implement Natural Flood Management (NFM) measures within the project’s priority sub-catchments. Funding will be available to anyone within the sub-catchments to undertake agreed land and water management techniques which help reduce flood risk by using natural processes.

(a)        The Natural Flood Management (NFM) Construction Grant Scheme as detailed in Appendix A be approved with a budget up to £100,000; and

(b)        The Directorate Services Team Leader be authorised to determine grants in accordance with the scheme criteria

Subject to approval of a funding application that has been made to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), to approve the establishment of a Marches Renewable Energy Grant Scheme, and seek agreement to Herefordshire Council acting as accountable body for the scheme.

The proposed capital grant scheme to support the deployment of renewable energy technologies across the Marches is a joint application with Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Councils. The project duration will be 2.5 years and if the funding application is successful is expected to start in January 2019.

The application has been submitted to MHCLG for £1.197m of European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) money which would be used to establish a grant scheme designed to support the deployment of 2.12 MW of renewable energy across the Marches.

Successful grant scheme applicants would receive a grant of 50% of the total installation cost of the renewable energy technology from the European Regional Development fund, defrayed through ourselves and MHCLG.

That subject to MHCLG approval of the funding:

(a)   Herefordshire Council act as accountable body for the Marches Renewable Energy Grant Scheme;

(b)   The scheme be approved as per the application form at appendix 1;

(c)   The Director for Economy and Place be authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to implement the scheme including determination of grant applications in accordance with scheme criteria

(d)   The Chief Finance Officer be requested to add the approved funding into the council’s capital programme.

That:

a) ActiveHERE be commissioned for the period 1st April 2019 to March 2021 (1 +

1 year contract) focused on supporting inactive adults into physical activity

through the ActivePlus pathway and development of activities on offer in four

key communities;

b) The four communities in which the activity development will be focussed will

be determined based on demographics, community assets and population

characteristics;

c) The maximum budget allocated to this programme will be £78,238 plus £6,000

internal costs (£39,119 plus £3,000 per annum);

d) The contract is allocated to the project as a 1 + 1 year contract;

e) The Director for Public Health be authorised to finalise the service

specification and award contracts for ActiveHERE within the agreed budget.

To approve a small number of incentives as part of the council’s drive to recruit and retain people to ‘hard to fill’ roles; for example, but not exclusively, qualified social workers, solicitors, trading standards officers and planners.

There are a number of roles within the council that are difficult for us to recruit to. The reasons vary from role to role and over time. The recruitment difficulties create problems in ensuring we deliver the best outcomes we can for residents and present challenges in the provision of some statutory services

The report outlines the measures proposed to address the issues related to recruitment and retention to hard to fill roles, the proposal for determining which roles qualify and the reporting mechanism to employment panel.

That:

(a)        The incentives to support recruitment and retention to hard to fill roles are approved.

The purpose of this report is to outline activity within the Digital Strategy for the year that requires funds outside of the revenue budget, specifically from the ring-fenced reserve for IT.

The IT reserve was established to address future requirement and pressures within IT, knowing there would be demand going forward to keep pace with the opportunities and changing nature of digital services.

The 2018/9 reserves expenditure will enable progress to be made in a range of areas including upgrades and new systems to support the activity and programmes of the council.  To do this funds are not contained within the revenue budget.

That:

(a)  Up to £250k is used from the ring-fenced IT reserve for:

·         20 Laptops for new starters and 10 to replace damaged laptops

·         MS Exchange (eMail engine) and Websense (Website filtering) upgrades

·         MS Systems Centre Configuration Manager

·         Education Tracking 16-19 Year Old System

·         MS SQL Server (Databases) Upgrade

·         MS Sharepoint Upgrade

·         Implementation Costs; and

(b)  The assistant director corporate support be authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to allocate the funds and implement the recommendation above.