To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Harvey.

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 30 April 2020.

Resolved:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 April 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 approve the council’s new Carbon Management Plan which sets out the council’s approach to deliver carbon neutrality by 2030/31 and sets an interim target of a 75% reduction of the council’s own carbon emissions by 2025/26.

The head of environment climate emergency and waste services attended for this item.

The cabinet member environment, economy and skills introduced the report. She thanked colleagues for their work on the new plan and paid tribute to prevision administrations for delivery of progress to date on reducing carbon emissions. An action plan would be produced showing the detail of the next phase of reductions. It was hoped that other organisations would work with the council to meet the objective of a carbon neutral county.

Points noted in discussion of the report included:

·        The impact of the coronavirus on the way the council worked, for example reduced travelling and increased working from home, with some changes likely to become embedded over the long term;

·        Schools represented 40% of the current emissions and would be a substantial part of the challenge to deliver reductions, it was recognised that children were supportive and interested in climate change and related projects;

·        The use of LED street lighting had delivered important reductions but lighting would be maintained in key areas to maintain safety.

In considering comments and questions from group leaders the members of the cabinet noted that:

·        Measures to reduce emissions would not necessarily cost money as they could include spend to save options, however where there were costs these would need to be budgeted for and the action plan would set out more details;

·        Extreme weather events such as flooding were now likely to be more than just potential risks and the county would need to adapt;

·        The inclusion of staff travel in measurements was welcomed;

·        There was a limit to what the council could achieve on its own, businesses and the public would need to be engaged;

·        The impact of the coronavirus on the economy and levels of unemployment might make it more difficult to deliver the changes proposed;

·        There was a need to increase the number of charge points for electric vehicles, three new rapid charge points were being installed at points along the A49 as a strategic corridor and a report was expected later in the year on how the market for electric vehicles could be facilitated;

·        Some changes that would deliver reductions involved areas that the council did not have direct control over for example building regulations and subsidies for domestic charging points and solar PV installations.

It was resolved that:

(a)   the Carbon Management Plan (2020/21 – 2025/26) which sets out an interim target for the council to reduce its organisational carbon emissions by 75%, based on 2008/09 levels by 2025/26 is approved.

To seek approval to commission, by means of a competitive tender process, a housing-related support service for vulnerable young people, complimented by an offer of targeted and universal prevention services specifically developed for vulnerable young people aged 16 to 25.

The head of community commissioning and resources and the senior commissioning officer for the project attended for this item.

The cabinet member health and adult wellbeing introduced the item. The proposed initiative was part of wider work to reshape the market for vulnerable young people. A complimentary new provision to accommodate care leavers with complex needs was due to commence shortly. The proposed service had been designed in consultation with young people to make sure that the service reflected their needs. Those using the accommodation would have their own front door with support on hand, tailored to different levels of need. It was hoped that the floating support / outreach offer would give landlords of private and social rented accommodation the confidence to accept young people as tenants.

Points noted from discussion of the report included:

·        It was anticipated that these young people would welcome the chance to learn the skills to transition to adulthood successfully and it was important to have buy in from the young people themselves;

·        Support workers would recognise trigger points and adjust the level of support provided in order to mitigate risks as much as possible;

·        A sinking fund could be set up to meet occasional costs of repair if properties were damaged but there was not expected to be much need for this;

·        There were many benefits to having these young people living closer to home and it also contributed to a reduction in costs to the council by reducing the need for provision outside the county;

·        The accommodation was being delivered with no capital outlay by the council;

·        Support provided would include looking at how to be financially independent and access employment and training;

·        The accommodation to be provided would not be suitable for wheelchair users but the floating support package could help provide support using other accommodation adapted for their needs;

·        It was requested that the equality impact assessment be updated to reference support for young people with physical disabilities.

Cabinet members noted the following points in considering comments and questions from group leaders:

·        There was widespread support for the proposed service;

·        The focus was on provision in Hereford as consultation with young people showed this was where they wanted to reside as it had better access to education and training opportunities, the floating support offer would allow young people to move back to the market towns once they had transitioned.

The chairperson of the children and young people scrutiny committee welcomed the proposal. The scrutiny committee had not considered this service but had reviewed the parallel service for young people with more complex needs. The head of community commissioning and resources agreed to investigate if it were possible to arrange for scrutiny committee members to visit the accommodation. It was noted that the scrutiny committee would want to review the impact of the new service after 18 months or so.

The chairperson of the adults and wellbeing scrutiny committee supported the wider approach and recognised the role of councillors as corporate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 150.

To endorse the approach to a long term flexible commitment to the ambition of resettling at least 125 refugees in Herefordshire over a period of five years.

The head of community commissioning and resources and the senior commissioning officer for the project attended for this item.

The cabinet member health and adult wellbeing introduced the report. It was explained that the UNHCR allocated refugee cases to the UK which were then allocated to each region. The approach taken by the council would be the same as in previous years, in that the council would identify suitable housing and put that forward to the local migration partnership with information about the needs that could be supported for example availability of school places. The partnership would then send through profiles of refugees and the council would have the option to decline where it did not believe it could meet the specific needs of an individual.

Councillor Davies left the meeting at 15:59 during consideration of this item.

Cabinet members noted that:

·        Refugees brought richness and diversity to the county and there was a desire to support as many refugees as possible, taking account of the councils capacity;

·        Refugees were generally settled in Hereford as there was a better supply of suitable accommodation and access to services, other locations such as Leominster had been considered and could be used if sufficient accommodation became available;

·        Feedback from some previous refugee families had been received and taken into account in forming the future approach;

·        Refugees could move to another area if they wished, however if they wanted to continue to receive support Herefordshire council would need to discuss this with the receiving council;

·        Recent experience was that refugees settled well and no substantial issues had been experienced.

Group leaders were supportive of the proposal and noted the contribution of refugees to the county. They commended staff for how well refugees had settled previously and the people of Herefordshire for being welcoming to these individuals. It was suggested that the equalities impact assessment should include reference to schools, education providers and language support providers as key stakeholders.

It was resolved that:

(a)   a long term flexible commitment to the ambition of resettling at least 125 refugees over five years is approved; and

(b)   authority to determine numbers of refugees resettled in any one year and any associated logistics is delegated to the director for adults and communities, in consultation with the cabinet member for health and wellbeing.