To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Price.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meetings held on 12 January 2018 and 18 January 2018.

It was agreed that the words ‘active travel measures’ be removed from minute 75 of the minutes of 12 January 2018.

Resolved:       That with the above amendment, the minutes of the meetings held on 12 January 2018 and 18 January 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive questions from members of the public.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Monday 12 February 2018.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

Please see https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/getinvolved for information on how to submit a question.

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

To receive questions from councillors.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Monday 12 February 2018.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

No questions were received from councillors.

To consider the recommendations of the General Scrutiny Committee on engagement with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and other partnership options to deliver growth and jobs in Herefordshire.

The chairman of the general scrutiny committee introduced the report. He thanked members of the task and finish group, and officers who had provided support. He noted that it had been a thorough investigation but that much had changed since it had been completed including a general election and election of the West Midlands mayor.

The programme director housing and growth summarised the key points of the report. He reminded members that the devolution agenda was continuing to develop nationally. The task and finish group had focused on the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) but had also considered evidence from other areas of the country.

It was reported that the council was in discussion with other members and non-constituent members of the WMCA about the benefits of working towards non-constituent membership for Herefordshire as opposed to the current observer status. The council would not be able to apply for a change in membership until 2021, 4 years after the 2017 Order. Observer status came at a cost of £25k per year. The council was in discussion to establish if that cost could be reduced before making a decision on whether to continue as an observer.

The importance of being able to influence regional policy was noted. Other arrangements for doing this included working through the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and through less formal partnerships with other councils.

It was noted although there was an aim for Herefordshire Council to be self-sustainable, the combined authority would be the conduit for significant future investment in the west midlands and that in order to influence the direction of this investment for the benefit of its residents Herefordshire Council would need to engage with the WMCA.

Group leaders were invited to give the views of their group.

The leader of the green group stated that she agreed with a lot of the comments made but queried whether £100k to be an observer at the WMCA for four years represented value for money. She also highlighted the opportunities for working with welsh authorities.

The leader of the independent group commented that the report was very comprehensive and that his group supported the recommendations. He noted previous benefits of working with Hay-on-Wye in terms of tourism. He expressed concern that much of the investment through the WMCA was focussed on Birmingham and queried how much control the regional authority would have over the council if it joined the combined authority. The group leader also asked if it was possible the council would be pressed to join a combined authority in the future and if it was known how Worcestershire intended to proceed.

The programme director housing and growth explained that the council was exploring whether arrangements with the LEP were adequate to keep Herefordshire at the combined authority table rather than pay for observer status. While there was a political push towards combined authorities, it was proving difficult for the government to get the economies of scale it was looking for and other matters were higher  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

This report proposes to vary the Joint Agreement for West Mercia Energy (WME) held by the constituent authorities to enable WME to supply utilities, alongside the supply of energy.

The cabinet member for finance, housing and corporate services introduced the report. The government opened up the non-domestic water supply market in England in April 2017. The market in Scotland had been deregulated since 2008 and this was felt to have been successful in improving customer satisfaction while delivering savings. The report proposed changes to the joint agreement for West Mercia Energy (WME) to allow it to supply utilities alongside energy.

It was noted that the market was currently quite small and WME had closely considered whether to enter the market. Not providing an offer for water was considered a risk as competitors might offer a whole package, leading existing WME customers to change providers.

It was anticipated that the market would grow as potential suppliers developed their offers and more customers became aware of the deregulation.

The leader of the it’s our county group stated that WME should be looking to increase value in its core business rather than moving into the supply of water. He suggested that WME should explore options such as the supply of wood pellets which could be locally sourced and therefore support local businesses.

The cabinet member finance, housing and corporate services responded that expansion into the supply of water did not preclude exploring the options suggested but that WME had recommended expansion into water supply on the basis of approaches from current customers. WME could only supply to public sector bodies but was always looking at business possibilities. Installation of PV arrays on roof spaces was used to a small extent with industrial units. Changes in tariffs meant that this was only viable where the energy could be used close to the location it was generated. No customer demand for wood pellet supply had been registered but this could be explored.

The business risks of the new service were queried and it was explained that the risks referred to in the report related to the supply of water and related specifically to the decision at hand rather than a wider coverage for risk.

Resolved that:

(a)  the West Mercia Energy Joint Agreement be varied to include the provision to be able to broker and supply utilities; and

(b)  the Director for Economy, Communities and Corporate be authorised, following consultation with the Solicitor to the Council, to finalise and execute the variation.

To provide assurance that progress is being made towards achievement of the agreed revenue 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 cabinet member finance, housing and corporate services introduced the report. The following key points were highlighted:

·         the majority of projects were delivered to budget and schedule;

·         the projected revenue outturn for 2017/18 was a £2m overspend, reduced from the previous quarterly report;

·         timeliness of transfers of care from hospital had improved;

·         pathway redesign had been successful in helping to clear the backlog of client assessments for care packages;

·         reviews of long term care packages were progressing but there were challenges, particularly in relation to packages for learning difficulties;

·         additional winter pressures had been experienced;

·         there was concern regarding the low numbers of patients receiving continuing healthcare (CHC) funding from the NHS and it was reported there had been a dramatic reduction in CHC patients, causing a parallel increase in nursing care costs, it was hoped numbers of patients receiving CHC funding would increase in coming months;

·         validated education results were positive, including for vulnerable groups;

·         the number of looked after children remained higher than might be expected for Herefordshire. An action plan was in place to address this and was expected to start showing results soon;

·         the new Colwall Primary school was due to open on time;

·         the new city link road had opened in December and other transport packages were progressing;

·         the regeneration partnership with Keepmoat was progressing;

·         the new NMiTE university was expected to open its doors in 2020.

In response to queries it was stated that:

·         the council was to receive a rural sparsity grant of £1m, it was intended that this sum be added to general reserves and the S151 officer make changes to the budget as per the delegated authority agreed at council;

·         it was too early to say exactly what the rural sparsity grant would be spent on but points made on rural deprivation were noted and would be taken into consideration;

·         the issue of the low conversion rate of referrals to assessments in children’s safeguarding had been ongoing on for some time and continued to be raised with partners through the safeguarding board, although there was concern that the message did not appear to be resulting in a change of practice;

·         although the number of looked after children remained relatively high, for the year to December 15 had been adopted and a further 14 had returned home;

·         work was underway to achieve permanent family bases arrangements where appropriate for a number of children who are looked after in Herefordshire. Children would only be moved to other options where it was right for that child;

·         schools received a certain amount in their delegated budgets for early intervention, assessment and support of children with less complex special education needs/disabilites, more severe needs would be assessed and supported through an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP);

·         all reserves were held as revenue, no capital reserves were held as such;

·         the capital budget pertained to a single financial year, whereas the capital programme covered multiple years;

·         the city link road had been delivered within  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.