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.

Cllr Norman registered a schedule 2 interest in item 9 – 2021/22 capital investment budget and capital strategy update - as a trustee of Leominster Area Regeneration Company (LARC). She did not vote on this item and left the meeting whilst it was discussed.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 2020.

Resolved:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 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.

There were no questions from councillors.

To approve the Market Position Statement 2020-2025 which informs the care and support market on where the future demands on services will be so they can adapt their business models to respond and reflect the needs of the county’s population.

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

This paper seeks agreement to proceed with the outline feasibility of an initial number of selected council owned sites and any suitable sites in third party ownership identified across the county in order to progress the pipeline of suitable sites.

This item was taken at the end of the meeting with the consent of the chairperson.

The cabinet member housing, regulatory services and community safety introduced the report. She highlighted the need for sustainable, affordable high quality homes which was recognised in the county plan. The report sought approval to commission a number of high level feasibility studies on council owned land and selected third party sites. The cabinet member stressed that at this stage only a short review of each site would be conducted to understand if it was worth taking forward for future consideration. The results of the studies would be brought back to cabinet in June or July.

The cabinet member housing, regulatory services and community safety highlighted that a corrected list of sites had been published and apologised for the inclusion of the fire station site in error.

The head of economic development summarised the work to date and the type of studies that would be carried out to identify opportunities and constraints on each site. It was noted that some of the sites might have alternative uses and these would not be ruled out by the feasibility work.

In discussion of the report cabinet members noted that:

·         once the initial feasibility work had been completed, it would be open to the council to progress some, all or none of the sites;

·         infrastructure requirements would be identified as part of the process;

·         a consultant had been appointed to advise on delivery of net zero carbon housing;

·         concerns previously raised regarding the suitability of some of the sites would be taken into account;

·         the impact of the pandemic on projections of population growth, employment levels and the economy would need to be considered.

Group leaders were invited to present the views and queries of their respective groups. The principle of provision of affordable homes was generally supported although not all groups felt that the council should be delivering these directly. It was noted that:

·         loss of the car parking at the bus station could have a negative impact, in particular for staff at the hospital;

·         the ambition to deliver net zero carbon homes was supported but care should be taken on the spend on consultancy work;

·         other amenities could be provided on these sites alongside or instead of affordable housing;

·         expectations needed to be managed as sites could take some time to bring forward;

·         attention was drawn to the links between housing and infrastructure projects and the role the council should play in facilitating housing delivery;

·         there were concerns about the long term burden on the council’s finances of owning affordable housing.

It was resolved that:

(a)          Cabinet agrees to proceed with the outline feasibility work for net zero carbon affordable housing at the initial selected council owned sites and any other suitable sites in third party ownership that may be available across the county.  The sites will be prioritised to meet the demands based on market needs analysis

To recommend to Council the 2021/22 local council tax reduction scheme (CTR).

The cabinet member finance and corporate services introduced the report. She highlighted that the existing policy had been first approved in 2015 and approved each year since as part of setting the budget. Arrangements for pensioners were set nationally while reductions for working age claimants were set by the council. The cabinet member summarised proposed changes to the discounts for working age claimants in light of the pressure on households from the coronavirus pandemic and additional funding from central government. The council proposed to add further one off monies from the new homes bonus.

In discussion of the report cabinet members noted that:

·        Claimants would also be signposted to other forms of support under the principle of ‘no wrong door’;

·        Support was focussed on those affected the most;

·        The council had also agreed a council tax discount for council foster carers;

·        It would be important to advertise the support available to residents and make this as easy to understand as possible;

·        Final checks would need to be made on the document to address typographical errors.

Group leaders welcomed the proposals. In response to a query raised it was noted that a local assistance fund was also in place and could provide support for households who were just outside the criteria for the council tax reduction scheme.

The chairman of the general scrutiny committee highlighted that the committee had queried if the funds allocated would be sufficient to meet demand on the scheme. The cabinet member finance and corporate services responded that the additional £800k allocated from the new homes bonus was intended as a precaution. In the event that even this additional funding was inadequate then it was likely all councils would be in the same situation and a case would need to be made to central government for additional support. The Section 151 officer confirmed that information was regularly fed back to central government on the council’s financial position and cabinet would receive regular updates.

It was resolved that:

The council tax reduction scheme for 2021/22, with increased discounts compared to the existing scheme, be recommended to Council for approval.

To recommend to Council for approval the capital investment budget and capital strategy for 2021/22 onwards.

The cabinet member finance and corporate services introduced the report. She highlighted the changes to the programme since it was approved by the Council in February 2020 and the projects that were proposed to be added to the programme.

Cabinet members noted that:

·        All funding requests were felt to be manageable within current borrowing limits in the medium term financial strategy;

·        The council retained approximately £10.6m in the capital receipts reserve;

·        It was anticipated that the income streams generated would cover the revenue costs of developing affordable housing including any borrowing costs;

·        A detailed and robust approach to project and programme management had been introduced over the previous 18 months, recognising the importance of delivering to time and on budget;

·        Feedback from councillors and the public consultation had been taken on board;

·        Equality impact assessments should be undertaken at the earliest possible stage.

The chairpersons of the scrutiny committees provided feedback from discussions at each of the committees. A comment was raised regarding potential alternative uses for the shire hall in light of the costs of repair work to the building.

Group leaders were invited to present views and queries from their groups. Support for economic development was welcomed and the importance of good project management recognised. It was suggested that the council should ensure it had projects ready to be able to bid for any grants that became available. The emphasis on the ecological and climate emergency and partnership was highlighted and it was also noted that delivery of affordable housing would help people to stay in the county.

It was resolved that:

the following be recommended to Council

(a)    To approve the proposed capital programme from 2021/22 attached at appendix C; and

(b)    approve the capital strategy document at appendix D.

To agree the draft 2021/22 budget and associated medium term financial strategy and treasury management strategy for recommendation to Council on 12 February.

The cabinet member finance and corporate services introduced the report. The unexpected challenges presented by 2020 were highlighted and it was noted that the pandemic had resulted in an uplift to service delivery costs and a loss of income to the council. Government support had been received which meant that with a council tax increase of 4.99% operational savings of just over £11m were required. Details of proposed savings were set out in the report and were felt to be challenging but deliverable.

Cabinet members noted that:

·        the priorities had been influenced by public and stakeholder consultation;

·        responses to the recommendations made by the scrutiny committees were set out in the report;

·        difficult choices had had to be made and a great deal of work had gone into the final budget proposals;

·        the Section 151 officer was satisfied that the position set out in the report represented a legal, balanced budget;

·        there was continued pressure on adult social care services;

·        the ‘till receipt’ showed how much was spent on those essential services that most residents would not see;

·        support from central government to meet mounting pressures was important.

The pressures in the children and families directorate were discussed and the improvement work that was taking place was recognised. The cabinet member children and families reported that 9 out of 10 councils were expecting to overspend on their children’s services departments. 

The chairpersons of the scrutiny committees commented on the points raised and recommendations made by their respective committees.

The adults and wellbeing scrutiny committee had met for a second time to consider alternative savings proposals for the adults’ directorate and were satisfied with the principle of the proposed changes.

The children and young people scrutiny committee recognised the progress achieved over the previous couple of years. The chair of the committee highlighted that the information given at the scrutiny meeting regarding the recruitment of foster carers was confusing and had it been made clear that the figure of 30 per year included replacements for the average 13 carers who left each year the recommendation put forward might not have been made. The director for children and families apologies for any lack of clarity and undertook to provide a written response which could be shared with the members of the scrutiny committee.

The general scrutiny committee had expressed doubts that reducing the hours at the waste facilities was feasible as there were reports that the booking system had deterred some people from using the facilities. The cabinet member commissioning, procurement and assets commented that a great deal of positive feedback had been received from residents and staff regarding the booking system.

Group leaders were invited to present the views and queries from their respective groups. It was noted that:

·        these were difficult times to be creating a budget;

·        there was no current freeze on recruitment but managers were asked to consider all options when a vacancy arose;

·        details of the precepts to be set by the police and fire authorities had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.