Approval to procure, develop and implement a single web platform for the Talk Community website that provides a one stop shop for information, advice and guidance to support the health and wellbeing of the residents of Herefordshire.

This report presents the Annual Scrutiny Work Programme 2022-2023

• The Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme was launched on the 14th March 2022.
• The scheme enables people living in the UK to offer accommodation in their own homes or property they own to individuals and families displaced from the Ukraine due to the war with Russia.
• Sponsors are expected to provide guests with accommodation for up to 12 months, but a minimum of six months. Thank you payments to sponsors are scheduled to end after 12 months.
• It is anticipated that sponsors will support and help guests to adapt to life in the UK.
• The number of people who can access this scheme is uncapped and is dependent on the capacity of the sponsors who come forward. Those arriving need to meet standard security checks prior to being issued with a visa.
• There are currently 651 Ukrainian guests due to arrive in Herefordshire, matched to 219 local sponsoring households. Additional guests are expected to be confirmed for some time to come.
• To date 429 people have already arrived through the scheme. Initial indications are that approximately 37% (159) of guests are children and young people aged under 18 years old.
• The Council’s school admissions team has placed 112 Ukrainian children in schools across Herefordshire.
• Based on a maximum expected number of 900 people, the Council is expecting anywhere up to 333 children and young people aged under 18 to come to Herefordshire through the scheme.
• In addition, children and young people are also arriving through the Family Scheme. The Council does not have anyway of tracking these arrivals, so numbers are uncertain.
• Learning English is an essential step towards community integration and opens up new and improved opportunities for training, skills and work.
• Skills recognition enables Ukrainian guests with existing professional qualifications to improve their employment outcomes and aids integration into the wider community.

The Section 106 Contributions arise from the following Planning Permissions:

Planning Reference GT / FIN Code Original Contribution Expiry Date
DCCW2007/2834/F GTO3 Fin1761 £34,500.00 30/4/2022

The expiry date for the contribution, is 30th April 2022. However the works were planned and a commitment to the scheme of £34,500 was made by The Planning Obligations Manager in a letter dated 1 December 2021. Work on the Story Book Trail had started on site prior to 30th April 2022.

Previous Payments

Payment Requested Reason Payment Made Balance
£9,260.23 Works and Materials 20/5/2022 £25,239.77


Payments requested included in this RoOD

Payment Requested (Date) Reason Payment Requested Balance
Remaining

7th April 2022 Time Charges or Fees £ 5,650.00
15th June 2022 Works and Materials £12,323.74
15th June 2022 Time Charges or Fees £ 2,430.00
2nd August 2022 Works and Materials £ 296.36
2nd August 2022 Time Charges or Fees £ 1,695.00
Total £22,395.10
£2,844.67

Discussions will be held with the Country Park Supporters regarding the remaining £2,844.67 and what further works are proposed for the development of Belmont and Haywood Country Park and/or the Story Book Trail.

Evidence of compliance with procurement rules has been provided, within the supplementary information.

The service director for Planning and Regulatory services has confirmed that the payments are in accordance with the Planning Obligations manager letter of 1 December 2021, and it is in order to make these payments

Responsibility for monitoring the project and managing expenditure within the total spend budget is to be with the Senior Project Manager.

To confirm the order thereby protecting the amenity value of
the trees.

The oak tree has a high public amenity value and is under
perceived threat.

The oak trees have a high public amenity value and are under
perceived threat.

The trees have a high public amenity value and are under
perceived threat of removal.

The Veteran Oak trees has high public amenity value and
within a proposed development wite.

he tree has high public amenity value and is under perceived
threat by approved development

To update the audit and governance committee on the current status of the energy from waste loan arrangement to enable the committee to fulfil its delegated functions.

Herefordshire Council has received an allocation of £1,329,601.78 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) under the Household Support Fund. The expectation is that the funding should be used primarily to support households in most need, with a requirement that the majority of the funding should support families with children and pensioners who would otherwise struggle with energy, food and water bills as well as other essential costs. Specifically, at least one third of the allocation should be ring-fenced to support low income pensioner households.
To help identify these households, DWP has provided information on pensioner households in receipt of pension credit. With this information the Council has set an eligibility requirement that to receive a payment under this element of the Household Support Fund, residents will be of state pension age, in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee and living in Herefordshire, but not in a residential or nursing care home. Latest data indicates that there are about 3,200 single or couple households who meet this eligibility criteria. They will receive a one-off payment of £170.
Low-income households spend a larger proportion than average on energy and food so will be more affected by price increases. Consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 9.4% in the 12 months to June 2022, up from 9.1% in May. The Bank of England expects inflation to rise further to around 11% in 2022 before levels start to fall during 2023. There have been significant increases in the price of energy and food and this is likely to increase with a further rise in the price cap on energy in October 2022.
By utilising the funding from government, this will have a positive impact on low income households by minimising the debt burden on those that struggle to pay essential bills.

Hereford Sixth Form have an urgent need requirement for some specialist provisions based on planned September pupil intake. In accordance with the Equalities Act 2010, reasonable adjustments must be made to ensure support and accessibility is provided.

The Section 106 Contributions arise from the following Planning Permission:

• Planning Permission was approved for P411917/F. Proposed construction of 27 dwellings to include 9 affordable, new access, sustainable drainage and landscape works.

• The section 106 agreement required the monies to be used towards the provision of new or enhancement of existing play equipment at Canon Pyon sports and recreation fields located immediately north of the land. The contribution received was £17,917.00 including indexation.

• From this contribution there has been no expenditure to date. The expiry date for the contribution, is 14th October 2025.

• The proposed payment of £17,917.00 will utilise all the Section 106 Contribution with respect to the approved planning permission.

Background

• The project was proposed by the Canon Pyon Playing Fields Association.
• The play area was subject to local consultation and has been granted planning permission.
• The project is to be provided in two phases the first of which is estimated at £40,140 and this payment of £17,917.00 will pay the invoiced deposit required by the contractor Wickstead Leisure Limited to deliver this phase.
• Phase 2 of the project is a standalone phase that will be delivered by the Canon Pyon Playing Fields Association once funding is in place and requires no further Section 106 contribution.

The proposed works will include mitigation of potential health and safety
risks and will benefit all children with special educational needs or
disabilities who attend the school in the future including looked after
children and care leavers. The scheme fits in with the schools capital
investment strategy which sets out the council’s approach to delivering
the legal duty to ensure there are enough school places for the children in its area.

The works entail the remodelling and extension to an existing classroom to provide a hygiene room.

S C Joseph Ltd have been identified as the bidder representing best value for money following a competitive tender and assessment process in accordance with Council procurement procedures. Tenders were
invited via the Southwest Portal but only one valid tender was received for consideration and was evaluated on a cost and quality basis. S C Joseph Ltd were successful in a recent similar project at Fownhope CE Primary School which confirms value for money.

The work to be awarded to S C Joseph Ltd at a cost of £87,185.32 and
monitored by the Capital Project Manager.

The overall budget available of £120k is to also fund a physiotherapy room at Westfield School.

Pupil numbers at the school have been increasing in recent years making it difficult to provide sufficient purposeful space for children to use at break times. The school are encouraging children to be as active as possible during breaks and put on a range of additional activities to encourage this, however they do not have sufficient play equipment to operate safely.

The decision has been taken in consideration of a number of changes at Lord Scudamore School. These include planning for mixed year classes and embarking on a new pilot scheme with Herefordshire Council for a ‘nurture/behavioral’ unit. This has required the school to relocate one of the Reception Year classrooms. In order to meet regulations for the provision of free flow play/learning, the project is required to provide external access to an outside classroom area.

The refurbishment and landscape works are the second phase of works at Hillside to complete the residential care facility and improve the dementia friendly environment following the decision to spend up to £1m of the capital Programme funding on refurbishment after flooding.

The other element of this project is to adapt one wing of the building and
install specialist equipment and technology which will be used to deliver
an Independent Living Demonstration and Assessment Centre that will
offer facilities for demonstration of equipment, adaptations and
technology and offer advice.

Owen Pell Ltd have been identified as the bidder representing
best value for money following a competitive tender and assessment
process in accordance with Council procurement procedures. Tenders
were invited via the Southwest Portal and five companies returned valid
tenders for consideration.

The work to be awarded to Owen Pell Ltd at a cost of £528,799.13. There
will then follow a value engineering exercise to bring the cost down to
meet the construction element value of the budget.

There is also a boost to the local economy as Owen Pell Ltd are a local
contractor.

The scheme meets the ambition in the Herefordshire County Plan 2020-2024 to strengthen communities to ensure everyone lives well and safely together and to improve residents’ access to green space.

The current supplier is closing their business and will no longer be able to host Get Walking. The development of the website and apps is up to date but, without hosting, the website and apps will not be available to the 1,000+ people registered on the site and the apps would be removed from the app store. The work is currently delivered by a specialist sub-contractor who has agreed to:

• Continue to host the website and app and keep the services available
• Maintain and support the site and apps, and to cover fixes and provide administration and user support as required

The annual cost of £3,300 would be maintained.

The funding was agreed within the Property Services estate capital programme 2020/21 to complete work on the Plough Lane drainage and resurfacing of the car park. This work was subsequently put on hold enabling the funds to be re-prioritised.

The closure of both Elgar House and Nelson House has resulted in more council staff being based and working from the corporate head office at Plough Lane.

As a result the Plough Lane offices were identified as requiring changes to provide flexible office accommodation to meet the changing work practices and the use of office space post-Covid and to support the delivery of services using a hybrid approach.

The reallocation of the existing capital funds will allow the external and internal changes of Plough Lane to be undertaken. The scope of the work to be completed includes elements of the original proposal including, but not limited to work, on the existing car park. The work will also look to include options for providing space to accommodate meetings with customers and public committee meetings.

Herefordshire is recognised for its commitment to migration programmes, in late 2020 a cabinet decision was taken to resettle at least 125 refugees by 2025. As part of this overall commitment a decision was made to resettle 85 refugees in the period December 2021 to June 2022.

Since December 2021 a total of 59 Afghan refugees have been resettled in Herefordshire. Resettlement of a further 26 refugees is required to meet the commitment made by the council.

Delays in resettlement activity have been seen across England, this is due to a number of factors predominately size of property required and refusals of offers of accommodation.

Local authorities across England are now being asked to look for properties that can accommodate single people/couples and properties suitable for larger families (4 or more bedrooms) or properties in very close proximity to each other that could accommodate large extended multi-generational families. Properties of this size and nature have been very hard to secure locally impacting on our ability to arrange 85 arrivals by the original commitment deadline. Work with colleagues is ongoing to identify and secure further accommodation through our network of registered housing providers.

Due to extensive work completed with MOD and strategic migration colleagues Herefordshire has seen limited instances of refusals of accommodation however when refusals do happen this creates delays to arrivals. Work has being undertaken by the Government to address the high level number of refusals being seen in the UK. This work has resulted in an enhanced matching process being implemented to build on work already begun to improve the rate at which families accept offers of accommodation, it is anticipated this new process will limit the number of refusals and reduce delays of people resettling locally.

To prosecute 2 defendants for offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 33 & Section 34

To prosecute 1 defendant for offences for offences under Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 33 Section 34 & Section 35 and Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 Section 1.

To present background information for the Committee to consider the extent to which the Local Plan is delivering the Council’s objectives for Environment and Sustainability, as outlined in the County Plan 2020-2024, Herefordshire Climate Change Emergency Council resolutions and Executive Response, and other relevant Council strategies and policies, including the Success Measures provided in the Council’s County Plan 2020-2024.

To present background information for the Committee to consider the Options for Public Inquiry and Policy Review for the Restoration of the River Wye, in accordance with the County Plan 2020-2024 objectives and associated targets to reduce levels of phosphate pollution in the County’s river.