To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Rankin, Bateson and McWilliams.

To receive any declarations of interest

Councillor Dudley declared a  Personal Interest in the item ‘Financial Update’ as it included a proposal for classrooms at Braywick Court School on the Riverside Primary School site. He was Chair of Governors at Riverside Primary School. He remained in the room for the duration of the discussion and voting on the item.

Councillor Saunders declared a  Personal Interest in the item ‘Financial Update’ as he was a member of the Bisham Primary Interim Executive Board. The proposal in the report in relation to Bisham Primary would be for the benefit of the Trust which was due to acquire responsibility for the school in the future.

To consider the Part I minutes of the meeting held on 30 May 2017

To consider the Part I minutes of the meeting of Cabinet sitting as Trustees of the Kidwells Trust held on 30 May 2017

To note the Part I minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Local Authority Governors Appointments Sub Committee held on 30 May 2017

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That:

i)             The minutes of the meeting held on 30 May be approved.

ii)            The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet sitting as Trustees of the Kidwells Park Trust held on 30 May 2017 be approved.

iii)           The minutes of the Cabinet Local Authority Governors Appointments Sub Committee held on 30 May 2017 be noted.

Ethan, Year 6,  asked the following question:

‘What will the council do to decrease the amount of drugs and cigarettes being used?’

The Principal Member for Public Health and Communications explained that the council had two workers who did lots of work in schools and young clubs to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs and alcohol.  They also worked with young people who took drugs or drank alcohol, to help them give up. Last month the council launched its Resilience programme. The council had a contract with an organisation called Cranstoun who worked with adults from a base in Reform Road to help with addictions.

To use money in the best way, the council had decided to focus its stop smoking service on particular groups would benefit most: young people and their parents and carers, pregnant women, people with mental health issues and people with really complex medical problems who had been identified by their doctor. The stop smoking service worked with young people and their parents and carers to help them to stop smoking.  Earlier that day the council had piloted a play at Woodlands Park Primary School which was all about the harmful effects of smoking.  The council wanted to roll it out to other schools including Riverside.  The council also had trained a Youth Worker specifically in stop smoking services.

Ethan, Year 6,  asked the following question:

‘Can the council build houses / apartments for temporary use by homeless people until they find a job?’

The Chairman responded that there was a lot of debate at the moment about building houses. The council tried to help homeless people in different ways. The council owned a building that provided emergency shelter that was open all year round. For people who had a job that was not well paid, the council had schemes in conjunction with Housing Associations whereby people could own part of the house and pay rent on the rest of the balance. Over a period of time they would get to own their own house. The council also had a number of flats that it rented out at an affordable level for people on a lower income. The council did not directly build houses but worked with planners and local builders to plan for where houses were to be built . Hopefully this would help avoid people becoming homeless.

Skylar, Year 6, asked the following question:

‘Can the council decrease the price of taxes  and / or increase wages for families in Maidenhead?’

The Lead Member for Finance explained that almost all taxes paid by people in the area were set by central government and therefore the council had no control. However the council did collect council tax and fees for various services such as parking and marriage licences. It was a matter of clear policy to ensure the amounts charged were as low as possible. Although council tax had increased somewhat this year, over the last 8 or 9 years the amount  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Chairman, on behalf of Cabinet, congratulate Andy Jeffs on his permanent appointment as Executive Director – Communities.

To consider the Forward Plan for the period July to October 2017

Cabinet considered the contents of the Forward Plan for the next four months and noted the changes that had been made to the plan since the last meeting. In addition it was noted that:

·         The item ‘Secondary Expansion Programme Up-Date’ would be presented to Cabinet in July 2017.

·         The item ‘Communication Partnership Strategy’ would be presented to Cabinet in July 2017.

·         The item ‘Parking Provision’ would be deferred to the Cabinet Regeneration Sub Committee on 25 July 2017.

·         The item ‘Nicholson’s Car Park’ would be deferred to the Cabinet Regeneration Sub Committee on 25 July 2017.

Members considered approval of the detailed highways schemes which made up the individual work programmes totalling £2,810,000 of the total capital investment of £5.4m.

The Lead Member explained that the report had been circulated to Members of the Highways, Transport and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel; no comments had been received. For those who were unaware, he explained that haunching involved smoothing out the road surface when it had spread out and rippled towards the edge. Schemes were included in the programme following requests from residents and Ward Councillors and also technical assessments by officers. Appendix B provided an indicative list of schemes in sight for the next two years.

Of the £5.4m budget, £2.2m was grant funding from the Department for Transport and £190,000 came fromS106 funding.

Councillor Ed Wilson stated this was an important report for Dedworth. A lot of roads were in need of repair and  it felt like the council was playing catch-up. He asked whether the council should have a separate remediation programme for the Dedworth area just to bring it up to the standard of the rest of the borough. He also asked the following questions:

·         Bell View was a very badly repaired road therefore he asked for an update.

·         When would the major patching programme start and finish?

·         There had been a number of cycle parking requests from Neighbourhood plan groups but just the one from the Cycle Forum? Where did accountability for the schemes lie?

The Lead Member responded that he was happy to answer in general terms at the meeting and write to councillor E Wilson after the meeting. The Bell View site had been assessed following a request by Councillor Wilson in May 2017 and was subsequently included on the reserve programme for delivery in 2018/19 or review earlier if additional funding became available. The exact cost of repairs was not yet known.

The resurfacing and surface dressing programme was due to start at the beginning of July, and would run through until the middle of August. The patching programme had commenced and was on-going, encompassing patching requirements that were identified throughout the year

Councillor Cox joined the meeting at 7.55pm.

The Lead Member explained that there was an budget for road maintenance to manage the whole road network, over 600km. The A and B roads programme was derived from technical assessment data focussed on those road most in need of attention. This had proved successful in performing very well against performance targets. The C, D and unclassified roads in the programme were developed from a combination of the assessment data, highway inspections and Member requests. All of the proposed sites were subject to a detailed visual assessment to confirm the need for work, the treatment type and extents. This then formed the draft capital programme, which was presented to Cabinet for approval.

Members of the Cycle Forum tended to be more concerned with cycle routes than cycle parking. The Cycle Forum had been consulted on the draft Cycling  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

Members considered a further investment of £500,000 into the Royal Borough’s successful Do-It-Yourself Shared Ownership scheme (DIYSO) delivered in partnership with Housing Solutions. This would maximise the opportunities for a further 10 local households to access a home ownership option.

The Chairman explained that funding for the scheme came from S106 and was time limited. This was the best way to use the £500,000. There had been a number of tranches of the shceme over the years, the most rcent was directed at Key Workers. The latest trance was open to any resident. Since its launch in 2014, the DIYSO scheme has ensured that 31 Royal Borough households had secured shared home ownership, with a further 10 keyworkers who would benefit from the scheme in 2017 from investment agreed by Cabinet in 2016.

However it was clear that the largest way the situation could be improved was as the Borough Local Plan went through, particulalry in the town centre developments which would need to include a minimum 30% affordable housing.

Councillor Beer had sent in comments on the report, as a Member of the Planning and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Panel.  In response the Chairman explained that the report concerned £500,000 of time limited funds that must be allocated by September 2017 or returned to the developer. The scheme was the only established and secure method to provide affordable housing in the borough. The RBWM Property Company was unable to make use of the funding  within the specific timeframe. With no other models for delivery in place this was the best option. Following the appointment of a Housing Enabling Manager in January 2017 work was being done to bring forward more rented accommodation, but the timeframe to do so was too restricted for this funding. The council was currently consulting on a Housing Strategy for the borough which would come to the Cabinet in September 2017, detailing all the ways the council would be looking to increase the amount of affordable housing.

The Principal Member for Ascot Regeneration commented that the council had a great focus on affordable housing but much of this would come in the future. He welcomed the funding to help families today. He asked how people got on the list to access the support?

The Chairman requested that it be made clear on the borough website how people could apply. The Managing Director suggested the banner could be used to promote the scheme for a period of time from August 2017, as detailed in the timetable included in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet:

i)      Agrees to invest £500,000 of Section 106 funds into the Do-It-Yourself Shared Ownership scheme with Housing Solutions Ltd.

Members considered the appointment of representatives to serve the Council on a number of associated and outside bodies. The Lead Member for Adult Services and Health highlighted that many councillors were representatives of multiple organisations, which added to the value provided to the borough. He highlighted the Spoore, Merry and Rixman charity which distributed up to £1m of grant funding to help people achieve their educational goals. He confirmed that the Charity Commission had approved payments to be made from capital as well as the interest on the capital funds.

Members noted that the Twinning Committee, which had been in operation since 1977, had decided it was time for the process to be re-energised. A new constitution had been developed which had been approved by the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel and was now before Cabinet for noting. The Lead Member for Culture and Communities commented that the Twinning Committee did a fantastic job. The current Members had started in 1977 and would be retained on the new committee.

Nick Stevens, Headteacher at Riverside Primary, confirmed that the school had received £10,000 from the Spoore, Merry and Rixman fund for library improvements including new books and online resources. The Chairman commented this was important as the school was in an area of deprivation with a significant number of children with English as a second language. He thanked all the Trustees of the fund for their work in the community. The Lead Member explained the fund was currently considering an application for STEM teaching to be introduced at a secondary school in the borough. The Chairman requested a link be put on the borough website to the application page for the fund.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet notes the report and:

i)       Appoints representatives to serve on the organisations listed in the schedule Appendix 1.

ii)     Delegates authority to the Executive Director, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Leader of the Opposition Group, to fill any ad hoc vacancies that might arise through the year from nominations received.

iii)    Notes the revised Constitution adopted at the recent Twinning AGM (Appendix 2) which reflects the revised oversight for the council’s twinning and partnership towns’ arrangements.   

Members considered the latest financial update. The Lead Member highlighted that £330,000 had been added to the Home to School Transport budget this year but significant pressures were expected and the anticipated overspend at this stage was predicted to be £220,000.

He commented that the Maidenhead Advertiser earlier that day had reported that the council was to spend £840,000 to keep bus services running in the area. It was confirmed that the additional cost was actually £153,000; the rest was in the base budget.

The Lead Member then took Cabinet through a number of capital items that had required recommendations in the report:

·         An allocation of £483,000 as discussed earlier for road resurfacing. This was at no cost to residents.

·         £200,000 of funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for the vacant possession of a site at Braywick Court. This was at no cost to residents.

·         Accommodation for the benefit of Braywick Court School at the Riverside Primary site. £130,000 would come from the Education and Skills Funding Agency and the remaining £60,000 from SEN grant funding.

·         Bisham School would soon become part of the Ashley Hill Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) which already ran two successful primary schools in the borough. It was appropriate for the borough to ensure the fabric of the school was in a fit state for the transfer and further maintenance costs. An agreement had been made with the MAT therefore £200,000 needed to be earmarked for 2019/2020 and 2020/21.

The Lead Member for Children’s Services requested an additional recommendation following the decision at Full Council earlier this week, to conditionally gift a piece of land to Lowbrook Academy so the school had the best chance of securing external funding for their expansion proposals. The gift would be conditioned for expansion purposes only and until 2022.

The Chairman requested the insertion of the words ‘for Forest Bridge School’ into recommendation iii).

Members noted that recommendation v) should refer to £200,000 rather than £200,00.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUALY: That Cabinet:

i)             Notes the Council’s projected outturn position for 2017-18.

ii)            Approves the addition of a £483,000 grant funded budget to the capital programme for further investment in the planned maintenance of the highway asset and improvements to transport infrastructure (details in paragraph 4.14).

iii)           Approves the addition of a £200,000 budget to the capital programme to cover enabling costs in achieving vacant possession of a site in Braywick Park for Forest Bridge School. The budget will be funded by a contribution from the Education Funding Agency (details in paragraph 4.15).

iv)          Approves the addition of a £190,000 grant funded budget to the capital programme to cover costs of an additional double classroom for Riverside school (details in paragraph 4.16).

v)            Approves the addition of a £200,000 budget to the capital programme in 2019-20 and £200,000 in 2020-21 for the maintenance of the school buildings at Bisham Primary School. Further details in paragraph 4.17.

vi)          Delegates the Lead Member for Children’s Services and the Director of Children’s Services to agree  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6d