To appoint a Chairman for the duration of the meeting

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Sasha West be appointed Chairman for the duration of the meeting.

To receive any Apologies for Absence

None received

To receive any declarations of interest

None received

To comment on the above report

Oliver Jones, Strategy and Performance Manager introduced the report. He explained that it showed the council’s performance in relation to its priorities. In relation to the priority ‘healthy, skilled and independent residents’ he highlighted that targets 1.1.2 and 1.2.1 both had a positive direction of travel. However indicator 1.4.1 needed further work as more people were being admitted to permanent care. In relation to the priority ‘safe and vibrant communities,’ indicator 2.3.1 showed very good performance, improved on the previous period. All indicators under ‘growing economy’ were positive other than 3.2.1.

Jessica Hallam, Strategy and Performance Manager, referred the Panel to indicator 4.1.2. A number of open spaces and parks had received positive reports, leading to a positive direction of travel. Indicator 4.4.1 had had poor performance over the last few months however the year to date figure was much closer to the target. In relation to ‘excellent customer experience, indicator 5.3.3 measured how long the council took to help people with housing. The council had a good track record and was meeting its targets. Indicator 5.3.4 showed performance was down compared to the first quarter, however the target was still on track overall. In relation to the priority ‘well managed resources delivering value for money,’ she highlighted indicator 6.1.1. The council tried to collect everything that was owed, so the end of year target was over 99%. The performance was already 58.8%. Overall the performance against priorities was good: 64% were on target; 36% need working on including 4% in the red.

Joseph Ioras, Leader of the Opposition, commented in relation to the number of highways days saved, that officers were under the impression that they were reaching the target of 120 days but the report was giving a red indicator. What was actually being monitored? Mason Bramble, Executive Director, responded that this was a new target; as there was no previous data it was more of a guess. It was anticipated that the target would be met by year end.

Simon Daems, Lead Member for Children’s Services asked how recycling performance could be improved. Mason Bramble responded that lots of recycling ended up in bins; 50% was recyclable. As of 2019 the council would have a new contract for recycling and new schemes could be offered to encourage people to recycle.

Jacob Ioras asked if the highways indicator should be cumulative to give a better indication. It was explained that quarterly information gave a better indication if anything was going wrong. If it were cumulative, the target would be showing as orange rather than red.

Jacob Ioras asked in relation to page 21, what was the graph showing, were the same children were being discharged and reported back to the council. If so, what had been put in place to address the issue. Simon Daems explained that the graph showed the number of people that had been referred to social care in one month. It also showed that there were lots of different ways that people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To comment on the above report

Bilal Aziz, Lead Member for Finance commented that it had been a busy month for the finance team. The report included an indicative budget for the next year and had been extensively scrutinised. He highlighted the following points:

·         An allocation of £0.7m had been made from the current year’s reserves into next year.

·         £4m was to be invested for the care and reward of staff

·         These investments were offset by efficiencies

·         Increases in parking charges had been benchmarked

·         £350m of ongoing capital investment would continue to support the drat BLP, including £55m in the next year

·         The cash projection demonstrated the council would be debt free by 2026

·         A 1.95% council tax increase was proposed, alongside a 3% Adult Social Care levy

Jacob Ioras commented that there was no justification in the report for the uplift in the Adult social Care levy; a decision could not be made without evidence. He asked that this be made available in advance of the publication of the budget papers. Bilal Aziz agreed to this request.

Jacob Ioras highlighted that £1.3m was included for CCTV upgrade. He asked if this would include new placements of cameras and if so, how the locations were decided. Bilal Aziz explained this would be undertaken with local parish councils or the local community if the area was unparished.

Joseph Ioras, Finance Partner, suggested a mountain bike trail or leisure trail be included in the capital programme; this would encourage families to cycle and increase exercise levels. Bilal Aziz commented that he would be pleased to look into the proposal before the budget in February.

Jacob Ioras commented that higher residential density would affect parking and asked what investment was being made to address parking and public transport tissues.  Bilal Aziz confirmed that over £25m was being invested.

Simon Daems asked why it had been decided to increase the price for parking at the Magnet and the Windsor Leisure Centre, as this could lead to a reduction in the number of people using the facilities. Bilal Aziz explained the charges had been benchmarked and it was not expected that use would fall. Mason Bramble commented that a charge of £10 per month for parking at the Magnet was available, which was cheaper than the usual charges.

Jacob Ioras commented that as the borough was so constrained by the Green Belt, had the council asked neighbouring authorities to take any of the housing need? If it were possible, how would this affect the budget? Bilal Aziz confirmed that neighbouring authorities had been asked, and in turn they had asked the borough to take some of their need.

Jacob Ioras referred to the graph on page 30, which indicated borrowing of £230m before the realisation of income from development. He asked for reassurance that all risks had been fully explored. Bilal Aziz confirmed that this had been done.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Panel support the following recommendations:

i)     Notes the report and progress made towards building the 2018/19 budget.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To consider the above report

Simon Daems explained that on 1 September 2017 Ofsted and CQC had published a letter following an inspection of the arrangements in the area. The borough, the CCGs, schools and representatives of the Parents Forum had worked together to develop an action plan to address the issues raised. The plan had been agreed and sent to Ofsted earlier in the week. Progress would be monitored over the next year and reported to the Health and Wellbeing Board, Cabinet and other partnership boards. Sections 2.11-2.23 set out the 12 things that people would see and experience differently as a result of the action plan. All schools had been consulted on a £416,000 fund for pupil focussed services. The Schools Forum had reviewed the proposal and a decision was expected in December 2017. In conclusion, the actions had established tangible change in the coming months ensuring a transparent and fair system for all those with additional needs.

It was confirmed that support centres were located in different schools across the borough.

A member of the audience commented that the pathways in the borough were unsuitable for people in wheelchairs. Simon Daems commented that his department would work with highways to ensure there would be safe pathways for wheelchair access.

Jacob Ioras asked for confirmation that all groups that who had contributed to the statement of action would be informed of progress and involved in future discussions. Simon Daems confirmed that this would be done.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Panel support the following recommendations:

i)          Notes the Written Statement of Action which has been submitted to Ofsted.

ii)        Approves a consultation process to finalise the area-wide SEND Strategy and Inclusion Charter for the borough, culminating in an Inclusion Summit to take place before the end of March 2018.

iii)       Approves the submission of a joint bid with East Berkshire CCG to the Better Care Fund to secure £150,000 per year for three years to fund the resources that will support improved inclusion in mainstream schools and resolve the most complex cases in a timely way.

iv)       Endorses the recommendation of the Schools Forum that schools agree to transfer 0.5% of the Schools Block funding to the High Needs Block for 2018/19 to provide additional support for pupils included in mainstream schools.