To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Cannon.  Councillor Carroll joined the meeting virtualy as a none voting member of Cabinet due to Covid.

To receive any declarations of interest

Councillor Rayner declared an Interest in item Queens Jubilee. She left the room for the duration of the discussion and voting on the item.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 24^th February 2022.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held on 24^th February 2022 were approved.

None

To consider the Forward Plan for the period April 2022 to July 2022.

Cabinet considered the contents of the Forward Plan for the next four months and noted the changes made since last published including the following two reports moving to April 2022 Cabinet:

·       Cedar Tree House, 90 St Leonards Road, Windsor

·       Cavalry Crescent, Windsor

Cabinet considered the report regarding the initial arrangements of the Climate Partnership.

The Lead Member for Sustainability and Climate Action thanked officers and fellow Cabinet Members for their support in the ongoing work being undertaken.  This was the second report to Cabinet regarding the Climate Partnership, the first was the detailed report regarding establishing the partnership to provide independent leadership to the delivery of the Borough-Wide targets set out in the Environment and Climate Strategy. 

This paper set out the initial arrangements of the Climate Partnership for the start-up

phase. The paper seeks approval, and delegated authority, for appointment of an

initial board for a period of 12 months and the selection process for the appointment of a Chair from the Board. Subsequently, the Climate Partnership will become a self-funding independent body.

The initial board is intended to provide a breadth of public, private sector and

community representatives. The Board must collectively be knowledgeable of

climate action and will provide quarterly updates to the Council.  There had been a lot of advancement with the council’s small climate change team but a bigger independent organisation was required to deal with this big issue.  It was proposed that the RBWM Climate Partnership be set up in the first instance as a

Community Interest Company. This would provide a separate legal entity to

the Council to ensure its independence and bring together partners to meet the climate challenge.

The Lead Member for Corporate & Resident Services, Culture & Heritage and Windsor said she supported the report as it was an important topic for residents.  She requested that the Leader of the Council be added to the consultees within the report for Board appointments and that an annual report be brought back to council. 

Resolves unanimously: that Cabinet notes the report and:

i)            Approves setting up a new Community Interest Company (CIC) known as the RBWM Climate Partnership and the principles of its operation.

ii)          Notes the proposed appointments of the initial Board Members for a period of 12 months to complete the start-up phase of the Partnership, and delegates authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Climate Action and the Leader of Council to appoint the appropriate initial Board Members and any subsequent appointments if any of the appointed board members are no longer able to fulfil their role or resign in the first twelve months.

iii)        Approves the selection process for the initial Chair of the Partnership and delegates authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Climate Action, the Leader of Council and members of the Board, to appoint the Chair of the Partnership and any additional directors.

Cabinet considered the report regarding the revocation of certain supplement planning documents.

The Lead Member for Highways & Transport, Planning and Parking informed Cabinet that following the adoption of the RBWM Borough Local Plan, the policy framework under which many of the Council’s Supplementary Planning Guidance and Supplementary Planning Documents were prepared had now changed. As a result, they are no longer required and should be revoked. Revoking these out-dated SPDs and SPGs would avoid confusion and make it easier for interested parties to access relevant information when seeking planning policy advice and submitting planning applications.

The six SPGs and two SPDs, in Appendix 1, which were proposed for revocation were all adopted between 2000 and 2010. Their content is inconsistent with the BLP as they were based upon the policies within the now superseded 1999 Local Plan (incorporating Alterations adopted June 2003). These SPGs and SPDs were also adopted by the Council before the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012.

The Lead Member for Environmental Services, Parks and Countryside and Maidenhead said that he was delighted to see the recommendations to remove now outdated guidance that would provide clarity to the planning system.

The Chairman agreed that now we had the adopted BLP that this should guide planning.

Cllr Larcombe raised concern that the F1 policy replaced by the NR1 policy did not sufficiently replace the details in the old policy that hi Parish Council had followed.  The ground coverage detailed in the old policy was not represented in the new one.  The Lead Member replied that the panning policy officers had reassured him that all the changes were in line with the national framework. 

Resolved unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

                        i.         Approves the revocation of the Supplementary Planning Guidance notes and Supplementary Planning Documents as listed in Appendix 1.

Cabinet considered the report regarding the proposed creation of a robust vision for the future of Windsor.

The Deputy Leader of the Council, Corporate & Resident Services, Culture and Heritage and Windsor informed Cabinet that Windsor was an historical ton with the castle at its heart, this paper provided an excellent opportunity to engage with stackholders and residents about the fututre of the town. 

The purpose of this project was to create a robust vision for the future of Windsor. The vision would incorporate the relevant emerging and existing strategies and plans for the area, whilst drawing on the many strengths and assets of the historic Town.

The paper sought approval to commission The Prince’s Foundation to support the Council to engage collaboratively with key stakeholders and residents through an Enquiry by Design approach. It’s estimated the project will last for a period of nine-months and will include a number of engagement opportunities and three key workshops to ultimately shape a Vision for Windsor.

The Chairman said he supported the paper and that there had been a lot of needed work regarding the regeneration of Maidenhead.  Work was planned for Ascot and given the pandemic it was now the right time to look at Windsor with an integrated vision being driven by the aid of the Prince’s Foundation.  Cllr Stimpson agreed that the Princes Foundation were an excellent organisation to undertake this work with excellent records of community engagement. 

The Lead Member for Asset Management & Commercialisation, Finance and Ascot said that this was an appropriate time to undertake the work and that it was important to get the views of residents.  The foundation had undertaken work in Ascot that was now being implemented. 

The Lead Member who help the responsibility for Maidenhead mentioned that the town centre vision for Maidenhead had been delayed by the pandemic but he would be bringing a report to Cabinet soon.

Cllr Davies said she broadly welcomed the paper and was pleased to see lessons learnt from the work undertaken for Maidenhead, she asked how residents could get involved.  She was informed that the council wanted to maximise resident participation and this would be driven by the work of the Foundation and supported by the council where appropriate. 

Cllr Jones mentioned that the report mentioned that there would be work with stockholders before going to the wider group and asked who they would be.  She also asked if the Windsor 2030 NP was still going.  She was informed that the Council wanted as many participants in the consultation as possible so any ideas were welcome, with regards to Windsor 2030 this was still underway lead by the Town Centre Manager.

Mr Ed Wilson addressed Cabinet and said that he was pleased to see the Princes Foundation being used as he had seen the excellent work they had done in York and Guildford.  It was important to have a vision and the people to implement it.  He asked how will RBWM communicate this to residents and businesses,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6c

Cabinet considered the report regarding the latest Financial update.

The Lead Member for Asset Management and Commercialisation, Finance, and Ascot informed Cabinet that the report asked Cabinet to approve three capital virements which he would come back to.  The headline for the Month 10 Finance Monitoring Report was a projected underspend of £239K an increase of £138K from month 8.

The council was on course to deliver three consecutive years of underspends which was unheard of in recent times. This had been achieved by improved financial governance, cultural change which had been led to a greater emphasis on delivering to budget.

Projected savings are actively monitored, however, Covid has prevented savings in Adult Social Care and Place and the report shows there are £2,229 of unachieved savings, however, I am pleased to repots these costs will be absorbed by the services within existing budgets.

The budget included a £1.3M contingency to cover for undelivered savings but thanks to great work by officers this would not be needed.  This £1.3M plus other unused contingencies and an underspend of £413K in corporate budgets would be transferred to reserves.

The Lead Member informed that there were some other movements worthy of note;

Forecast parking income and permit fees had increased by £250K based on current forecasts. There had been an increase of £150K in income from weddings in the registrar’s service. But these were offset by a number of overspends.

We had received £804K more Contain Outbreak Management Fund of which £400K would be allocated to 2022/23 budget. 

There was now a forecasting a general reserve of £7.298M, £598K above the minimum.

Cabinet was asked to approve a number of virements. With an existing contract expiring at the end of this month for the current IDOX system it was proposed to introduce an externally hosted Cloud based solution at a cost of £225K. It was proposed to vire this from Neighbourhood Plans, Joint Minerals and waste and IT strategy.

Second to approve the use of public sector decarbonisation scheme funding of £1.566m to replace oil fire boilers with gas boilers plus other sustainability improvements in five primary schools, this allows £476K to be returned to School Conditions Allocations contingency.

It was also proposed to approve the part Virement in appendix J that was under Part II section of the agenda due to its confidentiality.

The Chairman reiterated that there had been three years of sound budget management that had resulted in three years underspend. 

Cllr Werner raised concern that the paper either showed good financial control with little change between reporting periods or at year end would be late financial burdens.  He was concerned about the failure to meet Adult Social Care Savings, that transformation projects savings should only be added once they had been realised and that the council needed to address rising inflation by moving short term debt into more appropriate long term debt. Was action being taken now for the future.

The Lead Member replied that variances were higher at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6d

Cabinet considered the report regards AFC reserve matters.

The Chairman informed Cabinet that the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead owned 20% of Achieving for Children Community Interest Company (AfC) and was responsible for making reserved matter ownership decisions in relation to the strategic direction of the company jointly with the two other council owners.  

This report sought approval for the adoption of the updated Business Plan, the Company's budget for 2022/23 and the Treasury Plan for 2022/23.

In developing these proposals AfC had engaged with relevant council officers and members of the AfC Ownership Board.  The budget for Windsor and Maidenhead based AfC services mirrors the budget proposed as part of the Local Authority’s budget approval process.

The Deputy Chairman of Cabinet and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health, Mental Health, & Transformation informed that the documents set out the strategy and plans for children in the borough.  Our vision was to allow all children to have the best start possible in life and to live a safe life and the transition into adulthood.  The plans allowed for a skilled workforce, looked at best practice, developed business models, looked at transformation and value for money.  This builds on the successes already made.

The AFC Chief Operating and Finance Officer informed Cabinet that the AfC Joint Committee approved a five year Business Plan in December 2019.  This plan was the overarching strategy for AfC.  It described the organisation’s strategic priorities for the coming years and details non ‘business as usual’ planned activity.  The Plan was put together following extensive engagement with council colleagues, partners, staff and young people. 

The Business Plan and associated strategies had been updated to reflect the changing context in which AfC operates and also emerging priorities.  More detail had been included on the organisation's Environment Strategy given the increasing focus and prioritisation of this work. 

The draft Medium Term Financial Strategy was attached at appendix C.  The strategy sat alongside the Business Plan and was produced as part of the budget process.   

With regards to the budget AfC was fully engaged in Windsor and Maidenhead’s budget setting process each year and the proposals outlined, that related to Windsor and Maidenhead, mirror the proposals outlined for children's services in the Local Authority's own budget paper.  A net revenue operating budget of £168,696,985 was proposed for AfC in 2022/23, £42,863,385 was allocated for RBWM.

The Treasury Plan outlined how AFC is permitted to borrow and invest for cashflow purposes in the coming year.  

The Director for Children’s Services informed that as well as the work already mentioned it was important to note that the paper built on the partnership work with other organisations such as Schools, Adult Social Care, NHS etc. intervention work had been prioritised to help protect and help young people.

The Lead Member for Climate Action and Sustainability welcomed the report but asked if there were any plans to replace ‘Kickstart’ when it came to an end.  She was informed that AFC supported  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6e

Cabinet considered the report regarding the events for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Business, Corporate and Residents Services, Culture and Heritage, and Windsor left the room during consideration of this item and did not take part in discussions or vote.

The Chairman informed Cabinet that the report provided an update on the events and projects that the Royal Borough were currently involved in to support the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations throughout 2022. 

A number of these events were being delivered by the Royal Borough.  The Council was also supporting organisations to deliver a number of events either through officer support or through financial contributions and a relaxation of some fees and charges.

The Lead Member for Planning, Parking, Highways and Transport said this was a fantastic report with so many community events, he was pleased that certain fees and charges were being relaxed to help communities.  He was also pleased to see Garden in Bloom back on the list of events.

Cllr Davies also supported this report and that she was looking forward to the many events, she mentioned that the Jubilee Picnic in the Park was in July and not June as referenced in appendix A.  She also said that Cllr Tisi welcomed any support for events.

Resolved unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

i)            Welcomes the variety of Platinum Jubilee events and projects the Royal Borough is supporting as detailed in Appendix A (as amended)

ii)          Gives in principle support to the project to illuminate Windsor and Eton Bridge, subject to the costs associated with the installation of the lights being met from funds raised through a public appeal.

iii)        Notes the ongoing additional revenue costs associated with the illumination of the Windsor and Eton Bridge if the scheme is delivered.

iv)        Approves the waiving of the fee to be charged for processing traffic management measures for street parties to be held between 2-5 June on classified roads or roads that are part of a bus route.

v)          Notes the ongoing additional revenue costs associated with the maintenance of the Platinum Jubilee Fountain.

vi)        Endorses the proposal to provide free parking for RBWM volunteers supporting the delivery of the various Platinum Jubilee events.

Cabinet considered the report regarding the findings and recommendations of the Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge.

The Chairman infofmed Cabinet that he wished to thank the LGA and Peer partners for undertaking the review.  The Royal Borough had invited the LGA into the council to conduct the review, in order to provide an external assessment of its progress, and recommendations for further improvement. Their assessment and recommendations were set out in the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback Report, appendix A.  he said that Cabinet welcomed the constructive feedback and looked forward to further improvements.  There were 11 recommendations with Cabinet’s proposals detailed below:

To consider passing the following resolution:-

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on items 8 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act"

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Resolved unanimously:  that the Part II appendix be noted and the vierment approved.