The Chairman congratulated all the excellent comprehensive secondary schools and further education colleges in the Borough and the achievements of all the pupils on GCSE results day. Irrespective of outcomes, all had worked very hard and the council was very proud of their achievements.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bicknell, D. Evans and Rankin.

To receive any declarations of interest

Councillor Bateson declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in the item ‘New Primary School Places in Ascot’ as a Trustee of the Sunninghill Parochial Charity, which would be leasing land to the school. She left the room for the duration of the discussion and voting on the item.

To consider the Part I minutes of the meeting held on 28 July 2016

To note the Part I minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Local Authority Governors Appointments Sub Committee held on 28 July 2016

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That:

i)             The minutes of the meeting held on 28 July 2016 be approved.

ii)            The minutes of the Cabinet Local Authority Governors Appointments Sub Committee held on 28 July 2016 be noted.

None

To consider the Forward Plan for the period September to December 2016

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 ‘Future Provision of Debt Recovery Enforcement Services,’ listed for September 2016, would be deferred until October 2016.

·         The item ‘Change to Council Tax Empty Unfurnished Exemption,’ listed for September 2016, would be deferred until October 2016.

·         The item ‘Maidenhead Golf Club – Update’ would be presented to the Cabinet Regeneration Sub Committee on 26 September 2016.

Cabinet considered progress and performance outturns against the Council’s key priorities for Quarter 1 2016/17.

The Deputy Lead Member explained that performance in the first quarter of the financial year was down compared to the previous quarter, with 43% of measures on target and 29% off target. It was noted that the number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) had reduced from 27 to 24, however performance was not where the council wanted it to be. The Deputy Lead Member explained that he was working with officers to review the format of the report to ensure it looked at strategic aims and was accessible to all.

The Lead Member for Culture and Communities explained that the council had negotiated a new contract with ISS Waterers in January 2016 for grounds maintenance, resulting in a saving of £140,000. However there had been numerous problems including staffing and management issues, which were now sorted. The council had also imposed higher KPIs to achieve a better quality service. Regular weekly meetings were being held with the management at ISS Waterers to bring performance back on target. A financial penalty of £20,000 had also been imposed. The Strategic Director for Operations and Customer Services confirmed that ISS Waterers now had staff in place to fully support the contract obligations and he was confident that performance would be back on track by November 2016. He would be attending inspections alongside officers. The target was cumulative therefore significant improvements would be needed to get performance back on track.

The Lead Member for Environmental Services highlighted that incredible performance continued in waste disposal, however the issue now needed to be looked at in a different way to increase the amount recycled rather than being sent for incineration. Income from parking had seen a significant dip between May and June 2016. The figures for July would bring the target back on track. It was noted that the figures for April had been down by £30,000; in May over by £130,000; and in June down by £180,000. The Strategic Director explained that this may be due to a profiling issue and he would be undertaking an investigation. He would be able to give a confident statement of the reasons for the fluctuations by the time of the next report.

The Lead Member for Children’s Services referred to the comments made by the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Panel in relation to targets in her portfolio area. She explained that the way of reporting progress with Troubled Families did not reflect the way the programme worked. The target had always been met by year end, but showed underperformance during the year. The KPI would therefore be removed from the next report. The Lead Member suggested an annual report including case studies would be more appropriate, with regular monitoring by Overview and Scrutiny. In relation to indicator SG40 she explained that the target had been amended to be more realistic. She believed that there had been some confusion at Corporate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

Cabinet considered options for the provision of additional primary school places in Ascot. The Lead Member explained that a clear majority of respondents to the consultation had preferred the option of expansion at Cheapside School. The school currently offered 16 places per year; with expansion this would increase to 30 per year from September 2017. The report did not request capital funding as proposals needed to be developed before moving to the tendering stage. The recommendation included the need to develop an infrastructure plan to deal with issues such as parking. An infrastructure plan would be developed for each school in the consultation.

The Deputy Lead Member for Ascot Regeneration commented that as an Ascot councillor he had been made acutely aware of the shortage of places by people moving into the area who struggled to find a place for their child. Cheapside was rated as Outstanding by Ofsted. The increase to 30 places would secure the school’s long term future. The school was in the Green Belt but he imagined that special circumstances could be demonstrated. He and his fellow ward councillor would be pleased to be involved in the process with officers, particularly in relation to the infrastructure plan.

Councillor Jones stated that she supported the report. She requested that further expansion be considered in relation to future development so that places were provided in the right locations. The Lead Member agreed that this would be the case and would involve consultation with residents. The Lead Member for Planning requested that the infrastructure plan be forwarded to the Planning Policy team.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet:

Approves a four-stranded approach to meeting the forecast future need for primary school places in the Ascot area as follows:

i.       In relation to Cheapside Church of England Primary school:

a.         Approves the publication of a formal proposal for the expansion of the school from 16 to 30 places per year group from September 2017 (see Option A in table 1) during September 2016.

b.        Authorises the Lead Member for Children’s Services and the Managing Director & Strategic Director of Adult, Children and Health Services to determine the expansion proposal following the end of the representation period during October 2016.

c.         Authorises the Head of Schools and Education Services to proceed with procurement and tendering for the scheme to expand the School.

ii.      Requests that the Managing Director & Strategic Director of Adult, Children and Health Service works with the Strategic Director of Corporate & Community Services to ensure that one or more new primary school sites in Ascot are identified as the housing plans for the area develop.

iii.    That further work is done to develop the plans to expand the existing schools (see Options B and C in table 1) so that these can be implemented when needed.

iv.    That, for all options, a local infrastructure plan is developed to minimise the impact of new primary school places on the local community.

(Councillor Bateson left the room for the duration of the discussion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6b

Cabinet considered proposals to change the Home to School Transport policy. The Lead Member explained that the council had a statutory duty to provide a certain level of provision, as detailed in table 1 of the report. Like other local authorities, the council offered additional discretionary help as detailed in table 2. The cost in 2010/11 had been £1.8m, rising to £2.2m in 2015/16. These budget pressures were mirrored across the country. With current trends, the cost would rise to £3.2m in 2019/20. This would result in funding being taken from other service areas unless an alternative policy was put in place.

The Lead Member explained that the proposals would be put in place from September 2017 for new or revised travel arrangements. The proposals would not affect existing provision. There were no proposals to change provision under statutory duties. All proposals were being made to make the system more fair and equitable and to manage future costs growth. The Lead Member referred to an inaccurate article in the Maidenhead Advertiser that had claimed a father would have to pay £750 for his younger child to use the same bus as her older sibling. The Lead Member confirmed that the proposals had been extended so that siblings were not penalised.

The Chairman highlighted that the proposals did not result in a cost saving, they were being put forward to be fair to all council taxpayers.

The Deputy Lead Member for Ascot Regeneration commented that fairness lay at the heart of the proposals, to create a balance between discretionary provision and the interests of the council taxpayer. It had been good to see support in the consultation for independent travel training. Individual transport budgets would be a worthwhile addition to the options for residents. The proposals also took into account the uniqueness of some areas of the borough, such as Eton Wick.

The Lead Member for Adult Services and Health commented that for many years the Bray councillors had fought to keep a special deal for residents. He was now of the opinion that this position was not tenable as fairness was needed across the borough. The proposals ensured families were not disadvantaged in the short term and could plan for the future.

The Lead Member for Finance commented that when the public sector provided services to a range of residents, some of whom were in significant need through to modest need, this would always be fraught with complexities. The capacity for spend to balloon over time was clear, as the quantum of users increased. Unfortunately there would be some with modest needs who would be accustomed to being part of such a support network that would no longer exist. With a high degree of care and equity the council was seeking to  adjust and redirect money spent so those in significant need or vulnerability were those to whom the greater proportion of a complex budget would be directed. There would be some who felt aggrieved but the council had taken  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6c

Cabinet considered the latest financial update. The Lead Member explained that the council had set itself financial challenges this year; finances were on track in general. The anticipated combined reserves at year-end were in the region of £6.3m, which was £1m over the required minimum. The Adults, Children and Health directorate dealt with some of the most vulnerable and demanding residents. Funding could be on an individual basis and very expensive therefore changes during the year could be attributed to a small number of individuals. The budget for learning disability and mental health problems was £40,000 over budget, however in older peoples services the budget was £250,000 under and the children with disabilities budget was £370,000 under.

In the Corporate and Community Services directorate the council had chosen to forgo £80,000 of rental income to provide valuable services to the community including two units of Waldeck House being let to charities and a day centre for the homeless at Howarth Road. There were other areas showing modest savings therefore in broad terms the directorate was on line with budget expectations.

In the Operations and Customer Services directorate a number of savings had been identified including a tactical review of IT services leading to a saving of £150,000 in excess of budget projections. In total the underspend in the directorate was projected to be £245,000.

The Lead Member highlighted that the council was releasing back into the general accounts £200,000 that had been set aside for the Shurlock Row arrangements. An allocation of £100,000 from the development fund was being made for Forest Bridge school. Paragraph 4.4 also made reference to £495,000 for Pay Reward, which was demonstrably driven by performance measures.

The Lead Member for Children’s Services explained that Forest Bridge school was looking for a new location. One potential site was at Berkshire College of Agriculture. The council had agreed to share the risk with the EFA by match funding £100,000 for a planning application. Other potential sites were under consideration including Braywick Park, therefore the money was not yet being spent. The Managing Director explained that the school was now in the position that it could not take any more pupils after September 2016. In conversations with the EFA it had been confirmed that the current site was needed back by the council to meet the need for primary places, therefore the EFA was looking at alternative sites

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet:

i)             Notes the report and the projected outturn position.