To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Carroll, Rankin and Saunders.

On behalf of the Cabinet, the Chairman sent Councillor Rankin, who was currently contesting the Ashton-under-Lyne Parliamentary seat, his best wishes, and also to all Parliamentary contestants irrespective of their political allegiances.

To receive any declarations of interest

Councillor S. Rayner declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in the item ‘Joint Central and Eastern Berkshire Waste and Minerals Plan – Issues and Options Consultation’ as it could affect some of her land holdings . 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 27 April 2017

To note the Part I minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Regeneration Sub Committee held on 2 May 2017

To note the Part I minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Prioritisation Sub Committee held on 17 May 2017

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That:

i)             The Part I minutes of the meeting held on  27 April 2017 be approved, subject to the following amendments:

·         p.10 to read: The Lead Member for Children’s Services apologised to Mr Hill that the question had not been answered at the Children’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel the week before as had been promised by the Chairman of the Culture and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

·         p.10-11 to read:  She had to attend lots of meetings but also got to meet lots of people in the community and could see that a tangible difference was made to people’s lives, particularly those who were too young to vote.

ii)            The Part I minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Regeneration Sub Committee held on 2 May 2017 be noted

iii)           The Part I minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Prioritisation Sub Committee held on 17 May 2017 be noted

The Chairman congratulated Councillor D. Evans who had now become a full member of Cabinet, and Councillor Hilton who was now a Principal Member. Two new Deputy Lead Members had also been appointed: Councillor Love (Maidenhead and Maidenhead Regeneration) and Councillor Bowden (Aviation and Heathrow Airport).

To consider the Forward Plan for the period June 2017 – September 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 ‘Delivering Differently, Communities Directorate – Civil Enforcement Services’ would be deferred from June to July 2017.

·         The item ‘Telephony Options’ would be renamed ‘CSC – Telephony Options’ and brought forward from September to August 2017.

Members considered the latest performance monitoring report.

The Deputy Lead Member explained that 73% of indicators were on target, however there were a number that were off target which would be discussed. A supplementary note had been issued to highlight that, as identified at the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Panel, three targets given the amber RAG status in the report were in fact off target. The Chairman thanked Councillor Jones for highlighting this at the Panel meeting.

Lead Members were then invited to provide commentary on those indicators that were off target.

The Lead Member for Children’s Services explained that indicators ACH12a and b were off target as no new data was yet available. Plans were in place to narrow the attainment gap however there would be no update until the new data was available later in the year once the national academic data has been validated.

In relation to indicators ACH19 and ACH20, the Lead Member for Adult Services and Health highlighted that in 2016 Councillor Carroll had set up a Task and Finish Group with other councillors and outside agencies to look at the best way of providing smoking and drug and alcohol services. The group had put forward a number of recommendations, which had been followed by a tender process. The new service had been launched the previous week alongside representatives of the police, the Clinical Commissioning Groups and other interested parties. He believed the new service would lift the level of the whole service.

The Lead Member for Children’s Services commented in relation to indicator ACH48 that the borough highly valued its foster carers. Currently 13 of 48 carers could not be utilised, for a number of factors including health issues, moving house, and taking a break after a long-term placement.  Two carers were working with the young people to transfer to provide long-term placements which were in the children’s best interest. Four carers provided respite care only. Dialogue was underway with all carers to equip and help them; the situation was being monitored.

The Lead Member for Culture and Community Services explained that in her new role she would be working closely with Councillor McWilliams in relation to two indicators in particular: OCS69 and OCS60. In relation to complaints, she would be looking to drill down to the detail and find ways of addressing the issue.

Councillor Jones arrived at 7.45pm.

In relation to OCS63a and b, the Lead Member explained that the measure had originally excluded calls abandoned, despite Member concerns. The Chairman apologised to Councillor Mrs Jones who had been criticised when she had raised the issue at the Council meeting earlier in the year. The data had masked the fact that residents were waiting too long and abandoned calls; in the last month 7000 calls had been abandoned. A briefing note had been circulated to identify corrective actions. The Lead Member explained that there were a number of short, medium and long term actions proposed. In the short term, Cabinet was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

Councillor Rayner left the meeting at 8.07pm.

Members considered approval of the Central and Eastern Berkshire Joint Minerals and Waste Plan, Issues and Options Consultation.

The Mayor had agreed to the item being considered as a matter of urgency and therefore the call in would not apply to the item, for the following reasons:

The Council had contracted to deliver the statutory requirement for a Minerals and Waste Local Plan through a joint working arrangement with Wokingham, Bracknell and Reading Borough Councils.  The four authorities had secured the service of Hampshire County Council.  Each Council was required to published an up to date Local Development Scheme setting out the timetable for the progression of the Local Plan which included the dates for consultation.  Three out of the four authorities had now resolved to progress as set out in their adopted LDS which shows a consultation on issues and options starting on 9 June 2017.  Due to the call in period following the Cabinet meeting date the borough would not be capable of progressing the consultation on the original timescales.  The effect on this would be that none of the four authorities would be able to proceed and the process would be delayed until September 2017.  This would seriously prejudice the council's and the public interest, in delaying a Development Plan Document.

The Lead Member explained that the report requested approval to instruct Hampshire County Council to undertake work on behalf of the borough and Reading, Bracknell Forest and Wokingham councils. The call for sites had begun on 13 March 2017 until 5 May 2017. If approved, the consultation would take place over June and July 2017, following the General Election.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinetnotes the report and:

i)     Approves the Issues and Options for the Central and Eastern Berkshire Joint Minerals and Waste Plan (Appendix 1).

ii)    Approves that community involvement on the Issues and Options for the Central and Eastern Berkshire Joint Minerals and Waste Plan and associated supporting documents be authorised.

iii)   Delegates authority to the Head of Planning to make any minor amendments necessary to the Issues and Options for the Central and Eastern Berkshire Joint Minerals and Waste Plan in consultation with the Lead Member for Planning prior to community involvement.

The Mayor had agreed to the item being considered as a matter of urgency and therefore the call in period will not apply to this item.

Councillor Rayner returned to the meeting at 8.11pm.

Members considered the key aspects of the government’s housing white paper ‘Fixing our broken housing market’ and the Royal Borough’s response.

The Lead Member explained that the white paper set out the national issue of needing to build more houses. The white paper proposed to reduce the target for the number of appeals lost to 10%; the borough’s current level was 35%. This would be a strain on most Local Planning Authorities. The white paper also proposed changes to CIL and S106; there would be a further report on this aspect. The emphasis of the white paper was on the need to provide different types of tenure in the housing stock to enable people to get on the property ladder. All local authorities faced the need to build as many houses as possible because of population increases, which also required further infrastructure provision.

The Planning and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Panel had reviewed the council’s responses and the vast majority of Members were supportive.

The Deputy Lead Member for Policy and Affordable Housing was pleased that the council’s responses highlighted the difference in getting on the housing ladder in London and the southeast; there was a difference between Affordable Housing and an affordable house.  The response also included discussion of innovative intermediate markets, such as pocket flats rather than just traditional models.

The Chairman commented that the average house price relative to median earnings in the borough was 12.5 times; in the south east the average was eight times. In a recent newspaper article identifying the top 20 property hotspots in the country, house prices in the borough were predicted to increase by 25% by 2021.

The Lead Member for Maidenhead and Maidenhead Regeneration commented that the council was already acting in terms of the regeneration programme, which included a focus on increasing the number of people living in Maidenhead town centre.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinetnotes the report and:

          i) Strongly endorses the RBWM submitted response to the Housing White Paper consultation which is detailed in Appendix A

Members considered a new plan to bring further empty homes back into use in the Borough to utilise them for affordable housing.

The Chairman explained that the plan set out how the existing housing stock could be used more efficiently.  Members noted the figures in Table 2 of the report which demonstrated that if all empty properties in the borough could be borough back into use, this represented almost one year’s worth of the annual requirement for housing in the borough.

The Executive Director confirmed that the Action Plan included plans to produce a comprehensive database of empty properties in the borough  using council tax and land registry records. The council had a number of powers over empty homes that were causing a blight. The Executive Director agreed to discuss a specific property in Sunningdale with Councillor Bateson outside the meeting.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet notes the report and:

i)      Approves the action plan of bringing back empty homes into use for the affordable housing portfolio.

Members considered further investment in Adult social Care planned for the next three years which would bring the total investment to £28.5 million.

The Lead Member explained that the additional funding would not solve the problem as demand would continue to grow. Over the last two years the population of the borough had grown by 0.7%; the over-65 population had grown by 3.7%. It could cost the council up to £1000 per week to look after a person with severe dementia. If just 1% of the increase was in this area, this would cost £0.5m.

The additional investment would ensure more resident’s needs were met through:

·      More residential beds for older residents and those with learning disabilities.

·      More nursing beds for residents with dementia and or other complex needs. 

·      Increasing the wage of domiciliary workforce.  Raising their hourly rate in line with the national living wage – to £7.50 per hour.

·      Meeting the increased cost of care in nursing and residential homes

The Chairman referred to the announcement by central government for an additional £2bn nationally in 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20, for which the Royal Borough aggregated over that three year period to an additional £3.4m. The council was embedding additional services for residents and costs which were not covered by receipts at the end of the three year period. There was a cliff-edge in 2020/21 for local authorities in relation to funding for adult social Care that needed to be addressed. Local authorities were sizing services assuming there would be a solution nationally by 2020/21.

The Principal Member for HR, Legal and IT commented that she was pleased to see that salaries for social care workers would be raised in line with the National Living Wage, as this would have a positive impact on the continuity of services.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet notes the report and agrees:

i)          The Adult social care investment plan set out in 2.4.

Members considered the case for the Royal Borough to proactively support Care Leavers (aged 18-25) as part of its statutory duty as Corporate Parent by exempting care leavers from Council Tax.

Members noted that the Chairman of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Panel has agreed to the urgent report being added to the agenda for Cabinet on 30 May 17.

The Lead Member highlighted that Care Leavers were one of the most vulnerable groups represented by the council. The proposed discretionary rates would provide the strongest possible start in life as Care Leavers became independent and sought to manage their budgets. The Lead Member explained that the cohort was small with only 10 of the current 53 care leavers eligible to pay some level of council tax. The total amount of council tax foregone on an annual basis was difficult to forecast exactly but should the 10 care leavers all qualify for a single persons discount and 90% council tax reduction then the estimated amount foregone from the collection fund would be £918. If they only qualified for a single persons discount then the amount would be £9,178. This was a very small amount compared to the council budget as a whole. If approved, a statutory consultation would take place, followed by consideration at Full Council on 25 July 2017. However it was proposed that the exemption be backdated to 1 April 2017.

The Lead Member for Highways and Transport proposed that the backdating be extended. The council was legally and effectively acting as the parent to children in care and therefore should do all it could to help Care Leavers. The Chairman suggested the backdating should take effect from June 2015, the start of the current administration.

RESOLVED UNAIMOUSLY: That Cabinet notes the report and:

i)     As part of the ongoing support to care leavers in its role as Corporate Parent, approves a new 100% Mandatory Council Tax Exemption to care leavers aged 18-21, and a new up to 100% Discretionary Council Tax Exemption to care leavers aged 22-25 from 1 June 2015.

ii)    Agrees to amendments to the council’s S13A policy, to include the above, as appropriate.

Members considered the final outturn statement in 2016-17. The Chairman highlighted the underspend of £447,000 on the General Fund, an improvement of £46,000 since the April 2017 update.

Members noted that an additional recommendation had been circulated in relation to the appointment of the Braywick Leisure Centre Design Team. The Executive Director explained that the budget was already in the capital programme but to comply with the council’s contract rules, Cabinet approval was required to make the appointment. The actual Final Project Brief would come back to Cabinet for approval in July or August 2017.

It was noted that recommendation ii) should refer to paragraphs 4.13 and 4.14.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet notes the report and:

i)             Notes the Council’s outturn position for 2016-17.

ii)            Notes the carry forward to 2017-18 of £264,000 of allocated unspent budget approved in March and October 2016 for transforming services details of which are contained in paragraphs 4.3 and 4.4.

iii)           Notes the increase to the provision for redundancy costs by £263,000 funded by the capital fund. Details are contained in paragraphs 4.13 and 4.14.

iv)          Delegates authority to the Executive Director in liaison with the Lead Member for Finance and Lead Member for Culture and Community Services, for the appointments of the Braywick Leisure Centre Project Design Team within the overall approved capital programme, including progressing the Concept Design and related consultation into a Final Project Brief which will be submitted for approval by Cabinet in summer 2017 before significant progression of the Detailed Design and submission of a Planning Application.

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 8-9 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 UNAIMOUSLY: 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 8-9 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.

To consider the Part II minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2017

To note the Part II minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Regeneration Sub Committee held on 2 May 2017

To note the Part II minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Prioritisation Sub Committee held on 17 May 2017