To receive any apologies for absence

None received

To receive any declarations of interest

No declarations were made.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2022.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2022 be approved.

The Chairman announced the following appointments:

Councillor David Coppinger - Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Maidenhead

Councillor Stuart Carroll - Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education, Health, Mental Health, & Transformation 

Councillor Gurpreet Bhangra - Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Parks & Countryside

To consider the Forward Plan for the period November 2022 to February 2023.

Cabinet noted the Forward Plan for the next four months including the following additional changes:

·         ‘Housing Allocations Policy’ would be considered by Cabinet in November 2022

·         ‘Award of Contract for Case Management System’ would be considered by Cabinet in December 2022.

·         ‘Sport and Leisure Strategy’ would be considered by Cabinet in March 2023

Cabinet considered approval to consult on a draft Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Implementation Plan.

Councillor Haseler, Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways and Transport,explained that officers had been working hard to complete the draft plan, which was very close to completion. The Cabinet paper covered the key aspects, and the draft plan would be shared with all Members prior to the public consultation. Bringing the paper before Cabinet at the meeting would allow the public consultation to take place in November, completing in December, with the final plan coming back to Cabinet in January. This avoided a public consultation over the Christmas period.

Councillor Haseler highlighted that the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK would end in 2030, as set out in the 2021 national Decarbonising Transport strategy. Earlier in 2022, in ‘Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy - Taking Charge’, the government tasked local authorities with developing local strategies to ensure the necessary infrastructure would be in place to support the transition, with a particular responsibility for developing a network of chargepoints on local authority streets. It was projected that half of all cars and vans in the borough would be electric by 2035, rising to virtually all such vehicles by 2040. Increasingly, the borough’s residents, businesses and visitors would need and expect the infrastructure to be in place to support electric vehicles.

Whilst the majority of charging would take place on residential driveways and in fleet depots, there was a need for the council to support the delivery of chargepoints on land that it managed, on streets and in council car parks. The plan would fully support the Corporate Plan to create a sustainable borough of opportunity and innovation and the priorities for quality infrastructure and to take action on climate change.

With regards to on-street and public car park chargepoints, it was estimated that the plan would require an investment of around £5 million in chargepoint infrastructure over the 10-year plan period. This would be funded initially by chargepoint operators and government ORCS and LEVI grants. Early supplier engagement had confirmed that the plan could be delivered without any capital

investment from the borough, and with existing staff resources.

Optionally, the borough could invest capital from CIL or other sources in the provision of chargepoints. The benefit being that chargepoint operators typically offered a share of profits if local authorities invested their own capital. In such an agreement, the operation and maintenance costs of the chargepoints were met by the chargepoint operator. Returns for the council would initially be very modest, but by 2033 a combination of increased chargepoint profitability from there being more electric vehicles on the roads and the significant number of chargepoints that would be in the borough by that time, created an opportunity for the council to benefit from a significant new income stream. This was estimated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

Cabinet considered the plan to deliver a 50% carbon reduction in the Council’s emissions by 2025/26, based on a 2018/19 baseline in line with the Council’s Environment and Climate Strategy.

Councillor Stimson, Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Sustainability, explained that in the Environment and Climate Strategy, approved in December 2020, the council had made a commitment for a science-based carbon reduction trajectory. The report related to the council’s carbon emissions, which was a small part of the overall total, but if the council was going to lead the way it needed to be on top of it. Between 2018/19 and 2025/26 the council committed to reducing emissions by 50% as part of a longer term plan to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050 at the latest.

The council’s emissions in 2018/19 were 4500 tonnes. A 50% target reduction by 2025/26 would require a reduction of 2292 tonnes. The paper set out how the council would achieve its target through a combination of operational changes, building improvements and decarbonisation. It outlined the work already completed and planned for the financial year. The report identified the required level of emission reductions need to meet the Corporate Plan goals and a programme of works to achieve that, based on the feasibility studies undertaken by independent specialists to identify opportunities to decarbonise the council’s estate.

Councillor Stimson referenced a number of projects including replacing lighting in 14 council buildings and schools with LEDs which delivered a typical 60% saving on the amount of energy and carbon they consumed. 90% of street lighting had been replaced with LEDs, leading to a 63% reduction in electricity consumption. At today’s electricity prices, this saved the council £798,000 annually. The final 10% would be completed in the next 12 months. New double glazing had been installed at Tinkers Lane and a number of schools. PV panels had also been installed at a number of schools. There had also been an awareness raising and education support programme to support behaviour change.

There were also projects planned for the coming year. The council had won a bid for capital funding of £1.45m  for Decarbonisation Phase 3. Schools with oil fired burners would be replaced, saving an estimated 185 tonnes.

Councillor Johnson seconded the proposal.

Councillor Hilton commented that the trajectory projected was impressive and the council was clearly on track to meet its commitment. As impressive was the ability of officers to secure external grant funding to enable projects to take place.

Councillor Rayner commented that she was pleased schools were benefitting, both in terms of saving money and modelling behaviour.

Councillor Stimson highlighted some of the work with MaidEnergy, a local co-operative that understood the borough and its residents well, including the installation of a heat pump at the Thames Valley Athletic Centre. MaidEnergy had approached both the council and the Climate Partnership with a number of well-founded case studies.

Councillor Coppinger commented that many residents, especially older residents, were concerned about how they would achieve the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6b