To receive any apologies for absence

No apologies were received.

To receive any declarations of interest

No declations were made.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 9 February 2023 as a true and accurate record.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held 9 February 2023 as a true and accurate record.

To consider any appointments as appropriate.

There were no new appointments to announce.

To consider the Forward Plan for the period March to June 2023.

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

·       A new item titled ‘Business rate write off’ would be considered by Cabinet in March 2023.

·       A new item titled ‘Household Support Fund, Tranche 4 Allocation’ would be considered by Cabinet in March 2023.

·       The Sports & Leisure Strategy item that was to be considered by Cabinet in March 2023, was delayed due to more work needing to be undertaken, with it now due to be considered by Cabinet in April 2023.

·       The item titled ‘the Datchet Neighbourhood Plan Referendum’ that was being considered by Cabinet tonight had also seen a change in recommendation from delegation to approval following the receipt of the Examiner’s Report.

Planning, Parking, Highways & Transport

To consider the feedback from the public consultation and approve the Electric Vehicle Charge Point Implementation Plan.

Cabinet considered the report that outlined the Electric Vehicle ChargePoint Implementation Plan for the borough.

Councillor Haseler, Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways & Transport, introduced the plan, which set out the needs of the borough and the circumstances of those who were in need of Electric Vehicle Charging over the next 10-year period. The draft plan went out to public consultation between 1 December 2022 and 9 January 2023. 194 responses were received, with their being a huge amount of support shown towards the need of electric vehicle charge points and high-speed charging. 77% of respondents agreed that if implemented, the implemented plan would meet their needs. He noted that the plan was amended slightly following feedback received during the public consultation which were as followed:

·       Where grid connection works were required, passive provision would be introduced, wherever cost-effective to allow provision to potentially be expanded at a later date.

·       Ongoing trials that were currently occurring in other local authorities where wires and cables ran over pathways would be monitored to assess the implications. Councillor Haseler did confirm that the borough’s plan had no plans for wires or cables to run over any of its pavements or pathways.

·       The council would investigate whether off-peak charging tariffs could be offered in council car parks overnight.

·       The council would specify that all electric vehicle charge points would be compatible with ISO15118, which was the vehicle to grid standard.

·       The council would also identify a trial site for a taxi charging facility.

It was recommended that Cabinet approved the plan, and that rollout would begin in the next financial year 2023/24. The Chair stated that he wished to second this proposal.

Councillor Stimson expressed her support for the paper and welcomed what had been included following the public consultation. She commended Councillor Haseler and the officers for their work in delivering a fantastic plan.

Councillor Haseler proposed officer’s recommendation, with this being seconded by Councillor Johnson.

RESOLVED UNANIMOSULY: That Cabinet approved the Electric Vehicle Charge Point Implementation Plan.

Growth & Opportunity

To approve & adopt the Vision for Windsor, note the progress made within the report and authorises delegation to the Executive Director of Place to proceed with the preparation of a full working plan and Programme Management including a set of task and finish groups.

Cabinet considered the report that outlined the Vision for Windsor.

Councillor Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Council & Cabinet Member for Business, Corporate & Residents Services, Culture & Heritage, & Windsor, introduced the report and stated that it was a very exciting paper for Windsor as a town. She stated that the Vision for Windsor was a vibrant, thriving, and welcoming town for both the local and global economy. In the past few years especially, Windsor had held significant events such as the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, where over 60% of the world’s population viewed the town on television. It was noted that the current administration had also formed a successful Windsor tourism partnership board, which was funded by key successes such as Access Able.

Councillor Rayner stated that work with the Prince’s Foundation began around 18 months ago, where a paper was scoped and brought to Cabinet in March 2022, where they were commissioned to conduct an enquiry to design a placemaking project. Since this time there had been extensive public exposure including drop-in sessions, scoping workshops, and the World Cafes amongst others. The project aligned very well with the council’s corporate plan, which Councillor Rayner then outlined the individual goals that the project adhered too. She noted that just that day the Jubilee Fountain had been installed, the Castle Hill project was now underway, and the railway bridge project would also soon be commencing. She thanked Ben Bolgar, Prince’s Foundation Trust, for his hard work during this process. The Chair stated that he wished to second this proposal to move officer’s recommendation.

Andrew Durrant, Executive Director of Place, thanked his team and all officers who had worked extremely hard on the Vision for Windsor over the last few months and also Councillor Rayner for her presentation.

Ben Bolgar expressed his passion for Windsor and said that there were unbelievable assets on offer in Windsor. He stated that entering into Windsor on the train was a lovely view, however perhaps once you entered the town it may not be as such, and that is where the Vision for Windsor would come into its own. He stated that there was excellence engagement both online and in-person and that when all of these groups of persons come together, exciting initiatives were put on show.

The Chair said that during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a great need to improve the economic development of Windsor as it was an international symbol. He thanked Ben Bolgar for all of his work and looked forward to working with him closely in the future on this.

Councillor Rayner proposed officer’s recommendation, with this being seconded by Councillor Johnson.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the progress made within the report and

i)               Approved and adopted the Vision for Windsor outline report produced independently by the Princes Foundation Trust and noted that there will be full preparation of a set of milestones and main objectives for the next 12 months.

ii)             Authorised delegation to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Children’s Services, Education, Health, Mental Health, & Transformation

To approve the following reserved matters:

?      Approval of the Company’s strategic direction through the adoption of the updated Business Plan and Medium-Term Financial Strategy

?      Approval of the Company's budget for 2023/24

?      Approval of the Company's arrangements for managing cash flow through the adoption of the Financial Plan (known as the Treasury Plan) for 2023/24

?      To brief the committee on the proposed procurement route for a new temporary worker contract and agree how a new provider will be appointed.

Cabinet considered the report on Achieving for Children’s Reserved Ownership Matters.

Councillor Carroll, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education, Health, Mental Health, & Transformation said that the borough owned 20% of the company Achieving for Children (AfC) and therefore were responsible for making reserved matter ownership decisions in relation to the strategic direction of the company, but also for other matters that the report seeked Cabinet approval for.

Councillor Carroll then outlined the main elements of appendix A which included the following priorities:

·       Stronger Families, which focussed on safeguarding young persons.

·       A positive future, which focussed on investing and collaborating with schools to ensure young persons were ready for their future adult lives.

·       An excellent workforce, which focussed on recruiting the very best staff to deliver.

·       Financial stability, to ensure key services were delivered, despite external pressures made by the economy.

·       A successful organisation, to look at enhancing the operation of AfC and maximising its output.

·       Smarter ways of working, to look at being more innovative and inventive with everything moving forward.

Lucy Kourpas, Chief Operating & Finance Officer for Achieving for Children, stated that the report outlined four different reserved matter decisions. She outlined these too Cabinet for clarity and explained that the detailed documents were reported within the appendices of the report.

The first decision related to approval of AfC’s strategic direction for the next financial year.  This was done through the annual approval of the Business Plan and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy.  Next year would be the last year of this five-year Business Plan and a detailed programme of work was planned in 2023 to consult with stakeholders to review strategic direction.  The document included both projects that were specific to Windsor and Maidenhead to ensure synergy with local borough plans as well as ones that would be implemented across all three AfC Local Authority areas.  The programmes were outlined in the appendices and the key ones to note for next year were as followed: 

·       AfC wide- placement sufficiency, recruitment and retention which had been a real struggle for AFC in recent years.

·       reviewing back-office services with ICT being the focus for 2023.

·       Equality Diversity and Inclusion and continuing to improve capacity and capability in relation to procurement and commissioning which had been identified as a weakness in AfC a couple of years ago.

·       Windsor and Maidenhead specific- Development of an embedded edge of care team.

·       Continuation of work to address areas in SEND Written Statement of Action, replacement of the case management software system.

The second decision related to approval of the AfC annual budget for 2023/24.  Appendix C provided a detailed budget report and included information on Windsor and Maidenhead as well as AfC’s other two boroughs.  The information mirrored what had been approved by each council for children’s services.

The third decision was approval of the annual Treasury Plan.  This plan was attached to the report and provided details of how AfC was allowed to invest and borrow for operational cashflow purposes.

The last decision related  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Planning, Parking, Highways & Transport

To agree to act upon the recommendations of the Examiner’s Report on the draft Datchet Neighbourhood Plan, accept the recommended modifications and proceed to a referendum.

Cabinet considered a paper that outlined the plan for a Datchet Neighbourhood Referendum.

Councillor Haseler outlined the contents of the report to Cabinet. He stated that neighbourhood planning was currently being encouraged by the borough. There were currently six different neighbourhood plans which had been formally made and were a part of the development plan. These were as followed:

·       Ascot

·       Sunninghill & Sunningdale

·       Eton & Eton Wick

·       Hurley & the Walthams

·       Old Windsor

·       Windsor

·       Horton & Wraysbury

Following publication of the draft neighbourhood plan, it was submitted to an independent examiner. The examiner’s report stated that subject to his recommendations, the Neighbourhood Plan would meet the basic requirements, and should proceed to referendum. Subject to the Steering Group’s agreement, the plan should be brought to a referendum, with some recommended changes being made. The referendum would be held on Thursday 4 May 2023, alongside the local election, with a decision statement to be issued no later than 22 March 2023. The question used would be “Do you want the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to use the neighbourhood plan for Datchet to help it decide planning applications in the area?”. If more than 50% of respondents say yes, then this would be recommended to Full Council for adoption.

Councillor Cannon, Cabinet Member for Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime, and Public Protection stated that he was very pleased as Ward Councillor for Datchet to second the motion to move officer’s recommendation and thanked officers for their hard work in moving this forward.

Councillor Larcombe was then given the opportunity to speak by the Chair as a non-panel member where he stated that this had been an ongoing process for almost a decade and that he was pleased to see it come to an end. He then gave thanks to several members of the Datchet Parish Council and expressed his support for the paper.

Councillor Haseler proposed officer’s recommendation, with this being seconded by Councillor Cannon.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the report and

i)               Agreed to accept the Examiner’s suggested modifications, issue a Decision Statement, and progress the Datchet Neighbourhood Plan to referendum on May 4th, 2023.

ii)             Delegated authority to the Head of Planning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways and Transport to make minor non material amendments to the draft Neighbourhood Plan prior to the referendum being announced.