To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cannon & Stimson.

To receive any declarations of interest from Cabinet Members.

No delarations of interest were made.

To consider the Part I minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 30 March 2023.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Part I & Part II minutes of the meeting held on 30 March 2023 were approved.

None

To consider the Forward Plan for the period May 2023 – August 2023.

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

·       A new item ‘Appointment of Outside Bodies’ would be considered by Cabinet in June 2023

·       Disabled Facilities Grant Policy was delayed in order to add updates to the report confirming partnership working with the HQN, so this would be considered by Cabinet in June 2023

·       Allocations Policy report was delayed due to officers awaiting updates following the legal position so this would be considered by Cabinet in June 2023.

·       Award of RBWM Leisure Management Contract was delayed due to unforeseen delays in the procurement process so this would be considered by Cabinet in June 2023.

·       Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was delayed in order to provide additional time to fully brief new Councillors on the purpose of the SPD following the election so this would be considered by Cabinet in June 2023.

·       Contract for Parking Enforcement, Moving Traffic Enforcement, Environmental Enforcement and Highways Enforcement was delayed in order to allow sufficient time for consultations to occur so this would be considered by Cabinet in June 2023.

·       Disposal of Open Space Land, Land at Braywick Park, Maidenhead was delayed due to it being called in at Place Overview & Scrutiny on 20 April 2023. This decision had been referred back to the decision maker.

Business, Corporate & Residents Service, Culture & Heritage, & Windsor

To approve the award of the Digital Broadband Line contract based on a 5-year contract, with the option to extend for another single 2-years period. The contract is to commence on 29 May 2023.

Cabinet considered the report titled Broadband Digital Lines.

Councillor Rayner, Cabinet Member for Business, Corporate & Residents Services, Culture & Heritage outlined the report to Cabinet by stating that the award of contract being proposed would be for a 5-year period starting from 29 May 2023, with the option available to extend for another single 2-year period. This would service 34 sites within the Council including libraries and Council offices, such as the Town Hall in Maidenhead.

The Chair thanked Councillor Rayner and stated his intention to support the proposal.

This was proposed by Councillor Rayner and seconded by Councillor Johnson.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)                    approved the award of the Digital Broadband Line contract based on a 5-year contract, with the option to extend for another single 2- years period. The contract will commence on 29 May 2023 with the supplier information and value detailed in Appendix A, which is Part II by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

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

       i.         To recommend approval of the capital schemes set out in Appendix B, and their budgets as set out in Appendix C for inclusion in the 2023/24 capital programme.

     ii.         To delegate approval of a second round of prioritised projects for inclusion in the 2023/24 capital programme to the Director of Children’s Services.

    iii.         To delegate authority to the Director of Children’s Services and the Procurement Manager to undertake procurement and enter into contracts for the delivery of the schemes set out at Appendix B, including where varied under recommendation (ii).

    iv.         Requests that consideration be given to establishing a corporate revenue fund for survey and feasibility works relating to the maintenance and development of the council’s assets.

Cabinet considered the report titled Schools Condition Allocation 2023-24.

Councillor Carroll, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education, Health, Mental Health, & Transformation introduced the report by stating that the government provided funding to the borough to maintain and improve school buildings and grounds. This funding was for voluntary and community-controlled schools only. Cabinet was being asked to approve the projects that were set out within the report over the period 2023-24. This included various endeavours from gutters to radiators and therefore was quite an undertaking in terms of infrastructure.

Lin Ferguson, Executive Director of Children’s Services & Education said that the overall budget was already in the borough's capital programme, but the individual scheme's budgets were shown in appendix D (part 11).The round of schemes would still leave some capital to be allocated this year following the completion of relevant surveys. The recommendation was that the decision for these new projects was delegated to the DCS and Procurement Manager so that they could procure and enter into contracts.

This was proposed by Councillor Carroll and seconded by Councillor Johnson.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Approved the capital schemes, and their budgets as set out in the appendices for inclusion in the 2023/24 capital programme.

ii)             Delegated approval of a second round of prioritised projects for inclusion in the 2023/24 capital programme to the Director of Children’s Services.

iii)            Delegated authority to the Director of Children’s Services and the Procurement Manager to undertake procurement and enter into contracts for the delivery of the schemes set out in the appendices, including where varied under recommendation (ii).

iv)            Requested that consideration be given to establishing a corporate revenue fund for survey and feasibility works relating to the maintenance and development of the council’s assets.

Digital Connectivity, Housing Opportunity, & Sport & Leisure

To approve the additional expenditure of £0.796m to enable the John West House redevelopment to be completed in full.

Cabinet considered the report titled John West House Redevelopment.

Councillor McWilliams, Cabinet Member for Digital Connectivity, Housing Opportunity, & Sport & Leisure introduced the report by saying that £796,000 of additional expenditure was being sought in order to complete the expansion of John West House. This scheme had been in the capital programme for the last year, and it would deliver an additional 16 bedrooms within the property. He then went on to describe the facilities that were on offer at the location and described the impacts of the pandemic that had been seen on the location. The additional bedrooms would be available for the residents that were on the rough sleeper’s pathway.

Councillor Hilton, Cabinet Member for Asset Management & Commercialisation, Finance, & Ascot, asked if the location provided adequate space to accommodate all who were sleeping rough within the borough. The Cabinet Member for Digital Connectivity, Housing Opportunity, & Sport & Leisure replied by saying that there were various stages of the pathway. Once residents entered at stage 3, they would live in semi-independent living quarters whilst receiving funding from officers with a view to eventually becoming fully independent.

Tracy Hendren, Head of Housing, Environmental Health & Trading Standards added to this by saying that John West House would be used at stage 1 for the assessment stage and also stage 2 where intense support would be provided for up to 2 years in John West House. John West House would be a learning house with independent self-contained accommodation, to allow residents to sustain a tenancy in the future. They would then move on to stage 3 independent accommodation with floating support for up to 6 months to ensure that they could sustain a tenancy moving forward.

The Cabinet Member for Digital Connectivity, Housing Opportunity, & Sport & Leisure said that 4 years ago there was no rough sleeper pathway and that none of the progress on show would have been possible without the hard work of officers and he wanted to place on record his thanks to Tracy Hendren and her team.

The Chair echoed these comments and said that the administration had left the borough in a better place than when they took over 4 years ago, despite the rising inflation levels seen in recent times.

This was proposed by Councillor McWilliams and seconded by Councillor Coppinger.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Approved the additional expenditure of £0.796m to enable the John West House redevelopment to be completed in full.

Adult Social Care & Maidenhead

To agree the award of £910,381 for the supply, implementation and maintenance of the Mosaic Case Management System (CMS). This will be funded from capital budgets already approved in the 2023/24 budget.

Cabinet considered the report titled the Award of Contract for an Adult Social Care Case Management System.

Councillor Coppinger, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Maidenhead introduced the report by saying that this paper would affect all residents, as at some point in everyone’s life, residents would be in need of care either at an external location or within their own home. He said that the current system was at increased risk of security breaches and that the borough needed a new system that was capable of providing strength-based practices, in order for residents to be able to stay as independent as possible for as long as possible. He asked Cabinet to approve the expenditure of £910,381 for the supply, implementation, and maintenance of the chosen Case Management System. He said that this sum of money had already been approved within the budget process at Full Council.

Councillor Haseler, Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways & Transport, wholeheartedly agreed with this. He said that the current system was at the end of its current life, and that he wished to second the proposal to see a new and more efficient system come into effect, which would have a positive impact on all residents.

This was proposed by Councillor Coppinger and seconded by Councillor Haseler.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Agreed the award of £910,381 for the supply, implementation, and maintenance of the Mosaic Case Management System (CSM). This would be funded from capital budgets already approved in the 2023/24 budget.

Digital Connectivity, Housing Opportunity, & Sport & Leisure

To receive a short update on the Sport & Leisure Strategy for the borough.

Cabinet considered the verbal update on the Sport & Leisure Strategy for 2023-33.

Michael Shepherd, Sport & Leisure Service Manager, introduced the verbal report via a presentation that was shown before Cabinet. He briefly outlined the borough’s proposed leisure strategy for the period 2023-33 and said that there had of course been a big change in leisure activities within the borough over the last few years, due to the pandemic and explained some of the follow-on effects from this. He then outlined the strategic themes of the strategy that the borough would be aiming to undertake, following on from a number or pieces of stakeholder engagement.

These strategic themes were:

·       Active Environment

·       Sustainability

·       Thriving Communities

·       Health Inequalities

Michael Shepherd then stated that the strategy wished to emphasise the need for exercise, and outlined what the borough offered residents, including the drive and walking times for residents to travel to the leisure centres that existed within the borough currently. The future objectives of the borough’s leisure was then discussed with the service interventions that could occur being focussed upon.

The Cabinet Member for Digital Connectivity, Housing Opportunity, & Sport & Leisure thanked Michael Shepherd for the update and said that there was a really strong public health message that ran throughout the strategy, which was key. He said that in the future, once this strategy was delivered, the borough would possess a resident focussed and club driven strategy that will aid the borough in the future when making decisions on leisure facilities.

Cabinet Members noted the update.

The Chair ended the meeting by thanking officers and his Cabinet for their hard work and their commitment to delivering services on behalf of the borough over the past 4 years as this was the last Cabinet meeting before the Local Elections being held on 4 May 2023. The Chair closed the meeting by welcoming Stephen Evans, Chief Executive to the borough and wished him all the best in his new role.

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 the remaining agenda items 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 whilst discussion takes place on the grounds that the items involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Part II minutes of the meeting held on 30 March 2023 were approved as there were no comments on these that were deemed necessary for Part II discussion. Therefore the meeting concluded upon the passing of the above motion.