To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received.

To receive any declarations of interest from Cabinet Members.

No declarations of interest were made.

To note the Part I minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 27 April 2023.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Part I minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 27 April 2023 be noted.

There were no appointments to be considered in addition to the report at item 6 on the agenda.

To consider the Forward Plan for the period July 2023 to October 2023.

Cabinet noted the Forward Plan for the next four months including the following additional changes listed in the agenda report pack:

·       The Disposal of Open Land, Land at Braywick Park, Maidenhead would now come to July Cabinet as a result of the call-in decision in April 2023 to refer it back to the decision maker.

·       The Allocations Policy would now come to July Cabinet to allow for further updates to be added confirming partnership working with the HQN.

·       The Disabled Facilities Grant would now come to July Cabinet as further updates were being awaited following the legal position.

·       The Award of the RBWM Leisure Management Contract would now come to July Cabinet due to a further unforeseen delay in the procurement process.

·       The Tall Buildings SPD was removed from the Forward Plan to allow time for the new relevant Cabinet Members to consider amendments that had been made following consultations.

Since the agenda was published the following changes had been made:

·       The Broadway Car Park - Nicholson Quarter Development update report had been added as a new item for July Cabinet

·       Public Places Protection Orders Consultation had been added as a new item for July Cabinet

·       Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Guidance Note had been added as a new item for September Cabinet

·       A308/Mill Lane/Parsonage Lane junction improvement had been added as a new item for September Cabinet

·       Supported bus services tender approval had been added as a new item for September Cabinet

·       Article 4 Direction – removal of permitted development rights to change of use from Class E (commercial class) to C3 (residential) had been added as a new item for September Cabinet

·       A308/Holyport Road junction improvements had been added as a new item for October Cabinet

Cabinet members then discussed the items that they would like to see added to the forward plan for consideration at future meetings:

·       Councillor Hill, lead member for Highways and Traffic, Customer Service Centre and Employment indicated that he was keen for a Parking Strategy for Maidenhead town to be brought for consideration due to the current issues being experienced by visitors and residents and the impact on business as soon as possible.

·       Councillor Bermange, lead member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management highlighted that the planning policy team were working on a number of Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) and he would be looking for the affordable housing SPD to be considered in the Autumn.

·       Councillor Del Campo, lead member for Adults, Health and Housing Services was keen to discuss an empty homes strategy, as per her previous motion to Council, to develop a supportive and encouraging approach to bring properties back onto the market. She noted that in January there were 400 empty properties in the borough and given that there were 10 rough sleepers and the volume of families on the housing waiting list this was a priority to be considered.

·       Councillor Coe, lead member for Environmental Services updated Cabinet that an action plan on grass cutting and verge maintenance would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

i) To note the final revenue outturn for the year is an overspend on services of £0.757m which reduces to an underspend of £1.460m when including unallocated contingency budgets and changes to funding budgets (para 4);

ii) To note that as a result of this, the general fund reserve has increased from £8.753m to £10.213m (para 4); and

iii) To note the forecast capital outturn is expenditure of £21.663m against a budget of £76.56m (para 13).

Cabinet considered the 2022/23 Revenue Outturn report which detailed the final outturn against budget for the 202223 financial year and included the revenue and capital budgets along with the financial reserve position at year end.

Councillor Jones, Deputy Leader of the Council and lead member for Finance introduced the report by stating that the final revenue outturn for the year there had been an overspend on service budgets of £757k, the contingency funding had been applied which had left £1.46m to be added to the Council’s general reserve which currently stood at £10.2m. 

Councillor Jones explained that the minimum level for the general reserve was currently £7.9m and the optimum would be between £12m to £15m. She added that the minimum levels being set in the budget were increasing year on year due to the Council’s increased risks.

Councillor Jones focused on the following pressures:

·       Adult Services had contributed £1.2m to the previous years’ service budget overspend. This had been explained as an increase in older people placement numbers and the unit cost. During covid there was an increase in care home admittances from hospitals into care homes and she observed this seemed to be a continuing trend.

·       Parking Season tickets, due to new working patterns, had not returned to pre-covid levels

·       Energy inflation was affecting the Council’s leisure centre utility costs for example increased costs to heat the swimming pool

·       Unfulfilled positions had offset some of the Council’s budget overspend but she reflected that these positions were important to provide adequate services to the borough’s residents. She stated that the Council must understand and resolve any recruitment issues to ensure these positions, especially the key roles, were filled as soon as possible.

Councillor Jones highlighted that on page 29 of the agenda pack and within appendix A it set out significant Capital slippage which had meant that the Council had £779k underspend on the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) that was not expected and this had been offset by the £548k increase in interest payments on Council borrowing. Within the 2022/23 financial year the Council had received a number of ‘one off’ funding payments and this could not be relied upon for 2023/24.

Councillor Jones reiterated that she had concerns regarding the levels of savings targets given the known pressures on services but stated that Cabinet would work with the budget as inherited to mitigate those pressures through the year. She stated that years of council tax freezes and cuts, while austerity reduced council funding by around 30%, had left the council with significant financial constraints and a lack of capacity to provide services – people were seeing this on a daily basis across the borough. There was a significant financial challenge to address in the Medium Term.

Councillor Price reflected that savings on posts was a cost to the Council in its services and queried what was being done to consider how to recruit to the positions.

Stephen Evans, Chief Executive advised the meeting that it was difficult to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Customer Service Centre & Employment

To note the report and delegate authority to the Executive Director of Place Services in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member to:

i) Award the contracts for Lots 1, 2 and 3 to Marston Holdings (NSL) for a total of 5 years with options for two extension periods of 2 years (5+2+2)

ii) Award the contract for Lot 4 to WISE for a total of 2 years with options for two extension periods of 1 year (2+1+1)

Cabinet considered the report relating to the award of contract for Parking Enforcement, Moving Traffic Enforcement and Environmental Enforcement.

Councillor Hill, lead member for Highways and Traffic, Customer Service Centre and Employment introduced the report explaining that this had been in progress for some time and they were picking up what the previous administration had started. He stated that none of these enforcement activities were about making money but parking enforcement was about making sure that people did the right thing at the right time, that moving traffic enforcement was about people’s safety and that environmental enforcement was about keeping the Borough clean and tidy. He advised that this was not a revenue generating paper. 

Councillor Hill explained that the procurement for the Parking & Environmental Enforcement contracts was broken down into four lots e.g.

·       Lot 1 Parking Enforcement

·       Lot 2 Compliance Management Technology and Associated Services, including PCN issue and progression, evidence review, permit management, interfaces and reporting.

·       Lot 3 Moving Traffic Enforcement which was new to the borough

·       Lot 4 Environmental enforcement services

Councillor Hill advised that the Council was looking to bring some services such as environmental enforcement services back inhouse in the future but would let this contract run.

Councillor Bermange, lead member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management thanked the legal team for looking into his questions about the governance arrangements for the contracts. He explained that when outsourcing any activities to a contractor that they take on the responsibilities, how they conduct themselves would be a reflection on the Council and he was pleased to note there were statute and existing codes of practice in place for the staff operating the services. He reflected that anecdotally there had been concerns raised about the tactics used in environmental enforcement. He noted that the contract specifically referred to the code of practice and this regulated activity would be delivered in a proportionate and consistent way.

Councillor A Tisi, lead member for Children’s Services, Education and Windsor highlighted the education side of litter enforcement and that it was important to offer tools for easy disposal. She was really pleased to see the focus on school safety and noted that one of the sites was outside Wraysbury School which was a particular area that was a traffic concern. She added that the ten sites had been identified and the traffic regulation orders had already been applied for but there was scope to extend this to other sites, other schools, which would heighten pedestrian safety.

Councillor Coe, lead member for Environmental Services commented on concerns raised previously about the Council’s ability to direct the activities of contractors and recognising that residents’ priorities may be different from those of a contractor. Councillor Hill responded that the Council was in control, able to direct enforcement officers where they wanted to and would be reviewing the moving traffic enforcement sites to refocus them on public safety.

Councillor Hill advised the meeting that the Council lost money on parking charge notices (PCNs) so wanted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Community Partnerships, Public Protection & Maidenhead

To note the report and:

i) Appoint representatives to serve on the organisations listed in Appendix B.

ii) Delegate authority to the Head of Law and Governance, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Leaders of the Opposition Groups, to fill any ad hoc vacancies that might arise through the year from nominations received

Cabinet considered the report dealing with the appointment of representatives to serve the Council on a number of associated and outside bodies as set out in the appendix to the report.

Councillor Werner, Leader of the Council and lead member for Community Partnerships, Public Protection and Maidenhead introduced the report and confirmed that part of the recommendations was to delegate authority to the Head of Law and Governance, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Leaders of the Opposition Groups, to appoint to the positions without a nominated person and any future positions that became vacant or required changes.

On the proposal by Councillor Werner, Leader of the Council and lead member for Community Partnerships, Public Protection and Maidenhead and seconded by Councillor Jones, it was

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Appointed representatives to serve on the organisations listed in Appendix B.

ii)             Delegated authority to the Head of Law and Governance, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Leaders of the Opposition Groups, to fill any ad hoc vacancies that might arise through the year from nominations received or make any changes to appointments as required.