To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Coe.

To receive any declarations of interest from Cabinet Members.

Councillor Bermange declared an interest in Item 11 as he was a trustee of Autism Berkshire. However, he attended the meeting with an open mind.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2024 as a true and accurate record.

AGREED: That the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 24 January 2024 were a true and accurate record.

Cabinet are asked to note and agree the following appointments:

·       Shahnaz Din – Key Stage 2 Teacher representative in Group C on the Standing Advisory Council Religious Education (SACRE)

Cabinet noted the following appointments:

·       Shahnaz Din as a Key Stage 2 Teacher representative in Group C on the Standing Advisory Council Religious Education (SACRE)

·       Councillor Coe’s cabinet portfolio was being changed to now include Trading Standards and Environmental Health. His new title would be “Cabinet Member for Household & Regulatory Services”.

To consider the Forward Plan for the period March 2024 to June 2024.

Cabinet noted the contents of the Forward Plan, including the following additions for the meeting on 27 March 2024:

•                AfC Reserved Ownership Decisions

•                Council Plan – 2024-28

•                Approval of tender award of the new independent adult and discretionary advocacy service

Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance

AGREED: That Cabinet reviewed the Council’s approach to balancing the budget and agreed and recommend that Council approved:

i)               The net budget for 2024/25 of £118.721m as set out in the main body of the report.

ii)             Fees and Charges for 2024/25 as set out in Appendix F to the Report.

iii)            The Flexible Use of Capital Receipts for the purposes outlined in Appendix G of the report.

iv)            The statement of MRP policy contained in Appendix H to the report under the heading Minimum Revenue Provision

v)             The Capital Strategy 2024/25 as set out in Appendix H to the report.

vi)            The consolidated Capital Programme for 2024/25 as set out in Appendix I

vii)          That delegated authority is given to the Executive Director of Place and the S151 Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance to approve the inclusion of the proposed PSDS project, subject to business case.

viii)         The breakdown of projects with the highway resurfacing programme as detailed in Appendix J to the report.

ix)            The breakdown of projects within the footway maintenance and construction programme as detailed in Appendix J to the report.

x)             The Treasury Management Strategy for 2024/25 as set out in Appendix K to the report, including the Treasury Management Policies and Lending Counterparty Criteria

xi)            The prudential indicators as set out in Appendix K to the report, including the Operational and Authorised limits for external borrowing.

xii)          The allocation of the £165.017m Dedicated Schools Grant as set out in Appendix L to the report.

xiii)         The updated Pay Policy Statement for 2024/25 as set out in Appendix M to the report.

xiv)         An edit to the budget that showed the following lines in Fees & charges as *For Consultation* - Outdoor Facilities - Football, Rugby, Cricket, and Lawn Tennis, with the final increase in fee to be delegated to the Executive Director of Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Communities & Leisure.

AGREED: That the order of business be changed so that item 7 is heard first, followed by items 8 & 9 due to the number of registered speakers.

Councillor Jones, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, said that before she wished to introduce the report to Cabinet, she believed that Councillor Reynolds, Cabinet Member for Communities & Leisure, wished to propose an edit to the budget. He wished for an edit to be made to show the following lines in Fees & charges as *For Consultation* - Outdoor Facilities - Football, Rugby, Cricket, and Lawn Tennis, so that any proposed increase could be consulted on properly with the affected sports groups. He said that the final increase in fee would then be delegated to the Executive Director of Place in consultation with himself as Cabinet Member. This edit was accepted by Councillor Jones as the relevant Cabinet Member, along with the rest of the Cabinet as a whole.

Councillor Jones continued her introduction by saying that many councils across the country were setting budgets in a challenging environment of increased social care demand and costs, increased borrowing costs and increased contract costs. Frustratingly the borough also had to deal with the legacy decisions around council tax and capital spend that had long lasting effects on the borough’s spending power. The amount that the council had to spend was £322 per resident less than comparable councils. She said that last year, the outgoing Section 151 Officer also warned that given the level of savings identified, the Council needed to assure itself that there were robust plans and processes in place to deliver and report on the delivery of savings during the current financial year of 2023/24. She added that it appeared obvious to her that given the budget overspends, the robust plans and processes were not in place in February 2023 to deliver the savings that were needed.

Councillor Jones then said that for 2024/25, the borough had to take a different approach and not base the budget on amendments to previous years, as was usual. They had started from the bottom up and had calculated current demands, current costs, current income, looked at trends, strengthened the confidence in the numbers used and addressed any issues that were found whenever and however they came about. There was a £6.00m budget gap and in addition to this, the borough had to address the Adult Social Care £5.00m gap between the 23/24 base budget and demand. The plans to provide growth of nearly £10.00m and savings of £7.50m were already in place and would have the appropriate resources available, in order to achieve the targets. Moving forward, this would be monitored by both the Executive Leadership Team and the Cabinet monthly, following improvements to the finance reporting.

Councillor Jones then discussed changes to the draft budget following the public consultation and also the increase in the settlement grant, which were detailed on Page 5 of the report. Included within this were a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Cabinet Member for Planning, Legal & Asset Management

Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Housing Services

To note the report and:

i)               Approve the publication of the draft Affordable Housing Delivery Supplementary Planning Document as set out at Appendix B for public consultation; and

ii)              Delegate authority to the Assistant Director of Planning, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management, to approve and publish any minor changes to the draft Affordable Housing Delivery Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) prior to its publication and to approve Appendix 5 of the draft Affordable Housing Delivery SPD which will set out the justification for the financial contributions calculator.

AGREED: To note the report and:

i)               Approve the publication of the draft Affordable Housing Delivery Supplementary Planning Document as set out in Appendix B for public consultation; and

ii)             Delegate authority to the Assistant Director of Planning, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management, to approve and publish any minor changes to the draft Affordable Housing Delivery Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) prior to its publication and to approve Appendix 5 of the draft Affordable Housing Delivery SPD which will set out the justification for the financial contribution’s calculator.

Councillor Bermange introduced the report to Cabinet by outlining that the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) would serve as an important document to allow for the borough to work with developers to ensure that there was adequate provision of affordable housing for those residents in the borough that really needed it. He said that the average cost of renting and also house prices in general were both extremely high and that it was a priority of the new administration to deliver more affordable housing for residents. He then reminded Cabinet that like other SPDs that had been brought before them, they could not create new policy and did not replace existing policy that was already in place from the Borough Local Plan (BLP). He then continued by outlining some key aspects of the proposed SPD.

Councillor Bermange then wished to comment on the successful debate at the Place Overview & Scrutiny Panel, earlier in the month. One topic of debate that was hotly discussed was what would happen if a developer believed that they would not be able to deliver a policy compliant level of affordable housing. A very clear justification as to the change in circumstances would need to be provided if this were the case. Developers would also need to demonstrate that they had considered alternative sites if they would not be able to deliver the required level of affordable housing. He concluded by asking for as many members of the public as possible to respond to the public consultation when it began.

The Chair then invited Andrew Hill to address Cabinet for 3 minutes as a registered public speaker.

Councillor Bermange responded to Andrew Hill’s questions. He said that a planning inspector could certainly come to a different decision, unforetold by that of the Council, however he believed that everything relevant to the SPD was spelled out extremely well within the document. In response to his first question, he said that the SPD made it quite clear that all viability assessments should reflect recommended approaches in national planning guidance. Persons with knowledge in the local area were key in helping to shape the SPD via the public consultation.

Councillor Del Campo said that the Council would have nomination rights for the affordable properties, as laid out within the document. As part of Section 106 agreements, developers would be responsible to sign a nomination protocol. Persons who were in need of these affordable homes most would then be nominated.

Councillor Price asked if the Equalities Officer could review the EQIA section of the report, prior to the commencement of the consultation being opened to the public. Councillor Bermange confirmed that this could be actioned.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Approved the publication of the draft Affordable Housing Delivery Supplementary Planning Document as set out in Appendix B for public consultation; and

ii)             Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Planning, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management, to approve and publish any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

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

That Cabinet notes the report and recommends to Full Council:

i)               To agree to the establishment of a fully constituted Joint Committee (to be known as the Berkshire Prosperity Board) from May 2024 to deliver a Berkshire-wide vision for inclusive, green and sustainable economic prosperity.

ii)              That the proposed constitution for the Joint Committee as set out in Appendix A - Functions and Procedure Rules for a Joint Committee, Appendix B - responsibilities of the accountable body and Appendix C - governance structure is approved, subject to the Monitoring Officer being authorised to make minor amendments to the Functions and Procedure Rules in conjunction with the participating authorities.

iii)             That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be delegated to agree and enter into a legally binding agreement between the six member authorities setting out the supporting arrangements and responsibilities between the authorities - particularly that between the lead authority (known as the accountable body) -  and the other member authorities and go through the relevant democratic process if required.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and recommended to Full Council:

i)               To agree to the establishment of a fully constituted Joint Committee (to be known as the Berkshire Prosperity Board) from May 2024 to deliver a Berkshire-wide vision for inclusive, green and sustainable economic prosperity.

ii)             That the proposed constitution for the Joint Committee as set out in Appendix A - Functions and Procedure Rules for a Joint Committee, Appendix B - responsibilities of the accountable body and Appendix C - governance structure is approved, subject to the Monitoring Officer being authorised to make minor amendments to the Functions and Procedure Rules in conjunction with the participating authorities.

iii)            That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be delegated to agree and enter into a legally binding agreement between the six member authorities setting out the supporting arrangements and responsibilities between the authorities - particularly that between the lead authority (known as the accountable body) - and the other member authorities and go through the relevant democratic process if required.

The Chair introduced the report to Cabinet by saying that over the last few years, the relevant Council Leaders had met quite regularly to look at how their collective power could be used to lobby Central Government. A change in administrations at most of the local Berkshire authorities had meant that a lot of new faces were now present around the table. Central Government were keen for this and had also proposed an elected mayor, however all of the unitary authorities in question, had rejected this idea. The local enterprise partnership (LEP) funding was also to be ended by Central Government from the end of March 2024, with these budgets being handed back to local authorities. To further these discussions, a board was to be established, which would focus upon six different workstreams, which were:

•                Net Zero

•                Health & Inequalities

•                Education Skills

•                Affordable Housing

•                Set-Development

•                Strategic Infrastructure

The Chair then invited Andrew Hill to address Cabinet for 3 minutes as a registered public speaker.

The Chair responded to Andrew Hill’s comments and said that he agreed with some of his points about barmy ideas being brought forward by the previous administration when it came to LEP funding. He said that there had been numerous schemes that had been financed by the LEP, which had been decided by the previous administration dubiously. Stephen Evans said that these responsibilities would transfer to the borough from 1 April 2024, who would then in the short term, commission the LEP. A choice would then be available in the future as to whether or not to continue with that relationship. 

Councillor Bermange said that he wished to highlight the proposed governance arrangements for the proposed committee. He said that the executive decision making would be subject to overview & scrutiny panels, with the ability being there to call-in decisions that are made by the board. Business would also be conducted in public and also have the provision for public questions to be asked. He said that previous projects may have been a bit of a white elephant, which he hoped would be avoided with these new governance procedures.

Councillor Del Campo said that decisions made at the meeting would have to be unanimous and in order for them to be quorate, everyone would need to be in attendance. In addition, it showed that people could work well across multiple political parties. The Chair said that their partnership cabinet had showcased this well.

Councillor Reynolds was happy to second Councillor Werner’s report.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and recommended to Full Council:

i)               To agree to the establishment of a fully constituted Joint Committee (to be known as the Berkshire Prosperity Board) from May 2024 to deliver a Berkshire-wide vision for inclusive, green and sustainable economic prosperity.

ii)             That the proposed constitution for the Joint Committee as set out in Appendix A - Functions and Procedure Rules for a Joint Committee, Appendix B - responsibilities of the accountable body and Appendix  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance

To note the report and:

i)               note the forecast revenue outturn for the year is an overspend on services of £8.663m which reduces to an overspend of £5.273m when including unallocated contingency budgets and changes to funding budgets (para 4); and

ii)              note the forecast capital outturn is expenditure of £41.125m against a budget of £89.541m (para 9).

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Noted the forecast revenue outturn for the year was an overspend on services of £8.663m which reduced to an overspend of £5.273m when including unallocated contingency budgets and changes to funding budgets (para 4); and

ii)             Noted the forecast capital outturn was expenditure of £41.125m against a budget of £89.541m (para 9).

Councillor Jones introduced the report by saying that month 9 was December, which showed a forecasted overspend of £8.663m, which reduced to an overspend of £5.273m when contingency budgets were allocated. On page 2 of the report, it listed the significant changes that were seen in month 9, one being where an error was made for provisions not having been made for assets that were under construction in the MRP. She then noted that month 10 was looking at an overspend of an additional £1.00m.

Councillor Price asked about the £1.00m overspend and the specifics about the supreme court ruling that led to this added cost. Kevin McDaniel, Executive Director of Adult Social Care, Health & Communities said that a judgment had been made and that there was currently a specific active case, which he was happy to pick up with her offline.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Noted the forecast revenue outturn for the year was an overspend on services of £8.663m which reduced to an overspend of £5.273m when including unallocated contingency budgets and changes to funding budgets (para 4); and

ii)             Noted the forecast capital outturn was expenditure of £41.125m against a budget of £89.541m (para 9).

Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education & Windsor

To note the report and:

i)          Determine (approve) the proposed RBWM Admission Arrangements set out in Appendix A for community and voluntary controlled schools for 2025/26.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and determined (approved) the proposed RBWM Admission Arrangements that were set out in Appendix A for community and voluntary controlled schools for 2025/26.

Councillor Tisi introduced the report to Cabinet by giving a brief background on the report. RBWM were the admissions authority for all community and voluntary controlled schools in the borough. The admissions code was published by Central Government and stated that it was an annual requirement for an admission authority to publish its admission arrangements. Whenever changes were to be made, then a public consultation would be required, which was the case here. She then outlined what the proposed changes were as set out within the report.

The Chair thanked her for all of the work that she was doing and said that the report was vitally important.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and determined (approved) the proposed RBWM Admission Arrangements that were set out in Appendix A for community and voluntary controlled schools for 2025/26.

Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education & Windsor

To note the report and:

i)               Request that officers carry out a public consultation in Spring 2024 on proposals to be included within an updated Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) capital strategy.

ii)              Request a report back to Cabinet in May 2024, to provide the outcome of the consultation, cost estimates for the proposals and a recommended programme for capital investment.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Requested that officers carried out a public consultation in Spring 2024 on proposals to be included within an updated Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) capital strategy and

ii)             Requested a report back to Cabinet in May 2024, to provide the outcome of the consultation, cost estimates for the proposals and a recommended programme for capital investment.

Councillor Tisi introduced the report to Cabinet and said that the borough had been allocated a grant of £3.700m from the high needs provision capital allocation, which could be used to fund new special educational needs and disability places. This would ensure that the best education possible could be given to the children of the borough, who particularly required this additional level of attention. She then outlined some key aspects that were being put forward within the report which included some new accommodation at the Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA) and a resource base at Churchmead school, which would be a joint venture with Slough Borough Council. At Forest Bridge School, new accommodation was also being looked at to assist in expanding post-16 places. Finally, at Manor Green School a current building was being turned into a new learning space for around 16-20 students to be provided education for. The report essentially ensured that the borough’s young persons were successfully provided for, in accordance with their specific needs. She then noted that there was an appendix in part II that detailed the finances around this, however Cabinet agreed that they did not require to move into part II to discuss this separately.

 AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Requested that officers carried out a public consultation in Spring 2024 on proposals to be included within an updated Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) capital strategy and

ii)             Requested a report back to Cabinet in May 2024, to provide the outcome of the consultation, cost estimates for the proposals and a recommended programme for capital investment.