Meeting documents

Apologies were received from Mr M Appleyard, Deputy Cabinet Member Mr A Hussain attended as substitute.

None.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 13 November and the Special meeting held on 17 November to be agreed as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 and 17 November were agreed as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

Cabinet Member for Transportation; Thanked the Winter Maintenance Team and Transport for Buckinghamshire for the work undertaken during the cold spell, to keep the County moving. The Deputy Cabinet Member for Transportation was also thanked for the work he and BCC Officers had undertaken in promoting the Looked After Children Christmas gift campaign. The generosity of Buckinghamshire’s residence had been exemplary.

Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing; Thanked all residents who had volunteered to help vulnerable residents during the adverse weather conditions.

Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment; Noted he had attended a meeting with Highways England where the concept of an Express Way running alongside the East West Rail line was discussed.  

Leader; Noted he had attended a meeting exploring the Economic Heart of England Alliance, Hertfordshire and Swindon had recently joined the alliance and it was likely others in surrounding areas would follow suit. It was noted also that with central Government initiatives regarding recycling and plastics begin to emerge, Buckinghamshire would continue to work to tackle the issue locally.

None.

For Cabinet to consider the Forward Plan

RESOLVED

Cabinet NOTED the report.

RESOLVED

Cabinet NOTED the report.

For Cabinet to consider the Select Committee Work Programme

RESOLVED

Cabinet NOTED the report.

Recommendation:

Cabinet is asked to note the national, regional and local developments in relation to Adult Social Care and support activity taking place to further improve Adult Social Care services in Buckinghamshire.

Lin Hazell, Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing introduced the item; key points were highlighted as follows:

·         Transformation programme was underway which focussed on how to help residents stay in their homes for as long as possible

·         Aimed to reduce the length of hospital stays and help individuals to help themselves

·         Delayed transfers of Care (DTOC); the team were working hard with hospital colleagues to meet government standards. It was noted that as a Local Authority the County Council were performing well however the overall system within Buckinghamshire including Acute Trusts was not performing well. It was advised that this issue was due to be explored further by the Health & Wellbeing Board

·         The demand on NHS and Social Care continued to increase, the County Council were working in partnership with providers to manage demand

·         Following the recruitment drive in September 2017, 18 new social workers and social work assistants had been appointed and were due to start in January 2018

·         Better Care Funding, confirmation had been received from the Communities team that this funding would not be affected in bucks.

·         Packages of care will be reviewed

RESOLVED

Cabinet NOTED the report.

Recommendation

Cabinet is asked to;

Approve the draft Revenue and Capital budgets for wider consideration by the Finance, Performance and Resources Select Committee and other interested parties such as the business community and partner agencies in Buckinghamshire.

Mr J Chilver, Cabinet Member for Resources and Mr R Ambrose, Director of Finance and Assets provided an introduction.  During discussion key points were highlighted as follows:

·         Members of the Public who had responded to the budget consultation were thanked for their input

·         Cabinet were asked to approve the draft revenue and capital budgets, before the Local Government final settlement was provide by central Government later this week  

·         It was noted that accurate planning have been made up to 2019 however beyond 2020 it was an unclear picture therefore assumptions had to be made

·         The draft budgets for each portfolio were put together in consultation with the Cabinet Member

·         Risk and impact assessments had been undertaken

·         A Council tax increase 4.99%  was noted

·         Proposals included allowance regarding Adults and Childrens Social Care demand led services  

·         £15m in each of the 4 years for highways maintenance

·         Budget would be scrutinised 9-12 Jan 2018 by the Finance, Performance and Resources Select Committee

Portfolio updates were provided as follows:

Cabinet Member for Transportation; Over the last year a major tree survey had been undertaken, following its findings there had been an increase within the budget for funds to be spent on tree works. Another £1m overall would be applied to the revenue budget, some of this would be applied to the tree programme and HGV strategy. An Equality Impact Assessment had been completed  

Cabinet Member for Childrens Services; It was noted that the general picture for the Childrens Services budget had been good. Contrary to a lot of commentary made around the budget reductions within Childrens Services it was advised these had been targeted to specific areas of the portfolio and there have been budget increase to meet demand in other areas. There continued to be an increase year on year for staffing, savings for looked after children had already been demonstrated during 2017/18. It was noted that significant year on year increases were in place to deal with demographic increase for statutory services.  An Equality Impact Assessment had been  completed

Deputy Cabinet Member for Education and Skills; It was noted there was a huge pressure on Education, the team continued to work hard through SEN and Education and Skills strategy to ensure budgets were satisfactory whilst able to delivery efficiencies to stay within budget. An Equality Impact Assessment had been completed

Cabinet Member for Resources; Revenue Budget, cyber security costs were highlighted, these were necessary to ensure data  was protected, the legionella and asbestos surveys, the team continued to make good progress in addressing this. Revenue Income, the property asset income generation schemes were helping to deliver income. Additional income was being reflected within the shared back office service agreement with Harrow.  An Equality Impact Assessment had been completed

Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health;  the budget for Children 0-5  remained at £6m and the school nursing service would remain at £1.2m. An Equality Impact Assessment had been completed

Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing; It was noted that Adult Social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Recommendation

Cabinet is asked to:

1. Come to a view on how the organisation is performing

2. Take action to improve performance where necessary

The Leader provided an introduction. During discussion key points were highlighted as follows:

Leader;

o   The roll out of fibre broad band continued throughout the County. Key measures included the three main enterprise zones, rollout had been completed for just over 95.1% of the County, with working being undertaken with District colleagues to provide further funding to extend the coverage. It was noted that due to the geographic make up of the County, it was proving difficult to roll out fibre broadband to some of the more rural areas within Buckinghamshire

Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health;

o   it was noted that Public Health checks continued to be a difficult area. It was suggested that further support from local doctors would help to push the agenda. NHS Health checks was an area that people were questioning the value of, further information would be required from Central Government as to whether this area was one that should continue to be pursued   

o   Alcohol and drug treatments remained a priority, it was noted that many children and adults at risk came from dysfunctional families therefore these are important areas to focus on

Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing;

o   the service had fallen short of the target for transitioning young people into Adult Social Care, although the indicator had moved slightly in the right direction, which has been the first time there had been any movement since quarter 1.

o   A transition board had been set up which would be looking to monitor these on a regular basis.

o    The working relationship between the children’s and adults portfolio needed to be strengthened  to ensure the best accommodation was found for these young people.

o   The percentage of placement clients who were receiving an annual review continued to be difficult to manage due to the large number of clients, however work continued.

o   Slow progress was also being made on supporting adults with learning disability and mental health services to  live independently.

Cabinet Member for Childrens Services;

o   Management issues were being dealt with following appointment of the new Director of Childrens Services.

o    Repeat referrals had not improved since the last quarter which was disappointing.

o   The Multi agency domestic abuse strategy had been refreshed, with partners playing a big roll in the strategy.

o   Assessments being completed within 45 working days was fractionally below the tolerance, it was confirmed pressure would remain on teams to meet the target.

o   The Initial child protection conference measure was well within green which was pleasing to see.

o   Child protection plans lasting 2 years or more, some legacy cases remained which were still being worked through.

o   Looked after Children in residential care remained at red, this area continued to be a huge challenge for the County Council as there were not enough foster carers currently who were willing or equipped to deal with children with difficult needs. A drive would continue to recruit more foster carers.

Deputy Cabinet Member for Education and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Recommendation

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the Restoration Project as outlined in this report.

2.    Approve the preferred Contractor.

3.    Authorise the Cabinet Member for Resources to sign off agreed terms for the Option to Lease and the Lease should Planning Permission be granted. 

4.    Allow the Council to enter into agreements to facilitate completion of the Lease

Mr J Chilver, Cabinet Member for Resources provided an introduction to the item. During discussion key points were highlighted as follows:

·         The area had been a problem for many years

·         The proposal was to bring in and disperse inner soil to improve the site which would in turn improve public amenity for residents with the potential for recreational uses

·         Costs incurred would be covered by the developer and therefore there would be no cost to the taxpayer

·         There would be a stringent planning process where residents will be fully consulted

·         Soil would be imported by rail; therefore residential impact should be minimal.

RESOLVED

Cabinet APPROVED the report and AUTHORISED the Cabinet Member for Resources to sign off agreement of terms and SUPPORTED the Council entering into agreements to facilitated completion of the lease. 

The confidential minutes of the meeting held on 17 November to be agreed as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman

Confidential session was not required to discuss the minutes, therefore the minutes of the meeting held on 17 September were agreed as an accurate record in public session.

Confidential discussion was not required.

08 January 2018

08 January 2018.