Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from the Chief Executive, Rachael Shimmin.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 1 March 2022.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 1 March 2022 be approved as a correct record.

Cllr S Bowles and P Strachan declared a personal interest as Board Members of Aylesbury Vale Estates.

The following topics were raised:-

Leader

The Leader provided an update on the Ukrainian refuge crisis and reported that 2500 Buckinghamshire residents had indicated that they were willing to accommodate refugees. He thanked all the residents for their phenomenal response which was the second highest in the Country. The Council was responsible for checking the suitability of accommodation to see if it was fit for purpose and DBS checks would also need to be undertaken with regard to safeguarding issues for women and children. This was a very resource intensive piece of work and officers were working hard on undertaking checks required by law to enable the families to be placed as soon as possible.

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/community-and-safety/how-we-are-supporting-the-afghan-crisis/

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing

The Department of Health and Social Care have published guidance on ‘Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund’. This was a result of the White Paper Putting People at the Heart of Care and how authorities calculate market sustainability plans. Some funding had been passported but it was inadequate and therefore she was responding to the consultation on this point.

With regard to the Queens Platinum Jubilee the Council had launched a toolkit which would be issued through Adult Social Care settings and care homes which provided creative ideas on how to celebrate the Jubilee e.g wildflowing planting in care homes and this would be circulated to Members, schools and Parish Councils.

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/community-and-safety/the-queens-platinum-jubilee/

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

The Cabinet Member thanked everyone who had taken part in the questionnaire survey of the Local Plan; of which 3439 responses had been received on the discovery and exploration phase. There was also the Brownfield Call for sites where 275 submissions had been made between 16 February and 6 April 2021 which would be space for 4,900 homes. The Council needed 54,000 new homes so therefore it would be helpful to find further brownfield sites in the area. A second call for sites started in December and the Council have had another 47 sites put forward.

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/call-for-brownfield-sites/

Cabinet Member for Transport

The consultation for Moving Traffic Offences would end on 4 April 2022 and further comments were welcomed.

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/news/views-invited-on-new-traffic-offences-enforcement-powers/

Cabinet Member for Communities

The Household Support Grant of £2.4 million had now been fully committed through a number of channels such as holiday food, voluntary sector funding, community support scheme and the Helping Hand Grants Scheme administered through the Heart of Bucks. The Council were waiting for the Spring Statement which they were hoping would refer to the doubling of the Household Support Grant of £500 million being available.

For the Easter holiday each eligible pupil, who receive free school meals, early years pupil premium or two year old free funded education place should receive a £60 digital food voucher via their schools or early years settings and this additional funding represented the increase in energy and fuel costs. The Leader referred to the Spring statement and the two initiatives one funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Written question from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport and Councillor Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

“Delivering on a development agreement (15/01218/AOP) to construct a cycleway within Buckingham

The above mentioned planning application and development agreement included a Section 106 agreement to deliver a cycleway serving the new Saint Rumbold’s Fields development on Tingewick Road, Buckingham.  The cycleway, with a footpath alongside, could be provided along the Scenic Walk and the Railway Walk (map attached to the S106 agreement) and would enable the young people from this development to safely access the secondary schools and primary school within Buckingham.  A cycleway would also assist local people in lowering their carbon footprint by reducing the number of journeys by vehicle.  Can the Cabinet Member please update me on the progress that has been made to deliver the cycleway?”

Question from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport and Councillor Gareth Williams, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

“Delivering on a development agreement (15/01218/AOP) to construct a cycleway within Buckingham 

The above-mentioned planning application and development agreement included a Section 106 agreement to deliver a cycleway serving the new Saint Rumbold’s Fields development on Tingewick Road, Buckingham.  The cycleway, with a footpath alongside, could be provided along the Scenic Walk and the Railway Walk (map attached to the S106 agreement) and would enable the young people from this development to safely access the secondary schools and primary school within Buckingham.  A cycleway would also assist local people in lowering their carbon footprint by reducing the number of journeys by vehicle.  Can the Cabinet Member please update me on the progress that has been made to deliver the cycleway?” 

RESPONSE from Councillor Broadbent 

“Thank you for your question regarding the creation of a walking and cycling link, which relates to a development site titled ‘Land North of A421, Tingewick Road, Buckingham’. Your question touches on two matters, a Section 106 contribution and an element of the Section 278 works, which together contribute to the link that you describe. I understand that you have discussed this matter with officers and this response therefore confirms the current position.  

To provide context, the creation of this walking and cycling link, referred to as the Railway Walk, is an identified cycle route proposal within the Buckingham Transport Strategy (Outline Cycling Strategy). The Transport Strategy, published and adopted in 2017 following local engagement and consultation, outlines a prioritised range of transport improvements required in response to local growth in Buckingham. This includes measures to enable sustainable and active travel. The Council is now working to deliver these improvements. 

The Buckingham Transport Strategy proposes that the Railway Walk, which is an existing informal walking route that follows the alignment of the disused railway line, is upgraded through surfacing works and the creation of a public bridleway, so as to secure walking and cycling rights in perpetuity. Developer funding (Section 106 contribution) and developer-led works (Section 268 works) have since been secured through the ‘Land North of A421, Tingewick Road’ site to support this link.  

Section 106 – Sustainable Transport Contribution. 

The Section 106 agreement for this site includes a ‘Sustainable Transport Contribution’ that is ‘to be applied for the purpose of constructing a 3 metre wide pedestrian route with street lighting along the route shown by the blue shading on Plan 1’. The route to be delivered follows the alignment of the discussed railway line between the Tingewick Road (to the north west) and the A421 (to the south east). The Council is responsible for the delivery of this route. 

The Section 106 agreement (see Eighth Schedule) explains that the Contribution is to be paid by the developer to the Council in 3 instalments, linked to specific dwelling occupation levels. To date, the Council has received the 1  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Leader introduced the Forward Plan and commended it to all Members of the Council and the public, as a document that gave forewarning of what Cabinet would be discussing at forthcoming meetings.

RESOLVED – That the Cabinet Forward Plan be noted.

The Buckinghamshire Strategic Vision for 2050 had been developed by the Buckinghamshire Growth Board with input from partner organisations and other key stakeholders. The Growth Board had approved the most recent draft with minor changes at its December 2021 meeting and it was now ready for endorsement by its partner boards, including Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet.

The Strategic Vision was a multi-purpose document that set out the key priorities and objectives partners (including the Council) would take forward. The Strategic Vision was influential in guiding emerging strategies and played a core function in the deliverables of the Growth Board partners. It also established our identity and sets out the aspirations to Buckinghamshire’s residents and businesses, as well as regionally and nationally.

The content of The Strategic Vision was written in conjunction with Buckinghamshire’s Recovery and Growth Proposal looking closely at how the objectives aligned in delivering a Buckinghamshire that facilitates placemaking and economic growth.  The Strategic Vision for Buckinghamshire would:

-                 Express our shared ambition and focus by setting the commitment and direction to improve the economic, environmental and social health of Buckinghamshire.

-                 Tell the compelling narrative for Buckinghamshire by using our single voice to make clear our willingness to engage and deliver sustainable and ambitious clean growth. Setting out what our priorities are and where we wish to go.

-                 Set the strategic direction and overarching guidance that has previously been absent to enable the shared 2050 goal to be achieved in all future plans, strategies, and frameworks.

-                 Establish our identity nationally and in the context of the wider South East region by bringing together our successes, future opportunities, and challenges.

RESOLVED –

That the Buckinghamshire Growth Board’s Strategic Vision to 2050 be endorsed, with the Leader authorised to make any minor or typographical changes to the vision document before it was submitted to the Growth Board. 

The Buckinghamshire Strategic Vision for 2050 had been developed by the Buckinghamshire Growth Board with input from partner organisations and other key stakeholders including the Local Enterprise Board, Bucks Business First, Healthcare Trust, Clinical Commissioning Group and the Voluntary and Community Sector. The Growth Board had approved the most recent draft with minor changes at its December 2021 meeting and it was now ready for endorsement by its partner boards, including Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet.

The Strategic Vision was a multi-purpose document that set out the key priorities and objectives partners (including the Council) would take forward. The Strategic Vision was influential in guiding emerging strategies and played a core function in the deliverables of the Growth Board partners. It also established our identity and sets out the aspirations to Buckinghamshire’s residents and businesses, as well as regionally and nationally.

The content of The Strategic Vision was written in conjunction with Buckinghamshire’s Recovery and Growth Proposal looking closely at how the objectives aligned in delivering a Buckinghamshire that facilitates placemaking and economic growth.  The Strategic Vision for Buckinghamshire would:

-                 Express our shared ambition and focus by setting the commitment and direction to improve the economic, environmental and social health of Buckinghamshire.

-                 Tell the compelling narrative for Buckinghamshire by using our single voice to make clear our willingness to engage and deliver sustainable and ambitious clean growth. Setting out what our priorities are and where we wish to go.

-                 Set the strategic direction and overarching guidance that has previously been absent to enable the shared 2050 goal to be achieved in all future plans, strategies, and frameworks.

-                 Establish our identity nationally and in the context of the wider South East region by bringing together our successes, future opportunities, and challenges.

Members discussed the vision and commented as follows:

·         Reference was made to 2.4 of the report with regard to expressing the Council’s shared ambition and focus. A suggestion was made here to refer to physical and mental health rather than social health as this had a different connotation.

·         The document referred to the environmental ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050 which was ambitious but deliverable.

·         This was an exciting document as the Council was aiming to provide over 200,000 jobs and therefore skills training had been incorporated into the document. Good jobs were the key to moving people out of depravation and improved health and wellbeing.

·         Vibrant and connected places would underpin this vision which was supported by national infrastructure such as East West Rail and it was important to focus on inward investment and increased prosperity.

·         Another area of focus was digital connectivity as Buckinghamshire was below the national average and employees who worked from home needed to be supported. 

·         Buckinghamshire faced a number of challenges and significant improvements needed to be made including areas of depravation and affordable housing. The Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s services commented that there were 124,000 children in Buckinghamshire and 7,000 children received free school meals which showed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Buckinghamshire Council became a unitary authority on 1 April 2020 and at that point inherited different arrangements for the charging for garden waste services from the four district councils.  The current arrangements were for residents residing in the former Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern and South Bucks areas to have an ‘Opt In’ service where participating residents were charged for the collection of their garden waste, whereas residents residing in the former Wycombe area were not charged separately for garden waste collection service for their first bin or bags.

Chargeable garden waste services were an important way to reduce costs and prioritise essential Council services.  Chargeable garden waste services delivered significant savings for the Council and currently generated a gross annual income of circa £2.6m. Aligning charges was estimated to generate an additional gross income of between £900,000 and £1.1m annually.

Four options were presented in the Cabinet report, with option 1 the recommended option, which was to introduce a chargeable Opt in kerbside garden waste collection service in the former Wycombe District Council area from July 2022.

In addition to harmonisation of charges across Buckinghamshire the report recommended harmonising the operational arrangements for garden waste services to provide the same standard of service to all participating residents.

The Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 provided powers that local authorities had the discretion to charge for collection and disposal of certain wastes.  Paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 of these regulations set out that a council may charge for the collection (but not the disposal) of household garden waste.

Cabinet had previously heard questions from Ward Members, Councillors Tony Green, Lesley Clarke OBE and Katrina Wood in the Written Questions item at the start of the meeting and considered this information as part of their deliberations.

RESOLVED –

(1)          That to provide equity across all areas of Buckinghamshire, it be agreed for the Council to harmonise Garden Waste charges across all of Buckinghamshire by introducing ‘Opt In’ charging from July 2022 for the Wycombe area.

(2)          That the operational arrangements for Garden Waste collection services across all of Buckinghamshire be harmonised, as detailed in the Cabinet report.

Buckinghamshire Council became a unitary authority on 1 April 2020 and at that point inherited different arrangements for the charging for garden waste services from the four district councils.  The current arrangements were for residents residing in the former Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern and South Bucks areas to have an ‘Opt In’ service where participating residents were charged for the collection of their garden waste, whereas residents residing in the former Wycombe area were not charged separately for garden waste collection service for their first bin or bags.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources, Property and Assets informed Members that chargeable garden waste services were an important way to reduce costs and prioritise essential Council services.  Chargeable garden waste services delivered significant savings for the Council and currently generated a gross annual income of circa £2.6m. Aligning charges was estimated to generate an additional gross income of between £900,000 and £1.1m annually. This income had been calculated using the annual subscription fee of £50. If a free service was given across Buckinghamshire it would cost the Council over £8 million in the first year and this would impact on frontline services.

Four options were presented in the Cabinet report, with option 1 the recommended option, which was to introduce a chargeable Opt in kerbside garden waste collection service in the former Wycombe District Council area from July 2022.

In addition to harmonisation of charges across Buckinghamshire the report recommended harmonising the operational arrangements for garden waste services to provide the same standard of service to participating residents. This included:

(i)             Introducing stickers in the former South Bucks District area to determine which residents were eligible for their garden container(s) to be emptied.

(ii)           For additional subscriptions to be charged at the same rate and expire at the same time as first subscriptions regardless of when payment was made for any additional subscription(s).

(iii)         Aligning the Garden Waste suspension period to 6 weeks for the winter period.

The Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 provided powers that local authorities had the discretion to charge for collection and disposal of certain wastes.  Paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 of these regulations set out that a council may charge for the collection (but not the disposal) of household garden waste.

Cabinet had previously heard questions from Ward Members, Councillors Tony Green, Lesley Clarke OBE and Katrina Wood in the Written Questions item at the start of the meeting and considered this information as part of their deliberations.

Cabinet Members raised the following during discussion:

·                Cabinet Members recognised that whilst this policy change would have a potential impact on Wycombe residents, the current charging arrangements discriminate against Chiltern, South Bucks and Aylesbury residents. The introduction of a charge would treat residents across the whole of the Council’s area as equal. As the Council was now unitary it was important to have policy harmonisation. The Leader emphasised the fact that most residents had good access to a Household Waste Recycling Centre which could be used  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Buckinghamshire Council as a unitary authority required a litter enforcement policy in order to undertake Litter Enforcement activities. The legacy Waste Collection Authorities (legacy District Councils) had the legal duties and responsibilities to deal with littering under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It was for the relevant legacy authorities to consider priorities, investment, disinvestment in service areas including enforcement against Littering. The legacy Buckinghamshire County Council as Waste Disposal Authority had been funded by the legacy District Councils to undertake investigations into Fly-Tipping but didn’t have the resources and/or duty to tackle Littering.

As a unitary, Buckinghamshire Council had both waste collection and waste disposal tools available including the legal duties, responsibilities and powers. It was therefore proposed that the Council utilise these available tools and make arrangements to undertake and enforce littering. The Council could utilise a low-level enforcement response and make use of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for littering.  In the first year of the implementation of the Litter Enforcement policy it would focus on discovery, communication campaigns, education and some Enforcement activity.

Members were fully supportive of the enforcement policy and the proposed litter enforcement activities.  It was explained that the ‘Silver Package’ level of resources was a starting point, funded by £70,000 within the Council’s agreed budget, and the effectiveness of the activities would be monitored to inform future funding / resourcing provision.  

RESOLVED –

(1)          That the draft Enforcement Policy against Littering (Appendix A to the Cabinet report) be approved.

(2)          That the utilisation of powers to serve Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) in response to littering offices be approved.

(3)          That a maximum fine of £150.00 be adopted and approved, and that it should not be discounted for early payment. 

(4)          That the level of resources to initially be deployed be approved as the ‘Silver Package’, as described in Buckinghamshire Council Littering Proposal Tiers at Appendix B to the Cabinet report.

Buckinghamshire Council as a unitary authority required a litter enforcement policy in order to undertake Litter Enforcement activities. The legacy Waste Collection Authorities (legacy District Councils) had the legal duties and responsibilities to deal with littering under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It was for the relevant legacy authorities to consider priorities, investment, disinvestment in service areas including enforcement against Littering. The legacy Buckinghamshire County Council as Waste Disposal Authority had been funded by the legacy District Councils to undertake investigations into Fly-Tipping but didn’t have the resources and/or duty to tackle littering.

The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment who explained that currently there were no adopted littering powers in Buckinghamshire.  Littering tended to be a crime which self-perpetuated – often the more people saw it the more they were willing to contribute to the problem. Conversely, the more reduce litter and littering was reduced, the less likely it was that people would do it. Furthermore, littering and fly-tipping were contiguous and tended to link with each other.

As a unitary, Buckinghamshire Council had both waste collection and waste disposal tools available including the legal duties, responsibilities and powers. It was therefore proposed that the Council utilise these available tools and agree arrangements to undertake and enforce littering. The Council could utilise a low-level enforcement response and make use of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for littering.  In the first year of the implementation of the Litter Enforcement policy it would focus on discovery, communication campaigns, education and some Enforcement activity.

Members discussed the report and commented:

·                In terms of the process for a Fixed Penalty Notice this would be similar to flytipping and they were looking at enforcement options such as CCTV, dashcams and possibly the use of enforcement officers. With this option it would have to be the owner of the vehicle who would be criminally responsible. It would be too expensive for the Council to go down the civil route. Warnings would be issued first.

·                The cost of £70,000 was proportionate which would pay for one officer and a communication plan. It was also important to use education to change behaviour. This could be reviewed later to see if more resources could be utilised.

·                It was also important to combine this with litter picking campaigns, particularly with schools and communities as this encouraged good behaviour. Officers were also looking at the verges of A roads which were particularly bad. A Cabinet Member emphasised the importance of road safety and traffic management when litter picking in rural areas or by fast roads.

·                Littering was anti-social behaviour and there should be no discount for an early fine. Under 17s would be given a formal warning and parents would be engaged to change their behaviour.

RESOLVED –

(1)          That the draft Enforcement Policy against Littering (Appendix A to the Cabinet report) be approved.

(2)          That the utilisation of powers to serve Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) in response to littering offices be approved.

(3)          That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Buckinghamshire Council had a number of mainly property based subsidiary companies and limited liability partnerships in place (Buckinghamshire Advantage, Consilio Property Ltd, London Road Business Park Management Ltd and Aylesbury Vale Estates).  It was timely to review overall all governance arrangements to ensure continued visibility and reinforce best practise to deliver statutory arrangements.

An audit report on Nottingham City Council’s arrangements relating to its company, Robin Hood Energy, had stressed the need to ensure that “sufficient checks and balances were in place and in particular that risks were appropriately recognised and managed, that there was an effective scrutiny function and that challenge of political priorities by both members and officers was seen as a positive. This provided an important message that all councils establishing commercial entities should be alive to what is referred to as “institutional blindness”.  The Council was also aware that external auditors, such as Grant Thornton, had issued public interest reports where local authority companies had performed poorly and where it was found that governance arrangements were not adequate.

Buckinghamshire Council was committed to maintaining strong and robust governance to ensure that decisions were taken in the best interests of the communities it served.  As part of this commitment, the Council constantly reviewed its governance arrangements alongside learning best practice with other authorities to ensure the Council continues to meet its statutory obligations in the best way.

Oversight of the Council’s companies and limited liability partnerships was currently in place with visibility of Board Minutes and supporting papers being sent to the relevant Cabinet Members, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Property & Assets, and senior officers: Director for Property and Assets, Head of Legal, Section 151 officer, and Head of Finance. Business plans of subsidiaries were scrutinised by Cabinet and the Finance and Resources Select Committee. Finance officers regularly attend board meetings of Consilio Property Ltd and Buckinghamshire Advantage.

The proposal for a shareholder committee was consistent with the best practice advice in the recent Local Authorities Companies Review Guidance.

RESOLVED –

(1)          That the creation of a Shareholder / Member Committee, as detailed in the Cabinet report be approved,to ensure that companies and limited liability partnerships act in the interests of the Council as shareholder, Member and/or lender and contribute to the Council’s objectives.

(2)          That the draft Terms of Reference be noted, and authority be delegated to the Service Director – Property and Assets, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources, Property and assets to approve the final Terms of Reference.

(3)          That authority be delegated to the Service Director – Property and Assets, in consultation with the Shareholder / Member Committee, to agree final terms and enter into each Memorandum of Agreement with the relevant company and/or Limited Liability Partnership.

(4)          That authority be delegated to the Service Director – Property and Assets, in consultation with the Shareholder / Member Committee to approve final terms and arrange to enter into any Service Level Agreements where corporate  ...  view the full decision text for item 10.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources, Property and Assets introduced the report and informed Cabinet Members that Buckinghamshire Council had a number of mainly property based subsidiary companies and limited liability partnerships in place (Buckinghamshire Advantage, Consilio Property Ltd, London Road Business Park Management Ltd and Aylesbury Vale Estates).  It was timely to review overall all governance arrangements to ensure continued visibility and reinforce best practise to deliver statutory arrangements.

An audit report on Nottingham City Council’s arrangements relating to its company, Robin Hood Energy, had stressed the need to ensure that “sufficient checks and balances were in place and in particular that risks were appropriately recognised and managed, that there was an effective scrutiny function and that challenge of political priorities by both members and officers was seen as a positive. This provided an important message that all councils establishing commercial entities should be alive to what is referred to as “institutional blindness”.  The Council was also aware that external auditors, such as Grant Thornton, had issued public interest reports where local authority companies had performed poorly and where it was found that governance arrangements were not adequate.

Buckinghamshire Council was committed to maintaining strong and robust governance to ensure that decisions were taken in the best interests of the communities it served.  As part of this commitment, the Council constantly reviewed its governance arrangements alongside learning best practice with other authorities to ensure the Council continues to meet its statutory obligations in the best way.

Oversight of the Council’s companies and limited liability partnerships was currently in place with visibility of Board Minutes and supporting papers being sent to the relevant Cabinet Members, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Property & Assets, and senior officers: Director for Property and Assets, Head of Legal and Democratic Services, Section 151 officer, and Head of Finance. Business plans of subsidiaries were scrutinised by Cabinet and the Finance and Resources Select Committee. Finance officers regularly attend board meetings of Consilio Property Ltd and Buckinghamshire Advantage.

Section 3 of the Cabinet report detailed the financial implications of the proposals, which were to seek to strengthen and consolidate the financial monitoring undertaken in terms of the Council’s subsidiary companies and limited liability partnerships. Key financial monitoring information would be brought together for the Shareholder Committee. This would provide a regular snapshot of the financial performance of each company and the group to support wider decision making.  It would also help to raise early concerns about the financial position of any of the subsidiary companies/limited liability partnerships and where necessary discuss and agree appropriate actions.  The proposal for a shareholder committee was consistent with the best practice advice in the recent Local Authorities Companies Review Guidance.

Members discussed that proposed arrangements and welcomed the report which provided robust governance, particularly due to some high profile cases such as Nottingham City Council referred to above which unfortunately went into liquidation. It was important to have a clear audit trail of decision making.

RESOLVED –

(1)          That the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The report set out the overview of the financial Revenue and Capital outturn position for Buckinghamshire Council for the financial year 2021/22 as at quarter 3. The Appendix provided further detail for each Portfolio and information about performance relating to overdue debts and late payments of commercial debt.

RESOLVED –

(1)          That the current forecast outturn for the financial year 2021/22 and the associated risks and opportunities, be noted.

(2)          That the principle to transfer unused contingencies at year end, currently forecast at £6.2m, to an earmarked reserve be approved.  The reserve will be used to mitigate the potential impact of Local Government fund reform, and heightening risks around the financial implications associated with inflation, Adult Social Care reforms and the ongoing impact of Covid-19.

The report set out the overview of the financial Revenue and Capital outturn position for Buckinghamshire Council for the financial year 2021/22 as at quarter 3.  The Executive Summary highlighted a number of issues including:

·                That the local government settlement in February 2022 had for the 4^th consecutive year been only for one year.  This was due to the Government’s intention to reform local government funding and their ‘Levelling Up’ agenda.  There was, therefore, high risk around future funding levels with changes expected from FY 2023/24.

·                That in-year pressures in Portfolio budgets had been managed and successfully mitigated, meaning that an element of the corporate contingency budget was no longer required.  A contribution to an earmarked reserve was proposed which could be released, if necessary, in future years. This aligned to the Select Committee’s view (budget scrutiny task & finish group) on risk and whether the level of contingencies for pressures such as inflation were sufficient.

·                That the proposed transfer to reserves would help to mitigate against heightened risks around political uncertainty, global turbulence, inflationary pressures (currently exceeding 5%), social care reform and market sustainability, and the ongoing impact of Covid-19.

·                That inflation would impact across revenue and capital in both the direct supply of goods and services. For each 1% change in inflation, the estimated cost was £4.6m annually in revenue and £5.2m across the 4 year capital programme. The revenue budgets for 2022/23 contained contingencies that would provide an element of mitigation, however, consideration would need to be given as to how to further mitigate the impact, and this might have implications for borrowing, cashflow or the scale and scope of projects.

The Appendix provided further detail for each Portfolio and information about performance relating to overdue debts and late payments of commercial debt.

At the end of Q3, an overall favourable variance of £0.9m was forecast after allowing for £6.8mof corporate mitigations. This was a favourable movement of £0.9m since Q2 where a balanced budget position had been reported.  The favourable variance comprised:

-                 £5.9m adverse variance on Portfolio budgets (£4.8m adverse at Q2).  This represented 1.4% of the Total Portfolio budgets.

-                 £4.2m favourable variance on Corporate Contingencies, after a proposed transfer to earmarked reserves of £6.2m (£2.8m Q2).

-                 £1.9m favourable variation relating to Covid Sales Fees and Charges compensation scheme (£0.9m at Q2). £1.2m of this related to the claim for the current year, as eligible pressures were higher than budgeted for, leading to the additional compensation. A further £0.7m related to the previous year, as further scrutiny had enabled the identification of more compensation than had been identified at financial year end.

-                 £0.7m favourable variation on Corporate Budgets, principally capital financing costs (£1.1m at Q2).

Section 3 of the report detailed information on savings targets.  £13.2m of savings had been incorporated into the approved 2021-22 revenue budgets and it was forward there would be shortfall of £0.5m (£0.6m at Q2), which had been taken into account within Portfolio forecasts.

Section 4  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Cabinet received a report that detailed the performance of the key performance measures reported through the Corporate Performance Framework for 2021/22. Latest performance outturns and targets for the quarter 3 period were reported alongside trend and benchmarking information, where available.

RESOLVED –

(1)          That the Council’s performance for the Quarter 3 period 2021-22 be noted.

(2)          That the actions being taken to improve performance, where required, be noted.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources, Property and Assets introduced the report which comprised the following two items:

·                The performance report, which provided details of the key performance measures reported through the corporate performance framework for 2021/22. The report also includes several indicators without targets for this year, that were being monitored to establish a baseline level of performance and monitor trends. Commentary was provided for each indicator explaining what was being measured, explaining the narrative behind each outturn and detailing improvement actions.

·                The performance scorecard, which provided information on four key elements of performance for the Council covering Finance, Customer Service, Performance and Human Resources indicators. These were arranged in four quadrants.

Within the performance report and performance scorecard, outturns that were performing at or better than target are classified as Green, those that were within 5% of the target were Amber and those that were more than 5% of the target were Red. At the end of Quarter 3, 90 indicators had outturns reported with a Red, Amber or Green status. Of these, 62 were Green (69%), 12 were Amber (13%) and 16 were Red (18%).

This was an improved position on Quarter 2 where 53 indicators were reported as Green (63%), 7 were Amber (8%) and 24 were Red (29%).

Cabinet Members then provided comprehensive explanations for the performance marked as red where performance was more than 5% off the target for each of their portfolio’s, these were as follows:

Leader

·                Unemployment Claimant Rate – the indicator measured the unemployment claimant count in Buckinghamshire and the result was 68% of the national rate against a target of 55%, that was a slight improvement on Q1 and Q2.  The report included information on the initiatives underway (both nationally led and locally led) to help move people off the claimant count and into work. There was a shortage of labour at the moment in particular social workers and planners for local government, film industry and the hospitality sector.

·                Strategic Infrastructure projects: % profiled spend achieved – the target was 75% against the current value of 56.35%.  Some of the slippage related to the South East Aylesbury Link Road although Phase 1 was now progressing well with planning permission granted and the detailed design complete.  However, delays to the CPO, SRO and the Public Open Space Inquiry had led to a reduced profile of expenditure for Phase 2, although the team was working hard to progress matters to assist in delivering this phase.

Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment

·                % of waste collected for recycling, reuse, composting or anaerobic digestion from household sources (household collection and Household Recycling Centres) – target of 60% against a current value of 49.85%. As previously reported, some disruption with kerbside collections due to driver shortages and the continued suspension of separate food waste collections meant food was mixed with residual waste in most of the South of the administrative area which impacted on the overall recycling rate.

·                Residual Household Waste per Household (kg)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The Confidential Minutes of the Meeting held on 29 March 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

12 April 2022 at 10am

Members were informed that 12 April 2022 Cabinet meeting may be cancelled and would be informed shortly. The following meeting was 10 May 2022.