Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: The Oculus, Buckinghamshire Council, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury HP19 8FF. View directions

Contact: Craig Saunders 

Media

Webcast: View the webcast

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were none.

2.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 690 KB

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 March 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED –

 

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 March 2022 be approved as a correct record.

3.

Declarations of interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were none.

4.

Hot Topics

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following topics were raised:

 

Leader

-                     There was a launch tonight of Buckinghamshire Swans where prominent people had been invited to become ambassadors of Buckinghamshire including Pauline Quirke, Lorraine Kelly and Sir David Lidington to ensure that Buckinghamshire continued to be a great place to live and prosper.

 

Cabinet Member for Transport

-                     Residents were asked not to park on verges as it was now the Council’s grass cutting season.

-                     In terms of statistics from 2021-22 regarding winter gritting: the Council had gritted 56,868 miles of roads (equivalent to twice around the world) with 5,690 tons of salt

 

Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment

-                     The introduction of new household waste collections in the south of the Council area had commenced yesterday.  Some waste collection rounds had been too big at 1,700 household per day when the industry average was 1,100 collections.  Changes had been made to make collection rounds more efficient. The public were asked to be patient whilst the new collection system bedded in. This should led to more flexible services. The Leader also asked for residents to help ensure that the right materials were put in the recycling bins.

 

Cabinet Member for Communities

-                     The Helping Hands team were providing critical help with distributing 12500 holiday vouchers for use during the May half-term holidays. This would help alleviate some of the pressures with regard to the cost of living crisis.

-                     Some of the Community Boards had their first round of meetings in this municipal year, some of the events were in person rather than being held virtually and included the Proud of Bucks awards. He congratulated the winners and thanked them for their contribution to Buckinghamshire.

-                     The Community Safety Team had undertaken some work in relation to Violence against Women and Girls and County Lines Intensification week and were training hotel staff on safeguarding issues.

 

Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services

-                     The Adult Learning Service was providing courses including English language lessons and employment skills for Ukrainian families which were free and flexible to help those families who have recently arrived in the county. The Leader reported that he had just been in a meeting which illustrated the phenomenal amount of work being undertaken by the Council with housing providers, schools, further education and the voluntary sector helping families.

 

 

Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure

-                     Residents were reminded of the Marlow ‘Pub in the Park’ event this weekend and the Leader also mentioned the Tour de Vale Cycle event on 12 June.

https://www.wheelpower.org.uk/tourdevale22

5.

Question Time

Written Question from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Naylor, Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Regulatory Services

 

The Affordable Housing paper provides a plan for social, affordable and key worker housing to meet the priorities of the Homelessness Strategy recently agreed at Council.  Please could you assure me that the recommendations put forward meet the aspirations of the Notice of Motion on Affordable Housing which was agreed at Council on 9 December 2020 and can we be assured of the feasibility of the Council delivering affordable and social housing through the use of the property portfolio over the coming years, so as to alleviate the waiting list for houses in Buckinghamshire.

 

Question from Councillor Alison Wheelhouse to Councillor Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

 

At recent Full Council, you confirmed that alternatives to the Standard Method are being looked at for calculating local housing need, as permitted by the NPPF.

 

The 2018 ONS household projection data show the Council’s recently produced 5 Year Housing Land Supply to be massively under-stated. Applying the 2018 data to the Standard Method, for example, by my analysis, South Bucks has c. 9 years housing land supply and Wycombe has a 27 year supply.

 

Can you confirm this to be the case, provide details of the alternative methods being considered, and explain why the alternative methods were not set out in the Council’s recent 5 year Housing Land Supply Statement.  

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Question from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Nick Naylor, Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Regulatory Services

 

The Affordable Housing paper provides a plan for social, affordable and key worker housing to meet the priorities of the Homelessness Strategy recently agreed at Council.  Please could you assure me that the recommendations put forward meet the aspirations of the Notice of Motion on Affordable Housing which was agreed at Council on 9 December 2020 and can we be assured of the feasibility of the Council delivering affordable and social housing through the use of the property portfolio over the coming years, so as to alleviate the waiting list for houses in Buckinghamshire.”

 

Response from Councillor Naylor

 

“There is an ever growing demand for affordable housing in Buckinghamshire, and nationally. Our register currently stands at around 4800 households, and more recently, applications have started to increase in number, quite markedly. Whilst demand for affordable housing far outstrips supply, the Affordable Housing Position Statement proposes a number of ways in which we can seek to start to close the gap and increase supply of affordable housing, including the potential use of disused sites within the Council’s property portfolio, subject to a robust business case and governance requirements. The position statement highlights sites that are currently under consideration, and we will be examining the feasibility of these sites in greater detail and if viable, they will be brought forward with elements of affordable housing on them.”

 

The Leader commented that it was important to increase the supply of affordable housing and some sites had been identified for this but where inevitably sites were put forward a local protest group could argue that particular site was not suitable. It was important to have affordable housing for key workers and young people.

 

Question from Councillor Alison Wheelhouse to Councillor Gareth Williams, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

 

“At recent Full Council, you confirmed that alternatives to the Standard Method are being looked at for calculating local housing need, as permitted by the NPPF.

 

The 2018 ONS household projection data show the Council’s recently produced 5 Year Housing Land Supply to be massively under-stated. Applying the 2018 data to the Standard Method, for example, by my analysis, South Bucks has c. 9 years housing land supply and Wycombe has a 27 year supply.

 

Can you confirm this to be the case, provide details of the alternative methods being considered, and explain why the alternative methods were not set out in the Council’s recent 5 year Housing Land Supply Statement.”

 

Response from Councillor Williams

 

“In the preparation of local plans, the National Planning Policy Framework prescribes the use of the government’s Standard Method for calculating local housing need unless exceptional circumstances justify an alternative approach which also reflects current and future demographic trends and market signals.  The use of the standard method is therefore not mandatory.  However, if local councils feel that circumstances warrant an alternative approach, they can expect this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Forward Plan (28 Day Notice) pdf icon PDF 621 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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.

7.

Community Board Rapid Review pdf icon PDF 698 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet was asked to consider the recommendations of the rapid review into Community Boards undertaken by the Communities and Localism Select Committee.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(1)          That the Community Board Rapid Review Group, as well as the supporting officers, be thanked for their work and subsequent recommendations.

(2)          That Cabinet’s responses to the review and recommendations, as set out and circulated to Members, be noted.

 

Note: a complete breakdown of the scrutiny recommendations and Cabinet’s responses can be found here.

Minutes:

Councillor M Harker, Chairman of the Communities and Localism Select Committee attended the meeting to present the findings and recommendations of the rapid review into Community Boards.  The Select Committee had agreed to establish the review in December 2021.  After some initial discussions across the wider Select Committee, a smaller group of councillors had volunteered to participate in further evidence gathering meetings with a number of stakeholders, which took place across two consecutive days in March 2022.  The review group had been chaired by Councillor Mimi Harker and comprised of Councillors Bass, Cooper, Mahon, G Smith, L Smith, and Waite.  Following the evidence gathering meetings the review group had then met to discuss and agree its key findings and recommendations, which were detailed in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report.

 

Cabinet considered their responses to the scrutiny review and commented or raised the following points during discussion:

·                    The Cabinet Member for Communities thanked the review group for their report and stated that a number of these recommendations had already been adopted in the Localism service review and that they would work on the other recommendations to ensure that they too were implemented.

·                    Being a Community Board Chairman required a unique skill set. The Member Working Group had been working on refresh training for Members which included a chairing skills module which was mandatory for chairmen but also recommended for all councillors as many have chairing roles in the community. The Select Committee Chairman agreed that leadership skills were essential for this front facing role and bringing together all partners working towards a common goal. The Leader commented that Community Boards were the foundation in which the Council could act locally and in partnership with other organisations. However, sometimes competing demands could be challenging with service requirements and local needs.

·                    Clarification was given that this would be reviewed on an annual basis as Community Boards would evolve over time and as can be seen from the pandemic it was important to be able to be flexible to meet local and national issues.

·                    Concern was raised about using Community Board funding for a highway scheme which was not a priority for the Council. However, it was noted that it was also important for Community Boards to have some funding so that they could make their own decisions about what highways schemes were a priority for local residents even though these schemes did not meet the criteria for highway schemes at a corporate level.

·                    A Cabinet Member welcomed that there would be autonomy of funding for Community Boards to agree their own priorities.

·                    Better communications regarding the work of Community Boards was welcomed and a suggestion was made that parish magazines would be a good way of publicising meetings and the work of Boards.

·                    It was important that small groups could benefit from Community Board funding even though they did not have a bank account.  Clarification was given that contributory funding was encouraged but this could only be a small amount. This enabled  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Early Help Partnership Strategy 2022 - 2025 pdf icon PDF 713 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Early Help Partnership Strategy for 2022-25 documented what was known about the need for early help, why it was important and what action would be taken to make progress and deliver the Council’s vision for children, young people, and families in Buckinghamshire.  It had been jointly produced and was owned by the Children and Young People’s Partnership Board and all its member organisations.  The Strategy set out what was already being done (previous Early Help Strategy 2019-2022) and what was planned to develop together in Buckinghamshire to ensure that children and their families received early help when they needed it.  The document would steer and enable the priorities detailed in the Strategy to be delivered, while also reflecting the priorities set out by Children’s Services.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(1)               That the achievements made since the Early Help Strategy 2019-2022 was adopted in 2019 be NOTED.

(2)               That the priorities identified for the Early Help Partnership Strategy 2022-2025 be noted, and the Strategy be ADOPTED. 

Minutes:

The Early Help Partnership Strategy for 2022-2025 documented what was known about the need for early help, why it was important and what action would be taken to make progress and deliver the Council’s vision for children, young people, and families in Buckinghamshire.  It had been jointly produced and was owned by the Children and Young People’s Partnership Board and all its member organisations.  The Strategy set out what was already being done (previous Early Help Strategy 2019-2022) and what was planned to develop together in Buckinghamshire to ensure that children and their families received early help when they needed it.  The document would steer and enable the priorities detailed in the Strategy to be delivered, while also reflecting the priorities set out by Children’s Services as follows:-

 

Priority 1: Strengthen multi-agency strategic governance and joint ownership of the Early Help Strategy

Priority 2: Further develop the Early Help offer to include a targeted response to the increased risk of long-term disadvantage for children, young people and families due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Priority 3: Work together to provide effective Early Help in line with our strategic objectives and Early Help Partnership Action Plan, that supports children, young people and families to easily access support.

Priority 4: Develop a common understanding of Early Help across the partnership and promote a cohesive Buckinghamshire offer.

 

During discussion the following points were noted:-

·         There had been 4000 requests for help in the past year and the refresh of this Strategy would help extend that help working with local partners.

·         This Strategy linked well with some areas of development that Ofsted had identified, including reaching out to some of the underrepresented groups across Buckinghamshire. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services reported that the service worked hard to engage with young people and seek their views including analysing data to understand where there was a demand for services. They worked with a number of partners including the Youth Offending Service and with young people who were not in education.

·         This Strategy also linked well with the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy including the Start Well policy.

·         On page 75 of the agenda pack there were some bullet points on areas of concern which related to finance and it was important to work with the voluntary sector to ensure enhanced support was given during these challenging times. The Family Centres have Community Co-ordinators in them who worked to ensure that there were good links at the local level. There were a huge number of services provided by the voluntary and community sector and it was important to ensure that there was good co-ordination of these services to provide the most effective service for children and young people.

·         Previously there was generalised provision offered through Family Centres which had now moved to a more targeted provision where early intervention could reach the cohorts in greatest need which was the rationale for change. It was important to understand whether the increase in demand and contacts at Level 2,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Participation Strategy for Young People 2022-2025 pdf icon PDF 593 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet received a report on the first Participation Strategy for Young People 2022-2025 which signalled the Council’s intention to ensure it provided opportunities to engage with children and young people in Buckinghamshire so that their voices were heard, responded to, and acted upon.

 

The Council’s ambition was to provide the best services possible to support children and young people and their families in Buckinghamshire. In doing so the Council was striving to continually develop services and how they were delivered so they were relevant and appropriate.  Children and young people had valuable contributions to make in helping the Council to understand what they needed.

 

The strategy provided a clear framework for Children’s Services to use in an inclusive manner, actively listening, acting, and responding to the issues which children and young people informed the Council were important to them.  This included involving them in identifying and providing creative solutions.

 

During the December 2021 Ofsted re-inspection, inspectors had commented that the inclusion and participation of children in helping to shape improved practice and services was underdeveloped. The implementation of the Strategy formed part of the response to those finding.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(1)               That the ambitions set out within the Strategy be NOTED.

(2)               That the Participation Strategy for Young People 2022-25 be AGREED.

Minutes:

Cabinet received a report on the first Participation Strategy for Young People 2022-2025 which signalled the Council’s intention to ensure it provided opportunities to engage with children and young people in Buckinghamshire so that their voices were heard, responded to, and acted upon.

 

The Council’s ambition was to provide the best services possible to support children and young people and their families in Buckinghamshire. In doing so the Council was striving to continually develop services and how they were delivered so they were relevant and appropriate.  Children and young people had valuable contributions to make in helping the Council to understand what they needed.

 

The strategy provided a clear framework for Children’s Services to use in an inclusive manner, actively listening, acting, and responding to the issues which children and young people informed the Council were important to them.  This included involving them in identifying and providing creative solutions.

 

During the December 2021 Ofsted re-inspection, inspectors had commented that the inclusion and participation of children in helping to shape improved practice and services was underdeveloped. The implementation of the Strategy formed part of the response to those finding.

 

This Strategy was co-produced with young people and The Care Leaders, a social enterprise led by experts by experience. The strategy brought together all areas of engagement and participation for young people, including the We Do Care Council, for children and young people in care, and Shout Out For SEND, the forum for young people with SEND. In addition to groups and forums, the strategy included wider engagement through Youth Councils and the Youth Voice Executive. Training would be provided for young people including encouraging them to join these activities including Community Boards. This significant range of activities was Championed by colleagues across children’s services, who were supported by specialist staff and a Participation Coordinator, within the Family Support Service. A website would be produced to engage young people.

 

During discussion the following points were made:-

·         A suggestion was made that in addition to the website it would be helpful to have a phone app which young people would relate to. The Cabinet Member reported that there would be a launch at Pinewood Studios shortly where they would be encouraging innovative ideas. The Corporate Director reported that they had hoped to bring this Strategy to Cabinet earlier but it had been delayed by the pandemic because of the importance of co-producing this document with young people. This Strategy was not just for Children’s Services but the whole Council with active participation by young people. It was important not to just listen to them, but to act upon their views and respond to them.

·         Funding for this Strategy was within the core budget.

·         In response to a question about champions for the Strategy and whether this included councillors, the Cabinet Member referred to the Member’s role as a Corporate Parent who could offer their services as a champion or mentor.

·         A Member made reference to how success would be measured with regard to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Moving Traffic Offences pdf icon PDF 778 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Department of Transport (DfT) had invited local authorities with Designation Orders for parking enforcement to apply to enforce moving traffic offences. This would help improve road safety, reduce congestion, and promote active traffic and clean air policies.  Enforcement of moving traffic offences outside of London and Cardiff was currently undertaken by the Police.

 

Across England, all authorities were now permitted to apply and enforce parking and bus lane contraventions.  This was by way of an application for a Designation Order. Buckinghamshire Council currently had five Designation Orders, which in their entirety cover the whole of the Buckinghamshire county.  The number of Designation Orders was largely due to the timing when legacy Councils respectively applied for civil parking enforcement powers covering on and off street, and bus lanes.

 

The powers would enable the Council to enforce certain moving traffic offences such as, no entry, yellow box junctions, banned turns, and environmental weight limits. The powers also allowed stopping on school keep clears to be enforced by camera, as long as they were supported by a valid Traffic Regulation Order. A full list of contraventions that could be enforced utilising these powers is provided at Appendix A of the report.

 

The new powers did not allow the Council to enforce structural weight limits; these had not been included on the final list and enforcement of these restrictions would remain with the Police. The difference between an environmental weight restriction and a structural weight restriction was provided at Appendix B of the report.

 

The Cabinet report also contained information:

-                     On the key benefits of the Council adopting the new powers.

-                     On the conditions that a local authority must meet and commit to in respect of bringing forward moving traffic enforcement sites.

-                     That to support the application and make sure local authorities progressed and implemented the new powers in a timely manner, the DfT had requested that specific sites were identified on the applications and enforcement was then introduced to ensure the Order was used.  A list of the specified sites was detailed at paragraph 2.19 of the Cabinet report.

-                     That enforcement was carried out using an approved device. This was a camera with automatic number plate recognition that had been certified by the VCA (Vehicle Certification Agency).

-                     That the aspiration was to undertake a review of the initial locations approximately 12 months following installation of the cameras. This would enable sufficient time to pass following the six-month period of warning notices to first offenders. In the meantime, compliance levels would be regularly monitored.

-                     That all new locations, after the initial period, would be agreed in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport.  This would include the requirement for a minimum 6 week consultation for every new location, although further approvals from the DfT would not be required.

-                     That to publicly engage with Members, local businesses, residents, and visitors a consultation had taken place from 21 February 222 to 4 April 2022.  The outcome  ...  view the full decision text for item 10.

Minutes:

The Department of Transport (DfT) had invited local authorities with Designation Orders for parking enforcement to apply to enforce moving traffic offences. This would help improve road safety, reduce congestion, and promote active traffic and clean air policies.  Enforcement of moving traffic offences outside of London and Cardiff was currently undertaken by the Police.

 

Across England, all authorities were now permitted to apply and enforce parking and bus lane contraventions.  This was by way of an application for a Designation Order. Buckinghamshire Council currently had five Designation Orders, which in their entirety cover the whole of the Buckinghamshire county.  The number of Designation Orders was largely due to the timing when legacy Councils respectively applied for civil parking enforcement powers covering on and off street, and bus lanes.

 

The powers would enable the Council to enforce certain moving traffic offences such as, no entry, yellow box junctions, banned turns, and environmental weight limits. The powers also allowed stopping on school keep clears to be enforced by camera, as long as they were supported by a valid Traffic Regulation Order. A full list of contraventions that could be enforced utilising these powers is provided at Appendix A of the report.

 

The new powers did not allow the Council to enforce structural weight limits; these had not been included on the final list and enforcement of these restrictions would remain with the Police. The difference between an environmental weight restriction and a structural weight restriction was provided at Appendix B of the report.

 

The Cabinet report also contained information:

-                     On the key benefits of the Council adopting the new powers.

-                     On the conditions that a local authority must meet and commit to in respect of bringing forward moving traffic enforcement sites.

-                     That to support the application and make sure local authorities progressed and implemented the new powers in a timely manner, the DfT had requested that specific sites were identified on the applications and enforcement was then introduced to ensure the Order was used.  A list of the specified sites was detailed at paragraph 2.19 of the Cabinet report.

-                     That enforcement was carried out using an approved device. This was a camera with automatic number plate recognition that had been certified by the VCA (Vehicle Certification Agency).

-                     That the aspiration was to undertake a review of the initial locations approximately 12 months following installation of the cameras. This would enable sufficient time to pass following the six-month period of warning notices to first offenders. In the meantime, compliance levels would be regularly monitored.

-                     That all new locations, after the initial period, would be agreed in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport.  This would include the requirement for a minimum 6 week consultation for every new location, although further approvals from the DfT would not be required.

-                     That to publicly engage with Members, local businesses, residents, and visitors a consultation had taken place from 21 February 222 to 4 April 2022.  The outcome  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Business Improvement District (BID) Ballots: High Wycombe Town Centre (HWBIDCo) and Cressex Business Park BID pdf icon PDF 770 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet received a report and was informed that the Business Improvement District (BID) operating in High Wycombe Town Centre (HWBIDCo) would come to an end on the 30 September 2022.  HWBIDCo had served notice of its intent to instruct the billing authority (Buckinghamshire Council) to put a new BID proposal to ballot to enable a third five-year term from 1 October 2022.  Notice had also been served by the Cressex BID Steering Group of its intent to instruct Buckinghamshire Council to carry out a ballot on a proposal to create a new BID on Cressex Business Park from 1 October 2022.

 

Legislation required the Council to put ballot arrangements in place and, on receipt of a successful ballot outcome, make arrangements for the billing and collection of a levy payment. The Council was also required to work with the BID proposers to develop baseline service and operating agreements to ensure that activities carried out by the BID was additional to that provided by the local authority and that reasonable charges for levy billing and collection were agreed.

 

The importance to both the town centre in High Wycombe and Cressex Business Park in achieving BID status was that each BID, over the period of 2022 – 2027, would generate c £1.2m and £1.45m business-led investment to support their respective trading environments and would enable the delivery of a targeted range of improvements to benefit businesses and the local economy.

 

The Cabinet report set out the Council’s statutory obligations in this process along with an overview of the activity carried out by HWBIDCo and the Cressex BID Steering Group to provide assurance that this had been carried out as per the requirements of the 2004 Regulations.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(1)               That it be NOTED that the Buckinghamshire Council has received two notices of intent to ballot for HWBIDCo (High Wycombe Town Centre) and the Cressex BID Steering Group (Cressex Business Park).

(2)               That it be NOTED that arrangements are being put in place for a postal ballot and for the Returning Officer, with the support of the Economic Development Manager, to appoint Civica to undertake this.

(3)               That Cabinet confirms its full support to the creation of a new Business Improvement District on Cressex Business Park and for the continuation of High Wycombe Town Centre BID (HWBIDCo).

(4)               That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director for Planning, Growth and Sustainability, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration, to vote ‘Yes’ in the HWBIDCo ballot and the Cressex Business Park ballot, subject to ballot offers being satisfactory.

(5)               That, subject to a ‘Yes’ vote, authority be delegated to the Corporate Director for Planning, Growth and Sustainability, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Members and Services areas, to agree the detailed service level agreements in line with the business plans submitted and any operational decisions required to enable both BIDs to commence from 1 October 2022. 

Minutes:

Cabinet received a report and was informed that the Business Improvement District (BID) operating in High Wycombe Town Centre (HWBIDCo) would come to an end on the 30 September 2022.  HWBIDCo had served notice of its intent to instruct the billing authority (Buckinghamshire Council) to put a new BID proposal to ballot to enable a third five-year term from 1 October 2022.  Notice had also been served by the Cressex BID Steering Group of its intent to instruct Buckinghamshire Council to carry out a ballot on a proposal to create a new BID on Cressex Business Park from 1 October 2022.

 

Legislation required the Council to put ballot arrangements in place and, on receipt of a successful ballot outcome, make arrangements for the billing and collection of a levy payment. The Council was also required to work with the BID proposers to develop baseline service and operating agreements to ensure that activities carried out by the BID was additional to that provided by the local authority and that reasonable charges for levy billing and collection were agreed.

 

The importance to both the town centre in High Wycombe and Cressex Business Park in achieving BID status was that each BID, over the period of 2022 – 2027, would generate c £1.2m and £1.45m business-led investment to support their respective trading environments and would enable the delivery of a targeted range of improvements to benefit businesses and the local economy.

 

The Cabinet report set out the Council’s statutory obligations in this process along with an overview of the activity carried out by HWBIDCo and the Cressex BID Steering Group to provide assurance that this had been carried out as per the requirements of the 2004 Regulations.

 

In response to a question the Cabinet Member clarified that the levy rate was typically between 1-3% of the rateable value.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(1)               That it be NOTED that the Buckinghamshire Council has received two notices of intent to ballot for HWBIDCo (High Wycombe Town Centre) and the Cressex BID Steering Group (Cressex Business Park).

(2)               That it be NOTED that arrangements are being put in place for a postal ballot and for the Returning Officer, with the support of the Economic Development Manager, to appoint Civica to undertake this.

(3)               That Cabinet confirms its full support to the creation of a new Business Improvement District on Cressex Business Park and for the continuation of High Wycombe Town Centre BID (HWBIDCo).

(4)               That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director for Planning, Growth and Sustainability, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration, to vote ‘Yes’ in the HWBIDCo ballot and the Cressex Business Park ballot, subject to ballot offers being satisfactory.

(5)               That, subject to a ‘Yes’ vote, authority be delegated to the Corporate Director for Planning, Growth and Sustainability, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Members and Services areas, to agree the detailed service level agreements in line with the business plans submitted and any operational decisions required to enable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

Government funding supporting Buckinghamshire Residents pdf icon PDF 636 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Government had released funding to support residents in Buckinghamshire since 2020, initially through the Winter Grant and Local Support Grant, and subsequently through the Household Support Fund.  For the period November 2021 to March 2022, Buckinghamshire had been awarded £2.4m of funding from the Household Support Fund to provide support for residents in need of help with food, fuel and other essential household costs.

 

In the Spring Statement 2022, the Chancellor confirmed that the Household Support Fund would be extended, and this equated to a further £2.4m for Buckinghamshire to use to support residents between 1April and 30 September 2022.

 

Cabinet received a report summarising how the previous funding allocations were used and setting out a proposed use of the additional fund between now and the end of September 2022 that would ensure it was targeted to residents in need of support and in line with the Government guidance.

Minutes:

Government had released funding to support residents in Buckinghamshire since 2020, initially through the Winter Grant and Local Support Grant, and subsequently through the Household Support Fund.  For the period November 2021 to March 2022, Buckinghamshire had been awarded £2.4m of funding from the Household Support Fund to provide support for residents in need of help with food, fuel and other essential household costs.

 

In the Spring Statement 2022, the Chancellor confirmed that the Household Support Fund would be extended, and this equated to a further £2.4m for Buckinghamshire to use to support residents between 1April and 30 September 2022.

 

Cabinet received a report summarising how the previous funding allocations were used and setting out a proposed use of the additional fund between now and the end of September 2022 that would ensure it was targeted to residents in need of support and in line with the Government guidance.

 

During discussion the following points were noted:

 

·         A Member briefing had been organised for 31 May 2022.

·         Since November 2020 Government funding was focused on food support. The Winter Grant and Local Support Grant of £2.4million, a holiday activity and food programme fund of £1 million in 2021/22 and another million this year 2022/23. There was a Household Support Fund of £2.4 million from October 2021 to March 2022 and the latest Support Fund of £2.4 million from April 2022 to September 2022.

·         The Helping Hands Team had worked collaboratively across partners to assist residents who required additional support for food, warmth and household living costs. Funds had been utilised in many ways including providing direct support from request from residents but also through holiday food vouchers for families who were eligible to receive free school meals. The fund was utilised by the end of March and the Council has now further funding from the extended Household Support Grant which was announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement. Section 5 of the report detailed how this funding would be spent.

·         The Local Government Association and Department of Work and Pensions were organising sessions in the next few months to ensure good practice was shared with current funding and to look at future plans to help residents to help influence future thinking by the Treasury. The Council would be attending those sessions.

·         The Government had borrowed £350 billion to support the Country through covid and had now also provided this additional funding for residents. There was an increase in the national living wage, taper relief on Universal Credit, subsidising the Council Tax rebate and £1.2 million for the Council to operate a discretionary scheme to cover Bands E to H for residents on eligible terms and for people on benefits an extra £25. Some residents may still be struggling but it was important that the £7.2 million of Government funding was being well deployed and the Helping Hands Scheme was doing some fantastic work in helping vulnerable people.

·         Cabinet Members welcomed the fact that the Council had distributed the funding very quickly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

Outcomes from the Affordable Housing Task and Finish Group pdf icon PDF 738 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

An affordable housing Member Task and Finish Group had been initiated in August 2021 led by the Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Regulatory Services.  The group had met on a number of occasions to discuss the issues and challenges around the delivery of affordable housing in Buckinghamshire and to develop an affordable housing ‘position statement’, with the aim of reporting back to the Leader and Cabinet.

 

The draft position statement was intended to set out the Council’s interim approach and immediate commitment to bringing forward a development on a Council owned site that provided affordable housing, potentially with an element of specialist affordable and key worker housing. The interim approach was intended to cover the period while the Homelessness & Rough Sleeping and overarching Housing Strategies were being developed and was expected to provide early tangible progress for the key Council priority of increasing the delivery of affordable housing.

 

Paragraph 1.2 of the report set out the immediate objectives for the Task and Finish Group.  Some of the longer term objectives of the Member-led TFG were to provide input into the development of the Council’s overarching Housing Strategy and to identify learning from completed pilot projects to inform future schemes, thereby maximising delivery, and also complementing existing delivery that occurred through the planning process and registered provider partnerships.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(1)          That the findings of the Affordable Housing Member-led Task and Finish Group, including the proposed interim position statement on affordable housing be NOTED.

(2)          That theAffordable Housing Position Statement be ADOPTED, and the required activities be taken forward by Officers.

Minutes:

An affordable housing Member Task and Finish Group had been initiated in August 2021 led by the Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Regulatory Services.  The group had met on a number of occasions to discuss the issues and challenges around the delivery of affordable housing in Buckinghamshire and to develop an affordable housing ‘position statement’, with the aim of reporting back to the Leader and Cabinet.

 

The draft position statement was intended to set out the Council’s interim approach and immediate commitment to bringing forward a development on a Council owned site that provided affordable housing, potentially with an element of specialist affordable and key worker housing. The interim approach was intended to cover the period while the Homelessness & Rough Sleeping and overarching Housing Strategies were being developed and was expected to provide early tangible progress for the key Council priority of increasing the delivery of affordable housing.

 

Paragraph 1.2 of the report set out the immediate objectives for the Task and Finish Group.  Some of the longer term objectives of the Member-led TFG were to provide input into the development of the Council’s overarching Housing Strategy and to identify learning from completed pilot projects to inform future schemes, thereby maximising delivery, and also complementing existing delivery that occurred through the planning process and registered provider partnerships.

 

During discussion the following points were made:-

 

·         This Strategy was in line with other strategies of the Council including planning, communities, economic regeneration, climate change and energy efficiency.

·         It would cover over five years and an Action Plan would be drafted to support the Strategy.

·         A Cabinet Member welcomed the fact that this Strategy was linked to the First Homes Position Statement as this was a challenge in the area with the housing stock available.

·         In terms of the assessment of the three sites identified it was noted that this would be completed later in the Summer.

·         It was one of the Council’s key priorities and important that it was implemented as soon as possible.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(1)          That the findings of the Affordable Housing Member-led Task and Finish Group, including the proposed interim position statement on affordable housing be NOTED.

(2)          That theAffordable Housing Position Statement be ADOPTED, and the required activities be taken forward by Officers.

16.

Date of next meeting

7 June 2022 – 10am

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The next meeting would be held at 10am on Tuesday 7 June 2022.