Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies have been received from Cllr Gareth Williams and from Nick Graham.  Cllr Jilly Jordan (Deputy Cabinet Member – Environment) attended in Cllr Williams’s place. 

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 January 2023.

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 January 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

Cllrs Broadbent, Cranmer, Strachan, Tett and Williams declared a personal interest at Members of the Buckinghamshire Growth Board

The following hot topics were discussed:-

Leader

The Leader made reference to the appeal to help people affected by earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria. There was a link on the Buckinghamshire Council website where residents could donate to the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee. If residents wanted to make a financial contribution it was important to use an officially registered charity. The Leader commented that thoughts go out to all those affected and their families and friends.

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/news/support-survivors-of-the-turkey-syria-earthquake/

Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources

The Cabinet Member reported that to help residents different methods of payments were being offered to pay Council Tax. Usually Council Tax was paid in 10 instalments throughout the year, however residents could request to pay in 12 instalments instead. There was an online application form to do this on the website. There were changes for former Chiltern District Council area residents who paid by direct debit. From April 2023 the Council Tax Direct Debit would be collected monthly which would finish on 1 January with no payments in February and March. This was a change from making the first payment in May.

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-payments/pay-your-council-tax/

Cabinet Member for Transport

The Cabinet Member reported that Councils now have the power to issue fines for vehicles that break moving traffic restrictions such as driving in a bus lane, taking a restricted turn or stopping in a hatched box. ANPR would be used to enforce certain restrictions across Buckinghamshire, initially at 14 locations. These restrictions using enforcement cameras would be enforced from mid – February onwards with the first location commencing this week.

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-transport/moving-traffic-offences/

Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills

The Cabinet Member reported that Opportunity Bucks’ aimed to help residents access the fantastic opportunities on offer in Buckinghamshire where education, skills, work, living standards and health were concerned. This work was focusing on ten wards where outcomes for residents were poorer than other parts of the county. The ten wards were in parts of Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Chesham. Part of the multi-faceted programme including the Multiply Programme which aimed to upskill/reskill vulnerable residents with no qualifications. This Programme was being advertised through the Multiply Bus visiting the ten wards in Buckinghamshire.

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/news/opportunity-bucks-levelling-up-in-buckinghamshire/

Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

DLUHC’s Housing and Planning Minister Lucy Fraser visited Buckinghamshire Council on 26 January to learn more about Buckinghamshire’s experience of being part of the Open Digital Planning project (ODP), demo new user-centred Digital Planning Services and hear about the Council’s wider ideas for streamlining.Buckinghamshire was one of the first LPAs to launch new live services to citizens in 2022. Two of the ODP products were demonstrated to Minister Frazer during the visit as part of the department’s Digital Planning Programme.

Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture

The Cabinet Member referred to some of the exciting events being held during half term week.

 https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/news/half-term-fun-for-families-in-bucks/

 WrittenQuestion from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration  

“Buckinghamshire Council has set up a Sub-Group which includes Area Planning Committee Chairmen, Cabinet members and senior officers looking at the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire. Other Parish and Town Councils are drafting their own neighbourhood plans such as Chesham and Buckingham and will be going out to consultation on their plans with their constituents in the future. With the uncertainty, which still prevails on development housing numbers within Buckinghamshire and the questions around greenbelt protections, what work is being undertaken to engage and help guide and influence future local neighbourhood development plans for parish and town councils which will be funded through the town or parish precept, as well as guidance on the use and disparity between Section 106 agreements being used in the north of the Council area and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) being used in the south of the Council area to help facilitate infrastructure associated with growth?” 

Question from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration  

“Neighbourhood Plans 

Buckinghamshire Council has set up a Sub-Group which includes Area Planning Committee Chairmen, Cabinet members and senior officers looking at the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire. Other Parish and Town Councils are drafting their own neighbourhood plans such as Chesham and Buckingham and will be going out to consultation on their plans with their constituents in the future. With the uncertainty, which still prevails on development housing numbers within Buckinghamshire and the questions around greenbelt protections, what work is being undertaken to engage and help guide and influence future local neighbourhood development plans for parish and town councils which will be funded through the town or parish precept, as well as guidance on the use and disparity between Section 106 agreements being used in the north of the Council area and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) being used in the south of the Council area to help facilitate infrastructure associated with growth?” 

RESPONSE from Councillor Strachan 

We are preparing the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire having regard to government planning policy in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).  This requires local plans to set out a housing requirement figure for each neighbourhood area that has been designated which reflects the overall strategy for the pattern and scale of development and any relevant housing allocations.  Once these strategic policies have been adopted, these housing figures should then not need re-testing at a neighbourhood plan examination unless there has been a significant change in circumstances that affects the requirement.   

We already provide significant advice and support to town and parish councils on the preparation of their neighbourhood plans and employ a dedicated Neighbourhood Planning Coordinator to assist with this.  As work on the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire progresses, we shall engage with the relevant town and parish councils about what an appropriate housing requirement figure might be for their area.   

In the meantime, where it is not possible to provide a housing requirement figure for a neighbourhood area, the NPPF advises the local planning authority to provide an indicative figure, if requested to do so by the neighbourhood planning body.  This figure should take into account factors such as the latest evidence of local housing need, the population of the neighbourhood area and the most recently available planning strategy of the local planning authority. 

Under provisions in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, the government intends to introduce a national Infrastructure Levy as a new mandatory charge on development to replace Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) in England.  Within this context, officers are considering whether to introduce CIL in the North and Central planning areas; whether to review the existing CIL charging schedules in operation in the South, East and West planning areas; and whether to commence work on a single CIL charging schedule for the whole of Buckinghamshire.  A review of CIL processes and allocations would then take place once the process for introducing and reviewing CIL in the  ...  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 reports would be discussing at forthcoming meetings.

RESOLVED – That the Cabinet Forward Plan be noted.

Cabinet were asked to consider the recommendations of the Budget Scrutiny Inquiry Group which was formed to scrutinise the Draft Revenue Budget 2023/24 and Capital Programme for 2023/24 – 2026/27 that Cabinet approved on 5 January 2023.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the Budget Scrutiny Inquiry Group, as well as the supporting Officers, be thanked for their work and subsequent recommendations.

(2)               That Cabinet’s responses to the Budget Scrutiny report 2023 and recommendations, as detailed at the meeting, be agreed.

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

Cabinet were asked to consider the recommendations of the Budget Scrutiny Inquiry Group which was formed to scrutinise the Draft Revenue Budget 2023/24 and Capital Programme for 2023/24 – 2026/27 that Cabinet approved on 5 January 2023. As the Chairman, Cllr Ralph Bagge, had given his apologies, the Vice Chairman Cllr David Goss presented the report.

In January, the Finance and Resources Select Committee carried out its review of the draft budget. This involved three full days of questioning with each portfolio session attended by Cabinet Members and their deputies, the Section 151 officer, Corporate Directors and Heads of Finance. It was a cross-party constructive review on behalf of residents for Cabinet to consider. The report included 9 recommendations across the portfolios.

Overall, the Inquiry Group supported the budget proposals and increase in Council Tax and acknowledged the tough decisions proposed in a difficult financial climate and rising social care costs. It was clear that there was not much room to manoeuvre given increased cost pressures for the Council. In particular the Inquiry Group wanted to highlight three key areas of the budget:

1.    The significant contribution to the budget of income from the Energy from Waste plant (although this was less than it might have been due to the impact of the green levy);

2.    Increased costs in Adults and Children’s Services due to case volume and complexity and;

3.    The increasing costs for temporary accommodation.

The Vice-Chairman extended his thanks to all Members of Cabinet and officers for attending the sessions and their contributions as this helped the Inquiry Group gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities for the Council. He also thanked the review group, Cllrs Bagge, Anthony, Bracken, Fayyaz, Harris, Macpherson, Newcombe, Walsh and Wilson, for all their hard work and Chris Ward, Senior Scrutiny Officer for his support in producing the report.

The Leader thanked the Vice-Chairman and the Review Group for the constructive cross party work that had been undertaken and then went through the Cabinet response to the recommendations in the report. A complete breakdown of the scrutiny recommendations and Cabinet’s responses can be found here.

During discussion the following points were made:-

Recommendation 2 – consideration of more capital investment projects to reduce revenue pressures

The Leader reported that this approach was already taken by Cabinet but invest to save schemes were scrutinised closely by Cabinet as sometimes these schemes did not generate as much savings as expected but still put pressure on the revenue budget.

Recommendation 3 – risk management

Key financial risks were identified as part of the routine risk management processes with mitigating actions being monitored by the Corporate Management Team. These processes were also monitored by Members through the Audit and Governance Committee and its Risk Management Group.

Recommendation 5 – development of a sustainable CCTV framework

The Leader reported that a strategic business case was currently being developed in conjunction with Thames Valley Police, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Cabinet received a report on the revenue budget for 2023/24 and on the capital programme for Buckinghamshire Council covering the period to 2026/27. These proposals were based on the latest known funding position, service budget pressures and the key financial risks facing the Council both now and in the future. They also took account of the findings from the recent budget scrutiny inquiry.

The Council Tax Resolution report would be presented as a separate report as part of the budget to Council in February and would contain the final information from the other precepting authorities leading to the total Council Tax for the area, which Full Council would be required to approve.

The budget reflected the Councils desire to deliver it’s corporate objectives, maintain front-line services and support residents and businesses through the Cost of Living crisis. The budget had evolved and been updated during its development to reflect the changing economic environment, especially the exceptionally high levels of inflation and the increasing demand experienced within our services.

Whilst the Provisional Local Government Settlement had provided additional funding to the Council it remained insufficient to fund the level of inflation and growth forecast for 2023/24.  The Final Local Government Finance Settlement was expected to be announced in February 2023 (after the report deadline for the meeting). There were not expected to be any changes from the figures published in the Provisional Settlement which form part of these budget proposals.

Changes from the draft revenue budget were minimal and largely reflect additional Government Grant announcements.  Overall, the final revenue budget proposals include unavoidable growth of £33.3m, Inflation of £30.0m, savings of £10.1m, and income changes of £20.3m in 2023/24.  The proposed budget was built on the proposed Council Tax base and included increasing Council Tax by the Referendum threshold limits of a 2.99% increase in basic Council Tax and a 2% increase for the Adult Social Care Precept, giving a total increase of 4.99%. This was required to maintain levels of service as much as possible in the current economic climate.

The budget continued to include the use of £1.36m of General Fund in 2023/24, as originally approved as part of the Medium-Term Plan approved at Council in February 2022.

The Capital Programme was balanced across its 4 years, as many schemes spanned multiple financial years. The Council currently had borrowing headroom of £100m. It was proposed that Council delegate to Cabinet the addition of schemes to the Capital Programme which have a financially viable business case, subject to due diligence and final Cabinet approval.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council to –

(1)               Approve the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme (Appendices 1-3).

(2)               Approve the ‘Special Expenses’ budgets, precepts and associated services for Aylesbury Town, High Wycombe Town and West Wycombe Church Yard (Appendices 5 & 6).

(3)               Support the proposal to delegate to Cabinet decisions to add up to £100m to the Capital Programme, to be funded by Prudential Borrowing, subject to a robust business case being  ...  view the full decision text for item 8.

Cabinet received a report on the revenue budget for 2023/24 and on the capital programme for Buckinghamshire Council covering the period to 2026/27. These proposals were based on the latest known funding position, service budget pressures and the key financial risks facing the Council both now and in the future. They also took account of the findings from the recent budget scrutiny inquiry.

The Council Tax Resolution report would be presented as a separate report as part of the budget to Council in February and would contain the final information from the other precepting authorities leading to the total Council Tax for the area, which Full Council would be required to approve.

The Leader reported that the budget reflected the Council’s desire to deliver it’s corporate objectives, maintain front-line services and support residents and businesses through the Cost of Living crisis. The budget had evolved and been updated during its development to reflect the changing economic environment, especially the exceptionally high levels of inflation and the increasing demand experienced within services. Feedback from the Residents Survey had also helped shape the budget.

Whilst the Provisional Local Government Settlement had provided additional funding to the Council it remained insufficient to fund the level of inflation and growth forecast for 2023/24.  The Final Local Government Finance Settlement was expected to be announced in February 2023 (after the report deadline for the meeting). There were not expected to be any changes from the figures published in the Provisional Settlement which form part of these budget proposals. 93% of the Council’s income came from Council Tax and business rates.

Changes from the draft revenue budget were minimal and largely reflect additional Government Grant announcements.  Overall, the final revenue budget proposals include unavoidable growth of £33.3m, Inflation of £30.0m, savings of £10.1m, and income changes of £20.3m in 2023/24.  The proposed budget was built on the proposed Council Tax base and included increasing Council Tax by the Referendum threshold limits of a 2.99% increase in basic Council Tax and a 2% increase for the Adult Social Care Precept, giving a total increase of 4.99%. This was required to maintain levels of service as much as possible in the current economic climate.

The budget continued to include the use of £1.36m of General Fund in 2023/24, as originally approved as part of the Medium-Term Plan approved at Council in February 2022.

The Capital Programme was balanced across its 4 years, as many schemes spanned multiple financial years. The Council currently had borrowing headroom of £100m. It was proposed that Council delegate to Cabinet the addition of schemes to the Capital Programme which have a financially viable business case, subject to due diligence and final Cabinet approval. £143 million was being spent on school improvement, £20 million on housing and homelessness, £15 million on climate change and flooding, £20 million on waste and recycling.

The Section 151 Officer would be producing a report to Council on 22 February 2023 and was required to comment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Central Government had provided funds to the Council under S31 of the Local Government Act 2003 with the proviso that all monies were paid strictly in accordance with S13a (1) (c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and in line with guidance issued on 23 December 2022.  The fund, named by Central Government as the ‘Council Tax Support Fund’ was designed to meet the immediate needs of all taxpayers who were currently claiming Council Tax Reduction (CTR). The mandatory element was to award all recipients of Council Tax Reduction (both working age and pension age) with a further reduction in their annual council tax bill of up to £25. This reduction would apply to all Council Tax Reduction recipients who have an outstanding liability for the 2023-24 financial year.

It was proposed after applying the mandatory reduction in liability above, that the Council would continue to make similar discretionary payments to all applicants who became eligible for Council Tax Reduction for the first time after 1 April 2023.

The report proposed an additional policy framework that set out the Council’s approach to the award of the mandatory and discretionary elements of the Council Tax Support Fund from 1 April 2023, which was a new policy in addition to the existing Council Tax Reduction Scheme Policy.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council –

To adopt the discretionary Council Tax Support Fund policy for Buckinghamshire local Council tax support claimants, as shown in Appendix A to the Cabinet report.

Central Government had provided funds to the Council under S31 of the Local Government Act 2003 with the proviso that all monies were paid strictly in accordance with S13a (1) (c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and in line with guidance issued on 23 December 2022.  The fund, named by Central Government as the ‘Council Tax Support Fund’ was designed to meet the immediate needs of all taxpayers who were currently claiming Council Tax Reduction (CTR). The mandatory element was to award all recipients of Council Tax Reduction (both working age and pension age) with a further reduction in their annual council tax bill of up to £25. This reduction would apply to all Council Tax Reduction recipients who have an outstanding liability for the 2023-24 financial year.

It was proposed after applying the mandatory reduction in liability above, that the Council would continue to make similar discretionary payments to all applicants who became eligible for Council Tax Reduction for the first time after 1 April 2023.

The report proposed an additional policy framework that set out the Council’s approach to the award of the mandatory and discretionary elements of the Council Tax Support Fund from 1 April 2023, which was a new policy in addition to the existing Council Tax Reduction Scheme Policy. There was no cost to the Council in respect of Council Tax Discretionary Discounts awards as Government had made a budget allocation of £634,939. There was discretion on how this funding could be used including transferring money into the Helping Hands Fund.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council –

To adopt the discretionary Council Tax Support Fund policy for Buckinghamshire local Council tax support claimants, as shown in Appendix A to the Cabinet report.

Cabinet received a report proposing the introduction of a Discretionary Council Tax Discount scheme for Buckinghamshire Council Care Leavers.  The scheme would work alongside the Local Offer to support young care leavers in taking on the responsibility of having their own property and being able to support themselves financially.

One of the key points of the Local Offer was for Buckinghamshire Council to meet the obligation of paying Council Tax for the Care Leaver up until the age of 21 where they continued to interact with the Leaving Care team.

The report proposed a policy framework that set out the Council’s approach to the award of discretionary Council Tax discount for Care Leavers from April 2023.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council –

To adopt the DiscretionaryCouncil Tax Discount Scheme for Buckinghamshire Council Care Leavers, as shown in Appendix A to the Cabinet report.

Cabinet received a report proposing the introduction of a Discretionary Council Tax Discount scheme for Buckinghamshire Council Care Leavers.  The scheme would work alongside the Local Offer to support young care leavers in taking on the responsibility of having their own property and being able to support themselves financially.

One of the key points of the Local Offer was for Buckinghamshire Council to meet the obligation of paying Council Tax for the Care Leaver up until the age of 21 where they continued to interact with the Leaving Care team.

The report proposed a policy framework that set out the Council’s approach to the award of discretionary Council Tax discount for Care Leavers from April 2023. Rather than Children’s Services having to pay these charges, this new policy would mean that it would be more efficient to apply the discount directly to the council tax account and removed the need for care leavers to forward bills to Children’s Services for payment.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council –

To adopt the DiscretionaryCouncil Tax Discount Scheme for Buckinghamshire Council Care Leavers, as shown in Appendix A to the Cabinet report.

The report highlighted that currently there were 753 homes receiving a 10% discount for a second home. Assuming a 4.99% Council Tax increase, this was equivalent to £157k to the Council in 2023/24 (and £37k to other preceptors). The change proposed was to help encourage the active occupation of properties as a

primary residence in Buckinghamshire.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council:-

That they remove the 10% Council Tax discount on second homes from 1^st April 2023.

The report highlighted that currently there were 753 homes receiving a 10% discount for a second home. Assuming a 4.99% Council Tax increase, this was equivalent to £157k to the Council in 2023/24 (and £37k to other preceptors). The change proposed was to help encourage the active occupation of properties as a

primary residence in Buckinghamshire.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council:-

That they remove the 10% Council Tax discount on second homes from 1^st April 2023.

The Council was required to approve its Capital & Investment Strategy on an annual basis. The Capital & Investment Strategy provided the framework within which to deliver its Corporate Plan objectives through the effective investment of its limited capital resources. As well as the Councils immediate statutory responsibilities, the strategy also reflected the important role that it had to play in the regeneration and growth, affordable housing and climate change agendas, especially in the context of a post-Covid recovery and the significant housing growth in the area.

An amendment was made to the Strategy relating to the Green Belt Estate owned by the Council. Alongside the Agricultural Estates Management Policy the Green Belt Estate owned by the Council under pre-war legislation needed to be considered as well. Where considering any proposals which involved or impacted upon the Agricultural Estate or Green Belt Estate, the Property Board would ensure that environmental policies and protection of the Green Belt were fully considered as part of any recommendations to Cabinet, and also that any recommendations have the agreement of the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council :-

To approve the Capital and Investment Strategy attached at Appendix 1 of the report including reference to the amendment above.

The Council was required to approve its Capital & Investment Strategy on an annual basis. The Capital & Investment Strategy provided the framework within which to deliver its Corporate Plan objectives through the effective investment of its limited capital resources. As well as the Councils immediate statutory responsibilities, the strategy also reflected the important role that it had to play in the regeneration and growth, affordable housing and climate change agendas, especially in the context of a post-Covid recovery and the significant housing growth in the area. Section 7 of the Strategy outlined capital risk of which inflation was the greatest risk and Section 8 covered capital governance and processes. There were capital governance advisory boards but they were not decision making bodies.

An amendment was made to the Strategy relating to the Green Belt Estate owned by the Council. Alongside the Agricultural Estates Management Policy the Green Belt Estate owned by the Council under pre-war legislation needed to be considered as well. Where considering any proposals which involved or impacted upon the Agricultural Estate or Green Belt Estate, the Property Board would ensure that environmental policies and protection of the Green Belt were fully considered as part of any recommendations to Cabinet, and also that any recommendations have the agreement of the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council :-

To approve the Capital and Investment Strategy attached at Appendix 1 of the report including reference to the amendment above.

The Levelling Up White Paper and supporting draft legislation provided

Buckinghamshire with the opportunity to take control and address levelling up,

regeneration and innovation priorities. Ideally Buckinghamshire was seeking a case for a ‘Level 2 plus’ County Deal that could result in devolution of both capital funds and powers through the award of new local flexibilities and freedoms. However,

whether or not the Government continued to proceed with county deals, or indeed

allow Level 2 plus deals, the Council were collectively agreed that there was a need to synthesise current work in this space into a better aligned governance structure.

The Leader made a distinction between economic development and economic regeneration as opposed to housing and that it was important to focus on economic development as a separate issue. Therefore the terms of reference would be amended with reference to the Housing and Regeneration Board to focus on economic regeneration and not housing and regeneration. It was agreed that the Cabinet would delegate to the Leader authority to make minor changes to the terms of reference as required.

RESOLVED:-

1. That the Council will aim to transition to a ‘No Deal’ partnership model of strategic governance with effect from April 2023, as outlined in Appendix 1, and to establish a ‘Pooled Investment Fund’ to exclusively fund inclusive economic growth. 

2. That a new Place Based Growth Board be established to strengthen alignment, generate and focus funds, and oversee the effective allocation of resources to support agreed principles. 

3. That a further 4 Supporting Boards be established reporting into the Growth Board.  The Supporting Boards will be responsible for the development and management of a number of strands of supporting work including an Enterprise and Investment Board; a Skills Board; a Place, Housing and Regeneration Board (with amendment referenced above to focus on economic regeneration); and an Opportunity Bucks Board. As above, the Cabinet delegated authority to the Leader to make minor changes to the terms of reference of the Supporting Boards as required.

4. That it be agreed that the Buckinghamshire LEP will fulfil the Enterprise and Investment Board remit.  As such, in this initial phase the Council will seek to integrate activity rather than incorporate the legal entity and will not pursue TUPE transfer and the dissolution of the LEP Company. 

5. That Buckinghamshire Business First (BBF) will lead on the business support and integrated skills programme support whilst maintaining its status as the primary Buckinghamshire business representation organisation.  As such, BBF will manage both the Growth Hub and the Skills Hub, subject to the core funders (Buckinghamshire Council and the Buckinghamshire LEP) agreeing a Memorandum of Understanding with BBF, to include agreed metrics, to clarify expectations around the funding provided. 

6. That the management of the Enterprise Zone programme (currently managed by the EZ Board (in line with the current approved MoU) and the Connected Counties Gainshare income) be transferred into the ‘Pooled Investment Fund’.  The gainshare from contracts 1 and 2 (as detailed in the Cabinet report) will be managed by the  ...  view the full decision text for item 13.

The Levelling Up White Paper and supporting draft legislation provided

Buckinghamshire with the opportunity to take control and address levelling up,

regeneration and innovation priorities. Ideally Buckinghamshire was seeking a case for a ‘Level 2 plus’ County Deal that could result in devolution of both capital funds and powers through the award of new local flexibilities and freedoms. However,

whether or not the Government continued to proceed with county deals, or indeed

allow Level 2 plus deals, the Council were collectively agreed that there was a need to synthesise current work in this space into a better aligned governance structure, even though no funding had been received. As mentioned under the Hot Topics item Buckinghamshire had the Opportunity Bucks Programme which was concentrating on 10 wards.

While national policy and government funding lay outside of the Council’s control the Council have the opportunity to reorganise locally to ensure that the Council was  making the best use of limited resource. The proposed new model of governance would ensure that the Council was all aligned to a placed based common vision and plan and provide the broadest platform from which to address growth and cohesion priorities. The new proposed Growth Board represented a place based approach where thematic activity included health, economy and physical environment which could be coordinated to best effect. Closer integration should allow the Council to retain the strength of organisations and coordinate activity through a common Place Based Growth Board framework. A Government review had also proposed a number of changes in order to strengthen Local Enterprise Partnerships to help deliver proposals outlined in the Industrial Strategy White Paper. Having a single body for economic development meant closer collaboration for the Growth Board and the LEP with a series of supporting boards including Enterprise and Investment, Skills Board, a Regeneration Board and the Opportunity Bucks Board. There would be a pooled investment fund to exclusively fund inclusive economic growth.  

The Leader made a distinction between economic development and economic regeneration as opposed to housing and that it was important to focus on economic development as a separate issue. Therefore the terms of reference would be amended with reference to the Housing and Regeneration Board to focus on economic regeneration and not housing and regeneration. It was agreed that the Cabinet would delegate to the Leader authority to make minor changes to the terms of reference as required.

During discussion Cabinet Members welcomed the report and that having a single body would champion economic development for Buckinghamshire and promote the County as a great place to invest. A Cabinet Member commented that it was disappointing that no Government funding had been given to Buckinghamshire especially with its pockets of deprivation. Another Cabinet Member welcomed the changes including having one body to ensure no duplication and having good governance in one place to ensure good decision making.

RESOLVED:-

1. That the Council will aim to transition to a ‘No Deal’ partnership model of strategic governance with effect from April 2023, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

Cabinet received a performance report which detailed the key performance measures reported through the Corporate Performance Framework for 2022/23. Cabinet also received the performance scorecard, which provided information on four key elements of performance for the Council covering Finance, Customer Service, Performance and Human Resources indicators. Within the performance report and performance scorecard, outturns which were performing at or better than target were classified as Green, those which were within 5% of the target were Amber and those which were more than 5% of the target were Red. At the end of Quarter 3, 98 indicators had outturns reported with a Red, Amber or Green status. Of these, 66 are Green (67%), 10 are Amber (10%) and 22 are Red (22%).

RESOLVED –

1) That the Council’s performance for the Quarter 2 period 2022-23 be NOTED.

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

Cabinet received a performance report which detailed the key performance measures reported through the Corporate Performance Framework for 2022/23. Cabinet also received the performance scorecard, which provided information on four key elements of performance for the Council covering Finance, Customer Service, Performance and Human Resources indicators. Within the performance report and performance scorecard, outturns which were performing at or better than target were classified as Green, those which were within 5% of the target were Amber and those which were more than 5% of the target were Red. At the end of Quarter 3, 98 indicators had outturns reported with a Red, Amber or Green status. Of these, 66 are Green (67%), 10 are Amber (10%) and 22 are Red (22%).

The following updates were given on red performance indicators:-

Leader

Buckinghamshire unemployment rate as a percentage of National unemployment rate

The Claimant Rate measured the percentage of working age population claiming ‘out-of-work’ benefits from the total working age population.  The target was for the percentage unemployed in Buckinghamshire to be less than 55% of the percentage unemployed nationally – the current value was 73%. Bucks LEP continued to monitor, conduct analysis alongside partners, and develop reports and area profiles to target activity effectively through programmes such as Opportunity Bucks supporting the most deprived wards focusing particularly on central Wycombe, Aylesbury and Chesham, and also to help inform the development of the Local Skills Improvement Plan with Buckinghamshire Business First (BBF) as the employer representative body. It was important to identify reasons behind unemployment such as transport or language which could be causing difficulties.

Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources

Average webchat response time (target was 50 seconds but the current value was 59). As there was pressure on phone lines resources moved to answer phones. Training and further resource would be organised, including new starters to support the web chat service going forwards. There would be a rollout of webchat across the whole website, currently it was on the contact us page only. The good news was that the target for answering phones was being met and they were well within target.

Average time for processing new Housing Benefit claims (days)

Average time for processing Housing Benefit change claims (days)

These two indicators were impacted by the 11 week closure during the rollout of the new single county wide revenues and benefits system which has been successfully implemented. This was in two phases which impacted Q1 and Q3. Additional resources over and above the planned additional capacity has been brought in to clear the outstanding work back to normal service levels by the end of Q4 2022-23. The Leader referred to pressure on phones due to the problems being experienced with waste collection in South Buckinghamshire for which the Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment had apologised. This had been largely overcome and the Council were now only dealing with a few complaints. However, this previously had a big impact on the webchat and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Cabinet agreed the new Highways service contracts operating model and the associated procurement strategy for the new contracts on 2nd March 2021. On 29th June 2021 Cabinet agreed the evaluation and quality criteria that would be used to determine the selection process and outcome of the procurement exercise as well as the criteria and process for determining any potential future extensions of the Term Maintenance and Term Consultancy contracts. These Framework Contracts would  be for a maximum 4-year contract period. The procurement process was carried out in three parts for the Term Maintenance Contract, Term Consultancy Contract and finally Two Frameworks; the first framework comprising 3 lots, one for Conventional Surfacing, one for Surface Dressing and Micro Surfacing and one for Minor works up to £500k. The second framework was for larger projects and works in excess of £500k.

RESOLVED:-

1. That the progress made to date on the procurement of the new Highways Services Contracts be NOTED. 

2. That Framework 1, Lot 1, Lot 2 and Lot 3 and the Framework 2 Highways contract be awarded to the preferred bidders, as detailed within confidential Appendix 1. 

3. That the proposed management, use and commissioning of works via the Framework and the Term Maintenance and Consultancy contracts be NOTED. 

Cabinet agreed the new Highways service contracts operating model and the associated procurement strategy for the new contracts on 2nd March 2021. On 29th June 2021 Cabinet agreed the evaluation and quality criteria that would be used to determine the selection process and outcome of the procurement exercise as well as the criteria and process for determining any potential future extensions of the Term Maintenance and Term Consultancy contracts. These Framework Contracts would  be for a maximum 4-year contract period. The procurement process was carried out in three parts for the Term Maintenance Contract, Term Consultancy Contract and finally Two Frameworks; the first framework comprising 3 lots, one for Conventional Surfacing, one for Surface Dressing and Micro Surfacing and one for Minor works up to £500k. The second framework was for larger projects and works in excess of £500k.

RESOLVED:-

1. That the progress made to date on the procurement of the new Highways Services Contracts be NOTED. 

2. That Framework 1, Lot 1, Lot 2 and Lot 3 and the Framework 2 Highways contract be awarded to the preferred bidders, as detailed within confidential Appendix 1. 

3. That the proposed management, use and commissioning of works via the Framework and the Term Maintenance and Consultancy contracts be NOTED. 

21 March 2023 – 10am

21 March 2023 at 10am