Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor M Tett.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 28 September, 2021.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 28 September, 2021, be agreed as a correct record.

Councillor A Macpherson declared a personal interest in Item 9 (Bus Service Improvement Plan) as a Trustee of the Bernwode Community Bus.

The following hot topics were reported:

Cabinet Member for Transport

Cabinet were informed of two issues:

·                     Members were informed of the formation of the East West Rail Mainline partnership (formerly the EW consortium), that would be chaired by the Cabinet Member.  In line with the recent Notice of Motion discussed at full Council, the Council, Bucks LEP, England’s Economic Heartland and the EW mainline partnerships have all submitted bids to Government as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review which included the demand to build the Aylesbury link of EW rail, as had been originally proposed in the Act.  The CSR was due to be announced by the end of the month.

·                     The Grit’ Parade –a dry run of winter road gritting arrangements had been undertaken at the weekend.  This had included testing vehicles and drivers familiarising themselves by driving routes on the network.

Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment

Cabinet were informed that the current household waste collection arrangements would continue in the former Wycombe and Chiltern Council areas for another 4 weeks.  This was due to the HGV driver situation not improving sufficiently nationally to allow the service to revert to the usual arrangements.  The situation would continue to be monitored on a daily basis and communications provided to local residents.

Cabinet Member for Communities

Cabinet were informed of two issues:

·         Buckinghamshire had been allocated a grant of £2.4m from the Government’s £500m Household Support Grant.  The grant would support families with children and households in the most need with food, energy and water bills and other essential costs in the period October-March 2022.  The Council would need to submit a delivery plan to Government and were currently developing a scheme in discussion with voluntary and community sector partners and other agencies.

·                     The Cabinet Member highlighted the work of Community Boards, a number of which were engaging with young people on issues they felt were important in their areas.  For example, the Wendover Community Board had provided funding to the Wendover Youth Centre for a programme of physical activities for young people.  Chesham and Villages Community Board had funded The Theatre Shed for an inclusive community production. The Theatre Shed was a place where young people from every background and ability came together to use the power of drama, music and dance to have fun and build confidence and develop their creativity.

Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services

The Council had experienced some IT issues on the release of the secondary school test results on Friday afternoon.  This was a difficult time for parents and children affected and thankfully the system had been back up and running by 7pm, which meant that families did receive their results on Friday evening. A letter of apology had been issued to schools, and the Corporate Management Team were reviewing exactly what happened and the lessons learned to ensure this was not repeated in the future.

Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure

Cabinet were informed of two issues:

·                     The new pool  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Question from Councillor Alison Wheelhouse to Councillor Steve Broadbent (Cabinet Member for Transport)

A355/London End junction, Beaconsfield

“Given that the Planning Inspector has recently upheld HS2’s Appeal against the Council’s failure or refusal to approve HS2 lorry routes, what next steps will the Council take to obtain and provide clearer, reliable information on how much HS2 traffic is expected to use the A355/London End junction in Beaconsfield; and what measures will you take to manage the increasing level of HS2 traffic on the A355 in Beaconsfield including preventing lorries using other routes in the town?”

Question from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Anita Cranmer (Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services)

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

“Given that the waiting list for children and young people to access CAMHS can be 18 months to 2 years, can the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services please confirm what mitigations are in place to support children with their educational needs whilst they wait to be assessed and what action is the Council taking, e.g. lobbying the local NHS Trust, to improve this situation?”

Question from Councillor Alison Wheelhouse to Councillor Steve Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport

A355/London End junction, Beaconsfield

“Given that the Planning Inspector has recently upheld HS2’s Appeal against the Council’s failure or refusal to approve HS2 lorry routes, what next steps will the Council take to obtain and provide clearer, reliable information on how much HS2 traffic is expected to use the A355/London End junction in Beaconsfield; and what measures will you take to manage the increasing level of HS2 traffic on the A355 in Beaconsfield including preventing lorries using other routes in the town?”

Response

Since receiving the Planning Inspectors’ reports, we have subsequently taken further legal advice from Counsel.  As a consequence, the Council has (to date) issued the Judicial Review challenge to the inspector’s decisions on two of the lorry routes appeals. Work is underway preparing the appeals for submission for the remaining four lorry route appeals.

We have also been pressing the contractors and HS2 Ltd to publish comprehensive Traffic Guides detailing the volumes of HS2 traffic we can expect and to provide us with monthly lorry monitoring information, which has now been supplied and officers are reviewing the data before determining the next steps.

The council has also specifically invested in monitoring the impact of HS2 construction activity in certain locations, enabling appropriate action to be taken where non-adherence of agreed routes and significant impact on traffic flow occurs. Two mobile CCTV cameras have been deployed on the A355 in Beaconsfield.  One at the junction of Amersham Road and Ledborough Lane and the other on the A40 London End/Park Lane roundabout.  In the case of both CCTV cameras, footage is reviewed periodically and contractors whose construction traffic does not adhere to what has been agreed, will be approached and instructed to take the necessary action against their sub-contractors. The Council has also used the HS2 Road Safety Fund to purchase a third camera given the extent of the impact on our network.

In addition to the cameras, the Council is funding two marshals who are constantly out on the network, and who, amongst a range of activities, monitor the impact on traffic congestion resulting from HS2 construction in real time. This enables swift action to be taken, minimising any potential impact.

Question from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Anita Cranmer, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

“Given that the waiting list for children and young people to access CAMHS can be 18 months to 2 years, can the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services please confirm what mitigations are in place to support children with their educational needs whilst they wait to be assessed and what action is the Council taking, e.g. lobbying the local NHS Trust, to improve this situation?”

Response

Please find the list below of activity that the Council is leading on to support the emotional health of children and young people:

Mental Health Support Teams

(MHSTs) complement existing school support for children  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillor Macpherson 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 Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy had been developed following the motion at Council on 15 July 2020 regarding climate change and subsequently approved at Cabinet in February 2021 for further engagement.

The Strategy set out the approach to addressing climate change and air quality across Buckinghamshire, including targets for emissions reduction from the Council’s direct operations.  Further engagement activity had been undertaken since Cabinet last considered this Strategy, the feedback from which had been supportive.

Members were informed that one amendment needed to be made to paragraph 3.11 of the Officers’ report to reflect the current position and for the Strategy moving forward.  As such, paragraph 3.11 should be replaced with the following text:

“We have already made some progress on EV charging but there is more to do.  The Government are also seeking views on accelerating the provision of EV infrastructure as part of their Future of Transport consultation.  To allow us to match this ambition our strategy will look for opportunities to accelerate our own provision based on focused engagement with key stakeholders and partners.  This will ensure we increase provision of EV charging points across Buckinghamshire in a speedy manner.”

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the outcomes of the recent engagement activity be noted.

(2)               That the ongoing work being done to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions in 2020/21 be noted.

(3)               That the Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy be agreed and adopted, subject to the updated information provided on paragraph 3.11 of the Officers’ report.

(4)               That the MTFP be amended to reflect the revenue and capital budgets for the Strategy.

(5)               That Cabinet be provided with an annual update on the implementation of the Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change introduced a report on the Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy that had been developed following the motion at Council on 15 July 2020 regarding climate change.  It had subsequently been approved at Cabinet in February 2021 for further engagement. Climate change was a global emergency and it was critical that everyone played their part.

The Strategy set out the approach to addressing climate change and air quality across Buckinghamshire, including targets for emissions reduction from the Council’s direct operations.  Further engagement activity had been undertaken since Cabinet last considered this Strategy, the feedback from which had been supportive.

Members were informed that one amendment needed to be made to paragraph 3.11 of the Officers’ report to reflect the current position and for the Strategy moving forward.  As such, paragraph 3.11 should be replaced with the following text:

“We have already made some progress on EV charging but there is more to do.  The Government are also seeking views on accelerating the provision of EV infrastructure as part of their Future of Transport consultation.  To allow us to match this ambition our strategy will look for opportunities to accelerate our own provision based on focused engagement with key stakeholders and partners.  This will ensure we increase provision of EV charging points across Buckinghamshire in a speedy manner.”

The overall strategy was based upon the Council’s ability to control or influence different sources of emissions. The degree of control or influence was reflected in the nature of the actions for an emission source.  The influence had been articulated across four levels / approaches:

(i)                 Direct Control: Where we have direct control, we will take action to reduce emissions, for example by installing renewable energy systems (such as solar panels) on our buildings.

(ii)               Financial / Regulatory Role: Where we have financial or regulatory influence, we will look to use these abilities to reduce emissions, for example using our local planning powers to reduce emissions from new developments.

(iii)             Enabling Change: Where we can enable others to reduce emissions, we will support that change, for example by providing electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

(iv)              Inform and Influence: In other circumstances, we shall seek to inform and influence those who do have control over emissions, for example by raising public awareness of climate change and air quality issues.

The strategy was ambitious with 60 proposed actions across a range of emission sources, with the actions being arranged in sections aligned with the degree of control model – importantly it was a costed and deliverable plan which would put the Council on the path to reducing emissions by 75% by 2030 and 90% by 2040 reaching net zero by no later than 2050 and put Buckinghamshire on a sharper decline than the UK’s national approach:

(a)               The Council’s Emissions – covering how we will reduce our direct emissions.

(b)               Suppliers and Partners – covering how we will work with Community Boards, schools, suppliers and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2021-2022 provides details of progress made against agreed outcomes for Children and Young People. It outlines priorities, alongside potential future challenges for the partnership over the coming year.  It also highlights the partnership arrangements and budget position for the Youth Offending Service Partnership.

RESOLVED –

That the Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2021-22 be endorsed and Council recommended to adopt it.

Councillor Cranmer, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services introduced a report on the Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2021-2022 which provided details of progress made against agreed outcomes for Children and Young People. The plan outlined priorities, alongside potential future challenges for the partnership over the coming year.  It also highlighted the partnership arrangements and budget position for the Youth Offending Service Partnership.

Buckinghamshire Youth Offending Service was a multi-agency partnership between the Police, Children’s Services, Health Services, Probation, Community Safety and both voluntary and private sector providers.  The Youth Offending Service (YOS) played a key role in keeping communities, families, children and young people safe through the prevention of offending and reoffending, reduction in the use of custody and through contribution to multi-agency protection and safeguarding.

The Youth Justice Strategic Plan had been produced in compliance with the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, Section 40 which required each local authority, after consultation with the relevant persons and bodies, to formulate and implement for each year a plan (a “youth justice plan”) setting out:

(i)                  How youth justice services in their area are to be provided and funded; and

(ii)                How the Youth Offending Team (YOT) or teams established by them (whether alone or jointly with one or more other local authorities) would be composed and funded, how they would operate, and what functions they would carry out.

The plan also incorporated guidance from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and had to be submitted to the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales and published in accordance with the directions of the Secretary of State.

Members were informed that Multi-agency YOT/YOS had been established in 2000 following the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act with the intention of reducing the risk of young people offending and re-offending, and to provide counsel and rehabilitation to those who do offend. The act stipulated the composition of the YOT and identified statutory partners to work alongside the Local Authority.

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) had set three national outcome indicators for all YOTs which formed the baseline for performance information included within this year’s plan. These were as follows:

·                     Reduce the number of First Time Entrants (FTE) to the Youth Justice System.

·                     Reduce Re-offending

·                     Reduce the Use of Custody

The Cabinet report provided local context information for Buckinghamshire on areas including first time entrants to the youth justice system, re-offending rates and on the use of custodial sentences.  The statistics on sentencing showed that Buckinghamshire’s figure was lower than the National average and the South East figure but slightly higher than the Thames Valley figure.

There had been an increase in both the number of young people remanded to custody and the number of bed nights accrued in 2019-20, that was reflective of the seriousness of offending which was a national trend. 

Members were informed that all young people offered a Prevention programme by Buckinghamshire YOS had been tracked for 12 months to monitor whether they commit any offences and subsequently become a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Cabinet had received and agreed a report on 29 June, 2021, on the ‘Bus Back Better’ National Bus Strategy that required Local Authorities to enter into Enhanced Partnerships with bus operators.  Actions included agreeing a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) by 31 October 2021 to secure long term funding for vital bus services.  An Enhanced Partnership with bus operators would have to be entered into by no later than 31 March 2022.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) be approved, as set out in Appendix 1, to support long term funding for bus services.

(2)               That the submission of the BSIP to the Department of Transport by the 31 October 2021 deadline, as well as publishing it on the Council’s website, be agreed.

(3)               That authority be delegated to the Director for Transport Services, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, to make minor amendments to the plan if required for accuracy or updating.

(4)               That the Council’s agreed commitment to entering an Enhanced Partnership with bus operators by no later than 31 March 2022 be noted, as the mechanism for prioritising and delivering measures in the BSIP.

Cabinet had received and agreed a report on 29 June, 2021, on the ‘Bus Back Better’ National Bus Strategy that required Local Authorities to enter into Enhanced Partnerships with bus operators.  Actions included agreeing a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) by 31 October 2021 to secure long term funding for vital bus services.  An Enhanced Partnership with bus operators would have to be entered into by no later than 31 March 2022.

The Cabinet Member for Transport introduced a report and explained that the National Bus Strategy identified two alternative approaches to delivering bus service improvements: franchising and enhanced partnerships.  Buckinghamshire Council had opted to enter into an Enhanced Partnership with Bus Operators in June 2021 as the franchising option was not considered appropriate.

An Enhanced Partnership was a statutory arrangement under the 2017 Bus Services Act which could specify, for example, bus priority, timetables and multi-operator ticketing,  This was a more formal extension of the joint working that had existed in Buckinghamshire for a number of years, which had led to a number of successful initiatives including introduction of the High Wycombe ‘SMART zone’ multi-operator ticketing scheme and coordinated timetables on two bus corridors via Bus Qualifying Agreements.

The BSIP represented the Bus Strategy for Buckinghamshire and was required by the DfT to include a number of objective, priorities and targets for the whole of the LTA’s entire bus service network.  To benefit from new funding, LTAs would be expected to implement ambitious bus priority schemes and draw up ambitious BSIPs.  Statutory traffic management guidance would be updated to make promoting bus reliability an integral part of highway authorities’ Network Management Duty.  However, it should be recognised that the guidance of BSIP was focused on more densely populated urban areas.

The Buckinghamshire BSIP had been developed in line with and followed the structure set out in DfT guidance and had included engaging with bus operators.  The Council had met individually with every bus operator in Buckinghamshire to identify their challenges, opportunities and priorities to improve the future of bus services in Buckinghamshire.   Buckinghamshire had a strong network of urban and inter-urban bus services that were operated by a range of large and smaller bus operators including Arriva; Carousel; First Bus; Langston and Tasker; Red Group (Red Eagle, Redline, Red Rose); Stagecoach East; Star Travel; Thames Valley; Transport for London, and Z & S Travel.

A Task and Finish group had been established, chaired by the Cabinet Member for Transport, and was comprised of elected Members representing the broad geographical area of the county. The group had helped to monitor progress of the development of the BSIP and identified member priorities for improving bus services in Buckinghamshire.  A total of five meetings had taken place to date.

Further information was provided on the “Your Voice” survey that had run between August and 3 September, aimed at all members of the public, including bus users.  One of the DfT’s requirements for the BSIP was to include priorities from members of the public  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

In March 2021 a report relating to support to the provider market was presented and approved by Cabinet, which resulted in a package of financial support and a commitment to return to Cabinet with the viable options for the commissioning of services making note of the key commercial considerations.

The confidential report provided an update on the current position and outlined the options for next steps.  The approaches proposed aim was to provide the best foundation for managing the current care market whilst preparing for the future delivery of care and support for older people.  Core to the proposals were ensuring the delivery of good quality care, value for money and ensuring market stability in line with our obligations under the Care Act 2014.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the update on the provider market be noted, as detailed in the confidential report.

(2)               That the Corporate Director for Adults and Health be authorised to continue to negotiate with a provider on appropriate contract variations.

(3)               That the funding request for 2021/22, as detailed in the confidential report and appendix, be approved for immediate project resource, to be met from the General Contingency budget – Economic Uncertainty.

(4)               To note that a request for additional Adults and Social Care contingency, as detailed in the confidential report and appendix, will be considered as part of the overall MTFP process, to mitigate the potential wider financial impacts in 2022/23 to 2025/26.

In March 2021 a report relating to support to the provider market was presented and approved by Cabinet, which resulted in a package of financial support and a commitment to return to Cabinet with the viable options for the commissioning of services making note of the key commercial considerations. This was as a result of the impact of the pandemic on the provider market and was a national issue.

The confidential report provided an update on the current position and outlined the options for next steps.  The approaches proposed aim was to provide the best foundation for managing the current care market whilst preparing for the future delivery of care and support for older people.  Core to the proposals were ensuring the delivery of good quality care, value for money and ensuring market stability in line with our obligations under the Care Act 2014.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the update on the provider market be noted, as detailed in the confidential report.

(2)               That the Corporate Director for Adults and Health be authorised to continue to negotiate with a provider on appropriate contract variations.

(3)               That the funding request for 2021/22, as detailed in the confidential report and appendix, be approved for immediate project resource, to be met from the General Contingency budget – Economic Uncertainty.

(4)               To note that a request for additional Adults and Social Care contingency, as detailed in the confidential report and appendix, will be considered as part of the overall MTFP process, to mitigate the potential wider financial impacts in 2022/23 to 2025/26.

To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Paragraph 3:        Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED –

That pursuant to Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Minutes No 12 and 13, on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act as defined as follows:

Minute 12 – Support to the Provider Market as a result of Covid-19.

Minute 13 – Confidential Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September, 2021.

The items include Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) (Paragraph 3, Part 1 of Schedule 12A, Local Government Act 1972) (The need to maintain the exemptions outweighs the public interest in disclosure, because disclosure could prejudice the Council’s position in any future process or negotiations).

The confidential appendices were discussed in confidential session and the decision taken has been included within the public minute 10.

To approve as a correct record the confidential minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September, 2021.

RESOLVED –

That the confidential Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September, 2021, be approved as a correct record.

Tuesday 9 November, 2021, at 10am

Tuesday 9 November 2021, at 10am.