Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Minutes of the meeting of 4 March 2021 are attached to be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The minutes of 4 March 2021 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

To receive any apologies for absence from Members*.

*Note: Members are asked to email Committee services in advance of the meeting as soon as they become aware they will be absent.

Apologies had been received from Councillor Cockarill.

To declare disposable pecuniary, and any other interests*.

*Note: Members are asked to email Committee Services in advance of the meeting as soon as they become aware they may have an interest to declare.

No declarations made.

The Chairman had no announcements.

None.

Minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2021 to be noted.

Overview & Scrutiny discussed the progress of the Climate Change Working Group at its March meeting and raised concerns over the speed of execution.  Cllr Oliver expressed to Cabinet Members that good progress was being made in the background and Members were advised that a planning workshop would be used at the next meeting to incorporate the planning department in order to assist the climate change working group.

Minutes of the meeting held on 2 March were noted.

To seek Cabinet approval for the Council’s Equality Objectives 2021-2023, which were considered by Overview and Scrutiny Committee in March 2021.

RECOMMENDATION

That the Equality Objectives 2021-2023 attached at Appendix 1 be approved by Cabinet and recommended to full Council.

That the Equality Objectives 2021-2023 attached at Appendix 1 were approved.

Cabinet were informed of the Council’s Equality Objectives 2021-2023, which were considered by Overview and Scrutiny Committee in March 2021.

Members asked about the publication of workforce equality information and asked why certain groups with lower representation had not been identified.  It was explained that this is due to protecting individual Officer’s right for confidentiality and ensures the ability to publish a more general overview.

DECISION

That the Equality Objectives 2021-2023 attached at Appendix 1 were approved.

To consider the draft Service Plans for 2021/22 as set out in Appendix 1.

RECOMMENDATION

That Cabinet considers and adopts the draft Service Plans for 2021/22, as set out in Appendix 1, having regard to the agreed Budget for 2021/22.

Cabinet considered and adopted the draft Service Plans for 2021/22, as set out in Appendix 1, having regard to the agreed Budget for 2021/22.

Members considered the draft Service Plans for 2021/22 as set out in Appendix 1.

Members discussed different topics from all service areas, including:

•         The new ways of working and ensuring better communication and engagement between Members working with Officers.

•         Officers will split their time between working from home and the office and the office layout will keep evolving to find the best productive way to engage changing working patterns.

•         Community Services have surveyed residents at risk of becoming homeless on how they have found engaging with the Council and accessing our Services during lockdown periods and found that the response has been very positive.

•         Key performance targets currently available and how to develop further key indicators to create KPIs for the commercialisation strategy.

•         Ground maintenance and street cleaning complaints data will be updated and provided by Mr Elson on the Environmental & Technical Service Plan.

DECISION

Cabinet considered and adopted the draft Service Plans for 2021/22, as set out in Appendix 1, having regard to the agreed Budget for 2021/22.

To seek approval to transfer the Administration Authority function for the Joint Waste Service and employment of the Joint Waste Client Team from Hart District Council to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

Appendix G of this report is Exempt.

RECOMMENDATION

That Cabinet:

1.       Agrees to the transfer of the Joint Waste Client team, and to delegate authority to the Joint Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, to seek any minor changes to the client team arrangements as necessary.

2.       Authorises the Joint Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, to finalise and enter into an amended contract that transfers the Administrating Authority function for the Joint Waste Service from Hart District Council to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. 

3.       Agrees to enter into an updated Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) and new Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, substantially in the form attached at Appendices A and B, and delegates to the Joint Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, authority to finalise the terms and complete both agreements on behalf of the Council.

That Cabinet:

1.       Agreed to the transfer of the Joint Waste Client team, and to delegate authority to the Joint Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, to seek any minor changes to the client team arrangements as necessary.

2.       Authorised the Joint Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, to finalise and enter into an amended contract that transfers the Administrating Authority function for the Joint Waste Service from Hart District Council to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

3.       Agreed to enter into an updated Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) and new Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, substantially in the form attached at Appendices A and B, and delegates to the Joint Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, authority to finalise the terms and complete both agreements on behalf of the Council.

Approval was sought to transfer the Administration Authority function for the Joint Waste Service and employment of the Joint Waste Client Team from Hart District Council to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

Members were reassured that the transfer of the Joint Waste Client Team was not as a result of how the team had performed but how the contractor had executed the contract.  It was decided not to split the contract but to transfer instead to ensure no increased costs would be incurred from the contractor.  Transfer of the client team would improve resilience and enable us to maintain a high standard of service.

Appendix G of this report is Exempt.

Members asked questions on:

•         Additional services for our residents.

•         Extra resources to implement initiatives and tasks.

•         The possibility of deterioration in the service due to no longer managing the service but Members were assured that greater checks and balances in governance and oversight in the contract management would be put in place to protect our position.

•         The reference to performance board will be amended to reference Overview & Scrutiny.  Feedback and amendments suggested by Hart had been agreed by Basingstoke and Deane.

•         The additional costs to Basingstoke & Deane for the higher level of workload to provide more resources.  This figure to be confirmed by Mr Elson.

•         Ensuring that Hart residents would not lose sovereignty on how the service would be delivered and the inter-authority agreement will strengthen and maintain clarity.

The Chairman thanked the joint waste client team for their hard work and the decision made by Cabinet was no reflection on their ability to deliver the service.

DECISION

That Cabinet:

1.       Agreed to the transfer of the Joint Waste Client team, and to delegate authority to the Joint Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, to seek any minor changes to the client team arrangements as necessary.

2.       Authorised the Joint Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, to finalise and enter into an amended contract that transfers the Administrating Authority function for the Joint Waste Service from Hart District Council to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

3.       Agreed to enter into an updated Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) and new Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, substantially in the form attached at Appendices A and B, and delegates to the Joint Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, authority to finalise the terms and complete both agreements on behalf of the Council.

To update Cabinet on the outcome of the procurement process undertaken to implement a new integrated housing advice software solution, and to seek approval to appoint the preferred supplier.

Appendix 2 of this report is Exempt.

RECOMMENDATION

To request authority to draw down from housing earmarked reserves to fund the procurement of the new housing IT system.

1.       That Cabinet approved the award of the contract to the highest scoring supplier (Supplier A), following the detailed evaluation process that has taken place between December 2020 and February 2021 by the project evaluation team as set out in paragraph 4.5.

2.       That Cabinet endorsed the proposed initial contract term of 24 months for the new system, with the option to extend annually for a further 24 months, as laid out within the Crown Commercial Services G- Cloud 12 framework as set out in paragraph 3.4.

3.       That Cabinet approved the use of earmarked reserves for the procurement of new housing IT system as set out in paragraph 5.2 & 5.3.

4.       That Cabinet approved the officer recommendation to proceed with implementation as set out in paragraph 5.4.

Cabinet were updated on the outcome of the procurement process undertaken to implement a new integrated housing advice software solution, and to grant approval to appoint the preferred supplier.

Cabinet agreed to request authority to draw down from housing earmarked reserves to fund the procurement of the new housing IT system.

Appendix 2 of this report is Exempt.

DECISION

1.       That Cabinet approved the award of the contract to the highest scoring supplier (Supplier A), following the detailed evaluation process that has taken place between December 2020 and February 2021 by the project evaluation team as set out in paragraph 4.5.

2.       That Cabinet endorsed the proposed initial contract term of 24 months for the new system, with the option to extend annually for a further 24 months, as laid out within the Crown Commercial Services G- Cloud 12 framework as set out in paragraph 3.4.

3.       That Cabinet approved the use of earmarked reserves for the procurement of new housing IT system as set out in paragraph 5.2 & 5.3.

4.       That Cabinet approved the officer recommendation to proceed with implementation as set out in paragraph 5.4.

The Joint Chief Executive to inform Cabinet of an urgent decision taken under delegated powers to seek surrender of the existing lease for Frogmore Day Care Centre.

Cabinet noted the urgent decision taken to seek surrender of the existing lease for Frogmore Day Care Centre.

Members were informed of an urgent decision taken to seek surrender of the existing lease for Frogmore Day Care Centre. 

Members discussed how valuable the facility is for the district and were saddened to learn that the existing charity could not continue to fund the facility and agreed that the intention of this building will always be kept and retained for community use.  Cabinet were happy to be informed that there is another charitable organisation was in a good position to take on the facility in the near future as there is a big demand for day care centres for community use.

Members asked what the next stage is and were advised that if the lease of the building passed exemptions to procurement around provisions for social and health care, then the Council can seek expressions of interest.  If such exemptions cannot be established, a full tendering process will be required.  Cabinet expressed an urgency for community services to be delivered from the centre but recognised, this should not risk services not being of sufficient safety and quality in doing so.

DECISION

Cabinet noted the urgent decision taken to seek surrender of the existing lease for Frogmore Day Care Centre.

The Monitoring Officer to confirm the decision-making implications under the adopted scheme of delegation arising from the impending move in status from Emergency response to Recovery.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed the decision-making implications under the adopted scheme of delegation arising from the impending move in status from Emergency response to Recovery.

The Monitoring Officer commented on the Joint Chief Executives great work documenting urgent emergency decisions made in the emergency response phase and that further urgent decisions would still need to be made as the Council moves into the recovery stage.  Cabinet were informed that the recovery stage would be a longer process and there would still be occasions for rapid decisions to be made for some considerable time.  In this regard Members noted that Officers would now rely upon conventional delegated Urgent Powers already in the constitution (Delegated Powers 263 and 264).  These would be exercised in consultation with the Leader of the Council (and in consultation with Ward Councillors if the decision raised significant Ward related matters) with a full report on any decisions taken subsequently made.

The Joint Chief Executive, Patricia Hughes added that additional activities were still ongoing under COVID services including the Lateral Flow Testing Centre, a further tranche of busines grants and the Hart Hub still supporting Hart residents.

The Cabinet Work Programme is attached for consideration and amendment.

The Cabinet Work Programme was considered and amended.

1.       Car boot sales postpone to July.

2.       Regulatory Services Enforcement Policy postpone to July after the Licensing Committee Meeting in June.

3.       Housing Company Business Case in June.

4.       An updated on Emergency COVID-19 Decisions taken for noting by Cabinet in July.

The following items contain exempt information.

RECOMMENDATION?

?

Members must decide whether the public interest in maintaining an exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.?

?It is recommended that, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded during the discussion of the matters referred to, on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2?of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The following item contained exempt information.

DECISION?

?

Members decided that the public interest in maintaining an exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.?

In accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded during the discussion of the matters referred to, on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2?of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

This report is exempt from publication.

(A)      That Cabinet agreed to extend the grant of management fee relief to Everyone Active to the 30 June 2021 to allow for lost revenue as a result of additional costs, limited activities, and reduced membership subscriptions due to the impact of Covid-19 on the basis that COVID-19 compensation payments remain payable from Central Government.

(B)      Agreed that one further subsidy of no greater than £369K to cover the period from 1st January to 30th June to allow a break-even position.

(C)      With reference to Recommendation B, Cabinet agreed the break-even position should only be calculated before staff bonuses, extraordinary expenditure, and dividend payments.

(D)      That S.151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance be authorised to carry out the open book audit and agree any subsidy payable with Everyone Active.

(E)      That S.151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance be authorised to negotiate with Everyone Active a monetary mechanism to return to a position of full management fee receipts as early as is possible.

In January 2021, Cabinet agreed that management fee relief would be to Everyone Active to the 31st of March 2021 and a claim be made to the National Leisure Recovery Fund which would be passed over to Everyone Active to mitigate against further losses.  The amount received from the National Leisure Recovery Fund does not fully mitigate the losses anticipated by Everyone Active and they have made a further request for both additional funding to the 31st of March and that the management fee relief is granted until the 30th June 2021 due to the further period of enforced closure.

Members discussed:

•         The reduced client base of members using the leisure facility during the pandemic.

•         How the capacity of facilities will be limited due to social distancing being introduced when the leisure centre reopens.

•         Encouraging residents back to use the facilities.

•         Ways to safeguard our management fee.

•         Possibility for an extension of the studio facilities.

DECISION

(A)      That Cabinet agreed to extend the grant of management fee relief to Everyone Active to the 30 June 2021 to allow for lost revenue as a result of additional costs, limited activities, and reduced membership subscriptions due to the impact of Covid-19 on the basis that COVID-19 compensation payments remain payable from Central Government.

(B)      Agreed that one further subsidy of no greater than £369K to cover the period from 1st January to 30th June to allow a break-even position.

(C)      With reference to Recommendation B, Cabinet agreed the break-even position should only be calculated before staff bonuses, extraordinary expenditure, and dividend payments.

(D)      That S.151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance be authorised to carry out the open book audit and agree any subsidy payable with Everyone Active.

(E)      That S.151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance be authorised to negotiate with Everyone Active a monetary mechanism to return to a position of full management fee receipts as early as is possible.