BOROUGH OF POOLE CABINET 12 JUNE 2018 BOROUGH OF POOLE CABINET. 12 June 2018

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1 Present: BOROUGH OF POOLE CABINET 12 June 2018 Councillor Mrs Janet Walton (Chairman) (Leader of the Council) Councillor Mrs May Haines (Vice Chairman) (Deputy Leader of the Council) Councillors: Challinor, Iyengar, Potter, Rampton, Mrs K Rampton and White. The Meeting commenced at 7:02pm and finished at 7:16pm. Also in attendance: Councillors: Malcolm Farrell Members of the public present: 2 CA1.18 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AGENDA ITEM 1 None. CA2.18 DECISIONS OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING AGENDA ITEM 2 DECISION TAKEN That the Decisions of the previous Meeting, held on 17 April 2018, having been previously circulated, be taken as read and confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record. Note: Councillor Potter advised that with regards to clause CA he had put Ms Ward in touch with officers but they had not received anything further from her as yet. FOR Unanimous CA3.18 DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTEREST(S) AGENDA ITEM 3 There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest. CA4.18 PUBLIC QUESTION AGENDA ITEM 4 None received. 1

2 CA5.18 SHELTERED HOUSING OPTIONS: REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR PEOPLE AGENDA ITEM 5 DECISION TAKEN That Cabinet notes and approves the following: 1. That the Cynthia House site be redeveloped in order to support the delivery of affordable general needs housing; 2. Funding of 115k to develop the project design to enhanced RIBA stage 3 (planning application) and RICS Formal Cost Plan 1; 3. That Cabinet sets aside a provision of 315k in order to fund the home loss payments to enable the project to move forward at pace and with the right support in place for all affected residents, but that these are subject to portfolio holder approval prior to release. 4. That these costs will be funded from the Housing Revenue Account capital programme. 5. That officers will bring forward detailed plans for approval by Council of the final scheme. FOR - Unanimous Reason for the Decision Cabinet considered the report which outlined that the current provision of housing did not meet the needs of households on the housing register and there was a proposal to redevelop the site to better meet these needs. There was further work to be done to complete the options and bring forward a fully costed proposal for formal Council approval but there were significant actions required at the present time to agree the direction of travel and support the timely delivery of change. The paper asked Cabinet to agree the overall direction of travel, which was the redevelopment of Cynthia House, and to agree resources to support this, while reserving the final decision on the exact nature of the scheme for full council approval when all information was available. Part of the Published Forward Plan Key Decision Portfolio Areas Health and Social Care and Housing Discussion/Options The Portfolio Holder introduced the report and advised that Cynthia House comprising of 39 units of mostly bedsits was situated in Newton Ward. The unit was expensive to maintain due to the age of some of the mechanical and 2

3 electrical services. There were five void properties and there was a lack of demand for these types of property. For these reasons, it was proposed that the units in Cynthia House should be replaced with general needs accommodation in the form of ten 3 bed units and twelve 1 or 2 bedroom flats. Those residents who would need to be re-housed into alternative sheltered accommodation from Cynthia House would be provided with home loss payments and assistance to move to a new property through choice based lettings with a high priority. The Portfolio Holder advised that although there was some concern initially expressed by residents when all the plans were fully explained to them most fears were allayed. Cabinet considered the financial implications of the scheme and noted that the initial estimates equated to approximately 174k per unit. The initial budget for the feasibility study was 115k. Cabinet were also asked to set aside 315k to progress home loss payments. All funding would be met from the HRA. The Chairman commented that there was a real need which required addressing with this accommodation. CA6.18 IMPROVEMENT PLAN OFSTED INSPECTION OF CHILDRENS SERVICES: REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR - PEOPLE DECISION TAKEN 1. That the improvement plan as in Appendix A to the report be endorsed 2. That the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children and Young People) be requested to scrutinise the implementation of the Improvement Plan to ensure positive and improving outcomes for children and young people are achieved. FOR - Unanimous Reason for the Decision The Improvement Plan had been developed to address the recommendations which were made by Ofsted Inspectors in their Autumn 2017 report on the inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers. The Cabinet reviewed this document and were satisfied with the progress made to date and requested that it continued to be monitored by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel to ensure that sufficient progress continued to be made. Part of the Published Forward Plan Key Decision Portfolio Areas No Children and Young People Discussion/Options 3

4 The Chairman invited the Portfolio Holder to introduce the report and Councillor White advised the Cabinet that the Improvement Plan had been developed following the Ofsted inspection in Autumn 2017 when Children s Services was judged overall as Requires Improvement. Adoption and Care Leavers Services were both judged to be Good. The plan had been submitted to Ofsted in March and the plan had been accepted without comment. The Portfolio Holder chaired the monthly improvement Board which had been monitoring the improvement plan. It was noted that number of the actions on the improvement plan had already been implemented, including increasing the capacity in the safeguarding hub, strengthening the management capacity in the out of hours service and implementing specialist emergency placement schemes. It was, however, also noted that there was further work to do. The Chairman placed on record Cabinet s thanks to the officers involved, and in particular the Head of Children s and Young People s Social Care for the excellent work they have achieved in a short amount of time in bringing about the implementation of the action plan. CA7.18 COUNCIL BUDGET MONITORING FINANCIAL OUTTURN: REPORT OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AGENDA ITEM 6 DECISIONS TAKEN 1. That the contents of the report and proposed actions in paragraph 10 of the report be noted. 2. That the use of consultants during 2017/18 as set out in Appendix D to the report be noted. 3. That the small surplus for the year of 152,000 be added to the Capital Contingency to help mitigate risks in the current capital programme and support future ambitions of the Council, as detailed in paragraph 5.3 of the report. FOR Unanimous Reason for the Decision To monitor the Council s performance against the agreed budget for the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 and the financial outturn for the year and to approve the use of the small surplus for the capital contingency. Part of the Published Forward Plan Key Decision Portfolio Areas No Finance and Corporate Services 4

5 Discussion/Options The Cabinet Portfolio Holder introduced the report and advised Cabinet that the Council had achieved a balanced budget with a small surplus of 152,000. It was clarified that this was against a budget of 295 million gross expenditure for 2017/18. There were further details provided of the overspends and underspends within each theme. Appendix A to the report provided further details of the variances greater than 100k against the budget for each theme. The Portfolio Holder explained that the unearmarked reserves were at the low end of the acceptable range and the earmarked reserves were detailed within the report at paragraph 3.4. It was confirmed that the investment into the General Fund capital represented a 95% spend of final approved resources. The Housing Revenue Account was also detailed within the report with a balanced outturn position. The Portfolio Holder highlighted that the Council had moved to a sustainable budget position a year earlier than planned as it had not required any support from reserves for 2017/18. The Portfolio Holder placed on record her thanks to the other Portfolio holders, Conservative group colleagues, officers and especially the S.151 officer. The Chairman asked the Chief Executive to covey Cabinet s appreciation to officers and thanked the Portfolio Holder. CA8.18 CABINET FORWARD PLAN AGENDA ITEM 8 Cabinet considered the Forward Plan for the period June 2018 to March It was noted that the Forward plan had been updated and republished on 8 June since the publication of the Cabinet agenda 3 items had been added to the July meeting as follows: Poole Museum Heritage Lottery Fund Bid Re-design of Social Care Out of Hours Service End of Year Performance Report DECISIONS TAKEN That the Forward Plan be noted. CA9.18 APPOINTMENT OF WORKING PARTIES/ADVISORY GROUPS AGENDA ITEM 9 Cabinet considered nominations to appoint to the following bodies: (i) Member Engagement Forum 4 Members Conservative Nominations Councillors Ian Potter, Emma William, Mohan Iyengar 5

6 Liberal Democrat Nomination Councillor Mike Brooke (ii) Transportation Advisory Group 8 Members Conservative Nominations Councillors Ann Stribley, Elaine Atkinson, Drew Mellor, Peter Pawlowski, Mike Wilkins and Lindsay Wilson. Liberal Democrat Nomination Councillor Marion Le Poidevin Poole People Nomination Councillor Andy Hadley Trained Substitutes Councillors Mike Brooke, David Brown, Mike Fisher, May Haines, Sandra Moore, Ron Parker and John Rampton (iii) Corporate Parenting Working Party 4 Members Conservative Nominations Councillors Mike White, Ray Tindle and Louise Russell Liberal Democrat Nomination Councillor David Brown DECISIONS TAKEN That the above nominations be agreed for the 2018/19 municipal year. CA10.18 URGENT BUSINESS AGENDA ITEM 10 There were no items of urgent business. 6