Agenda and minutes

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

Councillor David Dixon declared that in relation to Item 14 Procurement of Leisure Contract, he felt that as a member of the Board of the Bath Recreation Ground Trust he would have an “Other” interest in parts of the contract and so would not take any part in the eventual decision to award the contract.

Questions submitted before the deadline will receive a reply from an appropriate Cabinet member or a promise to respond within 5 days of the meeting.  Councillors may ask one supplementary question for each question they submitted, up to a maximum of two per Councillor.

There were 11 questions from Councillors and 6 questions from members of the public.

[Copies of the questions and responses, including supplementary questions and responses if any, have been placed on the Minute book as Appendix 1 and are available on the Council's website.]

Councillors and members of the public may register their intention to make a statement if they notify the subject matter of their statement before the deadline.  Statements are limited to 3 minutes each.  The speaker may then be asked by Cabinet members to answer factual questions arising out of their statement.

Katie Hedges in a statement thanked all those who had helped by organising, running and contributing to the “Run for Harmonie” on the previous Sunday.

The Chair congratulated Katie on organising such a successful Fun Run.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson in a statement appealed to Cabinet to secure the future of the 414/424 bus service which was essential for people living in the area between Frome, Radstock and Midsomer Norton.  She asked the Cabinet to consider taking on the service if Somerset Council were to cut funding.  She presented a petition to Councillor Roberts to this effect.

Lesley Mansell (Chair, Radstock Town Council) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 2 and on the Council's website] asked the Cabinet to declare a Dementia Friendly Area and asked whether the Council had adopted the Dementia Quality Mark for Care Homes.

Phil Harding (Chair, Saltford Environment Group) in a statement relating to Saltford Station, item 16 on the agenda, [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 3 and on the Council's website] welcomed the Council’s investment of £250K to take forward the feasibility study for the station.  He asked the Cabinet to work closely with the Saltford community on the designs and proposals, including the car parking provision.

Chris Warren (Saltford Environment Group Station Campaign) in a statement relating to Saltford Station, item 16 on the agenda, [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 4 and on the Council's website] asked the Cabinet to support proposals to continue development of the business case for a reopened station in Saltford.  He stressed that in his view the existing site, planned by Brunel, was the best site available and that suggestions to move the station closer to Keynsham presented a number of problems, not least of which was its distance from the village.

Councillor Steve Hedges in a statement observed that a meningitis vaccine had been available privately since March but the Department of Health had been negotiating the price with the supplier which had delayed its public availability.  He asked the Cabinet to write to the Department of Health urging that the vaccine should be made available as soon as possible for pre-school and infants.  Councillor Paul Crossley said that he had already begun drafting a letter which would soon be ready to be sent.  Councillor Hedges thanked him for this assurance.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor David Dixon, it was

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 12^th November 2014 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

This is a standard agenda item, to cover any reports originally placed on the Weekly list for single Member decision making, which have subsequently been the subject of a Cabinet Member requisition to the full Cabinet, under the Council’s procedural rules

This is a standing agenda item (Constitution rule 14, part 4D – Executive Procedure Rules) for matters referred by Policy Development and Scrutiny bodies.  The Chair of the relevant PDS Panel will have the right to attend and to introduce the Panel’s recommendations to Cabinet.

This report lists Cabinet Single Member decisions taken and published since the last Cabinet meeting.

The Cabinet agreed to note the report.

The Council’s “Think Local” Corporate Procurement Strategy was launched in October 2013. A key aim of the Strategy is to support local small businesses whilst demonstrating that the Council is obtaining Best Value from its procurement processes. The Council intends to use Social Value legislation along with existing powers to support the delivery of the Strategy.

Wera Hobhouse (North East Somerset Liberal Democrats) in an ad hoc statement welcomed the proposals as a very good way to ensure that local businesses were encouraged.  She referred to the statement in the report which said that it was not possible to ascertain the level of sub-contracting to local businesses; and she suggested that the Council should attach conditions when awarding contracts.

Councillor David Bellotti, proposing the item, said that the strategy which had been launched in October 2013 had already increased local procurement from 33% to 35%.  He referred to Section 10 of the Guide and observed that the threshold of £25K would be increased to £50K.  He highlighted the “Meet the Buyer” events, especially in the NE Somerset rural areas.  He emphasised that Cabinet had discouraged the aggregation of small contracts into larger ones, which did not facilitate local procurement.

Councillor Bellotti referred to paragraph 5.4 of the report in which it was laid out that the guidance encouraged suppliers not to use zero hours contracts.  He asked contractors to align with the Council on this.

Councillor Ben Stevens seconded the proposal.  He had been delighted that the council was at the cutting edge of bringing benefit to the local economy.  He was thrilled that Appendix 3, the Social Value Policy, would build on what had already been achieved.

Councillor David Dixon said that he had found the “Selling To the Council” guide very easy to read and understand.  He welcomed the knock-on effect that the policy was having on local independent businesses.

Councillor Dine Romero felt that the benefits would be felt across the authority and emphasised that the measures must cut across all of the Council’s services.

Councillor Simon Allen said that the strategy was having an excellent impact across the community in both economic and mental health wellbeing terms.

Councillor David Bellotti in summing up said that the contribution made by Richard Howroyd, Acting Procurement Manager, had been outstanding.  He referred to the positive feedback from a number of local businesses following the Meet the Buyer events.

On a motion from Councillor David Bellotti, seconded by Councillor Ben Stevens, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To NOTE the progress report on implementing the Councils “Think Local” Procurement Strategy;

(2) To NOTE the intention to revise the Council’s Contract Standing Orders to reflect the implementation of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and other legislation, including Revising financial limits to provide local businesses with the opportunity to obtain contracts up to £50,000;

(3) To NOTE the draft Selling to the Council Guide; and

(4) To ADOPT the Social Value Policy to ensure that the Council meets its statutory requirements under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

This report brings the findings of the consultation exercise carried out on the proposed revision of the Council’s Street Trading policy, conditions and new guidance

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones in an ad hoc statement observed that the proposals fitted well with the Walkable City.  He felt that the Bath “brand” must always be synonymous with excellence.  He welcomed the recent trial of mains electricity provision for a small number of street traders and asked for it to be extended.  He asked for enforcement action when traders allow their pitches to creep out onto the pavement.

Councillor David Dixon in proposing the item expressed his thanks to the officers who had consulted widely during the preparation of the report.  He assured Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones that he was already considering the points he had made.  He referred to the increasing practice of buskers offering their CDs for sale and said that action would be taken to ensure a level playing field for other traders.

Councillor Ben Stevens in seconding the proposals emphasised the need to ensure that the street trading offering must be of a high standard.

On a motion from Councillor David Dixon, seconded by Councillor Ben Stevens, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ADOPT the revised policy and notes the proposed conditions and guidance.

The award of long term contracts for the development, management and operation of the Council’s Leisure Facilities and Golf Courses

Wera Hobhouse (North East Somerset Liberal Democrats) in an ad hoc statement said she was particularly pleased that it was proposed to invest heavily in Keynsham.  This would be vital to bringing visitors into the town..

Councillor David Dixon said that the plans for the Council’s leisure facilities were bold and ambitious, underpinned by the Leisure Strategy, which he was determined to deliver.  In Keynsham, a new facility would be built; at Culverhay, the running facilities would be retained; and in Bath, he was very excited that a fantastic facility would be delivered.

Because of his declared interest as a member of the Bath Recreation Ground Trust, he moved a different motion from the one recommended in the report so as to ensure that he would take no part in awarding the leisure contract.

Councillor Paul Crossley seconded the proposal and said that the entire community would be helped by the proposals.  Cabinet had ensured that the new facilities were fully funded and would be delivered.

Councillor David Bellotti said that Cabinet had put £12M into the budget to ensure delivery of this project.  The new facility at Keynsham would be a pool and gym, which was possible because the Council’s finances had been run well.  The partner company selected for the project would not only put £3M into the project up front, but would also pay the Council each year a portion of their income from the contract.

Councillor Bellotti referred to the facility in Bath which he had not found impressive when he had last visited.  He would be delighted to see the updated facilities.  He referred to the separation of the two golf courses from the leisure contract, which he felt was a good move.

Councillor Tim Ball said that he was pleased that the centre at Culverhay was being retained.

On a motion from Councillor David Dixon, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To DELEGATE authority to the Strategic Director for Place in consultation with the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Resources and s151 officer to award the contract to the preferred bidder.  This authority extends to agreeing a lease, or other appropriate arrangements, with the Recreation Ground Trust and all other decisions that may be required to secure the contract.

This report sets out progress so far on the Connecting Communities programme (including establishing Connecting Communities Forums), provides an update on Bath City governance, and recommends next steps

Lesley Mansell (Chair, Radstock Town Council) in an ad hoc statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 5 and on the Council's website] observed that it would be important not to overlook previous very good work which had taken place in Radstock.  She asked whether the Bath City Conference would include the other more rural areas.

Peter Duppa-Miller (Secretary of the local Town and Parish Councils Association) in an ad hoc statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 6 and on the Council's website] felt that the initiative would enable considerable opportunities to narrow the gaps which had existed.  He welcomed the empowerment of Town and Parish Councils to contribute their own local knowledge in the context of the aspirations of their communities.  He urged Cabinet to extend the Connecting Communities Area Forum approach, and to set up a Bathavon Area Forum early in 2015.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson in an ad hoc statement asked that the venue and times of new meetings should be considered so as to be convenient for as many local people as possible.  She observed that it was not true that because something worked in Keynsham, it would work in the Somer valley.

Wera Hobhouse (North East Somerset Liberal Democrats) in an ad hoc statement said that having attended all 3 of the forums, she was aware that they were all different.  She congratulated the Cabinet for putting the arrangements in place but had noticed that very few members of the public had attended.  She hoped that ways would be found to issue direct invitations to the public.

Councillor Tim Warren in an ad hoc statement observed that members of the public often attended Parish Councils.

Councillor Paul Crossley in proposing the item, agreed with Councillor Eleanor Jackson that location was an important factor influencing attendance.  He agreed that although the model adopted for Keynsham was working very well, this would not be imposed on the Somer valley.  He thanked Wera Hobhouse for her endorsement of the proposals. 

Councillor Dine Romero in seconding the proposal emphasised the importance of local communities having a voice.  She appealed for meetings to be relevant, and not so long that people would disengage.  She looked forward to hearing the outcome of the cross-party review and agreed with Lesley Mansell that existing working arrangements must not be ignored.

Councillor Tim Ball felt that it was essential before moving forward to understand how each community worked.  There was a danger of not reaching some of the smaller communities.  Even in his ward, Twerton, 14 identifiable communities had been identified.

Councillor David Dixon said that the message to communities was not “this is how you must do it”, but was “this is your toolkit”.  It was essential to ask each local community how the Council can get involved.

Councillor Simon Allen referred to the Community Covenant with local businesses in Radstock, which had been involved in creating new signage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107.

Cabinet previously agreed that a High Level Option Assessment should be commissioned into the potential for reopening Saltford Station.  The initial conclusions of that report were shared at a public exhibition in May this year.  Cabinet now needs to decide if it wishes to take this project forward and, if so, in what timescale.

The Chair referred to the statements made earlier in the meeting by Phil Harding and Chris Warren relating to this agenda item.  He referred to an email he had received from David Wood of the RMT Union, in which David said that with his local knowledge, he supported the existing location for a re-opened station.

Councillor Anthony Clarke in an ad hoc statement said that his political Group supported the proposals for electrification and MetroWest, which would allow re-opening of one station.  He was keen to see progress.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson in an ad hoc statement was very pleased to see the report and hoped that, if successful, Radstock Station would be the next to re-open.

Councillor Caroline Roberts, in proposing the item, thanked both the previous speakers for their support and hard work.  She confirmed that although consultants had looked at two sites, she felt that the existing site was the optimum but nothing had been ruled out.  She told Cabinet that the previous day the Government had announced its Infrastructure Plan which had recognised the need for congestion relief to the east of Bath.  The plans being considered for Saltford Station would begin to address issues to the west of Bath.  Cabinet were actively looking at walking and cycling routes to serve a re-opened station.

Councillor Paul Crossley seconded the proposal and said that it was crucial to get rail invigorated.  It would be a massive investment.

On a motion from Councillor Caroline Roberts, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To AGREE that work should continue to develop the Business Case for a station at Saltford and that this should include the option of opening a station to the west of the village where future development may support the new facility.

Approval is requested for commitment of budget and inclusion in the 2014-15 education capital programme of specific capital schemes

Lesley Mansell (Chair, Radstock Town Council) in an ad hoc statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 7 and on the Council's website] welcomed the proposals for investment in St Mary’s Writhlington and reminded the cabinet that there would soon be 52 new homes close to the school.

Councillor Dine Romero, in proposing the item, asked the Cabinet to support the proposals to allocate the capital maintenance grant from Government, to which had been added some s.106 money for Bishop Sutton.  She referred to section 5 of the report for detail.  She promised that further plans would be put forward at February Cabinet.

Councillor Tim Ball seconded the proposals.

Councillor Simon Allen felt that the proposals were investing in the future.

On a motion from Councillor Dine Romero, seconded by Councillor Tim Ball, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

To APPROVE for inclusion in the 2014-15 Capital Programme:

(1) 2014-15 and 2015-16 Basic Need funding totalling £1,102,000, 2014-15 Capital Maintenance funding of £810,000 and S106 of £42,000 at Bishop Sutton Primary School to meet statutory requirements for pupil places.

(2) 2015-16 Capital Maintenance funding of £100,000 at St Marys Primary School, Writhlington to replace and expand a poor condition temporary classroom block.

(3) Basic Need funding of £394,258 at Weston All Saints Primary School to meet the extra cost arising from delays in the planning process.

(4) Basic Need funding of £74,000 for St Saviours Infant School to enable it to accommodate a bulge year from September 2014.

(5) Capital Maintenance funding of £90,000 for Chandag Infants School for works arising from the UIFSM statutory requirements.

(6) funding of £142,000 from 2013-14 capital programme savings for the replacement of classroom block at Chew Magna Primary School.

(7) £68,000 from the 2013-14 capital programme savings, £130,000 from the remainder of the unallocated £500,000 earmarked funding and £52,000 from 2014-15 Maintenance grant totalling £250,000 for phase 2 works at Southdown Primary School.