Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Democratic Services Officer will read out the emergency evacuation procedure as set out in the notes.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer read out 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 4.4 Appendix 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.

Cllr Matt McCabe declared a Non-Registerable Interest in item number 12 on the agenda – Culverhay – Education Provision Supporting the Safety Valve.  Cllr McCabe explained that he lives next door to the site and confirmed that he would leave the meeting while the item was discussed and would not speak or vote.

Cllr Dave Wood declared a (personal) Non-Registerable Interest in item number 12 on the agenda – Culverhay – Education Provision Supporting the Safety Valve.  Cllr Wood confirmed that he would leave the meeting while the item was discussed and would not speak or vote.

There was no urgent business.

The Chair stated that as it was the 80^th anniversary of the D-Day invasion our thoughts go out to the brave individuals who took part in that operation.  This was a pivotal point in our history and allows us to have the democracy and privileges we have today.  We should not take these privileges for granted.  He thanked all those who took part in D-Day.

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

There were 13 questions from Councillors and 21 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.

Members of the public and Councillors made statements as follows:

·  Steve Osgood (Friends of the Recreation Ground Association) – Bath Recreation Ground Lease

·  David Redgewell – Public Transport Network Issues

·  Cllr Jess David – Bus Services – No. 8 bus and lack of a Sunday service

·  Lucy Bradley (Bath Student Parliament) – Knife Crime Proposal

·  Cllr Joel Hirst – Culverhay Site

·  Cllr Sarah Moore – Culverhay Site

(copies of the above statements are attached as appendices to these minutes).

To be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 7^th March 2024 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.

No single member items were requisitioned to Cabinet.

This is a standing agenda item (Constitution rule 3.3.14) for matters referred by Policy Development and Scrutiny bodies.  The Chair of the relevant Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel will have the right to attend and to introduce the Panel’s recommendations to Cabinet.

No matters were referred by Policy Development and Scrutiny Panels.

To note the list of Cabinet Single Member decisions taken and published since the last Cabinet meeting (no debate).

The Cabinet agreed to note the report.

The Department for Education has now announced and confirmed funding for two new schools for Bath and North East Somerset.  To be eligible for funding the Council needs to confirm the availability of a site within B&NES to locate the two facilities.

(Note: At this point Cllrs McCabe and Wood left the meeting having declared interests in this item).

Cllr Paul May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, introduced the report, moved the updated officer recommendation, and made the following statement:

“This proposal represents the most exciting opportunity for this council to secure delivery of two new schools for our community in Bath and to revitalise a site that has long been reserved for educational use.

We recently announced agreements with the Department for Education to fund a new school for children with special educational needs and disabilities and a new Alternative Provision school.

We now need to confirm that B&NES will make land available as soon as possible, and that is the main purpose of tonight’s decision.

As you know, the former Bath Community Academy at Culverhay has been closed for many years, following an earlier DFE decision. Since then, there has been a question mark over the future of the site, with various interim uses and potential pressure for the site to be reallocated – especially given the condition of the existing buildings on the site for conversion.

Our view has always been that this site must be used for education. Local members and I have worked tirelessly to preserve that education function. So, I am pleased – and relieved – that tonight’s report asks us to confirm in principle that the council will make the Culverhay site in part available as the location for these two new schools.

There are many advantages in co-locating the two schools on one site, including the possibility of some joint facilities and leisure facilities for shared use for the public out of school hours. This has always been an important factor for the local community, and I am glad that this door is being kept open.

I think it is clear to all colleagues that there is a great need across the country for better provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities and we are investing in other schemes across B&NES to meet those needs.

We are fortunate that we already have three excellent special schools in our area. However, we still need this extra capacity because demand has increased substantially in recent years. Some local children have had to be placed at expensive, specialist schools outside our immediate area.

The new school will provide 120 places to help fill that gap and I am pleased the established Three Ways Academy Trust has been contracted to work with us, through the DFE commissioning process.

As Cabinet Member for Children, I work closely with the Parent Carers’ Forum. It is clear that children, parents and families all feel the stress when a young person needs an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) and particularly so when it means travelling further to school.

Anything we can do to reduce that pressure for vulnerable young people having to leave our area has to be better for everyone. In addition, travelling often requires  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To consider the attached report which evaluates the key aspects of the transfer of Adult Social Care services back to the Council as of 1^st April 2024 and provides an overview of the effectiveness of the transfer alongside lessons learnt.

Cllr Alison Born, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, introduced the report, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“This paper evaluates the recently completed process of bringing our adult social care services back in house. We took the decision to do this because we believe that B&NES Council is best placed to provide the social work provision that our residents need. We were cautioned against bringing the services back in house as the move was perceived to be risky and potentially costly, but we felt that the benefits outweighed those risks. We wanted to regain control of these essential, statutory services and to ensure that they could never again be transferred to a new provider without our knowledge.

Had we not done this, the alternative proposition was to continue to contract services out to other providers which has been the model in recent years. During that time, staff working in our local adult social care services have been transferred from B&NES Council to Sirona, from Sirona to Virgin Care, from Virgin Care to HCRG Care Group and most recently from HCRG Care Group back to B&NES Council.

They have not welcomed this regular change of employer, their perceived lack of influence over decisions and processes, the accompanying alterations to their working practices, changes to their terms and conditions and the inherent disruption to services and loss of productivity that tends to result from such changes. All the staff I have spoken to since the transfer have said how well the process was handled and how pleased they are to be working for Bath and North East Somerset council.

Council officers worked incredibly hard to make this happen. They learnt from the experience of previous transfers to ensure that staff were kept informed, had opportunities to influence proceedings and were moved across with minimal disruption to service provision. They also ensured that the inevitable costs of such a transfer (a cost of contracting out that tends to get little attention) were minimised and were far less than initial estimates and the budget identified for the work.

I would like to formally thank officers in the adult social care team, particularly the Director of Adult Social Care and the programme manager for her skilful leadership of the transfer.  Also, staff working in a range of corporate services such as IT, estates, HR, and payroll who ensured that services were not disrupted, that staff were made to feel welcome, could access the tools they needed to do their jobs properly from day one and were paid on time. I would also like to thank the HCRG care group who worked constructively with us throughout the transfer process.

The decision to bring these services back to the council demonstrates our commitment to the staff who provide adult social care services and underpins our belief that this model of provision offers more opportunities for collaborative work and innovation to deliver high quality, best value services that meet our residents social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To consider the attached report which updates Cabinet on the progress made in delivering the Corporate Strategy 2023-27 and the Council’s performance in 2023-24.

Cllr Dave Wood introduced the report, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“It's hard to know where to start given the sheer quantity of achievements delivered by our hard-working officers over the last year.

Amongst our achievements are:

• Opening of the new Pixash Waste recycling facility in Keynsham.
• Being shortlisted by the Local Government Chronical Awards as most Improved Council.
• Bringing social care back in house with no services disruption.
• Agreeing an ambitious new Economic Strategy prioritising green growth, good jobs and affordable housing.
• 15km roads resurfaced and 7,000 potholes filled.
• Support for hundreds of refugees.
• Progressing regeneration in Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Radstock.
• Renewables are up, emissions per house are down, air quality improved, tree planting is up.

This is a testament to the hard work of officers, councillors, and the vision of the Liberal Democrat administration.”

Cllr Manda Rigby seconded the motion.  She highlighted the achievements of the Highways Team who have received national and regional recognition.  The Bath park and ride schemes were ranked second best in the country for customer satisfaction.  The Council’s Highway Maintenance was ranked best in the South West in a national independent survey which analysed results from 111 authorities across England.  She went on to give further examples of the team’s achievements including high numbers of pothole repairs, resurfacing work, drainage improvements and upgrades to Pay and Display machines.

Cllr Sarah Warren highlighted the improvements that have been made in relation to the area’s climate and ecological performance indicators.  There has been a reduction in overall carbon emissions for the district and increased renewables capacity.  Cllr Warren congratulated the air quality and Clean Air Zone teams for the reduction we are seeing in air quality measurement sites breaching the new local target.  There is a steadily improving picture in terms of air quality, both in the city and outside.

Cllr Warren thanked the Strategic Transport and Highways Teams who work alongside the West of England Combined Authority to roll out innovations such as the liveable neighbourhood schemes and e-scooter trial.  There remains a long way to go to achieve net zero and it is important to continue and to redouble our efforts across all areas of work.

Cllr Matt McCabe thanked the award-winning Planning Team, the Housing Team and the Community Equipment Team for their hard work.

Cllr Paul May pointed out the huge growth in the number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) due to increased demand.

Cllr Alison Born thanked the Adult Social Care Team for their partnership working enable people to return home from hospital as quickly as possible to reduce pressure on hospital beds.

Cllr Mark Elliott highlighted the work of the Corporate Services staff, for example, those working in IT and Finance, and commended their work to provide these services for the Council.

Cllr Kevin Guy stated that performance improvements are made easier by the excellent staff and Cabinet Members in B&NES Council and thanked everyone for their hard work.

RESOLVED (unanimously):  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.