Agenda and 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.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Dave Wood.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

There was no urgent business.

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 11 questions from Councillors and 18 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:

·  Chad Allen – Hedera Helix (English Ivy) and the need for trees and wildlife in B&NES.  Mr Allen raised issues regarding the need to maintain and clear bridleways and footpaths.  He also requested that water fountains be provided in graveyards to help wildlife and provide water for hedges.  He stressed the need to maintain trees and retain natural habitats to ensure the capture of CO2.

·  Richard Samuel – Future Funding of services in B&NES (a copy of the statement is attached as an appendix to these minutes).

·  Ceris Humphreys – Debate not Hate Campaign (a copy of the statement is attached as an appendix to these minutes).

·  Stefan Steinhoff – Sydney Road Liveable Neighbourhood (a copy of the statement is attached as an appendix to these minutes).

·  Cllr Dave Harding – Bishop Sutton Football Field and Surrounds (a copy of the statement is attached as an appendix 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 6^th June 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 Cabinet is asked to approve the Transport Action Plan interactive digital map for publication in Summer 2024.

Cllr Manda Rigby, Cabinet Member for Highways, introduced the report, moved the officer recommendation, and made the following points:

·  Looking at all the individual transport schemes in isolation can make it difficult to see the overall picture and to understand how the plan is working in context.  This is why the Council is working towards having a Transport Action Plan.

·  Over the next three years the Council will be investing an unprecedented amount in transport interventions across the whole of B&NES to deliver more travel choices for our residents and visitors.  The Council will be delivering nearly 200 policies and schemes to take us forward in meeting our strategic aims and deliver on our council objectives.  The Transport Action Plan provides greater transparency on proposed interventions and enables residents to have a greater say on our plans to achieve net zero goals, provide more travel choices, and improve accessibility to jobs and services. 

·  We have been working on an interactive map which will bring together all the proposed interventions making it easier for residents and visitors to see what is proposed in their area.  It will be the main tool for people to view all the transport proposals in the area and be signposted to further information to include consultation dates, scheme details, funding status and construction timelines.

·  In its first iteration the map will include areas we have under Council control, but it will expand to include WECA schemes and third parties such as Wessex Water or Network Rail who also have to do work on our highways.  It will be fully reflective of our hierarchy of users which reflects the recent highway code revision which emphasises that pedestrians and wheelers are at the top, cyclists second, public transport next and private cars last in terms of allocating scarce road resources to different types of users.

·  The map will be kept up to date as schemes progress and will provide the relevant contact details for each scheme.  We expect the map to be available on the council’s website from 2nd September 2024 and will work with our strategic partners to provide new information on interventions as and when they arise.  It will be a definitive source of what is happening where and when in our road network. 

Cllr Sarah Warren seconded the motion and stated that this is an important example of how the Council is trying to improve openness and accessibility.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

To approve the Transport Action Plan interactive digital map for publication in Summer 2024.

The Cabinet is asked to recommend approval of the Youth Justice Plan to full Council.

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

“I’m pleased to propose that the Cabinet endorse the Youth Justice Plan for 2024 to 2026 and it will be a recommendation through to the full Council that will make the final decision.

The overall goal of the Plan, and the Youth Justice Service, is to help make Bath and North East Somerset a safer place and support local children to live crime-free lives.

Our annual Plan is developed through the Bath and North East Somerset Youth Justice Service – a statutory, wide partnership with Avon and Somerset Police, the Probation Service, NHS Bath, Swindon, and Wiltshire (BSW) Integrated Care Board (ICB), Oxford Health, housing, Curo, housing, colleges and the Youth Bench plus other members. It is a wide partnership. 

This year’s plan comes in an important year for the Youth Justice Service. Our long-standing and very much valued head of service has retired, and an external inspection is scheduled for later this year, so it’s vital we have a robust plan in place.

There are four strategic priorities for 2024 to 2026, as affirmed by the Youth Justice Service Partnership Board.

Firstly, working to reduce disproportionality – this means working to reduce the over-represented groups in B&NES who are in the Youth Justice service, such as children with Special Educational Needs and from minority ethnic backgrounds. We have clear targets for our future efforts to tackle overrepresentation.

Secondly, strengthening participation for children and families within the service and continuing to develop a more collaborative approach. This includes initiatives such as focus groups, new ways of gathering feedback, and more support.

The third strategic priority is embedding ‘Child First’ Principles to addressing offending behaviour. This will include offering individually tailored assessments, plans and interventions that are trauma-informed and recognise the child’s needs.

Finally, and importantly, we aim to reduce serious violence.  The issue of knife crime is still high on the agenda and high in residents’ concerns. This has been a focus over the past year, with continuing weapons awareness work with children, education in schools, Street Doctors first aid and safety training as well as targeted prevention services. Four knife crime awareness events for parents and carers have taken place and further events are planned.

Reducing serious violence and making Bath and North East Somerset a safer place will continue to be an important priority. We are looking forward to the report from the Children, Adults, Health and Wellbeing Panel task and finish group later this year.

I also want to highlight that we have low numbers of children in the formal justice system – a real plus for this area. The Youth Justice Team does incredible work ensuring that children and young people avoid custodial sentences and steer away from offending again. Bath and North East Somerset has a low number of first time ‘entrants’ compared to the average in the South West and across England  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The report seeks authority to make and publish a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone Scheme and subsequently to secure the confirmation and implementation of that CPO.  The report also seeks authority to negotiate the withdrawal of any objections to the CPO and the acquisition of land and rights by agreement.

Cllr Paul Roper, Cabinet Member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development, introduced the item, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“The Somer Valley Enterprise Zone (SVEZ) is a key component for the delivery of our Economic Strategy for our authority. This is an ambitious and complex project. What we are doing is delivering an exemplar, net zero, green business park creating around 1,300 jobs of the type that we aspire to. That is good quality, secure, well paid, fulfilling and local employment. We are convinced that this will provide a much needed and significant economic boost to the local area and the authority as a whole.

I would like to remind cabinet of one of the key points I made back in February this year when we adopted the Local Development Order to enable the delivery of this scheme. The communities of Midsomer Norton, Paulton and Radstock used to be almost completely self-sufficient in terms of local employment, but the loss of key employers over the last few decades has completely reversed that, with most employment opportunities now being outside the area. And the land that was once used for employment now contains housing and this compounds the problem of insufficient local employment opportunities.

To try and reverse the damage caused by the decline of local employment, the land in question was allocated as a potential site for industrial development in 2007, but the market failed to deliver it. So, this administration has set about the enabling and delivery of the scheme. That is no small undertaking, and I am proud of the ambition that this authority has in this regard.

To deliver this scheme requires the acquisition of at least 47 separate parcels of land from 40 landowners. It is hoped that most, if not all, the land purchases can be carried out on the basis of willing buyer and seller, and negotiations continue to try and secure land on this basis.

What we cannot allow to happen is for the scheme to fail because any one of the multiple land interests cannot be acquired on a voluntary basis. It is therefore deemed necessary to have the powers to compel and these powers are enshrined in a Compulsory Purchase Order. In short, this will enable delivery of the scheme. On 1st Feb this year cabinet approved an in-principle decision to pursue a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process and this paper before us this evening enables officers to progress to the detailed phase of the CPO process.

I am acutely aware of the sensitivities of this and the implications it has on the landowners affected. I am aware of the continued resistance by some to the creation of this employment site. What we do believe however, is that the benefits to the local communities associated with the creation of the SVEZ do justify the use of this land. Indeed, for the CPO to be successful, we must pass certain prescribed tests for viability. We are of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The report presents the revenue and capital outturn for 2023/24, highlighting a material improvement in the position at year end with a minor adverse revenue outturn position of £0.13m after allowing for agreed transfers to/from reserves and carry forwards.  This is an improvement of £1.71m from the reported position in the Quarter 3 forecast.

Cllr Mark Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the item, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“This report presents the council's final figures for the financial year which ended in April. 

When we talk about "the budget" we really mean two budgets - the Revenue budget for ongoing costs and income, and the Capital Budget for one-off income and spending on assets.

Starting with the Revenue Budget, I'm delighted to say that we finished the year essentially in balance, which really is a fantastic achievement.  In order to recognise how much of an achievement this is, it's worth reminding ourselves of a little history.  This report covers the financial year which started in April 2023.  We were only 6 months on from the disastrous Truss-Kwarteng train crash.  Inflation was still very high, borrowing costs were still rising rapidly, and the impact of inflation on the council's contract spending was severe.  By October 2023 it was clear that, without urgent action, the council would be severely over budget at year end - the projection at that point was for a £6.5m negative position.  At that point we implemented corporate interventions such as recruitment and vacancy controls and controls on all non-essential spend, and we asked Directors to develop mitigation plans for individual departments.  By the end of December, through those actions, the projected position had improved, but we were still looking at a £1.7m negative position by the April year end.  So, pulling it back to being basically on target by the end of the financial year is no mean feat, and all the council officers need congratulating on their joint efforts to achieve this.  It's a position many councils will be very envious of.

However, we cannot be complacent - the reality is, as you can see in the report, that whilst the budget came in balanced overall, the variances between departments were quite large.  Most obviously, social care costs - particularly in Children's Services - face eye-watering rates of increase.  These pressures still seem to be ongoing.  We also need to be vigilant about the overspend in Waste and Fleet management where staffing costs were significantly higher than budgeted, and again there is continued pressure in that department.

That said, we should celebrate the successes - Heritage Services continues to go great guns, with visitor numbers significantly higher than projected.  And with visitor numbers high our Parking income is also up.  I know everyone is aware how important our Heritage Assets and our Tourism Industry is, but I want to emphasise how fortunate we are to have these as council owned assets, meaning that the income that comes in via tourism doesn't just get focused on Bath, but is then redistributed across the authority area, as it is used to help mitigate things like the huge increase in social care costs.  Having highly capable, commercially aware officers running these departments so successfully is one of the reasons why, despite the huge pressures in social care and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

The report presents the financial monitoring information for the Authority as a whole for the financial year 2024/25, using information available as at the end of June 2024.

Cllr Mark Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the item, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“This report is looking at progress since April against this year's budget.  It's an early indication based on the first two month's data, which will allow us to spot risks early and, I hope, allow us to act on them early so that we're not having to take more dramatic action later in the year. 

The main headline is that the pressure on Children's Services which we experienced throughout last year isn't showing much sign of abating.  Of the £3.95m forecast overspend we're currently projecting, nearly £2.5m is in Children's Services.  Obviously, areas like this where we have a statutory, and moral, duty to provide care, and there is demand-led pressure, are the most difficult to mitigate.  But we have work already underway internally to try to address this, and we think some progress can be made.  The other significant area of pressure is the operational cost of the council's estate, and we have work ongoing in this area to make sure we're making best use our assets, to dispose of assets we no longer need, and to bring back into use assets where that's appropriate.  A good example of this is the decision we made at the last Cabinet meeting to place the specialist SEND and Alternative Provision schools on the Culverhay site.

So, for those areas where there is significant pressure, I've scheduled regular meetings with the responsible senior officers and cabinet members over the coming weeks so we can make sure everyone is focused on bringing those budgets back in line where possible, and making sure we understand exactly what the pressures are if it really isn't possible to bring the budgets back on track.

With regard to the Capital Budget, we're currently projecting we will spend £64.8m of the budgeted £76.6m, and if we can keep that on track, we'll be at around 85% which will meet the objective of improving upon the 77% we managed last year.

So, overall, the story is one of continuing pressure, but we've seen it early, and that gives us the best chance of being able to introduce mitigating measures before things get out of hand.”

Cllr Tim Ball seconded the motion.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

(1)  To note the 2024/25 revenue budget position (as at the end of June 2024).

(2)  To note the revenue virements listed for information in Appendix 3(i) of the report.

(3)  To note the capital year-end forecast detailed in paragraph 3.22 of the report.

(4)  To note the changes in the capital programme including capital schemes that have been agreed for full approval under delegation listed in Appendix 4(i) of the report.

The report gives details of performance against the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy for 2023/24.

Cllr Mark Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the item, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“The Treasury Management report for the last financial year sets out the council's performance with regard to its investments and borrowing.  As usual, our treasury management performance is very good.  We're within the approved limits set out in our Treasury Management Strategy, which are set out in appendix 1 of the report. Persistent high inflation meant that the Bank of England kept rates at relatively high levels compared to recent times, and our average return on our investments over the period was 4.85%.  Borrowing increased by £36m compared with the start of the year, but with most of that borrowing being taken towards the end of the year, in line with our strategy to minimise borrowing costs and, and as noted in the earlier outturn report, we had an overall underspend of £3.4m on Capital Financing Costs. 

I'm grateful for the diligent work done by our Treasury Management team - it's not a glamourous part of the council's activity but it really does underpin everything else we do.”

Cllr Tim Ball seconded the motion.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

(1)  To note the Treasury Management Report to 31^st March 2024, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice.

(2)  To note the Treasury Management Indicators to 31^st March 2024.

The report outlines revisions to the Council’s Strategic Performance indicators to demonstrate better alignment to the Corporate Strategy 2023-2027 and to provide a basis for assessing performance against the delivery of that strategy.

Cllr Manda Rigby, Cabinet Member for Highways, introduced the item, moved the officer recommendation and made the following points:

·  The expansion of the performance indicators is important to the residents of B&NES in terms of transparency, demonstrating delivery and ensuring the use of public funds is driven by data and evidence.

·  The Council collects, monitors and reports on data regardless of what is says.  We are open with the public and willing to show how we are working to get back on track where necessary.

·  Officers have worked hard to expand the range of indicators we monitor and report on so that they better reflect the manifesto for delivery and to align the priorities to those issues that are important to residents.

·  Preventative measures are now included in the data.

Cllr Matt McCabe seconded the motion and noted the work that has been undertaken to produce the Corporate Strategy and stated that it is right to revise the indicators to obtain a clear picture of our performance.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

To agree revisions to the Strategic Performance Indicators as set out in the report.