Agenda and minutes

Cabinet - Tuesday 8 March 2011 2.00 pm

Venue: Warspite Room, Council House. View directions

Contact: Nicola Kirby, Senior Democratic Support Officer (Cabinet)  Email: nicola.kirby@plymouth.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

112.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cabinet Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest in accordance with the code of conduct from councillors in relation to items under consideration at this meeting.

 

113.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 130 KB

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 7 and 8 February 2011.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Agreed that the minutes of the meetings held on 7 and 8 February 2011 are confirmed as correct records.

 

114.

QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC

To receive questions from the public in accordance with the Constitution.

 

Questions, of no longer than 50 words, can be submitted to the Democratic Support Unit, Corporate Support Department, Plymouth City Council, Civic Centre, Plymouth, PL1 2AA, or email to democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk. Any questions must be received at least five clear working days before the date of the meeting.

 

 

Minutes:

There were no questions from the public for this meeting.

115.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

Minutes:

There was no Chair’s urgent business.

116.

YOUNG CARERS pdf icon PDF 58 KB

Councillor Mrs Stephens (Chair of the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel Task and Finish Group) and Councillor James (Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board have been invited to attend the meeting, to present the recommendations of the task and finish group.   

 

CMT Lead Officer: Director of Services for Children and Young People

 

A written report will also be submitted on the recommendations.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor James (Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board) and Councillor Mrs Stephens (Chair of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel Task and Finish Group) presented the scrutiny report on young carers.  

 

Councillor James indicated that the task and finish group had exposed weaknesses and had demonstrated that there was a need for greater collaboration between children and adult services.  The recommendations of the task and finish group had been approved by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board.  

 

Councillor Mrs Stephens reported that the members of the task and finish group had all found the evidence disquieting.  There was a worrying range of care with some young people undertaking all the responsibilities of the household which impacted on their lives and future opportunities.  It was also thought that there was a huge number of carers who had not been identified within the city.  Another concern highlighted was that adult social services were not identifying young carers so help could not be provided to them.

 

Councillor Monahan (Cabinet Member for Adult Health and Social Care) welcomed the recommendations and confirmed that he had spoken with officers within adult social care to ensure that better arrangements were in place to identify young carers. 

 

The Chair thanked Councillors James and Mrs Stephens and the members of the task and finish group, for their hard work and recommendations.

 

The Director of Services for Children and Young People submitted a written report on the recommendations of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel, through the Task and Finish Group, and recommended acceptance of the proposals with minor amendments as follows –

 

Recommendation 3

Other services supporting young carers, such as the Friends of Families of Special Children should also be praised for the work that they do to support this vulnerable group.

 

Recommendations 4 and 10

It was accepted that Plymouth City Council should review services for young carers within the limited resources it had available. Additional sources of funding should also be explored.

 

Recommendations 7 and 14

This expectation should be extended to include additional partners such as health.

 

Recommendations 18 and 19

The wording be amended to “Invite ….. to” rather than direct.

 

 

The Chair also proposed an amendment to recommendation 1 to show the DVD at a special event (rather than at a City Council meeting) so that young carers and representatives were able to attend and to provide an additional opportunity for questions and answers.    

 

Agreed that the recommendations of the task and finish group are accepted, as amended, below –

 

(1)

DVDs on Young Carers and Hidden Harm to be shown to a wider audience, e.g. at a special event with young carers and representatives, Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel and Health and Adult Social Care Panel;

 

(2)

Plymouth City Council should lead a media campaign to raise awareness of young carers in Plymouth;

 

(3)

 

the services supporting young carers, including Plymouth Young Carers at Efford,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

117.

AWARD OF INSURANCE CONTRACTS pdf icon PDF 75 KB

CMT Lead Officer: Director for Corporate Support

 

A written report will be submitted on the award of insurance contracts following their expiry on 31 March 2011 and following a tendering procedure for the renewal of all policies from 1 April 2011.

 

See also item 12 below.

 

Minutes:

The Director for Corporate Support submitted a written report indicating that long term agreements in respect of current insurance contracts would expire on 31 March 2011 and that tenders had been invited for the renewal of all policies from 1 April 2011.

 

Councillor Bowyer (Cabinet Member for Finance, Property, People and Governance) presented the report and referred to the full financial details which were detailed in the separate confidential report (referred to in minute 122 below).  

 

Cabinet Members, having regard to the detailed information referred to above,  

 

Agreed that –

 

(1)

approval is given to the award of insurance contracts with the following insurance companies for three years, with an option for the Council to extend for a further two, subject to market conditions -   

 

 

?

Property – Travelers Insurance Company Ltd;

 

?

Museum All Risks – Hiscox;

 

?

Liability – Chartis; 

 

?

Motor – Zurich Municipal;

 

?

Engineering – Zurich Municipal;

 

?

Miscellaneous – Chartis;

 

(2)

approval is given to the transfer of £250,000 of the total saving to the Insurance Reserve for 2011/12 and in subsequent years, subject to annual review of the adequacy of reserves and provisions;

     

(3)

thanks are extended to Mike Hocking (Head of Corporate Risk and Insurance) and his team for their efforts in relation to this matter. 

 

(In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair took the chair for the above item).

 

118.

SETTING THE SCHOOLS REVENUE BUDGET 2011/12 pdf icon PDF 109 KB

CMT Lead Officer: Director of Services for Children and Young People

 

A written report will be submitted on the proposed schools revenue budget 2011/12, including the recommendations of the Schools Forum, funding to Special Educational Needs pupils and the proposed Dedicated Schools Grant.    

 

Minutes:

The Director of Services for Children and Young People submitted a written report indicating that -

 

(a)

the Local Authority must make an initial determination of the Schools Budget for 2011/12 and give notice of that determination to the governing bodies of the schools it maintained before the 31 March 2011;

 

(b)

the Schools Budget included the Individual Schools Budget  which was determined by the local schools funding formula and all other expenditure incurred in connection with the authority’s provision of primary and secondary education and all relevant early years provision;

 

(c)

 

the local schools funding formula was determined by the local authority to ensure the equitable distribution across all schools, in consultation with the Schools Forum;

 

(d)

 

the Schools Budget had historically been funded from the ring fenced Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), post 16 funding from the Young Peoples’ Learning Agency (YPLA) and the Standards Fund programme. The Schools Funding Settlement announced on the 13 December 2010 ended the standards fund programme and streamlined the majority of grants into the DSG;

 

(e)

the Local Authority must determine how the grants streamlined into the DSG, were distributed in 2011/12 and any changes to the local funding formula, prior to the final budget allocations being sent to schools;

 

(f)

theDSG had faced rising pressures over the last few years due to the increasing cost of providing for Special Education Needs (SEN) pupils. The Schools’ Forum commissioned a sub-group to review the funding of SEN in June 2009, to ensure that it effectively and efficiently met the needs of pupils.

 

Councillor Fry (Chair) presented the report on behalf of Councillor Mrs Watkins (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People) and in particular thanked the Schools Forum and officers for their work.

 

In response to questions, Cabinet Members were advised that –

 

(g)

the conversion of schools to academies would impact on the  DSG and those parts of the council that traded their services to schools. Academies would also receive a share of the DSG and central expenditure, with top slicing of some government grants.  The council would be working with academies to try and ensure that services were purchased from the council or if not, locally;

 

(h)

this was the first time that service children had been featured in the national formula and reflected in the pupil premium;

 

(i)

 

the banding changes for SEN children would enable more money to be allocated to the schools direct, without a process for claiming it.

 

Councillor Bowyer proposed that a further recommendation was added to ensure that a letter was sent to chairs of governing bodies on the allocation of the budget. 

 

The Chair also asked the Director of Services for Children and Young People to liaise with the Head of Communications on a press release.    

 

Agreed that –

 

(1)

the recommendations from the Schools’ Forum regarding the distribution of streamlined grants are accepted;

 

(2)

the risk to the central DSG budget  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

119.

SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE BASIC NEED PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 103 KB

CMT Lead Officer: Director of Services for Children and Young People

 

A written report will be submitted to seek approval from the Office of the Schools Adjudicator to increase the Planned Admission Number for five primary schools in the city with effect from 1 September 2011.

 

Minutes:

The Director of Services for Children and Young People submitted a written report seeking authorisation for officers to seek approval from the Office of the Schools Adjudicator to increase the Planned Admission Number (PAN) for five primary schools in the city with effect from 1 September 2011.  The proposals would enable the authority to meet the increased number of primary age pupils and to deliver planned alterations to schools’ buildings to support the increase in capacity needed for 2011 and 2012. Stakeholders would be consulted on the proposed changes.

 

Councillor Fry (Vice Chair) presented the report on behalf of Councillor Mrs Watkins (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People).

 

In response to questions, Cabinet Members were advised that -

 

(a)

the capital programme included allocations for basic need schemes of £0.5m in 2011/12, £5.3m in 2012/13, with a further commitment of £1m in the years beyond 2013;

 

(b)

increased numbers of pupils would provide increased funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant;

 

(c)

 

the proposals would support growth in the city as it would deliver education infrastructure and would supply good quality education provision that met the need, making the city an attractive place to live and work. 

 

The Chair also asked the Director of Services for Children and Young People to liaise with the Head of Communications on a press release.    

 

Agreed that –

 

(1)

the in year expansion of PANs for the reception year is approved as follows and that by virtue of this, approval is also given to officers to commence public consultation on the formal expansion of these schools by raising their PAN in 2012 -

 

 

Name of School

  Current PAN

Proposed PAN – September 2011 

 

 

Riverside Community Primary School

 

60

90 (additional 30 places)

 

Weston Mill Community Primary School

 

45

60 (additional 15 places)

 

Mount Wise Community Primary School

 

30

60 (additional 30 places)

 

Prince Rock Community Primary School

 

30

60 (additional 30 places)

 

Ernesettle Community School

 

45

60 (additional 15 places)

(2)

officers continue to consult with schools to develop proposals for expansion after 2011 subject to available funding;

 

(3)

 

approval is given to the provisional allocations detailed in section 6.0 of the written report and authority is delegated to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property, People and Governance and the S151 officer for the approval of virements within the Council’s approved programme, as projects reach greater clarity;

 

(4)

 

officers are given authority to set up the governance of the Basic Need programme as set out in section 9.0 of the written report, to steer the programme of work.

 

120.

LOCAL SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT FUND - FUNDING APPLICATION pdf icon PDF 143 KB

CMT Lead Officer: Director for Development and Regeneration

 

The Cabinet will be asked to consider a written report seeking approval for the submission of a funding bid to the Department for Transport for funding from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

Minutes:

The Director for Development and Regeneration submitted a written report seeking approval for the submission of a funding bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) for funding from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.  The capital funding sought would be in addition to the allocations already identified by the DfT for Plymouth, through the Local Transport Plan Integrated Block and the funding would also provide additional DfT revenue support for ‘smarter choices’ measures. The deadline for the bid submission was 18 April 2011.

 

The bid -

 

(a)

directly supported Plymouth’s growth agenda by providing key sustainable transport links which would allow communities access to active travel facilities and would provide them with a greater awareness of the public transport options available;

 

(b)

was fully in line with Plymouth’s adopted Second Local Transport Plan,  and the proposed new Third Local Transport Plan, as well as being identified within the Local Development Framework  Core Strategy and within the North Plymstock Area Action Plan;

 

(c)

 

would include a package of infrastructure measures aimed at encouraging a greater uptake of sustainable travel such as walking, cycling and public transport.  These infrastructure improvements would be supported by ‘smarter choices’ measures such as Personalised Travel Planning within local communities.

 

CouncillorWigens (Cabinet Member for Transport) presented the proposal.

 

Agreed that –

 

(1)

the report is noted;

 

(2)

approval is given for Plymouth Transport and Highways to develop and submit a bid to the Department for Transport’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund on the basis of the outline set out in the written report;

 

(3)

 

authority is delegated to the Cabinet Member for Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property, People and Governance, the Director for Development and Regeneration and the Director for Corporate Support, to give final approval to the submission of a bid to the Department for Transport’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

 

121.

EXEMPT BUSINESS

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Minutes:

Agreed that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

122.

AWARD OF INSURANCE CONTRACTS

CMT Lead Officer: Director for Corporate Support

 

With reference to item 7 above, a written report will be submitted on the full financial details of the proposed contract award.

Minutes:

With reference to minute 117 above, the Director for Corporate Support submitted a written report on the full financial details in support of the recommendations for the renewal of the insurance policies from 1 April 2011.

 

The information covered the tender process followed, the response from the insurance market and the alternative risk financing options available to the Council. It also provided information on the selection and evaluation criteria used to select the recommended insurance providers.

123.

MOUNT EDGCUMBE 2011/12 - 2013/14 BUDGET SETTING

CMT Lead Officer: Director for Community Services

 

A written report will be submitted on the Mount Edgcumbe 2011/12 proposed revenue budget as recommended by the Mount Edgcumbe Joint Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director for Community Services submitted a written report on the MountEdgcumbe’s 2011/12 proposed revenue budget as agreed at the Mount Edgcumbe Joint Committee on 10 December 2010, and the measures required to achieve a balanced budget.

 

Councillor Brookshaw (Cabinet Member for Community Services (Safer and Stronger Communities and Leisure, Culture and Sport) presented the proposals.

  

 Agreed that the actions as detailed in the Joint Committee report are agreed.