With the permission of the Chair, the order of business on the agenda was amended, as set out below in the minutes.

Cabinet Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.  A flowchart providing guidance on interests is attached to assist councillors.

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

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 2012.

Agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 2012.

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, 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.

There were no questions from the public for this meeting.

This item has been brought forward as urgent business.

The Director for Corporate Services submitted a written report on proposals for the co-location of the health Western Locality Client Commissioning Group at Windsor House to facilitate major changes for health and social care. Both organisations had agreed on –

·         sharing an ICT system;

·         utilisation of existing parking;

·         Heads of Terms for the occupation of the building by health staff;

·         the future of buildings 1, 2 and 6B at Derriford Business Park from where health staff currently operated;

·         the level of refurbishment as part of re-modelling;

·         financial implications to both parties.

The report was required to be treated as an urgent key decision due to the need to conclude the purchase of buildings 1 and 2 prior to the transfer of all health assets into the NHS property services company and agreement had been given by the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board. 

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the report and revised recommendations, as circulated.  The Chair congratulated the capital and assets team on the achievement of this outcome.

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Agreed, subject to the approval of the recommendation to the City Council, –

(1)  works required to implement co-location at Windsor House with the Western Locality Client Commissioning Group at a net cost to the council of £0.369m;

(2)  the purchase of the leases of buildings 1 and 2 at Derriford Business Park at a cost of £0.900m.

Further to minute 120 above, the City Council is recommended to approve the additional capital resources required to implement co-location at Windsor House with the western locality Client Commissioning Group and amend the capital programme accordingly.

The Director for Place will submit a report seeking Cabinet approval of the  Business Plan as recommended by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee and recommending that Council approve the capital and revenue budgets for 2013/14. (Minutes 24 and 25 of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Joint Committee refer).

The Director for Place submitted a written report on the business plan and the capital and revenue budgets for 2013/14 as recommended by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee (Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee minutes 24 and 25 refer).

The report indicated that the forecast capital and revenue budgets would require an increase in toll income of approximately 13 per cent from April 2014.  This would ensure that risks were mitigated and that the cost of the operation did not fall upon the parent authorities’ budgets.  Additional work was on going to optimise options for the replacement of the bridge protective coating and a feasibility study would review the need to replace administration and control facilities on the Tamar Bridge site.

Councillor Coker (Joint Chair of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee and Cabinet Member for Transport) presented the report and indicated that the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee had not yet agreed any toll increase.  He added that the joint committee would continue to look at options and would present a recommendation on income to Cabinet in due course.   

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Agreed the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Business Plan 2013–2017.

Further to minute 121 above, the City Council is Recommended to approve the revenue and capital budgets for 2013/14, as proposed by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee.  

The Director for Place will submit a report indicating the need to support job creation and employment, whilst building community capacity in the north of the city.  The report will seek Cabinet approval to carry out detailed feasibility studies to assess how best to establish a new Community Economic Development Trust proposed for the north of the city.

Background papers to this report can be accessed at the Council’s website Council and Democracy/ Councillors and Committees/Library/Cabinet background papers or using the following hyperlink –

http://tinyurl.com/bdqgk2r

The Director for Place submitted a written report indicating the need to support job creation and employment, whilst building community capacity in the north of the city. The report sought Cabinet’s approval to carry out a detailed feasibility study to assess how best to establish a new Community Economic Development Trust (CEDT) proposed for the north of the city.      

The Chair introduced the report, in the absence of Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Cooperatives and Community Development) and the Assistant Director for Economic Development presented the proposals.

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Agreed -

(1)  the allocation of £50,000 for completing appropriate studies into the potential market opportunities;

(2)  the approach described as the strategic projects option in section seven of the report for the development of a CEDT;

(3)  to hold 11 Plymouth City Council owned sites, identified in section three of the report, without consideration of disposal until such times as the potential uses as indicated have been ruled out through feasibility and business planning work. If the former youth centre, Taunton Avenue site is not progressed as a self-build scheme, as currently proposed, consideration will be given to its inclusion to support the CEDT;

(4)  to build on existing work with the community in the proposed area to develop capacity and ensure that the community is involved at the earliest stages of CEDT development. This may involve the evolution of new governance arrangements, to enable the CEDT to apply for external grant funding towards the cost of preparing the delivery plan.

The Director for Place will submit a report on a proposed Plan for Jobs which contains 19 projects and aims to create over 2,000 jobs (including 500 apprenticeships) over the next two years. It brings together actions and commitments designed to reinvigorate the local economy and stimulate private sector growth and job creation.

The report will give further details of the purpose of the Plan, the approach that has been taken to its production, a summary of the Plan’s content and how it will be implemented and communicated.

The Director for Place submitted a written report on a proposed Plan for Jobs which contained 19 projects and aimed to create over 2,000 jobs (including 500 apprenticeships) over the next two years.  The plan brought together actions and commitments designed to reinvigorate the local economy and stimulate private sector growth and job creation.

The report also gave further details of the purpose of the plan, the approach that had been taken, a summary of the plan’s content and how it would be implemented and communicated.     

Councillor Evans (Leader) introduced the report and thanked the economic development team for their considerable work on this plan.

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Agreed the overarching Plan for Jobs to guide investment with more detailed reports on implementation to be presented to Cabinet as the plan progresses.  

The Director for Place will submit a written report to identify and agree the key principles for the creation of an Energy Co-operative in Plymouth.   The report will also seek approval to delegate authority in progressing delivery of the co-operative. 

Background papers to this report can be accessed at the Council’s website Council and Democracy/ Councillors and Committees/Library/Cabinet background papers or using the following hyperlink –

http://tinyurl.com/bdqgk2r

The Director for Place submitted a written report to identify and agree the key principles for the creation of an Energy Cooperative in Plymouth.   The report also sought approval to delegate authority in progressing delivery of the cooperative. 

Councillor Vincent (Cabinet Member for Environment) presented the report.

Cabinet Members commented that with rising energy bills, these proposals would assist every citizen in Plymouth.  

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Agreed -

(1)  the principles for an Energy Cooperative to deliver a range of cost and carbon saving initiatives for local communities, focusing initially on collective energy purchasing/ switching;

(2)  to delegate authority to the Assistant Director for Planning Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Cooperatives and Community Development and the Portfolio Holder for Environment, to agree the business model for the Energy Co-operative and progress the delivery, subject to budgetary provision being identified and necessary approvals. 

The Directors for Place and Corporate Services will submit a report on a proposal to implement a Council estate reduction target of 20 per cent by 2014/15 from 2009/10 levels as per the Corporate Asset Management Plan 2005 - 2015.

The report will also seek approval of a programme of work to develop a low carbon theme to the Plymouth Plan, including a process of stakeholder engagement followed by a Low Carbon Summit event in summer 2013.

The Directors for Place and Corporate Services submitted a written report on a proposal to implement a council estate reduction target of 20 per cent by 2014/15 from 2009/10 levels as per the Corporate Asset Management Plan 2005 - 2015.

The report also sought approval of a programme of work to develop a low carbon theme to the Plymouth Plan, including a process of stakeholder engagement followed by a low carbon summit event in summer 2013.

Councillors Vincent (Cabinet Member for Environment) and Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the report.

Councillor Peter Smith (Deputy Leader) reported that he was commencing discussions with the Trades’ Unions with regard to actions which could be taken by staff to be more environmentally aware.

Councillor Coker (Cabinet Member for Transport) indicated that he had launched a consultation on cleaner vehicles to the end of March and indicated the action that he was taking to promote it.

With regard to progress by the government on the provision of electric charging points for vehicles, officers undertook to review the position and look at the possibility of including provision in the City Deal bid.    

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Agreed -

(1)  that the council’s estate carbon reduction target of 20 per cent by 2014/15 from 2009/10 levels as per the Carbon Management Plan annexed to the Corporate Asset Management Plan 2005 – 2015, is confirmed;

(2)  the development of a low carbon theme to the Plymouth Plan, including the delivery of a low carbon summit event in summer 2013 which will help inform the content of the Plymouth Plan.

The Director for Place will submit a report setting out a recommended process for investigating the cost, benefits, opportunities and risks of developing a Community Greenspace Trust. 

The report will recommend a ten month investigation to assess all elements of developing a Community Greenspace Trust including potential governance arrangements and the responsibilities and accountabilities any new organisation must deliver.    Fully evidenced recommendations will then be presented in a future report to Cabinet.

The Director for Place submitted a written report setting out a recommended process for investigating the cost, benefits, opportunities and risks of developing a Community Greenspace Trust.  The investigation would test whether a Community Greenspace Trust could deliver a new model of management that ‘places communities at the heart of decision making of an organisation dedicated to the management of high quality green spaces that deliver benefits for people, wildlife and businesses.’

The report also recommended a ten month investigation to assess all elements of developing a Community Greenspace Trust including potential governance arrangements and the responsibilities and accountabilities any new organisation must deliver.    Fully evidenced recommendations would then be presented in a future report to Cabinet.    

Councillor Vincent (Cabinet Member for Environment) presented the report.

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Agreed –

(1)    to instruct officers to investigate the potential of developing a Community Greenspace Trust;

(2)    the creation of a Community Greenspace Forum to support and inform the work to investigate a Community Greenspace Trust;

(3)    the inclusion of Central Park and Derriford Community Park as part of the investigation and any other strategic level green spaces if it is demonstrated that this would add value to the work.

The Director for People will submit a written report updating and seeking agreement to the continued direction of travel for the modernisation of the Adult Social Care service. 

In particular it proposes five key strategic projects that will deliver “Improved Quality and Outcomes and Increased Choice and Control”

• Improving the community meals service through a trading model
• Improving the social care reablement service
• Improving the quality in dementia care
• Delivering a new model for short break provision
• Improving the choice and control in day opportunities.

The Director for People submitted a written report updating Members and seeking agreement to the continued direction of travel in relation to the council’s ambitious plans for modernising the Adult Social Care Service. 

In particular it proposed five key strategic projects that would deliver “improved quality and outcomes and increased choice and control” –

• improving the community meals service through a trading model;
• improving the social care reablement service;
• improving the quality in dementia care;
• delivering a new model for short break provision;
• improving the choice and control in day opportunities.

Councillor McDonald (Cabinet Member for Public Health and Adult Social Care) presented the report and referred to the trade union protest before the meeting, in relation to these proposals. She also thanked staff for their work.

In response to questions, Cabinet Members were advised that safeguarding was essential and that the monitoring of contracts would be key to ensuring high standards of service.  The Assistant Director for Joint Commissioning and Adult Social Care indicated that robust contract monitoring was already in place for existing contracts.      

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

In order to improve quality and outcomes and increase choice and control, the five key programmes of work that will fundamentally transform the way the council deliver services are supported and the following recommendations are agreed -

The Director for People will submit a written report on a proposal for the introduction of a local Emergency and Welfare Fund to replace the national Social Fund (which supports people in extreme financial difficulty via grants and loans) in April 2013. 

A localised welfare assistance scheme will be designed and developed to replace the current Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans schemes administered by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Following consultation on eight key principles,  market testing and consideration by a Customer and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel task and finish group, a service model has been developed on how the scheme will operate and addresses some key delivery and implementation issues arising from the principles including budget management, limiting awards, eligibility criteria, procurement of goods and services, administration arrangements, whether to have a loans or grants system and an appeals process. 

Background papers to this report can be accessed at the Council’s website Council and Democracy/ Councillors and Committees/Library/Cabinet background papers or using the following hyperlink –

http://tinyurl.com/bdqgk2r

The Director for People submitted a written report on a proposal for the introduction of a local Emergency and Welfare Fund to replace the national Social Fund (which supported people in extreme financial difficulty via grants and loans) in April 2013.  The council was expected to run this scheme with a 28 per cent cut (£345,272) in the front line delivery budget imposed by the government.

A localised welfare assistance scheme would be designed and developed to replace the current community care grants’ and crisis loans’ schemes administered by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Following consultation on eight key principles, market testing and consideration by a Customer and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel task and finish group, a service model had been developed on how the scheme would operate and address some key delivery and implementation issues arising from the principles including budget management, limiting awards, eligibility criteria, procurement of goods and services, administration arrangements, whether to have a loans or grants system and an appeals process. 

The Chair, in the absence of Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Cooperatives and Community Development), introduced the report and the Head of Safer Communities presented the proposals.

In response to questions, Cabinet Members were informed that information had not been forthcoming from the Department for Work and Pensions on the details of grants and loans previously allocated and were assured that the new team administering the scheme would be properly trained.  Officers undertook to monitor the position and report to Cabinet Members periodically.   

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

The City Council is Recommended to –

(1)  establish a replacement for the Social Fund called the “Emergency and Welfare Fund” (EWF) to support people in extreme financial difficulty;

(2)  agree that the EWF is based on the following principles. It will -

·         be limited to Plymouth residents only;

·         deliver goods and services from wherever is most appropriate;

·         spend the same amount of funding that the council are handed from government;

·         broadly mirror the current Social Fund eligibility criteria (e.g. those on low income and without access to other forms of income);

·         provide crisis and welfare responses;

·         minimise the spend on administration of the scheme so the council gets as much of the government funding as possible to people in need;

·         provide goods, services and cash;

·         apply limits to the number of awards an individual can access;

(3)  ask the Customer and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel to review delivery of the EWF after six months of implementation and make any relevant recommendations. A further review to be undertaken at the end of the first year of implementation with recommendations made to Cabinet for any improvements in year two;

(4)  delegate authority to the Director for People, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Cooperatives and Community Development and Director for Corporate Services, to make any changes to the EWF within the first year, which are consistent with the principles agreed, and necessary to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128.

The Director for Corporate Services will submit a written report on the implications arising from the coming into force of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

The Director for Corporate Services submitted a written report on the implications of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.   

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the report and directors undertook to ensure that management teams were briefed on the provisions of the act. 

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Agreed the proposed actions to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

The Director for Place will submit a written report seeking formal adoption of the North Prospect Area Planning Statement, to ensure that there is an up to date planning framework in place to manage the process of change in the area.

The Area Planning Statement incorporates the findings of the previous studies, along with additional information, comments and advice from stakeholders and the public, arising from a six week public consultation exercise that ended on 10 October 2012 and provides a strategy to guide the regeneration over the life of the project.

The Director for Place submitted a written report seeking formal adoption of the North Prospect Area Planning Statement (APS), to ensure that there was an up to date planning framework in place to manage the process of change in the area.

The Area Planning Statement was also submitted incorporating the findings of the previous studies, along with additional information, comments and advice from stakeholders and the public, arising from a six week public consultation exercise that ended on 10 October 2012.  These were combined to create a strategy to guide the regeneration over the life of the project.

Councillor Vincent (Cabinet Member for Environment) presented the report.

In response to questions, Cabinet Members were advised that –

·         officers would meet with ward representatives on some of the assumptions in the planning statement;

·         a design code had been produced with Plymouth Community Homes;

·         the phases of development would be different in design terms.

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

Subject to the adoption of the planning statement, agreed to incorporate the principles of the Area Planning Statement into the Plymouth Plan which will be the subject of public consultation in 2013.

Further to minute 130 above, the City Council is Recommended to adopt the North Prospect Area Planning Statement as interim planning guidance to be used in consideration of future development proposals in North Prospect.

The Director for Corporate Services will submit a written report providing Cabinet with an update on the performance of the Revenues and Benefits service.

The Director for Corporate Services submitted a written report updating Cabinet Members on the performance of the Revenues and Benefits Service.

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the update and indicated that the website had now been launched for self service in relation to housing benefit, council tax and housing benefits. He also stressed that Cabinet Members continued to have concerns on the implementation of systems prior to the changes arising from welfare reform.

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

The progress made by the service since the implementation of a new structure, was noted.

The Director for Corporate Services will submit a report on a Council tax-base for tax setting purposes in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 1992 as amended by SI 2003/3181.

The Director for Corporate Services submitted a written report on a council tax-base for tax setting purposes in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 1992, as amended by SI 2003/3181.

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the report.  

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

As set out in the report.

The City Council is Recommended to approve the council tax base for 2013/14 tax setting as 66,958 Band D equivalents, which is the tax base after allowing for an estimated collection rate of 97.5 per cent.