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.

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2019.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2019 were agreed as a true and accurate record.

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, Ballard House, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ, 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 members of the public.

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

There was no urgent business form the Chair.

Councillor Pete Smith (Deputy Leader) reported that this was a good time to reflect on what this administration had achieved in 2019 and to look ahead to 2020.  These were some of the achievements in 2019:

·           Range Head Office - completed creating over 500 jobs;

·           Barcode – the UKs only city centre leisure scheme and third largest IMAX;

·           Oceansgate – fully let phase 1 and phase 2 commenced;

·           Barden – secured 400 jobs;

·           Smart Sound/MBTC – launched new in sea test range;

·           Mayflower 400/Illuminate;

·           The Box Figureheads – 14 refurbished figureheads would feature in the BOX, securing a 22m worldwide audience from the Times to Classic Boat owner;

·           £12m Direct Development programme – completed phase 2 of Herder Court and approval to start phase 3;

·           Millbay Hotel – committed to forward fund the next stage of regeneration in Millbay;

·           Brunel Plaza Anchor Tennant – secured Plymouth University’s £40m investment for Brunel Plaza;

·           British Land Investment – secured a further £20m investment into New George Street and Old Town Street on the back of a £9m investment in public realm;

·           National Marine Park – secured government recognition as the UK’s first National Marine Park;

·           Funding – secured £45.6m of funding including ACE, Creative Development Fund and Future High Streets Fund;

·           Conde Nast – Plymouth was in their top ten worldwide locations to visit in 2020.

It was reported that the following developments would take place in 2020:

·         Mayflower 400 – as we enter the limelight of the world stage with music, dance, light, art, literature sport, heritage, science and education;

·         The Box -

Ø  the building to be completed early in the new year;

Ø  gallery fit out by April;

Ø  shortly announce catering partner;

Ø  receive the Mammouth;

Ø  announce programme of events;

Ø  open in Spring date to be confirmed after Christmas.

·         Brunel Plaza – improvements to the concourse;

·         Herder Court Phase 3, Plymouth International and Broadley Park – commence work on site at 3 with new direct developments in 2020 creating 70,000ft2 of new industrial and office units;

·         Derry’s Building and BHS – have enabled these old department stores to be repurposed to be completed in 2020.

·         Derriford District Centre – bring forward the next phase of the development;

·         Public Realm – start on site with the £9m transformation of Old Town Street connecting the City Centre to the Barcode and enabling £20m investment from British Land;

·         Mountbatten Centre – will appoint consultants to take forward the next phase of development of the Mount batten Centre;

·         Plan For Fishing – will adopt a plan for fishing to protect and grow this important industry;

·         Visitor Plan adoption/Cultural Strategy refresh – will adopt the Visitor plan and begin the process of refreshing the Cultural Strategy;

·         Cruise Ships – will welcome 12 cruise ships in 2020 including the iconic Disney Magic;

·         Phoenix Wharf completed - a new leisure destination and public access for the first time in many years;

·         Millbay Boulevard – will complete the £5.5m regeneration scheme reconnecting the waterfront  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillor Coker, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure made the following announcement:

·           Charles Cross Scheme completed on time and on schedule.  Thanks were given to the strategic transport scheme, the contractors Balfour Beatty and to the local residents and commuters whilst this scheme was being completed.

Councillor Haydon, Cabinet Member for Customer Focus and Community Safety made the following announcements:

·           that following a range of actions carried out by the environmental team and increased signage in problem areas with dog fouling they were in the process of making their first prosecution;

·           that the trading standards schemes had overseen two big seizures of illegal tobacco and counterfeit products with a street value of £250k.  Thanks were given to both teams.

Councillor Jon Taylor, Cabinet Member for Education, skills and Transformation made the following announcements:

·           the school admission arrangements for 2021 were currently out for consultation and inviting parents to have their say.  Consultation ends on 19 January 2020.

Councillor Kate Taylor, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care made the following announcement:

·           this year 4 health and wellbeing hubs have been opened and a further hub in Stirling Road opening on 23 January 2020;

·           the Independence at Home and the new arrangements began on 1 December 2019.  The service was rated good which was the highest rating for a first inspection.  Thanks were given to the Independence at Home team.

Councillor Pete Smith, Deputy Leader gave thanks to the election team following the recent general election.

Councillor Pete Smith, Deputy Leader reported that the total number of completed pledges to an impressive 61 out of the 100 pledges and there was a plan to complete all pledges by 2022.  The Deputy Leader invited Councillor Coker, Cabinet Member Strategic Planning and Infrastructure to provide an update on Pledge 22 which backs the campaign for upgrades to the A38 within Plymouth and supports the long-term aspiration for the M5 to be extended to Plymouth.

It was reported that they would continue to lobby the 3 MPs to hold the Secretary of State for Transport account and to recognise the measures required for the A38.

Cabinet agreed to note the completion of Pledge 22 in November 2019, bringing the total for completed pledges to 61.

Councillor Pete Smith, Deputy Leader reported that the total number of completed pledges to an impressive 61 out of the 100 pledges and there was a plan to complete all pledges by 2022.  The Deputy Leader invited Councillor Coker, Cabinet Member Strategic Planning and Infrastructure to provide an update on Pledge 22 which backs the campaign for upgrades to the A38 within Plymouth and supports the long-term aspiration for the M5 to be extended to Plymouth.

It was reported that they would continue to lobby the 3 MPs to hold the Secretary of State for Transport account and to recognise the measures required for the A38.

Cabinet agreed to note the completion of Pledge 22 in November 2019, bringing the total for completed pledges to 61.

Councillor Dann, Cabinet Member for Environment and Street Scene and introduced the report.  It was reported that:

·       in March they made a commitment and unanimously declared a climate emergency and to meet the zero carbon challenge by 2030.  This would require significant work;

·       there were two plans, the Climate Emergency Action Plan and Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan and these plans would be shared at Full Council this afternoon;

·       there was a need to have citywide approach to bring carbon emissions down and this was a massive agenda for city.

Cabinet agreed to -

1.        Note the progress that has been made since the declaration on climate emergency.

2.        Approve the Corporate Carbon Reduction Action Plan 2019-2024 and recommend to Full Council to support and endorse.

3.        Approve the 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan and recommend to Full Council to support and endorse.

4.        Recommend to Council that the provisions of the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan 20192024 and 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan are incorporated into the next revisions of the Corporate Plan and Medium Term Financial Plan.

5.        Recommend to Council to review the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan 2019-2024 and 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan every year and review the Climate Emergency work as part of the annual reporting on the Plymouth Plan.

6.        Refer the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan 2019-2024 and 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan to the Brexit, Infrastructure and Legislative Change Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

7.        Delegate the implementation of the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan 2019-2024 and 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan to the Director of Place as the appointed Senior Responsible Officer but integrated across every Council department through a Climate Emergency Board led by Corporate Management Team members that meets bi-monthly.

(Councillor Evans OBE chaired the meeting from this point onwards.)

Councillor Dann, Cabinet Member for Environment and Street Scene and introduced the report.  It was reported that:

·       in March they made a commitment and unanimously declared a climate emergency and to meet the zero carbon challenge by 2030.  This would require significant work;

·       there were two plans, the Climate Emergency Action Plan and Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan and these plans would be shared at Full Council this afternoon;

·       there was a need to have citywide approach to bring carbon emissions down and this was a massive agenda for city.

Cabinet agreed to -

1.        Note the progress that has been made since the declaration on climate emergency.

2.        Approve the Corporate Carbon Reduction Action Plan 2019-2024 and recommend to Full Council to support and endorse.

3.        Approve the 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan and recommend to Full Council to support and endorse.

4.        Recommend to Council that the provisions of the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan 20192024 and 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan are incorporated into the next revisions of the Corporate Plan and Medium Term Financial Plan.

5.        Recommend to Council to review the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan 2019-2024 and 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan every year and review the Climate Emergency work as part of the annual reporting on the Plymouth Plan.

6.        Refer the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan 2019-2024 and 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan to the Brexit, Infrastructure and Legislative Change Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

7.        Delegate the implementation of the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan 2019-2024 and 2019 Climate Emergency Action Plan to the Director of Place as the appointed Senior Responsible Officer but integrated across every Council department through a Climate Emergency Board led by Corporate Management Team members that meets bi-monthly.

(Councillor Evans OBE chaired the meeting from this point onwards.)

Councillor Haydon, Cabinet Member for Customer Focus and Community Safety introduced the item and reported that this was a state of the art crematorium on the eastern edge of the city

Ruth Harrell, Director of Public Health and David Northey, Head of Integrated Finance were also present for this item and it was reported that the new crematorium was an ideal opportunity to look at this service and to ensure that people were supported during a time of real need.  They wanted to get the technical structures right and by  forming a charity fits with the cooperative principles as well as delivering services in the best way possible and maximising the funding.

Councillor Haydon gave thanks to all the staff involved with this project.

Cabinet agreed to –

1.        Approve the creation of a Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable Status.

2.        Endorse the proposed name of the entity as Plymouth Crematoria.

3.        Approve the Business Case for the creation of the new entity, including the approval of the leasing of the bereavement estate (the “assets”) from PCC to the new entity.

4.        Nominate the Service Director for Finance (S151 Officer) as Member Representative of the Charity and to exercise all voting rights on behalf of the council (subject to Key Decisions being reserved to the Leader/Cabinet) and bring back a future Report to Cabinet setting out the detailed governance arrangement required to protect, safeguard, and effectively manage the council’s interest in the new bereavement model.

5.        Note the endorsement from Co-ops UK that confirms that the proposed new legal entity will be eligible for membership as an Associate Member of Co-ops UK.

Councillor Haydon, Cabinet Member for Customer Focus and Community Safety introduced the item and reported that this was a state of the art crematorium on the eastern edge of the city

Ruth Harrell, Director of Public Health and David Northey, Head of Integrated Finance were also present for this item and it was reported that the new crematorium was an ideal opportunity to look at this service and to ensure that people were supported during a time of real need.  They wanted to get the technical structures right and by  forming a charity fits with the cooperative principles as well as delivering services in the best way possible and maximising the funding.

Councillor Haydon gave thanks to all the staff involved with this project.

Cabinet agreed to –

1.        Approve the creation of a Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable Status.

2.        Endorse the proposed name of the entity as Plymouth Crematoria.

3.        Approve the Business Case for the creation of the new entity, including the approval of the leasing of the bereavement estate (the “assets”) from PCC to the new entity.

4.        Nominate the Service Director for Finance (S151 Officer) as Member Representative of the Charity and to exercise all voting rights on behalf of the council (subject to Key Decisions being reserved to the Leader/Cabinet) and bring back a future Report to Cabinet setting out the detailed governance arrangement required to protect, safeguard, and effectively manage the council’s interest in the new bereavement model.

5.        Note the endorsement from Co-ops UK that confirms that the proposed new legal entity will be eligible for membership as an Associate Member of Co-ops UK.

Councillor Evans, Leader introduced this item and highlighted the importance of the Risk Management Strategy.  Julie Hosking, Corporate Risk Advisor and Rob Sowden, Performance Advisor further reported that the strategy has been place for the last 17 years and includes step by step guidance, scoring risk, the monitoring and review and identified departmental risk champions.

Cabinet agreed the Risk and Opportunity Management Strategy.

Councillor Evans, Leader introduced this item and highlighted the importance of the Risk Management Strategy.  Julie Hosking, Corporate Risk Advisor and Rob Sowden, Performance Advisor further reported that the strategy has been place for the last 17 years and includes step by step guidance, scoring risk, the monitoring and review and identified departmental risk champions.

Cabinet agreed the Risk and Opportunity Management Strategy.