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

There were no declarations of interest made by Councillors, in accordance with the code of conduct.

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 09 March 2021.

Cabinet agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2021 are confirmed as a correct 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.

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

There were no Items on the Chair’s urgent business.

The Leader had signed three Executive Decisions in line with the pledge to the public and manifesto commitments:

Councillor Jonathon Drean, Cabinet member for Transport announced that the manifesto pledge 57 has been adhered to and is complete. The pledge commitment to not introduce a congestion charge during the administrations time in office has been successful and the administration will not introduce this measure.

The Council cannot solve the problems of congestion with punitive measures that penalise the motorist, there would be much better options in getting things done to improve how people could sustainably travel and get around the city. The Council need a positive, practical, attractive alternative to car journeys and walking and cycling are playing an increasingly important role moving forward, which would aligns with the Governments transport approach. This had already formed part of the Council’s transport strategy which had been set out in Plymouth and South West Devon Join Local Plan. Policies SPT 9 and 10 of the main plan had recognised the importance of sustainable growth through getting the most out of existing transport networks and providing the integration and transport models so people have different ways to travel.

This administration has other manifesto commitments that would be brought forward in the coming months, which would encourage and facilitate much greater use of public transport, walking and cycling. The Council would work with bus operators to provide service and local routes that people want on the back of the National Bus Strategy.

Councillor Deacon advised that in relation to Pledge 7 regarding swimming platforms, funding had been provided and would be in place in the summer of 2021 by Tinside Lido.

The new administration had been very ambitious for Plymouth and its residents, and this would be reflected in the revised Corporate Plan. Key elements of the plan would be retained, including the city vision, which had been recognised and shared by staff, members and partners.

The Leader had asked for feedback from the parties and from independent Members before the plan would be considered by the Council next week because he would like it to reflect all of our aspirations for the Council.

The Council’s mission had changed to reflect the huge impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the city, and our clear ambition to build back better, and make Plymouth a great place to live, work and visit.

We had revised the values to reflect more strongly the belief that Plymouth residents should be at the heart of everything we would do, and that we would be responsible to them for delivering the Council’s priorities and accountable for the impact of the actions taken.

The Leader hoped that the twin themes of unlocking the city’s potential, and caring for people and communities gave a clear direction for our priorities, and we would make sure that there are specific plans with measurable targets to deliver on each of the priorities that are set out in the plan and that we would report on them regularly.

We would be starting as we mean to go on, with the programme for the administration’s first 100 days, which would be the subject of a separate report on this Cabinet’s agenda.

The revised Corporate Plan had been clear about how we would deliver for Plymouth. To be a successful city, we would need to ensure that the Council gets the basics right, and delivers the quality of day-to-day services that Plymouth residents deserve. It had been more important than ever for the Council to provide value for money and that we would effectively manage issues such as potholes, weeds. Litter, graffiti, grass cutting and dog fouling

Councillor Patrick Nicholson advised that it is essential that we evolved the Corporate Plan rather than tear it up. A lot of the points within the Corporate Plan had been agreed cross party and key city priorities had been reflected in the Plan. This updated plan emphasises the City’s pledge to become a green city and have a green agenda. This would’ve been under more scrutiny over the last 18 months in order to deliver environmental change if it had not been for COVID. This report emphasises health and adult social care to seek to reduce the health inequalities, to help people feel safe and keep Children and Young people safe and protected and to be a Council for everyone. 

Cabinet unanimously agreed with the recommendations to:

1. Endorses the priorities and issues summarised in this report, and agrees that they will form the basis of the revised Corporate Plan 2021-2025

2. Agrees that the priorities adopted as part of the Council’s recovery and renewal framework are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 134.

The 100 Day Plan had set out how the administration would accomplish 22 of the 86 commitments for the city within the first 100 days of the new administration. Three Executive Decisions had been signed, but alongside this the administration had reduced the costs of city councillors by removing some of the additional allowances and reducing the number of Cabinet positions. These changes had saved the taxpayer in excess of £45,000 per year.

This administration wanted to demonstrate the pace at which it would make improvements across a range of services that are important to residents, visitors and businesses. This administration would be very ambitious for Plymouth and had been acting straight away to deliver the commitments made at the election.

This administration would want to ensure the Council gets the basics right and delivers quality day-to-day services. Plymouth residents would be at the heart of everything we do and that means listening more to their views and had been starting to look at ways this can happen.

Plymouth has huge potential and this administration would ensure it gets the national recognition it needs and deserves, which would include support and investment for adult social care and schools.

There would be a lot to do but we are looking forward to working with officers, residents and our partners to deliver these commitments.

The report outlines the provisional finance monitoring position of the Council for the year ending 31 March 2021.

Full details of the provisional outturn position for each directorate is set out in the body of the report. An executive summary setting out the key areas is included in Section A.

Brendan Arnold, Service Director for Finance presented the provisional outturn for 2021. The financial outturn report sets out financial positions for each council directorate. It not only sets out finance performance for last year but it also support Councils statutory responsibility to provide a set of accounts for external inspection by auditors. This is a provisional financial report and is not final, the figures are taken forward to the usual external audit process and may be subject to further adjustments.

Cabinet members would be aware of the financial challenges in Local Government,  especially in Plymouth over the last financial year due to COVID-19 pandemic, despite these difficulties, there had been only a small overspend of £625,000 on business as usual activities which is on a gross budget of £514 million this is notable result under the circumstances and the budget variants equates to .12 of 1% against the total overall budget. Plymouth City Council had received a number of government grants throughout the year to support costs incurred and income loss due to the pandemic and in addition to support a range of public health interventions. Some grants had had been received in advance of need, the Council would be able to carry forward £14.8 million of grant to the new financial year to sue that to fund on-going costs of the pandemic in line with government guidelines.

As Cabinet member will be aware there will be financial challenges in the next few years and as part of this provisional outturn report, we have identified £3.5 million which would be carried over to assist in dealing with future budget pressures in future budget years.

During the year the Council invested £106 million in the capital assets of the city as part of the Capital Programme, this was approved in February 2021. Notable schemes included; the Mayflower 400 restoration of Elizabethan house; the Box; Plymouth railway station; Forder Valley Link road scheme which cost £16.2 million; Highways maintenance and essential engineering which had cost £9.6 million; £4 million in housing and improvements to the Life Centre costing £1.9m. 

Cabinet agreed unanimously with the recommendations to:

The Leader of the Council has proposed the establishment of an Equalities Working Group as a committee of the Cabinet to strengthen and broaden the leadership arrangements for the delivery of the Council’s equalities objectives. This report sets out at Appendix A the draft terms of reference of the Working Group.

Councillor Vivien Pengelly presented the item.

The diversity of our city is one of our greatest strengths and assets, and we want Plymouth to be recognised as welcoming, safe, international and with a vibrant cultural offer. The equalities working group will be a subcommittee of Cabinet and will seek to:

Cabinet members agreed unanimously with the recommendations to:

Following approval at the Annual General Meeting of the Council on 21 May 2021, Cabinet are recommended to confirm the appointments contained within the report for the 2021/22 municipal year.

Councillor Patrick Nicholson moved a minor amendment in relation to Item 8 Plymouth and South Devon Local Partnership board. As this is a development Board it would seem more appropriate for cabinet member for housing Councillor Vivien Pengelly to join Councillor Patrick Nicholson on the Board.

Councillor Vivien Pengelly moved forward an amendment in relation to the Corporate Parenting Group, Councillor David James has resigned this post and Councillor Dan Collins had now taken this post in his place.

The amendments were noted and cabinet members unanimously agreed to the amendments.

Cabinet voted on and agreed to the recommendations to:

Confirm the appointments contained within the report for the 2021/22 municipal year and for clarity cabinet ensure the Joint Committees and Advisory Groups of Cabinet are as set out with the amendments.