Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Chichester

Contact: Monique Smart on 033 022 22540  Email:  monique.smart@westsussex.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

5.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 1013 KB

Members and officers must declare any pecuniary or personal interest in any business on the agenda. They should also make declarations at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting. Consideration should be given to leaving the meeting if the nature of the interest warrants it.  If in doubt please contact Democratic Services before the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

5.1     Mr Paul Marshall declared a personal interest as a Member of Horsham District Council.  Mr Bob Lanzer declared a personal interest as a Member of Crawley Borough Council and Roger Elkins declared a person interest as a Member of Arun District Council.

6.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 51 KB

The Cabinet is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2019 (attached, cream paper).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

6.1     Resolved – that the minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

 

7.

Urgent Matters

Items not on the agenda which the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

7.1     The Leader explained that in addition to the outside bodies listed in the report at item 5 there was also a need to remove an outside body, Outset Youth Action, as this was no longer in existence.  Cabinet confirmed they were happy for this to be added to report for consideration at agenda item 5.

8.

Cabinet Priorities & Budget Saving Options 2020/22 pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Cabinet Members will introduce their priorities and budget saving options for 2020/21 and 2021/22. 

 

This will include feedback following the Member day on 26 June.

 

Select Committee Chairmen and Minority Group Leaders will be invited to comment on the proposals.

 

Cabinet will be asked to agree which options will be added to the Forward Plan of Key Decisions and what further engagement will be undertaken on each option.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

8.1     The Leader introduced the previously circulated report that summarised the current situation regarding government funding, the budget gap for 2020/21 and 2021/22 and proposals for Cabinet to consider ensure a balanced budget could be achieved for the period in question.  The Leader explained that Cabinet would not make any formal budget decisions today but would agree what budget options they would like officers to work up and include in the Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

 

8.2     Jeremy Hunt, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, highlighted the difficult financial challenge facing the County Council  with reduced funding and increasing demand for services.  Mr Hunt highlighted the key points in the report including the following:

 

·         The report assumes an annual increase of 1.99% in council tax

·         The funding gap is currently £27.9 million for 2020/21 with a further gap of £17 million for 2021/22.

·         Local Government is still waiting for the Government Green Paper on Adult Social Care

·         Much work, including mitigation of options, will be undertaken after this meeting and before any final decisions in the Autumn.

·         Feedback from the recent budget Member Day was positive and the output from that was highlighted in Appendix B of the attached report for Cabinet to consider.

 

8.3     Katharine Eberhart, Director of Finance & Support Services, provided a presentation highlighting the key financial information in the report.  She also highlighted the additional financial support require to support improvements in Children’s Social Services and the Fire & Rescue Service.  

 

 

8.4     Each Cabinet Member then commented on the proposed options within their portfolios in order as they were listed in the table at 2.6 and detailed in Appendix A of the report.  There comments were as follows:

 

·         Amanda Jupp, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health stated she could support options 1 (Review in-house residential and day care services), 3 (limit inflationary increase in fees paid to care providers) and 4 (manage demand pressures – Older People).  In relation to option 2 (review transport to care services) Mrs Jupp appreciated it could promote independence but had some reservations.  However, in relation to option 5 (Reduce housing-related support) Mrs Jupp had strong reservations.  Crawley Borough Council Chief Executive was  leading on a Task & Finish Group and she awaited the outcome of that.  Mrs Jupp also highlighted that options 5 (Reduce housing-related support) and 6 (Reduce Local Assistance Network (LAN)) were not supported by Members at the recent Budget Member Day.

 

·         Richard Burrett, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills explained that option 7 (Reduce post 16 support service) included options to withdraw or reduce and he would like to ask for both options to be developed for further consideration.  He noted that the withdrawal of this service had little support at the recent Member day.  In relation to option 8 (Increase Special Support Centres in schools), Mr Burrett fully supported this and noted that it was the most popular option at the recent Member Day.

 

·         Deborah Urquhart, Cabinet Member for Environment, stated that 90% of her portfolio budget relates to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Outside Bodies Review and Appointments pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Report by Director of Law and Assurance – attached.

 

Outside bodies are external organisations and partnerships which have requested that the County Council appoint an Elected Member to them.

 

The Cabinet is asked to approve the recommendations set out in the report.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Outside bodies are external organisations, including formal or informal partnerships to which the County Council is a party, which have requested that the County Council appoints an Elected Member or a representative to them or to which the Council expects to make appointments. 

 

Following consideration of the report Cabinet agreed to:

 

        Appoint David Edwards to the South East Regional Flood and Coastal Committee until the end of the Council term (May 2021)

        Add ‘Transport for the South East’ as a new outside body under Highways and Infrastructure

        Remove Outset Youth Action from the list of Outside Bodies.  This was not detailed in the attached report but agreed under ‘urgent matters’ to be added to the decision.

 

The call in deadline for this decision is 22 July 2019

Minutes:

9.1     Cabinet considered the previously circulated report regarding appointments and review of Outside Bodies.  Outside bodies are external organisations, including formal or informal partnerships to which the County Council is a party, which have requested that the County Council appoints an Elected Member or a representative to them or to which the Council expects to make appointments. 

 

9.2     Following consideration of the report Cabinet agreed to:

 

        Appoint David Edwards to the South East Regional Flood and Coastal Committee until the end of the Council term (May 2021)

        Add ‘Transport for the South East’ as a new outside body under Highways and Infrastructure

        Remove Outset Youth Action from the list of Outside Bodies.  This was not detailed in the attached report but agreed under ‘urgent matters’ to be added to the decision.

 

10.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Cabinet will be held on 28 January 2020.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

10.1   It was noted that the date of the next meeting would be 28 January 2020.