Agenda, decisions and minutes

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.

17.1            No declarations of interest were made.

Cabinet Members are asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October (cream paper).

18.1            Resolved – that the minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2022 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman of the West Sussex Youth Cabinet will address the Cabinet to provide an update on its activities and future plans. The Cabinet is invited to consider and discuss the update.

The Chairman of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee will be invited to speak for up to three minutes on the Youth Cabinet address.

Each of the main Minority Group Leaders will be invited to speak for up to three minutes on the Youth Cabinet address.

19.1            Cabinet considered a report by the West Sussex Youth Cabinet. The report was introduced by Iffat Rahman, Chair of the Youth Cabinet who outlined their recent campaigns including youth safety, racial equality, environment and health and wellbeing.

19.2            Cllr Jacquie Russell, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People congratulated the Chair of the Youth Cabinet on the work of the group and supported further engagement with Cabinet, the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee and local members.

19.3            The Leader and Cabinet Members welcomed the work described in the report and commented on the strength of the Youth Cabinet’s focus on critical priorities and important conversations. Cabinet were keen to continue to work closely with the Youth Cabinet with their valuable and topical initiatives.

19.4            Resolved – that Cabinet receives the update from the Youth Cabinet, notes the benefit to the council and residents and considers further opportunities for wider engagement with members.

Report by the Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Support Services.

Each of the Scrutiny Committee Chairman will be invited to speak for up to three minutes to provide the views of their Committee on respective parts of the Quarter 2 Performance and Resources Report.

Each of the main Minority Group Leaders will be invited to speak for up to three minutes on the Quarter 2 Performance and Resources Report.

The Cabinet will then discuss the report.

Following consideration of the report the Cabinet resolved to:

1.   Note the information contained in the Quarter 2 Performance and Resources Report in Annex B,

2.   Agree the proposed updates to the Key Performance Indicator measures detailed in Annex C.

The call-in deadline is 15 December 2022.

20.1            Cabinet considered a report by the Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Support Services. The report was introduced by Cllr Jeremy Hunt, Cabinet Member for Finance and Property who outlined the Council’s position including financial risks such as inflation, cost of energy, goods and services, continued pressure in Adults and Children’s Services and the corporate challenge of recruiting and retaining staff. A reduction in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) rated as red was noted.

20.2             Cllr Garry Wall, Chairman of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee noted the challenges in Adults Social Care with an ageing population with complex needs and the overarching financial situation. The Committee considered issues surrounding workforce challenges and the needs of staff in terms of support for their wellbeing. Extra financial support for the planned social care reforms would be welcome and the Committee noted the Local Government Finance Settlement was awaited. Changes to KPIs were supported by the Committee.

20.3            Cllr David Britton, Chairman of the Communities, Environment and Highways Scrutiny Committee welcomed the support for Ukrainian refugees in West Sussex, noted that the Household Support Fund will be extended until March 2023 and acknowledged the ongoing challenges with staff vacancy rates. The Committee awaited outcomes from Government on food waste collection schemes and welcomed the allocation of £17.4m from Government for the Bus Service Improvement Plan. The Committee noted that library footfall had not returned to pre-covid levels but were supportive of the work of the library service overall. At its meeting, the Committee requested further information on killed or seriously injured incidents (KPI 41).

20.4            Cllr Kevin Boram, Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Service Scrutiny Committee noted the effective operation of the Fire Service but that some KPIs have reduced, primarily due to hot weather and the deployment of resources to deal with this. The Committee noted the good progress in implementing the new policy on false fire alarms and they would continue to monitor the Community Risk Management Plan. The availability of retained firefighters continues to be a concern.

20.5            Cllr Pieter Montyn, Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee outlined that the Committee recognised the fast-moving national picture which has introduced uncertainty at all levels and the fact that the Local Government Finance Settlement is awaited. The Committee requested an update on the national context in relation to inflation and interest rates in the next Quarter Report. Whilst the Committee recognised the healthy level of reserves, the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit is of concern as is the risk level of the recruitment and retention of staff. Members requested further information on sickness absence and associated costs to the council.

20.6            The following points were made by Cabinet Members in discussion:

Ø  Cllr Steve Waight, Cabinet Member for Support Services and Economic Development noted the difficulty with recruitment and retention and the increased resources to help with this, and the increased risk of cyber threats and said action is being taken to manage them.

Ø  Cllr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The next meeting of the Cabinet will be held on 31 January 2023.

21.1            The next meeting of Cabinet will be held on 31 January 2023.