Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Chichester, PO19 1RQ

Contact: Natalie Jones-Punch on 033 022 25098  Email:  natalie.jones-punch@westsussex.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

30.

Declarations of Interest

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:

30.1            Cllr Steve Waight declared a personal interest as a Member of Worthing Borough Council in relation to item 6 (Review and Appointments to Outside Bodies).  

31.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 144 KB

Cabinet Members are asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2021 (cream paper).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

31.1            Resolved – that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 November be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

32.

Performance and Resources Report - Quarter 2 2021/22 (CAB10_21/22) pdf icon PDF 230 KB

Report by the 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 and proposals prior to taking any decision.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Following consideration of the report, Cabinet resolved to:

 

1.   Note the information contained in the Q2 Performance and Resources Report in Annex B,

 

2.   Note the update in the presentation of the report following scrutiny committee feedback from the Q1 report,

 

3.   Agree the allocation of £0.225m from the pay inflation contingency budget to the Fire and Rescue Service to fund the nationally agreed 1.5% pay award from July 2021.

 

The call-in deadline is 14 December 2021.

Minutes:

32.1          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 advised a number of presentational updates had been made since the Quarter 1 report was considered in response to feedback. The Cabinet Member and Director of Finance and Support Services, Katharine Eberhart, outlined the financial position and pressures, including uncertainty and risks across the portfolio areas, inflation and overspend on the Dedicated Schools Grant and highlighted the importance of continuing to manage spending.

 

32.2              Cllr Stephen Hillier, Chairman of the Children and Young Peoples Services Scrutiny Committee advised the Committee found the new format of the report useful. The Committee wanted to see an improvement in a number of re-referrals to children’s social care and were pleased to hear of the service commitment to achieve this. The Committee noted the significant pressure on Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) transport and whilst they welcomed the parental mileage initiative, were concerned this was not sufficiently publicised. Finally, the Committee was keen to see the rollout of Special Support Centres (SSCs).

 

32.3              Cllr Kevin Boram, Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Service Scrutiny Committee advised the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Fire Service were comprehensive and that the pandemic had a significant impact on the normal business of the service. Improvement work continued and the Committee looked forward to reviewing the Integrated Risk Management Plan later in the year.

 

32.4              Cllr Garry Wall, Chairman of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee advised the Committee recognised the challenges and the difficult decisions needed. The Committee felt it important to understand the new Health and Care Bill and what it aims to deliver. The Committee welcomed the format of the KPIs against the Quality Assurance framework and felt the report was focussed on the challenges ahead in health and social care.

 

32.5              Cllr Pieter Montyn, Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee also welcomed the new format of the report and the additional information provided. The Committee recognised the pressure on Adults Services and the likely financial pressures owing to inflation and the pay award. The Committee felt further information on service transformation and the benefits realised would be helpful. The Committee looked forward to seeing the results of support for businesses and welcomed the various positive service improvements. There was some concern around climate change targets and that further guidance from government should be sought by local authorities collectively.

 

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

 

Ø  Cllr Steve Waight, Cabinet Member for Support Services and Economic Development commented that the green indicators should also be recognised when reviewing the PRR as there were some big achievements. He highlighted the work of all staff throughout the pandemic and the significant pieces of work being undertaken alongside usual tasks.

Ø  Cllr Joy Dennis, Cabinet Members for Highways and Transport referred to pressure from inflation, staffing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service Annual Statement of Assurance 2020/21 (CAB11_21/22) pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Report by the Chief Fire Officer.

 

The Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Services Scrutiny Committee will be invited to speak for up to three minutes to provide the views of their Committee on the Fire and Rescue Service Statement of Assurance.  

 

Each of the main Minority Group Leaders will be invited to speak for up to three minutes each on the Fire and Rescue Service Statement of Assurance.

 

Cabinet Members will be asked to approve the Fire and Rescue Service Statement of Assurance and Annual Report 2020/21.

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

Following consideration of the report, Cabinet resolved to approve the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service Annual Statement of Assurance 2020-21.

 

The call-in deadline is 14 December 2021.

Minutes:

33.1            Cabinet considered a report by the Chief Fire Officer. The report was introduced by Cllr Duncan Crow, Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue who advised the statement of assurance was a statutory requirement to provide assurance on financial, governance and operational matters. Cllr Crow outlined that the pandemic had placed extra demands and challenges on the service but that it had been a strong year against this backdrop. Mark Andrews, Deputy Chief Fire Officer added the statement was a reflection of the business plan and shows the service to be resilient and on target to meet its statutory duties.

 

33.2            Cllr Kevin Boram, Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Service Scrutiny Committee said the Committee reviewed the report in detail and agreed it was an accurate representation of performance during a demanding time. The Committee recommended a number of changes for future reports to give better financial comparisons and more narrative around recovery from major incidents. The Committee was pleased to note that the Horsham Fire Station and Training Centre was on track through additional investment.

 

33.3            Resolved – that Cabinet approve the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service Annual Statement of Assurance 2020-21.

 

34.

Review and Appointments to Outside Bodies (CAB12_21/22) pdf icon PDF 147 KB

Report by the Director of Law and Assurance.

 

The Cabinet is asked to agree the recommendations as set out in the attached decision report on appointments to Outside Bodies.

 

The Cabinet will discuss the report and proposals prior to taking any decision.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Following consideration of the report, Cabinet resolved that:

 

1.   Appointments are no longer made by the County Council to the Outside Bodies listed in Appendix A and that they be deleted from the County Council’s Outside Bodies list.

 

2.   Appointments are made by individual Cabinet Members with the respective portfolio responsibility and that they appoint the relevant local councillors to the remaining roles, as set out in Appendix B and as follows:

 

Gatwick Greenspace Partnership – Cllr Burrett and Cllr Cornell

Manhood Peninsula Partnership – Cllr Montyn

Port of Shoreham Liaison Committee – Cllr McGregor

Goodwood Aerodrome Consultative Committee – Cllr Hunt

Goodwood Motor Circuit Consultative Committee – Cllr Hunt

 

3.   To defer the appointment to the Chichester Harbour Conservancy until 1 February 2022. 

 

4.   To defer the appointment of the Waves Ahead Strategic Partnership for decision by the Cabinet Member for Support Services and Economic Development at the appropriate time.

 

The Call-in deadline is 14 December 2021.

Minutes:

34.1            Cabinet considered a report by the Director of Law and Assurance.

 

34.2            Resolved – Cabinet agree that:

 

1. Appointments are no longer made by the County Council to the Outside Bodies listed in Appendix A and that they be deleted from the County Council’s Outside Bodies list.

 

2. Appointments are made by individual Cabinet Members with the respective portfolio responsibility and that they appoint the relevant local councillors to the remaining roles, as set out in Appendix B and as follows:

 

Gatwick Greenspace Partnership – Cllr Burrett and Cllr Cornell Manhood Peninsula Partnership – Cllr Montyn

Port of Shoreham Liaison Committee – Cllr McGregor

Goodwood Aerodrome Consultative Committee – Cllr Hunt

Goodwood Motor Circuit Consultative Committee – Cllr Hunt

 

3. To defer the appointment to the Chichester Harbour Conservancy until 1 February 2022.

 

4. To defer the appointment of the Waves Ahead Strategic Partnership for decision by the Cabinet Member for Support Services and Economic Development at the appropriate time.

 

35.

Emerging Issues

Cabinet Members are invited to provide any verbal updates on current significant issues for their respective portfolios which may benefit from discussion.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

35.1            The Leader advised that WSCC was pleased to be supporting Crawley Borough Council’s bid for city status as part of the National Civic Honours Competition.

 

35.2            Keith Hinkley, Executive Director of Adults Services advised that the Adults Social Care White Paper had recently been published with a focus on choice, control and independence, themes which were already well reflected within the council’s plans. The White Paper signalled investment in a number of important areas and a strong commitment from government for better use of data to understand challenges in the care market. There was a lack of detail and level of uncertainty around funding. The need for investment in social care workforce has not been addressed in the White Paper, but this is essential for managing demand and delivering capacity and sustainability in the care market. Cabinet will be considering this in more detail at the appropriate time.

 

35.3            Cllr Nigel Jupp, Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills advised building works at Woodlands Meed College would be commencing imminently which was welcome news. Cllr Jupp also advised that Free School Meal vouchers would be provided over the Christmas school holidays for those eligible.

 

36.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Cabinet will be held on 1 February 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

36.1            The next meeting of the Cabinet will be held on 1 February 2022.