Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Steve Charmley [Deputy Leader], Cecilia Motley and Mal Price.

Members are reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

Councillor L Chapman stated that he was on the Management Board of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty [AONB] Partnership and that he would leave the meeting during consideration of the item relating to the AONB.

To consider and approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September 2016.

Contact: Jane Palmer          Tel: 01743 257712

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September 2016 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September 2016 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

To receive any questions or petitions from members of the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  Deadline for notification for this meeting is 5.00pm on Friday 14 October 2016.

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive any scrutiny items from Council or any of the Scrutiny Committees.

There were no items from Council or any of the Scrutiny Committees.

Lead Member – Councillor David Minnery – Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People.

Report of the Director of Children’s Services

Contact: Karen Bradshaw  Tel: 01743 254201

RESOLVED:

i)             That Cabinet approve to move to formal consultation with schools on the proposal to recoup a capped contribution of £5,000 for each converting school;

ii)            That Cabinet approves in principle, subject to the consultation process, the recoupment of the Council’s costs in relation to the academy conversion process, setting a contribution capped at £5,000 for each converting school, and that this is effective for any Academy Orders received from 1 January 2017 onwards, and delegates the final decision on this to the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

Responding to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer the following Members indicated that they were currently serving as School Governors, namely, Councillors S Jones, D Minnery, S West, A Mosley, R Evans and M Shineton.

The Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People presented the report from the Director of Children’s Services proposing the introduction of a charge to converting schools to cover Council costs, to be charged against the Government grant they receive for costs relating to the conversion process.  He added that this would be a capped charge at £5,000 for each converting school to be effective for any Academy Orders received from 1 January 2017 onwards.

A member voiced his surprise at the proposed charge and added that the costs of conversion were not covered by the Government grant received by converting schools and therefore, in effect, the Council was taking money away from education.  Other Members commented that the proposed contribution would safeguard the interests of the authority in this process.  It was noted that the Young People’s Scrutiny Committee had considered this matter and had been supportive.

Another Member suggested that the Council should lobby Government against the conversion of schools to academies particularly given the growing concerns regarding the benefits of academies.  She added that the funding from the Government for academy conversion costs would do nothing for the education of Shropshire children.

RESOLVED:

i)             That Cabinet approve to move to formal consultation with schools on the proposal to recoup a capped contribution of £5,000 for each converting school;

ii)            That Cabinet approves in principle, subject to the consultation process, the recoupment of the Council’s costs in relation to the academy conversion process, setting a contribution capped at £5,000 for each converting school, and that this is effective for any Academy Orders received from 1 January 2017 onwards, and delegates the final decision on this to the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

Lead Member – Councillor Simon Jones – Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transportation

Report of Director of Place and Enterprise, TO FOLLOW

Contact: George Candler   Tel: 01743 255003

This item was deferred for consideration at a future meeting of Cabinet.

This item was deferred for consideration at a future meeting of Cabinet.

Lead Member – Councillor Simon Jones – Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transportation

Report of the Director of Place and Enterprise, TO FOLLOW

Contact: George Candler   Tel: 01743 255003

RESOLVED:

                      i.        That the re-procurement of the Highways and Environmental Maintenance Services using a Term Service Model be approved as set out in this report

                    ii.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infrastructure and Communities, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport to undertake the procurement process, including approving the terms of the contract, service specification documentation and associated decisions necessary to undertake the entire procurement process, prior to a final award report to appoint a Contractor being presented to Cabinet in 2017.

                   iii.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infra structure and Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport to assess and implement future reductions in standards, volumes or specification, a possible cessation of some service requests will be required in order to meet the financial savings within the current Financial Strategy (revenue and capital), with their undoubted impact on Asset Condition and Satisfaction indicators.

                   iv.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infrastructure and Communities, in consultation with the appropriate Portfolio Holder(s), to discuss with Town and Parish Councils grounds maintenance responsibilities in respect of public open spaces, amenity land, play areas and where appropriate highway land, and further to those discussions, to amend the ground maintenance arrangements for inclusion in the procurement process as appropriate.

The Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transportation presented a report from the Director of Place and Enterprise on the re-procurement of the Highways and Environment Term Maintenance Contract [HMTC].  He stated that a delivery model using a Team service approach was being proposed with the appointment of a single contractor delivering highways and environmental maintenance services and the rationale for this approach and the influences behind it were documented within the report. 

Responding to a Member’s comments on the lack of cross party working and involvement in this matter, the Leader advised that he had an open door policy and welcomed the input of any Member at any time. Another Member stated that he made no apology for making a political point that cuts being imposed by Central Government would see no end to the ongoing decline in services; less litter being collected, grass verges mown less frequently. Another Member added that the Ringway contract had resulted in a sharp learning curve but workmanship and timeliness had seen improvements in recent months.  In bringing the debate to a conclusion the Leader commented that it was easy to criticise without having any budget responsibility.

RESOLVED:

                      i.        That the re-procurement of the Highways and Environmental Maintenance Services using a Term Service Model be approved as set out in this report

                    ii.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infrastructure and Communities, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport to undertake the procurement process, including approving the terms of the contract, service specification documentation and associated decisions necessary to undertake the entire procurement process, prior to a final award report to appoint a Contractor being presented to Cabinet in 2017.

                   iii.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infra structure and Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport to assess and implement future reductions in standards, volumes or specification, a possible cessation of some service requests will be required in order to meet the financial savings within the current Financial Strategy (revenue and capital), with their undoubted impact on Asset Condition and Satisfaction indicators.

                   iv.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infrastructure and Communities, in consultation with the appropriate Portfolio Holder(s), to discuss with Town and Parish Councils grounds maintenance responsibilities in respect of public open spaces, amenity land, play areas and where appropriate highway land, and further to those discussions, to amend the ground maintenance arrangements for inclusion in the procurement process as appropriate.

Lead Member – Councillor David Minnery – Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People

Report of the Director of Place and Enterprise

Contact: George Candler   Tel: 01743 255003

RESOLVED:

i)             That the proposals for the future commissioning of youth activities within the context of reduced funding be referred for consideration and investigation by the Young People’s Scrutiny Committee;

ii)            That the Young People’s Scrutiny Committee considers setting up a Task and Finish Group to consider this matter and that the Task and Finish Group liaise with partners and partner organisations to consider possible options; and

iii)           That, in the meantime, funding for youth activities remain at its current level.

The Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People presented a report from the Director of Place and Enterprise that summarised progress made with the commissioning of activities for young people and proposed plans for 2017/18 and 2018/19.  He stated that did not intend to move the recommendations detailed within the report as he considered that the issue should be referred for consideration and investigation by the Young People’s Scrutiny Committee to work with partner organisations and partners to consider possible options and, in the meantime, the current funding would remain.  A Member stated that he welcomed this course of action as young people represented the future and should be supported.

RESOLVED:

i)             That the proposals for the future commissioning of youth activities within the context of reduced funding be referred for consideration and investigation by the Young People’s Scrutiny Committee;

ii)            That the Young People’s Scrutiny Committee considers setting up a Task and Finish Group to consider this matter and that the Task and Finish Group liaise with partners and partner organisations to consider possible options; and

iii)           That, in the meantime, funding for youth activities remain at its current level.

Lead Member – Councillor Stuart West – Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture

Report of the Director of Place and Enterprise

Contact: George Candler   Tel: 01743 255003

RESOLVED:

i)              That, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of all necessary due diligence work, Cabinet: 

1.    Supports the proposal to create an independent Conservation Board as a new structure for the management of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

2.    Delegates authority to the Director of Places and Enterprise to make a joint formal application with Telford & Wrekin Council throughthe AONB Partnership to Defra, requesting that Defra draft the Parliamentary Establishment Order required under the Countryside & Rights of Way Act (2000) to create a new Conservation Board. 

3.    Delegates authority to the Director of Places and Enterprise and Head of Finance, Governance & Assurance to progress practical, legal, Board composition, financial and other formalities in consultation with the respective Portfolio Holders.

ii)            That a further report be received, subsequent to Defra’s informal consultation with stakeholders and all necessary due diligence work and formalities, with further reports as appropriate before the finalisation of the Legal Order confirming the creation of a Conservation Board.

The Portfolio Holder for Adults, Councillor L Chapman, left the meeting during consideration of this item.

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture presented a report by the Director of Place and Enterprise detailing the business case for the future structure of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty [AONB] organisation as an independent Conservation Board.           

RESOLVED:

i)      That, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of all necessary due diligence work, Cabinet: 

1.    Supports the proposal to create an independent Conservation Board as a new structure for the management of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

2.    Delegates authority to the Director of Places and Enterprise to make a joint formal application with Telford & Wrekin Council throughthe AONB Partnership to Defra, requesting that Defra draft the Parliamentary Establishment Order required under the Countryside & Rights of Way Act (2000) to create a new Conservation Board. 

3.    Delegates authority to the Director of Places and Enterprise and Head of Finance, Governance & Assurance to progress practical, legal, Board composition, financial and other formalities in consultation with the respective Portfolio Holders.

ii)     That a further report be received, subsequent to Defra’s informal consultation with stakeholders and all necessary due diligence work and formalities, with further reports as appropriate before the finalisation of the Legal Order confirming the creation of a Conservation Board.

To resolve that, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and Paragraph 10.4.3 of the Council’s Access to Information Rules, the public and press be excluded during consideration of the following items.

RESOLVED:

That, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and Paragraph 10.2 of the Council’s Access to Information Rules, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item/s.

Lead Member – Councillor David Minnery – Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People

Report of the Director of Place and Enterprise, TO FOLLOW

Contact: George Candler   Tel: 01743 255003

This exempt item was removed from the agenda.

This exempt item was removed from the agenda.

Lead Member – Councillor Lee Chapman – Portfolio Holder for Adults

Report of the Director of Adult Services

Contact: Andy Begley         Tel: 01743 258911

RESOLVED:

That the three exempt recommendations detailed in the report be approved.

The Portfolio Holder for Adults presented the exempt report by the Director of Adult Services relating to the business case options of the Four Rivers Nursing Home, Ludlow.

RESOLVED:

That the three exempt recommendations detailed in the report be approved.

To consider and approve as a correct record the exempt Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September 2016.

Contact: Jane Palmer          Tel: 01743 257712

RESOLVED:

That the Exempt Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September 2016 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

RESOLVED:

That the Exempt Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 September 2016 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.