Agenda and minutes

The Leader made the following statement:-

Ahead of the expected White Paper on Levelling-Up and Devolution in the Autumn, the Government last week invited County and Unitary Councils to express interest in being a pilot area for new devolution deals, under which certain powers, responsibilities and funding would be passed from Central Government to local areas in the form of groups of councils working together. 

The deadline was very short and a letter from the City Council had to be submitted to the Minister of State, Luke Hall MP by last Friday 13 August, which will be published with the minutes of this meeting.  Expressions of interest were also submitted by Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council and we look forward to working with our neighbours in discussions with Government over the coming weeks and months.

Cabinet approved the following amendment to the Executive Appointments for 2021-22:-

·  Joint Pension Fund Panel and Board - Councillor Harwood

Cabinet approved the following addition to the list of Outside Bodies:-

·  Local Partnership Board Pursuant to Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 – Councillor Vassiliou

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Capital Assets setting out any key financial decisions of a capital or revenue nature.

(CAB 21/22 32285)

On consideration of the report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Capital Assets, Cabinet agreed the following:-

General Revenue Fund

It is recommended that Cabinet:

(i)  Notes the forecast outturn position for business as usual activities is a £2.69M deficit, as outlined in paragraph 4 and in paragraph 1 of appendix 1.

(ii)  Notes the financial position arising from COVID-19 is a surplus of £0.04M, as outlined in paragraph 5 and in paragraph 1 of appendix 1.

(iii)  Notes the performance of treasury management, and financial outlook in paragraphs 7 to 11 of appendix 1.

(iv)  Notes the forecast year end position for reserves and balances as detailed in paragraphs 12 and 13 of appendix 1.

(v)  Notes the Key Financial Risk Register as detailed in paragraph 14 of appendix 1.

(vi)  Notes the performance against the financial health indicators detailed in paragraphs 18 and 19 of appendix 1.

(vii)  Notes the forecast outturn position outlined in the Collection Fund Statement detailed in paragraphs 22 to 26 of appendix 1.

Housing Revenue Account

It is recommended that Cabinet:

(viii)  Notes the forecast outturn position on business as usual activities is a surplus of £1.11M as outlined in paragraph 6 and paragraph 20 of appendix 1.

(ix)  Notes that a favourable variance of £0.57M is forecast arising from COVID-19, as outlined in paragraph 6 and paragraph 20 of Appendix 1.

Capital Programme

It is recommended that Cabinet:

(x)  Notes the revised General Fund Capital Programme, which totals £437.08M as detailed in paragraph 1 of appendix 2.

(xi)  Notes the HRA Capital Programme is £340.81M as detailed in paragraph 1 of appendix 2.

(xii)  Notes that the overall forecast position for 2021/22 at quarter 1 is £209.09M, resulting in a potential surplus of £7.90M, as detailed in paragraphs 4 and 5 of appendix 2.

(xiii)  Notes that the capital programme remains fully funded up to 2025/26 based on the latest forecast of available resources although the forecast can be subject to change; most notably regarding the value and timing of anticipated capital receipts and the use of prudent assumptions of future government grants to be received.

(xiv)  Notes that £25.69M has been added to the programme with relevant approvals. These changes are detailed in annex 2.1 to appendix 2.

(xv)  Notes forecast slippage and rephasing as detailed in paragraph 4 and 5 of appendix 2. Noting that the movement has zero net movement over the 5-year programme.

(xvi)  Notes that no variances are forecast arising from COVID-19 as detailed in paragraph 8 of appendix 2.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Heritage seeking the establishment of a Local Partnership Board consisting of key partners with an interest in tackling domestic abuse and supporting victims, including their children, pursuant to s.58 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

(CAB 21/22 32156)

On consideration of the report of the Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Heritage, Cabinet agreed the following:-

(i)  To appoint the Board to provide advice to the Council about the

    exercise of its functions under Part 4 of the 2021 Act and the       provision of other local authority domestic abuse support in its area.

(ii)  To adopt the proposed Terms of Reference of the Board (‘the Terms of Reference’), attached at Appendix 1 of this report.

(iii)  To delegate authority to the Executive Director Communities, Culture and Homes, having sought the advice of the Board, to:

  (a) prepare and consult upon a draft strategy (‘the Part 4    strategy’) as required by s 57 of the 2021 Act;

  (b) carry out any functions required to give effect to the Part 4

    strategy;

  (c) carry out any functions required to support the provision of    other local support in the Council’s area;

  (d) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Part 4 strategy;

  (e) report on progress and how funding has been used in    relation to the exercise of the Council’s functions under Part     4 of the 2021 Act to the Ministry for Housing, Communities    and Local Government;

  (f) appoint a chair and vice chair to the Board (the Executive    Director Communities, Culture and Homes may appoint    themselves as chair);

  (g) add or remove representatives to the Board, ensuring the

    minimum representation requirement (as set out by s 58(2) of    the 2021 Act) is met and considering the inclusion of a wider

    representation to support the Council’s local approach to    tackling domestic abuse;

  (h) make any minor adjustments to the Terms of Reference as    and when necessary; and,

  (i) do anything considered necessary in order to fulfil the    Council’s legal obligations pursuant to the 2021 Act.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Customer Service and Transformation outlining a proposed approach to consolidate existing cleaning contracts across the Council.

(CAB 21/22 32162)

On consideration of the report of the Cabinet Member for Customer Service and Transformation, Cabinet agreed the following:-

(i)  To agree the approach of centralising the cleaning contracts and

    budgets and for a single managed cleaning contract for all in scope

    council buildings.