Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - Wallasey Town Hall. View directions

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes

The minutes of the last meeting have been printed and published.  Any matters called in will be reported at the meeting.

 

RECOMMENDATION:  That the minutes be approved and adopted.

Minutes:

The Director of Law, H.R. and Asset Management reported that none of the decisions from the previous meeting, held on 23 April, had been called in.

 

Minute 441 (Progress Towards the Transformation of Adult Social Services – Fees for Residential and Nursing Homes) called in from the meeting held on 9 April 2009 had been considered by the Social Care, Health and Inclusion Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and the Committee had resolved (minute 91 refers) –

 

(1) Committee is aware that money paid in fees to residential and nursing homes in Wirral, which is around £46m annually, represents a very large part of the Adult Social Services and Council budget, and that contracts between Council and homeowners must be constructed, as with all contracts, in a way that makes best possible use of constrained resources and Council Tax payers money.

 

(2) Committee is also conscious that some homeowners are experiencing difficulties because of pressures on their businesses, and that they have made strong representation to Cabinet to recognise those difficulties in fee levels.

 

(3) Committee believes that option 5, which was approved by Cabinet, represents a fair compromise, which balances the priorities of both parties, including that of providing services which meet the care needs of older people in Wirral at present, and in the longer term.

 

(4) Committee believes that this is the responsible way forward and that it is in the best interests of all parties to adopt the recommendations in option 5, thereby avoiding unnecessary distress to service users and relatives.

 

(5) Committee therefore endorses the Cabinet decision.”

 

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 April 2009 be approved and adopted.

2.

Declarations of Interest

The members of the Cabinet are invited to consider whether they have a personal or prejudicial interest in connection with any of the items on this agenda and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of such interest.

Minutes:

The members of the Cabinet were invited to consider whether they had a personal or prejudicial interest in connection with any of the items on this agenda and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of such interest. No declarations were made.

 

3.

Cabinets and Committees - Duties and Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 45 KB

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Minutes:

The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management reported the current terms of reference (portfolios) of Cabinet members and those of overview and scrutiny committees and other committees. He reported that there were some minor typographical amendments to be made to the terms of reference in appendix 1 to the report and a corrected version would be submitted to Council. The Cabinet was requested to consider to what extent any further amendments were needed and to make an appropriate recommendation to the Annual Meeting of the Council. Any changes to the terms of reference would require an amendment to the Constitution.

 

RECOMMENDED – That, subject to the minor amendments reported, the Council approve for the municipal year 2009/10 the terms of reference and responsibilities of Cabinet members, overview and scrutiny committees and other committees, as set out in Appendix 1 to the Director's report.

4.

Appointment and Constitution of Cabinet and Committees pdf icon PDF 73 KB

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Minutes:

The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management requested the Cabinet, in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions and terms of the Constitution, specifically Standing Order 24, to make recommendations to the Council in respect of the appointment of the Leader of the Council and the membership of the Cabinet and the various committees for the municipal year 2009/10. The Cabinet was advised of the appropriate numbers of committee places for each political group, in line with the rules relating to proportionality.

 

On a motion by Councillor Foulkes, seconded by Councillor Holbrook, it was –

 

RECOMMENDED -


(1) Cabinet is mindful of its responsibility to choose an administration capable of providing the strong and stable governance needed to protect the interests of the people of Wirral and deliver the long term growth and investment needed to create an equal, healthy and prosperous borough.


(2) Cabinet believes that the Labour / Liberal Democrat administration has for the last two years provided this strong and stable governance as evidenced by the following:

 

(i) the improvement in Wirral Council’s finances through sound financial management and the delivery of a sustainable budget, enabling Wirral Council better to:

protect and support the people of Wirral from hardship during the economic recession;

withstand any further Government spending limitations arising from the continuation of the economic recession;

and at the same time meet its increased and growing obligations to protect the most vulnerable;

(ii) the Council’s new Corporate Plan and Vision for Wirral, which aims to ‘create a prosperous and more equal Wirral, providing opportunities and an excellent quality of life for all’, and which includes in its priorities the creation of an excellent Council;

(iii) Wirral’s ambitious Investment Strategy which aims to increase economic activity in the borough;

(iv) the strong improvement in the Council’s environmental performance through the significant increase in its recycling rate and its measures to reduce its carbon footprint to tackle climate change;

(v) the acknowledgement of the above by the Audit Commission with an award of 3-stars and ‘improving well‘, taking Wirral from its previous ‘weak’ 2-star rating during the period of the 3-party administration;

(vi) the investment in support for businesses during the economic downturn and the investment in the economic future of the borough through the creation of the Wirral Wide Apprenticeship Programme;

(vii) the above-average success rates in Wirral schools and the proposed creation of three new Academies on Wirral, a brand new secondary school in Woodchurch and two brand new primary schools.


(3) Therefore Cabinet proposes that, in recognition of the above, and in view of the fact that there have been no changes in the political balance of the Council, the arrangements set out below are recommended to Council and that those Council powers delegated to quasi-judicial and other committees are divided between the parties on a proportional basis.


(4) Council agrees that:

 

(i) the leader of the larger group in the joint administration, Councillor Steve Foulkes, be appointed as Leader of the Council;

 

(ii) the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Appointment of Panels, Statutory/Advisory Committees and Working Parties; and Miscellaneous Appointments pdf icon PDF 68 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management requested the Cabinet to review the continuing need for various panels, advisory committees and working parties, and to appoint members and named deputies to serve on those (including the statutory committees and panels) that were to be retained in 2009/10. He reported that there were some changes to the information provided in the agenda as follows:

 

-  The Children and Young People Strategic Partnership Board was in the process of becoming the Children’s Trust (which would be the subject of a report to a future Cabinet). However, it was intended that representation by elected members remain the same, i.e. 1:1:1

-  The Adult Services Reference Group was no longer required.

-  The Highway and Engineering Services Procurement Exercise (HESPE) Working Party was no longer required.

 

RECOMMENDED –

 

(1) That, subject to the change reported above, Council approve the names of members (including Chairs) and named deputies to serve on the statutory committees, panels and other bodies identified in paragraph 2 of the report, and these be submitted to the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management, in order that they might be included in an appendix to the minutes of this meeting.

 

(2) That, subject to the changes reported above, Council approve the names of members appointed to advisory committees, working parties and consultative groups identified in paragraph 3 of the report, and these be submitted to the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management, in order that they might be included in an appendix to the minutes of this meeting.

 

(3) That, where appropriate, the minutes of the statutory committees and panels, advisory committees and other bodies be submitted to the relevant overview and scrutiny committees for information, with any matters requiring an executive decision being referred to the Cabinet as necessary.

 

(4) That the current constitution and membership of the Parental Appeals Panel be noted.

6.

Appointments to Outside Organisations pdf icon PDF 42 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management requested the Cabinet to nominate representatives of the Council to serve on, or continue as members of, various outside organisations in 2009/10.

 

RECOMMENDED - That Council approve the list of elected members, officers and other persons (as appropriate), to serve as members of outside organisations in 2009/10, to be submitted to the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management, in order that they might be included in an appendix to the minutes of this meeting.

Cttee Membership AppMin4 pdf icon PDF 105 KB

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