Members of the Cabinet were asked to consider whether they had any disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

Councillor Chris Jones declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in item 8 – Recovery Orientated Substance Misuse Treatment Services for Wirral Contract Award (see minute 52 post) and 9 – Healthy Child Programme (see minute 53 post), by virtue of her employment.

Councillor Adrian Jones declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in item 8 – Recovery Orientated Substance Misuse Treatment Services for Wirral Contract Award (see minute 52 post) and 9 – Healthy Child Programme (see minute 53 post), by virtue of his spouse having declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in those matters.

Councillor Bernie Mooney declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 5 – Notice of Motion – The Brown Bin Tax and the Digital Divide (see minute 49 post) by virtue of her employment.

The Chair introduced the report of the Director of Resources, which detailed the financial monitoring position for Months 3 and 4 (to 31 July 2014), with separate appendices presented, which set out the Revenue and Capital position. Members noted the forecast gross General Fund overspend of £3.6m and requested a detailed report to the next meeting upon action being taken to address the overspend.

Resolved –

REVENUE

(1)  That at Month 4 (July 2014), the full year forecast projecting a gross General Fund overspend of £3,680,000, be noted

(2)  That a detailed report be presented to the next meeting of the Cabinet upon action being taken to address the gross General Fund overspend.

(3)  That the risks relating to non delivery of savings as detailed in paragraph 3.3 to 3.6 (of Appendix A) and requirement for mitigation and actions to be identified, be noted.

(4)  That the variation to the Families and Wellbeing budget to reflect the receipt of Special Educational Needs and Disability Implementation grant income of £260,029 in 2014/2015 and the matching expenditure for use of the grant, be approved.

CAPITAL

(5)  That the spend to date at Month 4 of £7.6 million, with 33% of the financial year having elapsed, be noted.

(6)  That Cabinet agrees the revised Capital Programme of £60.4 million (Table 1 at 3.3 of Appendix B).

At its meeting held on 23 June 2014 (minute 5 refers), the Audit and Risk Management Committee gave consideration to the draft Annual Report 2013/2014, which had been prepared by the Chair in consultation with Internal Audit. The report was approved and referred to the Cabinet for consideration.

The Head of Legal and Member Services reported that at its meeting held on 23 June 2014 (minute 5 refers), the Audit and Risk Management Committee gave consideration to the draft Annual Report 2013/2014, which had been prepared by the Chair in consultation with Internal Audit. The report was approved and, to comply with best professional practice, was referred to the Cabinet for consideration.

The Chair thanked the Audit and Risk Management Committee for the excellent work it had undertaken during the year, as detailed in the Annual Report. The Cabinet Member for Governance, Commissioning and Improvement commented also that the Audit and Risk Management Committee continued to focus upon issues of vital importance for the Council and she referred to the positive Value for Money Statement from the Council’s external auditors, to be considered at the forthcoming meeting, which highlighted the significant progress made by the Council to ensure that proper arrangements were in place to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources.

Resolved – That the Audit and Risk Management Committee Annual Report 2013/2014, be noted and endorsed.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability presented the report of the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment, which advised that the core period of the current Waste and Environmental Services contract was due to end in March 2017. Under the scope of the original OJEU notice, it was possible to extend the contract to March 2027 and the report presented a formal offer from Biffa Waste Services for agreeing to an extension now, in return for immediate and future discounts on the core contract price. The Cabinet was requested to review the officers’ analysis of the Biffa proposal and determine whether it was in the Council’s best interest to accept the offer. It was vital that a contract extension should demonstrate value for money and the Strategic Director was requested to enter into robust negotiations with Biffa and to report back upon the outcome of those negotiations.

Appendices 1, 2 and 3 of the Director’s report contained sensitive commercial information related to the management accounts and future business of Biffa PLC. In order to protect the commercial competitiveness of Biffa’s position in the waste management market and to ensure the Council and Biffa were not disadvantaged in future procurement opportunities, this information was classified as Exempt Information from public scrutiny, as set out in the relevant paragraph/s of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (see minute 56 post).

Resolved –

(1)  That the outcome of the Value for Money review detailed in Section 4 of the report now submitted and the continued success of the Waste and Environmental Streetscene Service Contract in reducing costs and improving performance, be noted.

(2)  That the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment be authorised to enter into negotiations with Biffa to secure minimum revenue savings as outlined in the report in return for a long-term contract extension to 2027.

(3)  That the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment be instructed to report the final outcome of the contract extension negotiations to Cabinet for approval no later than October 2014.

At the meeting of the Council held on 14 July 2014 (minute 17 refers), the attached Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Stuart Kelly and seconded by Councillor Dave Mitchell was referred by the Mayor to the Cabinet for consideration, in accordance with Standing Order 7(4).

In accordance with Standing Order 7 (6), Councillor Kelly has been invited to attend the meeting in order for him to be given an opportunity to explain the Motion.

At the meeting of the Council held on 14 July 2014 (minute 17 refers), the following Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Stuart Kelly and seconded by Councillor Dave Mitchell was referred by the Mayor to the Cabinet for consideration, in accordance with Standing Order 7(4) –

“Council recalls that when the Labour administration brought in charges for garden waste collection, many residents objected, not only to the charge, but also to different charges being levied for those subscribing on-line and for those subscribing in other ways.

The garden waste service is the only chargeable service that operates such a differential.

Council notes that over 4,600 residents, without their own computers or access to one, were faced with having to pay out an extra £5. This continues to be regarded as deeply unfair to people who do not have Internet access.

Council therefore calls upon Cabinet to review the fairness of this different charging regime, in light of motions previously passed by Council on the issues of digital and financial exclusion, with a view to refunding the additional £5 paid by digitally excluded members of the community”

In accordance with Standing Order 7 (6), Councillor Kelly had been invited to attend the meeting in order for him to be given an opportunity to explain the Motion. He provided a background to it and highlighted that the highest numbers of non-online subscribers to the service and consequently being denied a discount were from Birkenhead and Tranmere. Conversely, the highest numbers of online subscribers were from more affluent areas of the Borough.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability indicated that such a charge would not have been necessary were it not for the scale of cuts imposed on Wirral by the Government. The discount had been offered to encourage greater take up on-line, so as to reduce the need for additional staff being on duty at one stop shops. Volunteers were available in libraries to assist customers with on-line registration and a digital inclusion programme was also provided by Age UK. However, in response to concerns highlighted in the Notice of Motion, it was proposed to include an advice leaflet in the Council Tax booklet to draw attention to services that were available to digitally excluded residents in all areas of Wirral.

Resolved – That the response of the Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability be endorsed and reported to Council.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability presented the report of the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment, which advised Cabinet of a Draft Enforcement Policy and sought approval for the policy to be applied to a number of regulatory services.

Resolved –

(1)  That the Draft Enforcement Policy be approved and applied to the following regulatory services within the Council –

·  Licensing

·  Trading Standards

·  Environmental Health

·  Planning

·  Building Control

·  Housing Standards

·  Waste and Environment including Highways Services

(2)  That the Enforcement Policy be subject to review at least every 3 years.

The Cabinet Member for Economy presented the report of the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment, which advised that The Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment for Merseyside and West Lancashire had been commissioned to find evidence of the need for specialist accommodation. The Assessment indicated that Wirral had a need for six permanent and four transit pitches for Gypsies and Travellers in the short term (2013/2014 – 2018/2019) with a further two permanent pitches over the subsequent period to 2032/2033. It did not identify a need for Travelling Showpeople yards in Wirral.

The report highlighted the findings of the study and addressed in detail the planning implications and the need to ensure the robustness of the Local Plan, which was required to identify sufficient land to provide for traveller accommodation based upon objectively assessed needs. He commented that a number of local authorities that had failed to do so had had their Local Plans found unsound, which had led to planning decisions being overturned at appeal. It was therefore essential that the Council should now take steps to identify land for traveller accommodation based on the findings of the Assessment.

Resolved –

(1)  That it be recommended to Council that the findings of the Merseyside and West Lancashire Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment are used to inform the content of the Council’s emerging Core Strategy Local Plan and subsequent site-specific Local Plan.

(2)  That it be recommended to Council that the Merseyside and West Lancashire Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment be approved as a material consideration for use by Planning Committee in the determination of planning applications.

(3)  That a further report be submitted to Cabinet when appropriate sites have been identified.

Councillors A Jones and Mrs C Jones, having declared their disclosable pecuniary interest in the following two items, left the room during their consideration

Further to minute 78 (10 October 2013), the Director of Public Health, Head of Policy and Performance, reported upon the outcome of the procurement process for a Recovery Orientated Substance Misuse Treatment Service for Wirral. Four tenders had been received and evaluated according to the Council’s procurement rules and she indicated that appendix 1 to her report (see minute 57 post) confirmed the detail of the tender evaluation process. As such, it was exempt from the open part of the report, due to it containing commercially sensitive information.

The responsibility for the commissioning of drug and alcohol misuse services was transferred from the NHS to the Council under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the Director outlined the key essential elements of the service. She commented also that the successful provider would be required to deliver a recovery focused service for drug and alcohol users, including all classifications of drugs, a range of levels of alcohol use, those with poly-substance misuse and those using new psychoactive substances (legal highs) as well as those dependent on prescription and over the counter medicines. The integrated service would be provided to substance misusers with a range of complexities such as poly-drug use, dual dependency, mental health problems, pregnancy and involvement with criminal activity.

Resolved –

(1)  That the outcomes of the procurement exercise be noted.

(2)  That, subject to consideration of the information contained within exempt appendix 1 to the Director’s report, the award of the contract for the Recovery Orientated Substance Misuse Service for 2015 – 2018, be approved, with the option to extend for a further two one-year extensions to the preferred bidder as identified in appendix 1, subject to statutory standstill procedures.

Further to minute 77 (10 October 2013), the Director of Public Health, Head of Policy and Performance reported upon the outcome of the procurement process for the Healthy Child Programme for 0-19 year-olds and advised that three tenders had been received and evaluated according to the Council’s procurement rules. Appendix 1 to the Director’s report (see minute 58 post) confirmed the detail of the tender evaluation process and as such, was exempt from the open part of the report, due to it containing commercially sensitive information.

The Director commented that whereas the responsibility for the commissioning of the Healthy Child Programme for 5-19 year-olds transferred from the NHS to the Council under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the responsibility for commissioning children’s public health services for 0-5 year-olds currently resided with the NHS England, Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral Area Team. However, the commissioning responsibility for this programme was planned to transfer to the Council in October 2015 and the joint procurement exercise provided the Council with the opportunity to deliver significant service integration and efficiencies. She highlighted the key essential elements of the service and reported that the provider would be required to deliver a universal, Healthy Child Programme where additional needs and risks were identified through the programme. The service would ensure evidence-based interventions were available to promote equality of outcomes and improve the life chances of vulnerable children and young people.

The Chief Executive, supported by the Cabinet, congratulated the Director of Public Health and her team for the excellent commissioning work that had been undertaken, which had delivered an improved, more integrated and cost effective model.

Resolved –

(1)  That the outcomes of the procurement exercise be noted.

(2)  That, subject to the consideration of the information contained within exempt appendix 1 to the Director’s report, the award of the contract for the Healthy Child Programme for 0-19 year-olds for 2015 – 2018, be approved, with the option to extend for a further two one year extensions to the preferred bidder, as identified in appendix 1, subject to statutory standstill procedures.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services presented the report of the Director of Children’s Services, which sought approval to endorse the detailed Wirral Early Years and Children’s Centre Review, which had been undertaken between April – July 2014 and detailed in August 2014. The report set out the background to the Review and highlighted its key issues and findings. The Chair thanked the Head of Targeted Services and her team for the significant work they had undertaken during the Review process. He endorsed the recommendations in the Review being progressed through to public consultation and expressed his pride that no Children’s Centre buildings would be closed and that the offer would be targeted to those with greatest need.

Resolved –

(1)  That the Wirral Early Years and Children’s Centre Review undertaken between April – July 2014 and detailed in August 2014, be endorsed.

(2)  That Cabinet notes that a key consideration of the review has been to ensure that efficiencies of £2m (agreed in December 2013), can be achieved for the 2014 – 2015 period. The review has noted and acknowledged that there will be continued financial pressures on public sector services.

(3)  That the recommendations detailed in the Review be progressed through to a public consultation.

(4)  That a six week consultation period be undertaken to progress the recommendations detailed in the Review, which will advise a future delivery approach for the Early Years and Children’s Centre Service, namely that –

(i)  The Children’s Centre offer becomes an integral part of the Early Help offer through effective identification and support of children and families who need targeted early help. An overarching aim is to safely reduce the number of children referred to social care or accessing specialist/statutory services. Noting, as key to this, that in 2013 the former Children’s Centre Family Support Resource shifted to become an integrated part of the Borough’s wider Family Support offer, aligned and co-ordinated based on need and demand to the Gateway and as part of targeted services.

(ii)  Work to establish strategic and operational policies and procedures to ensure that a joint service offer across the Borough’s early childhood services develop – reducing duplication, and cost and improving outcomes. This will see formal commissioning partnership arrangements drawn up between the Council and health visiting and the Council and Jobcentre Plus (as statutory partners). These will include agreements for effective and robust information sharing. This will see wherever possible a health visiting and Jobcentre Plus service delivered through Children’s Centres and built around integrating delivery plans aligned through the outcomes framework (see page 7 of the Review).

(iii)  Staffing Structures are developed for four Constituency Areas, designed around need and population. A Central Business Support Team will also be developed to secure the wider Early Years and Childcare remit and offer essential support to the operation of Children’s Centre activity.

(iv)  The review has considered savings through a reduced estate and associated cost, to allow the Council to protect, as far  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

Resolved – That, in accordance with section 100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined by the relevant paragraphs of Part I of Schedule 12A (as amended) to that Act. The Public Interest test has been applied and favours exclusion.

Appendices 1, 2 and 3 to agenda item 4

Exempt by virtue of paragraph 3 as they contain commercially sensitive information

Resolved – That the exempt appendices to agenda item 4 – Streetscene Environment Services Contract Extension (see minute 48 ante), be noted.

Councillors A Jones and Mrs C Jones, having declared their disclosable pecuniary interest in the following two items, left the room during their consideration

Appendix 1 to agenda item 8.

Exempt by virtue of paragraph 3 as it contains commercially sensitive information

The Cabinet considered the contents of the exempt appendix to agenda item 8 – Recovery Orientated Substance Misuse Treatment Service for Wirral Contract Award (see minute 52 ante), which set out the detail of the tender evaluation process to secure a Lead Provider.

Resolved – That Cabinet agrees to enter into a three year contract with the option to extend for a further two one year periods with CRI (Crime Reduction Initiatives) to provide a Recovery Orientated Substance Misuse Treatment Service in Wirral in compliance with the Contract Procedure Rules for a sum of £23,035,259.

Appendix 1 to agenda item 9.

Exempt by virtue of paragraph 3 as it contains commercially sensitive information.

The Cabinet considered the contents of the exempt appendix to agenda item 9 – Healthy Child Programme (see minute 53 ante), which set out the detail of the tender evaluation process to secure a Lead Provider.

Resolved – That Cabinet agrees to enter into a three year contract with the option to extend for a further two one year periods with Wirral Community NHS Trust to provide the Healthy Child Programme for 0 – 19 year olds in compliance with the Contract Procedure Rules for a sum of £5,824,295.