Members of the Cabinet are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary and/or any other relevant interest, in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

No declarations of interest were received.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 25 January 2016 be confirmed as a correct record. 

Key Decisions – taken under delegated powers from 15 January 2016 (date of publication of last Cabinet agenda) to date.

·  Leader of Council – Strategic & Policy Oversight

Request for Financial Assistance – Business Growth Grant Funding -recommendations approved. Effective date: 30 January, 2016.

Collection Fund 2015/16 - recommendations approved. Effective date: 20 January, 2016.

The Cabinet’s attention was drawn to the Key Decisions made under delegated authority since the last Cabinet agenda as follows:

·  Leader of the Council – Strategic and Policy Oversight

Request for Financial Assistance – Business Growth Grant Funding – recommendations approved.  Effective date: 30 January, 2016.

Collection Fund 2015/16 – recommendations approved.  Effective date: 20 January, 2016.

RESOLVED:

That the Key Decisions listed above be noted. 

Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report which set out the projected revenue position for 2015/16 as at the close of quarter 3 (31 December 2015).  The projected outturn showed an improvement of £0.65 million on the quarter 2 provision. 

The latest position forecasted an £80,000 year end overspend (previous period £0.73 million).  There had been further improvement in the quarter within both Regeneration and Environment and Transformation and Resources predicted underspends.  The most significant positive variance in the quarter related to Regeneration and Environment with an improvement of £1.08 million due to a combination of early achievement 2016/17 savings and the release of budget set aside to match future grant delivery programmes not required this financial year.

Appended to the report were:

·  Annex 1 – General Fund Revenue Budget 2015/16

·  Annex 2 – Income and Debt 

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the improvement of £0.65 million in the 2015/16 Revenue Budget position during quarter 3 be noted; and

(2)  Officers continue to identify actions and take measures to reduce the projected overspend of £80,000, to mitigate against any in-year funding reductions for Public Health and to replenish General Fund balances.

Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report that provided the Cabinet with an update on the progress being made in delivering the Capital Programme 2015/16 at the end of December 2015.  The report recommended that the Cabinet agreed the rephrasing of the 2015/16 Capital Programme down to £47.1 million and reported expenditure of £26.2 million. 

Appended to the report were:

·  Appendix 1 – Capital Programme and Funding 2015/16

·  Appendix 2 – Capital Programme 2016/17 and 2017/18

·  Appendix 3 – Capital Receipts 2015/16

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the spend to date at Month 9 of £26.2 million, with  75% of the financial year having elapsed be noted; and

(2)  the revised Capital Programme of £46.9 million which includes the return of the £0.4 million Liverpool City Region Sustainable Transport Enhancement Package grant to Merseytravel be agreed and referred to the Council. 

Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report which informed that the Wirral Plan set out a shared vision across all partners to agree outcomes and quality of life for Wirral residents.  Delivering the 20 Pledges were underpinned through the development and implementation of a set of key strategies and a Delivery Plan.

Appended to the report was the Annual Report for 2015-16, a key strategic document which outlined achievements during the last year and gave high level direction in respect of the next steps. 

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the Annual Report for 2015-16 be noted.

Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report that informed the Cabinet that the Council was required to make significant budget savings over the coming five years.  On 18 December 2015 the Council had commenced consultation with staff, residents and other stakeholders on a series of savings proposals. Councillor Davies was grateful to all the local people who had taken the time to complete the consultation questionnaire.  He thanked them for their help as well as stakeholders and the three Policy and Performance Committees and the staff who had been involved.

The report also provided the Cabinet with the feedback from the consultation process for noting and for consultation when proposing the Council budget for 2016/17.  It included Elected Member feedback from a series of budget feedback workshops. 

Appended to the report were:

Appendix 1 – Detailed Consultation Findings

Appendix 2 – Transformation and Resources Policy and Performance Review

Appendix 3 – Regeneration and Environment Policy and Performance Review

Appendix 4 – Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Review

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the consultation process and implementation described within the report be noted and Wirral residents, staff and other stakeholders be thanked for their input; and

(2)  the consultation findings within the report and associated appendix in relation to each budget proposal, and the feedback from Policy and Performance Committee Members be noted.

A  Revenue Budget and Council Tax Levels 2016/17

    (Pages 131 – 178)

B  Capital Programme and Financing

    (Pages 179 – 198)

C  Medium Term Financial Strategy

    (Pages 199 – 271)

D  Schools Budget

    (Pages 272 – 288)

E  Carbon Budget

    (To be presented at the Council Meeting in July 2016)  

Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report that provided an update on the Council’s Budget for 2016/17 which had been previously reported to the Cabinet at its meeting on 17 December 2015.  The report set out the background and key elements contributing to the preparation of the Budget for 2016/17.

It was noted that the Cabinet had to recommend a Budget proposal to the Council on 3 March 2016.  This included a recommendation on the Wirral Council element of the Council Tax to be applicable from 1 April 2016.  This was required in order to formally set the Revenue Budget and Council Tax for the 2016/17 Financial Year. 

The Council had to agree a Budget and set the levels of Council Tax for 2016/17 by 10 March 2016.

Councillor Phil Davies informed that he had agreed that two Trade Union Officials Messrs Alan Small (Unite) and Paddy Cleary (Unison) could address the meeting for up to five minutes.  He then invited them to do so.

Mr Small addressed the Cabinet on behalf of Unite members.  He raised concerns over the proposal to close Girtrell Court, the Council’s only respite care centre for people with complex physical and mental disabilities in order to save £155,000 a year.  He informed that this amount was equivalent to the annual salary of some Officers in attendance at the meeting.  If the proposal was agreed it would result in the compulsory redundancies of 40 people.

Mr Small referred to the Wirral Plan and particularly to the following priority:

  “Wirral is a place where the vulnerable are safe and protected, every child gets a good start in life and older residents are respected and valued.”

Mr Small asked how the proposal to close Girtrell Court fitted in with this priority.  He informed that a wide age range of people used the facility and that their parents and carers were very worried about the future of their loved ones.  Mr Small considered that the majority of those on the lists of independent sector alternatives were not satisfactory.  Most of them were for elderly care, people over sixty-five years of age.  There was a wide range of people who used Girtrell Court and the future was pretty scary for them and their families. Mr Small asked the Cabinet to reconsider the proposal.

Mr Small then drew attention to the budgetary proposal to transfer Beechwood Recreation Centre into the independent sector.  He informed that he was of the view that it should remain within Leisure Services and that the Council should invest in it.  Mr Small also believed that the Council should continue to invest in all of its Leisure and Recreation Centres and that they should all stay in-house.

Mr Cleary then addressed the Cabinet on behalf of Unison members and made reference to the Girtrell Court budget proposal and informed that he could not understand why a Labour led Administration was considering this option to save £155,000 a year. The Council had pledged to help the most vulnerable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report which sought approval of the Council’s National Non Domestic Rates Discretionary Relief Scheme to be effective from 1 April 2016.  The current scheme also contained Living Wage Relief, Retail Rate Relief and, Business Rate Re-occupation Relief all of which came to an end as at 31 March 2016.

Appended to the report were:

·  Appendix 1 – Discretionary Rate Relief Policy 2016/17

·  Appendix 2 – Organisations in receipt of Discretionary Rate Relief

RESOLVED:

That the Discretionary Rate Relief Policy be approved as the Council Policy for 2016/17 onwards.

Councillor T Smith introduced a report that invited the Cabinet to determine the Authority’s admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled primary and secondary schools and the co-ordinated schemes for 2017-18.  This was a statutory requirement.

The report also provided an update on the outcome of the governing bodies’ decisions on the federation of Somerville Primary School and Brentwood Early Years Centre.

Appended to the report were:

·  Appendix 1 – Scheme for the coordination of admission arrangements for primary schools 2017-2018

·  Appendix 2 – Scheme for the coordination of admission arrangements for secondary schools 2017-2018

·  Appendix 3 –  Somerville Consultation leaflet

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the proposed admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools and the Wirral co-ordinated schemes for 2017-18 be agreed; and

(2)  the decision by the governing bodies of Somerville Primary School and Brentwood Early Years Centre to enter into a hard federation from 31 January 2016 be noted.

At the meeting of the Council held on 14 December 2015 (minute 92 refers), the attached Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Phil Gilchrist and seconded by Councillor Dave Mitchell was referred by the Mayor to the Cabinet for consideration.

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

The Cabinet considered the following Notice of Motion referred to it by the Council at its meeting on 14 December 2015 (Minute No. 92 refers).  It had been proposed by Councillor Phil Gilchrist and secondedby Councillor Dave Mitchell

  ‘That Council:

a.  notes the Capital receipts position reported to Cabinet on 5th November 2015. 

b.  observes that the incoming receipts have been projected as £15m in 2016/17 and £10.5m in 2017/18 and is especially anxious to hear of the progress on obtaining the receipt from the

  sale of land at Acre Lane.

Council believes that the Cabinet should recognise that:

(i)  the receipt from Acre Lane will be one of the most substantial receipts received since the Borough was created.

(ii)  Constituency Committees, to date, have operated on modest devolved budgets and their ability to invest in capital schemes has been hampered by limited resources.

Council therefore suggests that:

1.  Cabinet should place a sum of £4 million from the sale of Acre Lane into a fund to be accessed by the Constituency Committees and that this should be regarded as a dowry to give them resources to make a greater impact with their work.

2.  Cabinet should consider allocating £1m from this asset sale into each Constituency Committee; in line with the 2020 vision and in the spirit of devolution to Constituency Committees, they should be enabled to determine the use of these funds.’

Councillor Phil Gilchrist was in attendance at the meeting and addressed the Cabinet on his Motion.  He was also mindful that there had been some changes to the way in which the Council budgeted since he had drafted his Motion.  He was aware that negotiations with the developer were ongoing and that how much the capital receipt would realise was not yet known.  However, he was of the view that each of the four Constituency Committees should benefit financially from the sale of Acre Lane.  Councillor Gilchrist proposed that each Constituency Committee should receive £1m to be used as seed corn grants to assist local community projects etc.

Councillor Phil Davies informed that the Cabinet was sympathetic to providing the Constituency Committees with more funding and that their operations were currently under review.  He proposed that the Motion be noted and any decision on it be deferred until the review was completed and the future of Neighbourhood Planning and the roles of the Constituency Committees were agreed. 

Councillor G Davies informed that each Constituency Committee had its own ambitions for the future.  Members had looked at the Sunderland City Council model where a significant amount of funding was devolved to each of its six Committees.  An overall review was now taking place and a three year plan would be drawn up on how the Council’s four Constituency Committees would be expected to move forward and the amount of resources they would require to do so. Currently, there were very little resources allocated to the Committees and only two officers were working in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.