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.

Councillor Stuart Whittingham declared a personal interest in Agenda Item No. 6 Wirral Plan: A 2020 Vision – Underpinning Strategies: Connecting Wirral by virtue of his employment.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on 6 June 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

Councillor Phil Davies informed that he was going to make a statement on the implications, following the outcome of the recent EU Referendum, for Wirral.  He stated that the outcome of last week’s Referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union was likely to have significant implications for Wirral and the wider Liverpool City Region.

Whilst Wirral and parts of Merseyside voted to remain in the EU, the country as a whole decided differently.  We were now in a period of great political uncertainty and economic volatility.

It was the Government’s responsibility to set out its practical plans to negotiate the best possible outcome for Britain.

Wirral and Liverpool City Region benefited from UK membership of the EU.  In particular, the City Region was due to benefit from a commitment of over £200m of EU Structural Funds over the next few years, whilst in addition; many organisations would have been bidding for other EU programmes such as those for connectivity and innovation.

These monies funded valuable job creating projects in the City Region.

It was unclear as to what now happened with regard to these funds and projects.

Together with the Mayor of Liverpool and the Leaders of the other Councils in the City Region and our MPs, Councillor Davies was seeking urgent clarification from the government with regard to the future of this funding.

However, for the avoidance of any doubt, Councillor Davies wanted to make it clear that in the event of any of the EU funding being withdrawn he would be seeking assurances that the UK Government and any successor would match pound for pound any funding streams that were now at risk as a result of the outcome of the Referendum.

As Council Leader, Councillor Davies’ priority would be to protect the interests of the people of Wirral.  As soon as he had more information he would organise a briefing with the other Group Leaders.  It was also his intention to produce a written report for consideration by all Members of the Council.

Key Decisions – no key decisions taken under delegated powers have occurred during the period 27 May, 2016 (date of publication of last Cabinet Agenda) to date.

The Cabinet noted that no key decisions taken under delegated powers had occurred during the period 27 May 2016 (the date of publication of the last Cabinet Agenda) to date.

Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report by the Strategic Director: Transformation and Resources regarding the establishment of a pilot Liverpool and Wirral Social Stock Exchange, for up to 12 months, to be launched on 29 June 2016.  He informed that this was an innovative initiative that would try to encourage people to invest and was based on a model that was working well in London.  Councillor Davies also informed that it would be launched at the International Festival of Business this week and that he would report back to the Cabinet on progress made with this initiative.

The Cabinet noted that a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) was made up of organisations and businesses that could demonstrate positive social or environmental impact through their core activities and that Companies which wanted to join had to pass its strict criteria and submit an annual report prepared by an independent social impact specialist.

The Strategic Director reported that an impact Business would commit to deliver social and environmental impact at its core; this could provide charitable donations, volunteer staff, or commitments to reduce waste, with the proviso that these activities were at the company’s core.

Wirral Council had been conducting a “Pathfinder” feasibility study in conjunction with Liverpool City Council and the Social Stock Exchange, to assess the benefits and potential of establishing a local Social Stock Exchange for Liverpool and Wirral.  The purpose of the report was to advise the Cabinet on the findings of the Pathfinder and to seek approval to support the launch of a pilot local Social Stock Exchange for the next 12 months.

The support would take the form of the provision of office accommodation in Liverpool Council’s Cunard Building, seconded staff resources and assistance with publicity and marketing of the Social Stock Exchange in Liverpool and Wirral, with all costs shared by the two sponsoring Councils within State Aid parameters, with the details of the support package and terms to be finalised by the Strategic Director – Transformation and Resources. 

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the Council supports the establishment of a pilot Liverpool and Wirral Social Stock Exchange, for up to 12 months, to be launched on 29 June 2016;

(2)  the support to take the form of the provision of office accommodation in Liverpool Council’s Cunard Building, seconded staff resources and assistance with publicity and marketing of the Social Stock Exchange in Liverpool and Wirral, with all costs shared by the two sponsoring Councils within State Aid parameters, with the details of the support package and terms to be finalised by the Strategic Director – Transformation and Resources; and

(3)  authority be delegated to the Chief Executive and Strategic Director – Transformation and Resources to review the potential for a longer term “invest to earn” opportunity to support the activities of the Social Stock Exchange in Wirral and the wider region, with “in-kind” pilot support treated as an advance on any equity investment or loan.

Councillor George Davies introduced a report by the Senior Manager – Asset Management that informed that The Wirral Plan: A 2020 Vision set out a shared partnership vision to improve outcomes for Wirral residents.  Delivery of the priorities and outcomes described in the Plan were underpinned through the development and implementation of a set of key strategies.

The report provided the Cabinet with the Wirral Asset strategy; a key strategic document which articulated ambitions related to the Wirral Plan Business Priority, enabled other pledges and was closely aligned to the Growth Plan:

“Wirral is a place where employers want to invest and businesses thrive”.

The Wirral Asset Strategy was appended to the report.

Councillor Phil Davies informed that it would be necessary to develop a commercial approach and that there was an opportunity to create more income and revenue streams.  The Council would work with its partners in the public sector and the third sector as it made little sense to work in silos.  This approach involved collaboration to obtain value for money from collective assets.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approves the Wirral Asset Strategy appended to the report.

Councillor Stuart Whittingham introduced a report by the Senior Manager – Highways and Transport, which informed that the Wirral Plan: A 2020 Vision set out a shared partnership vision to improve outcomes for Wirral residents. It was noted that the delivery of the priorities and outcomes described in the Plan were underpinned through the development and implementation of a set of key strategies and a delivery plan.

The report provided the Cabinet with the Connecting Wirral Strategy, a key strategic transport document which articulated how Wirral’s transport network and transport services were fundamental to supporting the delivery of every priority of the Wirral plan:

People

‘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’.

Business

‘Wirral is a place where employers want to invest and businesses thrive’.

Environment

‘Wirral has an attractive and sustainable environment, where good health and an excellent quality of life is enjoyed by everyone who lives here’.

Councillor Phil Davies made particular reference to page 70 of the Cabinet’s agenda and informed that when you considered all of the priorities identified in the Wirral Plan, transport was a key strand that ran through many of the pledges.  He also informed that it was important that the Council got it right as this Strategy would be at the centre of everything that it did so it must be embraced.

The Connecting Wirral Strategy was attached to the report.

RESOLVED:

That the Connecting Wirral Strategy appended to the report be approved.

Councillor Ann McLachlan introduced a report by the Strategic Director – Transformation and Resources, which set out the requirements for a new approach to enable the Council to become a more commercial organisation; it explained the Council’s strategic vision and the principles which would govern the Council’s commercial strategy.

The report also outlined key actions required to create the right environment to enable commercial success.

Councillor McLachlan reported on a visit Members had made to Warrington and informed that Warrington Borough Council had commercial successes which mitigated its funding gap.  This was very impressive and the Council wanted to set out some core principles before it embarked on a similar journey.

Councillor McLachlan made reference to the Wirral Plan and informed that its delivery required the Council to be streamlined.  There would be risks and a risk matrix would be further explored and developed.  There would be a governance model in place to ensure that stewardship and scrutiny were key drivers.  Very soon a report setting out a more detailed approach would be presented to the Cabinet.

Councillor Phil Davies informed that this was a very important report that set out a framework in which the Council would try to operate over the next few years.  It was essential that the Council found ways to replace Government funding with other income.  To do this the Council must be more innovative and creative in how it generated income streams.  He could not emphasise enough the cultural change the Council must make.  How the skills of the workforce were targeted to deliver this new agenda was critical to moving the organisation forward.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the requirement for a commercial approach to support the achievement of the Pledges committed to in the Wirral Plan be acknowledged;

(2)  the strategic aim, vision and principles of the overarching commercial strategy as outlined in the report be agreed; and

(3)  Officers be authorised to develop plans and report back to the Cabinet at a future date for their approval.

Councillor Ann McLachlan introduced a report by the Team Leader – Performance and Scrutiny, which set out the Council’s Quarter 4 (January to March 2016) performance against the delivery of the 2015/16 Corporate Plan. Appendix 1 to the report set out progress against a suite of agreed indicators. The indicators related to a range of pledges under the three Wirral Plan themes of People, Business and Environment. This performance report affected all wards within the borough. It was not a key decision.

Corporate Plan performance was monitored against the targets set at the start of the year. For each measure, a Red, Amber or Green (RAG) rating was assigned depending on the performance level against the target.  The report also showed the direction of travel illustrating for each indicator whether performance was improving, deteriorating or sustained.

The Cabinet noted that of the 21 indicators in the report, 13 were rated green, 3 were rated amber and 5 were rated Red.

For indicators rated amber and red, the responsible officer had indicated in the commentary the reasons for under performance and the action being taken.  Of the 19 indicators where it was possible to indicate a direction of travel (DoT), 11 were improving, 5 were deteriorating and 3 were showing performance being sustained.

Councillor McLachlan informed that Staff Appraisals and Sickness Absence Management were not moving at the pace that they should.  Consequently, they would be monitored by the Employment and Appointments Committee going forward.

RESOLVED:

That the content of the report be noted.

Councillor Bernie Mooney introduced a report by the Senior Manager (Waste and Environment), which informed that the Cabinet approved the Council’s Waste Management Strategy 2015 – 2020 in December 2015. The Strategy was one of 2 underpinning strategies established to deliver the Council’s pledge to create an ‘attractive local environment for Wirral residents.’

The Cabinet was advised of the requirement to transform waste management arrangements through the Waste Management Strategy in order to achieve targets for recycling. In particular, the transformation of the Council’s waste management arrangements was required to enable the Council to deliver the 2020 and legislative target for achieving 50% recycling of domestic waste.

The Cabinet noted that the Council’s current recycling performance was 37% and, therefore, significant changes would be required to existing arrangements in order to reach 50% by 2020.

Officers had projected that over 16,000 tonnes of current residual (green bin) waste must be recycled in the future to achieve the 50% 2020 target.  The Cabinet had instructed officers to carry out an options appraisal exercise to consider options for future waste management arrangements that would achieve the 2020 target and to present recommendations for future waste management following the conclusion of the exercise.

It was noted that the options appraisal exercise had involved a detailed assessment of a full range of options for the future.  The exercise had centred on a series of workshops to identify waste management system options and to test these against critical success and deliverability factors.

Through the workshop exercise officers had identified a shortlist of two options; these options formed the basis of the Outline Business Case:

It was intended to conduct a detailed technical assessment of the two remaining options in order to prepare the Full Business Case that determined the recommended option for the Council’s future waste management provision.

Appended to the report were:

Appendix 1  –    Waste Management Options Appraisal Longlist

Appendix 2  –    Waste Management Options Appraisal Shortlisting Scoring

Appendix 3  –   UCLAN Wastecosmart European Project and Decision Support Tool 

Councillor Mooney informed that food waste on Wirral was making up 40% of what was being put in green bins.  The way forward was to take it out, recycle it and turn it into methane gas to power the wagons that pick up the rubbish.  There may be some difficulties to iron out and it would be necessary to carry out a public consultation exercise first.  This would commence in mid July 2016 and would run for a six week period.

Councillor Stuart Whittingham informed that he found this concept exciting – bringing fuel back to the Wirral.  There were problems associated with diesel omissions and this approach could provide the answers.  There was still a lot of work to do but the resulting possibilities were endless.

Councillor Phil Davies considered this to be a very important report.  This was a major approach to fulfilling the Council’s responsibilities in respect of climate change etc.  This was an ethical business case to make this borough  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

Councillor Matthew Patrick introduced a report by the Senior Manager: Communications and Marketing, which proposed that the Council launch a publication, containing community and public service information, which would be distributed to every household and every business within the Borough on a monthly basis.  The Cabinet considered the report and the obligations arising under the Recommended Code of practice for Local Authority Publicity appended to the report at Appendix 1.  The report recognised that the frequency of the publication was not in accordance with the Code but the publication would be compliant in all other respects.  The report set out the rationale and reasons for why departure from the Code in respect of frequency of publication was considered reasonable and justified.

The Cabinet was informed this proposal was a direct response to the findings of the Wirral Residents’ Survey in 2015 (included in Reference Material of the Report); one of the key findings of which was that Wirral residents did not feel well informed about services and information in their area.  Councillor Patrick informed that six out of ten people had reported that they were not well informed about what the Council was doing and what it provided.

The publication would be funded through consolidating a proportion of the Council’s current advertising spend and accepting advertising which, combined, would allow the Council to significantly improve its ability to communicate with all residents whilst making cumulative savings on existing advertising costs.  Councillor Patrick informed that his initiative meant the Council would be spending in a more intelligent way.

Therefore, the Cabinet noted that no ‘new’ expenditure would be incurred through the development of this community newsletter: it would be funded entirely through consolidating and making better use of existing, required spend.

Councillor Phil Davies informed that the aim of the initiative was to provide relevant information on the Council’s Services and on community events and activities which would significantly help residents feel more informed about services and information in their area.  An additional opportunity also arose for additional income to be generated.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the approach for developing a monthly publication, distributed to every household and business in the borough as set out in the report be approved;

(2)  the projected financial savings associated with this project, outlined for the Cabinet in section four of the report be noted; and

(3)  Officers be authorised to take all necessary steps, including requisite procurement exercises, in order to progress the proposal for a monthly publication as outlined in the report with a view to delivering the first edition in late autumn 2016.