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 the |Cabinet held on 26 March 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

Key Decisions – taken under delegated powers. Period 16 March, 2018 (date of publication of last Cabinet agenda) to date.

·  Leader of the Council

Assisted Travel (Specialist Transport) Services Re-Commissioning from September, 2018 – Full Business Case and Award of Contract Routes

(Executive Member Decision Form attached).

Effective from 28 April, 2018

RESOLVED:

That the following Key Decision taken under delegated authority from the period 16 March 2018 to date be noted:

·  Leader of the Council

Assisted Travel (Specialist Transport) Services Re-Commissioning from September 2018 – Full Business Case and Award of Contract Routes

  Effective from 28 April 2018.

Councillor Phil Davies introduced his report which set out the strategic priorities for the Council in 2018/19. Progress against these priorities would be monitored and reported back on a regular basis throughout the year. The aim was to deliver outcomes against the 20 Pledges in the Wirral Plan.

Councillor Davies reported that following last month’s local elections, the people of Wirral once again had chosen a Labour administration to run the Council, but they had also told Members what mattered most to them and what they wanted them to deliver.  Members had listened and were taking action. This report reaffirmed the importance of delivering the 20 Pledges in the Wirral Plan, agreed unanimously by the Council in 2015.  It also focussed on the following five strategic priorities to which particular emphasis would be given during 2018/19:

·  Getting the Basics Right

·  Jobs and Growth

·  Children’s Services

·  Local Plan and Housing

·  Leisure and Culture Review

Against a continued back drop of austerity, the Cabinet knew it would be facing savings in excess of £45 million in 2019/20.  In addition, the following year would see the removal of the Revenue Support Grant in its entirety.  This would require the Council to make substantial changes to the way in which services were delivered and to continue to identify opportunities to generate additional income.  For the immediate twelve months, and to begin to prepare for the huge change to local government financing in 2020/21, a number of changes had been made to Cabinet Portfolios.  These had been announced at Annual Council Part 2 on Tuesday, 15 May 2018, and had included a new Cabinet role focused on tackling law and order issues, a major concern for many residents.

Councillor Phil Davies then invited Cabinet Members to comment on what was proposed in the report.  They did so in turn by making reference to the Government’s continuing austerity measures, the challenging financial circumstances the Council found itself in, the need to bring in funding and by endorsing the five priorities that had been developed following conversations with communities, market research and the financial imperatives the Council was working within. They focused on issues  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Councillor Bernie Mooney introduced a report by the 14-19 Adult Learning Strategy Manager that outlined a process for agreeing the Devolution Order required to enable full devolution of the Adult Education Budget (AEB) from the start of the 2019/20 academic year along with the timescale for doing so. Currently the AEB was administrated nationally by the Education Skills Funding Agency and primarily funded the Council’s Lifelong Learning Service and adult further education at Wirral Metropolitan College.

The Cabinet noted that at this stage, the Combined Authority did not have the legal powers to be able to administer the AEB. The Government did not include the required powers in the Order which created the role of the Metro Mayor and enabled the implementation of the majority of the Devolution Agreement.  The delay in providing these powers had meant that the original plan for devolution in time for the 2018/19 academic year had been delayed and it was now expected to commence with effect from 2019/20.

In order to enable the legal powers to be conferred on the Combined Authority, an Order needed to be laid and agreed in Parliament: this was in line with previous processes which included the creation of the Combined Authority and the enabling of the Devolution Agreement.  The final draft of the Order was then expected to be circulated in late May 2018, at which point the Government would require the constituent local authorities and the Combined Authority each to provide formal consent by mid-June 2018.

There was a tight legislative window to allow for the Order to be laid in Parliament and thereby enable the duties to be conferred onto the Combined Authority in time for the 2019/20 academic year.  The Combined Authority and the constituent local authorities would be required to provide consent to the final draft Order by mid-June 2018, with the text having been received in late May 2018.

This matter affected all Wards within the Borough and was a key decision.

No other options could be considered as the Council had signed up to be part of the Liverpool City Region devolution deal in November 2915.

Councillor Bernie Mooney reported that the principal purpose of the Adult Education Budget was to engage adults in learning which supported wider economic and social priorities.  This included the community learning provided by constituent local authorities and “second chance provision” within colleges and Wirral Metropolitan College had been instrumental in going out and supporting these people. The Combined Authority would also need to continue to secure provision of free study for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.