AT A MEETING of the CABINET of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Monday 13 December 2004

PRESENT:

Councillors: T. K. Thornber, CBE (in the Chair); C.R.H. Davidovitz; Mrs S. M Glasspool; DL; J. K. Glen; Felicity Hindson, MBE; D.A. Kirk; J Waddington; M.J. Woodhall.

Also in attendance: Councillors: A P Collett; Jo Kelly; R J Kimber; Mrs C A Leversha; Mrs A.M. McNair Scott; J.W. Stocks; Mrs P.A. West; Jenny Wride.

400 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest, and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

401 MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 2004 were confirmed as a correct record.

402 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNCIATIONS

(a) Cabinet colleagues joined the Chairman in sending their best wishes for a speedy recovery from illness to Councillor D G Allen.

(b) The Chairman drew Members' attention to an urgent issue regarding Pinewood Infant School, Farnborough; the Cabinet's decision on this issue is set out under Minute 410.

403 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

404 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE AMENDING REPORT 2003/04

The Cabinet considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on an amending Revenue Support Grant report for 2003/04 issued by the Government, and its impact upon the County Council's budget for 2005/06. The Cabinet was gravely concerned at the Government's decision, despite representations, to make retrospective adjustments in revenue support grant to Hampshire's detriment, to reflect the errors made by the Office of National Statistics following the publication of the 2001 Census on population figures used in grant entitlements. The Cabinet asked that, in addition to making appropriate recommendations to Government and Hampshire Members of Parliament, as proposed in the recommendations, the matter should be drawn to the attention of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Government Association. A copy of the decision sheet, amended to reflect the views of the Cabinet, is set out as Appendix 1 to these minutes.

405 2005/06 PROVISIONAL BUDGET AND CAPITAL PROGRAMME GUIDELINES

(With the concurrence of the Chairman under Section 100B (4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, this matter was included on the agenda to enable provisional Budget and Capital Programme guidelines to be set at this meeting). The Cabinet considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) which recommended provisional service budget and capital programme guidelines to enable Policy Review Committees and Executive Members to consider their budget proposals in January 2005 for submission to Cabinet in February. The Cabinet concurred with the detailed recommendations set out in the report to the County Treasurer, and in addition asked that further budget consultations with the public and others be considered in January. A copy of the substantive decision sheet is set out as Appendix 2 to these minutes.

405 PROVISIONAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE SETTLEMENT 2005/06

The Cabinet received a detailed presentation from the County Treasurer on the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2005/06. Members learned with concern that Hampshire had received one of the lowest budget settlements of all County Councils with a 4.9% grant increase which was 1% less than the average increase of 5.9% for counties. This meant in effect that nearly 40% of the County Council's budget would have to be raised through the council tax. The Government had announced plans for £1 billion extra for local government but not all of this was new money as some had already been announced. The extra funding provided was to be used to keep the council tax levels down but not for spending on services and thus was a one-off allocation for the coming year only. Overall there was little relief from the continuing problem of keeping council tax increases to a minimum yet at the same time meeting tax payers' expectations as regards Council services, and Executive Members and Chief Officers would be closely examining individual service budgets over the coming weeks with a view to achieving this balance.

406 USE OF ADDITIONAL INCOME FROM REDUCING THE COUNCIL TAX DISCOUNTS ON SECOND HOMES - PROGRESS REPORT

Pursuant to Minute 374 of 27 September 2004, the Cabinet considered the report of the County Treasurer and the Chief Executive (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on progress to date with discussions with District Councils in Hampshire with the aim of agreeing a county-wide protocol for the use of the additional income from reducing the council tax discount on second homes, for affordable housing. The Cabinet adopted the recommendations set out in the report and a copy of the decision sheet is set out as Appendix 3 to these minutes.

407 PERFORMANCE PLAN

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on various matters relating to the delivery of the Performance Plan. The Cabinet wished to maintain a close monitoring role in the matter and requested wider reports in future years. A copy of the substantive decision sheet is set out as Appendix 4 to these minutes.

408 OUTCOME OF BEST VALUE REVIEW OF LIFELONG LEARNING

The Cabinet considered the report of the Review Team Leader (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on the outcome of the Best Value Review of Lifelong Learning, together with recommendations for detailed implementation. The recommendations in the report were adopted and a copy of the decision sheet is set out as Appendix 5 to these minutes.

409 IT TO SUPPORT NURSING CARE HOMES

(With the concurrence of the Chairman under Section 100B (4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, this matter was included on the agenda to ensure that the Cabinet gave timely consideration to the procurement of an IT system for nursing care).

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Social Services (Item 11 in the Minute Book) on the procurement of an appropriate IT system for its nursing care homes. The Cabinet concurred with the proposals set out in the report and a copy of the decision sheet is set out as Appendix 6 to these minutes.

410 COUNTY COUNCIL PROPOSAL TO CLOSE PINEWOOD INFANT SCHOOL, FARNBOROUGH AND PROVISION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION NEEDS

(With the concurrence of the Chairman under Section 100B (4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, this matter was included on the agenda to ensure a prompt response to the Schools Adjudicator's decision regarding the County Council's proposals for the closure of Pinewood Infant School, Farnborough).

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive, County Education Officer and County Treasurer (Item 11(x) in the Minute Book) on the implications of the Schools Adjudicator's decision to reject the County Council's proposals to close Pinewood Infant School, Farnborough and establish replacement provision for children with speech, language and communication needs at Southwood Infants School, Farnborough. The Cabinet resolved as a matter of urgency that Pinewood Infant School, Farnborough be rebuilt as a one form entry infant school with speech, language and communication needs provision and that discussions be entered into with Rushmoor Borough Council for the provision of community facilities on the school site. A copy of the substantive decision sheet is set out as Appendix 7 to these minutes.


411 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

Resolved:

That; by virtue of paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting.

412 HALF YEAR PERFORMANCE REPORT (2004/05)

The Cabinet considered the confidential report of the Chief Executive (Item 13 in the Minute Book) on the half year performance report (2004/05)) and adopted the detailed recommendations therein. A copy of the decision sheet is set out as Appendix 8 to these minutes.