Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the CABINET of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Monday 30 March 2009

Chairman:

p Councillor T.K. Thornber, CBE

Councillors:

Also present with the agreement of the Chairman:

Councillors M.F. Cartwright; K.G. Chapman; A.P. Collett, B.D. Dash;

P.R. Edgar, K. Evans; Mrs A.M. McNair-Scott and Mrs P.A. West

512. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Kendal who was absent on County Council business, at an Assembly of European Regions (AER) conference.

513. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a personal or prejudicial interest in any matter considered at the meeting declared that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, considered whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the code.

514. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 2009 were confirmed as a correct record.

515. CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Chairman welcomed Linda Krywald and Kate Handy from the Audit Commission to the meeting.

516. ANNUAL AUDIT AND INSPECTION LETTER 2008

The Cabinet received a short presentation from Linda Krywald and Kate Handy which outlined the Audit Commission's key messages for the County Council from the 2007/08 Annual Audit and Inspection Letter (Item 5 (a) in the Minute book). The main points made were as follows:-


· The County Council is performing strongly in the way that it uses its resources;

· The County Council had received an unqualified opinion on the accounts for 2007/08;

· The County Council had been judged as a `four star' authority, and is categorised as `improving strongly';

· In the opinion of the Audit Commission, capacity for further improvement is considered good.

· Although there were no formal recommendations from the Audit Commission, there were four areas were the Commission felt that the County Council might be able to make further progress on.


The Cabinet thanked Ms Krywald and Ms Handy for their attendance and noted the observations made in their brief presentation. The full contents of the Annual Audit and Inspection Letter, including the Audit Commission's comments in terms of action needed by the Council, were then considered in the more detailed response report (item 5 (b) in the Minute Book).

517. ANNUAL AUDIT AND INSPECTION LETTER 2008 -
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL RESPONSE

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive and County Treasurer (Item 5(b) in the Minute book) which outlined the County Council's response to the Annual Audit and Inspection Letter for 2008.


The Chief Executive and the Head of Improvement welcomed the Audit Commission's assessment and heralded the work of the many members of staff whose efforts had secured Hampshire County Council a four star rating. They considered the "Driving Success" process approved by the Cabinet on 24 November 2008 to be an excellent framework upon which to build on the achievements outlined in the Annual Audit and Inspection Letter.

Cabinet members echoed the sentiments expressed by the Chief Executive and the Head of Improvement and welcomed the many successes which were spelt out in the Inspection Letter and the response report. The Cabinet were particularly pleased to note the Audit Commission assessments in respect of Adult Social care, the overall assessment of services provided for children and young people, the improvements being made in the Library service and the fact that local people's satisfaction with most services and the area is above average.


Cabinet members acknowledged that there were some areas where further efforts to improve performance would need to be undertaken, for example in reducing the number of teenage conceptions and the proportion of looked after children not in education, employment and training. The need to address such issues with partner organisations, or to have regard to the wider economic situation was acknowledged as being a potential constraint. The Cabinet were, however, pleased to note that in the few instances where the Audit Commission had identified specific issues that might need attention, action was already being taken (as outlined in appendix i). Cabinet members noted that in an effort to further strengthen and emphasise the independence of the County Council's audit function, proposals to establish a separate Audit Committee were in hand and that a report would be prepared for full County Council approval.

The Cabinet adopted the recommendations set out in the report. The decision record is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 1.

518. 2008/09 BUDGET MONITORING UPDATE - THIRD QUARTER

The Cabinet considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 6 in the Minute book). The County Treasurer highlighted key points made in his report which included:-

· a proposed £1.7m virement from the Adult Services' revenue budget to revenue contributions to capital in order to support extra-care housing;


· a transfer of a further £501k to the Local Authorities Business Growth Incentives (LABGI) reserve;

· a recommendation that the provisional final accounts be submitted to the Executive Member for Policy & Resources' meeting on 19 May 2009.

Cabinet noted the higher spending on waste management and the Coroner's service. Cabinet members regretted the significant increase in Coroner's service expenditure (over which the County Council had no control) and indicated their view that Coroner's service expenditure would be more appropriately funded by central government.

The Cabinet adopted the recommendations set out in the report.
The decision record is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 2.

519. CORPORATE REVIEWS: A MODERN BUSINESS PROVIDING PUBLIC SERVICES

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 7 in the Minute book).

The Chief Executive commented briefly on the proposals contained within the report and paid tribute to the diligence and commitment which had been exhibited by the members of staff and the individual Cabinet sponsors who had participated in each review. Subject to approval by Cabinet, a further report would be brought forward on

27 April 2009 on the proposed management arrangements.

Cabinet members welcomed the report and the extensive work that had been undertaken. During a wide ranging debate it was suggested that the Hampshire Senate could potentially make a valuable contribution in matters relating to the further development of shared services. The Cabinet sponsor for the Hantsdirect review welcomed the findings and also expressed her belief that the recommendations would lead to improved service delivery for County Council customers.

Several members expressed their support for the recommendations contained within the Economic Development review and the important role that Hampshire County Council could play in promoting economic prosperity. In discussing the review of Democratic Services, some members indicated that they saw considerable merit for the staff currently providing IT support to elected members or working within the Members Secretariat to be assigned to the proposed `Business Support and Advice to Members' unit.

Cabinet members asked that their appreciation for the work that all of the review team members had put in to the individual reviews be formally recorded in their resolution. The amended decision record is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 3.

520. RURAL DELIVERY STRATEGY FOR HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL - RESULTS OF CONSULTATION AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive and the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 8 in the Minute book).

Cabinet members noted the intention to produce a final Rural Strategy and Action Plan for consideration at the April 2009 Cabinet meeting. Issues such as rural isolation, rural housing, rural transport and the need to protect the rural economy and the skills base of employees living in rural Hampshire were all acknowledged as being of critical importance to the well being of Hampshire residents. The inevitable pressure that would arise on infrastructure and the rural landscape from the increased housing required in the South East Plan was also noted.

Several Cabinet members expressed their annoyance and concern at the use of satellite navigation (`SATNAV') tools which brought inappropriate vehicles on to the smaller, often unclassified roads in rural Hampshire. Members regretted the destruction of verges and plants brought about by the passage of such vehicles and discussed a variety of options for lobbying SATNAV companies to provide warnings relating to the width of smaller Hampshire roads and what might be an appropriate limit on vehicle size for them.

The Cabinet adopted the recommendations set out in the report. The
decision record is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 4.

521. PROPOSED STRATEGIC APPROACH TO COMMUNITY CLIMATE CHANGE ENGAGEMENT

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute book)

The Assistant Director of Environment reminded Cabinet members that approximately one third of carbon emissions arose from the domestic sector and that, as such, engagement with local communities would be a key element in efforts to address climate change. Formal engagement with the Greening Campaign would provide an opportunity to trial innovative ways of seeking to engage with particularly `hard to reach' groups that had had not yet embraced, or recognised, the need to reduce carbon levels.

Cabinet expressed its concern with regard to rising carbon levels and global warming but recognised that the need to deal with climate change could provide opportunities to develop `green' technology, create jobs and develop skills. In acknowledging the critical role that the Environment department would play in addressing climate change, Cabinet requested a minor amendment to the recommendation to reflect this.

Subject to the amendment referred to above, Cabinet adopted the recommendations set out in the report. The decision record is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 5.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Executive Decision Record:

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Executive Decision Record:

1) Summary:

The following decisions were made:

1.1. That the action being taken by all services to contain spending within cash limits and to enable planned underspendings to be carried forward to 2009/10 be supported

1.2. That the virement of £1.7m from the Adult Services revenue budget to revenue contributions to capital to support planned investment in extra care housing be approved

1.3. That the transfer of a further £501,000 to the Local Authorities Business Growth Incentives (LABGI) reserve following the final allocation for 2007/08 be approved

1.4. That a report on the provisional final accounts be submitted to the Executive Member Policy and Resources on 19 May 2009, as a result of the timetable implications arising from deferral of the County Council elections

2) Reasons for the decision:

2.1. The report considers whether any action is required in response to budget monitoring based on the first three quarters of 2008/09. Monitoring of budgets against cash limits is designed to ensure that services can continue in accordance with the three corporate aims.

2.2. Revised arrangements for decisions arising from the 2008/09 outturn will be necessary. There is a requirement to obtain member approval for the 2008/09 draft statement of accounts, prior to the first scheduled meeting of the Cabinet, following the County Council elections.

3) Other options considered and rejected

3.1. Other options would not meet corporate reporting requirements and best practice in budget monitoring

4) Conflicts of Interest:

4.1. Conflicts of interest declared by the Decision-Maker:

a) None

4.2. Conflicts of interest declared by other Executive members consulted:

a) None

5) Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee:

5.1. None

6) Any reasons for the matter being dealt with urgently:

6.1. None

7) Statement from the Decision Maker:

7.1. None

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Executive Decision Record:

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Executive Decision Record

1) Summary:

The following decisions were made


That Cabinet:

1.1. notes the results of the consultation exercise and approve the process set out for producing a final Rural Delivery Strategy and Action Plan for consideration by Cabinet in April 2009.

1.2. endorses the steps taken to raise the County Council's profile at both regional and local levels.

1.3. notes progress made upon the Early Interventions proposed in the report to Cabinet on 7 July 2008 (Rural Delivery Strategy for Hampshire County Council - Supporting Hampshire's Rural Communities, item 5a).

1.4. supports the high level of inter-departmental collaboration and co-ordination now in place and longer term corporate support and funding for this area of work.

2) Reasons for the decision:

2.1. This report updates elected Members on progress made since the initial report presented to Cabinet on 7 July 2008. In particular, it summarises the results of the consultation exercise undertaken and progress upon the early interventions proposed in that report.

2.2. The report also seeks support and endorsement for the steps taken in the intervening period to raise Hampshire County Council's profile in the area of rural policy, together with the major steps taken to secure more effective corporate working and support in this area.

2.3. The need to secure Member support for the process and timescale set out to produce an Action Plan responding to the key challenges, opportunities and service delivery issues faced by rural communities.

2.4. These decisions relate strongly to all three of the County Council's priorities of Safer and More Secure for All; Maximising Wellbeing and Enhancing our Quality of Place.

3) Other options considered and rejected:

3.1. Option 1:

a) Not developing an Action Plan in response to the consultation and challenges facing rural communities. This was rejected on the basis of a recognised need to co-ordinate and support rural communities within the context of an appropriate service delivery framework for the County Council. It was also seen as essential in terms of tackling inequalities in rural areas as well as the wider issue of access to services.

4) Conflicts of Interest:

4.1. Conflicts of interest declared by the Decision-Maker:

a) None

4.2. Conflicts of interest declared by other Executive Members consulted:

a) None

5) Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee:

None

6) Any reasons for the matter being dealt with urgently:

None

7) Statement from the Decision Maker:

.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Executive Decision Record: