Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the CABINET of the HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Monday, 29 June 2009.

PRESENT:

Chairman:

a Councillor T.K. Thornber, CBE

Also present with the agreement of the Chairman:

Councillors: P.R. Edgar; K. Evans; K. House and Mrs P. West

1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Cllr T.K. Thornber.

2 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 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 save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code. The declaration to be made at the time of the relevant debate. No such interests were declared on this occasion.

3 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2009 were confirmed as a correct record, subject to an amendment to the attendance list to indicate that Cllr Mrs West was in attendance. Regarding minute 529, it was noted that discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs were taking place regarding the arrangements for the South Downs National Park including the importance of working with other local authorities to take forward the best interests of the communities they represented.

4 CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting, the new opposition Group Leader.

The Chairman announced that four members of the Cabinet would be attending the Local Government Association Conference in Harrogate between 30 June and 2 July.

5 YATELEY INFANT AND ST. PETER'S CE JUNIOR SCHOOLS - PROPOSED AMALGAMATION

The Cabinet considered and approved the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 5 in the Minute Book) proposing the amalgamation of Yateley Infant and St. Peter's CE Junior Schools. It was noted that the amalgamation had been largely driven by the two governing bodies in pursuit of a more efficient and effective school system for children in the area, and which would address surplus places caused by falling rolls in some areas of the county.

Cabinet agreed the recommendations as set out in the report.

6 HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL SUPPORT FOR THE NEW MARY ROSE MUSEUM

The Director of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest as a Trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). However, he had not taken part in any discussions regarding the HLF award to the Mary Rose Trust for the new Mary Rose museum.


The Cabinet considered and approved the report of the Director of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs (Item 6 in the Minute Book) proposing a financial contribution of £800,000 to the Mary Rose Trust towards the cost of the new Mary Rose museum. During discussion, Cabinet strongly supported the proposal and highlighted the economic and educational benefits to the county as a whole and Gosport in particular, including potential increases in visitor numbers to nearby attractions, increased skills, industry and employment in the local area, and concessionary benefits to children at over 500 Hampshire County Council schools.

Cabinet agreed the recommendations as set out in the report.

7 VISION AND STRATEGY FOR HAMPSHIRE LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICE 2009-2014

Cabinet considered and approved the report of the Director of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs (Item 7 in the Minute Book) proposing approval of the Library and Information Service Vision and Strategy 2009-2014. Over the coming months a detailed business plan would be produced and public consultation undertaken.

Cabinet expressed thanks to the Director and his officers for driving forward significant performance improvements and innovative service developments. Cabinet agreed the recommendations as set out in the report.

8 COMPREHENSIVE AREA ASSESSMENT PLAN - HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Cabinet considered and approved the report of the Chief Executive (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the proposed County Council plan in relation to the new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) performance framework. Cabinet was clear that the CAA inspection framework would be more challenging than the previous framework. Regarding the area assessment, Cabinet agreed that all Members had an important role in encouraging and monitoring effective partnership working across Hampshire, and an addition recommendation to that effect was agreed. It was noted that the area assessment would impact on every aspect of life in Hampshire and feed into the Local Area Agreement and the Council's priorities.

Cabinet agreed the recommendations, subject to the above amendment, as set out in the report.

9 2007 SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ACT - PROPOSAL FOR DECENTRALISATION OF STRATEGIC PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on a proposal by the Governance Committee for the decentralisation of strategic planning and infrastructure funding under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007. The Director explained that in order to gain support of the Local Government Association, the County Council would need support from district and borough Councils in Hampshire and possibly upper tier authorities in the South East region.

Cabinet supported the proposal and agreed that the County Council should go ahead with a robust proposal to re-gain strategic planning powers. It was also agreed that the proposal should be discussed at the next meeting of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Government Association to gauge district and borough Council support.

Cabinet agreed the recommendations as set out in the report.

10 HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL'S SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE - REVISED AALBORG SCORES

Cabinet considered and approved the report of the Director of Environment (Item 10 in the Minute Book) regarding the County Council's performance against sustainability targets. The County Council had achieved its initial targets, and would now be working towards targets up to 2015/16. The ten priorities for 2009/10 were agreed. It was noted that 600 Council across Europe were signed up, and ten of those were within the United Kingdom.

Cabinet agreed the recommendations as set out in the report.

11 COUNTY COUNCIL RESPONSE TO THE GOVERNMENT OFFICE FOR THE SOUTH EAST CONSULTATION ON THE PARTIAL REVIEW OF THE REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY FOR THE SOUTH EAST (MINERALS)

Cabinet considered and approved the report of the Director of Environment (Item 11 in the Minute Book) which outlined the County Council's proposed response to the consultation on the partial review of the regional spatial strategy for the South East. Cabinet agreed the recommendations as set out in the report.

12 PARTNERSHIP FOR URBAN SOUTH HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS PLAN 2009-11

Cabinet considered and approved the report of the Director of Environment (Item 12 in the Minute Book) proposing recommendation of the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) Business Plan 2009-11 by the County Council. It was noted that since the publication of agenda papers the final version of the Business Plan had been received from PUSH and circulated to Members separately.

The Director explained that PUSH had acknowledged the housing and economic targets within the Business Plan were unachievable in the current economic climate and would therefore be reset at the next review following detailed assessment. Cabinet was clear that in recommending approval of the Plan the Council was confirming that the current economic and housing targets were unachievable and that it would be free to discharge its statutory functions including any new functions such as the future transfer of responsibility for 16-19 education from the Learning and Skills Council to the County Council across Hampshire.

Cabinet agreed the recommendations, subject to the above amendment, as set out in the report.