(Members Code of Conduct - Part 4A of the Constitution)

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

Notes:

(1)       Members may remain in the meeting and take part fully in discussion and voting unless the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest which the Member feels would call into question their compliance with the wider principles set out in the Code of Conduct.  Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(2)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

(3)       Members are also welcome to disclose interests which are not disclosable pecuniary interests but which they consider should be made in the interest of clarity.

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

Councillors Ross-Shaw and Ferriby disclosed a non pecuniary interest in the item relating to the referral from the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee on the Anti Poverty Scrutiny review (Minute14) as the former Chair and Deputy Chair of the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2016 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Jill Bell / Yusuf Patel - 01274 434580 434579)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2016 be signed as a correct record.

ACTION:         City Solicitor

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Jill Bell / Yusuf Patel - 01274 434580 434579)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

To note any recommendations to the Executive that may be the subject of report to a future meeting.  (Schedule to be tabled at the meeting). 

 (Jill Bell / Yusuf Patel - 01274 434580 434579)

The receipt of the following recommendations to the Executive was noted:

(a)       BRADFORD POVERTY SCRUTINY REVIEW

Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee 29 June 2016

Resolved –

(1)       That the Draft Bradford Poverty Scrutiny Review Report be approved.

(2)       That this Committee recommends to the Executive that Bradford Council should develop a comprehensive Anti Poverty Strategy addressing the multiple factors related to poverty including but not limited to: food, health, housing, children, energy and employment.  The Anti Poverty Strategy should include key actions monitored through a delivery plan and its development should involve a review of existing, subject specific poverty strategies to ensure efficiency and possible mergers to ensure a lack of duplication.

(3)       That a further progress report be presented to this Committee in 6 months time.

(4)       That this Committee requests that further work be undertaken reviewing how approaches in employment, education and skills can help reduce the number of people in poverty.

Note: in receiving the above recommendation the Leader requested the Strategic Director Regeneration to review the recommendation in consultation with the Regeneration, Planning and Transport Portfolio Holder with a view to it being taken forward.

ACTION: Strategic Director Regeneration

Note: in receiving the above recommendation the Leader noted that the decision would be taken into account when the Executive considered the report on Adoption Regionalisation (Document “J”) later in the meeting.

The primary purpose of the report of the Director of Finance and the Assistant Director of Policy, Programmes & Change (Document “G”) is to give Members insight into the Council’s overall position at the end of the 2015-16 financial year by integrating finance and performance information. It provides a detailed statement of the final financial position of the Council at the 31 March 2016 as well as the annual outturn for the Corporate Indicator Set. The report specifically details how Services are performing within the context of the Council’s stewardship of its revenue resources.

Recommended -

That the Executive:-

(1)       Note the financial position of the Council reported for the year ended 31 March 2016.

(2)       Approve the £1.259m of additional requests to carry forward funds to 2016-17 outlined in section 2.1 of Appendix 1 to Document “G”.

(3)       Note the performance position and endorse the actions to address the identified areas of underperformance in Appendix 1, Section 1 of Document “G”.

                                    (Samantha Plum/Andrew Cross – 01274 432682/436823)

The primary purpose of the report of the Director of Finance and the Assistant Director of Policy, Programmes & Change (Document “G”) was to give Members insight into the Council’s overall position at the end of the 2015-16 financial year by integrating finance and performance information. It provided a detailed statement of the final financial position of the Council at the 31 March 2016 as well as the annual outturn for the Corporate Indicator Set. The report specifically detailed how services were performing within the context of the Council’s stewardship of its revenue resources.

The Interim Assistant Director of Policy, Programmes and Change referred to the detailed summary of overall performance and all performance indicators set out in table 1.1 of the report.  A detailed summary of action being taken in the case of under performing indicators was included in the report.  She stressed the need to set Corporate Indicators carefully and referred to the indicator regarding permanent admissions to residential and nursing homes which was below the target set for 2015-16 despite Bradford being a top performer and comparing favourably with regional and national averages. It was noted that a new set of indicators would be identified in the new Council Plan. 

The Director of Finance outlined the main variances in specific savings across all parts of the Council.  He added that unallocated reserves were £19.9m at 31 March 2016 and the 2016-17 budget assumed £6.2m would be used to leave a forecasted unallocated balance of £13.8m at March 2017 as a contingency reserve.  He advised members that good progress had been made in managing risks in 2015-16 however he stated that risks would be more difficult to manage going forward.  He confirmed that £172.6m of government cuts had been made to the Council’s budget over the last 6 years.

The Leader emphasised the impact of reductions in the Council’s budget being experienced by members of the public in the district every day.  She added that some of the current key performance indicators did not reflect the current situation and would be reviewed as part of the Council Plan. 

The Strategic Director, Children’s Services reported that the number of children attending a good or outstanding primary school had increased from 63% to 72% from September 2015 to July 2016 and he pointed out that the vast majority of primary schools were maintained.  He added that in the secondary sector between September 2015 and July 2016 two maintained schools had improved and three academies had either been assessed as having serious weakness of had gone into special measures.  He advised members that there continued to be an ongoing dialogue between the authority and the Regional Schools Commissioner and academy trusts to ensure that all schools improved. 

The Leader emphasised that both of the secondary schools that were in special measures had improvement plans in place.

The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder echoed the need to reassess the indicator for the permanent admissions to residential and nursing homes as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The Director of finance will present Document “H” on the Medium Term Financial Strategy which focuses on how the Council intends to respond to the forecasted public sector funding reductions as a result of the on-going austerity measures imposed by the Government’s spending plans. It sets out the approaches and principles the Council will follow to ensure the Council remains financially viable and delivers on its priorities.

The Plan also forms the basis of the Council’s Efficiency Plan for the next four financial years.

The next four years already contained a series of potentially significant changes to the structure of the Council and the services it will be responsible for and what it can provide. Many of these changes are still at consultation stage which brings additional complexity when predicting the future. However, the result of the EU referendum has added a further layer of uncertainty to prospects of stability in local government finances.

The forecast identifies further savings of £11.5m in 2017/18 in addition to the £24.2m agreed in February 2016. In the following year the gap increases to £32m in 2018/19 and then up to £109.5m by 2022/23.

Recommended -

(1)       That Executive consider the Medium Term Financial Strategy as an assessment of the Council’s financial outlook to 2019/20 and beyond, and a framework for it to remain financially viable and deliver sustainable public services in line with its priorities using the principles contained in the Efficiency Plan (Annex D) of Document “H”.

(2)       That Executive recommends the updated and revised Medium Term Financial Strategy at Appendix 1 of Document “H” be forwarded to Council for approval.

(3)       That Executive recommends, subject to Council approval, to delegate to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, to apply to take up the multi-year settlement supported by the Efficiency Plan at Annex D to Document “H” based on their assessment of whether this will be in the best interests of the Council.

                                                                        (Tom Caselton - 01274 434472)

The Director of finance presented Document “H” on the Medium Term Financial Strategy which focused on how the Council intended to respond to the forecasted public sector funding reductions as a result of the on-going austerity measures imposed by the Government’s spending plans. It set out the approaches and principles the Council would follow to ensure the Council remained financially viable and delivered on its priorities.

The Plan also formed the basis of the Council’s Efficiency Plan for the next four financial years.

The next four years already contained a series of potentially significant changes to the structure of the Council and the services it would be responsible for and what it could provide. Many of these changes were still at consultation stage which brought additional complexity when predicting the future. However, the result of the EU referendum had added a further layer of uncertainty to prospects of stability in local government finances.

The forecast identified further savings of £11.5m in 2017/18 in addition to the £24.2m agreed in February 2016. In the following year the gap would increase to £32m in 2018/19 and then up to £109.5m by 2022/23.

The Director of Finance highlighted the £4.2m contribution from the Better Care Fund to support Adult Social Care Services.  He referred to the business rate reform currently the subject of consultation in which 100% of business rates would be retained by local authorities.  He added that the business rates baseline review would impact on the top up grant.

The Leader pointed out that in line with the efficiency plan the Council’s total budget had been reduced by 1/3 over the last 4 years.  She added that the result of the EU Referendum had highlighted the inequalities between the north of England and the more economically prosperous areas of the south.  She urged the government to provide more investment in the north.  She went on to stress that by 2022-2023 the Council’s budget would have to reduce by £100m and that challenging decisions would have to be made.  She added that the public would be consulted on any changes and that every effort would be made to ensure that front line services continued to be provided as far as possible.

The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder referred to work being undertaken on a sustainable Health and Welfare Plan and by the Health and Wellbeing Board to take the health needs of the district forward.

The Director of Finance referred to the national financial uncertainty and Bradford’s involvement in discussions relating to Health Service finance issues, consultation on Business Rates and dealing with issues arising from the academisation of schools.

Resolved -

(1)       That Executive consider the Medium Term Financial Strategy as an assessment of the Council’s financial outlook to 2019/20 and beyond, and a framework for it to remain financially viable and deliver sustainable public services in line with its priorities using the principles contained in the Efficiency Plan (Annex D) of Document “H”.

(2)       That it be recommended that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

The report of the Director of Finance (Document “I”) provides Members with an overview of the forecast financial position of the Council for 2016-17.

It examines the latest spend against revenue and capital budgets and forecasts the financial position at the year end. It states the Council’s current balances and reserves and forecasts school balances for the year. 

Recommended -

That the Executive

(1)       Note the contents of this report and the actions taken to manage the forecast overspend.

(2)       Approve the addition of the £0.7m land acquisition for Station Gateways Programme to the Capital Investment Plan as set out in paragraphs 2 and 5 of Document “I”. The scheme to be funded by £0.275m from the Strategic Acquisition scheme and temporary borrowing.

                                                                        (Andrew Cross – 01274 436823)

The purpose of the report of the Strategic Director of Children’s Services (Document “J”)is to provide information to the Council’s Executive about the proposals for adoption reform contained within the government’s Education and Adoption Act 2016. It sets out the Yorkshire and Humber regional plan for adoption and requests delegated authority for the Director of Children’s Services to form a Yorkshire and Humber central adoption hub and develop a West Yorkshire Regional Adoption Agency which is to be hosted by Leeds City Council.

Recommended -

(1)               That Executive approve the formation of a Yorkshire and Humber adoption service as set out in this report.

(2)               That authority be delegated to the Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Education, Employment and Skills Portfolio Holder to progress the development of the Yorkshire and Humber Hub and the West Yorkshire Adoption Agency and to proceed with the revised structure leading to the transfer of staff to Leeds City Council as the host of the West Yorkshire Agency with the new arrangements being in place for April 2017.

(3)               That a further report be presented to the Executive prior to the implementation of the new arrangements, including details of proposed governance arrangements.

(Jim Hopkinson - 01274 432904)

The purpose of the report of the Strategic Director of Children’s Services (Document “J”)was to provide information to the Executive about the proposals for adoption reform contained within the government’s Education and Adoption Act 2016. It set out the Yorkshire and Humber regional plan for adoption and requested delegated authority for the Director of Children’s Services to form a Yorkshire and Humber central adoption hub and develop a West Yorkshire Regional Adoption Agency which was to be hosted by Leeds City Council.

The Strategic Director summarised the main issues that the government sought to address within the adoption reform.  He advised members that costs would be saved by reducing tiers of management and savings on inter agency fees and that Bradford children would be able to be placed nearer home.  He stressed that decisions would continue to be made in Bradford about Bradford children.  He added that there would be no change in service for Bradford adopters and that there would be an improvement in timeliness and an increased pool of children.  Support for adopters would be less piecemeal.

The Leader welcomed working with other Local authorities to improve the outcome for children in the district.

The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder confirmed that Bradford’s performance in adoption services was good.  The Strategic Director stressed that the proposals were to raise the standards of all agencies to become a centre of excellence.  He added that Bradford was coming to the regional adoption agency from a position of strength and that Leeds was to just host the agency.  He stressed that adopter recruitment and adoption support would improve as a result of the proposals.  He went on to advise members that a further report would be presented to the Executive once the human resources and governance issues were clearer.

Resolved –

(1)               That the formation of a Yorkshire and Humber adoption service as set out in Document “J” be approved.

(2)               That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director Children’s Services, in consultation with the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder to progress the development of the Yorkshire and Humber Hub and the West Yorkshire Adoption Agency and to proceed with the revised structure leading to the transfer of staff to Leeds City Council as the host of the West Yorkshire Agency with the new arrangements being in place for April 2017.

(3)       That a further report be presented to the Executive prior to the implementation of the new arrangements, including details of proposed governance arrangements.

ACTION:         Strategic Director Children’s Services

The Director of Children’s Services will present a progress report on the proposal to spin out the Educational Psychology Team as an Employee Owned Mutual (Document “K”).

Recommended -

The Executive is requested to approve final sign off of the proposal that the EPT spins out of the LA as an Employee owned Mutual, in the form of a Community Interest Company, from 1^st November 2016.

                                                            (Ruth Dennis - 01274 439444)

The Strategic Director of Children’s Services presented a progress report on the proposal to spin out the Educational Psychology Team as an Employee Owned Mutual (Document “K”).  The Strategic Director introduced the report and outlined the benefits of the proposals to develop the role of the Local Authority as commissioner of previously centrally held services and add social value to the district through attracting more skilled and experienced Educational Psychologists to the area.

Resolved -

That the final sign off of the proposal that the Education Psychology Team spins out of the LA as an Employee owned Mutual, in the form of a Community Interest Company, from 1^st November 2016 be approved.

ACTION:         Strategic Director Children’s Services

The Strategic Director Environment & Sport will submit a report

(Document “L”) in which the Executive is asked to agree to the use ofFixed Penalty Notices for fly-tipping offences  as provided for in the Unauthorised Deposit of Waste (Fixed Penalties) Regulations 2016 .

Recommended -

(1)       That the Strategic Director Environment and Sport be given delegated authority in consultation with the Portfolio Holder to implement the provisions within the Unauthorised Deposit of Waste (Fixed Penalties) Regulations 2016.

(2)       That the Strategic Director Environment and Sport authorise in writing designated  Council officers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for fly- tipping and such officers will receive appropriate training.

(3)               That the fixed penalty be set at £400 which will be reduced to £300 if the penalty is paid in full before the end of the period of  10 days  following the date of the notice.

(Amjad Ishaq - 01274 433682)

To receive the minutes of the following meetings of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Document “..” attached):

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meetings of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority contained in Document “M” be noted.

NO ACTION

Recommended –

That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the item relating to the allocation of Basic Need Funding for a new primary school in Silsden (Not for publication Document “N”) on the grounds that it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if they were present, exempt information within Paragraph 3  (financial or business affairs) of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), would be disclosed and it is considered that, in all the circumstances, the public interest in excluding public access to the relevant part of the proceedings outweighs the interest in publication of the report.

Resolved –

That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the item relating to the allocation of Basic Need Funding for a new primary school in Silsden (Not for publication Document “N”) on the grounds that it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if they were present, exempt information within Paragraph 3  (financial or business affairs) of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), would be disclosed and it is considered that, in all the circumstances, the public interest in excluding public access to the relevant part of the proceedings outweighs the interest in publication of the report.

The report of the Strategic Director Children’s Services (Not For Publication Document “N”) provides an overview of the various arrangements put in place to enable the replacement of Aireview Infants and Hothfield Junior schools with a new school building.

Recommended

That the Executive approve the allocation of basic need funding and other incomes towards the cost of the new school building.

                                                            (Terry Davis – 01274 434333)