Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Booth, Brodie-Browne and Robertson.

Members and Officers are requested to give notice of any personal or prejudicial interest and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the relevant Code of Conduct.

The following declarations of interests were received:

Minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2011

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held on 21 July 2011 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning that presented formally the recommendations of the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Working Group.

The report indicated that the CAMHS Working Group, that had been established by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services), had undertaken a review on issues surrounding the service provision for children with mental health issues; that 14 recommendations had been formulated as part of the review; and the recommendations, together with a management response from the Strategic Director - People were detailed in the report.

Attached as Appendix A to the report was the executive summary of the CAMHS report.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       with the exception of recommendation 11 due to its financial implications, the recommendations and responses contained in paragraphs 2.2 of the report be approved;

(2)       the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services) be requested to monitor the progress of the action taken on the recommendations; and

(3)       an update be submitted to Cabined in due course.

Report of the Chief Executive

Further to Minute No. 30 of the meeting held on 21 July 2011, the Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive which provided an update on the progress made under the Transformation Programme and the implementation of the savings proposals, reviews and cessation of external funding, previously approved by the Council; and the public consultation and engagement processes being undertaken.

This was a not a Key Decision but was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED:          That

(1)      the progress to date on approved savings proposals, reviews and cessation of external funding as set out in the report be noted; and

(2)      the progress to date on public consultation and engagement set out in the report be noted.

Report of the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT that updated on the 2010/11 revenue outturn position for the General Fund and the Council’s Prudential Indicators for 2011/12 that had resulted from changes made in the 2010/11 Statement of Accounts arising from the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards.

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       the transfer of the 2010/11 General Fund revenue underspend to reserves as set out in paragraph 4.3 of the report be approved; and

(2)       the amended Prudential Indicators for 2011/12, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Further to Minute No. 32 of 21 July 2011, the Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment that advised of Sefton’s role in the Merseyside Local Sustainable Transport Fund (MLSF) project - Facilitating Sustainable Access to Employment in Merseyside and seeking authority to commit to and to allocate funds associated with the project.

Paragraph 2.5 of the report outlined the spend profile for all of Sefton’s elements of the MLSF project relating to working with employers, travel solutions and sustainable transport infrastructure.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED:          That

(1)      the elements of the Merseyside Local Sustainable Transport Fund project to be delivered to Sefton, be noted;

(2)      it be noted that Merseytravel is the lead accountable body for the Merseyside LSTF project;

(3)      the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT be authorised to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Merseytravel to enable the project to commence and subsequently to enter into a formal agreement with Merseytravel for the funding, delivery and monitoring of the project;

(4)      the Council be recommended to approve the inclusion of £260,000 in the Capital Programme to be phased as indicated in paragraph 2.5 of the report; and

(5)          officers be authorised to commence commitment of the funds.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Further to Minute No. 28 of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 29 June 2011, the Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment seeking approval for the introduction of charges for planning pre-applications from 1 September 2011.

The report indicated that there would be no charges made for householders except where a specific request was made to meet officers on site.

A copy of the proposed fee schedule for pre-application advice was attached as an annexe to the report.

RESOLVED:          That

(1)      the introduction of charging for planning pre-applications from 1 September 2011, as detailed in the annexe to the report, be approved; and

(2)      it be noted that the proposal was a Key Decision which unfortunately, had not been included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.  Consequently, the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Environmental Services) had been consulted under Rule 15 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution, to the decision being made by Cabinet as a matter of urgency on the basis that it was impracticable to defer the decision until the commencement of the next Forward Plan because the projected income from the charging is included in this year’s budget.

Report of the Head of Corporate Legal Services

Further to Minute No. 23(6) of the meeting of the Council held on 17 May 2011, the Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Legal Services that provided an update on the Council’s shareholding in the local authority controlled company Sefton New Directions.

The Chief Executive gave a verbal update to the meeting regarding the discussions that had been on-going between the Company and the Council relating to the outstanding employment claims and the review of staff terms and conditions; and indicated that the negotiations had been productive and positive.

RESOLVED:          That

(1)      the progress report on Sefton New Directions be noted; and

(2)      the Head of Corporate Legal Services be requested to provide quarterly updates to the Cabinet on the Council’s shareholding and any other relevant information.