Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Brodie - Browne and Maher.

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 interest were received:

Minutes of the meeting held on 10 November 2011

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 10 November 2011 be confirmed as a correct record.

Joint report of the Strategic Director – Place and the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT

The Cabinet considered the joint report of the Strategic Director - Place and the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT which provided an update on the committed and uncommitted schemes in the Capital Programme, together with details of proposals for new capital schemes for 2012/13 on the basis of ‘invest to save’ revenue expenditure.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       the progress made in relation to the delivery of committed capital schemes and particularly the potential for under- and over-spends related to those schemes, be noted;

(2)       a Cabinet Sub-Committee comprising of Councillors Booth, Fairclough, Moncur, Parry, Porter and Robertson be requested to consider which of the uncommitted capital schemes identified in the report should be approved for continuation or abandonment within the Capital Programme and submit its recommendations to the Cabinet and Council;

(3)       any underspends achieved within the committed Capital Programme, together with any approved funding associated with the abandonment of any uncommitted schemes referred to in Resolution 2 above, be in the first instance allocated to off-set any net overspends currently identified within the Capital Programme;

(4)       for any uncommitted scheme that the Council agree to continue within the Capital Programme as referred to in Resolution 2 above, the appropriate Officers be requested to re-evaluate the running costs and funding sources and report the findings back to the Cabinet before a final decision is made to progress any such scheme;

(5)       the Council be requested to give approval to the inclusion of the following ‘invest to save’ capital schemes in the Capital Programme 2012/13:

·    Convert traffic bollards to LED fittings - £109k

·    Convert traffic signs to LED fittings - £140k;

·        Adaptations to Foster Carers’ Residencies - Pilot Scheme - £200k; and

(6)       approval be given to the submission of a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a contribution of £4.079m toward the cost of Phase II of the regeneration of Kings Gardens, Southport.

Report of the Director of Young People and Families

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Young People and Families which sought approval to the implementation of a capital scheme to provide a new library and two classroom extension at Meols Cop High School.

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       the proposed scheme to be funded from specific resources be included in the Capital Programme; and

(2)       the Head of Corporate Legal Services be requested to instruct Capita Symonds to manage the project.

Report of the Director of Young People and Families

Further to Minute 32 of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services) held on 22 November 2011, the Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Young People and Families on the consultation arrangements that had taken place on the reconfiguration of Sefton’s Children’s Centres.

The report incorporated a copy of the report considered by the Children’s Centre’s Review Board and a copy of the Resolution passed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services).

The Cabinet also considered the content of a letter from Mrs. K. Sumner of Southport expressing concerns with the quality of the review process undertaken and objecting to the proposals in the report, together with the response of the Strategic  Director - People.

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

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       the letter from Mrs. K. Sumner of Southport and the response from the Strategic Director – People be noted;

(2)       the funding reduction continue to be implemented in line with the Council Resolution agreed on 3 March 2011;

(3)       a network of Children’s Centres across the Borough be maintained without the closure of any centres;

(4)            approval be given to the merger of centres across the Borough, in order to maintain an appropriate service delivery model to the communities they serve;

(5)       the Children’s Centre’s Review Board be requested to evaluate an alternative proposal presented by the Core Group for Freshfield Children’s Centre, subject to additional information being provided; and

(6)            approval be given to the use of £600,000 one-off Council reserves to underwrite the shortfall against the 2011/12 Children’s Centre’s saving target.

Report of the Director of Young People and Families

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Young People and Families on the Residential Framework Agreement which had been developed with the Local Authorities in Merseyside, Cheshire and Wigan, for the procurement of residential services for looked after children and young people.  The report indicated that the procurement process had been concluded and agreement was sought to award the contracts to the successful providers in the following three service categories:

1.         Mainstream Residential

2.         Specialist/Therapeutic Residential

3.         Respite/Short Breaks.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       it be noted that the robust residential pricing framework had been procured following a fair and transparent tendering process;

(2)       the use of the pricing framework be approved;

(3)       the contracts be awarded to the following providers:

            Mainstream Residential:

            Nugent Care

            Together Trust

            BetterCare Keys Limited

            Supporting Futures

            Considerate Care

            Cherry Cottage

            Building Bridges

            Chamberlain Care

            Milestone Care Homes

Quality Protects Children Limited

Good Foundations

Care Assist Children’s Services

Eastfield Group

SILS Northwest

Care Today (Children’s Services)

ABC Care Limited

Crossways

New Pathways

Teen Works Limited

            Specialist/Therapeutic Residential:

            Elizabeth Marland Children’s Respite Care Limited

            Essandore Glenedge Support Limited

            Birtenshaw

            Nugent Care

Westmount Children’s Home and Paramount Group Limited

            Respite/Short Breaks:

            Nugent Care

            Family Care Associates; and

(4)       it be noted that the proposal was a Key Decision, but had not been included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions and consequently, the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services) has been consulted under Rule 15 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution, on the decision being made by the 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 of the timescales involved and the need to agree the new procurement arrangements in collaboration with other Local Authorities as soon as possible.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment on the award of a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant for the Merseyside Business Support Project.  The report also set out the proposed arrangements for the implementation of the project in Sefton, including staff recruitment through ring-fenced posts within the existing Invest Sefton Service.

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

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       the award of ERDF grant to Sefton for the Mersey Business Support ERDF 4.2 project be noted;

(2)       the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing be granted delegated authority to accept the offer letter;

(3)       the creation of 8 posts in the Built Environment Division (Economy and Tourism) to implement the project be approved; and

(4)       the Director of Built Environment be authorised to recruit to the posts, which are to be ring-fenced to staff in the self-funded Economy and Tourism Service.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment on the evaluation of the tenders received for the Parking Enforcement Services Contract.

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

RESOLVED:

That the contract for Parking Enforcement Services be awarded to NSL Limited of Ealing, London for a period of five years from 1 April 2012.

Report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning on a request from the Liberal Democrat Group to change their representative on the Sefton Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the remainder of the Council year 2011/12.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Booth be appointed as the Liberal Democrat Group representative on the Sefton Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the period expiring on 31 May 2012, in place of Councillor Lord Fearn.

To consider passing the following resolution:

That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.  The Public Interest Test has been applied and favours exclusion of the information from the Press and Public.

RESOLVED:

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.  The Public Interest Test has been applied and favours exclusion of the information from the press and public.

Joint report of the Director of Built Environment and Head of Corporate Legal Services

Further to Minute No. 52 of the meeting held on 13 October 2011, the Cabinet considered the joint report of the Director of Built Environment and the Head of Corporate Legal Services on the negotiations held with Barratt David Wilson, the preferred developer for the Town Lane site, on the conditional contract for the purchase of the site and the proposed submission of a formal planning application for the site.

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

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       it be noted that Barratt David Wilson (BDW) desires to enter into a conditional contract to purchase the site at Town Lane, Kew and submit a planning application;

(2)       the principal heads of terms for the disposal of the site negotiated by the Director of Built Environment, in consultation with the Head of Corporate Legal Services be noted; and

(3)       the Director of Built Environment be granted delegated authority, in consultation with the Head of Corporate Legal Services, to negotiate and conclude the final contracts with BDW, based on the principal heads of terms.