Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

Members are requested to give notice of any disclosable pecuniary interest, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the Members Code of Conduct, before leaving the meeting room during the discussion on that particular item.

No declarations of pecuniary interest were made.

Minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2012

Decision Made:

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 13 September 2012 be confirmed as a correct record.

Presentation by Chief Constable Jon Murphy of Merseyside Police and Superintendent Kevin Johnson of the Sefton Division

Chief Constable Jon Murphy from Merseyside Police addressed the Cabinet on the current performance of the Merseyside Police Service and the budget savings to be made by the Police Authority for 2012/13 and subsequent years.  He indicated that staffing levels were reducing, but priority had been given to maintaining front-line services and Area Commanders were giving particular focus to local needs when determining the pattern of service for Neighbourhood Policing. The Chief Constable also referred to the election of the Police and Crime Commissioner which would be held on 15 November 2012 and indicated that one of the first tasks for the Commissioner was to draw up a Four Year Policing Plan.

Superintendent Kevin Johnson (Sefton Division) then gave a presentation on the Area Police Performance during the period April to October 2012 and the previous twelve month period in relation to violence, robberies, domestic abuse, burglaries and car crime, and local community safety initiatives undertaken with the Council and other partners.

The Chief Constable then responded to questions from Members of the Cabinet with regard to the future provision of safeguarding services for children’s service and vulnerable adults, the youth offending service and Police Community Support Officers.

The Chair thanked the Chief Constable and Superintendent Johnson for attending the meeting and providing an update on Police activities in Sefton and the Police response to recent gun crime in Sefton.

Decision Made:

That the presentation be noted.

Report of the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT on the current position in respect of the achievement of the approved budget savings for 2012/13.  The report also set out proposals for the transfer of service underspends to earmarked reserves and the utilisation of earmarked reserves to finance the non-achievement of specific budget savings.

Councillor Moncur raised the following question on the issue referred to in the report and the Strategic Director - People responded to the issue as referred to below:-

Decisions Made:

(1)       approval be given to the transfer of specific areas of underspend in the revenue budget, as set out in the report, to earmarked reserves;

(2)       the progress to date on the achievement of approved savings for 2012/2013 be noted; and

(3)       approval be given to the utilisation of earmarked reserves, as set out in the report, to finance the non-achievement of specific budget savings.

Reasons for Decisions:

To ensure Cabinet are informed of the latest position on the achievement of savings for the current financial year and to facilitate the achievement of the savings targets for 2012/2013.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

None.

Report of the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT and Head of Transformation Services

Further to Minute No. 54 of the meeting held on 13 September 2012, the Cabinet considered the joint report of the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT and the Head of Transformation which provided details of the progress made on the reviews of service and consultation processes being undertaken in order to move towards the achievement of a balanced budget in 2013/14 and 2014/15.

The report also set out a further package of savings proposals relating to internal consultation options, on which the first stage consultation is considered to be complete and requested the Cabinet to make an appropriate recommendation to the Council.

Councillor Dowd referred to the on-going discussions with the Trade Unions regarding the savings options within Corporate Support Services.

Councillor Moncur raised the following question on the issue referred to in the report and the Strategic Director - People responded to the issue as referred to below:-

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

Decisions Made:

(1)       the work programme timetable contained in Annex A of the report be noted;

(2)       it be noted that consultation in respect of terms and conditions issues had been commenced with the Trade Unions;

(3)       it be noted that the first stage of consultation on the change proposals set out in Annex B of the report, is considered to be complete;

(4)       the Council at its meeting on 22 November 2012 be recommended to give approval to the change proposals set out in Annex B of the report and Officers be authorised to prepare for implementation immediately, pending the final decisions of Council, including the issue of relevant statutory and contractual notifications, if appropriate to achieve change;

(5)       it be noted that Officers will comply  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

Report of the Strategic Director – People

The Chair reported that 172 petition forms, containing 262 names, had been submitted “calling upon Sefton Council to make sure that Churchtown Library stays open following the review of the library service.  Churchtown Library is an efficient, friendly library and is a vital part of our community.” In accordance with the Council and Committee Procedure Rules, Councillor Ashton made a statement on behalf of the petitioners.

Further to Minute No. 104 of the meeting held on 16 February 2012, the Cabinet then considered the report of the Strategic Director – Place, which provided an update on the Library Service Review, including the public engagement findings and options for consideration emerging from the review.  At this stage the report sought approval to consult communities, partners, key stakeholders and employees, as appropriate, on the options and to report back the outcome of the consultations prior to any consideration by Council.

The report contained the following annexes:

Annex A          “Comprehensive and efficient” and details of the Wirral Inquiry

Annex B          Library engagement questionnaires

Annex C         Summary of public engagement findings

Annex D         Summary table of costs and usage of libraries

Annex E          Sample of comparator data

Annex F          Maps of Sefton’s population

Annex G         Summary table of socio-economic data

Annex H          Libraries ranked on key indicators

Annex I            List of background documents available to view on-line

Annex J          Options considered but not recommended at this stage

The Strategic Director – Place indicated that the report provided an extensive summary of the work undertaken during the review of the library service and further details of the extensive background information were available on the Council’s website. The report sought approval to commence public consultations on the preferred option at this stage and the Public Engagement and Consultation Panel would be requested to approve the public consultation process at its next meeting.

Councillor P. Dowd referred to the challenge which the Council had in achieving £43.7 million of savings over the next two financial years and indicated that all service areas had to be examined for potential financial savings, prior to a balanced budget for 2013/14 been approved by the Council on 28 February 2013. He indicated that it was originally intended that the details of the review of the library service would be included in the report on potential savings options which had been submitted to the last Cabinet meeting but he had requested that a separate stand alone report on the review be submitted to this meeting to ensure that the details were more transparent.

Members of the Cabinet raised questions on the following issues referred to in the report and Officers responded to the issues as referred to below:-

Report of the Director of Built Environment and Head of Corporate Finance and ICT

The Cabinet considered the joint report of the Director of Built Environment  and the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT seeking approval to the use of Housing Benefit Transition Funding to establish a new Private Landlord Accreditation scheme in Sefton.

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

Decisions Made:

(1)       approval be given to the use of Housing Benefit Transition resources to fund the establishment of a Landlord Accreditation scheme, and enhance financial advice services to assist clients adversely affected by changes to housing benefit regulations; and

(2)       approval be given to an Agreement being entered into with Wirral Borough Council to help establish a Landlord Accreditation scheme, at an estimated cost of £28,000.

Reasons for Decisions:

While there is a clear need and justification for establishing an Accreditation scheme, there are resource implications. While potential Housing Benefit Transition Fund resources have been identified to help establish a scheme, Officers need to alert Members to the resource implications which would arise in future years in retaining and operating a scheme. Officers do not have authority to enter into such a commitment.

The Government’s intention is that the Housing Benefit Transition Fund is used to target support to help meet the housing needs of claimants affected by Housing Benefit changes. Funding would be used to enhance financial advice services to assist clients adversely affected by changes to housing benefit regulations. A holistic service would be provided in One Stop Shops in Bootle and Southport by training selected staff to provide advice on benefits, money and debt and finding employment.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

There was no obligation on the Council to establish a Landlord Accreditation scheme.  Consequently, the options were to either pursue the establishment of a scheme or not.  If the Council chose to pursue establishing a scheme, the feasibility report provided further options on how this could be taken forward.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment on the award of grant funding of £30,803 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to undertake further investigations into potentially contaminated land.

Decision Made:

The Council be recommended to include the grant of £30,803 in the Council’s Capital Programme for 2012/13.

Reasons for Decision:

The acceptance of the grant funding and undertaking the investigation would assist the Council in discharging its statutory duty in relation to managing contaminated land in an appropriate manner.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Not to accept the time related grant and to fund further investigation from core resources.