Agenda and minutes

The Cabinet considered the report of the Interim Director of Adult Social Care and Health in relation to a request to enter into a new arrangement under Section 75 of the National Health Act 2006 Section 75 Agreement with each of the two Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) of Southport and Formby and South Sefton covering the population of Sefton.

Decision Made:     That the Cabinet:

(1)           note the work to date on the new Section 75 Agreement; and

(2)           that delegated authority be granted to the Chief Executive, Chief Legal and Democratic Officer and Head of Corporate Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member, Health and Wellbeing, to complete and enter into a new Section 75 Agreement with Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Group and South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group. The agreement will be for a three-year period.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Interim Director of Children’s Social Care and Education in relation to a request seeking approval to commence a statutory consultation process on the future of St Teresa’s Catholic Infant School. 

The report also referred to a request from the School Governors of St Teresa’s Catholic Infant School to consider the possibility of a merger with their neighbouring Catholic primary school, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, be explored.

The Leader, Councillor Maher highlighted that there had been a typographical error in the report, reference paragraph 5.1 to the report and stated that the figure should read 39% surplus places and not 61%.

Councillor Maher reported that a petition containing 25 signatures had been received and that the Lead petitioner, Mrs L. McCormick would be given five minutes to make her representations to the meeting of Cabinet.

Mrs L. McCormick made representations to the Cabinet in relation to the proposal to commence Statutory Consultation regarding the future of St Teresa’s Catholic Infant School.

Cabinet Members were given the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarifications.  The following comments were made:

·       That the Local Authority had received a request to approve a deficit budget for 2019/20 from the Chair of Governors at St Teresa’s Catholic Infant School and a request was made for the Local Authority to explore a merger with Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School.

·       Falling numbers were referred to. 

·       That this report was the first stage of exploring the future options of St Teresa’s Catholic Infant School.

·       That no decision was being taken today in relation to the outcome of the future of the School.

·       The report was seeking approval to commence the statutory consultation process .

·       The financial health of the School was highlighted and its deficit position. 

·       It was highlighted that Local Authority have a responsibility to pick up the costs of the deficit of a School and so all options have to be investigated and consulted upon.

Councillor Maher thanked Mrs L. McCormick for attending the Meeting.

Decision Made:         That the Cabinet:

(1)           note the request from the Governing body of St Teresa’s Infant School;

(2)           note the statutory process outlined in the report: and

(3)           approve the commencement of the statutory consultation process relating to the future operation of St Teresa’s Catholic Infant School via the publication of a consultation paper agreed between the Council and the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Locality Services in relation to the request to undertake a compliant tender exercise for the procurement of vehicle parts, components and associated services for the vehicle maintenance service in order to provide such parts, components and services at a more economically advantageous rate.

Decision Made:      That the Cabinet:

(1)           authorise the Head of Locality Services to conduct a procurement exercise for the provision of vehicle parts, components and associated services with a view to entering into a contract for a maximum period of 5 years comprising an initial 3 year period with an option to extend for up to 2 periods of 12 months; and

(2)          grant delegated authority to the Head of Locality Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Locality Services to award the Contract resulting from the procurement and to award any extension thereof.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Locality Services in relation to the procurement of Specialist Transport vehicles.  The report detailed that   the current Specialist Transport vehicle fleet was initially purchased in 2012/13, with the prudential borrowing being repaid over a five year period up to 2017/18.  Following the final repayment of all purchase costs, the fleet is currently being operated for an additional two years (2018/19 and 2019/20).  The report also highlighted that as the fleet is seven years old, it will have reached the point at which it is no longer reliable, and an increased number of breakdowns would be expected, coupled with greatly increased maintenance costs.  As such, a replacement vehicle fleet will be required.

The report also explained that in order to procure a new fleet during 2020/21, the procurement process must commence in advance of the vehicles being required.  Therefore, in order to provide continuity of service, permission is being sought to commence the required procurement process.

Decision Made:         That the Cabinet:

(1)              authorise the Head of Locality Services to conduct a procurement exercise for the replacement of the Special Transport vehicle fleet: and

(2)             grant delegated authority to the Head of Locality Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Locality Services to award the contract resulting from the procurement.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Locality Services in relation to the Merseyside Procurement Partnership (MPP) for Commercial Vehicle Hire of which St Helens Council act as lead Authority.  The collaborative group consists of St Helens Council, Liverpool City Council, Halton BC, Knowsley BC, Sefton Council and Wirral Council. The rationale for this collaborative approach is to ensure that competitive pricing is received for the range of hired vehicles required by authorities across Merseyside.

Decision Made:

That the Cabinet grant delegated authority to the Head of Locality Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Locality Services to commit to the Collaborative Vehicle Hire Contract renewal exercise organised on behalf of Merseyside Authorities by St Helens Council, for a maximum period of 5 years comprising an initial 4 year period with an option to extend for 1 period of 12 months.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Executive Director in relation to Sefton being the Liverpool City Region’s Borough of Culture for 2020, and an outline programme and business plan have been developed for the year following consultation and engagement with partners and communities across the borough. This feedback recommends focus on local history and the environment as the two priority areas for the programme, with emphasis in all events, activities and initiatives on participation (inclusive of all communities), permanence (assets, activities and relationships lasting beyond 2020), partnerships (working with partner organisations and communities across the borough), and on engendering local pride in Sefton.

Decision Made:      That the Cabinet:

(1)    approved the outline structure of the programme and the business plan;

(2)    granted delegated authority for finalisation of the detailed programme to the Cabinet Member (Communities and Housing);

(3)   noted that a supplementary revenue estimate of £0.200m to be fully funded by the Liverpool City Region, be approved by the Executive Director in consultation with the Cabinet (Communities and Housing) and the Section 151 Officer in accordance with Financial Procedure Rules;

(4)  granted delegated authority for approval of allocations of available funding in excess of £5,000 to the Cabinet Member (Communities and Housing); and

(5)   granted delegated authority for approval of allocations of available funding below £5,000 to the Borough of Culture Steering Group, chaired by the Executive Director, in accordance with the approved detailed programme.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources in relation to the Council’s Corporate Apprenticeship Programme, progress to date, an overview of recruitment, procurement and the approach to these issues. The report also sets out how the Council intends to deliver the Corporate Apprenticeship Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2022 to ensure that a highly trained, ambitious and flexible workforce is maintained whilst continuing to attract and retain the very highest talent to live and work in Sefton to deliver our Vision 2030 and Core Purpose.

Decision Made:           That the Cabinet:

(1)          Noted the performance of Sefton’s Corporate Apprenticeship Programme; and

(2)           approved the Corporate Apprenticeship Strategy and Action Plan for 2019 – 2022. 

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources in relation to:

1.             the current forecast revenue outturn position for the Council for 2019/20;

2.             the current forecast on Council Tax and Business Rates collection for 2019/20; and,

3.             the monitoring position of the Council’s capital programme to the end of August 2019, the forecast expenditure to year end, variations against the approved budgets and an explanation of those variations for consideration by Members. Updates to spending profiles and proposed amendments to capital budgets necessary to ensure the efficient delivery of capital projects are also presented for approval.

Decision Made: That the Cabinet:

(1)              note the following in relation to the Revenue Budget;

(a)           the current forecast revenue outturn position for 2019/20 and the current position relating to delivery of savings included in the 2019/20 revenue budget;

(b)           the mitigating measures being used to ensure a balanced forecast outturn position;

(2)      note the following in relation to the Capital Programme;

(a)          the latest capital expenditure position as at 31 August 2019 to date of £4.7m (paragraph 5.2.2) with the latest full year forecast being £26.7m (paragraph 5.3.1);

(b)           the explanations of variances to project budgets (paragraph 5.3.2); and

(c)           that capital resources will be managed by the Head of Corporate Resources to ensure the capital programme remains fully funded and that capital funding arrangements secure the maximum financial benefit to the Council.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources with a request to exchange a conditional contract for the disposal of the former St Wilfrid’s RC High School site to Bellway Homes in accordance with the Council’s Asset Disposal Policy. 

Decision Made: That the Cabinet:

(1)         notes that the proposal is a Key Decision that had not been included in the Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions.  Consequently, the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services) has been consulted under Rule 27 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution, to the decision being made by the Cabinet as a matter of urgency on the basis that it was impracticable to defer the decision until Cabinet in November due to the requirement to conclude the legal position and exchange contracts with Bellway Homes, arising from external contract and project plan commitments;

(2)    notes that the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services) has been consulted under Rule 46 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution, waiving call in due to the need to resolve on the basis that the decision cannot be reasonably deferred because of the urgency to conclude the legal position and exchange of contracts, arising from external contract and project plan commitments.

(3)     notes the progress of negotiations with Bellway Homes and the beneficiary of the restrictive covenant for its release and a further report on the sum required for such covenant release be submitted to the Cabinet Member - Regulatory Compliance and Corporate Services in conjunction with the Head of Corporate Resources for approval once the outstanding matters have been resolved;

(4)          confirms that there is no objection to exchanging conditional contracts with Bellway Homes to achieve best consideration;

(5)          notes the current strategy that officers are pursuing with the Education Funding and Skills Agency (EFSA) to secure Section 77 consent under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998; and

(6)      approves that the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer complete the necessary legal documentation for the disposal of the site subject to the resolution of the conditions of contract for sale.