Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

All Members were present and no apologies were noted.

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code.  Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Personal interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

No requests to make a deputation had been received.

It was noted that Councillor Adrian Collett would speak on the item relating to Brexit (minute 97 refers) and Councillor Keith House would speak on the items relating to Budget Setting, the Public Health Annual Report and Brexit (minutes 91, 95 and 97 refer) with the agreement of the Chairman.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman reported that he had recently represented the County Council at the NCAS and CCN conferences, with both having a focus on the financial pressures facing County Councils in the areas of Adult Care and Children’s Services. It was noted that although the position in Hampshire remained challenging, prudent financial management had gone some way to mitigating the difficulties faced by others.

Meetings with regional organisations, SEEC and SESL, had also been held and the Chairman explained that to draw together the various voices representing the South East region, he was proposing a federation of these two groups and a number of others. The aim was to ensure the needs and voice of the region was clear and understood, especially in light of the large net tax contribution to the Exchequer.

The Chairman highlighted to Cabinet some of the very successful Remembrance events held in November, in particular the concert held with German school children in Romsey Abbey. At a reception for the Hampshire Regiment Association, the Chairman had been able to present £15,000 from the County Council to enable the completion of refurbishment of the Memorial Garden at Serles House.

To receive a report of the Director of Corporate Resources regarding budget setting and provisional cash limits 2019/20

[Councillor Mans declared a Personal Interest by virtue of being a Board Member for the Enterprise M3 LEP and remained in the meeting]

Cabinet received a report of the Director of Corporate Resources regarding budget setting and provisional cash limits 2019/20.

In introducing the report, the Chairman noted that the final financial settlement for 2019/20 had not yet been received; he highlighted the loan being made available to the Enterprise M3 LEP and the position on Members’ devolved budgets.

The Director set out the key elements of the report, with particular reference to the autumn budget statement and consequential increase in funding in specific areas for the County Council. Across the organisation departments all faced financial pressure and were working hard to remain within cash limits and to develop high level savings targets for Transformation to 2021. It was confirmed that the loan facility being made available to the LEP was to enable cash flow for projects crossing financial years.

Councillor House addressed Cabinet at the invitation of the Chairman.

He raised a number of points relating to the County Council’s load to the LEP, affordable homes and the implications of the end of austerity as announced by the Prime Minister.

It was confirmed that LEP loans were effectively secured via the assured income to the LEP from an agreed government grant.

Cabinet Members noted that the report detailed provision for the continuation of service provision for vulnerable Children and Adults within the resources available. The scale of the Capital Programme, which also generated significant investment in the Hampshire economy was recognised as were the benefits of working with partners to ensure joined up service delivery. It was highlighted that new housing was the responsibility of District Councils, however the County Council had been very successful in the delivery of high-quality Extra Care housing.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. The decision record is attached.

To receive a report of the Chief Executive regarding the Transformation to 2019 programme

Cabinet received a report of the Chief Executive providing an update on the Transformation to 2019 Programme.

The report was introduced and it was highlighted that progress against the savings targets was good and on target. Cabinet were advised that the on-boarding of the three London Boroughs (Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Hammersmith and Fulham) to the Council’s successful shared service arrangements, was delivered on time and on budget at the beginning of December. The Digital and Productivity programmes had also been successfully implemented across the County Council. With reference to the Transformation to 2021 programme, the importance of completing the current programme was stressed, in order to ensure there would not be a savings legacy to carry forward.

Cabinet welcomed the report and noted the impact of both an ageing population and of increasing numbers of children in care on the pressures being faced by the County Council. It was recognised that Hampshire’s ability to retain capacity had enabled it to deliver programmes such as Digital to achieve savings.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. The decision record is attached.

To receive a report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care regarding the Extra Care housing programme

Cabinet received a report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care regarding the Extra Care housing programme.

In introducing the report, the programme was outlined and it was noted that a further benefit had been the significant revenue savings achieved through the improvement of facilities.

Cabinet applauded the quality of the care and the facilities and recognised the positive impact on people’s lives.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. The decision record is attached.

To receive a report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care regarding the Hampshire County Strategy Group for Community Safety

Cabinet received a report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care regarding the Hampshire County Strategy Group for Community Safety

The basis and development of the County Strategy Group was set out for Cabinet and it was heard that the outcomes and work of the Group had been reported in a number of different forums, including to the Policy and Resources Select Committee.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. The decision record is attached.

To receive the annual report of the Director of Public Health

Cabinet received a report presenting the annual report of the Director of Public Health.

It was confirmed that it was a statutory duty of the Director of Public Health to prepare an annual report. This particular report focussed on the importance of place to health.

With the agreement of the Chairman, Councillor House addressed Cabinet. Welcoming an interesting report with useful statistics, he questioned the impact of austerity on public health and the relationship with other Council services.

The Executive Member for Public Health assured Cabinet that the public health team worked in close partnership with all County Council departments to ensure the maximisation of service delivery. Furthermore that details of all of the different ways in which public health was engaged with County Council activities would require a separate report. Cabinet acknowledged that this was reflective of the cross departmental approach to service delivery across the organisation and cited a number of examples.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. The decision record is attached.

To receive a report of the Chief Executive setting out the 2018/19 Q2 Performance Report

Cabinet received a report of the Chief Executive setting out the 2018/19 Q2 Performance Report.

The report was introduced with particular reference to the approach to performance analysis and the methodology. Key performance points were highlighted to Cabinet.

Cabinet noted the high level of performance reported across a number of key areas/ They acknowledged the transition from internal to external sources of measuring performance and the consequential independent validation of the data.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. The decision record is attached.

To receive a report of the Chief Executive regarding the potential impact on the County Council’s resources and services of BREXIT

Cabinet received a report of the Chief Executive regarding the potential impact on the County Council’s resources and services of Brexit.

It was noted that this report focussed specifically on the issues facing the County Council. The Leader reported that he had personally attended a number of meetings about the impact on local government as a whole and acknowledged that the situation was fast moving. An assurance of support to complete any residency requirements was given to the c. 300 EU nationals employed by the County Council. The Leader also recognised the potential impact on traffic through the port of Portsmouth in particular, on trading standards and confirmed that he was seeking reassurance that EU related income to Hampshire through grants and the Common Agricultural Policy would be replaced following Brexit.

The Chief Executive introduced the content of the report, highlighting three key themes of: general preparation, resilience in the event of there being no Brexit deal and the workforce implications.

With the agreement of the Chairman, Councillor Collett addressed Cabinet. Thanking officers for the report and welcoming the Leader’s reassurances around EU funding, he cited his own positive experience of European co-operation and explained why he would like to debate the issue in Full Council. . 

With the agreement of the Chairman, Councillor House addressed Cabinet. He expressed disappointment that the report did not consider wider implications of Brexit on the County. He noted that by February the process of agreeing a Brexit deal would be further advanced.

It was confirmed that the remit of the report had been to evaluate the impact on Council services, however it also highlighted the extent of work undertaken at a regional and national level. The section of the report setting out the next steps, including reference to the wider economic impact and the proposal for a Hampshire Conference was drawn to Cabinet’s attention. The work and preparations of the local resilience forum was outlined, particularly in the areas of travel, services, information and data sharing and public disorder.

Cabinet agreed that as a body, the County Council was responsible for its own service delivery and therefore it was correct that the report focussed on the potential impact on the delivery of those services. It was reported that opportunities for investment in Hampshire were being explored on an ongoing basis. It was confirmed that the Council motion would be considered at the next meeting of Cabinet and that the respective mover and seconder of the motion would be given an opportunity to speak.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. The decision record is attached.