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 previous 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 Jackie Porter would speak on the items relating to Children’s Safeguarding (minute 83 refers) and to Air Quality (minute 85 refers), with the agreement of the Chairman.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman highlighted to Cabinet the budget report recently presented to Parliament, noting particularly the additional funding for the NHS, but also for adult care, children’s safeguarding and highway maintenance. The Chairman had joined other County Council Leaders in thanking Government for this and also pointing out the severe pressures facing upper-tier Authorities. The likely £25 million cost of repairing the Redbridge flyover was raised and it was confirmed that specific financial support for this was being sought from Government.

It was announced that advice from Government had been received to confirm there would be no further progress on the proposed Combined Authority of Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. This was welcomed and the Chairman committed to working co-operatively with the other Authorities and retaining the integrity of Hampshire. In this regard, the recent announcement for the formation of a Unitary County in Buckinghamshire was noted and the Chairman confirmed Hampshire’s commitment to the existing two-tier system.

The Government review of LEPs was drawn to the attention of Cabinet and it was explained that the two Hampshire LEPs had proposed a realignment to result in District areas split between them, becoming wholly incorporated into one or the other. This was contrary to the Hampshire proposal that the two LEPs combine into a single organisation.

An update was provided on the progress of the Commission of Inquiry and all Members of the Council were encouraged to engage with it.

A number of forthcoming events to mark Remembrance Sunday were highlighted, including events at the Great Hall, at Royal Victoria Country Park and a subsequent concert at Romsey Abbey.

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Resources regarding treasury management activity during the year.

Cabinet received a report of the Director of Corporate Resources setting out the mid year treasury management position.

The report was introduced and it was confirmed that an annual mid-year update was required by CIPFA guidance. Key points relating to the borrowing position and investments were highlighted and it was confirmed that in all cases the levels of security, liquidity and return were considered in that order of priority. A shift in investments away from the banking sector, which was no longer Government protected and therefore entailed higher risk, was reported.

Cabinet noted the fast paced level of variation in the stock markets and felt that risks across different sectors should be balanced. It was confirmed that this was continuously being done and agreed that future reports also include reference to the stress testing of banks with regard to their investment potential.

The high levels of return demonstrated in table 4 of the report were welcomed and it was noted that this was at lower levels of risk than those associated with property investment.

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

To consider a report of the Director of Children’s Services giving an update on the department’s activity on safeguarding children.

Cabinet received the annual safeguarding report of the Director of Children’s Services.

The report was introduced and it was highlighted that the demand for safeguarding was increasing as part of a national trend and the response in Hampshire to this had been robust and timely. It was explained that the increases were as a result of higher numbers of initial contacts and raised awareness of potential issues. It was confirmed that the threshold for intervention had not changed.

With the agreement of the Chairman, Councillor Jackie Porter addressed Cabinet. Councillor Porter expressed her congratulations on the consistently high level of regard for children’s safeguarding in the County Council. She raised the issue of the closure of an app run by the police to allow people to report concerns and also felt improvements could be made to the accessibility of contact information on the County Council’s mobile website. Councillor Porter also asked that consideration be given to supporting pre-schools in being able to report concerns about children.

Councillor Porter was thanked for her comments. It was confirmed that there were known issues with the website that were being addressed and that her concerns about the closure of the app would be fed back to colleagues in the Police.

Cabinet noted the increasing number of unaccompanied asylum seekers within the care system in Hampshire and it was confirmed that these were a combination of children entering the County directly and those moved into Hampshire as part of a national distribution scheme.

With regard to the report, the concept of neglect was discussed. It was explained that amongst care professionals there was a growing awareness of the impact of a neglectful environment and of the forms of neglect.

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

To consider a report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care giving an update on the activity and progress within the area of adult safeguarding.

Cabinet received the annual safeguarding report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care.

In introducing the report, a number of developments over the past year were drawn to the attention of Cabinet. These included in particular work with the Hampshire Safeguarding Board, work with the Children’s Board to improve coherence with families, and improvements in the capture and reporting of information with a consequential improvement in pro-active effectiveness. It was noted that the County Council was working with other agencies on a report into historic failures at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital.

Risks identified in the report were also highlighted, including those relating to the capacity and resource pressures caused by the need to manage Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS). The Chairman confirmed that he had written to Government regarding the burden of DOLS on the Council.

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

To consider a report of the Director of Economy, Transport and Environment and Director of Public Health regarding emerging issues relating to air quality and the County Council’s approach to these.  

Cabinet received a report of the Director of Economy, Transport and Environment and Director of Public Health regarding emerging issues relating to air quality and the County Council’s approach to these.

It was explained that air quality was a concern nationally and that a formal direction had been issued to investigate high levels of nitrous oxide at four sites in Hampshire. Similar directions had also been issued to the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth. It was noted that responsibility for air quality lay with District and Borough Councils, however the County was responsible for highways, being a primary cause of poor air quality, and for public health, where the impact of poor air quality could be felt. The process of benchmarking measures against the possibility of a clean air charging zone in conjunction with District Councils was set out. It was explained that a clean air charging zone posed the risk of simply moving the problem somewhere else and ultimately national strategies to remove the most polluting vehicles would be the most beneficial.

With the agreement of the Chairman Councillor Jackie Porter addressed Cabinet. Councillor Porter highlighted the particular risk to children of poor air quality as usually this was worse nearer to the ground. She explained that it was an issue for children who walk to school, especially as the traffic congestion at those times of day further worsened air quality. Councillor Porter recognised that there were many factors involved in tackling air quality and called for consideration to be given for off-road walking options to benefit children.

Cabinet acknowledged that the County Council would play a co-ordination role as improving air quality wasn’t something that could be achieved in isolation. The four areas identified as having poor air quality would be dealt with, but long term strategies for the whole County area would be considered. It was recognised that there was no additional funding for the formation of air quality management areas, furthermore that the requirement to consult on potentially ineffective charging zones had caused public alarm.

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