Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Tanya Park and Councillor David Harrison attended the meeting as the Liberal Democrat substitute.

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 Non-Pecuniary 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.

No declarations were made at this meeting.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 January 2024.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 27 June 2024 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

There were no deputations on this occasion.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman thanked members on the Task and Finish group for their work in scrutinising the consultation process on these two Savings Proposals, in particular the Chairman, Councillor Rod Cooper.

He also advised the Committee on how the Proposals would be managed on the agenda.

To consider a report from the Hampshire 2050, Corporate Services and Resources Task & Finish Working Group, which looked at the savings proposals to be taken to Cabinet.

The Chairman of the SP25 Hampshire 2050 Task and Finish Group (T&FG) reported on the scrutiny of the consultation process for the two SP25 proposals: the Centrally Administered Competitive one-off Grant Schemes and the Hampshire Cultural Trust’s (HCT) Management and Funding Agreement (Item 6 in the Minute Book).

The Committee noted that the consultation responses were in line with expectations, which was to say that whilst a significant percentage of respondents supported both proposals, those who had used particular venues, or benefited from particular grants were more likely to oppose the proposals.

Members heard that the T&F Group had unanimously agreed that the Consultation had been a comprehensive process which had given residents the information and opportunity to make reasoned responses and that it provided the County Council with the necessary information to consider the impacts of the proposal on the residents of Hampshire.

The Committee discussed the low response rate and questioned how this could be improved for future consultations. The Director advised that this would be looked into and would update the Committee in due course.

RESOLVED:

That the Hampshire 2050, Corporate Services and Resources Select Committee notes:

1.    That the cross-party Working Group held 3 meetings between December 2023 and May 2024 and had the opportunity to discuss the consultation process and the consultation feedback.

2.    That following this scrutiny, the Working Group unanimously agreed that the Consultation had been a comprehensive process which had given residents the information and opportunity to make reasoned responses and that it provided the County Council with the necessary information to consider the impacts of the proposal on the residents of Hampshire.

3.    The key areas of scrutiny and discussion as described in paragraphs 13-24 of this report.

To pre-scrutinise the following SP25 savings proposals going to Cabinet:

-       Competitive (one-off) grant schemes (Appendix 8 for Cabinet)

-       Hampshire Cultural Trust grant (Appendix 9 for Cabinet)

Members took into account the covering report, which included a draft Cabinet report for 14 October 2024 (Item 7 in the Minute Book) when considering Items 7a and 7b on the agenda.

For full minute and resolutions of Items 7a and 7b – see Minute Numbers 60 and 61.

The Competitive (one-off) grant schemes proposals and Equality Impact Assessment.

The Committee considered the Appendix 8, alongside the covering report and draft Cabinet report, relating to SP25 Proposal on Competitive one-off grant schemes (Item 7a in the Minute Book).

The Director of Hampshire 2050 highlighted the main points of the covering report and Appendix to the Cabinet report and advised removal of the discretionary competitive one-off grants schemes which would contribute a recurring £481,000 towards addressing the County Council’s overall budget deficit.

During discussion, Members were advised:

·         the consultation showed that there was broad agreement to the withdrawal of these grant schemes.

·         many of the organisations could mitigate the impact of the withdrawal of the schemes by seeking additional funding sources such as national bodies, fundraising efforts, charging for services and donations.

·         the County Council would signpost organisations to alternative sources of funding.

RESOLVED:

That the Select Committee:

Supports the recommendations made by officers to the Cabinet set out in Appendix 8 – Competitive One-Off Grant Schemes of the Draft Report to Cabinet, as detailed below:

That Cabinet approves the following recommendation:

Withdraw three competitive grant schemes which provide one-off funding grants to a range of community groups and organisations, Parish and Town Councils, namely:

- Leader’s Community Grants

- Rural Communities Fund (including country shows)

- Parish and Town Councils

The Hampshire Cultural Trust grant proposals and Equality Impact Assessment.

The Committee considered Appendix 9, alongside the covering report and draft Cabinet report, relating to the SP25 Proposal on Hampshire Cultural Trust Grant (Item 7b in the Minute Book).

The Director of Hampshire 2050 highlighted the salient points of the covering report and Appendix to the Cabinet report. During the discussion, Members learned that:

·         funding reduction would take effect in 2027/28.

·         The Trust had chosen not to specifically comment on this proposal. However, the County Council were currently in discussion with the Trust on how they could make efficiencies which included increasing income and making changes to their service model.

·         under the Management and Funding Agreement, the loan agreement states that current collections are the property of Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council and would remain as such.

·         HCT is a registered charity and as such could attract national and other funding.

The Committee expressed their appreciation of the Trust for its creativity, innovation and service to Hampshire communities, which was very much valued.

RESOLVED:

That the Select Committee:

Supports the recommendation made by officers to the Cabinet set out in Appendix 9 – HCT Grant Reduction of the Report to Cabinet, as detailed below:

- That Cabinet approves the following recommendation:

Reduce the annual grant to Hampshire Cultural Trust by £600,000 from 1 April 2027.

To consider and approve the Hampshire 2050, Corporate Services and Resources Select Committee Work Programme.

The Committee considered the work programme (Item 8 in the Minute Book) and accordingly it was,

RESOLVED:

That the Select Committee agrees the current items for the work programme, which would be prioritised and allocated by the Chairman of the Hampshire 2050, Corporate Services and Resources Select Committee, in consultation with the Directors of Corporate Operations, Hampshire 2050 and People and Organisation.