Agenda and decisions

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 23 May 2024.

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Members of the Executive to answer questions submitted by members of the public in accordance with the Executive Procedure Rules contained in the Council’s Constitution.

Councillors or Members of the public may present any petition which they have received. These will normally be referred to the appropriate Committee without discussion.

Purpose: To set out to the Executive the process for the delivery of the 2025-26 budget papers. The 2024-25 Revenue Budget included the highest level of savings that the Council has ever been required to make. The combination of very high inflationary rises, significant increases in demand for services and national core spending power for local government remaining below 2010-11, all led to this very high level of saving need. The capital budget was constructed with the revenue budget clearly in mind, and it is crucial that two budgeting processes complement one another to enable the delivery of the Council Strategy 2023-27.

Purpose:

To report on the under or overspends against the Council’s approved capital budget and proposed reprofiling of planned expenditure into subsequent financial years.

To present the provisional outturn position for financial year 2023/24 against the approved capital programme and financing implications for financial year 2024/25.

Resolved that: Executive note

·       The provisional outturn underspend against the 2023/24 capital programme of £47.7 million.

·       The impact of required capital financing on the Council’s Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) and liability benchmark which identifies the Council as a long-term borrower of funding. (Appendix C).

·       £13.6 million of planned expenditure to be reprofiled into financial year 2024/25 (project details in Appendix B).

·       £1.7 million of funding proposed to be brought forward from approved expenditure from financial year 2024/25 into financial year 2023/24 (project details in Appendix B).

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: To report on the financial performance of the Council’s revenue budgets. The report highlights where over and underspends against budget have occurred during the year and reasons for these, as well as the overall position for the financial year.

Resolved that: Executive

·       Note the provisional management accounting outturn of £3.1m overspend, a reduction of £0.15m from Quarter Three.

·       Note the continuation of Financial Review Panel (FRP) meeting weekly to ensure the spending limits are being adhered to and to monitor the measures around recruitment, staffing and agency.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·     Report is to note only

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Purpose: To provide an update on the recent Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Local Authority Assessment in West Berkshire.

Resolved that:

Adult Social Care (ASC) leads work to deliver the following actions:

·       Develop and implement an action plan to progress issues identified through the assurance process. The plan will include engagement with relevant colleagues including Commissioning & Procurement, Human Resources, Digital and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead.

·       Incorporate CQC feedback into the updated ASC Strategy

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: To provide details of forthcoming supply, service and works contract awards that will have a contract value in excess of £2.5m and as such will require approval from Executive during the next quarter.  The report provides Executive with visibility of all high value contracting activity and the opportunity to request further information regarding any of the contracts identified.

Resolved that:

·       Executive delegate authority to an individual (Service Director) to proceed with the award of the contracts in table 4.5 in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, following the completion of the appropriate procurement process and Procurement Board approval of a Contract Award report.    

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: To publish the action plan in response to the recommendations from the Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge for West Berkshire Council.

Resolved that: Executive

·       Approve the actions that are being taken to address the recommendations within the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge Report.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: To seek approval for West Berkshire Council (WBC) to agree the disposal of part of Dunstan Park site by Thatcham Town Council (TTC) to West Berkshire Therapy Centre (WBTC) and to forego its clawback right held within the land ownership transfer of Dunstan Park, Thatcham to Thatcham Town Council (TTC), to enable the disposal of part of the site for the development of a community hydrotherapy centre.

Resolved that:

·       The Executive resolves to grant delegate authority to the Service Lead for Legal and Democratic Services having consulted with the Service Director Finance to agree the disposal between TTC and WBTC and to forego its clawback right contained within the land transfer linked specifically to the disposal to the West Berkshire Therapy Centre (WBTC) for the purposes of the development of a new hydrotherapy centre on the site.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: To introduce the proposed Home to School Transport policy for the academic year 2025/26. The proposed policy is being brought forward at this early stage as it must be ready when admissions open for the 25/26 academic year in September 2024.

Resolved that the Home to School Transport policy for 2025/26 is approved for publication.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: To provide assurance that the priority areas in the Council Strategy 2023-2027 are being managed effectively, and where performance has fallen below the expected level, present information on the remedial action taken and the impact of that action. To ensure effective oversight to Councillors, staff and residents regarding progress made towards the achievement of the outcomes detailed in the Council Strategy Delivery Plan.

Resolved that: Executive

·       Note the progress made in delivering the Council Strategy Delivery Plan 2023-2027, maintaining a strong outcome for the majority of the measures, and remedial actions taken, where appropriate, where performance is below target.

·       In line with the performance management policy, to approve remedial actions, including requests to update/reprofile measures and targets agreed by the Council, to help assess performance, pending the Council’s approval of the annual refresh of the Delivery Plan.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: This report presents the revised SEND and Inclusion Strategy 2024-29. It is accompanied by a detailed Delivery Plan addressing the priorities contained in the Strategy.

Resolved that Executive consider and approve the SEND and Inclusion Strategy 2024-29.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: To provide the Executive with further information to allow consideration of a Motion presented to Council at its meeting of 26^th March in respect of the Bond Riverside culvert.

Resolved that the motion is not taken forward but that some of the principals and aims of the motion be incorporated into the Drainage and Flood Risk capital programme and managed through the Council’s existing governance structure.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.

Members of the Executive to answer questions submitted by Councillors in accordance with the Executive Procedure Rules contained in the Council’s Constitution.

RECOMMENDATION: That members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items as it is likely that there would be disclosure of exempt information of the description contained in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 specified in brackets in the heading of each item. Section 10 of Part 10 of the Constitution refers.

(Paragraph 6 – information relating to proposed action to be taken by the Local Authority)

Purpose: To provide an update to contracts included and referenced in the above report, included at Agenda Item 10 on this meeting agenda.

Resolved that: Executive approve the recommendation in the exempt report.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 2 August 2024, then it will be implemented.