Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm as a true record the Record of Decision of the meeting held on 13 October 2022.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 13 October be approved.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2022 be approved.

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

Cllr Jordan declared an interest in Minute item 51a as he was involved in a business in the care sector.

Cllr Stephens also declared an interest in Minute item 51a as his partner was employed as a personal assistant in the care sector.

Questions may be asked without notice but to guarantee a full reply at the meeting, a question must be put including the name and address of the questioner by delivery in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. Normally, Cabinet is held on Thursday, therefore the deadline for written questions will be Monday 7 November 2022.

There were no public questions.

The Chairman had no announcements to make.

That Cabinet approves the Performance and Finance Report for the Quarter ended 30 September 2022, and the priority report detail as set out in appendices 1-10,together with the council’s financial position as set out at appendices 11-12.

The usual periodical report was presented to Cabinet. There were no questions raised.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approves the Performance and Finance Report for the Quarter ended 30 September 2022, and the priority report detail as set out in appendices 1-10,together with the council’s financial position as set out at appendices 11-12.

Record their preference to increase the maximum level of support for working age cases to 70 per cent (from the current maximum level of 65 per cent) subject to it being affordable to the Council and therefore considered alongside (and part of) the Council's overall Budget for 2023/24

Add a local welfare payment disregard to mirror housing benefit regulations

Disregard any increase in welfare benefit payments due to crisis or emergency provision.

One year previously the council had halted the decline in the amount of relief given under the scheme. Consultation had been undertaken prior to the latest report and the options were presented.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet agrees to;

Option 1 ­­– Record their preference to increase the maximum level of support for working age cases to 70 per cent (from the current maximum level of 65 per cent) subject to it being affordable to the Council and therefore considered alongside (and part of) the Council's overall Budget for 2023/24

Option 4 ­­-   To add a local welfare payment disregard to mirror housing benefit regulations.

Option 5 -   To disregard any increase in welfare benefit payments due to crisis or emergency provision.

To retain the Wightcare service in-house and develop two-year cost recovery model from April 2023 to achieve financial breakeven, reducing dependency on public funds and stabilising the service for the future under statutory charging guidance.  This recommendation is supported by an independent review of the service by the industry body, the TSA.

Councillors Jordan and Stephens left the room for this item.

The council had been subsiding the Wightcare service by £549,603 and it was intended that the service should revert to net cost over the following two-year period, subject to future funding. Thanks were expressed to officers for their work in bringing the report forward.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet agrees:

To retain the Wightcare service in-house and develop two-year cost recovery model from April 2023 to achieve financial breakeven, reducing dependency on public funds and stabilising the service for the future under statutory charging guidance.  This recommendation is supported by an independent review of the service by the industry body, the TSA.

That the Newport and Ryde Commercial Frontages Design Guide be adopted as a supplementary planning document.

That any final editorial and presentational changes to the draft supplementary planning document are delegated to the Director of Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Enforcement. These changes will not alter the meaning of the document and will be restricted to grammatical and typographical errors.

High Streets were currently suffering from decline, and anything which would support and enhance them would be encouraged, Substantial grant funding had been received from Historic England which was a welcome investment. There would be no financial implications for the council. Credit was given to staff and to Ryde Town Council and Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council for the positive partnership working.

RESOLVED:

That the Newport and Ryde Commercial Frontages Design Guide be adopted as a supplementary planning document.

That any final editorial and presentational changes to the draft supplementary planning document are delegated to the Director of Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Enforcement. These changes will not alter the meaning of the document and will be restricted to grammatical and typographical errors.

Option 1 - Approve the freehold sale of KMP, to a third party, as detailed in Confidential Appendices 1,2 and 3, subject to contract and achieving detailed planning consent.

Delegate the authority to approve final terms following this decision to both the Cabinet Member for Levelling Up, Regeneration, Business Development and Tourism and the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance, Transformational Change and Corporate Resources in consultation with the Director of Regeneration and the council's Section 151 officer.

The site had been marketed over the previous ten years. The proposed development would provide up to 1000 jobs. If sold, the council would retain the right to buy back some of the land for storage. The Director of Regeneration provided a response to a number of questions from the Corporate Scrutiny Committee, including

a)    that the full market price would be achieved,

b)    that the draft heads of terms would ensure that the land was not sold on for alternative purposes once it had been disposed of,

c)     that discussions had taken place with the proposed developer regarding a sustainable travel plan which would be submitted as part of the planning process

d)    the possibility of the use of the site for the marine industry had been fully explored and discounted due to Environmental Regulations and other implications which limited that opportunity.

e)    The proposed purchaser had provided further information regarding the proposed breakdown of jobs, which would involve construction, supply and on-site staff.

f)      The possible use of the site for social housing had been fully considered, however the site was allocated for employment use in the existing island plan, therefore its use for housing would involve a change in policy, furthermore a third of the site was not developable due to its condition and topography and could not be used for housing.

The local member welcomed the creation of jobs in a variety of industries and noted that there were other sites in the area which would be available for ship building.

In response to concerns raised by Cllr Spink confirmation was given that the confidentiality issue had been properly considered and weighed up against the public interest. The Monitoring Officer confirmed that there was a point in time when Corporate Scrutiny Committee members could access the confidential papers, but that the matter was being dealt with openly as far as possible by the report being made public, with the appendices remaining confidential.

RESOLVED:

To approve the freehold sale of KMP, to a third party, as detailed in Confidential Appendices 1,2 and 3, subject to contract and achieving detailed planning consent.

Delegate the authority to approve final terms following this decision to both the Cabinet Member for Levelling Up, Regeneration, Business Development and Tourism and the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance, Transformational Change and Corporate Resources in consultation with the Director of Regeneration and the council's Section 151 officer.

To invite Cabinet Members to provide a brief update on matters concerning their portfolio.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Enforcement had been working on driving forward the recommendations from the planning peer review. There was to be a further meeting in November following which more detail would be provided on the progress made and the future action plan. Work on enforcement was also progressing following the peer review, with an Enforcement Strategy due to be presented to Cabinet in the new year.

A drainage and flood risk manager’s post had been created within planning services to deal with flooding and drainage issues with a more proactive way of working planned. Consultants had been commissioned on the preparation of a document for sustainable drainage solutions (SUDS), which would become a supplementary planning document. It was hoped that consultation would take place in early 2023.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment, Heritage, Human Resources and Legal and Democratic Services reported that there had been a breach of the sea defences on the Esplanade in Ventnor. A large section had been washed away. There was a temporary closure and the public were asked to respect the closure as the area was dangerous. The EA had provided support. A programme of works would follow.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health had attended the Strategic Drug and Alcohol Partnership Engagement workshop and would be bringing forward a report for all councillors to consider. He had also attended a conference in Manchester with Cllr Love and relevant directors. Concerns had been shared regarding government funding which may be delayed further. It was possible that a presentation may be extended to Town and Parish Councils in the early part of the next financial year. Thanks were expressed to volunteers, carers and Wightcare staff for their work.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Lifelong Skills had gained a wealth of information from the same conference regarding SEND, ADHD and ASD and had taken part in some successful networking. She had also attended a Halloween party for looked-after children, also attended by relevant directors. She had attended the Island Riding Centre which was giving opportunities for vulnerable children.

It was ‘have your say’ week for fostering and adoption families.

The new Yarmouth Primary School at Freshwater was 6-8 weeks head of schedule and it was hoped that the hand-over would take place on 9 December, and the moving-in over the Christmas period ready for the children to start at the new school in the new year.

The Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Highways PFI and Transport explained that requests were still being received for 20mph speed limits. The speed review had almost reached the end of the data gathering stage with the start of collation into a report to Cabinet around March 2023. No speed interventions would be implemented until after that time.

Cabinet Members to identify decisions which need to be amended, added or to be removed from the Forward Plan.

Members noted the contents of the Forward Plan and there was nothing of concern.

To guarantee a reply to a question, a question  must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Tuesday 8 November 2022. A question may be asked at the meeting without prior notice but in these circumstances there is no guarantee that a full reply will be given at the meeting.

There were no members’ questions.