Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm as a true record the Record of Decision of the meeting held on 9 February 2023.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2023 be approved.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2023 be approved.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

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 6 March 2023.

A written question had been received from Diana Conyers on behalf of IWALC (PQ 11-23) concerning the review of the council’s Constitution. The Leader provided a response.

A written question was also received from Steve Cowley (PQ 12-23) regarding consultation around the sale of the former Yarmouth School site. The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Lifelong Skills provided a response.

The Chairman had showed her support for International Women’s Day along with the Chief Executive and other Councillors.

The decision was deferred to a later date.

The required amount of notice had not been given for this item and the decision was therefore deferred.

That, having been presented with the statutory sufficiency assessment, the Cabinet is satisfied that the local authority has met its statutory obligations in respect of the Early Years Childcare Sufficiency Assessment.

The council had a statutory duty to ensure sufficient early years childcare to meet parental need. Confirmation was given that the council was fulfilling its statutory requirement.

RESOLVED:

That, having been presented with the statutory sufficiency assessment, the Cabinet was satisfied that the local authority has met its statutory obligations in respect of the Early Years Childcare Sufficiency Assessment.

That Cabinet agrees to option one:

That the Cabinet approves the continuation of the Public Health Partnership until September 2025 when an updated agreement will be considered.

This matter had been considered by the Policy and Scrutiny Committee for Health and Social Care in December 2022. The LGA peer review had found good progress and recognised the value of the partnership, despite difficulties faced. It was proposed to consider entering into a Service Level Agreement in 2025. Disappointment was expressed at the lateness of the Public Health Grant, and it was hoped that this would soon be received.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet approves the continuation of the Public Health Partnership until September 2025 when an updated agreement will be considered.

To note the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health 2022/23.

To endorse the ambition within the Annual Report to continue to provide and support organisations and services to enable, empower and facilitate residents, to be happy, healthy and active as they get older.

The Director of Public Health had chosen ‘ageing well on the island’ to be the area of focus due to its high number of ageing and older people. The purpose was to promote healthy ageing and provide support for healthy and active older people. The report was to be submitted to the Health and Wellbeing Board and shared with partners before being published on the council’s website.

RESOLVED:

To note the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health 2022/23.

To endorse the ambition within the Annual Report to continue to provide and support organisations and services to enable, empower and facilitate residents, to be happy, healthy and active as they get older.

That Cabinet agree that the existing partnership is replaced by a new Isle of Wight Health and Care Partnership (IHCP) and a new Isle of Wight Health and Care Executive Delivery Group (IEDG).

That Cabinet approve the suggested membership and responsibilities for both the IHCP and IEDG as perthe terms of reference (as amended) in Appendix 1.

That Cabinet agree that these new groups are established by April 2023, with the current partnership having its last meeting in March 2023.

The Cabinet member for Adult Social Care and Public Health made some minor amendments to the report and appendices as follows:

• Report - Paragraph 11 – second sentence – amended to:

  “We will engage and consult with our local community on how this is   best achieved…..”

• Appendix 1 – Terms of Reference

          Frequency of Meetings – final bullet point amended to:

          “The IHCP is intended to be held in public meeting unless grounds for excluding from a specific agenda item”

• Governance – fifth bullet point amended to:

          “An Annual General Meeting will be held to enable wider Public           engagement of the work undertaken and achieved by the IHCP and           agree and elect Chairperson/Deputy Chairperson role.”

• Added final bullet point – “The membership will be reviewed and elected annually.”

The proposed changes to the existing partnership arrangements were highlighted in the report. The financial allocation for the Isle of Wight had still to be determined however, services provided by the NHS national forecast had an annual structural deficit of £21 million, and the council’s forecasted overspend in Children’s and ASC of £7 million, both of which may fluctuate due to additional pressures caused by the difficult current financial climate.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet agree that the existing partnership is replaced by a new Isle of Wight Health and Care Partnership (IHCP) and a new Isle of Wight Health and Care Executive Delivery Group (IEDG).

That Cabinet approve the suggested membership and responsibilities for both the IHCP and IEDG as perthe terms of reference (as amended) in Appendix 1.

That Cabinet agree that these new groups are established by April 2023, with the current partnership having its last meeting in March 2023.

Cabinet approves the Isle of Wight Carers Strategy 2023 – 2028 enabling the strategy to progress to approval and adoption by the Isle of Wight Health and Care Partnership Board

Recognition was given to all the people in the community who had contributed to the development of the strategy, which was the result of much consultation and collaboration with carers and their families. The strategy was aspirational in its offer made to carers and had been endorsed by the governance bodies of the IW NHS Trust and Integrated Care Board as well as the Scrutiny Committee for Health and Social Care. If approved, it would go forward to the Isle of Wight Health and Care Partnership Board. The strategy would be kept under review. It was noted that the strategy was not aimed at young carers but did include signposting to the appropriate services.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet approves the Isle of Wight Carers Strategy 2023 – 2028 enabling the strategy to progress to approval and adoption by the Isle of Wight Health and Care Partnership Board

That Cabinet recommends to Full Council the approval of the continuation of the Isle of Wight Council’s discretionary scheme to disregard War Disablement and War Widow’s Pensions in full, from the calculation of income for Housing Benefit purposes (Option A),

And that Cabinet recommends that Full Council delegates future minor changes or reviews to this scheme to the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance, Transformational Change and Corporate Resources in consultation with the Benefits Manager (Option C).

The Council had discretion over certain elements of income when calculating Housing Benefit entitlement. In recognising the veterans on the island and giving all possible support to them and their families it was proposed to disregard War Disablement and War Widows’ pensions and exclude them from the calculations.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet recommends to Full Council the approval of the continuation of the Isle of Wight Council’s discretionary scheme to disregard War Disablement and War Widow’s Pensions in full, from the calculation of income for Housing Benefit purposes,

And that Cabinet recommends that Full Council delegates future minor changes or reviews to this scheme to the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance, Transformational Change and Corporate Resources in consultation with the Benefits Manager.

That the Cabinet recommends to Full Council that Full Council declares its intention to implement and approve the following council tax premiums, to be applied from 1 April 2024 or as soon thereafter as possible, subject to the legislation being in place:

i)                 A 100% premium for second homes;

ii)               A 100% premium for properties that have been empty and unfurnished for a period of between 1 and 5 years – that does change the current policy of charging a 100% premium where a property has ben empty and unfurnished for a period of between 2 and 5 years.

The Levelling Up Bill was currently going through parliament. If enacted, it would enable local authorities to charge a premium on second homes and empty properties. It was proposed that this be implemented at the earliest opportunity if and when the legislation was passed.

Members were hopeful that should the legislation be passed it could potentially bring in a substantial amount of revenue which could be reinvested to help deliver affordable homes and help those of the housing list. Although it was still some way off, it was important to prepare for this.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet recommends to Full Council that Full Council declares its intention to implement and approve the following council tax premiums, to be applied from 1 April 2024 or as soon thereafter as possible, subject to the legislation being in place:

i)          A 100% premium for second homes;

ii)         A 100% premium for properties that have been empty and unfurnished for a period of between 1 and 5 years – that does change the current policy of charging a 100% premium where a property has been empty and unfurnished for a period of between 2 and 5 years.

To approve the proposed restrictions that are subject to this report in relation to The Isle of Wight Council (Various Streets, Wroxall) (Traffic Regulation) Order No 1 2022with amendment.

Cabinet agrees to abandon part of the proposed restriction in both sides of the High Street, from the junction with Clarence Road to the entrance of the local inn’s car park. The rest of the proposed restriction in Plan 1 of Appendix 1 to be implemented.

Cabinet agrees to proceed with proposals as indicated at St John’s Road in close proximity to the junction with Worsley Drive (Plan 3 of Appendix 1).

Cabinet agrees to remove and no implement the proposed scheme at St John’s Road in the area directly opposite Cleveland Terrace (Plan 2 of Appendix 1).

Three schemes were proposed, which had come from the risks identified on the safety asset register. The recommendation in the report was amended as a result of responses to the consultations, to try and reach a balance.

RESOLVED:

To approve the proposed restrictions that are subject to this report in relation to The Isle of Wight Council (Various Streets, Wroxall) (Traffic Regulation) Order No 1 2022 with amendment.

Cabinet agrees to abandon part of the proposed restriction in both sides of the High Street, from the junction with Clarence Road to the entrance of the local inn’s car park. The rest of the proposed restriction in Plan 1 of Appendix 1 to be implemented.

Cabinet agrees to proceed with proposals as indicated at St John’s Road in close proximity to the junction with Worsley Drive (Plan 3 of Appendix 1).

Cabinet agrees to remove and no implement the proposed scheme at St John’s Road in the area directly opposite Cleveland Terrace (Plan 2 of Appendix 1).

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

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Lifelong Skills reported that a further Community Pantry had opened in Pyle Street, Newport, bringing the total number to four. It was announced that Steve Crocker, Director of Children’s Services was to retire after 30 years in Children’s Services. He had been working with IW Council since 2015 and would be leaving at the end of March.

The Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance, Transformational Change and Corporate Resources reported that there was to be a drop-in session at the Riverside Centre with Southern Water to hear their plans for dealing with sewage issues.

The Cabinet Member for Levelling Up, Regeneration, Business Development and Tourism reported that the final drop-in session for comments on the Cultural Strategy would take place at Quay Arts Centre on 10 March.

The Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Highways PFI and Transport reported that the floating bridge was to be taken out of service in a few weeks’ time for its annual MCA inspection. Maintenance would also be carried out at the same time.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health reported that the island had won a gold award in London at the Public Sector Transformation Awards, for its work in healthcare for the Living Well service, in partnership with Aspire.

The Cabinet Member for Community Protection, Regulatory Services and Waste reported that she had recently met with the Police and Crime Commissioner and would be arranging a ‘meet’ event on the island. The Deputy PCC would be attending the Health and Wellbeing Board. Letters were to be sent to residents in unmade private roads asking them to fill in potholes and cut back trees and hedges that were becoming a risk to waste collection staff. The closing date for garden waste subscriptions was 17 March.

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

The items on the Forward Plan were considered. An item was to be added for the Sexual Health Service tender for 8 June’s Cabinet meeting. The Delegated Decision for ECO4 had now been signed.

The Forward Plan would be updated following the deferral of the paper relating to Academic Year term dates.

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 7 March 2023. 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.

A question was asked by Cllr Stuart, relating to the Blanchards housing development in his ward, and the lack of access to the social housing. Cabinet was asked whether they could assist in speeding up access to the properties. The Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Highways PFI and Transport responded that he had sent a full written reply to Cllr Stuart detailing the discussions with the contractor. For various reasons, including Wightfibre works at the same time, access would not be until the end of May or beginning of June at the earliest.