Agenda, decisions and minutes

No apologies for absence were received for the meeting.

No declarations of interests were made.

[For approval]

Resolved:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 15 June 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

[To approve the capital budget outturn 2021-2022 including quarter one capital monitoring 2022-2023]

That Council be recommended to approve:

1.    The revised, medium term General Fund capital programme of £367.8 million, a net increase of £152,000 from the previously approved programme, and the change in associated resources.

That Cabinet approves:

1.    The virements for the General Fund capital programme detailed at Appendix 4 to the report to the report for;

i.   existing projects totalling £4.2 million;

ii.  new projects totalling £1.2 million.

2.    The virements for the Housing  Revenue Account (HRA) capital programme detailed at Appendix 4 to the report for;

i.   existing projects totalling £14.6 million;

ii.  new projects totalling £500,000.

3.    Delegate authority to the Deputy Director of Assets to approve virements from the Provision for future programmes budget within the Corporate Asset Management capital programme to individual schemes in order that corporate priorities can be addressed in an agile and timely manner.

That Cabinetnotes:

1.    That there are two new projects which are subject to separate detailed project reports also on today’s agenda to Cabinet (Resources) Panel meeting. The inclusion of these projects is for budget approval purpose and is on the assumption that the approval to progress with these projects is given. As the progression is dependent on this decision, if the projects are not approved, the capital programme will be reduced accordingly. The name of these projects are;

·        Children’s Residential Homes;

·        Noose Lane to School Street Active Travel Route.

Councillor Obaida Ahmed presented the report on an update on the outturn position for 2021-2022 and on the 2022-2023 financial performance of the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital programmes, including a revised forecast for 2022-2023 to 2026-2027, as at quarter one of 2022-2023. The report also set out revisions to the current approved capital programmes covering the period 2022-2023 to 2026-2027 for recommendation to Full Council.  Councillor Ahmed said that the report provided further details and updates on key projects such as, the Council had continued to use its capital programmes wisely to invest in the Council’s priorities for the city in regeneration, school buildings, the road network, IT and in its housing estate. The capital programme also included significant investment programmes that aspire to create an environment where new and existing businesses can thrive, people can develop the skills they need to secure jobs and create neighbourhoods in which people are proud to live.

Resolved:

That Council be recommended to approve:

1.    The revised, medium term General Fund capital programme of £367.8 million, a net increase of £152,000 from the previously approved programme, and the change in associated resources.

That Cabinet approves:

1.    The virements for the General Fund capital programme detailed at Appendix 4 to the report to the report for;

i.   existing projects totalling £4.2 million;

ii.  new projects totalling £1.2 million.

2.    The virements for the Housing  Revenue Account (HRA) capital programme detailed at Appendix 4 to the report for;

i.   existing projects totalling £14.6 million;

ii.  new projects totalling £500,000.

3.    Delegate authority to the Deputy Director of Assets to approve virements from the Provision for future programmes budget within the Corporate Asset Management capital programme to individual schemes in order that corporate priorities can be addressed in an agile and timely manner.

That Cabinetnotes:

1.    That there are two new projects which are subject to separate detailed project reports also on today’s agenda to Cabinet (Resources) Panel meeting. The inclusion of these projects is for budget approval purpose and is on the assumption that the approval to progress with these projects is given. As the progression is dependent on this decision, if the projects are not approved, the capital programme would be reduced accordingly. The name of these projects are;

·        Children’s Residential Homes;

·        Noose Lane to School Street Active Travel Route.

[To approve the Treasury Management - Annual Report 2021-2022 and Activity Monitoring Quarter One 2022-2023]

That Council be asked to note:

1.    The Council operated within the overall approved Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, and also within the requirements set out in the Council’s Treasury Management Policy Statement during 2021-2022.

2.    That revenue underspends of £1.0 million for the General Fund and £738,000 for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) were generated from treasury management activities in 2021-2022.

3.    That the General Fund and HRA treasury management activities for 2022-2023 are currently forecast to be within budget.  This would  continue to be monitored, and updates provided in future reports.

That Cabinet notes:

1.    The financial information included in this report is based on the ‘Capital Budget Outturn 2021-2022 including Quarter One Capital Monitoring 2022-2023’ report also on the agenda for this meeting.  The capital report is subject to two reports being separately approved by Cabinet (Resources) Panel on 6 July 2022.  Therefore, if this approval is not obtained, a revised version of this report would be presented to Council on 20 July 2022.

2.    The Council’s external borrowing has remained unchanged from 2020-2021 as there were no repayments of loans due in 2021-2022 and no new loans were taken out during the financial year.

3.    That CIPFA have recently consulted on temporary proposals to update the CIPFA code of practice on Local Authority Accounting for infrastructure assets.  At the time of writing, the outcome of the consultation has not been published.  However, in response to the issues being considered by CIPFA, the Council is currently reviewing its accounting policy and would be discussing the findings with the Council’s external auditors.  This may result in additional charges being made on Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) for the General Fund for 2021-2022 onwards.  Once this work has been concluded, an update would be reported to Cabinet.

Councillor Obaida Ahmed presented the Treasury Management report for recommendation to Full Council for approval.   The report set out the results of treasury management activities carried out in 2021-2022, together with performance against the Prudential Indicators previously approved by Council.  Councillor Ahmed reported that key messages from the report were  that as a council we had operated within our overall approved prudential and treasury management indicators during 2021-2022 and had built up a strong track record of managing the Council’s finances well.  In order to reduce interest payment costs the Council’s strategy was to only undertake external borrowing when our cash flows required and the Council had not undertaken any new external borrowing since March 2019. External borrowing remained at £720.4 million which was well within the Council’s limit.

Resolved:

That Council be asked to note:

1.    The Council operated within the overall approved Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, and also within the requirements set out in the Council’s Treasury Management Policy Statement during 2021-2022.

2.    That revenue underspends of £1.0 million for the General Fund and £738,000 for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) were generated from treasury management activities in 2021-2022.

3.    That the General Fund and HRA treasury management activities for 2022-2023 are currently forecast to be within budget.  This would  continue to be monitored, and updates provided in future reports.

That Cabinet notes:

1.    The financial information included in this report is based on the ‘Capital Budget Outturn 2021-2022 including Quarter One Capital Monitoring 2022-2023’ report also on the agenda for this meeting.  The capital report is subject to two reports being separately approved by Cabinet (Resources) Panel on 6 July 2022.  Therefore, if this approval is not obtained, a revised version of this report would be presented to Council on 20 July 2022.

2.    The Council’s external borrowing has remained unchanged from 2020-2021 as there were no repayments of loans due in 2021-2022 and no new loans were taken out during the financial year.

3.    That CIPFA have recently consulted on temporary proposals to update the CIPFA code of practice on Local Authority Accounting for infrastructure assets.  At the time of writing, the outcome of the consultation has not been published.  However, in response to the issues being considered by CIPFA, the Council is currently reviewing its accounting policy and would be discussing the findings with the Council’s external auditors.  This may result in additional charges being made on Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) for the General Fund for 2021-2022 onwards.  Once this work has been concluded, an update would be reported to Cabinet.

[To consider the Select Committee Report in relation to The Wolverhampton Pound: Procurement, Contract Management and Commissioning]

That Council be recommended to:

1.    Endorse the recommendations in The Wolverhampton Pound Select Committee Action Plan attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

Councillor Ian Brookfield presented the Select Committee Report: The Wolverhampton Pound - Contract Management and Commissioning for recommendation to Full Council for approval of the Select Committee Action Plan.  Councillor Brookfield reported that The Wolverhampton Pound was the Council's attempt, with its city partners, to keep and recirculate as much of the public authority wealth, both economic and social within the city and its  communities. The more public authorities spend their own wealth within the city, that would continue to safeguard and create new jobs and make a substantial difference.

The Select Committee considered the following lines of inquiry:

·        ‘How do we engage with local businesses and the community and voluntary sector in relation to procurement, contract management and commissioning and how do we ensure inclusivity, equality and value for money in these approaches?’

·        How do we engage with partners, local businesses and the community and voluntary sector to make the City a catalyst for change by ensuring that all contracts reflect our values in areas such as climate change, equality, diversity and inclusion, retaining and growing local wealth and having a real presence in the City?’

Cabinet paid tribute to the Chair (Councillor Susan Roberts MBE) and members of the Select Committee for their excellent work. 

Resolved:

That Council be recommended to:

1.    Endorse the recommendations in The Wolverhampton Pound Select Committee Action Plan attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

[To present the Wolverhampton Youth Justice Plan 2022-2023]

That Council be recommended to:

1.    Approve the adoption of the Youth Justice Plan 2022-2023.

That Cabinetnotes:

1.    The specific achievement of the Youth Offending Team during 2021-2022 including a reduction in first time entrants, a reduction in re-offending rates and a reduction in the number of young people receiving a custodial sentence.

Councillor Beverley Momenabadi presented Wolverhampton’s Youth Justice Plan 2022-2023 for recommendation to Full Council for approval. The plan set out the work of the Youth Offending Team (YOT) that was overseen by the partnership YOT Management Board. The primary focus of a YOT was to prevent and reduce the offending behaviour of young people aged up to 18.  The YOT plan focussed on three overarching national indicators on which performance was measured; the number of first-time entrants into the youth justice system, the number of young people who reoffend after their first offence and the number of young people who receive a custodial sentence as opposed to a community sentence. 

Councillor Momenabadi highlighted key achievements in the previous year and priorities for the YOT in the forthcoming year as contained in the plan. She also reported that there had been a number of serious incidents in the city lately. The youth offending data was telling us that although the incident rate was low, the complexity of the incidents that are happening in the city are much higher.  She went on to mention some of the interventions that the YOT was working on with different groups and in a multi-agency way, to make sure they respond to those incidents fast. Cabinet was also informed of work taking place, including with Police and Crime Commissioner's Office about some wider messaging to children and young people particularly around knife crime.

Resolved:

That Council be recommended to:

1.    Approve the adoption of the Youth Justice Plan 2022-2023.

That Cabinetnotes:

1.    The specific achievement of the Youth Offending Team during 2021-2022 including a reduction in first time entrants, a reduction in re-offending rates and a reduction in the number of young people receiving a custodial sentence.

[To approve public consultation during summer 2022 on proposed additional housing sites in Walsall, as an extension to the Regulation 18 consultation on the Draft Black Country Plan which took place in autumn 2021]

1.      That the Draft Black Country Plan – Additional Housing Sites in Walsall (Appendix 1) and Sustainability Appraisal Report (Appendix 2), be approved for consultation during summer 2022.

2.      That authority be delegated to the Deputy Leader: Inclusive City Economy, in consultation with the Director of Regeneration, to approve any necessary minor amendments to the Draft Black Country Plan – Additional Housing Sites in Walsall and Sustainability Appraisal Report prior to commencement of the consultation process.

Councillor Stephen Simkins presented the Draft Black Country Plan - Additional Housing Sites in Walsall and Sustainability Appraisal Report for approval and formal public consultations during summer 2022. Following a review of consultation responses on the draft Black Country Plan undertaken during summer 2021 and completion of new evidence, three additional sites in Walsall were now considered potentially suitable for housing needs. These sites needed to be subject to formal public consultation before the Black Country Plan could move to the next stage of consultation.

Resolved:

1.    That the Draft Black Country Plan – Additional Housing Sites in Walsall (Appendix 1) and Sustainability Appraisal Report (Appendix 2), be approved for consultation during summer 2022.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Deputy Leader: Inclusive City Economy, in consultation with the Director of Regeneration, to approve any necessary minor amendments to the Draft Black Country Plan – Additional Housing Sites in Walsall and Sustainability Appraisal Report prior to commencement of the consultation process.

[To present the final programme report, highlighting achievements, challenges and the learn and embed plan]

That the learning from Headstart into future planning of wellbeing services for children and young people be endorsed.

Councillor Beverley Momenabadi presented salient points from the report on how the learning from HeadStart, a wide ranging programme offering different ways to support mental and emotional wellbeing, would be embedded within the future offer for children, young people and their families in the city. In doing so she informed Cabinet that the report was a wrap up and celebration of the HeadStart project and that there would be some great follow up and work in the area of children's mental health and wellbeing to continue in the city. The programme had made a difference not just to children and young people's lives, but to their parents and carers.  HeadStart had been a lifeline for many parents in the city who would not have accessed that kind of support were it not in their own community. 

Resolved:

That the learning from HeadStart into future planning of wellbeing services for children and young people be endorsed.