Agenda, decisions and minutes

To note any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr Dave Norman (Cabinet Member: Public Protection, Parking and Libraries) and from Cllr Kathy Williams (Cabinet Member: Adult Social Care Delivery).

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2019 (minutes attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2019 were confirmed and signed as a true record of that meeting.

To  declare any pecuniary or personal interests relating to specific matters on the agenda.

Please see information note (1) at the end of the agenda

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Written questions

To answer any written questions from a County Councillor, (or any person living or working in the county, or is affected by the work of the County Council), about any matter which relates to any item on the agenda for the meeting.

The closing date for the receipt of questions was 4.00 pm on Thursday 13 June 2019

To discuss any questions relating to this meeting, please contact jo.moore@gloucestershire.gov.uk

A written answer will be provided for each question and presented to the questioner and to Cabinet Members in advance of the meeting. The questions and answers will be taken as read at the meeting. At the discretion of the Leader of Council, each questioner in attendance at the meeting will be allowed to ask one supplementary question in response to the answer to the original question.

A copy of the questions and answers circulated at the meeting will be attached to the signed copy of the minutes of the meeting.

Urgent questions

An urgent written question may be asked by a member of the public about any item on the Cabinet agenda for that meeting which the Chairperson considers could not have been reasonably submitted by the deadline for the receipt of written questions, provided he or she gives notice of the question to the Chief Executive by 12 noon on the day before the meeting.

A total of 9 (public) questions and 13 member questions were submitted for consideration prior to the meeting.

Please refer to the link below to view the responses to the questions: -

http://192.168.220.171:9071/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=117&MId=9228&Ver=4   

If unable to access the document at the link above, please go to the link below and select the ‘Cabinet Questions and Answers’ PDF document at the top of the web page: - 

http://192.168.220.171:9071/documents/b15591/Cabinet%20Questions%20and%20Answers%20Wednesday%2019-Jun-2019%2010.00%20Cabinet.pdf?T=9 

The following supplementary questions were asked at the meeting.

Public Questions:

Question 1: Cllr David Willingham (Cheltenham Borough Councillor)

Agenda Item 14: Gloucestershire Child Safeguarding Arrangements: Working Together (2018)

Cllr Willingham stated that the answer to his question had suggested that the statutory minimum stipulated by government guidance on safeguarding arrangements was ‘good enough’. Cllr Willingham questioned whether the council had learned lessons from Rotherham Borough Council and asked if Cllr Boyles would include ‘Safeguarding through Licensing’ in the council’s proposed Working Together document and arrangements for safeguarding children.

Response by: Cllr Richard Boyles (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People)

Cllr Boyles explained that, during the past couple of years, the council had been in recovery from the Ofsted inspection, with lots of examples of where Gloucestershire had created its own interpretations of guidance, which had not always turned out to been helpful. Cllr Boyles believed it was important to stick to the guidance provided in respect of Working Together and unnecessary to confuse people by considering alterations to the arrangements.  

Question 3: Cllr David Willingham (Cheltenham Borough Councillor)

Agenda Item 14: Gloucestershire Child Safeguarding Arrangements: Working Together (2018)

Cllr Willingham questioned why, if service level agreements and quality assurance processes agreed with other authorities for the issuing of licenses were being adhered to, why did child safeguarding situations arise?

Response by: Cllr Richard Boyles (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People)

Cllr Boyles stated that the council had clear data sharing policies for the safeguarding and protection of children and followed clear guidance for working with multi agency partners. Cllr Boyles stressed the importance of working together for the safeguarding of children and confirmed that the council had mechanisms in place for the sharing of data with other authorities. He informed Cllr Willingham that several offers had been made to Cheltenham Borough Council to meet to discuss and assist with any issues, but that this had not been taken up. Cllr Boyles assured Cllr Willingham the council had clear protocols in place for the sharing of data.

Question 4:Cllr David Willingham (Cheltenham Borough Councillor)

Agenda Item 14: Gloucestershire Child Safeguarding Arrangements: Working Together (2018)

Cllr Willingham suggested that the protocol for the sharing of data was not working effectively and that on two occasions the process had been unacceptable. Cllr Willingham requested that Cllr Boyles set up a cabinet working group or a cross party task and finish group to consider the issues he had expressed concern about, involving everyone.

Response by: Cllr Richard Boyles (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People)

Cllr Boyles confirmed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider the Council’s outturn expenditure for 2018/19 and approve changes to the Capital Programme 2019/20.  

Cllr Lynden Stowe presented the Council’s outturn expenditure for 2018/19 and proposed changes to the Capital Programme 2019/20. 

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

1.    Note the overall 2018/19 revenue budget underspend of £2.905 million and approve the following transfers.

1.1.        Transfer £1.824 million to the Vulnerable Adults Reserve.  This funding will be used to progress projects and investment in community based provision that supports the Adult Single Programme in 2019/20 and to manage demand pressures.

1.2.        Approve the carry forward of £0.386 million to 2019/20 to complete two year projects within Children’s Services which were originally funded by additional “one off” budget allocations in 2017/18. The initial start of these projects was delayed.

1.3.        Approve a revenue contribution of £0.120 million to the Trevone House capital refurbishment project as a result of additional slippage in the IRIS Project in 2018/19.

1.4.        Approve the transfer of the £0.35 million Public Health underspend to the Public Health Reserve.

1.5.        Transfer £1.534 million to the Strategic Waste Reserve to fund the EFW (Energy from Waste) smoothing requirement.

1.6.        Transfer £0.438 million to the C&I Reserve for the carry forward of one off funding for the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Improvement Project

1.7.        Transfer £0.496 million to the C&I Reserve for the carry forward of Highways Local funding

1.8.        Transfer £0.025 million to Economic Stimulus Reserve for the Joint Strategic Rail Strategy between GCC, LEP and partners to inform future policy and investment decisions.

1.9.        Transfer £0.150 million to the C&I Reserve which relates to income from Boots Corner camera enforcement to cover future costs of Cheltenham Transport Plan including Boots Corner experimental changes and related measures.

1.10.     Transfer £0.09 million of the surplus generated by Traded Services to the Traded Services Reserve

1.11.     Transfer £0.440 million to the Transformation Reserve from the Technical & Corporate Budget.to enable implementation of the a new payment system

1.12.     Transfer £0.800 from the corporate insurance reserves to the Transformation Reserve to support future transformation initiatives.

1.13.     Transfer £3.83 million to the Business Rates Retention Reserve in relation to the GCC share of the additional surplus on the 100% Business Rates Pilot (this includes £2.23 million already earmarked for Children Services within the 2019/20 budget approved by Full Council in February 2019). In addition approve a transfer of £3.44 million to the Strategic Economic Development Fund also as a result of the 100% Business Rates Pilot, and.

1.14.     Other technical reserve movements for 2018/19 set out in Annex 1.

2.    Approve the transfer of the overall £2.905 million revenue budget underspend to the Transformation Reserve (£2.855 million) and to the Vision 2050 Working Fund (£0.050 million).

3.    Note the capital budget position for 2018/19 is £93.235 million, giving in year slippage of £8.152 million.

4.    Approve increases to the Capital Programme totalling £1.301 million for 2018/19 and future years made up of:

4.1.        £0.441 million for Adults schemes funded from  ...  view the full decision text for item 5.

Cllr Lynden Stowe presented the Council’s outturn expenditure for 2018/19 and proposed changes to the Capital Programme 2019/20. 

Cllr Stowe confirmed the final year end position for the end of 2018/19 as showing an underspend of £2.905 million, (on a net revenue budget of £418.081 million), and proposed that the underspend be transferred £2.855 million to the council’s Transformation Reserve for transformation initiatives and £0.05 million to a Vision 2050 working fund.

It was explained that this overall position included a number of significant variances, with the areas of major revenue risk continuing to relate to the care of vulnerable children and adults. Cllr Stowe stated that these demand-led budget areas continued to be subject to significant volatility due to the changes in client numbers and care needs and would need to be closely monitored and controlled in the new financial year.

Summarising some of the detail included in the report, Cllr Stowe confirmed the following information:

Meeting the Challenge (MTC) Savings: the 2018/19 budget included £18.686 million of savings. Overall £18.345 million or 98.2% of the target savings had been achieved in year, with the £0.341 million shortfall being covered by one-off savings and underspends.  The shortfall to roll forward, for which updates will be reported alongside agreed MTFS savings targets for 2019/20.

Transfers to Reserves - the outturn position included recommended transfers to reserves totalling £11.078 million (please refer to the report for details).

Carry forward approvals - as part of 2018/19 budget setting process, £6.303 million of one-off investments had been approved. The unspent elements of the investments had already been committed in 2019/20. On this basis, Cllr Stowe recommended that a total of £1.934 million be carried forward.

Acknowledging the impact of ongoing financial pressures and challenges on the Council, Cllr Stowe congratulated members and officers for their work in achieving £18m savings in 2018/19, including the £11m savings in Adult Social Care. Cllr Stowe also commended the Leader and Chief Executive of the Council for their successful lobbying of funding. He confirmed there was clearly more to do and thanked partners and Gloucestershire First Local Enterprise Partnership (Gfirst LEP) for their work in helping to deliver the council’s budget.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, echoed Cllr Stowe’s sentiments before expressing personal appreciation for the work involved in delivering the council budget, particularly when faced with the uncertainties surrounding the Government’s Annual Financial Settlement announcement each December. Cllr Hawthorne emphasised the benefits a comprehensive spending review from Government.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

1.    Note the overall 2018/19 revenue budget underspend of £2.905 million and approve the following transfers.

1.1.        Transfer £1.824 million to the Vulnerable Adults Reserve.  This funding will be used to progress projects and investment in community based provision that supports the Adult Single Programme in 2019/20 and to manage demand pressures.

1.2.        Approve the carry forward of £0.386 million  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To approve the procurement strategy and authorise the award of contracts for the bulking, haulage and treatment of garden waste. The current contract expires on 31 January 2020.

Cllr Nigel Moor, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, sought to approve the procurement strategy and authorise the award of contracts for the bulking, haulage and treatment of garden waste.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

1.    Approve the procurement strategy set out in the published decision report (attached to the agenda) to deliver bulking, haulage and treatment for Gloucestershire’s separately collected garden waste.

2.    Authorise the Head of Joint Waste Management, following consultation with the Chief Executive and the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning to:

a) Conduct a legally compliant competitive procurement process for the purpose of awarding contract(s) of 7 years plus an extension of 3 years for the provision of bulking, haulage and treatment in respect of Gloucestershire’s separately collected garden waste, and

b) Award such contract(s) (following the conclusion of the said procurement process) to the highest scoring tender(s) or, in the event that they are either unable or unwilling to enter into the proposed contract(s), to award such contract(s) to the next highest scoring tenderer(s).

Cllr Nigel Moor, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, sought approval of a procurement strategy and the award of contracts for the bulking, haulage and treatment of garden waste.

Cllr Moor proposed that the council undertake a competitive procurement process to obtain tenders and for the award of contracts for the continuation of garden waste composting services. The proposed service requirement to specify bidders provide one or more composting treatment facilities. Where facilities are located some distance outside any of the collection areas, (thereby making direct delivery impractical), the bidder to offer bulking and transfer within that collection area.

To assist this aim, the contracts to be evaluated and awarded in 4 geographic lots, comprising:

·         Forest of Dean District

·         Cotswold District

·         Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Borough (combined), and

·         Gloucester and Stroud District (combined)

To minimise risk increase, the contracts to be awarded for 7 years, with an option to extend for 3 years. It was explained that, due to the use of geographic lots, the contracts would be let to more than one provider, if able to offer the best value solution.

The new service to commence from January 2020.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

1.    Approve the procurement strategy set out in the published decision report (attached to the agenda) to deliver bulking, haulage and treatment for Gloucestershire’s separately collected garden waste.

2.    Authorise the Head of Joint Waste Management, following consultation with the Chief Executive and the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning to:

a) Conduct a legally compliant competitive procurement process for the purpose of awarding contract(s) of 7 years plus an extension of 3 years for the provision of bulking, haulage and treatment in respect of Gloucestershire’s separately collected garden waste, and

b) Award such contract(s) (following the conclusion of the said procurement process) to the highest scoring tender(s) or, in the event that they are either unable or unwilling to enter into the proposed contract(s), to award such contract(s) to the next highest scoring tenderer(s).

To seek approval to conduct a tender process for a multi-provider framework for the procurement of community based support services and for the procurement of buildings and community based day opportunities for people with disabilities and mental conditions and older people.

Cllr Roger Wilson, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care – Commissioning,   sought approval to conduct a tender process to establish a multi-provider framework for the procurement of community based support services and the procurement of buildings and community based day opportunities for people with disabilities and mental conditions and older people.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

Authorise the Commissioning Director (Adults and DASS) to:

1. Conduct EU and legally compliant tender processes for the award of:

(a)  A 4-year multi-provider framework for community based support services for people with disabilities, autism and/or a mental condition and/or older people; and

(b)  A 4-year multi-provider framework for the procurement of buildings and community based day opportunities services for people with disabilities, autism and/or a mental condition and older people,

both commencing on 1^st April 2020; and

2. Upon conclusion of the tender processes, to enter into a contract with the providers who have been evaluated as achieving the requisite score against the relevant evaluation criteria, in each case as set by the Council.

Cllr Roger Wilson, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care – Commissioning,   sought approval to conduct a tender process for the establishment of a multi-provider framework for the procurement of community based support services and the procurement of buildings and community based day opportunities for people with disabilities and mental conditions and older people.

Cllr Wilson explained that the County Council, the NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and the 2Gether NHS Foundation Trust had various joint commission systems in place for the provision of community-based support services for people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health conditions. He stated it was a strategic goal of the Adult Social Care team to align the timeframe and format of the systems with the award of a 4 year multi provider framework for community based buildings and day opportunity services.

The development of a framework structure for these areas will be consistent with the creation of frameworks in other areas of social care, notably in services for vulnerable people. Cllr Wilson explained that this would enable commissioners to maintain maximum flexibility in managing and awarding contracts with providers, whilst ensuring closer working and stronger relationships.

The tender process to begin in September 2019, with the new frameworks commencing  on 1 April 2020.

The integrated commissioning approach for delivering health and social care and the consistencies within the council’s processes, contractual terms, pricing and quality of service to continue under the new frameworks. By creating frameworks to encompass community-based support services for all service user groups, the aim is to further integrate procurement processes, avoid duplication and encourage providers in the local market to diversify.

Encouraging members to support the recommendations, Cllr Wilson confirmed there would be no financial impact from the proposals where current levels of demand remained the main influencing factor.  

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

Authorise the Commissioning Director (Adults and DASS) to:

1. Conduct EU and legally compliant tender processes for the award of:

(a)  A 4-year multi-provider framework for community based support services for people with disabilities, autism and/or a mental condition and/or older people; and

(b)  A 4-year multi-provider framework for the procurement of buildings and community based day opportunities services for people with disabilities, autism and/or a mental condition and older people,

both commencing on 1^st April 2020; and

2. Upon conclusion of the tender processes, to enter into a contract with the providers who have been evaluated as achieving the requisite score against the relevant evaluation criteria, in each case as set by the Council.

a)    To seek approval to extend Public Health Enhanced Services (PHES) contracts to general practices for a further three years. The award will secure service delivery from 2020 to 2023 of key areas of public health delivery.  

b)    To approve additional funding to cover projected increases in activity levels.

Cllr Tim Harman, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities, sought approval to extend the council’s Public Health Enhanced Services (PHES) contracts to general practices for a further three years and additional funding to cover projected increases in activity levels.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

Authorise the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities to:

(a)        Approve the extension of the current contracts the Council has with General Practices for the delivery of the Public Health Enhanced Services as detailed in this Report, which together have an estimated contract value of up to £4,644,000 (including recommendation d) over the contract extension period;

(b)        Ensure that that the contracts referred to at point (a) shall be for a maximum extension period of three years, commencing on the 1^st April 2020;

(c)        Ensure that notice, in accordance with the contract terms, is served in sufficient time to entitle the Council to extend the current contract terms; and retain the right to terminate on a no fault basis by giving no less than three months written notice to providers; and

(d)        Due to increases in the prescribing of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), to allocate an additional and necessary £180K to be utilised across the balance of the contact extension.

Cllr Tim Harman, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities, sought approval to extend the council’s Public Health Enhanced Services (PHES) contracts to general practices for a further three years and to seek additional funding to cover projected increases in activity levels.

He explained that, in July 2017, Cabinet had approved the direct award of the current PHES contracts to General Practices for five years (2018-2023). The contracts had an initial fixed term of two years, and included the option to extend for a further three years. The initial two year fixed term contract will end on 31 March 2020.

On this basis, Cllr Harman was seeking approval to exercise the contractual option to: 

a)    Extend the contracts for a further three years;

b)    Increase the budget allocation by up to £60K per annum to cover a projected increase in the Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) service in general practice.

This equated to an additional £180K above the allocation originally approved by Cabinet in July 2017.

Cllr Harman clarified that the decision sought to ‘roll forward’ the existing contract, combined with seeking funding for additional contraception needs. Noting the challenges of demand led services on existing budgets, Cllr Harman believed the proposals offered good value for money.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

Authorise the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities to:

(a)        Extend the current contracts the Council has with General Practices for the delivery of the Public Health Enhanced Services as detailed in this Report, which together have an estimated contract value of up to £4,644,000 (including recommendation d) over the contract extension period;

(b)        Ensure that that the contracts referred to at point (a) shall be for a maximum extension period of three years, commencing on the 1^st April 2020;

(c)        Ensure that notice, in accordance with the contract terms, is served in sufficient time to entitle the Council to extend the current contract terms; and retain the right to terminate on a no fault basis by giving no less than three months written notice to providers; and

(d)        Due to increases in the prescribing of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), to allocate an additional and necessary £180K to be utilised across the balance of the contact extension.

To seek authorisation to work with Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust (GCS) in the reconfiguring and expanding of the home based components of the new reablement service for Gloucestershire.  

Cllr Roger Wilson, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care: Commissioning, sought to develop and agree, (with Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust), a new reablement service in Gloucestershire to support people and thereby allowing them to remain independent in their own homes.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to authorise:

1.    The Director of Integration, in consultation with the Cabinet Members for Adult Social Care Commissioning and Adult Social Care Delivery, to work with Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust (GCS) as the preferred single lead provider in reconfiguring and expanding the Home Based components of the Reablement Service; including the establishment of a Home First offer that supports discharge from hospital.

2.    The continued utilisation of Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) employed reablement workers (currently managed by GCS under existing Section 113 arrangements) as the core staff that will deliver the higher levels of home-based reablement activity including the proposed new Home First service.

3.    The implementation of additional staffing capacity to deliver the Home-Based activity described in paragraph 1 of the published decision report, to be achieved through recruitment to currently established GCC roles (with potential additional capacity to be commissioned by GCS under Lead Provider arrangements).

4.    To adopt the Enhanced Independence Offer Operating Model outlined in section 3.3 of the published decision report (‘the Model) to enable people to remain independent for longer in their own homes.  This will enable the reconfiguration of short-term bed capacity, under existing contracts with third party suppliers, into ring fenced units that will provide capacity across the County. This will be optimised for the predicted reduction in reablement and assessment activity as more people receive support at home. Provision at Great Western Court will continue alongside the Enhanced Independence Offer Operating Model outlined in section 3.3 of the report (the “Model”).

5.    The targeting of existing GCC reablement services and funding in support of the proposed Model, whilst noting that the final configuration of reablement services will be determined by the Joint Commissioning Partnership Board, once NHS as well as GCC’s Adult Social Care demand and benefits are taken into account. 

Cllr Roger Wilson, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care: Commissioning, sought to develop and agree, (with Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust), a new reablement service in Gloucestershire to support people and thereby allowing them to remain independent in their own homes.

Cllr Wilson stated that the reconfiguration of reablement services was a key part of the council’s Adult Single Programme. Today’s decision would be to seek approval of a new model of working to ensure better pathways for patients requiring assistance to re-adjust to normal living after leaving hospital, and to free up vital hospital bed spaces.

It was proposed that the Council work with Gloucestershire Care Services as the preferred single lead provider for the reconfiguration and expansion of the home based components of the reablement service, including the establishment of a Home First offer to support patients discharge from hospital. Cllr Wilson explained that the Home First offer formed part of the whole reablement offer which, under the requirements of the Care Act 2014, needed to be completed within 6 weeks of discharge from hospital.   

The decision also sought approval for the implementation of additional staffing for Home First, (at no extra cost), achieved via the deployment of existing personnel in conjunction with Gloucestershire Care Services, and the creation of ring based beds in existing units across the County.

Cllr Wilson advised members that the proposal would assist in ensuring better use of council expenditure and help generate savings within Adult Social Care Services.  

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to authorise:

1.    The Director of Integration, in consultation with the Cabinet Members for Adult Social Care Commissioning and Adult Social Care Delivery, to work with Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust (GCS) as the preferred single lead provider in reconfiguring and expanding the Home Based components of the Reablement Service; including the establishment of a Home First offer that supports discharge from hospital.

2.    The continued utilisation of Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) employed reablement workers (currently managed by GCS under existing Section 113 arrangements) as the core staff that will deliver the higher levels of home-based reablement activity including the proposed new Home First service.

3.    The implementation of additional staffing capacity to deliver the Home-Based activity described in paragraph 1 of the published decision report, to be achieved through recruitment to currently established GCC roles (with potential additional capacity to be commissioned by GCS under Lead Provider arrangements).

4.    To adopt the Enhanced Independence Offer Operating Model outlined in section 3.3 of the published decision report (‘the Model) to enable people to remain independent for longer in their own homes.  This will enable the reconfiguration of short-term bed capacity, under existing contracts with third party suppliers, into ring fenced units that will provide capacity across the County. This will be optimised for the predicted reduction in reablement and assessment activity as more people receive support at home. Provision at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To seek authorisation to purchase a new small hybrid delivery vehicle to provide community pick up and drop off services.

Cllr Tim Harman, (speaking on behalf of Cllr Dave Norman, Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Parking and Libraries), sought authorisation to purchase a small delivery vehicle for community pick up and drop off services. 

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to purchase a new small hybrid or electric vehicle, (rather than a new mobile library vehicle), to be used to deliver collections to customers and to community pick up and drop off points.

Cllr Tim Harman, (presenting on behalf of Cllr Dave Norman, Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Parking and Libraries), sought authorisation to purchase a small delivery vehicle for community pick up and drop off services. 

Cllr Harman informed members that as former cabinet portfolio holder for libraries, he was acquainted with this particular issue. He explained that, following the decommissioning of the council’s public mobile library vehicle, (due to excessive repair costs and ensuring best use of limited council budgets), it had been necessary to look at existing service user needs and how best to provide an alternative provision, including providing a service to users living in rural areas.

The options outlined in the report included the proposal to invest in a small delivery vehicle to provide community drop off and pick up points. It was recommended that a new small hybrid or electric delivery vehicle be purchased.  Collections to either be ordered online by customers able to do so or selected by library staff based on customer preference. It was suggested that the preferred option, (option 3), offered the more cost effective and environmentally efficient vehicle to provide the new service.

Cllr Harman emphasised it was not the intention to withdraw the mobile library service. Working closely with local communities and existing users, the council intended to review service user needs and address current issues.

Cabinet members representing constituents living in rural areas welcomed the proposal to consider the needs of service users living in hard to reach locations. It was noted that consideration of the investment required to invest in electric car charging points in rural areas would need to be addressed.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to purchase a new small hybrid or electric vehicle, (rather than a new mobile library vehicle), to be used to deliver collections to customers and to community pick up and drop off points.

To seek authorisation for the adoption of the Strategy for the Commissioning of Residential and Nursing Care Provision in Gloucestershire and the development of District Locality Commissioning Plans for care homes.

Cllr Roger Wilson, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care; Commissioning, sought authorisation for the adoption of the Council’s Strategy for the Commissioning of Residential and Nursing Care Provision in Gloucestershire and the development of District Locality Commissioning Plans for care homes.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to: -

1)    Adopt the council’s strategy for the commissioning of residential and nursing care provision in Gloucestershire, as set out in Appendix (1), and

2)    Authorise the Director of Integration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Commissioning, to develop District Locality Commissioning Plans for care homes.  

Cllr Roger Wilson, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care; Commissioning, sought authorisation for the adoption of the Council’s Strategy for the Commissioning of Residential and Nursing Care Provision in Gloucestershire and the development of District Locality Commissioning Plans for care homes.

Cllr Wilson referred to the Cabinet decision agreed in June 2018, to consider ways of encouraging residents in need of Adult Social Care to remain in their homes for as long as possible, rather than going into long-term residential care. He stated, that following on from that decision, officers had been requested to undertake consultation with care home providers, older people and care home residents to comment on the Council’s Draft Strategy for the Commissioning of Residential and Nursing Care Provision in Gloucestershire.

The report presented at this meeting included the outcomes of a consultation on the Draft Strategy, (carried out by Healthwatch Gloucestershire and Evolving Communities).  

Reading out the key issues identified by the consultation, Cllr Wilson stated that the Council proposed to develop locality plans for each of the key communities in Gloucestershire which would set out the Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG’s) key commissioning priorities for care home requirements over the next 5- 10 years. The locality plans will provide care home providers with a clear understanding of the commissioning needs of the Council and the CCG. It was reported that the plans would need to reflect the current care home market supply position and the need for more specialist and short term care home placements. The plans to be developed in partnership with care home providers at local level.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to: -

1)    Adopt the council’s strategy for the commissioning of residential and nursing care provision in Gloucestershire, as set out in Appendix (1), and

2)    Authorise the Director of Integration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Commissioning, to develop District Locality Commissioning Plans for care homes.  

To seek approval to conduct a compliant tender process and to award a contract in respect of the A4173 Safer Roads Fund (Pitchcombe Junction Improvement Scheme).

Cllr Vernon Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways and Flood, sought approval to conduct a tender process and award a contract in respect of the A4173 Safer Roads Fund, (Pitchcombe Junction Improvement Scheme),

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to: -

Authorise the Lead Commissioner; Highway Authority to:

(1)  Conduct a compliant competitive tender process for the award of a contract to a single supplier for the construction of the A4173 Safer Roads Fund; Pitchcombe Junction Improvement Scheme, and  

(2)  Upon conclusion of the competitive tender process, and in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Flood, to enter into a contract with the preferred provider evaluated as offering the Council best value for money for delivery of the services.  In the event that the preferred provider for the contract is either unable or unwilling to enter into that contract with the Council, then the officer is authorised to enter into such contract with the next willing highest placed suitably qualified provider.

Cllr Vernon Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways and Flood, sought approval to conduct a tender process and award a contract in respect of the A4173 Safer Roads Fund, (Pitchcombe Junction Improvement Scheme),

This Report is presented to Cabinet with the request to authorise the contract procurement and the making of any necessary ancillary orders for the A4173 Safer Roads Fund; Pitchcombe Junction Improvement Scheme.

Cllr Smith recalled that in 2018, the County Council had been successful in bidding for a funding package of just over £2m for safety improvements along the A4173 from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Road Safety Foundation. This would be used to support the Council’s ongoing £150m investment in Gloucestershire Highways.

The proposed scheme was the final phase of a wider package of safety improvement works along the A4173 corridor between Pitchcombe and Gloucester. Previous works included route treatment over 7km encompassing drainage repairs, vegetation clearance, safety improvements and new crossing facilities. The focus of the final phase of works was to improve forward visibility for all users approaching the Pitchcombe junction and to simplify the layout making it easier to manoeuvre.

With cabinet approval, it was proposed that the scheme be tendered immediately, with the management and governance of the scheme overseen by the Major Projects Team.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to: -

Authorise the Lead Commissioner; Highway Authority to:

(1)  Conduct a compliant competitive tender process for the award of a contract to a single supplier for the construction of the A4173 Safer Roads Fund; Pitchcombe Junction Improvement Scheme, and 

(2)  Upon conclusion of the competitive tender process, and in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Flood, to enter into a contract with the preferred provider evaluated as offering the Council best value for money for delivery of the services.  In the event that the preferred provider for the contract is either unable or unwilling to enter into that contract with the Council, then the officer is authorised to enter into such contract with the next willing highest placed suitably qualified provider.

To seek approval to serve 12 months on each of the Gloucestershire Waste Collection Authorities (WCA’s) to terminate their Food Waste Collection and Delivery Arrangements with Gloucestershire County Council and to conduct discussions with a view to entering new arrangements.

Cllr Nigel Moor, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, sought approval to serve 12 months notice on each of the Gloucestershire Waste Collection Authorities to terminate their current food waste collection and delivery arrangements with Gloucestershire County Council and to conduct discussions with each authority with a view to entering new arrangements.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to authorise that - 

The Head of Joint Waste Management be authorised to:

1.    Serve 12 months’ notice on each of the Gloucestershire WCAs to terminate their existing Food Waste Collection and Delivery Agreements with GCC in accordance with the terms of those agreements.

2.      Conduct discussions, in consultation with the Chief Executive, with each of the Gloucestershire WCAs with a view to entering into new Food Waste Collection and Delivery Agreements on terms to be agreed PROVIDED that such new agreements will not be entered into until a further key decision has been taken.

Cllr Nigel Moor, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, sought to serve 12 months notice on each of the Gloucestershire Waste Collection Authorities to terminate their current food waste collection and delivery arrangements with Gloucestershire County Council and to conduct discussions with each authority with a view to entering new arrangements.

He explained that a key objective of the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Strategy was to widen the range of materials collected for recycling by the District Waste Collection Authorities, including food waste.

Each of the Gloucestershire Districts undertake food waste collection services in line with this Strategy, with each authority collecting food waste for treatment separately from residual waste. Each authority has an individual food waste collection and delivery agreement with the County Council, reflecting a commitment by each of the parties to develop and maintain a high level of service performance.

Each authority work from a mechanism by which a performance-based payment is made by the County Council to each district. This payment is based upon the principle of sharing the savings resulting from reduced landfill, and recognises the investment made by these authorities in collecting food waste. Such payment is discretionary under the Environmental Protection Act.

It was reported that, based on this arrangement, differences had arisen between the individual agreements in terms of the performance targets set and the level of payments made, effectively rewarding each authority with a different level of payment per tonne of food waste collected.

The recommendation within the report was to serve the necessary 12 months notice to terminate current agreements and to establish new agreements containing an incentive payment model which would continue to reward the district councils based upon performance levels.

The new agreements, to be established in discussion with district waste collection authorities, included a more equitable incentive payment model that would be fairer to all parties, ensuring lower-performing authorities received the support they needed to increase food waste collections whilst, at the same time, contributing savings to the County Council’s waste management budget.

Cllr Moor read out each of the recommendations at the meeting.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to authorise that the Head of Joint Waste Management:

1.    Serve 12 months’ notice on each of the Gloucestershire WCAs to terminate their existing Food Waste Collection and Delivery Agreements with GCC in accordance with the terms of those agreements.

2.    Conduct discussions, in consultation with the Chief Executive, with each of the Gloucestershire WCAs with a view to entering into new Food Waste Collection and Delivery Agreements on terms to be agreed PROVIDED that such new agreements will not be entered into until a further key decision has been taken.

To seek endorsement for the child safeguarding arrangements set out in the Working Together: Gloucestershire Multi-Agency Arrangements prior to full implementation of the arrangements in July 2019.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, sought endorsement for the child safeguarding arrangements set out in the Working Together: Gloucestershire Multi-agency Arrangements to Safeguard Children prior – April 2019 prior to full implementation of the arrangements in July 2019.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to: -

a)    Endorse the safeguarding children arrangements set out in the Working Together: Gloucestershire’s Multi-Agency Arrangements to Safeguard Children - April 2019 (please refer to Appendix1); and,

b)    Delegate authority to the Director of Children’s Services to make any final changes, in consultation with the statutory safeguarding partners, prior to full implementation of the new arrangements in July 2019.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, sought Cabinet endorsement for the child safeguarding arrangements set out in the Working Together: Gloucestershire Multi-agency Arrangements to Safeguard Children prior to full implementation of the arrangements in July 2019.

Cllr Boyles confirmed that there would be no extra financial implications relating to this report.  All costs would be met within existing budgets. He confirmed that the proposals outlined the changes required under the Working Together requirements of 2018

Outlining a brief history of the background to the proposals, Cllr Boyles advised that, after a number of disappointing inspections, the requirement for a local safeguarding children’s board had been replaced in 2017 by the requirement for the council to work with key local partners, including the Police Authority and Health.

Members were advised that proposed new arrangements would see the formation of a new body called the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Executive, which proposed to take responsibility from the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children’s Board by 15 July 2019.

The board to consist of 4 areas, including: -

a) Child safeguarding executive group

b) A children’s safeguarding delivery board

c) Independent scrutiny

d) A range of safeguarding subgroups 

Task and finish groups would be used for any emerging challenges 

The new arrangements to ensure equal responsibility between GCC health and the police in overseeing children’s safeguarding, and providing leadership to local partners, whilst at the same time, linking directly with the Gloucestershire Health and Wellbeing Board and Safer Gloucestershire to better protect children.

Final publication of the new arrangements would need to be made by 29 June 2019.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to: -

a)    Endorse the safeguarding children arrangements set out in the Working Together: Gloucestershire’s Multi-Agency Arrangements to Safeguard Children - April 2019 (please refer to Appendix1); and,

b)    Delegate authority to the Director of Children’s Services to make any final changes, in consultation with the statutory safeguarding partners, prior to full implementation of the new arrangements in July 2019.