Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2017 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People, which provided an update on the progress of Halton Housing Trust (HHT) for the past twelve months.

          The Board received a verbal update from Nick Atkin, Chief Executive of HHT, and Ingrid Fife, Chair of HHT Board. They reported on progress to date in delivering some key achievements, partnerships and strategic priorities.

          The Board noted some of the key organisational achievements which included the construction of 152 new homes; secured additional grant funding of £1.9m to deliver 62 new homes under the 2016-21 Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme; continued the Implementation of the Digital First Programme which transformed the way services were accessed; re-housed Syrian families as part of a joint project with Halton Borough Council and Refugee Action; and secured Disability Confident Employer status, amongst other achievements which were detailed in the report.

          Members had the opportunity to ask questions and clarify information contained in the presentation before Mr Atkin and Ms Fife were thanked for attending.

          RESOLVED: That the progress report be noted.

The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which presented the Annual Audit Letter 2016/17.

          The Board was advised that the Annual Audit Letter (the Letter) summarised the findings from the 2016/17 external audit completed by Grant Thornton, the Council’s external auditor. The Letter included messages arising from the audit of the financial statements and the results of the work undertaken in assessing the Council’s arrangements to secure value for money in the use of its resources.

          Georgia Jones, Audit Manager for the external auditor, Grant Thornton UK LLP, attended the meeting and reported that an unqualified opinion had been issued on the Council’s financial statements. The Letter also provided an unqualified conclusion that the Council had adequate arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of its resources.

          The Board wished to place on record their thanks to all Officers that had assisted in the preparation of the audit.

          RESOLVED: That the Annual Audit Letter 2016/17 be approved.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, regarding a contract for the supply of Agency Workers.

The Board was advised that in 2014, the Council accessed a contract through a framework for the supply of agency workers. It was reported that the framework contained a number of suppliers, referred to as “Neutral Vendors” which offered a service to source agency workers from individual employment agencies covering the wide range of disciplines used by public sector bodies.

It was noted that the contract was due to end in February 2018; Halton had been the lead authority for the review of Agency provision on behalf of the Liverpool City Region authorities. The report set out details of the options appraisal that was conducted.

RESOLVED: That, in accordance with Procurement Standing Order 2.10.1, the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, be authorised to enter into a contract with the preferred supplier assessed as being the most economically advantageous and effective organisation to supply agency workers within the Liverpool City Region. The contract will be awarded for a period of four years.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People, on the future delivery of Council Provision of Residential Care for Children.

Following the de-registration and review of Edinburgh Road Children’s Home it was reported that a significant financial investment would be required so as to meet the required standards of a skilled team of staff and management structure to support it. The Board was advised that it was likely that an external provider would have access to, and be able to supply experienced staff and the management structure to support the service. The service would be procured on the basis of the Council maintaining ownership of the building and leasing it to a provider as part of a contract.

The report set out details of the financial implications; it was envisaged that the first placements would be of young people returning from Out of Borough provision, with future placements reducing the need to spend on external provision.

RESOLVED: That the option to commission a third party provider be approved.

          The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People, on a revised approach to supporting care leavers in their own accommodation.

          The Board was advised that for many care leavers, there was a transition period between living in residential or foster care and taking up their own tenancy, often referred to as semi-independent or supported living. In recent times, the number of Halton care leavers had increased due to the increased number of older young people entering the care system. It was noted that some of these care leavers required significant support to make progress towards independent living.

          The Care Leaver Service had tried to change the way it delivered its services to meet the challenge of efficiency while ensuring customer focus, value for money and demonstrating best practice. Members were advised that in order to develop the offer for Halton care leavers, it was proposed that support for young people be commissioned which ensured the delivery of a number of outcomes including financial support, personal safety and increasing self-esteem and resilience. A second phase would be to work with local housing providers to develop a small group setting for care leavers. The report provided further detail on both proposed phases for Members to consider.

          RESOLVED: That the proposed approach be endorsed.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People, on the award of a contract for the delivery of services to encourage participation in education and training.

The Board was reminded that in July 2017, it had granted authority for Halton to lead on a joint procurement process for the delivery of a service with Liverpool, Wirral and Knowsley authorities. The tender opportunity was advertised in October 2017 and the evaluation process was completed on 23 November 2017. After the initial assessment stage, a provider was identified as meeting the criteria to go forward to the next stage. This process was completed after the Board report was written and the successful contractor was named and confirmed at the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the Strategic Director, People, be authorised to enter into a contract with Career Connect to deliver services to encourage, enable and assist young people to participate in education and training. The contract will be awarded for a period of one year with the option of three additional one year contracts.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People, which provided an update on the financial modelling undertaken and the national funding formula for schools and high needs.

The Board had previously received a report on the National Funding Formula (NFF) for schools. Extensive modelling had been undertaken to retain the lump sum value and minimise losses to Halton schools whilst keeping within the funding available. However, it was reported that there were  a number of reasons why it had not been possible for Halton to introduce an interim funding formula, details of which were set out in the report. It was now recommended that the use of the transitional NFF model for 2018/19 and 2019/20 be agreed.

Reason(s) for Decision

To ensure that there was a fair distribution of resources across the schools in the Borough.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Consideration was given to either retaining the existing funding formula with uplift for the increase, and retaining the 2017/18 lump sum level but retaining the principles of the NFF. However, this had not proved to be affordable or practically possible to introduce and would create some significant reductions to the budgets of some schools.

Implementation Date

1 April 2018.

RESOLVED: That the funding of schools based on the transitional National Funding Formula model be approved.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People, on the outcome of a pilot scheme to improve the night time care in the Council’s Supported Housing Network for people with learning disabilities.

The Board was reminded that a pilot scheme had been in operation  which replaced Waking Night Staff with Sleep-ins at Halton’s Supported Housing Network. It was reported that the pilot scheme had three main intended outcomes of safety; an improvement in the quality of life for service users; and a reduction in costs for the night time support.

The report set out a conclusion and recommendations following the end of the evaluation. Once agreed, Officers would progress to implementation which included consultation with Trade Unions and Staff and further assessment of other accommodation utilising a similar method of night time support.

RESOLVED: That

1)    the report be noted; and

2)    the recommendations set out in paragraph 3.4 be approved.

The Board considered a report of the Chief Executive, which provided an update on One Halton and the development of an Accountable Care System (ACS).

The Board was advised that an ACS was one in which several social and health care organisations provided all health and social care for a given population. There were three core elements to the system and significantly, the ACS would centre on the involvement of general practitioners in the network of providers delivering care along with local authorities as providers and commissioners of services.

In 2014/15, the Council committed to the development of an integrated model of health and social care, and agreed a shared vision – One Halton. The development of an ACS fits the original One Halton concept, delivering across the Halton Local Authority footprint. The revised Halton Accountable Care Strategic Vision, attached at Appendix 1, built on the initial commitment of partners to improve the delivery of health and social care provision. It was reported that to achieve the ACS, partners had established the One Halton Accountable Care System Board, with a Memorandum of Understanding and Terms of Reference, both of which were attached at Appendix 2 and 3 respectively. These documents underpinned the commitment to move towards a more integrated community based system, which reduced the demand on acute services and provided care closer to home.

RESOLVED: That

1)    the One Halton Accountable  Care System Vision be endorsed;

2)    the Memorandum of Understanding for the One Halton Accountable Care System Board be agreed; and

3)    the Terms of Reference for the One Halton Accountable Care System Board be agreed.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, on options for the delivery of the de-linking of the Silver Jubilee Bridge (SJB) in Runcorn and the allocation of associated financial resources.

The opening of the new Mersey Gateway Bridge and temporary closure of the SJB provided a unique opportunity to redefine the existing road infrastructure in the area of the town close to Runcorn main-line station. It was reported that changes to the road layout and removal of certain structures would improve the visibility of the town centre and its connectivity to and from Runcorn Station. It would also make it easier to create and release sites for future development.

Members noted that the Council had commissioned a de-linking report setting out two key options for promoting positive access and movement to the SJB, the Expressway and the Station Quarter. After consideration of the de-linking report, a preferred option had been identified, based on the assessment of costs, technical feasibility and future proofing of the development.

Reason(s) for Decision

To unlock sites for development in and around the Runcorn Station Quarter.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

The options considered and rejected were outlined in section 5 of the report.

Implementation Date

March 2018.

RESOLVED: That

1)    the development of the option as outlined in Section 5.2 of the report be agreed;

2)    Full Council be recommended to approve a variation to the Capital Programme to cover the costs as outlined in Section 5.3 of the report; and

3)    the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources be authorised, in conjunction with the Portfolio holders for Physical Environment and Transportation, to take the necessary steps to ensure value for money through the appropriate procurement processes.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which sought endorsement of a response on Warrington’s Local Plan Consultation.

Warrington Borough Council had published a ‘Preferred Development Options’ document for a period of public consultation. The document contained summary information about the level of housing and employment development Warrington would plan for, together with diagrammatic representations and conceptual masterplans for the key development areas.

Details of the proposals and the proposed development areas were set out in the report and appendices. It was reported that Halton’s principal concerns were the ‘Port Warrington’ element and the South West Urban Extension, which would see Warrington extend across the Green Belt to join Halton’s boundary. It was noted that two further consultations were planned for 2018 before submission of a document to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for examination.

RESOLVED: That the response (at Appendix A) to the Warrington Local Plan Preferred Development Options Consultation (at Appendix B) be endorsed.

MINUTES ISSUED: 19 December 2017

CALL-IN: 3 January 2018

Any matter decided by the Executive Board may be called in no later than 5.00pm on 3 January 2018