Decisions

Nationally fair cost of care exercise has been undertaken, this was an opportunity for local authority commissioners and local care providers to work together to arrive at a shared understanding of what it costs to run quality and sustainable care provision in the local area and that is reflective of local circumstances. This year we have engaged local providers to shape and improve the local social care sector and identify improvements in relation to workforce, quality of care delivered, and choice available for people who draw on care.

We have set our rates this year based on engagement with Kirklees Care Association. We have reflected the rates to respond to pressures and feedback from the sector within resources available and the decisions are taken within the delegated powers that I have.

The uplifts will be applied by Client Financial Affairs and are effective from 10 April 2023.

Care Home Rates

In addition to the fees set out above, in respect of Service Users who are assessed as ‘requiring the help of a registered nurse’, a nationally agreed Funded Nursing Care payment is paid by the NHS.

Home Support Rate

Standard        £22.80

Rural              £27.48

Background Information:

Budget papers agreed at Council meeting of 8^th March 2023 which set out the resource envelope available and a delegation to agree the rates.

Refused.

A report which will advise Cabinet of the 2023/24 & 2024/25 (CRSTS only) funding availability as a result of the changes in funding from central government for highway and transport related matters owing to the devolved arrangements to the West Yorkshire Mayor and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) alongside providing details of the performance of the district’s road network and to propose the Highways Capital Programmes for the 2023/24 & 2024/25 financial years.

The report will contain planned works for all highway assets groups and for measures to improve road safety or create better places through improvement works.

The report will confirm all other Highways funding for the year 2023/24 & 2024/25 including any legacy LTP funding, Council Borrowing and summary of overall funds available for each asset area when each of the funding streams are combined.

RESOLVED –

1)    That approval be given to the budget and scheme allocations as set out within the detailed two year capital plan to the sum of £24, 408,044 and £19, 736,576 for 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 respectively, as set out at Appendices A and B, to enable the spend on the schemes identified to improve the highway network and increase road safety.

2)    That authority be delegated to the Service Director (Highways and Streetscene) in consultation with the Cabinet Member (Environment), and any other Cabinet Member deemed to be relevant by the Strategic Director (Environment and Climate Change), to enable any amendments to be made to identified schemes, the addition of future schemes and funding allocations (within £24,408,044) for those schemes (in accordance with Financial Procedure Rules), for the purposes of expediting efficient delivery of the programme and spend of the available budgets and to allow the anticipated outcomes and achievements to be realised.

3)    That approval be given to accelerate spend of the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement borrowing and accelerate the two year forward programme through delegation to the Service Director (Highways and Streetscene) in consultation with the Cabinet Member (Environment).

4)    That authority be delegated to (i) the Service Director (Highways and Streetscene) in consultation with the Service Director (Legal, Governance and Commissioning) to agree and negotiate terms  and (ii) the Service Director (Legal, Governance and Commissioning) to enter into any funding agreements and other documentation to enable individual projects and schemes to proceed.

RESOLVED – That the Kirklees Annual Educational Quality and Standards Report be received and noted.

No interests were declared.

Determined.

No questions were asked.

No questions were asked.

Cabinet received a deputation from Nick Wilock in respect of Agenda Item 11.

A response was provided by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services.

It was noted that exempt information was submitted in respect of Agenda Items 18 and 19.

Approved as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor Simpson.

A new contract was approved by cabinet on 27^th July 2021 allowing a grant distribution of £360,000 over a two-year period and commenced on the 1^st September 2021 with a robust VCSE led selection process to identify the key lead Anchors across Kirklees. Lead Anchors commenced work in communities from the 1^st October 2021. The current provision is due to end on the 31^st March 2023.

The Cabinet report seeks approval to continue existing arrangements already agreed by cabinet on 27/07/2021 to make a grant payment of £180,000 over an additional 12-month period to the current Community Anchors (having been appointed under a competitive tender process) to enable them to continue to develop the offer that supports the PCNs as part of the integrated model. Longer term we will work with internal and external partners to enable longer term sustainability.

RESOLVED –

1)    That approval be given to the continued distribution of grant funding and that a total of £180,000 for the period April 2023 to March 2024 be made available to anchor organisations in Kirklees.

2)    That authority be delegated to the Service Director (Communities and Access Services) to manage the financial and performance arrangements and ensure clear financial oversight.

The SPD provides guidance on the implementation of the Kirklees Local Plan ‘Housing Mix and Affordable Housing’ Policy (LP11) which seeks to ensure provision of affordable housing in new housing developments and ensuring that the housing mix (bedroom numbers) meets local needs. This Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) will be used as a material planning consideration when securing affordable housing as part of the determination of planning applications. It will replace guidance set out in the Council’s Interim Affordable Housing Policy (approved by the Cabinet on 14^th January 2020) and SPD2 (Affordable Housing) which was adopted in 2008.

Details of the draft documents and consultation can be found here:

Affordable housing and housing mix supplementary planning document (SPD) consultation | Kirklees Council

The SPD has been prepared in accordance with the relevant legal regulations and has been subject to 6 weeks of public consultation which took place from 20^th September 2022 to 1^st November 2022. This was undertaken in accordance with the Kirklees Statement of Community Involvement. Statutory consultees were also consulted as required by legal regulations.

This has resulted in appropriate changes to the document, the consultation comments and changes proposed will be set out in the Consultation Statement as part of the Cabinet report.

RESOLVED –

1)    That the Affordable Housing and Housing Supplementary Planning Document be adopted.

2)    That the Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Guidance (2008) and Interim Affordable Housing Policy (2020) be revoked.

3)    That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director (Growth and Regeneration) to make any further minor modifications to the documents that relate exclusively to factual updates, grammatical and formatting corrections for the purposes of publishing the documents.

This report will identify potential projects, for Member approval, to be funded from the 2023/24 Achieve & Aspire Capital Maintenance section of the Capital Plan to address urgent condition related needs in maintained schools and ask for delegated powers for officers to manage the programme within its budget envelope.

RESOLVED –

1)    That approval be given to the business case, as set out at Appendix A to the report, which outlines the rationale for the schools’ condition works programme, the availability of funding, the selection process and the main categories of work, thereby enabling the projects to be designed, procured and implemented.

2)    That approval be given to the detailed list of proposed works in schools for 2023/2024, as attached at Appendix B.

3)    That approval be given to the delegation of authority to officers, as set out at paragraphs 2.12 to 2.14 of the considered report.

Officers will submit a number of recommendations for relocation of services which will result in assets for disposal.

RESOLVED –

1)    That the decisions taken previously with regards to the closures of Huddersfield Library and Queensgate Market, as part of the preparation work for the delivery of the Cultural Heart, be noted.

2)    That the demolition of Perseverance House and West Town Family Centre, previously authorised as part of the Corporate Landlord Baseline capital programme, be noted.

3)    That approval be given to proposals in relation to Flint Street North Offices, Kirkgate Buildings and Riverbank Court, as detailed in the report, to achieve savings targeted for 2023/2024.

4)    That authority be delegated to the Service Director (Development, Growth and Regeneration) to implement the closures and undertake any works required to achieve the stated proposals and savings.

5)    That authority be delegated to the Service Director (Development, Growth and Regeneration) in relation to the use of the Strategic Asset Utilisation Investment Capital Programme line of the Council’s approved capital plan, as set out at paragraphs 2.16 to 2.18 of the considered report.

6)    That officers be authorised to investigate and develop the proposals for 2024/2025, as detailed in the report, and subsequently submit the proposals to Cabinet later in the year.

To consider the third quarter Revenue & Capital Monitoring forecast and to consider any specific recommendations on the application of resources in-year, including movements to and from reserves, as required by financial procedure rules.

RESOLVED –

1)    That, in regards to the General Fund; (i) the forecast revenue outturn position at Quarter 3 be noted (ii) the forecast year end position on corporate reserves and balances at Quarter 3 be noted (iii) it be noted that regular monitoring and review of corporate reserves in 2022/2023 will be reported to Cabinet within the quarterly financial monitoring cycle (iv) approval be delegated for the proposed temporary operational measures, as set out at paragraph 3.7.7, to the relevant Strategic Director in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member/s, having taken account of relevant powers and duties and an obligation to consult and engage (v) it be agreed that if a decision is made in relation to fees and charges which amends a previous Cabinet decision, as set out at paragraph 3.7.10 of the report, such a decision would have the effect of changing any previous decision and (vi) it be noted that the Council would continue to work collaboratively with KAL to support KAL’s financial sustainability over the medium term.

2)    That the forecast position on the Collection Fund as at Quarter 3 be noted.

3)    That the Quarter 3 forecast Housing Revenue Account position and forecast year-end reserves position be noted.

4)    That, in regards to Capital; (i) the Quarter 3 forecast capital monitoring position for 2022/2023 be noted (ii) approval be given to the re-profiling of the 2022/2023 capital plan as set out in the report (Appendix 5 refers) (iii) approval be given to £250k retrospectively for urgent building and repair works at Healds Road Childrens Homes (iv) approval be given to £40k traffic calming measures outside Magdale House Childrens Home and for funding to be transferred from the Best Start Capital plan into the Highways Capital Plan for implementation (v) approval be given to £80k from the play strategy playable spaces programme line towards funding the shortfall in repairing an existing sand based pitch at Storthes Hall (vi) approval be given to £1.265m grant funding from Network Rail allocated towards funding Council staff to cover the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (vii) approval be given to £500k section 106 funding towards the delivery of affordable homes at Kenmore Drive and (viii) approval be given to £2.3m Local Authority Housing Fund to provide accommodation for families with housing needs who have arrived in the UK via Ukrainian and Afgan resettlement/relocations schemes, with £2.4m match-funding funded from the 2023/2024 Housing Revenue Account Capital Plan, to be incorporated into the next iteration of the capital plan at outturn.

Cabinet approval to be sought to provide grant assistance towards restoration and conversion works to 6-10 Westgate, Dewsbury into 4 apartments and 2 ground floor commercial units and to enter into a grant and other legal agreements necessary to implement the project.

RESOLVED –

1)    That approval be given to providing, in principle, a Dewsbury Revival Grant Scheme grant to Saleem Holdings Limited of £671k as owner towards the redevelopment of 6-10 Westgate project, as detailed in the exempt Appendices 5 and 6 of the report) and that details of the subsidy be published on the national transparency database,

2)    That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director (Growth and Regeneration), in consultation with the Service Director (Legal, Governance and Commissioning) to agree the grant agreement and other documentation necessary to enable the project to proceed and for the Service Director (Legal, Governance and Commissioning) to enter into the documentation on behalf of the Council.

The report will seek Cabinet authority to negotiate, enter into contract, and complete the purchase of 14 affordable homes from Barratt Homes on their site at Owl Lane and Chidswell Lane.

The report will seek approval to delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Growth and Regeneration, and the Service Director, Legal, Governance and Commissioning to negotiate, enter into contract and complete the purchases.

Sensitive commercial information will be presented to Cabinet in an exempt appendix to the report.

RESOLVED –

1)That approval be given to the acquisition of fourteen flats (as detailed in the report) (or similar types as may be submitted) at Shaw Cross, Dewsbury, and that authority be delegated to the Strategic Director (Growth and Regeneration) in consultation with the Service Director (Legal, Governance and Commissioning) to negotiate, draft and enter into contract with the vendor, and complete their purchase.

2) That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director (Growth and Regeneration), in consultation with the Service Director (Legal, Governance and Commissioning) to seek agreement from the Secretary of State or Homes England, as appropriate, to enable the Council to charge LHA rates in these properties, within the scope of the definition of Affordable Rent.

3) That it be agreed that, where agreement from the Secretary of State of Homes England is not granted, the Council shall charge target (social) rent for the dwellings.

4) That approval be given to the new dwellings vesting within the Housing Revenue Account and for the properties to be let at target rents of LHA rates within the scope of Affordable Rent.

Due to adverse weather the meeting was inquorate. A number of Members had been able to attend virtually and it was agreed that the meeting would go ahead informally with any potential recommendations or decisions reported to the next scheduled meeting for ratification.

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the exempt information, which was an appendix to Agenda item 8.

RESOLVED: That the Internal Audit Quarter 3 2022-23 report be noted.

RESOLVED: That the Information Governance Annual Report be noted.

RESOLVED: That the Lead Councillor Role – Primary Care Networks and Local Health Improvement report be noted.

RESOLVED: That acting under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as specifically state in the undermentioned minute.

No questions were asked.

No deputations or petitions were received.

It was noted that Agenda item 11 would be considered in private session.

Councillor Yusra Hussain and Councillor Jo Lawson declared an other interest.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 10^th February 2023 be noted and submitted to 21^st April 2023 Committee meeting.

Budget Motion approved.

Council received tributes to the Elected Members who be retiring at the forthcoming elections; Councillors Lukic, Perry, Sarwar, K Taylor, White and Warner.

Council were reminded of the requirements of Section 106 of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 in relation to voting and participation in the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Anwar, Loonat, Sheard, A Smith, K Taylor and White.

Approved as a correct record.

No interests were declared.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Ammar Anwar and Joshua Sheard.  Councillor Paola Davies substituted for Councillor Kath Pinnock.

RESOLVED –

1)    That the progress of the recruitment to Service Director for Finance (Section 151 Officer) be noted.

2)    That approval be given to the commencement of a recruitment process in respect of the post of Service Director for Adult Social Care Operations, and that a Member Appointment Panel be convened.

None received.

It was noted that all agenda items would be considered in public session.

None declared.

Approved as a correct record.

Councillor Sokhal substituted for Councillor P Davies.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor J Lawson.

No questions were asked.

Approval delegated to the Head of Planning and Development.

Approved.

Approval delegated to the Head of Planning and Development.

Approval delegated to the Head of Planning and Development.

Application refused.

Approval delegated to the Head of Planning and Development.

Approval delegated to the Head of Planning and Development.

Application refused.

Kirklees Children’s Services have been using Liquidlogic as their recording system since procurement in 2016.  Since implementation in 2018, the system has been further developed continuously and further modules have been purchased which bring added benefits to the service.  Awarding the contract to Liquidlogic again would be the best and most cost-effective way of ensuring we have a fit for purpose recording system that is already embedded and used by all practitioners within Children’s Services.

Going down the procurement route to procure a completely new recording system was rejected.

The decision was made to renew the contract with the existing provider of Children’s Services recording system (Liquidlogic).