Venue: The Boardroom, Municipal Building
Contact: Angela Scott on 0151 511 8670 or Email: Angela.scott@halton.gov.uk
No. | Item |
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MINUTES Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2014 were taken as read and signed as a correct record. |
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Children Young People and Families Portfolio |
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School Admission Arrangements 2015 - KEY DECISION PDF 29 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and
Enterprise, on school admission arrangements for 2015. The Board was advised that in January 2014, Halton had published a statutorily
required consultation paper on the proposed admission arrangements and
co-ordinated admission schemes for the September 2015 intake. It was noted that there were no changes proposed for the
oversubscription criteria for admission to Local Authority maintained community
and voluntary controlled primary schools, and no change to the current
oversubscription criteria for admission to Local Authority maintained community
secondary schools. In addition, it was also noted that there were no proposed changes to
the current arrangements for Primary Schools admissions. However, Members were
advised that Wade Deacon, as an Academy, were responsible for their own
admission arrangements, and they had proposed different arrangements for 2015,
to those previously determined. A copy of their proposed arrangements were
attached as an appendix to the report. The Strategic Director, Children and
Enterprise had contacted Wade Deacon on behalf of the Board, advising of his
objections to those proposed arrangements. The outcome of this consultation was
awaited. Reason(s) For
Decision The decision was
statutorily required and any revision to the proposed arrangements may
adversely affect school place planning, as detailed in the report. Alternative Options
Considered and Rejected Other options
considered and rejected included the allocation of places through random
allocation (lottery), as this method could be seen as arbitrary and random. Implementation
Date The Policy would
apply to the September 2015 academic intake. RESOLVED: That the 1) Schools
Admission Policy, Admission Arrangements and Co-ordinated Schemes for admission
to primary and secondary schools for the 2015/16 academic year, attached to the
report, be approved; and 2) the
Department for Education School Admissions Code be endorsed, and all Halton
Schools, including Academy and Free Schools be required to ensure that their
admissions criteria are reasonable, clear, objective, procedurally fair and
comply with all legislation. |
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Strategic Commissioning Statement for 14-19 education and training - KEY DECISION PDF 34 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and
Enterprise, which sought approval for the 14-19 Strategic
Commissioning Statement (the Statement) for 2014/15. The Board was advised that adoption of the Statement would enable the Borough
Council to fulfil its statutory duty to secure sufficient suitable education
and training provision to meet the reasonable needs of all young people in the
Borough. The report detailed the five key priority areas for the Borough. It was
noted that these priorities and supporting evidence had been consulted on with
partners in specific task groups, and ratified by the 11-19 Strategic
Partnership and Children’s Trust Commissioning Partnership. The Statement was
coherent with the purpose of positive activities for young people supporting
them in their health, lifestyle and career aspirations, which would enable them
to achieve their full potential in their transition to adulthood. Reason(s) For
Decision To ratify the 14-19
Strategic Commissioning Statement for 2014/15 to ensure that Halton Borough
Council fulfilled its statutory duties under Sections 15ZA and 19A of the
Education Act 1996 (as inserted by the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning
Act 2009), to secure sufficient suitable education and training provision to
meet the reasonable needs of all young people in the Borough and to make
available to young people support that would encourage, enable or assist them
to participate in education or training (Section 68, Education and Skills Act
2008). Alternative
Options Considered and Rejected This was not
applicable; the 14-19 Strategic Commissioning Statement provided information
about Halton’s priorities to meet its statutory
duties. Implementation
Date With
immediate effect following the meeting of Executive Board. RESOLVED: That the 14-19 Strategic Commissioning Statement 2014/15 be ratified in order to fulfil Halton Borough Council’s statutory duty. |
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Retrospective Waiver for Play, Learn and Loan Contract PDF 27 KB Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and
Enterprise, which sought permission for the waiver of Procurement Standing
Orders to extend the Play, Learn and Loan contract to March 2015. The Board was advised that the local authority had a contract with
Halton Play Council to deliver a Play, Learn and Loan service in six venues in
the Borough. In order to commission a service from 1 April 2014, a ‘market
test’ exercise was undertaken via the CHEST. It was reported that two providers
expressed an interest, although the current provider was the only one able to
demonstrate delivery based on the current budget. Details of the content of the
market test were contained in the report. RESOLVED: That 1) the
report be noted; and 2) a
waiver of Procurement Standing Orders be approved, in line with Procurement
Standing Orders 1.8.2 (c,d,e), following approval of
the Head of Procurement, in relation to an extension of the current contract
for a further one year. |
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Health and Wellbeing Portfolio |
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Better Care Fund Submission - KEY DECISION PDF 30 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Communities,
which presented the Better Care Fund (BCF) plan between Halton Borough Council
and the NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The Board was advised that BCF was announced in June 2013 as part of the
Government’s Spending Round. It provided an opportunity to transform local
services so that people were provided with better integrated care and support.
Each Health and Wellbeing Board had responsibility for signing off the plan and
monitoring its implementation on behalf of the constituent Council and CCG. It was reported that during 2015/16, the Fund would be allocated to
local areas, and put into pooled budgets under joint governance arrangements
with the Borough Council, NHS and CCG. It was noted that conditions were
attached to the release of funding from 2015, with progress against national
conditions and local/national metrics. Details of consultation undertaken were set out in the report. The first
draft of the BCF was submitted in February 2014 to the Local Government
Association and NHS England. It was further noted that the Health and Wellbeing
Board had approved the final draft at its meeting on 12 March 2014. Reason(s) For
Decision To approve the
draft Better Care Fund joint submission by Halton Borough Council and NHS
Halton Clinical Commissioning Group 2014/16. Alternative
Options Considered and Rejected The completion of
the BCF was a statutory obligation for Local Authorities and Clinical
Commissioning Groups. Implementation
Date The final
submission date was 4 April 2014. RESOLVED: That 1) the
contents of the report and appendices be noted; and 2) the
Better Care Fund report (Appendix 1) be approved for submission to the Local
Government Association and NHS England, prior to the 4 April 2014 deadline. |
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Healthwatch Contract Extension PDF 25 KB Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Communities,
which sought approval to extend the current Healthwatch
Contract for one year. The Board was advised that the aim of Healthwatch
Halton was to give citizens and communities a stronger voice to influence and
challenge how local health and social care services were provided within
Halton. It was noted that Healthwatch Halton had been
operating for one year and had been set up as a Community Interest Company,
having established its governance arrangements. It had developed its local
profile through focused events, organisational membership, a new web site and
various forms of social media. It was reported that a waiver of Standing Orders was required to extend
contractual arrangements for a further year, to enable Healthwatch
Halton to become fully established within the local community, including wider
promotion of the services it provided. The report provided details of the
Business Case for the extension to the contract for Members’ consideration. RESOLVED: That the Board approve the use of Procurement
Standing Order 1.8.4 (e) to waive Procurement Standing Order 4.1 in respect of Healthwatch Halton with a value not exceeding £172,514. |
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Request to Extend Contracts for Personal Care and Housing Related Support PDF 38 KB Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Communities,
which sought approval to the extension of existing contracts for Personal Care
and Housing Related Support. The report set out which contracts were under consideration for
extension. These were detailed in Appendix 1 and were listed as being: · Learning
Disability and Mental Health Services; · Sheltered
Accommodation Services; and · Service
User Involvement Service. It was noted that the report also set out the Business Case for the extension
to the respective contracts, for Members’ consideration. RESOLVED: That 1) an extension
to the contracts listed in Appendix 1,
be approved; 2) the
Board agrees to the use of Procurement Standing Order 1.8.4 ( c) to waive Procurement Standing Orders
2.0.1 to 2.14 for the Learning Disability and Mental Health Services and
Sheltered Housing Scheme contracts, whose values exceed £1,000,000; and 3) the
Board agrees to the use of Procurement Standing Order 1.8.4 ( c) to waive Procurement Standing Orders
3.1.1 to 3.7 for the Service User Involvement and Adult Placement contracts,
whose values are in excess of £173,943 but not exceeding £1,000,000. |
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Resources Portfolio |
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Calendar of meetings 2014/15 PDF 16 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board received a report of
the Strategic Director, Policy and Resources, which set out the
proposed Calendar of Meetings for the 2014/15 Municipal Year, which was
appended to the report for information. RESOLVED: That Council be recommended to approve
the Calendar of Meetings for the 2014/2015 Municipal Year, as appended to the
report. |
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Annual Review of the Constitution 2014 PDF 31 KB Minutes: The Board received a report of
the Strategic Director, Policy and Resources, which sought the
approval of the Council to a number of changes to the Constitution. Members were advised that the revised version picked up the
changes to the Council’s working arrangements that had taken place during the
year, as well as other changes which were intended to assist the Council to
operate more effectively. The proposals for change had been considered by the Chief
Executive and the Executive Board Member for Resources in accordance with
Article 16.02. It was reported that, apart from the purely technical changes,
the proposed amendments that were considered to be of particular significance
were listed as an appendix to the report. RESOLVED: That Council be recommended to
approve the revised Constitution, including the amendments set out in Appendix
1 attached to the report. |
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Polling Districts/Polling Stations Review PDF 48 KB Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and Resources, on the results of the formal Polling District, Places and Stations Review. The Board was
advised that the Electoral Administration Act 2006 required
the Council to carry out a review of all its polling stations every four
years. The main purpose of the review
was to ensure that all residents had reasonable facilities for voting. It
was reported that, as part of the review process, electors, Councillors and
other interested parties had been consulted; details of all polling districts
and polling stations had been published on the Council’s website. It was noted that no comments had been
received. In addition, the Polling Station Review Working Party had considered
the scheme and recommended it for approval. RESOLVED:
That Council be recommended to adopt the amendments to the scheme, as detailed
in the Appendix to the report, for the period 2014/19. |
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Directorate Plans 2014-2017 PDF 20 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and Resources, on the adoption of the Directorate Plans for 2014/17. The Board was advised that each Directorate was required to develop a medium term business plan or Directorate Plan, in parallel with the budget. These would be subject to annual review and refresh. Draft Service Objectives and Performance Indicators and targets had been developed and these would form the basis of the quarterly performance monitoring presented to the Board during the forthcoming year. It was noted that Elected Members had engaged in the process primarily through the Policy and Performance Boards. It was reported that the plans could only be finalised once budget decisions had been confirmed. RESOLVED: That 1) the Draft Directorate Plans be approved; and 2) the Chief Executive be authorised, in consultation with the Leader, to make any final amendments and adjustments that may be required. |
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Review of Council wide Fees and Charges PDF 172 KB Minutes: The Board considered a report of
the Strategic Director, Policy and Resources, on the proposed fees and charges
for 2014/15 for Council services. The Board was
advised that a review of fees and charges had been carried out as part of the
budget preparations for 2014/15. It was proposed that existing fees and charges
be increased in line with inflation, although some would increase more to
reflect charges in adjacent authorities. In addition, others had been reviewed
with consideration of the impact of the price change. The schedule
in Appendix 1 included a number of statutory fees which it was noted might
increase during the coming financial year, with the relevant fees increased
accordingly. Charges for The Brindley were listed in
Appendix 2 and were for the 2015/16 financial year. Details of other increases
were contained in the report. RESOLVED:
That the proposed fees and charges for
2014/15 as set out in Appendix 1, be approved and referred to the relevant
Policy and Performance Boards for information. |
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MINUTES ISSUED: 1
April 2014 CALL-IN: 8 April 2014 Any matter decided by
the Executive Board may be called in no later than 5.00pm on 8 April 2014 |