Venue: The Boardroom, Municipal Building
Contact: Angela Scott on 0151 511 8670 or Email: Angela.scott@halton.gov.uk
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT 1985 URGENT BUSINESS Minutes: The Board was advised that a matter had arisen which required immediate
attention by the Board (Minute EXB 89 refers), therefore, pursuant to Section
100 B (4) and 100 E and due to the timing of the decision needed to be
taken, the Chair ruled that this item
would be considered at this meeting. |
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Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2018 were taken as read and signed as a correct record. |
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Physical Environment Portfolio |
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Halton Housing Trust (HHT) Annual Report PDF 55 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board received the
annual report of Halton Housing Trust (HHT), which provided an update on
progress in the past twelve months. A verbal update was
provided for the Board by 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 continued investment to
improve homes and neighbourhoods; completion of the construction of new homes;
secured funding to deliver a growth strategy to build an additional 1,200 homes
for rent, shared ownership or sale over the next five years; achieved 88% of
all customer generated transactions delivered through on-line self-serve
routes; and retained the highest possible regulatory rating. It was noted that
the roll out of Universal Credit and Welfare Reform in general, continued to be
one of the most significant risks for the Trust. The Digital First Programme
had freed up resources to focus on debt recovery and provided support to those
customers who were most vulnerable. Members had the
opportunity to ask questions and clarify information contained in the
presentation before Mr Atkin and Ms Fife were thanked for attending. As this
was the final meeting which Mr Atkin would attend, the Board wished him well in
his new position at Yorkshire Housing. RESOLVED: That
the progress report be noted. |
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Children Education and Social Care Portfolio |
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Capital Programme – 2019/20 - KEY DECISION PDF 73 KB Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, People, which provided a summary of the
Capital Programmes for 2019/20 for the People Directorate. The Board was advised
that the Department for Education (DfE) had not yet
announced the Capital Grant Allocation for 2019/20 at the time of writing the
report. However, given the timescales for some of the capital projects, the
report used the 2018/19 allocation as the basis for presenting this report to
the Board. In addition, it was
reported that the DfE had announced the Special
Provision Capital Funding for local authorities to invest in provision for
children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, aged
0-25, to improve the quality and range of provision available. It had been
confirmed that the Local Authority would receive an additional amount, which
took the total allocation over a three year period to £616,279. The Board was reminded
that at its meeting on 20 September 2018, works to create Foundation/Key Stage
1 Social Emotional and Mental Health Resource bases at Beechwood
Primary School and Halton Lodge Primary School, were approved. It was noted
that the Local Authority would therefore be allocating an element of its School
Condition Allocation Funding towards this scheme. Reason(s) for Decision To deliver and implement the Capital
Programmes. Alternative Options Considered and Rejected Not applicable. Implementation Date Capital Programmes for 2019/20 would be
implemented with effect from 1 April 2019. RESOLVED: That 1)
the position regarding
capital funding from the Department for Education for 2019/20, be noted; 2)
the proposals to be
funded from the School Condition Capital Allocation, be approved; and 3)
Council be recommended
to approve the Capital Allocations for inclusion in the Budget report. |
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School Admission Arrangements 2020 - KEY DECISION PDF 65 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, People, on School Admission Arrangements for
2020. The Board was advised
that in October 2018, Halton Local Authority issued a statutorily required
consultation on the proposed admission arrangements and co-ordinated admission
schemes for the September 2020 intake. It was noted that the consultation ran
until 9 November 2018, with no changes proposed to the current oversubscription
criteria for admission to Local Authority maintained community and voluntary
controlled primary schools. No responses to the consultation were received. It was further noted
that reference to all Halton community secondary schools had been removed, as
all were either academies, free schools or voluntary aided and were therefore
their own admission authorities, with responsibility for consulting on proposed
changes. 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 and co-ordinated schemes would
apply for the September 2020 academic intake. RESOLVED: That
the Board approves the School Admissions Policy, Admission Arrangements and
Co-ordinated Schemes for admission to primary and secondary schools for the
2020/21 academic year. |
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Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, People, on the proposal to develop a special free
school for pupils with Social, Education and Mental Health Needs (SEMH) in
Halton. At its meeting on 18
October 2018, Executive Board had approved an application to establish a
special free school in Halton, shared with St Helens
Borough Council. It was reported that the Department
for Education (DfE) had requested the final
submission of the specification as a matter of urgency, on 16 December 2018.
Due to the urgent nature of the submission and the schedule of meeting dates,
the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader and the Portfolio Holder
for Children, Education and Social Care, approved the final submission, using
his delegated powers. Therefore, the report to the
Board set out retrospectively the details of the proposed location of the
special free school for Members’ information. Reason(s) for Decision To provide a more inclusive offer for pupils
with SEMH giving them the opportunity to be educated with support alongside
their peers. Alternative Options Considered and Rejected Not submitting an application for a joint
free school. However, lack of provision had an impact on the educational
outcomes of pupils that need this support. Implementation Date Notification as to
whether the bid was successful would be announced by the DfE in Spring 2019. RESOLVED:
That the decision of the Chief Executive, acting under delegated powers, to
develop a free school provision on the Naylor Road, Widnes, site, be noted. |
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Resources Portfolio |
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(N.B. Councillor Ron
Hignett declared a Disclosable Other Interest in the following item of business
as he was a member of the Sci-Tech Public Sector
Joint Venture Board) |
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Discretionary Non-Domestic Rate Relief PDF 77 KB Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, on an
application for discretionary non domestic rate relief. The Board was advised
that, under the amended provision of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, the
Council was able to grant discretionary rate relief to any business rate payer.
Since 1 April 2017, the Council had been responsible for meeting the
full cost of all mandatory and discretionary rate relief granted, as part of
the Liverpool City Region 100% Business Rates Retention Pilot Scheme. The report set out
details of an application for 80% discretionary rate relief in respect of two
business premises at the Sci-Tech, Daresbury campus. RESOLVED: That
the request for 80% discretionary rate relief from United Kingdom Research and
Innovation (UKRI) for their premises at Daresbury Laboratory and Building Two,
Daresbury Innovation Centre, Keckwick Lane,
Daresbury, be refused. |
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Waiver to Procurement Standing Orders: Integrated HR and payroll system PDF 79 KB Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which
sought a waiver of Procurement Standing Orders in respect of the award of a new
contract for the Council’s Integrated HR and Payroll system. The Board was advised
that the Council used an integrated HR and payroll system known as iTrent. The system was used for a number of payroll
processes including those traded under service level agreements to external
clients. It was reported that those external customers had tailored and
established processes which were compatible with the iTrent
systems. The current contract
ended on 17 November 2018. Consideration had been given to market testing for a
change of systems, although the iTrent system was so
firmly established within the Council and with its external customers, there
would need to be either a replacement or re-engineering of systems, which could
be time and resource intensive. The Board noted that by
making a direct award under the Light Touch Regime, the financial benefit to
the Council, as a result of the waiver of Procurement Standing Orders, would be
£38,587. RESOLVED:
That 1)
the report be noted; and
2) the Board approves the
waiving of Part 3 of Procurement Standing Orders relying on numbers 1.14.4
(iii), 1.14.4 (iv) and 1.14.4 (v). |
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Waiver to Procurement Standing Orders: MBA/MSc Senior Leader Masters Apprenticeship PDF 63 KB Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which
sought a waiver of Procurement Standing Orders to award a contract for the
provision of a MBA/MSc Senior Leader Masters Apprenticeship. The Board was advised that since 2010/11, the
Council had rationalised its management structures and now operated within a
more commercial environment and in new collaborations across the public sector.
A need had been identified for succession planning to enable strategic
leadership capability in the future. It was reported that
Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) had created a
range of leadership and management qualifications at Masters Level 7, available
through the national Apprenticeship Framework and funded by the Apprenticeship
Levy. It was noted that LJMU had demonstrated that they could deliver and
provide the content of the qualifications which met the Council’s needs. Members were asked to
waive the Council’s Procurement Standing Orders to allow the awarding of the
contract for the provision of a MBA/MSc Senior Leader Masters Apprenticeship,
to be fully funded through the existing Apprenticeship Levy, which the Council
was required by statute to contribute to. RESOLVED: That
the Board, in compliance with Procurement Standing Orders 1.14.4 and 1.14.5,
approve a waiver to award a contract to Liverpool John Moores
University, for the following reasons:- (i)
Standing Order 1.14.4
(iii), where compliance would result in a clear financial or commercial
detriment to the Council; (ii)
Standing Order 1.14.4 (iv) where compliance would result in the Council having to
forego a clear financial or commercial benefit. |
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SCHEDULE 12A OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT 1985 PART II In this case the Board has a discretion to exclude the press and public and, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, it is RECOMMENDED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, having been satisfied that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act. Minutes: The Board considered: 1)
whether
Members of the press and public should be excluded from the meeting of the
Board during consideration of the following items of business in accordance with
Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 because it was likely that,
in view of the nature of the business to be considered, exempt information
would be disclosed, being information defined in Section 100 (1) and paragraphs
3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972; and 2)
whether the
disclosure of information was in the public interest, whether any relevant
exemptions were applicable and whether, when applying the public interest test
and exemptions, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed
that in disclosing the information. RESOLVED: That as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed that in disclosing the information, members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business in accordance with Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 because it was likely that, in view of the nature of the business, exempt information would be disclosed, being information defined in Section 100 (1) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. |
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Physical Environment Portfolio |
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The Hive Leisure Complex - KEY DECISION Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, on
proposals for the future development of The Hive Leisure Complex, Widnes. The report set out
details of a proposal to develop and invest in the site for Members’
consideration. Reason(s) for Decision To consider the proposal set out in the
report. Alternative Options Considered and Rejected There were effectively four options available
to the Council in relation to The Hive development, as detailed in the report. Implementation Date January 2019. RESOLVED: That, having considered all of the options set out in the report, the Board decline the proposal. |
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Runcorn Station Quarter - Appointment of Preferred Development Partner Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Development on the
appointment of the preferred Development Partner for the Runcorn Station
Quarter Masterplan. In November 2018, the
Board approved a Runcorn Station Quarter Masterplan with an accompanying
Delivery Strategy. It was proposed that a private sector developer be appointed
to increase capacity and support to the Council, so as to take forward the
development as quickly as possible. The report set out
details of the process undertaken to identify a suitable Development Partner,
following advice and guidance from the Council’s Procurement Team. RESOLVED: That 1)
Members approve the
appointment of the preferred Development Partner, as outlined in section 3.8 of
the report; and 2)
the completion of the final terms of a contract to appoint a developer, is
delegated to the Operational Director, Legal and Democratic Services and the
Operational Director, Economy, Enterprise and Property, in consultation with
the Portfolio Holder for Physical Environment. |
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Leader's Portfolio |
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Widnes Vikings Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Chief Executive which provided an update on the arrangements between the Council and Widnes Vikings. RESOLVED: That 1) the Chief Executive exercise delegated powers, in consultation with the Leader and such Portfolio holders as the Leader considers appropriate, to revise the agreement and financial arrangements with the Widnes Vikings for the use of the Stadium and other Council facilities, on the terms set out in the report; and to take such reasonable steps as may be necessary to achieve this; and 2) the Council continue to support Widnes Vikings, help them to continue to develop their on-field and off-field community-based activities and to retain a strong professional rugby league presence in the Borough. |
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MINUTES ISSUED: 22
January 2019 CALL-IN: 29 January
2019 Any matter decided by
the Executive Board may be called in no later than 5.00pm on 29 January 2019. |