Agenda and minutes

The Members had before them:

A.    The Agenda papers (previously circulated);

B.    The Minutes of the meeting held on 29 June 2023 (previously circulated); and

C.   A submission from the Library Campaign in relation to Agenda Item 5 which was circulated separately to members of Cabinet and is attached as an Appendix to these Minutes.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Tracey Onslow and Andy Roberts.

Cllr Simon Geraghty declared an interest in Agenda item 5 having represented the County Council on the Redditch Town New Deal Board.

Cllr Mike Rouse declared an interest in agenda item 5 as a previous member of the Redditch Borough Council Executive during the early formation of the plans to relocate Redditch Library.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case Wednesday 19 July).  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed on the website and in the agenda.

Phil Berry commenting on and questioned the provision of IT services, the calculation of the leases, the access arrangements, the fit-out costs and the repairs to the current Redditch library.

Andrea Berry commented in respect of the potential negative impacts for people with disabilities and in particular the Disability Impact Statement in relation to Redditch Library.

Sharon Burton Fletcher drew Cabinet’s attention to some potential anomalies in the evaluations so far and the need for a feasibility study in relation to the relocation of Redditch Library.

The Chairman thanked Phil, Andrea and Sharon for their contribution.

The Minutes of the meeting of 29 June 2023 have been previously circulated.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 June 2023 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Adult Social Care introduced the report. He highlighted a number of key elements in report over the last year. These included a reduction in the number of people living in long-term residential and nursing care, an increase in people living in supported living and receiving extra care, and an increase in the number of people being supported to live at home. The Council continued to deploy assisted technology to some effect. The 2020/21 census had indicated a decrease in the number of carers in the system. The Council was 2% above the national average for discharge and reablement rates. The Council still had more to do to meet its target for people with learning difficulties in gainful employment. More work was required to improve the Council’s systems for direct payments. A new Domiciliary Care Contract had been agreed for the west and south of Worcester. Reablement was a key element in ensuring that the Council addressed the needs of the individual. The provision of Day Care Services had been particularly successful.

He added that an important part of the Local Account was its vision for the future. Key aspects of the vision included embracing partnership working with the NHS, engaging with communities, encouraging communities to do more to combat loneliness and using assisted technology to enable people to live safely and independently. The Council was managing demand by focusing resources on preventative measures to encourage people to be responsible for their own health which resulted in people living longer in their own homes.

He explained that an area of concern was performance levels in safeguarding. A new inspection regime, similar to that in Children’s Services was being introduced. The service could do more in terms of partnership working with the NHS. The Adult Front Door would have a key role promoting independent living. The service also had to do more to listen to the voice of the user. The Council would continue its approach of prevention and independent living in order to generate less demand for Adult Social Care.

The Cabinet Member for Health and Well-being commented that partnership working was a key theme in Local Account. The Council was developing a holistic approach to care in Worcestershire using the integrated care system to develop an integrated approach to health and social care. The Council was placing equal value on physical and mental health well-being, focusing on prevention to reduce the need for care and support and improve health disparities particularly for the vulnerable, disadvantaged or those living with a disability. 

In the ensuing debate, the following points were made:

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport emphasised the important role of transport in Adult Social Care in promoting independent living through good accessible public transport, well-maintained roads and pavements and tackling congestion. In future Local Accounts, more detailed information on the important role of transport would be welcomed. The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Adult Social Care recognised the important role  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2166.

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Communities introduced the report and commented that the relocation of Redditch Library was an important decision for the local residents, library staff and the Council and therefore time should be taken to ensure that all the processes had been followed correctly. He was now satisfied that the parameters set out in the report to Cabinet in October 2022 had been met and the service provided at the new Library would be as good if not better than before. Although the Council worked closely with the Borough Council, this Council had a separate duty to preserve the library service and to protect council taxpayer’s money.

He added that members of the Cabinet had received a communication from the Library Campaign that expressed concern about the demolition of Redditch Library and the hastiness of the decision-making process. These concerns did not recognise that a reconfigured fit-for-purpose library would be established nearby or the length of time taken by the Council to listen to the views of local residents through public consultation and engagement sessions, the input from the Corporate and Communities Scrutiny Panel and OSPB, or the time necessary to address the commercial, legal and financial issues.

He stated further that circa 10% of Redditch library users had responded to the consultation. He accepted that the majority of library users and other respondents disagreed with the proposals but emphasised that it had been a consultation exercise, not a referendum and due regard had been given to those views received. The Council, working collaboratively with Redditch Borough Council would ensure that there would be no impact on accessibility and disability as a result of the relocation. The lengthy public consultation meant that it was not possible to argue that local residents would not be aware of these proposals. The plan was to have the new reconfigured library in situ by 2024. Disruption during the construction phase would be kept to a minimum. The plans demonstrated that the proposed allocated space within the Town Hall would be equivalent to the service delivery area of the current library building. He confirmed that the plans had now been formally signed off.

In the ensuing debate, the following points were made:

·         The origins of the proposals for the demolition and relocation of the library in Redditch could be traced back to a Redditch Place Review in 2017 carried out by Place Partnership. Various consultation exercises on proposals to demolish the library had taken place since then with no opposition expressed to the plans until the recent consultation exercise. The opportunity had been provided on multiple occasions for people to express their views

·         The proposals represented a significant investment in Redditch by the Borough Council and assurances had been given by them with regard to the funding arrangements. It was important that there would be no financial detriment to this Council and that the library service provision would not be reduced. There were many people, especially young people who were very supportive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2167.

The Leader of the Council introduced the report and commented that borrowing had not been at the level expected because of slippage in and reprofiling of the capital programme. The Council had ensured that it followed the CIPFA Code of Practice. It was important that members of the Council received adequate and regular training on Treasury Management. The training provided would be proportionate to their role. The Council took every effort to mitigate risk by minimising borrowing interest rates balanced with the certainty of that period of borrowing so that borrowing was structured and proportionate for the length of the term.

He added that in terms of investment, it was important that the Council protected the principal sum and therefore any investment decision needed to be prudent to ensure that liquidity was prioritised over and above the optimum rate.

In the ensuing debate, it was commented that treasury management was a very important function because it provided the foundation that enabled the Council to undertake the things it wanted to do. The report highlighted the importance of investing in safe and secure ways.

The Leader of Council paid tribute to Tina Russell, the Chief Executive of Worcestershire Children First and her team as well as Andy Roberts, the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Children and Families for their achievement in receiving a good overall Ofsted rating for children services safeguarding.

Cabinet:

a)    Noted and considered the Council’s Treasury Management Annual Report 2022-23; and

b)   Referred the 2022-23 Treasury Management Annual Report to Full Council for approval in accordance with the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy.