Cabinet
MINUTES of a meeting of the Cabinet held at Council Chamber, County Hall, Lewes on 5 March 2024.
PRESENT Councillors Keith Glazier (Chair), Nick Bennett (Vice Chair), Bob Bowdler, Claire Dowling, Carl Maynard and Bob Standley
Members spoke on the items indicated:
Councillor Bennett - item 5 (minute 46)
Councillor Bowdler - item 6 (minute 47)
Councillor Daniel - item 5 (minute 46)
Councillor Denis - item 5 (minute 46)
Councillor Claire Dowling - item 5 (minute 46)
Councillor Field - item 6 (minute 47)
Councillor Maynard - item 5 (minute 46)
Councillor Shuttleworth - item 5 (minute 46)
Councillor Standley - item 5 (minute 46)
Councillor Swansborough - item 5 (minute 46)
Councillor Tutt - items 5 and 7 (minutes 46 and 48)
Councillor Webb - items 5 and 6 (minutes 46 and 47)
44. Minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2024
44.1 The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on the 23 January 2024 were agreed as a correct record.
45. reports
45.1 Copies of the reports referred to below are included in the minute book.
46. Council Monitoring: Quarter 3 2023/2024
46.1 The Cabinet
considered a report by the Chief Executive.
46.2 It was RESOLVED
to:
1) Note the latest monitoring position for the Council; and
2) Approve the proposed deletion of the performance measure set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report.
Reason
46.3 The report sets out the Council’s position and year-end projections for the Council Plan targets, Revenue Budget, Capital Programme, and Savings Plan, together with Risks at the end of December 2023.
47. The Ofsted inspection of East Sussex County Council's Children's Services
47.1 The Cabinet
considered a report by the Director of Children’s
Services.
47.2 It was RESOLVED
to:
1) Welcome the findings of the inspection of the work of ESCC for children and young people which was published on 6 February 2024; and
2) Note the action plan which is being developed to address the areas for improvement.
Reason
47.3 The Council’s Children’s Services has been judged to be good overall and outstanding for the experiences and progress of children in care. This is a good outcome for the service and for the Council which has made keeping vulnerable people safe, a priority outcome. It is a very welcome recognition of all the hard, determined, and high-quality work we have done since our last inspection, through a time of pandemic, its continuing effects, and cost of living pressures.
47.4 East Sussex has maintained a focus on the key priority outcome of keeping vulnerable people safe and responded well to the impact of the pandemic, increased demand and the challenging financial context for both families and the council.
48. SELEP Transition Plan
48.1 The Cabinet
considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy and
Transport.
48.2 It was RESOLVED
to:
1) Note that the
South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) will be drawn to a
close on 31 March 2024;
2) Agree that Team
East Sussex continues to operate after 31 March 2024 in an advisory
capacity as the recognised business-led strategic economic growth
board for East Sussex;
3) Approve the
final SELEP Integration Plan, set out in Appendix 1 of the report;
and
4) Approve the final East Sussex Integration Plan set out in Appendix 2 of the report.
Reason
48.3
The government’s decision to allocate non statutory LEP
responsibilities to Upper Tier Local Authorities by 31 March 2024
will provide a range of opportunities for the County Council and
its stakeholder partners across East Sussex to have more freedom in
setting strategic priorities and accelerating programmes of
activity to support local economic growth.
48.4 The County Council is ideally placed to take on former LEP responsibilities with our very successful track record in developing, delivering and evaluating impactful economic growth initiatives in the county and with a proven ability to convene partners and stakeholders to work together for the benefit of local businesses and residents. The LEP transition will give the council the opportunity to build on the existing management and oversight of the capital programme, through which it has successfully met ongoing financial, legal and reporting requirements since SELEP was formed, whilst enabling a more localised oversight and decision-making process through the introduction and maintenance of additional governance and programme management functions.
49. To agree which items are to be reported to the County Council
49.1 It was agreed that items 5 and 6 should be reported to the County Council.
[Note: the item being reported to the County Council refers to minute numbers 46 and 47.]