Cabinet
MINUTES of a meeting of the Cabinet held at Council Chamber, County Hall, Lewes on 25 June 2024.
PRESENT Councillors Keith Glazier (Chair), Nick Bennett (Vice Chair), Bob Bowdler, Penny di Cara, Claire Dowling, Carl Maynard and Bob Standley
Members spoke on the items indicated:
Councillor Bennett - item 5 (minute 3)
Councillor Collier - item 6 (minute 4)
Councillor Daniel - items 6 and 8 (minute 4 and 6)
Councillor Claire Dowling - item 8 (minute 6)
Councillor Field - items 5 and 8 (minute 3 and 6)
Councillor Lunn - item 6 (minute 4)
Councillor Stephen Shing - items 6 and 8 (minute 4 and 6)
Councillor Shuttleworth - item 8 (minute 6)
Councillor Standley - item 5 (minute 3)
Councillor Swansborough - item 5 (minute 3)
Councillor Tutt - item 6 (minute 4)
1. Minutes of the meeting held on 16 April 2024
1.1 The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on the 16 April 2024 were agreed as a correct record.
2. reports
2.1 Copies
of the reports referred to below are included in the minute
book.
3. Council Monitoring: Quarter 4 2023/24 - Year end
3.1 The
Cabinet considered a report by the Chief Executive.
3.2 It was
RESOLVED to:
1) Note the latest monitoring position for the Council.
Reason
3.3 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 March 2024.
4. Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR) - State of the County
4.1 The
Cabinet considered a report by the Chief Executive.
4.2 It was RESOLVED to:
1)
Note the evidence base
on demographics as set out in Appendix 1 of the report and the
national and local policy outlook as set out in Appendix 2 of the
report;
2)
Agree the priority
outcomes and delivery outcomes as set out in Appendix 3 of the
report and agree these as the basis of the Council’s business
and financial planning, subject to the proposed amendments set out
in paragraph 4 of the report;
3)
Agree officers update
the Medium Term Financial Plan as the basis for financial planning
when more information is available, as set out in paragraph 5 of
the report;
4)
Agree officers identify
areas of search for further savings as set out in paragraph 5 of
the report;
5) Agree to
allocate the additional £5.386m for social care received in
the final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024/25 to
support the investments in children’s and adult social care
within the Council’s agreed 2024/25 revenue budget;
6)
Agree officers update
the Capital Strategy and programme as set out in Appendix 4 of the
report and as set out in paragraph 7 of the report;
7)
Agree the Productivity
Plan as set out in Appendix 5 of the report for submission to the
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities;
8)
Receive reports on more
detailed plans for 2025/26 and beyond in the autumn when there is
more information about future resources; and
Reasons
4.3 The
State of the County report is a key annual milestone in the
Council’s Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources
(RPPR) process, our integrated business and financial planning
cycle. The report provides an overview of our current operating
context to begin the process of more detailed planning for 2025/26
and beyond. In conjunction with the 2023/24 year end monitoring
report, it reflects on our achievements over the last year and the
challenges we expect in the year ahead arising from both local and
national factors. Through this analysis, it starts to refine our
plans and to steer our business planning and budget setting
processes.
4.4 Work will continue over the summer to refine our understanding of the medium term impacts on our services of national reforms, the evolving economic and political context, changing demand for services and the financial resources that will be available to us in the coming years. We will also further develop proposals for closing the financial gap, including potential savings.
4.5 We will
report back to Members in the autumn with an updated assessment of
our service demand, funding expectations and proposed actions to
inform more detailed business and budget planning for 2025/26 and
beyond. We will use our RPPR process to plan for the future as best
we can in the context of a likely one year financial settlement
once again.
4.6 Members will continue to be consulted on plans as they are developed through Cabinet, County Council, Scrutiny Committees, Whole Council Forums and specific engagement sessions throughout the 2024/25 Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources process.
5. East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and the South Downs NPA Waste and Minerals Plan Review
5.1 The
Cabinet considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy
and Transport.
5.2 It was
RESOLVED to:
1)
Recommend to Full
Council that the Waste and Minerals Revised Policies document,
incorporating the Main Modifications and minor modifications, and
updated Policies Map, is adopted and published; and
2)
Recommend to Full
Council the relevant adoption statement and Sustainability
Appraisal Report is published.
Reason
5.3 Achieving a positive outcome from the Examination into the Waste and Minerals Revised Policies document represents a significant achievement for the County Council and the partner Authorities. It is the culmination of a significant amount of work, which has included the collation of evidence and undertaking community and stakeholder engagement/consultation, carried out over a number of years.
6. Procurement of a chargepoint operator to deliver, operate and manage on-street electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints
6.1 The
Cabinet considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy
and Transport.
6.2 It was
RESOLVED to:
1) Approve the
County Council’s plan to support the implementation and
delivery of proposed EV infrastructure;
2)
Approve the procurement
of a network operator to support the delivery and operation of EV
infrastructure; and
3)
Delegate authority to
the Director of Communities Economy and Transport to take any
action they consider appropriate to give effect to the above
recommendations, including, but not limited to, approving the
outcome of the procurement process and the award of the contract,
and agreeing the terms of and authorising the Council to enter into
any agreements necessary for the delivery of the proposed EV
infrastructure.
Reasons
6.3
Electric Vehicles (EV) will be the main alternative to combustion
engine cars and small vans with the Government’s commitment
to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles from 2035. This
will contribute towards achieving the national and Council target
of net zero carbon by 2050 through a major reduction in transport
emissions as well as supports several key County Council priorities
such as maintaining and improving social inclusion, health, and
wellbeing, whilst supporting and safeguarding current and future
economic needs.
6.4 The County Council has successfully secured £4.441m of Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding which is dedicated to facilitating the implementation of on-street EV charging infrastructure throughout the county. The initiative aims to establish a comprehensive and fit for purpose network of both slow and fast chargepoints in residential areas in locations that have been informed through close collaboration with our Borough and District Councils.
7. To agree which items are to be reported to the County Council
7.1 It was agreed that items 5, 6 and 7 should be reported to the County Council.
[Note: the item being reported to the County Council refers to minute numbers 3, 4 and 5.]