Agenda and minutes

The following Member declared an interest in accordance with Standing Order 16.5:-

Decision – That the notes of the meeting held on 21July 2021 be approved.

Decision – That the oral report of the Leader of the Council giving an update on a range of issues including the incredible achievement by Cheddleton’s Lee Pearson in winning three more gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympics last month who, alongside Olympians Adam Peaty and Frazier Clarke, help to inspire the next generation of Staffordshire athletes; the Prime Minister’s ambitious plans to reform and fund health and social care through the health care levy which will provide additional funding for the NHS, but increase costs for councils, as well as residents, as national insurance contributions rise; the Council’s  campaign to encourage more people to apply for care sector jobs;  covid rates remaining high across the county; and the launch of the next phase of the Council’s #TalkSuicide campaign, to tie in with World Suicide Prevention Day, be noted.

Decision – That the minutes of the meeting of the Property Sub-Committee held on 1 September 2021 be received.</AI3>

Reasons for the Decision – To consider an update from the COVID-19 Member led Local Outbreak Control Board including the number of new cases of Covid nationally and in Staffordshire rose during August 2021 and was continuing at high levels; vaccination was limiting the number of hospitalisations and deaths from Covid, however, the NHS and social care were experiencing considerable pressure from Covid and other conditions;  people should exercise personal responsibility and continue to take sensible precautions to prevent the spread of infection (maintaining good hygiene, keeping a respectful  distance, and wearing face coverings in crowded indoor places, as well as testing twice weekly); the Covid vaccination programme continued to make progress with more than 1.3  million doses having been administered, and more than 80% of adults in Staffordshire having now received two doses; the current focus was on vaccinating younger adults and 12-17 year olds; and the Government was expected to announce a booster campaign for older adults as well as vaccination of 12-15 year olds.

Decision – That the report be received.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills

Decision – That the oral report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills giving an update on “Staffordshire Means Back to Business” activity including the following matters be noted:

• Staffordshire’s recovery continues apace.  Staffordshire saw a significant increase in Universal Credit Claimants early in the Covid crisis but recent signs of recovery with claimants reducing by nearly a fifth (17%) or 4,350 claimants between February and July and our rate of 3.9% is lower than the 6.5% regionally and 5.5% nationally.

• Although job vacancies in Staffordshire were heavily hit early in the crisis, overall levels have recovered and are now above pre-COVID levels.

• Our Ignite Programme, designed to support young people looking to start their own businesses, has enabled us to reach a significant number of students and raise awareness of both entrepreneurship and the Ignite programme through the delivery of the “Encouraging Enterprise” lesson plan. This would not have been possible without the support of the colleges who rolled it out effectively through their staff.  As reported previously 7,000 students have received an Ignite lesson which must be unprecedented.  We have now approved grants to support 171 companies with free training enabling them to work in a post Covid competitive environment.  We are supporting 147 new apprentices which would not have been available without this initiative.

• We are seeing unprecedented levels of activity to revitalise our town centres following successful government awards through Town Deals and Future High Streets funds including proposals for the regeneration of Stafford Town Centre.

Cabinet Member for Commercial Matters

Reasons for the Decision – To consider granting approval to proceed with the award of a Call-Off Contract for the Supply of ICT Hardware and Software Services from the ICT VAR Framework Agreement and to secure approval for the Director of Corporate Services to be given delegated authority to approve the award of the Contract for a period of 3 years starting 20 September 2021 to 19 September 2024 with the option to extend by 2 x 12- month periods.

Decision –(a) That Staffordshire County Council (the “Council”) concludes its regulated procurement in line with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (the “Regulations”) for the Contract.

(b) That, following the procurement process, the successful supplier be awarded the Contract for the period 20 September 2021 to 19 September 2024 and that, dependent on the quality of their delivery, the 12-month service extensions be implemented to a final contract end date of 19 September 2026.

(c) That the Director of Corporate Services be given delegated authority to:

        i.    Approve the initial award of the successful supplier to The Contract and authorise the Council entering into the Contract with the successful supplier;

       ii.    Approve all subsequent purchases under The Contract and authorise the Council to make further purchases under The Contract; and (if applicable) approve the 2-year extension to The Contract in its 3rd year.

     iii.    (If applicable) approve the 2-year extension to The Contract in its 3rd year.

Cabinet Member for Children and Young People

Reasons for the Decision – To consider the Council’s vision for the development of Family Hubs in Staffordshire.

Decision – (a) That the strategic vision for the development of Family Hubs across Staffordshire be endorsed and that a period of public consultation and engagement in respect of the redesignation of Children’s Centres as Family Hubs, be approved.

(b) That, subject to public consultation, the design and subsequent phased implementation of Family Hubs across Staffordshire as an integrated model of working, whilst acknowledging the future commissioning intentions in relation to the Family Support and Outreach Service and the Early Years Coordination Service (Children’s Centres), be endorsed.

(c) That the procurement of a Family Support and Outreach Service be approved and that authority for decisions, including acting on behalf of Staffordshire County Council (the County Council) to enter into the required contractual arrangements, be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Families and Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People.

(d) That authority to make decisions in relation to the development of Family Hubs in Staffordshire, including future decisions in relation to the Early Years Coordination Service, be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Families and Communities.

Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND)

Reasons for the Decision – To consider proposals for the use of the High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) funding.

Decision –That the proposals to use the High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) funding, as outlined below, be supported:

(i) To develop Resource Bases at Mainstream Schools for children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) or SEN Support with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs and/or Autistic Spectrum Condition.

(ii) A partnership approach with co-location of specialist provision on mainstream sites.

(iii) Increasing capacity in specialist provision to reduce the need to access placements at independent schools/out of county provision.

Cabinet Member for Health and Care

Reasons for the Decision – To consider proposed revised commissioning and contracting arrangements to ensure access to good quality and affordable care home placements when they are needed.

Decision –(a) That the role that care homes have played during Covid-19, and the impact of the pandemic on the sector, be recognised.

(b) That the Council’s overall strategic objectives and approach to commissioning care homes be noted and endorsed.

(c) That, owning to the results of the structural and feasibility studies, it be agreed to not progress refurbishment of the Hillfield site, Burton-on-Trent to provide additional nursing home capacity.

(d) That the implementation of guide prices for care home placements be approved.

(e) That the extension and variation of the current dynamic purchasing system contract for care homes for a further period from 1 April 2022 until no later than 31 March 2023, be approved.

(f) That the re-procurement of a new dynamic purchasing system for care homes with a revised service specification, be approved and that authority be delegated to the Director of Health and Care to award new contracts through the new dynamic purchasing system, effective from April 2023.

(g) That a phased increase in the number of block booked care home beds in accordance with demand, be approved and that authority be delegated to the Director of Health and Care to award block booked bed contracts.

(h) That a review of the approach to contracting for complex residential and nursing home placements be completed and that authority be delegated to the Director of Health and Care to consider the options and implement a preferred option in consultation with the corporate Senior Leadership Team and the Cabinet Member for Health and Care.

(i) That the opportunities to use technology and innovation to support care homes to meet the challenges identified in the report be noted.

Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources

Reasons for the Decision – To inform the Cabinet of the Council’s investment and borrowing activity during 2020/21 including both borrowing and investment decisions taken throughout the year in the light of the interest rates and economic conditions prevailing at the time.

Decision – (a) That the treasury management activities for the year ended 31 March 2021, including the Prudential Indicators outturn detailed in Appendix 4 to the report, be noted.

(b) That the use of the Minimum Revenue Provision at 31 March 2021, as set out in paragraphs 31 and 32 of the report, be approved.

(c) That it be noted that the current Annual Investment Strategy is considered prudent and sufficiently robust to meet any market challenges created by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union and pressures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and that Officers will continue to monitor the position.

Decision – That the following decisions taken by Cabinet Members under delegated powers be noted:

The Forward Plan of Key Decisions for the period 20 October 2021 to 16 February 2022, which detailed the following issues, was approved:

Decision – That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business which involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of Local Government Act 1972 indicated below.

PART TWO

(Exclusion paragraph 3)

Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND)

(Exclusion paragraph 3)

Reasons for the Decision – To consider proposals for the expansion of capacity at Oldfields Hall Middle School to provide additional middle school places to mitigate the impact on education of new residential developments in Uttoxeter Town.

Decision –That the recommendations contained in the report be agreed.

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Reasons for the Decision – To update the Cabinet on key town centre regeneration projects in Stafford Town Centre.

Decision – That the recommendations contained in the report be agreed.