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

Decision – That the notes of the meeting held on 18 May 2022 be approved.

Oral report of the Leader of the Council

Decision – That the oral report of the Leader of the Council giving an update on a range of issues including the Staffordshire Ironman event on 12 June which saw 3,000 people taking part and the tragic news that one of the entrants died after falling ill during the swim – the Council’s thoughts are with the gentleman’s family; the Platinum Jubilee celebrations which included hundreds of events and street parties taking place across the county; Staffordshire residents recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours this month including Catherine Mann, the Council’s interim Assistant Director for Culture, Rural & Safer Communities, for her national work promoting a literate, kinder society, as well as being the head of the county’s library service for more than a decade; the work to improve digital connections across Staffordshire through Project Gigabit whereby the County Council will work with broadband and mobile providers, developers and government, to give Staffordshire properties access to gigabit speeds by 2030; the launch of the  holiday activities and food programme ahead of the summer school break which is free for 5-16 year olds who receive free school meals or other related benefits; and the retirement of the Council’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Families and Communities, Helen Riley; be noted.

Decision – That the minutes of the meeting of the Property Sub-Committee held on 1 June 2022 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 job brokerage “Staffordshire Jobs and Careers” - The objective of the scheme is to support Staffordshire residents into work through the management and delivery of free recruitment and support services to businesses; achieved through a bespoke tailored service to match and screen potential candidates. A digital ‘Staffordshire Jobs & Careers’ platform will form part of the service to provide a quick and easy way to find employment and/or training opportunities. This is currently being built and will be ‘soft’ launched with the wider brokerage service by mid-July.

• Apprenticeship 500 - This programme was developed with our partners in response to the impact of Covid 19 on new Apprenticeships, the numbers collapsed.  As a direct result of SCC’s actions, with the support of partners, to date 205 businesses have taken on over 400 Apprentices.

• Ignite - This is a brand new county-wide initiative designed to encourage young people in their final year at College, to understand the basics of entrepreneurialism and enterprise. Ignite aims to invest in the innovation, energy and entrepreneurial spirit that the next generation have, to enhance their ability to help themselves through giving them the know-how they need to have more options and lead the world of work.  To date over 12,000 college students across Staffordshire have received focused training to set up their own business through the Ignite programme.

• The proportion of young people in Staffordshire aged 18-24 that are claiming work-related Universal Credit has decreased further and now stands at 3.9%, or 2,505 young people which is only 90 more than the pre-pandemic level. This is reflective of the record number of job vacancies currently available across the full economy, with more young people finding employment in areas of demand to aid the recovery from the pandemic. There remain clear opportunities for more young people in a number of our priority and locally important sectors such as manufacturing, construction, logistics, health & social care and hospitality.

This decline in young people claiming Universal Credit has contributed to an overall decline in our claimant rate which now stands at 2.8% of the working age population in May well below the regional rate of 5.0% and national rate of 3.9%.

Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources

Reasons for the Decision – To receive details of the final financial outturn position of the county council for 2021/22 including delivery of the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

Decision – (a) That the final outturn position be noted.

(b) That the contribution of the underspend of £3.984m into an earmarked reserve for inflationary pressures in future years be approved and that the carry forward requests set out in paragraph 2 of the report be not approved.

(c) That the capital financing arrangements as set out in Appendix 3, including the capitalisation of transformational revenue expenditure, be approved.

Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources

Reasons for the Decision – To receive an update on the development of the Corporate Delivery Plan 2022-23 which outlines the key priorities across the four directorates which will contribute to delivering against the Council’s Strategic Plan 2022-26.

Decision – (a) That the progress made in developing the Corporate Delivery Plan for 2022/23 be noted.

(b) That the council’s Corporate Delivery Plan for 2022/23 be approved.

Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change

Reasons for the Decision – To consider the Digital Infrastructure Strategic Framework (DISF) for Staffordshire which includes the vision for the county to achieve 100% gigabit connectivity access by 2030.

Decision – (a) That the Digital Infrastructure Strategic Framework (DISF) for Staffordshire be approved.

(b) That the use of the £4million gainshare funding to resource and support delivery of the DISF through the Digital Connectivity Hub and delivery programme be supported.

(c) That authority be delegated to the Director for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change, to fund digital connectivity projects and programmes that market the opportunity improved digital connectivity brings, demonstrate and test new connectivity technologies and its advantages and pilot connectivity solutions using the gainshare funding.

Cabinet Member for Commercial Matters

Note by Clerk:  Cllr Philip White declared an interest and left the room during the consideration of this item.

Reasons for the Decision – To consider proposals for the extension of Newcastle Enterprise Centre, Knutton.

Decision – (a) That the acceptance of investment of circa £1,140,000 from the Newcastle Town Deal (Newcastle Borough Council) initiative to facilitate the delivery of an extension to Newcastle Enterprise Centre at Knutton be approved.

(b) That the investment of up to £440,000 of SCC borrowing to facilitate the delivery of an extension to Newcastle Enterprise Centre at Knutton be endorsed, and that it be noted that the borrowing costs will be repaid from the increased rental income generated on site and will be underwritten by the Business and Enterprise revenue budget.

(c) That Delegated authority be given to the Director for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills and the Director of Corporate Services to enter into relevant contractual and other arrangements pursuant to the delivery of the project.

Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change

Reasons for the Decision – To receive details of the work that has been completed to deliver the successful insourcing of the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) Network.

Decision – (a) That the work that has been completed to deliver the successful insourcing of the HWRC Network be noted.

(b) That it be noted that there is a current Policy for the Usage of Household Waste Recycling Centres that details how waste from non-household sources will be managed (Appendix 1 to the report).

(c) That the need to review the current infrastructure and mobile plant across the network and invest where appropriate to maintain a modern, efficient network, be noted.

(d) That it be noted that, following input from Prosperous Overview and Scrutiny Committee, it is intended that a report will be submitted to Cabinet in the Autumn on the HWRC network to consider a 5-year costed Maintenance Improvement Plan and reviewed and updated usage policy.

Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change

Reasons for the Decision – To receive an update on the formation of the Staffordshire Sustainability Board (SSB)which aims to enable successful collaborative working on climate change and sustainability, across Staffordshire.

Decision – (a) That the formation of the Staffordshire Sustainability Board, which aims to enable successful collaborative working on climate change and sustainability, across Staffordshire, be noted.

(b) That the adoption of the Staffordshire Sustainability Boards – Vision and council commitmentsbe agreed and approved.

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

The Chairman to move:-

“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

(All reports in this section are exempt)

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.

The Cabinet then proceeded to consider the following matters:

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Cabinet Member for Commercial Matters

(Exclusion paragraph 3)

Note by Clerk: Mr John Henderson, the Council’s Chief Executive, is a Director of Entrust and therefore left the room during the consideration of this item.

Reasons for the Decision – To consider a contract variation with Entrust to cease some services and continue others.

Decision – That the recommendations contained in the report be agreed.</AI21>

Note by Clerk: The Chairman of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee has agreed that this matter be exempt from call-in as any delayin implementing the Cabinet’s decision would mean that a contract variation cannot take place prior to the contractual break notice date.

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Cabinet Member for Children and Young People

(Exclusion paragraph 3)

Reasons for the Decision – To provide Cabinet with an update in relation to the use of an unregulated placement.

Decision – That the recommendations contained in the report be agreed.</AI21>