Agenda for Executive Board on Tuesday, 21st March, 2017, 2.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ground Floor Committee Room - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG

Contact: James Welbourn, Constitutional Services, Tel: 0115 8763288  Email: james.welbourn@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Note: Unless stated otherwise, all decisions are subject to call-in and cannot be implemented until 30 March 2017. 

Items
No. Item

78.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Councillor Nick McDonald  -  work commitments

Councillor Jane Urquhart  -  work commitments

79.

Declarations of interests

Minutes:

None.

80.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 253 KB

Last meeting held on 21 February (for confirmation).

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 February were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

81.

Support for Greater Nottingham Health and Care Partnership pdf icon PDF 328 KB

Report of Portfolio Holder for Adults and Health

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Adults and Health introduced a paper on the Greater Nottingham Health and Care Partnership (GNHCP). 

 

All partners are being asked to support the next steps from the work on moving to integrate the whole health and social care system – all other partners have now approved the next steps as detailed in the report.

 

RESOLVED to:

 

(1)  agree to progress the next steps as part of the Greater Nottingham Health and Care Partnership to work up details on how to integrate commissioning, integrate the provision and integrate the system for the Greater Nottingham area;

 

(2)  acknowledge the progress of the design and development of further integration at whole system level in Greater Nottingham;

 

(3)  acknowledge that NHS partners, by approving the direction of travel,  will progress to initiate a procurement process for interim support on behalf of the system, for delivery of an agreed set of tasks to further this work during 2017/18, subject to the funding being made available;

 

(4)  undertake a simple organisational self-assessment of readiness which can draw out any organisational red lines or barriers to moving forwards with this work, as well as identifying the current capacity and capability within organisations to move forwards with the next steps of the design process.

 

Reasons for decisions

 

There are significant financial and demand pressures in adult social care which if allowed to result in reductions to the care provided to citizens will result in risks to the statutory responsibilities of the City Council, and result in significantly more cost pressure on the NHS.

 

This is in support of delivering against our responsibilities under the Care Act 2014, which require integration with health services.

 

The activities recommended as part of the Greater Nottingham Health

and Care Partnership represents work that was underway before the

Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) process was initiated and

now do form a substantial part of the delivery of the Nottingham and

Nottinghamshire STP.

 

This is the continuation of our work in the City over the last three years

to integrate health and social care.

 

The recommendations are based on enabling us to make best use of

resources available. It remains the view that further funding is required

to support the transformation and health and care system into the

future and to support its future sustainability.

 

Other options considered

 

The only other option for the City Council is to cease to support the GNHCP. There are three main reasons why this is not considered a realistic way forwards:

 

a) That the financial pressures of adult social care and the quality and availability of social care is best provided as part of an integrated health and social care system.

 

b) There is legislation that requires Local Authorities to integrate with health within the Care Act

 

c) The NHS organisations will pursue this path without us, and it is likely that the best way to secure resources for the population of Nottingham City is to be fully involved in decision making across the health and social care system. To not be included within the governance, commissioning and provision is likely to reduce ability to influence the services secured for the residents of Nottingham City.

82.

Property Acquisition - Use of Right to Buy 30% Replacement Receipts - Key Decision pdf icon PDF 227 KB

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing.

 

This report was previously named as ‘Property Acquisition – Right to Buy ‘1-4-1’ Replacement Receipts - Key Decision’ on the 28 Day Notice. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council introduced an item on the use of Right to Buy (RTB) 30% Replacement Receipts.

 

The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) receives a proportion of the capital receipts generated by the sale of council houses under the RTB agenda.  This funding is provided to contribute towards the building of new council housing for rent. 

 

If the money is not spent within three and a quarter years of the Council receiving it, it is returned to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) with punitive interest. The receipts can only be used for 30% of either the new build cost or the purchase price of an existing residential property, the remainder of the funding would come from the HRA.

 

RESOLVED to:

 

(1)  include in the public sector capital programme a scheme to use surplus Right to Buy Replacement Receipts for 30% of the costs of existing properties, to be used as social housing; the remaining balance to be met from the HRA new build budget, to a value of £2.855m;

 

(2)  delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Development and Growth to identify and determine the number of residential properties to be purchased, and when these properties should be purchased, to ensure sufficient eligible expenditure is achieved;

 

(3)  delegate authority to the Director of Strategic Assets and Property to negotiate and agree the individual purchase terms and conditions for the purchase of existing properties.

 

Reasons for decisions

 

There is an opportunity to utilise eligible receipts to acquire existing residential properties on the open market to be let as social housing, as per the agreement with the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

 

By delegating authority the Council can plan for a more flexible delivery of the Building a Better Nottingham (BABN) new build programme within the specified timescales and to retain the money within the Council.

 

These properties will provide additional affordable housing to meet the housing needs of Nottingham citizens utilising subsidy so that the purchases represent good value for money for the Council’s HRA.

 

Other options considered

 

The preferred option was to utilise the replacement receipts to part fund the construction of new build properties in the Councils BABN new build programme. However, there is a risk that all of the schemes will not be progressed and therefore the receipts would not be utilised within the timescales.

 

The option to do nothing has been rejected. Any funding that is not utilised will be lost and will need to be returned to DCLG with additional punitive interest.

83.

Apprenticeship Levy - Key Decision pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Report of Portfolio Holder for Community Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Community Services introduced a report on the Apprenticeship Levy.

 

Funds will be available to draw down from the Council’s Digital Apprenticeship Service Account, with annual spend reviewed and reported on annually.

 

The public bodies target for apprentices is set at 2.3% of the overall workforce headcount as from 7 April 2017.

 

RESOLVED to:

 

(1)  delegate ongoing authority to the Director for Human Resources and Transformation to draw down apprenticeship levy funds from the Council’s digital Apprenticeship Service Account from May 2017 up to the amount of levy paid, annually. This was calculated as £1,019,700 based on the 2015/16 pay bill and will vary year on year;

 

(2)  delegate authority to the Director of Economic Development to undertake a competitive procurement exercise to set up an Approved Apprenticeship Training and Assessment Provider List for the Council and open to access by other partner Councils;

 

(3)  delegate authority to the Director of Economic Development to enter into contracts with approved providers and also to award call off contracts to winning providers on the framework for training and assessment services for Council employed apprentices.

 

Reasons for decisions

 

Delegated authority to draw down and spend the apprenticeship levy funds on an ongoing basis ensures that contracts can be placed with providers and payments made from the Council’s digital account in a timely manner.

 

Apprenticeship Levy funds held in the apprenticeships service account can only be spent on training and assessment via a government approved training

provider. Public Sector bodies must comply with the Public Contracts

Regulations 2015 when selecting both a training provider and an assessment

organisation from the approved registers. In order to comply with the

Regulations the Council proposes to run a competitive procurement exercise

under the Light Touch Regime to select appropriate providers. The establishing of an Approved Provider List open to other public bodies is considered to be the best option to achieve value for money over the next 2-4 years, whilst ensuring compliance with the Regulations. It will also enable the setup of value added services as set out in paragraph 2.5. The specification for provider services will address quality standards, barriers to hiring apprentices and aims to lower the costs of these activities.

 

Other options considered

 

There is an existing Provider Framework in place, which is due to expire at the end of March 2017. This could have been retained, however, this option is not considered to be cost-effective or flexible enough to respond to the rapidly changing apprenticeship landscape. Purchasing through a new procurement framework in the way proposed will enhance buying power for the organisations signed up to it and bring best value and consistency to contracts.

 

The alternative option is to wait to see the actual impact of the apprenticeships reforms and then respond accordingly. By taking a more proactive approach the City Council will be better placed to leverage potential benefits.

84.

Exclusion of the public

To consider excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item(s) in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs in the public interest in disclosing the information

Minutes:

RESOLVED to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item(s) in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs in the public interest in disclosing the information.

85.

Exempt minute

To confirm the exempt minute from the October meeting of Executive Board.

Minutes:

The exempt minute from October’s meeting was agreed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

86.

Property Acquisition - Use of Right to Buy 30% Replacement Receipts - Exempt Appendix

Minutes:

The Board considered the exempt appendices to the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing/Leader’s report.

 

RESOLVED to note the information contained within the exempt appendix.

 

Reasons for decision

As detailed in minute 82.

 

Other options considered

As detailed in minute 82.

 

87.

Apprenticeship Levy - Exempt Appendix

Minutes:

The Board considered the exempt appendices to the Portfolio Holder for Community Services’ report.

 

RESOLVED to note the information contained within the exempt appendix.

 

Reasons for decision

As detailed in minute 83.

 

Other options considered

As detailed in minute 83.