Agenda and minutes

Apologies were submitted on behalf of Councillor Joyce Plummer and from Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, who was a standing invitee to the meeting as Leader of the Opposition.

There were no reported declarations of interest or dispensations.

To approve the Minutes of the last meeting of Cabinet held on 16^th March 2022.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 16^th March 2022 were submitted for approval as a correct record.

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes be received and approved as a correct record.

In accordance with Executive Procedure Rule B16(c), to receive a report on decisions taken under urgency procedures. The following decisions are attached:-

In accordance with Executive Procedure Rule B16(c), Members considered a report on the following decision taken under the urgency procedure:

Resolved                                    -    To note the report on urgent decisions taken.

To receive verbal reports from each of the Portfolio Holders, as appropriate.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, commented that he was pleased to see all parties represented on the new Cabinet.  Hyndburn had an ambitious 15 year strategy of improvements planned, including housing, employment and leisure developments.

Cabinet Portfolios for 2022/23 attached, for noting.

Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE provided a list of the Cabinet Portfolio Holders and details of their respective Portfolio responsibilities for 2022/23.  A summary the Portfolios is as follows:

• Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE – Leader of the Council
• Councillor Marlene Haworth – Deputy Leader of the Council
• Councillor Joyce Plummer – Resources
• Councillor Steven Smithson – Environmental Services
• Councillor Peter Britcliffe – Levelling Up
• Councillor Kathleen Pratt – Housing, Health and Wellbeing

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The decision of the Leader with regard to the appointment of the Cabinet for 2022/23 was reported to Members for information purposes.

There were no alternative options for consideration or reasons

Resolved                                    -    To note the decision of the Leader of the Council in respect of the size of the Cabinet, the appointment of its Members and the allocation of areas of responsibility to Cabinet Members.

Report attached.

Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, Leader of the Council, provided a report on the establishment of Cabinet Committees and Cabinet Groups for the 2022/23 Municipal Year and the appointment of members to those Committees and Groups.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

In June 2015, Cabinet had established the Cabinet Committee (Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013).  The Cabinet Committee determined whether to grant, renew, revoke or vary scrap metal licences pursuant to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, where the applicant or licensee (as the case may be) had informed the Council that they wished to make oral representations.  This enabled compliance with statutory requirements.

In December 2017, Cabinet had established the Cabinet Committee (Street Naming).  The Cabinet Committee discharged the Council’s functions in respect of the naming and renaming of streets pursuant to Sections 17 and 18 Public Health Act 1925.

In June 2018 the Cabinet had established the Cabinet Committee (Digital Committee).  The Cabinet Committee provided a forum for Cabinet to consider the impact of the digital economy on the Borough and its town centres in particular.

In June 2015, Cabinet had also established the following three Cabinet Groups which acted in an advisory capacity to Cabinet and did not have any delegated or decision making powers:

• Covenant Commemoration Working Group (formerly Accrington Pals Centenary Commemorations Group;
• Cabinet Public Transport Group; and
• Cabinet Waste and Recycling Group.

It was proposed that the above Groups continue into 2022/23,

The terms of reference for all of the bodies were appended to the report and Cabinet was also asked to appoint Members to these bodies.  Members were advised that reference to ‘controlling administration’ in Appendix 1 should be taken as including Independent members.

The proposed membership was as follows:-

Work was on-going to seek nominations for vacancies identified above.

Alternative Options considered and Reasons for Rejection

An option not to appoint any of the proposed Panels and Groups was considered, but would not meet the Cabinet’s need to establish effective arrangements for the discharge of specialist areas of its business.

Resolved                                 (1)   That Cabinet agrees to the establishment of the Cabinet Committees and Cabinet Groups, and with the terms of reference, as set out in the Appendix to the report.

(2)   That the membership of the Cabinet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Marlene Haworth, Deputy Leader of the Council, ona preferred procurement strategy for the design and construction components of the Leisure Estate Investment Programme (LEIP).

Councillor Haworth highlighted the main elements of the report and the Leader of the Council referred to the previous reports leading up to this point.  The Investment Programme would help to get people active and tackle obesity.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Cabinet had considered reports on the Leisure Estate Investment Strategy in July 2021 and December 2021, building upon earlier work reported to Council in November 2020 and Cabinet in February 2021.

The reports highlighted the need for substantial investment in the Council’s Leisure Estate to ensure that it remained relevant to the needs of the local community and addressed the challenges around improving health outcomes in Hyndburn which were some of the worst in the country.

The work undertaken also identified opportunities to expand and improve the leisure offer made to the public by providing modern facilities which would increase participation, widen the diversity of usage across the community and provide a broader and more encompassing range of activities.  In addition, by increasing levels of participation through higher levels of activity, the future provision of leisure services would be protected by boosting income and reducing the marginal cost of operations.

As part of its preliminary work into its Leisure Estate, Hyndburn Council had undertaken a feasibility study to determine a provisional scope for the leisure transformation programme, including initial cost estimations, details of the existing facilities mix, along with assessing future development opportunities.

The key outcomes of the work to date indicated:

• the opportunity to repurpose the current facilities at Wilson Playing Field into a much wider leisure and sporting offer, with the development on the site of a swimming pool, gymnasium and other fitness offers, enhanced facilities for outdoor sports including the provision of modern changing facilities for a variety of team sports, with these improvements also supporting the Athletics Club and other users of the site and the ability to develop track and trail activities, as well as water sports and a café, turning an under used facility into a modern Sports Village.

• the opportunity to refurbish and redevelop Hyndburn Leisure Centre to upgrade its facilities, replace the mechanical and electrical plant within the building to substantially extend the building’s useful life and modernise the building, so that it was more flexible to current user demands, boost the numbers using the building and help lower its operational costs.

The Council had set aside £10m in its Capital Budget in February 2022 to help achieve the necessary investment into its Leisure Estate to realise its vision.  It was also seeking £2m of financial support from Sport England to assist with the overall costs of the programme of changes and was pursuing other funding opportunities to help with the overall costs of the programme of change.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

Report attached.

The Cabinet received a report from Councillor Joyce Plummer, Portfolio Holder for Resources, on the new requirements under the Taxi and Private Hire (Disabled Persons) Act 2022, seeking approval to an amendment to the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy to reflect the new requirements.  The Leader of the Council introduced this report in the absence of the Portfolio Holder.

Councillor Peter Britcliffe enquired about the number of designated wheelchair access vehicles licensed in the Borough.  He also asked whether the new requirements might be a disincentive to undertaking the taxi driver role.  The Leader indicated that Councillor Plummer should be in a positon to respond to this upon her return.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

On 28 June, the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 (“the 2022 Act”) would take effect in England, Scotland, and Wales.  It would amend the Equality Act 2010 to introduce new, and amend existing, duties for local authorities and taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers and operators alike.  The 2022 Act aimed to ensure that disabled people could use taxi and PHV services with confidence, that they would not be discriminated against, and local authorities had an important role to play in ensuring the requirements were implemented effectively.

The existing legislation required drivers of designated wheelchair accessible vehicles (“WAV’s”) to accept the carriage of wheelchair users, provide them with reasonable mobility assistance, and refrain from charging them more than other passengers.  From 28 June, all taxi and PHV drivers and operators – regardless of whether the vehicle was wheelchair accessible – would be subject to duties under the Equality Act.  The main changes were set out below.

Taxi and PHV drivers would be required to:

• Accept the carriage of any disabled person, provide them with reasonable mobility assistance, and carry their mobility aids, all without charging any more than they would for a non-disabled passenger.

• Provide any disabled passenger who requested it with assistance to identify the vehicle, at no extra charge.

PHV operators would be required to:

• Accept bookings for or on behalf of any disabled person, if they had a suitable vehicle available.

Currently the provision for the carriage of wheelchair users was contained in Section 165 and 167 of the Equality Act 2010.  Section 167 of the Act provided local authorities with the powers to make lists of wheelchair accessible vehicles (i.e. “designated vehicles”), and section 165 of the Act then required the drivers of those vehicles to carry passengers in wheelchairs, provide assistance to those passengers and prohibited them from charging extra.

Under the amendments contained in the 2022 Act, from 28 June, all licensing authorities would have to maintain and publish a list of licenced taxis and PHVs they designated as being wheelchair accessible.  This would identify the vehicles whose drivers were subject to the duties in section 165 to provide assistance to wheelchair users and refrain from charging extra for this.  Currently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

Report attached.

The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Joyce Plummer, Portfolio Holder for Resources, on the draft financial spending of the Council up to the end of the financial year in March 2022.  The Leader of the Council introduced this report in the absence of the Portfolio Holder.

Councillor Britcliffe acknowledged that the Council faced growing financial pressures in the light of increasing inflation, but suggested that some small schemes be developed to help to restore pride in the Borough.  He expressed a view that some items appeared to have been neglected under the previous administration.  Councillor June Harrison responded that this had been due to lack of sufficient funding from Government and the County Council.  Service reductions on certain items had been necessary and could not be blamed on the previous administration.  The Leader reiterated the need for all to continue to work together.  Previously it had been necessary to make some difficult choices around budget savings, which had impacted on items such as flowerbeds.  However, some schemes could be looked at now as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund bid.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The detailed figures underpinning the report were shown as a table at the end of the document provided.

The initial draft forecast year end position for the financial year 2021/22 was a spend of £10,631,000 against a Budget of £11,227,000.  This gave an underspend of £596,000 compared to the Budget set at the start of the year.

Not all work on producing the Final Accounts had been completed as yet and the Accounts were still subject to External Audit, so the draft surplus figure of £596,000 could be subject to change.  If there were any significant alterations to the figure, these would be reported at a later date.

The Council had received substantial funds from the Government or via Lancashire County Council and spent over £1m in combatting the effects of COVID 19.  There remained a balance of the sums provided of £211,000.  The Government had indicated councils could roll these sums forward into 2022/23 so long as they were deployed on activities that continued to help reduce the spread of the pandemic.  If the funds were not used for this purpose they were to be returned to the Government.  The Council had committed the funds to various activities to ensure the virus was contained as much as possible and it had the appropriate contingency arrangements in place to address any spike in infection rates.

The report included more detailed commentary about expenditure in the following service areas:-

Environmental Services

Environmental Services were predicting a positive variance of £7,000 at the end of the financial year.  Food Safety had incurred significant additional costs in relation to activities in combatting COVID 19 with £928,000 of additional spend taking place during 2021/22.  As the authority had contained the level of COVID 19 spend within the Government funding made available to combat the virus, there had been no  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, Leader of the Council, regarding the recommendation that has been made by the Town Centre Stakeholder Board for the use of the Borough’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity fund.  The report also sought delegated authority to submit a proposal to Government based on that recommendation.

The Leader highlighted the projects which were proposed for submission via an Investment Plan.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund was a Government-allocated fund which was intended to reduce inequalities between communities as part of the Government’s wider “levelling up” agenda.  The Fund had been launched with the publication of its full prospectus on 13^th April 2022.

The Shared Prosperity Fund had been allocated to lead local authorities across the UK using a formula rather than by inviting competitive bids.  In two tier areas, the district councils had been classed as the lead authority rather than the County Council.  The formula for the allocation reflected the amounts that areas had received from the EU structural funds, with some needs-based adjustments.

Hyndburn’s allocation from the UKSPF for the period April 2022 to April 2025 was £2,943,592.  This allocation could be used either for revenue or for capital purposes, subject to the approval of an investment plan that the authority was required to submit to Government sometime between 30^th June and 1^st August 2022.  The Government was making £20,000 of funding available to each ‘lead local authority’ to undertake work for their application, including the Investment Plan preparation

Running in parallel with this, the Authority was currently finalising its £22m Levelling-Up Fund (LUF) bid.  This needed to be submitted on or before 6^th July 2022.  Since the authority’s LUF bid would be strengthened if the Council was able to cross-reference its intention to use the Shared Prosperity Fund to complement the levelling up projects, it was important to determine the authority’s UKSPF investment plan by this earlier deadline.

To access its allocation, the Authority would have to submit an Investment Plan setting out how it would spend the money.  It was also required to engage local partners in the preparation of the Investment Plan which should address one or more the fund’s 3 main investment priorities.  These were:

i.        Communities & Place - building pride in the community, restoring  a sense of community and belonging and regenerating Town centres

ii      Supporting Local Business - increasing pay, employment chances and productivity

iii     People & Skills - supporting high quality skills and training.

In determining its priorities for the SPF Investment Plan, the authority had worked closely over recent weeks with the Accrington Town Centre Stakeholder Board.  This body had originally established to assist with the Council’s LUF bid, but had agreed to extend its remit to advise on the Shared Prosperity Fund too.  Members were reminded, that the Stakeholder Board was an independently chaired body that involved a range of key stakeholders  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

Report attached.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Leader of the Council which provided somecontext around Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s (BwDC) Regulation 19 Local Plan and which sought agreement to the amended Statement of Common Ground (SoCG) wording that Hyndburn had proposed and that BwDC had agreed to in principle.

The Leader commented that this issue was of particular concern to councillors serving Oswaldtwistle.  Hyndburn Borough Council had a statutory duty to cooperate with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council on the plan-making process.  Councillors Peter Britcliffe and Marlene Haworth spoke about the impact on Belthorn residents of the loss of Green Belt land proposed in Blackburn with Darwen’s Regulation 19 Local Plan.  Councillor Britcliffe enquired about the details of Hyndburn’s response to the Local Plan consultations and whether any reply had been received from Blackburn with Darwen Council.  He also sought assurance that Hyndburn’s comments would be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate at the appropriate time.  The Leader indicated that the Head of Planning and Transportation would be invited to respond directly to Councillor Britcliffe on these matters following the meeting.  It was understood that Blackburn with Darwen Council had identified only a limited amount of land available in the preferred localities for employment sites.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Blackburn with Darwen (Regulation 19) Local Plan had been subject to public consultation between February and March 2022.  The Regulation 19 Plan contained strategic and detailed policies to guide development in Blackburn during the period 2021-2037.  It was accompanied by a proposed Policies map which showed site specific allocations and designations to support the planned growth.  Blackburn’s Plan had six key strands:

·         The Blackburn Growth Axis: linking strategic growth sites within the Borough with Samlesbury and Preston beyond;

·         Darwen Town Investment Plan;

·         A New Strategic Housing Site in North East Blackburn;

·         A New Strategic Employment Site in South East Blackburn (which formed part of the Growth Axis);

·         Blackburn Town Centre Major Development Sites; and

·         Infrastructure Delivery Plan: important interventions to improve infrastructure including roads, schools & health facilities

The plan sought to deliver a level of new housing to support an economic growth scenario as evidenced in the Housing and Economic Needs Assessment Update 2021 (carried out jointly with Hyndburn BC).  This amounted to 447 dwellings per annum, (an increase from 411dpa in the Regulation 18 Plan).  The employment land requirement was identified as 46.4 hectares to be delivered over the Plan period.  The Plan allocated land to meet those needs fully in the plan period and wholly within the BwD administrative area.   The housing requirement could be fully met on non-Green Belt sites whereas the employment land requirement could not be met without releasing existing Green Belt land.

The report included further information on the following matters:

• Proposed strategic employment site at Junction 5;
• Proposed strategic housing allocation NE Blackburn;
• Joint Housing and Economic Needs Assessment (HENA);
• Consultation on the Blackburn Local Plan;
• Duty  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

Report attached.

Report attached.

The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Kath Pratt, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, seeking approval to enter into a grant agreement with Hyndburn and Ribble Valley (HARV) Outreach Team for the support of victims of domestic abuse in Hyndburn.  Councillor Pratt provided a brief introduction to the report and highlighted the funding available, which would amount to £61,756 over 2 years.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (the Act) had come into force on the 1 October 2021.  The Act placed a new duty on local authorities to ensure that all victims of domestic abuse, including children, had access to safe accommodation and support when they needed it.  It included a wide range of provisions intended to raise awareness and understanding about the devastating impact of domestic abuse on victims and their families.

The Act was supported by draft statutory guidance, which had been published in July 2021, and required local authorities to have regard to the guidance when carrying out their functions under the Act.  The guidance distinguished between what it described as Tier 1 (upper tier local authorities) and Tier 2 local authorities (district councils).  The new legislation and supporting draft guidance placed a new duty on “Tier 1” local authorities relating to the provision of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children residing within safe accommodation.  The Act therefore placed a duty on Tier 1 authorities to provide accommodation-based support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuge and other safe accommodation.  The Act and guidance required “Tier 2” authorities to cooperate with the upper tier authority so far as reasonably practicable when requested to do so.  Hyndburn Borough Council as a Tier 2 local authority was therefore required to cooperate with Lancashire County Council, the Tier 1 local authority.

The Act and supporting guidance placed the provision of safe accommodation and domestic abuse support central to the new duties; this included advocacy support, preventative advice, and specialist support for victims with protected characteristics, support for children including play therapy and child advocacy, housing related support, and counselling for adult victims and children.  Safe accommodation included refuge, specialist safe accommodation, dispersed accommodation, sanctuary schemes and move-on accommodation, but did not include generic bed and breakfast homeless units/hostels not dedicated to safe provision for domestic abuse victims.

The report set out the four key duties provided at Part 4 of the Act 2021 and guidance.

Government had allocated new burdens funding to Local Authorities to cover the cost of the new duty to provide support in safe accommodation for 2021-22 and in April 2022 had allocated further funding for 2022-23.  Funding was allocated in Lancashire to the County Council (Tier 1) and to District Councils (Tier 2).

Lancashire County Council (LCC) had been awarded £2,493,526 for 2021-22 and £2,500,429 for 2022-23.  Hyndburn Council had been awarded £30,865 for 2021-22 and £30,891 for 2022-23 to enable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Kath Pratt, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, seekingapproval to enter into a grant agreement with Stepping Stone Projects to assist them in providing access to accommodation with support for rough sleepers and those at risk of rough sleeping following the Council’s success in securing funding under the Government’s Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) for the period 2021 to 2024.  Councillor Pratt outlined the proposals and highlighted that Stepping Stone Projects was a specialist charity which had been operating in Hyndburn for a number of years.

Councillor Britcliffe commented that rough sleepers often left their bedding in town centre shop doorways and had been observed sleeping in the Market Hall service yard.  This situation was having a negative impact on people’s perceptions of Accrington town centre.  Councillor Pratt responded that these issues were being looked into.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) was one of a range of measures to meet the Government’s manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament.

This Programme provided for both capital and revenue funding to meet the cost of longer term accommodation and support to help rough sleepers rebuild their lives.  Local authorities were expected to work with accommodation providers and specialist agencies to end rough sleeping, especially where local authorities were no longer a landlord.

Hyndburn Council had made a successful bid to the RASP for revenue grant funding in 2021 and had been awarded grant funding (no capital funding had been sought or awarded) for three years, to provide access to accommodation and support for rough sleepers and those at risk of rough sleeping, as follows:

• 2021/22 - £75,833
• 2022/23 - £50,000
• 2023/24 - £50,000.

The Council worked very closely with Stepping Stone Projects (SSP) which was a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, specialising in accommodation and support services for homeless households including those sleeping rough.

It was proposed to use the grant award to support the ongoing activities of SSP to enable them to enhance and extend the existing rough sleeping services they provided, which included access to temporary, furnished accommodation with tenancy support and move-on arrangements to more secure, permanent housing.  SSP would agree with the Council how the funding would be used, the details of which would be included in a grant agreement including outputs and outcomes from the funding.  The grant would enable SSP to increase their capacity, and at the same time, utilise and expand their expertise and local knowledge.  Hyndburn’s proposed usage of the grant funding had been endorsed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) through the application process and subsequent funding award.

Alternative Options considered and Reasons for Rejection

Local authorities had been encouraged to submit proposals naming the proposed organisations they would support with, which limited alternative options now the Council had been successful in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

Nil

There were no items considered under Part C of the Agenda (Exempt Items).

The Leader of the Council brought the meeting to a conclusion and looked forward to an interesting Agenda for the Council meeting next week.  He commented that the Levelling Up Fund Bid and Infrastructure Bid were both due to be submitted soon and would support the Council’s 15 year vision and strategy.  Alongside the Government’s financial contributions, all parties locally were working together to improve Hyndburn.  The Council’s ambition was also being supported by local businesses and community groups.  Councillor Haworth noted that working together was the key to success.