Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Executive meeting held on 11 January 2022 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

 

The Mayor and the Chief Executive submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to provide information on corporate performance at the end of Quarter Three 2021/22 and where appropriate, seek approval of any changes.

 

The Council’s performance overall at the end of Quarter Three saw a drop in performance from the Quarter Two reported position, with progress towards expected performance standards as set out in the Council’s risk appetite projected to be achieved in three out of seven areas. Work was planned in the final quarter of the year, as set out within the report, to get performance back to target wherever possible.

 

In terms of progress in delivering Executive actions, at Quarter Three, 56 of 78 live actions (72%) were reported as on target to be delivered by the agreed timescales, down from the 89% reported at Quarter Two and below the 90% standard of achievement of actions, with five proposed amendments for Executive approval set out at Appendix 1. All remaining Executive actions were expected to be achieved within their approved timescales.

 

The Strategic Plan for 2021-24, set out nine strategic priorities for the period which were supported by an associated set of outcome measures and a workplan, which would see delivery of sustained improvement, up to and beyond 2024.

 

At the end of Quarter Three, 11 of 24 (45.8%) Strategic Plan outcomes were either improving or static against the Quarter Two position, with 3 (12.5%) worsening. As many measures were updated annually, there was no trend information available for 10 (41.7%) outcome measures at the present time. Further information on outcomes was contained at paragraphs 12 to 16 of the submitted report.

 

Current workplan activity in respect of Strategic Plan outcomes had been reviewed and assessed to ensure it was sufficient to recover performance to agreed target. Where required, any additional activities required would be brought forward for approval within future quarterly updates to the Executive.

 

At the end of Quarter Three, performance against Strategic Plan workplan was exceeding the corporate target of 90%. Further information on the workplan was contained at paragraphs 18 to 20 of the submitted report.

 

Issues raised within the submitted report which impact on the risk profile of the Council were reflected within the Council’s Strategic Risk Register (SRR), which was reviewed in the quarter in line with the Council’s policy - as set out at Appendix 3. The total number of risks on the SRR reduced to 28 from 30 at Quarter Three, comprising 18 high and 10 medium risks. Further information on the Strategic Risk Register was contained at paragraphs 23 to 25 of the submitted report.

 

Directorates were accountable for a number of directorate-specific actions each year to ensure ongoing compliance with legal duties and best practice and that business change was well managed. Directorate Priorities for 2021/22 were set out at Appendix 4.

 

At the end of Quarter Three, 96% of Directorate Priorities were rated either Green or Amber (i.e. some milestone  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/98

The Executive Member for Environment and Finance & Governance and the Director of Finance submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to provide information on the Council’s financial position at Quarter Three 2021/22, including the projected effect of Covid-19 on the Council’s finances.

 

As reported in previous reports, the Covid-19 pandemic was continuing to have a significant impact on the Council’s financial position. That had made the management of the Council’s finances more difficult due to the constantly evolving situation and also the level of uncertainty regarding the financial effects of Covid-19 in 2021/22 and future years. Covid-19 financial pressures were being monitored separately from the normal non-Covid-19 financial position, and those were reported separately in paragraphs 66 to 95 of the submitted report.

 

The 2021/22 Revenue budget for the Council was £116,492,035. During Quarter One there was a number of transfers of services between directorates due to managerial changes, and the financial position was reported against the new directorate budgets. The Council’s outturn position for 2021/22 for non-Covid-19 elements was projected to be an overspend of £3.225m (2.8%). The split by directorate was shown in the table at paragraph 7 of the submitted report, with the Quarter Two position also included for information.

 

The overspend of £3.225m, when added to the estimated Covid-19 pressures of £1.821m, resulted in a total projected outturn pressure at year-end 2021/22 of £5.046m, an increase of £0.891m from the position reported at Quarter Two.

 

It was proposed that the total projected overspend in 2021/22 be covered by the full utilisation of the Social Care Demand Reserve of £0.5m and the Children’s Services Demand Reserve of £0.732m, which were created at the end of 2020/21. It was proposed that the remaining £3.814m of the total projected outturn pressure be funded from the £4.512m Covid Recovery Reserve, which was created during 2020/21 to cover the potential costs arising from the Covid-19 recovery in 2021/22 and future years.

 

£1.9m of additional budget efficiency savings were approved by Council on 24 February 2021 as part of the 2021/22 budget setting. There was also approximately £1m of savings approved in previous years relating to 2021/22.

 

As reported previously at Quarters One and Two it had not been possible to achieve one of the budget savings due to Covid-19 and that was detailed in paragraph 82 of the submitted report. Further information on the progress against budget savings was contained at paragraphs 14 to 17.

 

In terms of directorate variances, at Quarter Three, 24 areas were projected to be spent +/- £150,000 of the agreed budget. Where appropriate, the on-going effects of variances would be considered as part of future updates of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan. The detail of the variances contained in the table at paragraph 7 were set out in the submitted report:

 

·        Regeneration and Culture (see paragraphs 19 and 20);

·        Environment and Community Services (see paragraphs 21 to 29);

·        Public Health (see paragraph 30);

·        Adult Social Care (see paragraphs 31  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/99

The Mayor and the Director of Finance submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to present the recommended Revenue Budget of £118,328,934, Council Tax increase of 2.99% (see paragraphs 71 to 91 of the submitted report) and Capital Strategy Report for 2022/23 (see paragraphs 151 to 162).

 

Following on from the previous report presented to Council on 24 November 2021, the submitted report also provided a refreshed Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for the period 2022/23 to 2024/25 to reflect the 2022/23 Local Government Finance Settlement (see paragraphs 17 to 29).

 

The Medium Term Financial Plan update in the report was integrated with the £207.3 million Investment Strategy for Middlesbrough for the period from 2021/22 to 2024/25, supported by £102.4 million of the Council’s own resources. The updated Investment Strategy was shown in Appendix 4.

 

The budget continued to support the Mayor’s commitment to invest in Middlesbrough and transform service delivery for residents. It was intended that through the strategy the Council could achieve the challenging financial targets faced in the Medium Term Financial Plan period whilst ensuring that there was a minimum impact on the level of service delivered to the public.

 

In preparing the 2022/23 revenue budget and Medium Term Financial Plan, the principles set out at paragraph 30 of the submitted report, which were consistent with budget strategies in previous years and statements made by Executive, had been adopted.

 

In terms of the revenue budget, budget assumptions had been applied in respect of:

 

·         pay awards (see paragraph 32 of the submitted report);

·         additional employers National Insurance contributions (see paragraph 33);

·         the Living Wage (see paragraph 34), inflation (see paragraphs 35 to 37);

·         additional inflation contingencies (see paragraphs 38 to 40);

·         spending pressures in Children’s Social Care (see paragraphs 41 and 42);

·         Covid-19 ongoing pressures (see paragraphs 43 to 48);

·         other spending pressures (see paragraphs 49 to 51);

·         additional income (see paragraph 52); and

·         additional investment (see paragraphs 53 to 57).

 

The report contained information on the determination of Council Tax (see paragraphs 71 to 91 of the submitted report). A number of factors had been considered in respect of the level of Council Tax increase including the current level of Council Tax, minimising the effect of Council Tax increases to residents, the current levels of inflation, pressures from caring for vulnerable people, the level of any budget reductions required, and the medium to long term implications of the Local Government Finance Settlement 2022/23.

 

In terms of the Medium Term Financial Plan to 2025, the following assumptions had been applied in refreshing the Council’s plan:

 

·         national context (see paragraphs 100 to 103 of the submitted report);

·         government funding changes (see paragraphs 104 to 109);

·         local funding increases (see paragraphs 110 to 116);

·         pay awards (see paragraph 117);

·         inflation (see paragraphs 118 to 121);

·         living wage (see paragraphs 122 to 124);

·         spending pressures in Children’s Social Care (see paragraphs 125 to 131);

·         Adult Social Care (see paragraphs 132 and 133);

·         Covid-19 ongoing pressures  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/100

The Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Children’s Services and the Director of Education and Partnerships submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to provide information on the Virtual School peer review, which had been undertaken by the National Association of Virtual School Heads (NAVSH). Attached at Appendices 1 and 2 were the accompanying action plan and full report, which detailed NAVSH’s findings.

 

A system of peer review had been developed by the NAVSH to help Virtual Schools improve and develop. The Council was keen to regularly access such support to independently assess its position in relation to services provided to support children. The peer review of Middlesbrough’s Virtual School took place on 21 and 22 September 2021.

 

NAVSH had assessed the Council against four core themes, which were detailed a paragraph 5 of the submitted report.

 

In line with the Council’s commitment to transparent and honest engagement, the findings of the review would be published if approval and endorsement were received from the Executive.

 

OPTIONS

 

The Council could have chosen not to endorse the action plan. That option was not recommended because Children’s Services was keen to build on the strengths of the Virtual School, and to encourage it to improve and develop alongside all aspects of the services the Council provided for children. Not endorsing the action plan may have slowed the speed of improvement or may have prevented the Virtual School from deriving maximum benefit from the peer review process. That in turn may have led to a less effective service being provided for looked after children.

 

ORDERED

 

That the outcomes of the Virtual School peer review be noted and the accompanying action plan be endorsed.

 

REASON

 

The peer review allowed Children’s Services to utilise the NAVSH resource and provided an opportunity to gather views from a range of experienced Virtual School Heads from local authorities in other parts of the country. The resulting report allowed officers to reflect on the strengths of the current provision and helped identify areas for development. The areas for development could be considered within an improvement action plan, which planned to help guide Virtual School officers and provide a clear framework for monitoring their progress and holding them to account. That in turn would lead to an improved service and enhanced offer to schools and Middlesbrough’s looked after children.

The Executive Member for Environment and Finance & Governance and Director of Finance submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to provide the options available for future auditor appointment arrangements.

 

The current auditor appointment arrangements (the ‘National Scheme’) covered the period up to and including the audit of the 2022/23 accounts. The Council had opted into the ‘appointing person’ national scheme established by Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) for the period covering the accounts for 2018/19 to 2022/23.

 

PSAA was now undertaking a procurement for the next appointing period, covering audits of the accounts for the financial years, 2023/24 to 2027/28. During autumn and winter 2021, all local government bodies needed to make important decisions about their external audit arrangements from 2023/24.

 

The Council had three options under the Audit & Accountability Act 2014. Those were:

 

·        to appoint its own auditor, which required it to follow the procedures set out in the Act (see further information at paragraphs 6 to 9 of the submitted report);

·        to work jointly with other authorities to procure an auditor to follow the procedures in the Act (see paragraphs 10 and 11); and

·        to opt into the national auditor appointment scheme administered by a body designated by the Secretary of State as the ‘appointing person’. The body currently designated for the role was Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited (PSAA) (see paragraphs 12 and 13).

 

PSAA was now inviting the Council to opt in for the second appointing period for the National Scheme, from 2023/24 to 2027/28, along with all other eligible authorities. Based on the level of opt-ins it would then enter into contracts with appropriately qualified audit firms and appoint a suitable firm to be the Council’s auditor.

 

An assessment of the options available was contained at paragraphs 24 to 28 of the submitted report.

 

Regulation 19 of the Local Audit (Appointing Person) Regulations 2015 required that a decision to opt in to the national appointment scheme had to be made by a meeting of the Council. The Council then needed to respond formally to PSAA’s invitation in the form specified by PSAA by the close of the opt-in period (11 March 2022).

 

The submitted report had been discussed previously at the meeting of the Corporate Affairs and Audit Committee on 8 December 2021, given their responsibility for the external audit function under the Constitution. There had been broad support from Members to participate in the PSAA national appointments scheme.

 

OPTIONS

 

The other potential decisions were outlined in the ‘assessment of options’ section within the report with pros and cons highlighted of all three options. The opt-in to the National Auditor Appointments scheme had a number of significant benefits.

 

ORDERED

 

That the Council’s participation in the National Appointments Scheme, for the procurement and selection of external auditors from 1st April 2023, be endorsed.

 

REASON

 

The scheme delivered by PSAA was the most effective and efficient way of delivering local audit services to the Council, and to the appropriate level of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/102

The Executive Member for Environment and Finance & Governance and the Director of Finance submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to seek endorsement for the amendment of the Council’s Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme for 2022/2023.

 

Notwithstanding the introduction of Universal Credit (UC), the existing scheme was based on a ‘pre-dated’ means-tested benefit scheme:

 

·         It was difficult for customers to understand and was based on a complex calculation of entitlement;

·         The administration for staff was very convoluted, with staff having to request significant amounts of information from claimants;

·         Staff had to undergo extensive training to be proficient in processing claims;

·         The timescales for processing applications was lengthy, mainly due to the complexity and evidence required to support the applications; and

·         The administration of the scheme was costly when compared to other discounts for Council Tax.

 

There was a need to simplify the scheme, not only to mitigate the effects of UC, which had been fast tracked as a consequence of Covid-19, but to make it easier for customers to make a claim, reduce the likelihood of fraud and to reduce the costs of administration.

 

The proposed approach for the 2022/23 Council Tax Support Scheme was detailed at paragraphs 16 to 19 of the submitted report. Details of how the proposed scheme planned to address the problems of the current scheme were outlined at paragraph 20.

 

Information on the consultation process and the feedback received was included at paragraphs 24 to 26 of the submitted report. A summary of the results from the 45 completed questionnaires was included at Appendix D.

 

OPTIONS

 

The alternative to introducing a proposed alternative scheme for CTS from 2022/23 was to leave the existing scheme in place. That would have been a short-term option; leading to increasing costs of administration; and in the longer term, would have significantly affected the collection of Council Tax and the effectiveness of the scheme to support households within the Council’s area.

 

Modelling (see below) had also been done on an alternative ‘income grid’ scheme with 85% maximum support and 100% maximum support.

 

·         100% support scheme was not recommended as that would have been a cost to the Council in excess of £1,000,000 and on that basis would have been unaffordable.

·         85% support scheme was equally not recommended. Whilst the overall cost of the scheme would have been cheaper, it would have had a detrimental impact on the cost of collection, and in addition placed a further financial burden on some of the lower income residents of the town.

·         Retain the existing means tested scheme with 85% support was not recommended. Although the current scheme would have been cost neutral, it was complicated and difficult for claimants to navigate their way through, and that was resulting in a reduction in take up. It was also impacting on the timeliness of billing and collecting Council Tax amounts, and was also more resource intensive to administer (see paragraph 11 of the submitted report).

 

The principles of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/103

The Executive Member for Neighbourhood Safety and the Director of Environment and Community Services submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to request capital funding to develop CCTV in alleys and hot spot areas throughout Middlesbrough to reduce crime, antisocial behaviour (ASB) and environmental crime.

 

On 23 February 2021, the Executive had approved £50,000 to increase CCTV across the town. The Executive also approved a further £350,000, following receipt of a report outlining the benefits of the initial £50,000.

 

The benefits of the initial £50,000 were set out in the submitted report.

 

11 cameras had been installed, utilising the £50,000, in the following areas:

 

·         Netherfields Crescent;

·         Chesterwood;

·         Harford Street Alley;

·         Addington Drive;

·         Portman Street;

·         Thorntree Park;

·         Rear of Pallister Avenue/ Longlands Road;

·         Saltersgill Avenue;

·         Northern Road;

·         Bramwith Avenue; and

·         Centre Square.

 

Crime and ASB in those locations was 139 prior to the CCTV being installed and was now 119.

 

In addition to the instillation of the 11 cameras, 42 cameras had been installed by utilising grant funding (Safer Streets Funding) in the Newport ward. Crime and ASB levels reduced by 19.7% after instillation of the cameras and perceptions of local residents had improved significantly over recent months.

 

A Locality Working survey conducted in H2 2020-21 and then again in H1 2021-22 had indicated that perceptions of feeling safe in their neighbourhood improved by 33.16% alongside people intending to remain in the ward over 3 years increasing by 38.84%.

 

Information relating to suspected criminal behaviour captured using the installed CCTV, had been passed to the police for further investigation on 419 occasions. 192 of those occasions had resulted in further action and the police had used that evidence to bring offenders to justice.

 

A large number of fly tipping incidents had been captured with the assistance of CCTV, which resulted in enforcement action being taken.

 

Residents and local businesses had said that they felt safer having CCTV in their neighbourhood.

 

A Member made a query in respect of the process that Ward Councillors needed to follow in order to apply for permanent CCTV cameras to be installed in specific areas. In response, the Director of Environment and Community Services explained that the request could be sent directly to him. Members heard that cameras were assigned to areas based on data (e.g. crime maps and those with high incidences of ASB).

 

OPTIONS

Continuing with the current approach would not have achieved the best possible results.

 

ORDERED

 

That the remaining capital funding of £350,000 be released for CCTV provision in Middlesbrough.

 

REASON

 

To enable the team to meet strategic and mayoral priorities to tackle crime and ASB head on.

 

CCTV would enable the team to gather intelligence on the worst affected areas, increasing the opportunity of a successful prosecution of perpetrators.

The Culture and Communities Scrutiny Panel had undertaken a review of Cultural Events in Middlesbrough: Their Impact and Future. A copy of the full report was attached.

 

The scrutiny panel made five recommendations upon which a response was sought from the relevant service area. The Executive Member for Culture and Communities and the Director of Regeneration and Culture submitted a service response to the recommendations of the Culture and Communities Scrutiny Panel. A copy of the Action Plan was attached.

 

The Chair of the Culture and Communities Scrutiny Panel presented the final report to the Executive. The Executive Member for Culture and Communities presented the service response.

 

ORDERED

 

1.     That the content of the Culture and Communities Scrutiny Panel’s final report on Cultural Events in Middlesbrough: Their Impact and Future be noted.

2.     That the Action Plan, developed in response to the scrutiny panel’s recommendations, be approved.

 

REASON

 

It was a requirement that Executive formally considered the Scrutiny Panel's report and confirmed the Service Area's response to the Panel's accompanying plan.

 

The Economic Development, Environment and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel had undertaken a review of Middlesbrough Regeneration Post Covid-19. A copy of the full report was attached.

 

The scrutiny panel made eight recommendations upon which a response was sought from the relevant service area. The Executive Member for Regeneration and the Director of Regeneration and Culture submitted a service response to the recommendations of the Economic Development, Environment and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel. A copy of the Action Plan was attached.

 

The Chair of the Economic Development, Environment and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel presented the final report to the Executive. The Executive Member for Regeneration presented the service response.

 

ORDERED

 

1.     That the content of the Economic Development, Environment and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel’s final report on Middlesbrough Regeneration Post Covid-19 be noted.

2.     That the Action Plan, developed in response to the scrutiny panel’s recommendations, be approved.

 

REASON

 

It was a requirement that Executive formally considered the Scrutiny Panel's report and confirmed the Service Area's response to the Panel's accompanying plan.