Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

All Cabinet Members were present and no apologies were noted.

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code.  Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Personal interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed and agreed.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Leader welcomed Councillors Chadd and Grajewski to their first meeting as members of Cabinet. He was pleased to have a topical and interesting agenda for his first meeting as Leader. With regard to the climate change item, he noted his own background as a founder member of the All Party Parliamentary Committee on the Environment and honorary life member.

Public support for action to tackle environmental challenges was welcomed and it was recognised that sustainability in terms of the planet’s resources was a critical issue on which the County Council would continue to play its part, working with communities across Hampshire. The growth of the climate change emergency movement was acknowledged as was the powerful message that declaring a climate emergency and implementing a robust action plan could send. The Leader committed to listening to the deputees who were due to address Cabinet on this issue. He confirmed that he was minded to recommend that Hampshire County Council did declare a climate emergency and to commit to preparing an action plan to help deliver carbon neutrality for the County Council and importantly to address climate resilience in Hampshire. 

The Leader updated Cabinet on some possible changes to the Council’s Standing Orders. Noting that there had been two points at issue in recent meetings of Full Council and thanking officers for their advice, the Leader confirmed that he had asked the Chief Executive and the Monitoring Officer to review Standing Orders on those two points. He recognised that such matters were at the heart of the good governance of the County Council and must be treated respectfully and given the necessary time to be properly worked on. Any changes would be presented to Cabinet before being proposed to Full Council for final agreement. Noting that this would not be concluded before the summer, the Leader indicated that his own preference was for the proposer of a Motion to Council to have the opportunity to speak to it, before it was referred to any other forum for consideration. With regards to the deputation scheme, he indicated a preference to find a way whereby children and young people can safely and effectively be allowed to join in deputations to Full Council.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

Four deputations were received with regard to the “Referral of Motion from County Council on 17 May 2019” (Minute 129 refers).

Martin Heath from Hampshire Climate Action Network called on the County Council to take action on climate change. He highlighted the elevated levels of CO₂ emissions with reference to energy, in relation to both transport and electricity generation and suggested that Hampshire was behind other areas in the development of renewable energy sources. He proposed that the County Council could take up both the challenge and the opportunity of showing leadership in committing to be carbon neutral and that 100% of energy should come from renewable sources.

Jock Macdonald from Winchester Action on Climate Change highlighted the historical context of climate change as well as his own background and the background of the organisation he represented. He referenced the need to take action to limit temperature rises and called on the County Council to take leadership through the integration of the climate crisis into all areas of Council policy.

Chris Gillham and Meg Lampard from Friends of the Earth welcomed the Leader’s indication that he would declare a climate emergency. High levels of public interest and concern about climate change were highlighted. Threats to areas of the Hampshire coast from temperature change and rising sea levels were referenced and the County Council was called upon to be in the vanguard of change with progressive targets, to use its influence and not to be limited in scope.

Katherine Howlett-Davies and Megan Lakin from Extinction Rebellion Winchester recognised the environmentalist credentials of the Leader. Progressive targets and leadership in the areas of waste, transport, agriculture and energy were called for, through the production of an action plan within six months. There was a call for accountability and for everyone to take action to set right climate change and to ensure the future.

The Leader thanked all deputees for their contribution.

To consider a report of the Chief Executive regarding the referral of a motion from County Council on 17 May 2019

Cabinet received a report of the Chief Executive regarding the referral of a

motion from County Council on 17 May 2019.

With the agreement of the Leader, three non-executive Members addressed Cabinet on this item.

Councillor Warwick noted that there was a collective responsibility to tackle climate change and that the Council’s carbon footprint was within its own control. She welcomed initiatives already in place on transport, energy, street lighting and the protection of the countryside.

Councillor Westbrook called for a mentality change to the threat of climate change. He supported a commitment to carbon neutrality and expressed his concern about the de-prioritisation of climate change by central government. He highlighted the extent to which concern was shared by young people and the need to reduce carbon emissions across all sectors in unison.

Councillor Tod addressed Cabinet as the proposer of the original Motion to Council. He paid tribute to the young people campaigning for change and felt there was an opportunity to take action. He highlighted that the urgency and scale of the problem meant it did amount to an emergency and that should be reflected in any action that was taken. He called for a plan for 100% carbon neutrality and to look beyond the Council’s own assets to include all policies and areas of service delivery and become core to the Council’s work.

The Leader thanked all three Members for their contribution.

The Director of Economy, Transport and Environment acknowledged the breadth of issues relating to climate change and noted that the action plan to follow up any pledge would be critical. He confirmed that the County Council had a strong track record of action, but couldn’t act alone on this matter. He welcomed the proposal for clear targets, that were also both ambitious and realistic.

The Leader welcomed the Prime Minister’s initiative for carbon neutrality by 2050 and felt that the County Council should take its own action to build on the success of past initiatives including those relating to schools, streetlighting, vehicles and in the Council’s own buildings. Within this, the outcomes of the Commission of Inquiry to 2050 should be taken into account.

It was proposed by the Leader and seconded by Councillor Humby:

“That Cabinet declares a ‘Climate Emergency’ in line with the action taken by many other Councils and organisations in the UK and globally, and commits to develop an action plan to provide a meaningful and effective set of measures to ensure that Hampshire moves towards carbon neutrality and greater resilience to the effects of climate change.

Furthermore because of the widespread public and member interest in this matter, that Cabinet recommends that the County Council endorses this decision”

Cabinet discussed the proposed recommendation, noting the importance of environmental stewardship and the threat of climate change to the current way of life. It was agreed that the recognition of the emergency was timely and the significance of turning a pledge into actions was noted.

The recommendation as proposed was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

To consider a report of the Director of Corporate Resources regarding the 2018/19 end of year financial report.

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources regarding the 2018/19 End of Year Financial report.

With reference to the report, key points were highlighted to Cabinet, in particular relating to the funding of the high needs block, reserves and treasury management. The auditors opinion for both the County Council and the pension fund were highlighted to Cabinet and it was confirmed that the opinion was as expected in both cases.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. A decision record is attached to these minutes.

To consider a report of the Chief Executive regarding the Transformation to 2019 programme.

Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive regarding the Transformation to 2019 programme.

The report was introduced and it was highlighted that although the programme was on track, there was no room for complacency especially given the double-running that will occur with the implementation of the T21 programme later this year. The ‘outstanding in all areas’ Ofsted inspection outcome in Children’s Services was referenced and especially the positive views that were expressed about the transformation of Children’s Social Care. The on-going savings challenges in this area were also outlined with the graphs in section 5 demonstrating demand and cost pressures that are being actively tackled.

The continued success of the on-boarding of the three London Boroughs to the Council’s Shared Services platform and the first six months of operation, together with the newly developed agency staff joint venture were also highlighted.

Progress with planning for the successor T21 programme was briefly described including a reminder that the six week stage one public consultation on closing the budget gap was launched on 5^th June.

The report was welcomed and with reference to the diagram at 3.6, the trend of re-distributing resources to statutory services was noted. The importance of protecting the most vulnerable and in some cases less visible service users was recognised.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. A decision record is attached to these minutes.

To consider a report of the Chief Executive and Head of Law and Governance setting out the 2018/19 performance report.

Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive and Head of Law and

Governance setting out the 2018/19 performance report.

The report was introduced and the high level of performance in the context of making significant savings was highlighted. The performance risks and successes detailed in the report were noted and successes in particular relating to Country Parks and Highways were discussed by Cabinet.

The findings of the 2018/19 Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report were drawn to the attention of Cabinet, who noted that the vast majority of complaints were not investigated further and that Hampshire typically received fewer complaints than comparator Councils.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. A decision record is attached to these minutes.

To consider a report of the Chief Executive regarding Cabinet portfolios.

Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive regarding changes to the Cabinet portfolios.

The recommendations in the report were agreed. A decision record is attached to these minutes.