Hampshire County Council Cabinet Meeting

All Members were present and no apologies were noted.

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.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 October 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

Following the decision by Full Council last month to approve Hampshire’s financial strategy to 2025-26, the County Council would be launching a public consultation on the future of some local services.  The County Council was keen to hear from as many people in Hampshire as possible who may be affected by the proposals.

He had attended the County Councils Network Conference in November.  It was a sobering reminder that Leaders of upper tier authorities were having to make difficult decisions in response to the sector’s financial challenges.

Following confirmation in the Autumn Statement, he confirm that from April 2024, the County Council would continue to pay monthly ‘thank you’ payments of £500 to all Homes for Ukraine hosts for another 12 months, regardless of how long their guest had been in the UK.

He and the Deputy Leader attended the Hampshire 2050 Summit the previous month to discuss next steps for future collaboration and delivery of the Hampshire 2050 Vision. More information about the Partnership’s activities would be shared in the months ahead.

He was pleased to report that the County Council was one of the finalists of the Supportive Local Authority Award in the Community Energy Awards. The County Council’s response to climate change will continue to be embedded into business as usual across all Directorates, and is outlined in the Annual Report later on the agenda.

He attended and spoke at the Hampshire Business Awards ceremony at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre in November.  The Awards were well received by local businesses, attracted 260 quality nominations and over 500 attendees. He expressed thanks to all those who had made the event a success.

He welcomed the recent awards of £20 million to Gosport Borough Council and £18 million to Test Valley Borough Council from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund to progress local regeneration schemes.

He reminded members that the deadline for domating a gift for the County Council's care leavers via the Care Leavers Service was 14 December.

Two deputations were received relating to the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan – Approval for Consultation, expressing concern regarding the partial update and the proposed inclusion of the Midgham Farm site.  A deputation was also received in relation to the Climate Change Annual Report, welcoming the report and commending the work of the cliamte change team.

The Chairman thanked all three deputations for their comments.

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Hampshire 2050 and Assistant Chief Executive regarding long-term economic strength for Hampshire.  Cabinet welcomed the recent global investment announcement which was good news for the UK economy as a whole and awaited details of schemes relevant to the Hampshire area.

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

Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Finance Officer and Director of Corporate Operations on the in-year financial position, including the Transformation to 2021 Programme and Savings Programme to 2023, and the framework for setting the 2024/25 budget and next steps for closing the 2025/26 budget deficit.  During the discussion, it was confirmed that there was confidence that the funding gap to 2025/26 would be closed and there was no immediate expectation of a Section 114 notice being required. The Chairman thanked offiers and Cabinet members for their work with directorates.  Cabinet acknowledged the significant challenge ahead.

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

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Hampshire 2050 on the achievements and lessons learnt from the delivery of the Superfast Broadband programme.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor Martin Tod addressed Cabinet.  He declared a personal interest as a member of the LEP Joint Leaders Board covering the Winchester district.  He welcomed and supported the achievements within the report and suggested moving forward with new and more demanding targets. 

Cabinet discussed the outcomes of the Superfast Broadband programme with coverage increasing to over 95% in all areas.  The Director confirmed that consideration of the future of digital Hampshire would be brought forward to Cabinet in the new year.

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

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Hampshire 2050 on progress on climate change over the last 12 months, inlcuding planning for the year ahead.  The Chairman acknowledged receipt of a letter from the Hampshire 2050, Corporate Services and Resources Select Committee following its scrutiny of this matter at its meeting on 30 November.  The Committee made a number of observations, and the letter had been published alongside the agenda papers on the County Council’s website.  The Chairman thanked the committee for its helpful comments.

During the discussion, Cabinet heard that the County Council was actively working in partnership with district and borough councils, engagement with an expert forum and with residents on local projects and programmes.  The County Council’s powers to affect climate change alone were limited and partnership engagement was essential in delivering key priority programmes as set out in the Strategic Framework.

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

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Hampshire 2050 on the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan: Partial Update – Proposed Submission Plan, which will form the basis of the public consultation scheduled for winter 2023.

The Chairman had received some correspondence, including a letter from the Leader of Dorset Council, regarding the proposed site allocations within the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Partial Update Plan.  He assured those who had contacted him that all comments received would be considered, and that the proposed consultation would provide the opportunity for everyone to have their say.  Cabinet was being asked for approval to enable that public consultation to take place.  He explained that, following the consultation, and subject to further County Council approval, the Plan would be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate along with all comments received.  It would then be subject to an independent examination in public, providing a further opportunity for the community to make their views known.

The Director summarised the report and in responding to questions from Cabinet, confirmed and clarified the following points:

-       There was a requirement to plan for oil and gas development set out in national policy.  The oil and gas policy had therefore been included in the Plan to ensure the County Council retained local control.  The policy had been strengthened to have regard to climate change.

-       The three sites currently subject to planning applications were being closely monitored and, if refused, would be reviewed to consider future suitability for inclusion in the Plan.

-       The proposed consultation statement would refer to all comments received.  All sites had been reviewed with specialists to consider which sites could be taken forward. Some sites had been removed because issues could not be mitigated.

Cabinet acknoweldged the need to have a suitable Minerals and Waste Plan for Hampshire and not having a Plan put the County Council at risk.  The Chairman thanked the officers for the report and put the recommendations to Cabinet.

Councillor Edward Heron indicated that he would not support the Plan in its current form and abstained.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed by Cabinet, with the exception of Councillor Heron as indicated above.  A decision record is attached to these minutes.

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Children’s Services on safeguarding children activity within Children’s Services during 2022/23. During the discussion, the Director confirmed that a Refugee team had been established to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC). It was recognised that those children had already been through trauma. The team was committed and passionate about supporting those children, with officers having learned languages and researched cultures to provide the best possible support.

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

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care and Deputy Chief Executive providing an annual update on the local authority statutory duty to safeguard vulnerable adults.  During the discussion, it was heard that reports of concern had increased, which were welcomed as it enabled more proactive intervention.  The growth was driven mainly by self-neglect and mental health issues.

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

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care on the work of the Hampshire Community Safety Strategy Group during 2023. It was heard that the group was a muti-agency partnership overseen by the County Council.

Cabinet heard that drug misuse was a continuing concern across the country as well as the county area. A clear priority was disruption to the business model of drug delivery to local areas and disrupting supply and demand. Teams were working between the local authority and the Police regarding county lines and supporting young people caught up in it. 

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

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Adults’ Health and Care on the County Council’s delivery of the Prevent duty and Channel Panel responsibilities, over the last 12 months. The Director explained that the County Council responsibility was in the pre-criminal space related to those at risk of radicalisation. An independent review of Prevent was published in February 2023, and in May 2023 the Home Secretary accepted all recommendations, which would come into force on 31 December 2023.  The County Council was awaiting Channel Panel guidance and was in a good position to respond to that guidance.

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

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Universal Services on progress regarding the M27 junction 10 infrastructure proposals to support the Welborne Garden Village development.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor Sean Woodward addressed Cabinet.  He declared a pesronal interest as Leader of Fareham Borough Council and confirmed that he was speaking in his capacity as local Hampshire County Councillor for the Fareham Sarisbury division.  He sought reassurance on the costs and grant funding.  Although he supported the need for Cabinet to consider the cost implications before agreeing to continue, he expressed his view that a withdrawal would have an impact on the Welbourne development and be a backwards step in terms of economic growth in the area. 

Cabinet heard that the financial picture would emerge early in 2024, and that, if required, the County Council would approach stakeholders to close any funding gap as set out in the report.  The Director explained that costs for the required additional emergency area would be met by National Highways.  It was noted however that National Highways was unlikely to assist with funding for the junction improvements as, although they would reduce journey lengths and relieve pressure on the junction, they would have little impact on the strategic highways network.  Cabinet was reassured that the officer team had worked tirelessly exploring all options and seeking additional funding from government and that, if it was agreed to progress with delivery, the contract would be let based on a target cost incentivising contractors to drive down costs as much as possible.

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

In accordance with Part 3, Chapter 4 of the Constitution, it had not been possible to provide advance notification of the intention to hold part of the Cabinet meeting in private. Therefore, the Chairman of the relevant Select (Overview and Scrutiny) Committee was consulted in advance of agenda publication and provided agreement that the following matter needed to be considered urgently, to meet funding deadlines for the junction 10 project.

As Cabinet had not needed to discuss the content of the exempt appendix during its consideration of the M27 Junction 10 Update report, there was not a need to exclude the press and public.

Cabinet received an exempt appendix in relation to the M27 Junction 10 Update Report.  There was no discussion on the content.