Hampshire County Council County Council Meeting

Apologies were received from Councillors Steven Broomfield, Mark Cooper, Debbie Curnow-Ford, Mike Ford, Tim Groves, Mark Kemp-Gee, Jackie Porter and Martin Tod, and from Honorary Aldermen Keith Chapman, Criss Connor, Phrynette Dickens, Robin McIntosh and Roy Perry.

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 Non-Pecuniary 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 of the County Council held on 14 July 2022 were confirmed as a correct record subject to an amendment to Minute 86 that should reference the Assembly of European “Regions”.  The Chairman signed the Minutes.

The Council received a deputation from George Baker representing the Disability Union regarding home to school transport.

It was noted that the deputation listed at 4b) on the agenda had been deferred.

The Chairman opened her announcements by paying tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the County Council.  At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor Rob Humby – Leader of the County Council, Honorary Alderman Michael Woodhall and Councillors Andrew Joy, Roz Chadd, Gary Hughes and Adrian Collett also paid tribute.  The Council observed a 2 minute silence as a mark of respect.

The Chairman had pleasure in announcing a number of awards and accolades the County Council had received:

·         All five of the County Council’s Country Parks – Lepe, River Hamble, Royal Victoria, Queen Elizabeth and Staunton has again been awarded the internationally recognised Green Flag for 2022

·         For the ninth successive year Sir Harold Hillier Gardens has been awarded Gold in Britain and Bloom South and South East Awards in the Heritage, Gardens and Parks category.

·         A second Green Apple Award for the Micheldever Highways Materials Recycling facility for promoting and pioneering the use of plastic traffic bollards made from a carbon-friendly bio-polymer derivate of sugar cane.

The Chairman also had pleasure in notifying the Council of some Royal Visits she had attended, firstly from HRH The Princess Royal for Centenary Youth Week at Royal Lymington Yacht Club on 26 July followed by two visits from HRH The Countess of Wessex to Treloar’s on 27 September, and Queen Alexandra’s Army Nursing Corps on 28 September.

It was with much sadness that the Chairman notified the Council of the passing of two former County Councillors – Mike Russell and Honorary Alderman Susan Glasspool.  Mike Russell represented the Gosport (Leesland) Division from 1985 to 1993 and Susan Glasspool represented the Itchen Valley Division from 1996 until her retirement in 2005.  The Chairman invited Councillors Peter Chegwyn and Jonathan Glen to pay tribute.  The Council observed a 1 minute silence as a mark of respect.

The Leader joined the Chairman in welcoming Members back to the Council Chamber following an extensive programme of works including appropriate and modern technology in an updated environment for Council Meetings, for formal meetings of the Coroner’s Court and increased use by others generating additional income for the Council.  The Leader extended his thanks to all involved for their hard work and successful delivery of the programme.

The Leader also placed on record his sincere thanks to all of Hampshire’s emergency services in keeping the public safe during the summer heatwaves, which underlined the importance of tackling climate change.  To this end, the Cabinet received a report in July evidencing positive progress in reducing the County Council’s carbon emissions during the first year of its Climate Change Programme.

Turning to the cost of living crisis, the Leader welcomed additional national funding to support families, older people and businesses, however much more help was required for the autumn and winter months.  The County Council was working alongside its partners to explore how it could continue to support residents, whilst pressing the Government to make additional hardship funding available to local authorities to enable the provision of help to those struggling with their household budgets in the colder months.

The Leader was pleased to report that the County Council, alongside district and borough councils and community partners had welcomed over 1,000 families into Hampshire through the Home for Ukraine scheme.  He extended thanks to all Hampshire residents who had opened their homes to those fleeing the conflict and hoped Hampshire hosts would continue to make their homes available to new Ukrainian residents in the coming months.  Anyone considering hosting a Ukrainian family can register their interest on the Government’s website.  Whilst the Local Government Association has called on the Government for increased payments to hosts, the County Council will be making additional payments of £200 per month for five months to help with energy costs over the winter period.

The details of Wave 1 devolution deals were published in August which included deals for York and North Yorkshire and for Derbyshire, Derby, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.  Both of these deals had a good amount of common ground with the Pan-Hampshire prospectus and their progress would be watched closely.  With the new Prime Minister and Cabinet appointments in place, re-engagement with Government on devolution would commence and a report would be considered by Cabinet in October.

In concluding his report, the Leader referred to the County Council’s Economic Strategy published in June and Hampshire businesses will be among the core partners delivering the Strategy.  The Leader was therefore pleased to have met many businesses and business leaders at the Farnborough Air Show and other events during the summer and was looking forward to meeting more people from Hampshire’s business community in the coming months.

Executive Members responded to questions submitted in accordance with Standing Order 16.1.1 as published with the exception of Questions 1 and 6 on the list which would be supplied in accordance with Standing Order 16.1.1.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Executive seeking approval of changes to the Terms of Reference of the Health and Wellbeing Board for Hampshire.

In presenting the report, the Leader confirmed that some of the changes set out in the report were as a consequence of the implementation of provisions in the Health and Care Act 2022.

RESOLVED:

That the County Council approves:

a)      that Membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board as set out at Part 1, Chapter 10 of the Constitution be revised by removal of the existing Paragraph 2.5 and replacement with the following wording:

‘At least one representative of each Integrated Care Board which commission health services for the Population of Hampshire, as nominated by the relevant Integrated Care Board.’

b)      that Part 1, Chapter 10, Paragraphs 9.8 and 9.9 of the Constitution be

updated to replace references to Clinical Commissioning Groups (‘CCG’s) with Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)

c)      that membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board additionally include a nominated representative of the Hampshire Constabulary;

d)      that delegated authority be given to the Monitoring Officer to amend the Constitution to give effect to the recommendations at a), b), and c) of this report.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Executive as presented by the Leader of the Council.

RESOLVED:

That the County Council approve the appointments set out in the report.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Executive, as presented by the Leader, notifying changes to some Executive Functions to provide more detail in the Constitution. 

The Leader had also determined that the title of the portfolio of the Executive Member for Recreation, Heritage and Rural Affairs be changed to Executive Member for Countryside, Culture and Communities.  As a consequence of this change, approval was sought that the Culture and Communities Select Committee be renamed to the Countryside, Culture and Communities Select Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the County Council:

a)        Notes the revisions to the Executive portfolios of Leader and Executive Member for Policy, Resources and Economic Development, and the Executive Member for Commercial Strategy, Estates and Property.

b)        Agrees that the Culture and Communities Select Committee be renamed the Countryside, Culture and Communities Select Committee.

c)         Delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to amend the Constitution to give effect to the recommendation at b) of this report.

The Council considered the report of Cabinet setting out the end of year financial year position for the County Council for 2021/22, following consideration by the Cabinet on 19th July 2022.

In introducing the report, the Leader drew Members’ attention to the recommendation to approve the County Council’s treasury management activities and prudential indicators as set out in Appendix 1 of the Cabinet report.  The Leader handed over to Councillor Steve Forster, Executive Member for Commercial Strategy, Estates and Property.

In expanding on the details of the report, Councillor Forster drew Members attention to continued strong financial stewardship and the early achievement of SP23 savings by departments.  The County Council’s work with the NHS had led to them funding in the region of £15m for the hospital discharge programme in this financial year, and the announcement by the Government of £500m nationally to continue funding this programme over the winter months was welcomed.  The County Council’s scale, capacity and its reserves had enabled it to cope with the Covid bill of circa £72m, and thanks were extended to officers for their diligence and hard work during the pandemic.

The Executive Member reported that prudent budgeting had enabled the release of circa £14m at year end to fund some important one-off initiatives and add to the Budget Bridging Reserve (BBR).  Total reserves had been increased which would see the County Council through to 2025/26 and underpinned continued strong financial management and flexibility in regard to service delivery.

During the course of debate, Members welcomed the savings position reported above and added their thanks to officers for their responsiveness to queries.  Concerns about inflation and the impact this might have on the County Council’s reserves was expressed, which was mitigated by the robust financial management referred to by the Executive Member.

RESOLVED:

That the County Council approves the report on the County Council’s treasury management activities and prudential indicators set out in Appendix 2 of the Cabinet report.

The Council considered the report of Cabinet summarising the key points considered by the Cabinet at its meeting on 19 July 2022 for the development of the County Council’s Medium Term Financial strategy to 2025/26. 

In introducing the report the Leader took the opportunity to highlight that despite the challenges the County Council have faced, and would continue to face, both this and the previous report underlined the strong financial management exhibited across the County Council.  The Leader reassured Members that he was engaging with Hampshire’s MP’s, the Government, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Treasury officials to ensure the County Council’s forecast position is fully understood and what the consequences will be if they are not addressed in time.  The Leader handed over to Councillor Steve Forster, the Executive Member for Commercial Strategy, Estates and Property.

In expanding on the details of the report and looking ahead to 2025/26, Councillor Forster drew Members attention to the severe financial position the County Council faced.  Inflationary pressures in the current financial year were challenging however, due to its prudent financial management the County Council was able to take a longer-term view; supported by its level of reserves.  Options to close the funding gap that had been identified were being investigated.  Further pressures were on the horizon in the form of the proposed Local Government pay award, however the County Council welcomed the proposed award being targeted at lower paid employees at a time when household budgets were under strain. The Executive Member commented that the financial position was the result of a Local Government funding system that is no longer fit for purpose, particularly in the face of ever-growing social care costs which may have been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic.  The County Council is stepping up its lobbying and will engage with Government to push for fundamental changes to secure its future financial sustainability.  The Executive Member commended the report and its recommendations.

During the course of debate measures in the report such as commercialisation and embracing prudential borrowing where it makes sense and is safe to do so were supported, however some concern was expressed that these measures hadn’t been taken sooner.  Some concern was also expressed about inflation and the impact on services for the most vulnerable residents and on staff and contractors pay.

In reply to the debate the Leader highlighted again that the County Council was in the strong position it was in now due to prudent financial management, building up its reserves and the careful use of them. 

RESOLVED:

That the County Council approves:

a)        An inflation underwrite of up to £15m for the current capital programme and that approval of allocations from this sum are delegated to the Director of Corporate Operations in consultation with the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council.

b)        That capital guidelines for 2023/24 and 2024/25 be increased by £6.75m and £6.8m respectively to meet the unavoidable capital priorities outlined in Section I of the Cabinet report, to be funded from prudential borrowing, the revenue consequences of which will be factored into the budget setting process for 2023/24.

No questions had been received in accordance with Standing Order 16.3.

The Council received and noted the report as presented by Councillor Rhydian Vaughan in his capacity as Chairman of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority.

The Council received and noted the report of the Health and Wellbeing Board for Hampshire reporting changes to the membership of the Board taken under delegated authority by the Head of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Council received the following reports:

·                New Burdens Funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

·                Substance Misuse Contract additional spend and Inpatient Detoxification Unit

·                Hampshire County Farms Annual Report 2021/22