Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room, Church Square House, Scunthorpe

Contact: Richard Mell  Email:  Richard.Mell@northlincs.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1421.

Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Personal or Personal and Prejudicial interests.

Minutes:

Councillor R Waltham MBE declared a personal interest that he was chair of the Humber Leadership Board (minute 1423 refers).

1422.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 443 KB

Minutes:

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 22 March 2021 having been circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded and be signed by the chair.

 

1423.

Humber Leadership Board pdf icon PDF 90 KB

Minutes:

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 25 March 2021 be received, noted and where necessary approved and adopted.

 

1424.

Greater Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Oversight Committee pdf icon PDF 499 KB

Minutes:

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 19 March 2021 be received, noted and where necessary approved and adopted.

 

1425.

COVID-19 Epidemiology Update

Minutes:

The Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director: Commercial on behalf of the Director of Public Health gave an oral presentation updating the cabinet on –

 

·      UK level metrics/picture to date

·      North Lincolnshire cases and rates and neighbouring councils

·      Cases by demographics

·      Vaccination data

·      Hospital activity and deaths

·      National headline summary data and roadmap

·      Learning to live with the virus

·      Retaining proportionate test, trace and isolate plans

·      Managing risk at the national border and supporting a global response

·      Retaining contingency plans, monitoring data and reviewing measures

·      Summarising the role of local government

 

Resolved – That the update report be noted and the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director: Commercial be thanked for the presentation.

 

1426.

Humber Freeport pdf icon PDF 130 KB

Minutes:

The Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director: Commercial submitted a report updating Cabinet on progress with the Humber Freeport.

 

The report explained that on 16 November 2020, the Government launched a competitive bidding process for Freeports in England and sought proposals from bidding coalitions.  A bidding coalition, reporting to the Humber Leadership Board chaired by North Lincolnshire Council’s Leader, including the four Humber local authorities along with private sector interest was formed to shape the Freeport bid.  A bid was submitted in February 2021 that included Customs, Tax and Seed Capital sites across all four local authority areas.  The Humber Freeport was announced as successful (subject to business case) in the Chancellor’s Budget (March 2021). 

 

The outline business case was expected to be submitted to Government in the summer and the final business case in the Autumn with the first Freeports expected to be launched in November 2021.  It was proposed that a Humber Freeport Company would be established and would be responsible for the delivery of the Freeport.  The company board was expected to comprise the Leaders from the four Humber Unitary Authorities along with Associated British Ports (ABP) as the Statutory Harbour Authority, the two Local Enterprise Partnerships covering the area and private businesses.

 

For the purposes of the Humber Freeport CLG, the Accountable Body had been nominated by the Humber Leadership Board to be North East Lincolnshire Council. To move forward both the governance arrangements and the business cases, several agreements were required to be negotiated and agreed.  These included, but were not limited to, Articles of Association for the CLG; Local Authority Services Agreements; Memorandum of Understanding and Site-specific agreements.  

 

The Deputy Chief Executive in his report also summarised the Government’s ‘Build Back Better: Our Plan for Growth’ flagship programme for development of Freeports, the content and elements of the associated bidding prospectus, outlined the Humber Freeport bid and arrangements for the Humber Freeport Company as referred to above.

 

Resolved – (a) That the development of the Humber Freeport be supported and approved; (b) that Cabinet commits to the Freeport Memorandum of Understanding; (c) that the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Member, be authorised to developed and agree detailed documentation to enable the next stage of the Freeport to take place, and (d) that  the recommendation of the Humber Leadership Board that North East Lincolnshire Council be appointed as the Accountable Body for the Humber Freeport be approved.

 

1427.

Proposed merger of the North Lincolnshire and Grimsby Coroner Service Area pdf icon PDF 594 KB

Minutes:

The Director: Governance and Partnerships submitted a report providing background and supporting information to enable a decision to be taken on whether to support the submission of an agreed joint business case from Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor to merge the two existing coroner areas to create a new, single Greater Lincolnshire coroner area, which would be coterminous with the three authorities. The business case was attached at appendix A. Other options were available to the including a shared Humberside coronial area, which were also considered in this report.

 

The Director in her report explained thatNorth East Lincolnshire Council was the lead authority for providing the coroner service for the coroner area of North Lincolnshire and Grimsby. The Senior Coroner was appointed by the local authority but worked to the Chief Coroner under the Ministry of Justice. To support the Senior Coroner, the local authority had a duty to provide coroners officers, administrative support and suitable accommodation for the Senior Coroner to undertake his/her duties to the area. There were currently 88 coroner areas in England and Wales. In 2016 updated guidance was issued by the Chief Coroner on the merger of coroner areas, which followed the recommendations in the Luke Review of 2003 that recommended: “the number of coroner areas, should be reduced in order to create sensibly sized coroner areas, taking into account the number of reported deaths, geographical size and types of coroner work in the area”.  The Chief Coroner and Ministry of Justice had recently reiterated their long-term plan to reduce the number of coroner areas to 75 and to explore the opportunity of merger of coroner areas when the opportunity arose.

 

Consequently, in December 2018 the Senior Coroner for North Lincolnshire and Grimsby retired and the Chief Coroner and Ministry of Justice confirmed that the current coroner area was too small to be maintained and that a merger with neighbouring coroner areas should be explored. Since that time the Chief Coroner and Ministry of Justice had only agreed to the appointment of an acting Senior Coroner for the area but not a permanent replacement pending exploration of options for merger. Furthermore, following the departure of the Senior Coroner for Lincolnshire in September 2020 a similar embargo had been placed on the Lincolnshire Coroners Service by the Chief Coroner and Ministry of Justice in recruiting a permanent Senior Coroner.

 

Discussions had been held with both the Hull and East Riding Coroner Service (for which Hull City Council is the lead authority) to create a new ‘Humberside’ coroner area and latterly and more substantively, under the auspices of an officer project group, with the Lincolnshire Coroners Service (for which Lincolnshire County Council is the administering authority) to create a new ‘Greater Lincolnshire’ coroner area. At its Cabinet meeting on 23 November 2020, Hull City Council resolved to make an application to the Chief Coroner for the merger of the two current coroner  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1427.

1428.

Financial Position Update 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 355 KB

Minutes:

The Director: Governance and Partnerships submitted a report which informed Cabinet of the Council’s financial performance in 2020/21 highlighting that the revenue investment plan of £152.0m, was 5% spend below budget, capital investment of £28.1m, was 64% delivery against plan, and there was enhanced financial resilience through £25.4m contribution to reserves.

 

The report explained that the Council had set a revenue and capital budget for 2020/21 at it meeting in February 2020. The total revenue investment for delivery of its functions and strategic priorities was set at £152.0m and the capital investment limit for 2020/21 at £47.3m, although the net effect of additional investment and rephasing reduced this to £43.9m. The table in Appendix 1 provided a summary of the actual use of revenue and capital funding against the planned use in 2020/21. The council had also been able to strengthen its financial resilience and contributed £25.4m to reserves in 2020/21.  Appendix 2 provides the reserves account in detail.

 

The Medium-Term Financial plan approved in February 2021 included the capital programme 2020/24 totalling £127.2m, this was updated to reflect actual investment in 2020/21 as set out at Appendix 3. By law, the annual accounts must be published in draft by the end of May each year and a final audited version published by the end of July.  The Government had recognised the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID 19 pandemic and had again amended this timetable to end of July 2021 for draft accounts and end of September 2021 for publication of the final audited accounts.

 

An overview of the Council’s financial position for 20220/21 and the main implications for future revenue budgets were summarised by the Director in her report under the following headings –

 

·      Outturn Overview 2020/21, and

·      Outturn Impact on Future Financial Years

           

Resolved – (a) That the final revenue investment of the council for 2020/21 be noted; (b) that the final capital investment of the council for 2020/21 be noted; (c) that the council’s reserves position for 2020/21 be noted; (d) that the changes to the accounts timetable for 2020/21 be noted, and (e) that the restatement of the capital programme at Appendix 3 of the report which includes the allocation of £3.3m from the Capital Investment Allocation as match funding to support the Future High Street Fund thereby securing £10.7m grant investment for North Lincolnshire, be approved.

 

1429.

Council Plan 2018-21 AND COVID-19: Mid-Term Recovery Annual Review pdf icon PDF 1004 KB

Minutes:

The Director Governance and Partnerships submitted a report presenting a review against the Council Plan 2018-21 in the context of the COVID-19 response and mid-term recovery plan. The operating environment during 2020-21 had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the report outlined how the council had responded and adjusted our responsibilities in the implementation of government guidelines whilst continuing to deliver its core business and improve outcomes for people and place. The council’s priorities in the Council Plan 2018-21 described the actions the council would take and these were extended to incorporate its COVID-19 Mid-term recovery plan:

 

Keeping people safe and well

·        Continue to work hard to keep people safe

·        Lead partnership working across North Lincolnshire to promote wellbeing and improve health outcomes for everyone

·        Prioritise the most vulnerable

·        Provide cleaner and greener space for people to enjoy and use

·        Reduce the spread of COVID-19

·        Protect the most vulnerable in our communities from the impact of COVID-19

Enabling resilient and flourishing communities

·        Support people in their wellbeing through trusted sources of information, advice and guidance

·        Enable our residents to become more involved in community life

·        Engage in new conversations about the things that matter most to you

·        Work in partnership with voluntary and community groups and organisations in COVID-19 recovery

·        Enable communities to shape the recovery landscape

Enabling economic growth and renewal

·        Market North Lincolnshire as a place to live, work, visit and invest,

·        Enable partnership working with businesses to attract high skilled jobs

·        Invest in town centres including securing external funding

·        Provide space for businesses and population to grow through new commercial and housing developments

·        Strive for higher education standards and skills

·        Protect the local economy through strengthened business support

·        Stimulate growth through capital investment and infrastructure

Well led council

·        Maintain the focus on workforce wellbeing

·        Ensure financial resilience and sustainability

·        Ensure effective business continuity through prioritisation of key services and functions

 

The Director in her report explained that as well as responding to the implications of national restrictions, the council continued to keep services running and adapting to the changing environment, led the prevention and management of local outbreaks and worked with businesses and partners to drive economic recovery and growth and in partnership with NHS to enable the successful commencement of the vaccination programme. Appendix 1 of the report provided an executive summary of how the council responded and adjusted its responsibilities in the implementation of government guidelines whilst continuing to deliver core business and improving outcomes for people and place.

 

The Council continued to contribute at sub-regional level as part of the Humber Local Resilience Forum (LRF) where emergency response planning was required at scale across multiple agencies. The Humber LRF stepped down the emergency response arrangements in June 2021 and the recovery phase continued through the Humber Recovery Group. The emergency response arrangements would be stepped up again if required.

 

The Council had also worked closely with the regional health protection team, Public Health England, including the Department of Health and Social Care, Department  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1429.

1430.

Directors Position Statements 2021

Minutes:

Reports were submitted to Cabinet providing members with an annual review of their responsible service areas against the Council Plan 2018-21 in the context of the COVID-19 response and mid-term recovery plan. The reports provided an overview of performance for the year and achievement against the ambitions, goals and priorities of the council plan. They also informed cabinet of the work undertaken across services to support the response to the pandemic and contribution to the COVID-19 mid-term recovery plan priorities. As part of the next phase of strategic planning the reports highlighted areas of focus for 2021-22 and beyond.

 

Key headlines contributing to the Council Plan and COVID-19 priorities were addressed by all Directors under the following or similar headings

 

·         Well Led: Business Continuity

·         Well Led: Transformation

·         Well Led: Financial Resilience and Sustainability

·         Well Led: Governance and Assurance

·         Keeping People Safe and Well

·         Keeping the Workforce Safe and Well

·         Enabling Resilient and Flourishing Communities

·         Enabling Economic Growth and Renewal

·         COVID Recovery Plan

·         Future Developments

The following Director’s Position Statements were considered by the Cabinet -

 

1431.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive pdf icon PDF 169 KB

Minutes:

Director’s Position Statement: Operations – Report submitted by the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director: Commercial.

 

Resolved – That the contribution made to the Council Plan strategic ambitions and response made to date to the COVID-19 pandemic and mid-term recovery as outlined in the report be noted.

 

1432.

Report of the Director: Adults and Community Wellbeing pdf icon PDF 169 KB

Minutes:

Director’s Position Statement: Adults and Community Wellbeing – Report submitted by the Director: Adults and Community Wellbeing.

 

Resolved – Thatthe contribution made to the Council Plan strategic ambitions, outcomes and priorities including the response made to date to the COVID-19 pandemic and mid-term recovery as outlined in the report be noted.

 

1433.

Report of the Director: Business Development. pdf icon PDF 168 KB

Minutes:

Director’s Position Statement: Business Development – Report of the Director: Business Development.

 

Resolved - That the content of the report and the contribution that the Business Development Service has made to the Councils Strategic Plan and the response to the pandemic be noted.

 

1434.

Report of the Director: Children and Community Resilience pdf icon PDF 193 KB

Minutes:

Director’s Position Statement: Children and Community Resilience – Report of the Director: Community Resilience.

 

Resolved – That the contribution made to the Council Plan ambitions, goals, priorities and outcomes, including the response made to the COVID-19 pandemic and the mid-term recovery be noted.

 

1435.

Report of the Director: Learning, Skills and Culture pdf icon PDF 173 KB

Minutes:

Director’s Position Statement: Learning, Skills and Culture – Report of the Director: Learning, Skills and Culture.

 

Resolved - That the contribution made to the Council Plan strategic ambitions and response made to date to the covid-19 pandemic and mid-term recovery as outlined in the report be noted.

 

1436.

Report of the Director: Governance and Partnerships. pdf icon PDF 202 KB

Minutes:

Director’s Position Statement: Governance and Partnerships – Report of the Director: Governance and Partnerships.

 

The Chief Executive also commented on the success of the fantastic work carried out by officers led by the leadership team under the direction of the cabinet and wished to thank everyone for all their hard work over the last year and continuing into the future recovery phase from the pandemic.

 

Resolved – (a) That the contribution made to the Council Plan strategic ambitions, outcomes and priorities including the response made to date to the COVID-19 pandemic and mid-term recovery as outlined in the report be noted, and (b) that all officers and their teams across the council be thanked for their dedicated, hard work throughout the previous challenging year during the pandemic.

 

1437.

Levelling up Fund pdf icon PDF 361 KB

Minutes:

The Director: Business Development submitted a report providing Cabinet with an update on the council’s Levelling Up submission made to Government.

 

The report explained that the Levelling Up Fund was announced by the Government at the 2020 Spending Review to support communities in realising their vision. The Fund would focus on capital investment in local infrastructure thereby building on and consolidating prior programmes such as the Local Growth Fund and Towns Fund. Government had recognised that levelling up required a multi-faceted approach, from supercharging our city regions, to supporting our struggling towns, to catalysing industrial clusters in the sectors that would drive the future economy – the Fund would deliver as part of a broad package of complementary UK-wide interventions, including:

 

·      The UK Community Renewal Fund,

·      The UK Community Ownership Fund,

·      The Plan for Jobs,

·      The Freeports programme,

·      The UK Infrastructure Bank, and

·      The Towns Fund.

 

The report stated that councils can submit one bid for every MP whose constituency lies wholly within their boundary. Every local authority can submit at least one bid. In North Lincolnshire where an MP’s constituency crosses multiple local authorities, one local authority should take responsibility as the lead bidder and local areas should work together to designate that lead bidder. The Fund would focus investment in, individual projects or a programme of projects that required up to £20m of funding. However, there was also scope for investing in larger high value transport projects, by exception.

 

The first round of the Fund would focus on three themes: smaller transport projects that make a genuine difference to local areas; town centre and high street regeneration; and support for maintaining and expanding the portfolio of cultural and heritage assets, in particular:

 

·    Transport investments,

·    Regeneration and town centre investment and

·    Cultural investment.

 

North Lincolnshire Council as a priority one area had submitted three package bids, which were set out in the report. The bids were aligned with the council’s Economic Growth Plan, emerging Local Plan and Towns Fund Programme. Support was in place from the areas three constituent MPs and there was also an opportunity to submit a joint bid with North East Lincolnshire Council in the priority two round.  North Lincolnshire Council was acting as lead bidder with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council for the first package.

 

Resolved – (a) That the submission of the council’s Levelling Up bids to Government as set out in the report be noted, and (b) that a further report outlining the details of the three packages of work as the full business cases are completed be submitted to a future meeting.

 

1438.

Imagination Library - Report of the Director: Learning, Skills and Culture pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

The Director: Learning, Skills and Culture submitted a report seeking approval of and to publish the North Lincolnshire Imagination Library Report 2021, which was attached as an appendix. The report was a celebration of the North Lincolnshire Imagination Library and the many achievements that have been enabled for children and families. It also sets out our plans for the future ensuring that children’s early literacy continued to be a priority within North Lincolnshire.

 

The report stated that the North Lincolnshire Imagination Library continued to go from strength to strength and was promoted as a model of international excellence. North Lincolnshire’s Imagination Library was the highest achieving UK programme since its launch in 2013.

 

By working in partnership and taking a ‘One Family Approach’ the council had created a pathway of expertise and resources that were easily accessible, creative, and simple which enabled families to build and extend their children’s home learning environment. Almost 2,000 residents access the North Lincolnshire Imagination Monthly newsletter for ideas and inspiration.  Sharing books in the home supported so much more than a love of reading. Time together enjoying books promoted secure attachments that support the development of confidence, self-esteem, health, and well-being.

 

Resolved - Thatthe Imagination Library Report for 2021 be received, approved and published.

 

1439.

Mr M Gibbs - Director : Children and Community Resilience

Minutes:

The Leader informed the Cabinet that this would be Mick Gibbs’s last meeting as he was retiring at the end of July 2021. He thanked Mick for his hard work and commitment to the council from its beginning in 1996 and for changing and improving the lives of many children and families over the years especially during his outstanding leadership. He emphasised that Mick would be incredibly missed and always be held in the highest regard by members and officers.

 

Mick thanked the Leader for his comments and stated that he had been proud to work for North Lincolnshire Council and had thoroughly enjoyed his time, especially the support of members, senior leaders and all staff. He confirmed that if he hadn’t decided to retire, he would only choose to work for North Lincolnshire Council whose council plan and ambitions for people and place are the right ones going forward. He also thanked all children and families for their resilience during the ongoing pandemic.

 

Resolved – That Mr M Gibbs be thanked for his hard work and commitment to North Lincolnshire Council over the years and that he enjoys a long, healthy and happy retirement.