Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

That the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 13 March 2023 having been circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded and be signed by the chair.

Report of the Director: Economy and Environment

The Director: Economy and Environment submitted a report seeking approval to consult on the Local Air Quality Management Annual Status Report 2023 which was attached as an appendix, and publish the final document following the required consultation.

The Director in her report explained that the council as part of its regulatory duties under Local Air Quality Management, must carry out a review of air pollution every year. Industrial, domestic and traffic sources must be compared with legal limits for major pollutants. The report was sent to DEFRA who provide technical guidance on how to write the report.

The Annual Status Report for 2023 set out all the air pollution data for the calendar year 2022 against Local Air Quality objectives as set out in the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000. Some areas within the Scunthorpe AQMA still experienced elevated concentrations of PM10 or ‘near miss’ exceedance days. These were often influenced by changes in wind speed or direction which may lead to an exceedance and were associated with industrial emissions. Consequently, there was more work to do in order to try and bring about improvements in air quality (PM10) within the Scunthorpe AQMA. In order to achieve this aim, the council continued to work with local industry, the Environment Agency and UK Health Security Agency via the Local Industry Forum.

The Director’s report stated that the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) for the Scunthorpe AQMA was currently being reviewed in consultation with stakeholders to ensure that the revised actions continue to bring about real improvements to local air quality. The AQAP would be submitted to DEFRA for approval in Summer 2023. During the Summer of 2022, the council invested in our air quality monitoring network, with five replacement Beta Attenuation Monitors (BAM’s). Four would measure PM10 and one would measure levels of PM2.5. The new monitors would ensure continued data capture and reliability providing consistent, high quality and reliable data. To provide this assurance, the equipment aligns to the specification of the Automatic Urban Rural Network (AURN) operated by DEFRA.  This investment demonstrated the council’s continued commitment to the review and assessment of local air quality.

Councillor D Rose, Cabinet Member Environment and Strategy thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by their officers and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved – (a) That approval be given to consult with the organisations listed in Appendix 1 of the Director’s report, and (b) that relevant feedback be incorporated into the ASR report and officers produce the final document for publication.

Report of the Director: Children and Families

The Director: Children and Families submitted a report requesting the cabinet to note and approve the publication of the Annual Education Report 2022/22 which was attached as an appendix.

The Director in her report explained that the Annual Education Report 2020/22 set out the achievements and key priorities for children’s education from early childhood to the end of Key Stage 5, providing an overview of educational outcomes, and work across the council and wider partnerships to improve children’s outcomes and improve their future opportunities.

The report stated thatNorth Lincolnshire Council regularly published an Annual Education Report which set out the key achievements and celebrates the work taken across the council and in schools and settings to improve outcomes for children. Due to the impact of the COVID pandemic on testing arrangements there was very little academic data available in 2021 and none in 2020. Consequently, the new Education Report covered two years. The report was produced retrospectively due to the timings of publications of national and local data by the Department for Education.

The report celebrated the achievements of children and the rich range of opportunities in which the curriculum enhanced, and the impact of actions being taken to improve outcomes. It also identified the next steps in our local partnership approaches to improving outcomes for children in schools and settings across North Lincolnshire. 

Councillor Reed, Cabinet Member Children, Families and Communities thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and Highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved – That the Annual Education Report 2020/22 be noted, and its  publication be approved

Report of the Director: Children and Families

The Director: Children and Families submitted a report requesting the cabinet to note and approve the publication of the SEND Annual Report 2021/22 which was attached as an appendix.

The Director in her report explained that the SEND Annual Report 2021/22 set out the achievements and key priorities for education from early childhood to the end of Key Stage 5, for children and young people with SEND, providing an overview of educational outcomes, and work across the council and wider partnerships to improve children’s outcomes and prepare them for adulthood.

The report stated that North Lincolnshire Council regularly published a SEND Annual Report which set out the key achievements and celebrated the work taken across the council and in schools and settings to improve outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As well as capturing partnership work to improve outcomes, key local development and parents’ voices, the report also set out the actions that have been taken following the Local Area SEND Inspection in December 2021.

The report was produced retrospectively due to the timings of publications of national and local data by the Department for Education.  The report celebrated the achievements of children and young people with SEND and the impact of actions being taken to improve outcomes. It also identified the next steps in local partnership approaches to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND across North Lincolnshire.

Councillor Reed, Cabinet Member Children, Families and Communities thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved -  That the SEND Annual Report 2021/22 be noted, and its  publication be approved.

The Director: Adults and Health submitted a report seeking cabinet’s approval to publish an update on the delivery and key achievements of the North Lincolnshire Carers Strategy 2022-2026 in relation to its four key priorities since in launch in April 2022. It also advised members of progress made against the Carers Strategy since its launch in April 2022 and gave oversight of the delivery plan to support the further implementation of the Carers Strategy in 2023-2024.

The Director in her report explained that the ‘All-Age Carers Strategy’ was coproduced with carers and key stakeholders to develop a vision and four key priorities for carers in North Lincolnshire.  To ensure the voice of carers was heard, engagement took place with a wide range of carers and through discussions with voice groups including the Carers Advisory Partnership, the Parent Forum and the Carers Support Service.

The 2022-2026 strategy outlined aims and sought to give clarity to actions through the delivery plan which identified key workstreams/themes and actions which would be taken forward by North Lincolnshire Council as place leader and with partners including the Integrated Care Board (ICB), North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospital Trust (NLaG) and Ongo, the Colleges and Citizen’s Advice Bureau. The strategies’ key priorities were:           

•      Early identification and carer recognition

•      Support carers to stay healthy (including physical & emotional health)

•      Transform and improve digital solutions

•      Influence change and innovation through Carers voice and partnership

          working.

The report stated that in its first year, there had been significant progress in developing initiatives that supported the delivery of the four key priorities.  These were summarised under the following headings –

•         Development of a Practitioners Guide to Supporting Carers

•         Identification and Recognition of Carers in Secondary Care

•         Caring Employers

•         The North Lincolnshire Carer Campaign, and

•         Carers Voice 

Also, there were further ambitions for the next twelve months, particularly in relation to the previous projects highlighted around embedding and widening initiatives for maximum impact. Further key projects were highlighted in the report.

Since its launch and implementation, the Carer’s Strategy had delivered significant changes to support and improve the wellbeing of Carers in North Lincolnshire in delivering actions to support the four key priorities.  The Carer Strategy Partnership recognised the impetus gained so far and would harness the momentum to ensure that the reach of identification, recognition, and support for carers was the responsibility of all partners and complements support delivered through the Council in accordance with statutory obligations.

Councillor Hannigan, Cabinet Member Adults, Health, Families and Communities thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and partners, and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved – That the report be noted, and approval be given to the update on the delivery and key achievements of the North Lincolnshire Carers Strategy 2022-2026 in relation to its four key priorities since in launch in April 2022.

The Director: Economy and Environment submitted a report seeking approval of the North Lincolnshire Housing Plan for 2023-28, which was attached as an appendix.

The Director in her report explained that the Housing Plan was a key plan to enable the success of the council’s Council Plan, supporting the priority ‘Enabling Economic Growth and Renewal’. The Housing Plan presented the vision for North Lincolnshire.  It identified future priorities and desired outcomes which were based on evidence collated from community, developer, surveys, data research and analysis and assessment of national, regional, and local policy context. Oversight and development of the plan had taken place through internal working groups which had provided a rounded view identifying gaps and establishing core priorities around which the council needed to focus.

To determine the priorities for the new Plan an assessment had been made of the on-going relevance of the priorities and desired outcomes detailed across a number of existing plans to produce a single plan for Housing in North Lincolnshire. Outcomes:

•         North Lincolnshire residents will have access to suitable high-quality housing to meet there needs.

•         North Lincolnshire residents live in homes which are of a high standard.

•         North Lincolnshire homes will be more energy efficient.

Achieving the vision for the North Lincolnshire economy would require successful implementation of this plan and to recognise across the three core priorities that some of the schemes and interventions would be delivered directly by North Lincolnshire Council and others through partnership working. Therefore, against each priority a series of key performance indicators had been identified which would be used to measure progress against the priorities.

The report stated that in producing the draft Housing Plan 2023 - 2028 to this point, the following steps have been taken:

•         A review of the on-going relevance of the aims and objectives of the previous Plans

•         The collation and analysis of relevant data and intelligence

•         Engagement with developers, communities, and partners

•         Based on evidence, the identification of key areas of focus to be addressed by the Plan

•         The identification of appropriate key indicators to benchmark against and track and report progress

Cabinet approval of the Housing Plan 2023 - 2028 would ensure that North Lincolnshire Council had a coherent and strategic approach to housing over the next five years.

Councillor Waltham MBE, Leader and Cabinet Member Place Shaping and Steel and Heavy Industry thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content. Councillor R Hannigan was also invited to provide an update on the current position and support structure for homelessness in North Lincolnshire.

Resolved - That the Housing Plan 2023 – 2028 be approved.

The Director: Economy and Environment submitted a report seeking approval of the prohibition of releasing balloons, sky lanterns and fireworks (as defined in appendix 1 of the report) on council owned land and the prohibition of gifting live animals as prizes at events on council owned land.

The report explained that North Lincolnshire Council was committed to providing cleaner, greener and safer places and spaces for our residents and visitors to enjoy. Prohibiting the release of sky lanterns, fireworks, balloons and the use of live animals as prizes at events had been a concern for many local authorities. This had been supported by, amongst others, the RSPCA, the National Farmers Union, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Marine Conservation Society and some Fire Services.

The council recognised that the fire hazard associated with the use of sky lanterns, fireworks and balloons, which can potentially lead to the loss of life, damage to property, risk to wildlife and farm animals and increase the pressure on the police, fire service and medical emergency services. It also recognises the potential that the giving of live animals as prizes could have on the welfare of these animals being compromised. The Animal Welfare Act  introduced in England and Wales in 2006, aimed to improve animal welfare across the two countries. While this legislation remained as one of the most important pieces of legislation ever introduced for animals, it could go further in protecting the welfare of pets currently issued as prizes.

Inclusion of the proposed new condition in event hire licences should prevent the release and sale of fireworks, lanterns, balloons and the giving of live animals as prizes from those events held on council land.

Councillor Waltham MBE, Leader and Cabinet Member Place Shaping and Steel and Heavy Industry thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved – (a) That the council supports residents to make personal, responsible choices around these activities; (b) that the banning of the release and sale of fireworks, balloons, and sky lanterns on council land and property be approved; (c) that the banning of the gifting of live animals as prizes at any event on council land be approved, and (d) that the introduction and implementation of a new condition into the council’s event hire licences, banning the release and sale of sky lanterns, fireworks, and balloons and the giving of live animals as prizes be delegated to the Director: Economy and Environment.