Agenda

Minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 21 September 2022, as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Unless already entered in the Council’s Register of Members’ interests, members are required where a matter arises at a meeting;

a.         Which directly relates to Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (‘DPI’) as set out in Appendix B, Table 1 of the Code of Conduct, to disclose the interest, not participate in any discussion or vote and not to remain in room. Where members have a DPI or if the matter concerns an executive function and is being considered by a Cabinet Member with a DPI they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with the matter.

b.         Which directly relates to the financial interest or well being of a Other Registrable Interest as set out in Appendix B, Table 2 of the Code of Conduct to disclose the interest and only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak at the meeting but otherwise must not take part in any discussion or vote on the matter and must not remain the room.

c.         Which directly relates to their financial interest or well-being (and is not DPI) or the financial well being of a relative or close associate, to declare the interest and members may only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak. Otherwise, the member must not take part in discussion or vote on the matter and must leave the room.

d.         Which affects the financial well-being of the member, a relative or close associate or a body included under the Other Registrable Interests column in Table 2, to disclose the interest and apply the test set out at paragraph 9 of Appendix B before deciding whether they may remain in the meeting.

e.         Where Members have or a Cabinet Member has an Other Registerable Interest or Non Registerable Interest in a matter being considered in exercise of their executive function, they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with it.

NB Any member needing clarification must contact monitoringofficer@northumberland.gov.uk. Members are referred to the Code of Conduct which contains the matters above in full. Please refer to the guidance on disclosures at the rear of this agenda letter.

The Outcomes of Consultation on Berwick Partnership Organisation

This report sets out the feedback received from stakeholders arising from Phase 1 of informal consultation with stakeholders in the Berwick Partnership area and other relevant parties on whether any models of organisation that may be brought forward with specific proposals for schools (Phase 2) should consist of only 3-tier models of organisation or include 3-tier and 2-tier (primary/secondary) models of organisation.

This report sets out the findings of Phase 1 consultation and as a result of feedback received, Cabinet is recommended to approve Phase 2 consultation with stakeholders in the area served by Berwick Partnership and other interested parties on specific proposals for individual schools in the partnership within both a 3-tier and a 2-tier (primary/secondary) structure, including some school closures.  This would consist of a 15-week (school weeks) consultation beginning on 31 October 2022.

The outcomes of Phase 2 consultation would be brought back to Cabinet at a later date, at which point Cabinet may be requested to approve the publication of statutory proposals (Appendix A).

The report of the FACS OSC will be circulated when the Committee has met.

Council Tax Support Scheme for 2023-24

The purpose of this report is to seek approval for the local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2023-24 to continue to provide support at a maximum level of 92% of council tax liability (Appendix B).

The report of the CSEG OSC will be circulated when the Committee has met.

The Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund 2022 to 2023

To update the Cabinet about the "fair cost of care" surveys required as a condition for receipt of this Government grant, and to make recommendations about how the £1.027m grant allocated to the Council in the current financial year should be used to prepare for the impact of the planned national charging reforms on commissioned care services, including increases to the fees paid to the providers of key commissioned services (Appendix C).

Revised Joint Charter with Town, Parish and Community Councils

This report updates Cabinet and seeks approval for the publication of the revised joint Charter between the County Council and the Town, Parish and Community Councils (TPCCs) in Northumberland (Appendix D)

Endorsement of the Northumberland Destination Management Plan 2022-2032

Destination Management is a process of leading, influencing and coordinating the management of all the aspects of a destination that contribute to a visitor’s experience. A Destination Management Plan is a shared statement of intent to manage a destination over a stated period of time, articulating the roles of the different stakeholders and identifying clear actions that they will take. This report requests that the County Council endorse the Vision, Partnership Principles, Strategic Aims, and Priorities of the 10 year Destination Management Plan for Northumberland (Appendix E).

The report of the Communities and Place OSC will be circulated when the Committee has met.

Working together with Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise

This purpose of this report is to seek approval to expand the current Northumberland Communities Together (NCT) and Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Infrastructure contract to include management of additional funding transferred to NCC from NHS Northumberland CCG, now the Integrated Care Board (ICB), under a section 256 agreement, to support the Thriving Together work between Northumberland Communities Together and the VCSE (Appendix F).

Supported Accommodation and Lodgings for Care Leavers and Young Homeless – Permission to Tender

The purpose of this report is to seek permission from Cabinet to go to the market to commission a range of services to provide supported accommodation and lodgings for Northumberland care leavers and young homeless which will assist the Council in meeting its statutory duties (Appendix G).

The report of the FACS OSC will be circulated when the Committee has met.

Summary of New Capital Proposals considered by Officer Capital Strategy Group

The report summarises proposed amendments to the Capital Programme considered by the officer Capital Strategy Group (CSG) via email on 2 September 2022 (Appendix H).

To consider such other business as, in the opinion of the Chair, should, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.