Agenda and decisions

Apologies were received from Councillors Ploszaj and Riddle.

Minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 13 June 2023, as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED that the minutes of Cabinet held on 13 June 2023, as circulated,  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.

Firefighters Decontamination

To consider a report from the Committee on the above (Appendix A).

Firefighters Decontamination

RESOLVED that Cabinet approve the recommendation of the Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee that financial support for the recommendations made by the fire and rescue service be provided to ensure that Northumberland leads the way to reduce the risk of contamination and support fire and rescue personnel.?

District Heating Update and Partnership Procurement

To provide a summary of the progress made across the eight District Heating studies completed for the county, feedback on proposed delivery models for the schemes and seek approval to proceed with the next phase of activity (Appendix B).

District Heating Update and Partnership Procurement

RESOLVED that:-

(a )     Cabinet agree that the council’s preferred delivery option for District Heating is Model 3 (Supply Framework). Under this model the Council will enter into a framework agreement with a Heat Provider and agree a form of connection and supply agreement to be used for the supply of heat to the Council across the eight towns, namely Alnwick, Ashington, Berwick, Blyth, Cramlington, Hexham, Morpeth and Prudhoe on a town-by-town basis as the schemes go-live;

(b )     Cabinet approve a procurement exercise to select and appoint a legal and commercial advisor to support the procurement activities needed to appoint a Heat Provider. The forecast cost of the external legal and commercial advisor support is ~£160,000, which it is expected will be 100% funded through the NELEP Energy Accelerator Fund at no additional cost to NCC. In the unlikely case that the NELEP do not fund the project a separate request for NCC to provide funding will be made;

(c )     Cabinet resource and undertake a procurement exercise to appoint a Heat Provider;

(d )     Cabinet agree to the inclusion of the council’s future heat load to be in scope for commercially viable District Heating schemes in each of the eight locations, provided the commercial, economic and net zero tests are met by the Heat Provider; and

(e )     the timescales for delivery given market competition, be noted.

Northumberland Stewardship and Rural Growth Investment Programme – Nature Recovery Response

To outline the Council’s role in leading the region’s response to nature recovery as set out in the North East Devolution Deal and, within this context, seek consideration to the declaration of an ecological emergency in Northumberland (Appendix C).

Northumberland Stewardship and Rural Growth Investment Programme – Nature Recovery Response

RESOLVED that

(a )     Cabinet accept, in principle and subject to the approval of the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) Cabinet, the role of leading the development of the statutory North of Tyne Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) on behalf of the Combined Authority;

(b )     Cabinet endorse the Council’s role as accountable body for the participation of the English part of the Borderlands area in the Government’s Local Investment in Natural Capital (LINC) programme;

(c )     Cabinet accept the anticipated grant awards of £0.285 million and £1.000 million respectively for the development of the North of Tyne LNRS and the delivery of the Borderlands LINC into the Council’s revenue budget;

(d )     Cabinet agree to declaring an ecological emergency to further strengthen the Council’s commitment to rural stewardship and to demonstrate the significant role of nature recovery in mitigating the climate emergency;

(e )     Cabinet develop a response, within the context of our Climate Change Action Plan, to the ecological emergency using our new obligations under the Environment Act 2021 as a framework; namely the development of a Local Nature Recovery Strategy; the strengthened duty to conserve and enhance biodiversity with a requirement to publish action plans and progress reports; and the introduction of mandatory biodiversity net gain in the planning system; and

(f )      A progress report be made to Cabinet in six months.

Asset Management Framework

To provide Cabinet with information relating to the new Asset Management Framework for 2023-2026 that has been developed to guide decision making and clearly outline the strategic plans for the estate to 2026 (Appendix D).

Asset Management Framework

RESOLVED that:-

(a )     Cabinet note the purpose and content of the Asset Management Framework for 2023-2026; and

(b )     Cabinet agree to:

·       The new Asset Management Framework; as attached at Appendix 1 - and

·       Receive further updates on the delivery of the Asset Management Framework on a quarterly basis.

Financial Performance 2022-23 – Final Outturn (subject to audit)

The purpose of the report is to report the final outturn position (subject to audit) for the Council against the Budget for 2022-23 (Appendix E).

Financial Performance 2022-23 – Final Outturn (subject to audit)

RESOLVED that:-

(a )     Cabinet approve:

·       the new grants and amendments to existing grants at Appendix A and the required changes to the budgets.

·       the net re-profiling to the Capital Programme of £23.940 million from 2022-23 to 2023-24 to reflect expenditure levels in the financial year; and .

(b )     Cabinet note:

·       A balanced position following a transfer of £5.916 million to the General Fund, after the transfers to Earmarked Reserves agreed as part of the Provisional Outturn report at the Cabinet meeting on 9 May 2023.

·       that this final outturn is based on the draft Statement of Accounts and is subject to external audit.

·       the delivery of the approved savings at Appendix B.

·       the use of the contingency shown at Appendix Q.

·       the use of reserves shown at Appendix R.

·       the virements requested by services shown at Appendix S.

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 (Appendix F).

Summary of New Capital Proposals considered by Officer Capital Strategy Group 

RESOLVED that:-

(a )     Children’s Residential Homes:

a)       Cabinet approve the reallocation of capital funds of £1.260 million in 2023-24 from Black Close House to purchase six private residential properties which will support the development of multi-building children’s residential homes in Northumberland.

b)       Cabinet approve that delegated authority is given to the Executive Director for Children, Young People and Education to enter into a contract(s) for the acquired units as and when they are identified up to the approved budget limit.

(b )     BT Openreach Gainshare receipt

a)       Cabinet approve the receipt of BT Openreach gainshare funding amounting to £2.145 million. 

b)       Cabinet approve the addition of £2.145 million to the Council’s capital expenditure budget in 2023-24 to be split as follows:

i)        Repayment to Building Digital UK (BDUK) of £0.989 million (46.11% of the total gainshare receipt) as per terms of the Contract; and,

ii)        £1.156 million into Community Broadband in respect of enabling additional premises to access the £2,500 top up voucher to help provide gigabit connectivity in the hardest to reach areas

(c )     Levelling Up Funding for Rapid Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers:

a)       Cabinet approve the receipt of Levelling Up funding amounting to £0.453 million awarded to the Council for the provision of ten new rapid EV chargers to be delivered between April 2023 and March 2025, split as follows:

£0.347 million in 2023-24; and,

£0.106 million in 2024-25.

b)       Cabinet note the match funding NCC contribution of £0.050 million (10%) from the existing capital allocation in the Climate Change Capital Fund in 2024-25, creating a total budget of £0.503 million.

(d )     Alnwick Playhouse – Replacement of Lighting Rig:

a)       Cabinet approve the creation of a new capital project in 2023-24 for the installation of a new lighting rig at Alnwick Playhouse to ensure that the main auditorium is fully health and safety compliant.

b)       Cabinet approve the reallocation of capital funds of £0.100 million in 2023-24 from   Ashington North East Quarter Redevelopment (Phase 2) to Alnwick Playhouse Lighting Rig to fund installation of the new rig.

c)       Cabinet note that the Strategic Regeneration Projects budget will reallocate £0.100 million to the Ashington North East Quarter Redevelopment (Phase 2) project in 2024-25.

Energising Blyth Programme: Levelling Up Deep Dive

To update Cabinet regarding the establishment, development and delivery of the £20.71m Levelling Up Deep Dive (LUDD) funding awarded to Blyth earlier this year.  The report explains how this funding will be added to the Energising Blyth programme in the town to have a catalytic impact on the town’s economy and drive forward the implementation of the Blyth Town Investment Plan.

This report seeks approval to accept this funding award from UK Government and to take a number of key early steps to enable the implementation of key projects (Appendix G).

Energising Blyth Programme: Levelling Up Deep Dive 

RESOLVED that:-

(a )     Cabinet accept the award of £20.71m Levelling Up Deep Dive capital and revenue funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and it's use as follows;

·       Add £19,630,000 to the Capital Programme as an identified budget allocation for the capital projects identified in this report.

·       Add £1,080,000 as an identified revenue budget for the revenue funded projects and programme management arrangements outlined in this report;

(b )     Cabinet note that the funding will be used to deliver new initiatives to support the delivery of the Blyth Town Investment Plan as part of the Energising Blyth Programme including ‘Welcoming and Safe Blyth’, ‘Housing Renewal and Town Centre Living’ and ‘Energy Central Campus: Technical Training Kit’;

(c )     Cabinet approve the associated financial profiles as set out in the report fully funded by the Levelling Up Deep Dive and agree to: 

·       Establish a new Blyth Empty Homes Team in 2023 for two years from appointment

·       Authorise the S151 officer in consultation with the Executive Director of Place and Regeneration to enter into internal grant funding agreement for the empty homes team revenue costs subject to confirmation of funding being in place and local assurance being followed

·       Authorise the S151 officer in consultation with the Executive Director of Place and Regeneration to approve initial design fees up to the value of £1,993,469 across the programme

·       The associated programme management and assurance arrangements to support the programme’s delivery as set out in the report.  This includes the appointment of a Senior Programme Officer in 2023 to support the programme funded for two years from appointment drawn from the revenue budget above

Environmental Enforcement Fixed Penalty Notice and Penalty Notice Policy 2023

To present the revised Environmental Enforcement Fixed Penalty and Penalty Notice Policy 2023 for consideration and adoption (Appendix H).

Environmental Enforcement Fixed Penalty Notice and Penalty Notice Policy 2023.

RESOLVED that:-

(a )     Cabinet agree and adopt the proposed policy (See Appendix 1 to the report); and

(b )     Cabinet agree and adopt the fine levels given in the schedule of the policy (see Appendix 1 to the report).

Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Service for Northumberland – Permission to Award Contract

The purpose of this report is to provide the background to the need to provide a drug and alcohol treatment and recovery service as part of the Council’s statutory public health functions, to confirm that the procurement exercise has commenced, and to seek permission to award the contract once the exercise is complete (Appendix I). 

Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Service for Northumberland – Permission to Award Contract

RESOLVED that Cabinet approve the award of the contract to the successful contractor for £3,356,709 per annum. The maximum contract period is October 2023 – March 2030.

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.