Agenda and decisions

Members of the public intending to attend the meeting are asked to please note that, in the interests of health, safety and security, bags maybe searched on entry to the building.  Everyone attending this meeting is also asked please to behave with due courtesy and to conduct themselves in a reasonable way.

Please note: if the alarm sounds during the meeting, everyone should please exit the building via the way they came in, via the main entrance lobby area, and then the front ramp. Please then assemble on the paved area in front of the building on College Green by the flag poles.

If the front entrance cannot be used, alternative exits are available via staircases 2 and 3 to the left and right of the Conference Hall. These exit to the rear of the building. The lifts are not to be used. Then please make your way to the assembly point at the front of the building.  Please do not return to the building until instructed to do so by the fire warden(s).

Due to Covid Safety requirements we have put the following measures in place:

·       All attendees to Cabinet are asked to have a Covid lateral flow test 24 hrs prior to the day of the meeting and show the results of a negative test. It’s important that you report the results of your test and that you get confirmation sent to your phone. Reception staff may ask to see this on the day of the meeting. If you have a positive test or if you develop any Covid 19 symptoms - high temperature, a new continuous cough, or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste, you should book a test on .GOV.UK and self-isolate while you wait for the results.

·       You are required to wear a face mask at all times unless you are exempt. Social distancing rules remain in place.

·       Members of the press and public who wish to attend City Hall are advised that you will be asked to watch the meeting on a screen in another room due to the maximum occupancy of the venue.

Up to one hour is allowed for this item

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum. Petitions, statements and questions received by the deadlines below will be taken at the start of the agenda item to which they relate to.

Petitions and statements (must be about matters on the agenda):

• Members of the public and members of the council, provided they give notice in writing or by e-mail (and include their name, address, and ‘details of the wording of the petition, and, in the case of a statement, a copy of the submission) by no later than 12 noon on the working day before the meeting, may present a petition or submit a statement to the Cabinet.

• One statement per member of the public and one statement per member of council shall be admissible.

• A maximum of one minute shall be allowed to present each petition and statement.

• The deadline for receipt of petitions and statements for the 22 June Cabinet is 12 noon on 21 June. These should be sent by e-mail to:  democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

Questions (must be about matters on the agenda):

• A question may be asked by a member of the public or a member of Council, provided they give notice in writing or by e-mail (and include their name and address) no later than 3 clear working days before the day of the meeting.

• Questions must identify the member of the Cabinet to whom they are put.

• A maximum of 2 written questions per person can be asked. At the meeting, a maximum of 2 supplementary questions may be asked. A supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or reply.

• Replies to questions will be given verbally at the meeting. If a reply cannot be given at the meeting (including due to lack of time) or if written confirmation of the verbal reply is requested by the questioner, a written reply will be provided within 10 working days of the meeting.

• The deadline for receipt of questions for the 22 June Cabinet is 5.00 pm on Wednesday 16 June. These should be sent by e-mail to:

democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

When submitting a question or statement please indicate whether you are planning to attend the meeting to present your statement or receive a verbal reply to your question.

To note any declarations of interest from the Mayor and Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

(subject to a maximum of three items)

To note any announcements from the Chair

Cabinet:

1.      Approved the implementation of charges detailed in Appendix A, to come into effect from 1st July 2021.

2. Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration to take all steps required to implement the charges.

Cabinet

1. Authorised the spend of £3.5 million over the next 4 years for Blaise Plant Nursery supplies to allow the service to resale the supplies and be self-sustaining.
2. Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Communities, to pursue an appropriate and compliant route to market for Blaise Plant Nursery supplies to accommodate a spend of £3.5m over 4 years.

Cabinet

1. Approved the extension of Cultural Investment Programme until 31st March 2023.
2. Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration to take all steps required to implement the extension.

Cabinet

1. Noted the creation of a new Regeneration Service within the Growth & Regeneration Directorate
2. Authorised a £825,443 virement and reallocation of resources noted in the report to establish a total recurring annual revenue budget of £751k for the regeneration service, and £168k seed funding budget for projects under the control of the Executive Director for Growth and Regeneration.
3. Noted the submission of a bid for Strategic Masterplan funding of £955,000 to the West of England Combined Authority.
4. Authorised the Executive Director of Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Section 151 Officers and Mayor to enter into a grant funding agreement, drawdown and spend £955k West of England Combined Authority Strategic Masterplanning Funding.

Cabinet

1. Approved the submission of a Change Request to the West of England Combined Authority for an increase in grant funding of £596,666.
2. Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration, if successful, to take all steps necessary to enter into contract to draw down and spend the external funding including procuring and awarding contracts where necessary.

Cabinet

1. Approved the re-tendering and procurement of the Councils specialist print services for four years from current contract end date of 01st December 2021 at a cost of up to £1.3m.
2. Authorised the Director –Legal and Democratic Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Performance to procure and award the contract(s) necessary for the implementation of election specialist print services in-line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report, noting the associated Procurement and Legal commentaries.

Cabinet

1. Approved the award of a 2 year contract, through the KCS Framework at a cost of £4m, with an approved Microsoft reseller, for the range of Microsoft products currently used by BCC, to include provision within the contract for products that support the BCC cloud migration and end-user computing strategy.
2. Authorised the Director – Digital Transformation in consultation with the Deputy Mayor – Finance, Governance & Performance to take all steps necessary to procure and award the contract.

Cabinet noted:

1. the contents of the report and the final position of the General fund for the financial year 2020/21 the key reasons for budget variances as set out in Appendix A of the report.
2. A general fund in-year cash surplus of £19.7 million on non-covid services to be transferred to reserves.
3. A general fund in-year cash surplus of £8.1 million with respect to impact of Covid-19 to be transferred to earmarked reserve to mitigate Covid-19 impact and phased commitments in future years.
4. the final outturn underspend of the Council’s capital expenditure (£33 million) and rephasing.
5. the outturn position for the Dedicated Schools Grant (£7.1 million overspend and the total carried forward deficit of £10.0 million.
6. the outturn position for the Housing Revenue Account an underspend of £11.4 million to be carried forward for the council’s landlord functions.
7. the decisions taken under delegated authority in relation to Covid response as set out in Appendix A Section 10.
8. the implication of the final outturn on the Council’s reserve position.
9. the in-year collection levels for both Business Rates and Council Tax.
10. the level of aged debt as at 31 March 2021; and
11. the performance on delivery of savings as outlined in Appendix A2.

Cabinet approved:

1. the carry forward funding for each scheme within the Capital Programme as set out in Appendix A4.
2. the £7.750 million contribution to earmarked reserves from the year end underspend.
3. the residual underspend of £12.0 million is transferred to the Council’s general reserve to improve our financial resilience.
4. the incorporation of additional funding in the Council’s 2021/22 budget as set out in Appendix A Section 10.

Cabinet

1. Approved the variation to extend the contract for the Childcare Development and Sustainability Service for one year to 31 December 2022 at a cost of £305,000.
2. Approved the recommissioning of the Childcare Development and Sustainability Service for one year from 1 January 2023 with the option to extend for one additional year at a cost of £305,000.
3. Authorised the Executive Director, People in consultation with Cabinet Member Education and Skills to take all steps required to extend the current contract and recommission the service, in-line with the commissioning strategy, procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report, noting the associated Procurement and Legal commentaries.
4. Authorised the Executive Director, People to invoke any subsequent extensions/variations specifically defined in the contract being awarded, up to the maximum budget envelope outlined in this report.
5. Authorised the Head of Strategic Procurement & Supplier Relations to approve appropriate procurement routes to market where these are not yet fully defined in this report, or if changes to procurement routes are subsequently required.

Cabinet

1. Approved the delivery of Phase 2 of the Future Bright Programme as outlined in this report.
2. Authorised the acceptance of £1,540m of grant funding over 3 years from WECA to deliver the programme.
3. Authorised the Executive Director – People, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills and s.151 Officer, to spend the funding as outlined in Appendix 1 and where necessary make changes to the expenditure, provided that it remains within the cost envelope of the grant funding.

Cabinet

1. Approved the submission of a bid to the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Program (RSAP) of up to £4m capital for 21/22 and £529k revenue funding split as follows (£147k 21/22, £191k 22/23, £191k 23/24)
2. Approved the use of match funding of £2m (£1m from the HRA for Acquisitions and £1m Commuted Sums for the Resonance Proposal).
3. Authorised, subject to successful grant award, the Executive Director of Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet member for housing delivery and homes to accept and spend the grant award from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) RSAP fund as set out in the report.
4. Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member for housing delivery and homes to spend the match funding of £1m HRA funding and £1m Affordable Housing Commuted sums, within the maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report, noting the associated Procurement and Legal comment.
5. Noted the total capital cost requirement for the Resonance and HRA Acquisitions bids which is £2m.

Cabinet

1. Noted the outcomes of soft services benchmarking exercises undertaken on the Bristol Schools Ltd PFI contracts.
2. Authorised the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for Finance, Governance & Performance to accept, subject to complying with obligations in the Academy agreements, the proposal to reduce the annual unitary charge by £98kpa, (1.07% of the total contract value of £9,142,964.55 for 2021/22, which is subject to RPIX) (a whole life contract saving of £1,010,243.56 (subject to RPIX), and instruct the necessary financial adjustments to bring into effect all associated savings.
3. Noted that the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for Finance, Governance & Performance, will progress further initiatives with the SPV which give rise to net savings to the Council and/or Schools thereby further reducing the PFI affordability gap, and where necessary seek approval from Cabinet.
4. Authorised the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Democratic Services to negotiate, agree and enter into all necessary documents to give effect to recommendation 2.

Cabinet

1. Subject to approval of the claimed costs by the Chief Finance Officer, agreed to provide financial assistance to meet the forecast net pressure of c.£486,876 i.e. the forecast deficit of c.£981,035 for the period 1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022, offset by c.£494,159 of National Leisure Recovery Fund grant money.
2. Subject to approval of the claimed costs by the Chief Finance Officer, agreed to provide financial assistance of c.£494,159 from the National Leisure Recovery Fund money.
3. Authorised the Executive Director People in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and the Chief Finance Officer to negotiate and approve the relevant financial adjustments required under the noncontractual zero deficit methodology and the conclusion of the contract variation necessary to achieve this as part of the Change of Law provisions.
4. Noted that the Executive Director People in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance will develop the leisure investment strategy for approval by Cabinet and prepare for a future leisure procurement exercise.
5. Authorised the Executive Director People in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance to negotiate and approve any contract extension reasonably necessary to facilitate this and achieve best value.

Cabinet noted the report and progress on embedding Risk Management arrangements within the Council.

Cabinet noted:

1. The formal handover of the report of the citizens’ assembly’s recommendations and proposed actions.
2. The Citizens’ Assembly report is being considered as part of the evidence base for the Council’s update of its medium-term Corporate Strategy.
3. The report of the Citizens’ Assembly’s recommendations and proposed actions will be shared with the One City Economy Board and other One City Boards for consideration to inform the city’s economic recovery and renewal strategy and in preparing the 2022 refresh of the One City Plan (publication planned in March 2022)

Cabinet considered the Public Report of the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman and endorsed the actions taken to implement the recommendations in the Public Report.