Agenda, decisions and minutes

To invite Councillors to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting, to confirm the nature of those interests and whether they intend to leave the meeting for the consideration of the item.

The following declarations of interest were made:

To receive questions from members of the public who wish to ask a general question in respect of matters within the Council’s area of responsibility or influence.

Subject to the Chair’s discretion, members of the public may ask one question and one supplementary question, which should relate to the original  ...  view the full agenda text for item 46.

The first question was from Mr Tareen who referred to a previous Cabinet meeting held on 7^th August 2023 and the request for a meeting with the Muslim Burial Council which took place on 5 September 2023. Mr. Tareen expressed his gratitude for the arrangements and the positive meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To receive the record of proceedings of the Cabinet meeting held on 7 August 2023.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 7 August 2023 be approved as a true and correct of the proceedings.

Agenda Item(s) 15 and 16 have exempt appendices. Therefore, if necessary when considering those items, the Chair will move the following resolution:-

That under Section 100(A) 4 of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that  ...  view the full agenda text for item 48.

The Chair advised that appendices to Minute numbers. 58, and 59, contained exempt information, however, the meeting remained open to the public and press throughout.

Report from the Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Health.

Recommendations:

1.    That this report is accepted as the first annual update on the 3-year outlined grant plan for use of the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant as set out in July the 2022 Cabinet Paper.

2.  ...  view the full agenda text for item 49.

Consideration was given to the report which provided Cabinet with an update on the last years activity regarding the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) grant for Drugs and Alcohol.  The grant was initially awarded to 50 local authorities as accelerator sites to combat drugs and alcohol.  The report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Report from the Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Health.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the decision by Together Housing to permanently close the Resource Centre and the change in type of housing scheme from Extra Care to General Housing.

2.    Approve the permanent change in service delivery to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 50.

Consideration was given to the report which noted that Oaktrees was built as an extra care scheme in 2006, by Together Housing, Housing Association, on land leased for 125 years from the Council with a condition, that it was only used for social housing. Any change of use would need  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

Report from the Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Health.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

i)               Approve Option 2 to procure a local Healthwatch Service for a contract period of 3 years from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2027 (with an option to extend for a further year)

ii)              Note  ...  view the full agenda text for item 51.

Consideration was given to the report which noted that the Health and Social Care Act 2012 made having a local Healthwatch a statutory service and it was the role of the Council to set up that statutory service. Healthwatch Rotherham was expected to be the local consumer champion for patients,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

Report from the Strategic Director for Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the applications for Discretionary Business Rate Relief for Labre’s Hope Community Interest Company, Beacon South Yorkshire Ltd, Miramar Judo Academy Ltd and Unity Boxing Centre CIC in accordance with the details set out in Section  ...  view the full agenda text for item 52.

Consideration was given to the report for new applications for business rate relief.  Section 1.2 of the report details the organisations which were Labre’s Hope Community Interest Company, the company of Beacon South Yorkshire Ltd, Miramar Judo Academy Ltd and Unity Boxing Centre CIC.

The applicants had completed the full  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

Report from the Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.             Note the information in this report regarding the scope of the review.

2.             Approve the timetable for the review, as set out in Appendix 2.

Consideration was given to the report which was to provide information regarding the statutory review of polling districts and polling places that must take place within a 16-month window between 1 October 2023 and 25 January 2025 and to seek approval for the proposed timetable.

The report set out a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Report from the Strategic Director for Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1. Notes the work undertaken to date as part of the Digital Inclusion programme.
2. Endorse the co-designed Digital Inclusion Strategy and support the approach being taken to help people and communities who are most at risk from digital  ...  view the full agenda text for item 54.

Consideration was given to the report was to provide an update on progress on the Rotherham Digital Inclusion programme. This was established in 2021 to tackle inequalities and digital exclusion and the funding was provided through the NHS Digital Aspirant Programme grant, RMBC Capital Digital Strategy, and 2021/22 Council revenue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

Report from the Strategic Director for Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.          Note the current General Fund Revenue Budget forecast overspend of £4.5m.

2.          Note that actions will continue to be taken to reduce the overspend position but that it is possible that the Council will need to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 55.

Consideration was given to the report which was the financial position at the end of July 2023 including the forecast for the remainder of the year. It estimated an overspend of £4.5m for the financial year, which was largely due to demand-led pressures on children’s placements, demand-led pressures on home  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

Report from the Assistant Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

1)    Cabinet notes the following recommendations for consideration and response.

a)    That reinspection be prioritised for landlords whose properties have required action previously.

b)    Consideration be given to how the Council may support retention of experienced inspectors already in the Council’s employment.

c)  ...  view the full agenda text for item 56.

Consideration was given to the report which was a good example of cross party working and it was felt it was very timely for this to be considered. The Council had limited powers over private landlords, but a huge chunk of housing was provided by the private rented sector. Selective  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

Report from the Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Health.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves the specific Damp, Mould and Condensation Policy.

2.    Delegates authority to the Assistant Director of Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, to alter the Policy to bring it into line with  ...  view the full agenda text for item 57.

Consideration was given to the report which explained the policy set out the Council’s approach to supporting residents prevent, identify and deal with damp, mould and condensation in their homes. It also set out the Council’s responsibilities both as a landlord for 20,000 households and as the enforcement body for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

Report from the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:-

1.    Authorises the Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport to negotiate the acquisition by agreement of the property interests in Appendix 1 Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 and within the available funding, in consultation with the Council’s  ...  view the full agenda text for item 58.

Consideration was given to the report which noted that connectivity was the key to unlocking employment opportunities and investment opportunities. Economic and regeneration development would be stifled without having a good transport network.

In March 2022, Cabinet approved the acquisition of one property and since then work had continued to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

Report of the Strategic Director, Finance and Customer Services

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:-

1.    Approves the programme of works to design and fit the LED and Solar PV works to the five Council buildings listed in Section 2.5 of this report to be delivered through a procurement process.

2.    Approves the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 59.

Consideration was given to the report which noted that the Council declared a climate emergency in October 2019. In 2020, Cabinet resolved to be nett zero as a Council by 2030 and as a borough by 2040. A significant challenge in delivering the action plan was the reduction in emissions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

Report from the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment. 

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:-

1.    Approves that the Council be a signatory to the Joint Regional Statement of Common Ground.

Consideration was given to the report which noted that all Council’s had a statutory duty to co-operate when preparing local plans. Local planning authorities in South Yorkshire had worked together in a joint statement of common ground for the region. The statement covered energy, climate change, housing, employment, transport, natural  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

Report from the Assistant Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the observations and key recommendations made by the Corporate Peer Team to the Council.

2.    Approve the high-level action plan which is the Council’s response to the findings.

Consideration was given to the report which noted this was the first time since the period at the close of intervention that the LGA had been back to Rotherham to conduct an independent assessment of where the Council was. It was clarified that it was not an inspection, but it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

To receive a report detailing the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in respect of the above items that were subject to pre-decision scrutiny on 13 September, 2023.

Consideration was given to the circulated report, the contents of which were included as part of the relevant items and the details included accordingly, with the exception of the Financial Monitoring report.

The report was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB), who raised queries regarding the use  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

The next meeting of the Cabinet will be held on Monday 16 October, 2023 commencing at 10.00am in Rotherham Town Hall.

Resolved: That the next meeting of the Cabinet be held on Monday 16 October 2023, commencing at 10.00 a.m. in Rotherham Town Hall.