Agenda, decisions and draft 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 declaration of interest was 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 113.

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive the record of proceedings of the Cabinet meeting held on 20 January 2025.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 20 January 2025 be approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings and signed by the Chair.

Agenda Item 10 has an exempt appendix. Therefore, if necessary when considering this item, 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 of business on the grounds that it  ...  view the full agenda text for item 115.

The Chair advised that Appendix 2 to Minute 120 (Housing Delivery Programme Report 2024-25) was exempt under Paragraph 3, Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1974. However, the meeting remained open to the public and press throughout.

Report from the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet note the activity undertaken and progress to date on the latest rounds of SEND Sufficiency in line with the commitments within the Safety Valve Agreement.

Consideration was given to the report which provided an update in respect of SEND Sufficiency following the previous update report to Cabinet in March 2024 and detailed annual High Needs / Safety Valve Programme updates to Audit committee in July 2024. The report also detailed the key activities undertaken in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

Report from the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet approve the refreshed Rotherham SENDAP Strategy 2025 to 2030 (Appendix 1) that has been co-produced with partners across the Borough.

Consideration was given to the report which outlined the results of the public consultation on the proposed SENDAP Strategy. The new SENDAP Strategy (Appendix 1) recognised the importance of Alternative Provision in delivering good outcomes for children and young people. Alternative provision was essential to meet the needs of children  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

Report from the Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1. Note the current General Fund Revenue Budget forecast overspend of £3.1m.

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 draw on  ...  view the full agenda text for item 118.

Consideration was given to the report which was the fifth financial monitoring report for the 2024/25 financial year. As at December 2024, the Council currently estimated an overspend of £3.1m for the financial year 2024/25. This was largely due to demand led pressures on children’s residential placements, adults social care  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

Report from the Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:

To consider the renewal applications for the awards of Discretionary Business Rate Relief for the organisations and premises listed in Appendix 1 of this report.  This is in accordance with the Council’s Discretionary Business Rates Relief Policy (approved by  ...  view the full agenda text for item 119.

Consideration was given to the report which detailed the renewal applications for the awards of Discretionary Business Rate Relief for the organisations and premises listed in Appendix 1. This was in accordance with the Council’s Discretionary Business Rates Relief Policy which had been approved by Cabinet in December 2016.

Central  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

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

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Notes the significant progress made since 2018 through the implementation of the Housing Delivery Programme, including the completion of the 600^th new Council home in September 2024.

2.    Approves the purchase of homes  ...  view the full agenda text for item 120.

Consideration was given to the report which was the latest six-monthly update to Cabinet on the latest developments and future plans for the Council’s Housing Delivery Programme. There were over 7,000 households on the Council's housing register. The Council's ability to meet this demand continued to be eroded by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 120.

Report from the Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet recommend to Council:

1.    Approval of the Budget and Financial Strategy for 2025/26 as set out in the report and appendices, including a basic Council Tax increase of 1% and an Adult Social Care precept of 2%.  ...  view the full agenda text for item 121.

Consideration was given to the report submitted which proposed the Council’s Budget and Council Tax for 2025/26, based on the Council’s Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26, budget consultation and the consideration of Directorate budget proposals. A review of the financial planning assumptions within the Medium Term Financial Strategy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 121.

Report from the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment.

Recommendations:

1. That Cabinet approves the allocation of Strategic CIL funds to the following project(s):

·       Medical Centres Improvements

·       Trans Pennine Trail Community Access

2.    That Cabinet approves delegation to the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member  ...  view the full agenda text for item 122.

Consideration was given to the report which provided an update on the application process for Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (Strategic CIL) funding which had taken place following Cabinet approval in July 2024. The report also set out the findings of the Strategic CIL officer group assessment on submitted projects against  ...  view the full minutes text for item 122.

Report from the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet approves the Climate Change Action Plan in Appendix 2, noting the key achievements and opportunities summarised in Appendix 1 and section 2 of this report.

Consideration was given to the report which provided an update on the Council’s Climate Change activity for the previous year. A full progress report for 2024/25 and an action plan for 2025/26 were appended to the report. Key progress was highlighted in the report with respect to the specific themes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 123.

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 Wednesday 5 February 2025.

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

The next meeting of the Cabinet will be held on Monday 17 March 2025 commencing at 10.00am in Rotherham Town Hall.

Resolved:-

The next meeting of the Cabinet would be held on Monday 17 March 2025, commencing at 10.00am, in Rotherham Town Hall.