Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Time Square, Market Street, Bracknell, RG12 1JD

Contact: Hannah Harding  01344 352308

Media

Items
No. Item

46.

Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary or Affected Interests in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

 

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

 

Any Member with an Affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

47.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 102 KB

To consider and approve the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 14 November 2023.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Executive on 14 November 2023 together with the accompanying decision records be confirmed as a correct record.

48.

Urgent Items of Business

Minutes:

There were no Urgent Items of Business.

Executive Decisions and Decision Records pdf icon PDF 66 KB

The Executive considered the following items.  The decisions are recorded in the decision sheets attached to these minutes and summarised below:

Additional documents:

49.

Capital Programme 2024/25 pdf icon PDF 123 KB

To approve the Council’s budget proposals for budget consultation.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Executive:

 

       i.         Approves, for consultation, a Council funded capital programme of £8.328m for 2024/25 as set out in paragraph 5.17 and summarised in Annex A, including the new schemes listed in Annexes B – D of the report.

 

     ii.         Approves, for consultation, the inclusion of £4.554m of expenditure to be externally funded (including £0.380m of S106 funding) as outlined in paragraph 5.18 of the report.

 

    iii.         Approves, for consultation, the inclusion of an additional budget of £1m for Invest-to-Save schemes.

50.

Revenue Budget 2024/25 pdf icon PDF 161 KB

To approve the Council’s budget proposals for consultation

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Executive:

 

       i.         Agrees the draft budget proposals for 2024/25 as the basis for consultation with the Overview & Scrutiny Commission and other interested parties or individuals.

 

     ii.         Agrees the Treasury Management Strategy and associated documents at Annexe E of the report and request that the Governance and Audit Committee review each of the key elements.

 

    iii.         Agrees that the 2024/25 Schools Budget be set at the eventual level of the Dedicated School Grant income plus any accumulated DSG balances.

 

    iv.         Authorises the Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning to agree the allocation of the sums available for schools and Early Years funding as set out in recommendation 2.3 of the report, having regard to the decisions and recommendations of the Schools Forum and to agree detailed budgets for services centrally managed by the Council.

 

     v.         Notes that a separate report is included on the agenda for this Executive

meeting regarding the Council’s participation in the Department for Education’s Safety Valve programme, that is likely to significantly affect the Council’s medium to long-term financial prospects and may impact on the draft budget proposals for 2024/25 included in this report.

 

    vi.         Agrees that the Council Tax Base be set at 49,694 (Band D equivalents) for 2024/25 as outlined in Annexe H of the report.

 

   vii.         Approves the virements relating to the 2023/24 budget as set out in Annexes F and G of the report and recommends those that are over £0.100m for approval by Council.

 

 viii.         Approves the write-off of £54,150 for a commercial property debt that is no longer recoverable (see paragraph 12.1) of the report.

51.

Making (adoption) of the Winkfield Neighbourhood Plan 2022-2037 pdf icon PDF 110 KB

To agree that the Winkfield Neighbourhood Plan is ‘made’ if the majority of those who vote at the referendum on the Neighbourhood Plan are in favour of Bracknell Forest Council using the Neighbourhood Plan to help decide planning applications in the Winkfield neighbourhood area.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Executive:

 

 

       i.         Agrees the formal “making” (keeping in legal force) of the Winkfield

Neighbourhood Development Plan to continue to form part of the

statutory Bracknell Forest Development Plan pursuant to Section 38A(4)

of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended); and

 

     ii.         Agrees the form, content and publication of the Decision Statement (set out in Appendix A of the report) pursuant to Regulation 19 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended).

52.

Personal Budgets Policy pdf icon PDF 86 KB

To seek approval for the revised Personal Budgets Policy. Providing a Personal Budget where requested is a duty the council must meet as set out in the SEND Code of Practice 2015.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that:

 

       i.         The Executive Approve the revised Personal Budgets Policy including the revisions outlined in section 1.2 of the report.

 

     ii.         The Revised Personal Budgets Policy be published and implemented December 2023.

53.

Serious Violence Strategy 2024-2027 pdf icon PDF 90 KB

To endorse the Bracknell Forest Serious Violence Strategy 2024 and governance arrangements for implementation of the strategy.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that:

 

       i.         The Bracknell Forest Serious Violence Strategy 2024-2027 be endorsed.

 

     ii.         A more detailed Action Plan be compiled which will be subject to review and

approval by the Executive Director together with the portfolio holder Cllr Iskandar Jefferies.

54.

Community Support: Winter Update pdf icon PDF 180 KB

To present to updated financial hardship plan, having reviewed this ahead of Winter cost of living pressures and to align with emerging priorities.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that:

 

       i.         The updated financial hardship action plan is endorsed (appendix A of the report).

 

     ii.         The COMF spending plan is agreed (appendix B of the report).

55.

Safety Valve Programme Plan pdf icon PDF 175 KB

To endorse the Council’s initial Safety Valve proposal for submission to the Department for Education (DfE) and recommend submission to full Council of the final proposal, amended as necessary to reflect DfE feedback.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Executive:

 

       i.         Approves the Council’s initial Safety Valve proposal detailed in confidential Annex B of the report for submission to the Department for Education by 15 December 2023.

 

     ii.         Delegates authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to amend the initial proposal if necessary in response to feedback from the Department for Education prior to a final Safety Valve proposal being presented to the Council meeting on 10 January 2024.

56.

Building Maintenance and Repairs Services Contract pdf icon PDF 81 KB

To seek approval of the strategic procurement plan to commence with a procurement process to commission a new contractor to undertake the building maintenance and reactive repairs contract

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Executive approves the Strategic Procurement Plan set out in Appendix A of the report to tender the services for a single organisation to provide 24 hour Building Maintenance and Reactive Repairs Services for the Councils corporate stock and buy back schools.

57.

Neutral Agency Vendor and Specialist Recruitment Provider Procurement pdf icon PDF 108 KB

To agree to the commencement of procurement of a neutral agency vendor to provide temporary workers, a special specialist provider to provide permanent recruitment and a specialist provider of both temporary and permanent social care to directly follow on from the termination of the current neutral agency vendor contract, which terminates on 31 March 2025. The new contract will be effective from 1 April 2025.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Executive approve the re-procurement of a neutral vendor contract to provide the Council with agency staff in accordance with the strategic procurement plan attached as Appendix A to the report.

 

Contact Information

Democratic services

Email: committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk