Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests made.

(a)  To agree the minutes from the meetings of Cabinet on 13^th and 20^th February 2018

(b)  Matters arising

The Minutes of the meetings held on 13^th and 20^th February 2018 were agreed and signed as a true record. There were no matters arising.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet agrees to exclude the press and public under Sections 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to the private report in Minute 145 below headed ‘Managed Service for Temporary Agency Workers Award of Contract’ on the grounds that the report involves the likely disclosure of information defined in Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as it contains information relating to the financial affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that sought approval to make the relevant changes to existing council procedures and resources to ensure the Council’s compliance with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (“the Act”) would come into force on 3rd April 2018, and would place new duties on the Council to provide advice and assistance to people who were homeless or threatened with homelessness, to either help to prevent them becoming homeless or to help them to secure alternative suitable accommodation. 

The new legislation placed two additional duties on the Council:

·  Prevention Duty - the new Prevention Team would work with customers to understand the circumstances that had led to the threat of homelessness, the customers housing needs and any additional support they may require.  Together they would agree a Personal Housing Plan, including a set of reasonable steps to undertake to prevent homelessness. If safe to do so, the Officer would try to keep the customer in their current tenancy, or to seek alternative accommodation to prevent the customer becoming homeless.  This may mean they find a short term solution, such as staying with friends or family, whilst addressing the root cause of why the customer may become homeless and working on a planned move to suitable accommodation. This duty applied for up to 56 days (potentially longer in cases where the household was threatened with homelessness if a valid Section 21 notice was served on the tenant).

·  For households who were already homeless, or for those whose homelessness could not be prevented, the Relief Duty would apply (regardless of priority need or intentionality, but local connection could be taken into account at this stage). The Council and the applicant must agree ‘reasonable steps’ to help them to secure accommodation which was suitable and available for at least 6 months. This duty applied for up to 56 days (potentially in addition to 56 days under the Prevention Duty).

The Act placed an obligation on the Council to ensure it could provide general advice and support on reducing homelessness to all customers as well as specialist advice for specific customers. There was a real drive to reduce people becoming homeless by working with them before they reached the point of crisis. The guidance built on the success of The Housing (Wales) Act 2014, which when implemented had been reported to have had a positive impact in preventing homelessness. 

Further future reports would be brought forward on the wider homelessness strategy, housing supply, and temporary accommodation.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Notes the new statutory duties arising from the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (HRA17) and the actions underway to develop a new service to ensure the Council is able to meet its new statutory duties.

2)  Approves the proposed change to the Homefinder policy as a result of the new legislation.

3)  Approves the proposals in relation to discharging duty as result of the new legislation.

4)  Approves the proposals for use  ...  view the full minutes text for item 134.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that detailed the investment required to retain Broadgate House in operational use. The report set out the scope of work and budget to achieve this, which could be met from existing resources within the Friargate project budgets, and would maintain Broadgate House in operational use for at least 5 years.

As a consequence of letting two floors of One Friargate to the Financial Ombudsman, 350 staff in Childrens Services and Business Services have been rehoused in the upper floor of Broadgate House for the medium term and until the opportunity next presents itself to co-locate them at Friargate. This was unlikely to happen before the end of 2022 at the earliest, when there was a break clause in the Financial Ombudsman Lease.

In addition, Children Services had been subject to their own restructure of functions, and the opportunity now presented itself with the co-location of City-wide Childrens Service function, to enhance the Childrens Service ‘offer’ in the City Centre, through the creation of a ‘Childrens Lounge’.

The works, which would not exceed £1m including fees and which was proposed to be funded on a one off basis from the surplus resources used to finance the Friargate building costs, will:

•  Refresh working areas through re-decoration and surface finishes

•  Refresh welfare areas (toilets, kitchen, break out and meeting areas)

•  Improve lighting, heating and ventilation controls

•  Improve ICT and CCTV provision in the space

•  Provide a ‘child friendly’ welcome in common areas

•  Create a Childrens Lounge for positive interaction with professionals

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Approves a budget of £1m to undertake works listed in Paragraph 2.5 of the report, to retain the upper floors of Broadgate House for the medium term and to include within the approved Capital Programme for 2018/2019.

2)  Delegates authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) to finalise the detailed works in paragraph 2.5 of the report and their prioritisation for implementation.

3)  Delegates authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) alongside the Procurement Board to agree the most appropriate procurement route for the works to be delivered.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that had been considered at the meeting of the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) on 15^th February 2018 (their minute 36/17 referred) and would be considered at the meeting of the Council on13th March 2018, that proposed the delivery of a new Modern and fit for purpose Economic Growth and Prosperity Strategy to replace the previous jobs strategies. The five-year Strategy set out Coventry’s vision to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth to enable residents and businesses to prosper.

Since 2011 Coventry had a Jobs Strategy which set out the Council’s plan and approach to growing the number of jobs and economic opportunities in the City. In order to deliver a modern and fit-for-purpose service for the people of Coventry it was proposed to adopt a more holistic approach and support a new Economic Growth and Prosperity Strategy (EGPS) to replace the previous jobs strategies.

This five-year Strategy set out Coventry’s vision to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth which enabled all residents and businesses to prosper. The aspirations of the Strategy were to:

·  Further reduce the gap between Coventry’s productivity and the UK average

·  Empower local people to connect with jobs and develop their skills

·  Reduce the employment gap between disadvantaged groups and the overall population average

·  Support the growth of an innovative economy with a focus on key sectors

·  Ensure social value is incorporated into economic growth

·  Influence local, regional and national policy to maximise opportunity and investment for Coventry

For every £1 invested by the Council, the creation of £40 of additional investment in local economic growth was anticipated.

Set against three strategic themes Business, People and Place, the EGPS would deliver directly against the following priorities of the Council’s Plan:

·  Promoting the growth of a sustainable economy by supporting businesses and helping people into jobs whilst raising the profile of Coventry and physically transforming our city

·  Improving quality of life for Coventry residents by contributing to skills development, social mobility and creating an attractive, cleaner and greener city

·  Delivering our priorities with fewer resources by attracting new funding and opportunities to make the most of our assets.

It would also deliver against the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Strategic Economic Plan, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Strategic Economic Plan and the emerging local industrial strategy.

Coventry ranked 8th best City to live, work and do business in the UK (Good Growth for Cities Index 2017) and had a flourishing national and international reputation. This was evidenced by the fact that in 2016, Coventry received the 7th highest number of Foreign Direct Investment projects of all UK cities outside of London (EY’s Attractiveness Survey UK, May 2017), and the City’s successful bid for 2021 UK City of Culture would further increase its attractiveness to domestic and international investment. The UK Government had selected Coventry as the location for the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and would provide  ...  view the full minutes text for item 136.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People) on the work of the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) Digital Strategy Task and Finish Group, and recommendations for the Cabinet’s consideration.

The Task and Finish Group, whose aim was to meet with the main digital suppliers in the City, invited three digital service suppliers to a meeting discuss:

·  Their existing infrastructure within the City: how many connections they had; average speeds etc.; sectors covered (i.e. business, residential); and where the connections were

·  Their future plans for the City: where they had committed plans for investment within Coventry.

·  As a company, how they would be able to support the aspirations of the Digital Coventry strategy.

The representatives also discussed ways that the Council could support their plans and address barriers to them.

The Task and Finish Group identified recommendations, which were endorsed by the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) at their meeting on the 15th November 2017 (their minute 25/17 referred), for the Cabinet’s consideration.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Requests that the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration promote this work to enable Coventry to become the leading local authority in digital connectivity including participating in the piloting of 5G for the West Midlands Combined Authority.

2)  Encourages the City Council to contact Ministers to address the issues around delays to adoption of highways on large developments.

3)  Requests that the Cabinet Member for City Services identify ways to speed up the process for adoption of highways to enable access for connectivity.

4)  Requests that the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration ensure that connectivity is considered at the planning stage for any developments.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), that had also been considered by the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) at their meeting on 5^th March 2018 (their minute 32/17 referred), that proposed the introduction of Average Speed Cameras on London Road and Ansty Road, Coventry.

Coventry City Council received many requests from local residents and Members across the City about inappropriate vehicular speed. This included a significant number of petitions requesting road safety measures on local roads in the City. In addition, the number of people killed and seriously injured (KSI) had increased on major routes into the City where inappropriate speed was a factor. This included London Road and Ansty Road. 

Although the overall accident rates were declining on Coventry’s road network, the number of people killed or KSI on major routes, carrying high volumes of traffic was increasing. Analysis of KSI’s caused by inappropriate speeds highlighted both London Road and Ansty Road as locations of high concern.  To address this trend, it was proposed to introduce Average Speed Enforcement (ASE) into the City.

The use of ASE has been piloted in Birmingham and Solihull.  Early results were positive with a reduction in speed of up to 20% being achieved.  Elsewhere, ASE has reduced KSI rates by up to 75%.

As the Highway Authority, the Council was responsible for setting speed limits on local roads and worked closely with West Midlands Police (WMP) as the enforcement agency.  Additionally, Coventry City Council was the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) lead authority for Road Safety, and was committed to reducing the numbers of people KSI by 40% over the next 10 years’ based on a three year average (2014, 2015 and 2016) as the baseline.

The approval and installation of ASE would require close working with enforcement partner organisations such as the WMP and other associated agencies.

There was no adopted policy for installing and prioritising the use of ASE in Coventry and this report highlighted the mechanisms utilised by other regional authorities and proposed Coventry City Council adopt the WMP set criteria agreed in 2017.

The report proposed ASE to be introduced on London Road and Ansty Road, the installation for which would be funded from the Highways Maintenance and Investment Capital Programme budget through the Local Transport Plan. It was anticipated on the basis of the Birmingham and Solihull ASE pilot, that ongoing maintenance costs would be covered by a share of the revenue generated from speed awareness course fees.

The Cabinet also considered recommendations from the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) set out in a Briefing Note which was tabled at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Notes that the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) supports the recommendations to Cabinet.

2)  Approves the use of Average Speed Enforcement in Coventry and that the associated procurement processes for Average Speed Enforcement equipment is undertaken.

3)  Approves Average Speed Enforcement Schemes to be implemented on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that would also be considered by Council at their meeting on 13^th March 2018, that provided detailed works for schemes in Coventry City Centre Public Realm Phase 5, as set out in the appendices to the report, and their prioritisation for implementation. It also sought agreement of the detailed works for additional Public Realm Phase 5 schemes if further funding was secured and to the addition of £1.94m Council Capital Receipts to the 5 year Capital Programme, to contribute to the Charterhouse restoration.

Since 2011 the Council had transformed the City Centre through a £57m programme of investment in the public realm. The impact of this work had been significant, attracting developers to invest in the City such as Shearers Property Group who were transforming Cathedral Lanes into a vibrant restaurant quarter. This investment would be complemented by Phase 4 of the public realm improvements due to be completed later this year, using Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Local Growth Deal grant.

The award of UK City of Culture provided a fantastic opportunity to further enhance the City Centre in preparation for 2021 to ensure people gained a positive image of the City, and to create a lasting legacy for residents and businesses beyond 2021. Given the investment already made in public realm, Coventry has the opportunity to consider the delivery of an even more ambitious programme of public realm improvements. A series of transformational public realm improvements were proposed to be delivered under a new Public Realm Phase 5 Programme. The proposed schemes would deliver enhancements to key strategic areas of the City, improve accessibility and connectivity across the City and also enhance the setting of the key events venues and visitor attractions. 

To develop the Programme for Phase 5, the likely venues for City of Culture had been mapped, along with completed Public Realm Schemes and other visitor attractions, as set out in Appendix A to the report. To maximize the potential of the City Centre, it was essential to ensure the links between attractions were high quality, greener, designed for people, and accessible to all. The proposed priority order, as outlined below, reflected location and likely footfall. Further detail on the Schemes was included in Appendices B and C to the report. 

·  Transformation of Upper Precinct, delivering public realm enhancements which would de-clutter, create a high quality attractive space and complement Shearer Property Group’s recently approved plans for Upper Precinct.

·  Improvements to the public realm outside the new waterpark and leisure centre.

·  An extension of public realm improvements in Upper Precinct to Smithford Way and Market Way.

·  Public realm improvements to complement Salt Lane Multi-Storey Car Park including improvements to Shrub Walk, Warwick Lane and links to Hertford Street Pepper Lane –

·  mirroring the public realm created in Greyfriars Lane to create an attractive walking route to the Cathedral quarter.

·  A public art programme which would include restoration of pieces currently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 139.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that set out a detailed Capital Programme of all Highway Maintenance and Integrated Transport Schemes which were due to be carried out during 2018/2019. The report set out individual allocations and the funding sources, funded through annual government local transport funding, City Council resources and Whitefriars Right to Buy receipts and outlined in table 4 of the report, and provided specific detail of each project in Appendices 1 to 6 to the report.

The basic principles for this year's Maintenance and Integrated Transport Programme were:

1.  Continue the Programme of rectifying damage and maintaining the City's roads, through a prioritised Programme based on the Council’s Highways Asset Management plan.

2.  Continue to invest in preventative/proactive maintenance.

3.  Carry out packages of complementary schemes to support the continued growth of the City, such as road safety and traffic management schemes to compliment Public Realm and Connecting Coventry proposals.

4.  Provide a Programme of footway improvements funded from the Whitefriars Housing Group as part of a £2.3m investment which will be delivered over the next financial year.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet approves:

1)  The 2018/19 programme of schemes marked ‘A’ in table 4

2)  To delegate authority to the Cabinet Member for City Services, to approve a programme of scheme development, marked ‘B’ in table 4 of the report.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that would also be considered by Council at its meeting on 13^th March 2018, that provided an update on how the Coventry’s Strategic Transport Investment Strategy ‘Connecting Coventry’ had progressed over the last 14 months, and sought further approvals to take forward to delivery.

Coventry’s Strategic Transport Investment Strategy ‘Connecting Coventry’ aimed to maximise the economic potential of the City through investment in transport infrastructure to support growth and jobs. The Strategy was approved by Council in January 2017 (their minute 100/16 referred). It set out an ambitious £620m Programme over the next ten years to improve the resilience of the road network, ensuring connectivity to HS2 and job opportunities around the new station, expansion of railway capacity and linking key development and employment sites.

This report provides an update on how the Strategy had progressed over the last 14 months, and sought further approvals to take forward to delivery.

The Strategy supported the transport infrastructure and development plans for the wider region, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report. Coventry’s Programme was summarised in Appendix 2 to the report, which outlined four key programmes:

·  Coventry South – major highway and rail proposals to facilitate growth, especially around Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Warwick and to provide connectivity to HS2 and UK Central;

·  City Centre First – a major increase in capacity at Coventry Railway Station, highway improvements around the railway station to facilitate not only growth at the railway station but also unlock the western extent of the Friargate development; and City Centre infrastructure improvements;

·  Coventry North – road capacity improvements to the North West of the City and on the A444 and M6 junction 3;

·  Very Light Rail – investment in the research and development of Very Light Rail and subsequent implementation.

Investment was sought from a number of sources to fund the Strategic Transport Investment Programme. One of the main sources was through West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Devolution Deal. Coventry’s allocation was £284m (including £37m from the HS2 connectivity package), funding from which must be secured through a bidding process via WMCA’s assurance framework. Other key funding sources include Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Local Growth Deal, Department for Transport (DfT), Highways England (HE), developer contributions and prudential borrowing. Excellent progress was being made, with the total funding secured now at £141m and further business cases were awaiting approval or were soon to be submitted.

The award of City of Culture 2021 status to Coventry offered a fantastic opportunity to boost growth for the City and wider sub-region. Having the transport infrastructure in place was critical to facilitate and maximise the benefits of City of Culture. This had prompted a review of the Programme and it was recommended that the Station Masterplan and City Centre infrastructure improvements were brought forward to be delivered by the end of 2020. 

It was important that City  ...  view the full minutes text for item 141.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People), that sought authorisation for the award of a new three year contract, with the option to extend for one further year, as a managed service for the supply of temporary agency workers commencing 4th June 2018 and expiring 3rd June 2022.

A corresponding private report detailing confidential aspects of the proposals was also submitted to the meeting for consideration

The Council currently had a contract for the supply of temporary agency workers which would expire on the 3rd June 2018.  This acted as a support contract if the Council’s first choice sourcing routes of employment from its casual working pool or fixed term appointments were unsuccessful in fulfilling temporary staffing vacancies. The current provider of this contract delivered a managed service provider (MSP) solution, which would be replicated for the new contract.

Due to the contract having no options to compliantly extend it further, Cabinet approval was awarded on the 4th October 2017 (minute 52/17 referred) for a new contract to be procured to ensure compliance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015. Both Coventry and Solihull MBC agreed to collaborate on the new contract, with Coventry leading the procurement.

A further competition had been completed through the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) Managed Services for Temporary Agency Resources (MSTAR2) national framework, used heavily by Local Authorities for their procurement route. The framework enabled a less resource intensive route to market whilst also allowing the Council to benefit from the competitive collaborated rates available through the framework. Benchmarking with other frameworks indicated that MSTAR2 would provide the most beneficial procurement route for the Councils.

Following the evaluation of the further competition it had been identified that Supplier A provided the most economically advantageous tender in line with the evaluation criteria set. Supplier A’s qualitative submission in particular indicated that the Council would receive significant benefits and savings to the contract by awarding to them.

The savings from Supplier A’s submission were clear throughout their comprehensive qualitative response, demonstrating Supplier A’s extensive supply chain that would allow them to fulfil a far greater number of requirements through the corporate contract without having to engage second tier suppliers.

Supplier A were clear that they intend to target and remove off contract spend at the Council, which would save the additional cost and resource currently lost through this. Supplier A’s submission was supported by examples of high fulfilment rates they had delivered at other Local Authorities, in areas the Council had existing off contract spend. These included social care, education, homelessness officers and drivers.

It was expected from the benefits proposed by Supplier A, that savings would be achieved.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet authorises the award of a new three year contract with the option to extend for one further year to Supplier A, as a managed service provider for the supply of temporary agency workers to commence from the 4th June 2018 and expire on the 3rd June 2022 (if extension is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 142.

Report of the Executive Director of Place

Members noted that the item listed on the Outstanding Issues report was the subject of a report on the agenda for this meeting headed’ Broadgate House’.

RESOLVED that the item listed on the Outstanding Issues report headed ‘Friargate Update Report’ could be discharged from the list.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People) that sought approval to receive Controlling Mitigation Fund grant.

In November 2016 the then Department for Communities and Local Government announced the Controlling Migration Fund totalling £140 million with £100 million allocated to the “Local Services” element which local authorities could bid against and £40 million for targeted enforcement activities.

As a result of increased migration, local authorities had highlighted a variety of issues impacting on their localities. Authorities were invited to bid and demonstrate how their proposals would benefit the established resident community. The funding rules prevented it being used to duplicate mainstream provision.

Coventry was a “City of Sanctuary” and had a strong track record in this area. A bid was developed using “Coventry’s Local Migration Network” a consortium from the voluntary and statutory sector partners who looked at opportunities to further strengthen the community fabric of the City.

A Project entitled “Building Bridges” was developed that highlighted the need to further strengthen Community Cohesion in the City as well as addressing an increased demand on services. The bid also acknowledged the challenges for some newly arrived communities and the limited access to some key services that were further pressured by new arrivals in the City.

The City Council, alongside other partners were awarded £ 972,472 over a 2 year period to support the Project. As this fell outside of the budget setting process, approval to receive the grant was required.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Approves acceptance of grants totalling £ 972,472 over a 2 year period from the Controlling Migration Fund.

2)  Authorises the City Council to act as accountable body for the project and delegates authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (People).

3)  Agrees to enter into the appropriate grant aid agreements with project partners.

There were no other items of public business.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People)

(Listing Officer: M Duffy, tel: 024 7683 3539)

Further to Minute 141 above, the Cabinet considered a private report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), that set out the confidential aspects of proposals for the award of a new three year contract, with the option to extend for one further year, as a managed service for the supply of temporary agency workers commencing 4th June 2018 and expiring 3rd June 2022.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet authorises the award of a new three year contract with the option to extend for one further year to the supplier indicated in the report, as a managed service provider for the supply of temporary agency workers to commence from the 4th June 2018 and expire on the 3rd June May 2022 (if extension is taken).

There were no other items of private business.