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To approve:
- Changes to 2020/21 General Fund revenue and capital budgets to address
financial pressures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic; and
- An interim update to the General Fund Medium Term Financial Strategy
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Transformation
Decision published: 24/09/2020
Effective from: 06/07/2020
Decision:
Matter for Decision
The report presented
an overview of the impact of the Coronavirus emergency in the Spring of 2020 on
Cambridge City Council’s budget for 2020/21. It set out how estimates had been
made and the uncertainties within those estimates. It lists the financial
support that central government has provided to the council and proposes
several actions that the council can take to balance its budget in 2020/21.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources to recommend to Council to:
i.
Note the forecast impact of the Covid-19 crisis
on the council’s finances.
ii.
Approve changes to the 2020/21 GF revenue and
capital budgets as set out in Section 7 and Appendices 1 and 2 of the officer’s
report.
iii.
Approve the use of earmarked reserves, as set
out in Section 7 and Appendix 3 of the officer’s report.
iv.
Note the revised savings requirements identified
in Section 8 of the officer’s report.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a report from the Head of Finance.
The Committee made the following comments in response to the
report:
i.
Asked what priorities were being set and what
the areas were that the council might stop spending on.
ii.
Questioned if the council was looking to make
cuts before they were required. What processes were in place to reverse these
cuts if government funding came through to the council.
iii.
Questioned what the process for was reviewing
the reserve target if required.
iv.
Questioned if funding had been cut in the right
areas.
v.
Stated it was clear why some projects had been
cancelled, others had been set as lower priority or cut and do not need to be
completed this year. However, there needed to be a clear definition between the
two as it was not clear for all the projects referenced, the reason why this
decision had been taken and by who. This information was required to undertake
accurate scrutiny before the next meeting of full council.
vi.
It was important the public sector invested and
spent finances to support the local economy especially as there was a prospect
of additional government funding designed to support local authorities’ loss of
income. The council were able to do just this.
vii.
The council had stopped work at a time when the
community and local economy needed it most, if the projects stopped it could be
too late to reverse the decision.
viii.
Noted there was a few partnerships working projects
(notably the Greater Cambridge Partnership) where funding cuts had been
made. Questioned if these projects had
been postponed as those partners had decided they could not be delivered due to
COVID-19, or had they been negotiated with both parties or was it the council’s
decision.
ix.
Asked for the status on the youth liaison
officer.
The Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources said the
following in response to Members’ questions:
i.
Items that had been retained in the budget were
anti-poverty, climate change, biodiversity, homelessness to maintain these
services during this difficult time.
ii.
There had been items which had been deferred
until the following year as the work could not be carried out during the
pandemic; other deferred items had been retained in the budget while others
would be considered in the new year if financially viable.
iii.
The next round of government funding which had
recently been announced amounted to £500 million for local authorities to cover
additional expenditure which met certain criteria. There would not be
assistance with property income losses.
iv.
With
regards to car parking, the council would have to pay the first 5% of the
losses and the government three quarters of the remainder. This could give
approximately £2 million if the council met all conditions, however, detailed
guidance was not yet available.
v.
Funding from government received on homelessness
amounted to £24,750 (additional cost to the council was £1.2million).
vi.
In total a £1.3million grant had been received
to date.
vii.
If government funding were more than
anticipated, it would be possible to review the council’s reserves and adjust
the figures again.
viii.
Stated there were far more imponderables on the
income side and reminded the committee there would be no assistance with the
commercial property incomes. There was a variety of fees across the council
which needed to be recovered across the council. It was uncertain if these
costs would recover from government and the council would have to pay the first
5%.
ix.
Projects postponed were capital schemes funded
from revenue, therefore these could be moved back and forth from one year to
the next without much issue if the work could be completed.
x.
Acknowledged there were some climate change and
biodiversity items which had been deferred but much of these works could not be
restarted this year. The doubling of the wildflower meadows should already be
completed.
xi.
The council had planned to spend £100,000 on its
tree programme, but this funding had been spread over a longer period.
xii.
As the government had agreed a further tranche
of funding to the GCP and the council did not have the financial resources
available, it seemed sensible the contribution to the GCP could be reduced
without hindering the work they were undertaking.
xiii.
The amount of money that the council allocated
to the GCP was related to the new homes bonus which had been reduced.
xiv.
Could not provide a response to the query
regarding the youth liaison officer but would ask that this was provided
outside of the meeting.
The Committee unanimously resolved to:
i.
Note the forecast impact of the Covid-19 crisis
on the council’s finances.
The Committee resolved 4 votes to
0 to:
ii.
Approve changes to the 2020/21 GF revenue and
capital budgets as set out in Section 7 and Appendices 1 and 2 of the officer’s
report.
The Committee unanimously resolved
to:
iii.
Approve the use of earmarked reserves, as set
out in Section 7 and Appendix 3 of the officer’s report.
The Committee resolved 4 votes to 0 to:
iv.
Note the revised savings requirements identified
in Section 8 of the officer’s report.
The
Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.
Conflicts
of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations
Granted)
No
conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.
Lead officer: Caroline Ryba
(i) Recommend to Council to
approve carry forward requests for revenue funding from 2019/20 to 2020/21 as
detailed in report appendix.
(ii) Recommend to Council to approve capital funding rephasing from 2019/20 to
2020/21 as detailed in report appendix.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Transformation
Decision published: 24/09/2020
Effective from: 06/07/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision
The report presented a
summary of the 2019/20 outturn position (actual income and expenditure) for all
portfolios, compared to the final budget for the year. The position for revenue and capital was
reported and variances from budgets were highlighted. Specific requests to carry forward funding from
budget underspends in 2019/20 were reported.
This
was the first year that one combined General Fund outturn report covering all
portfolios was produced for scrutiny at Strategy and Resources Scrutiny
Committee
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources to
recommend to council to:
i.
Approve carry forward
requests totalling £1,070,060 revenue funding from 2019/20 to 2020/21, as
detailed in Appendix C of the officer’s report.
ii.
Carry forward requests of £27,634k capital
resources from 2019/20 to 2020/21 to fund rephased net capital spending, as
detailed in Appendix D of the officer’s report.
iii.
To fund the overspend of two capital schemes –
Lammas Land Car Parking and Barnwell Business Park remedial projects totalling
£29,757 from reserves.
iv. Transfer the
Bateman Street tree replacement underspend of £17k to the Environmental
Improvements programme – South.
v.
Transfer the underspend of £24k on Grafton East car
park essential roof repair project to Structural Holding Repairs & Lift
Refurbishment - Queen Anne project which is renamed Car Park Structural Holding
Repairs.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a report from the Head of Finance.
The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:
i.
It was important part to note the carry forwards in
Appendix C, particularly reference 4, tourism cost centre, regarding Visit
Cambridge and Beyond. There was reference to a report being prepared for the
end of June which had not been seen and questioned if there were further
financial costs that the committee should be aware of.
ii.
Requested information to the carry forward for the
refit carbon reduction projects and queried if this had been delayed from the
previous year.
iii.
Asked for an update on the vacancy for the cycling
and walking officer.
iv.
Requested further information on the reason for
large variances for the Crematorium (Appendix A p184) and asked what was
creating the greater loss, the impact of the closure of the A14 or the increase competition in the
general area.
v.
Asked if officers would appraise the performance of
Cambridge Live as it was difficult to evaluate the accounts which were no
longer separate now the organisation was back under the remit of the council.
vi.
Questioned what the sum of money was the council
had allocated to deal with the original bailout of Cambridge Live and where on
the officer’s report was this shown,
vii.
Enquired if an explanation on the significant
overspend regarding Environment Improvements (p136) could be provided.
viii.
Asked if the Executive Councillor for Finance and
Resources would comment on the 57.5% failure rate to deliver on the capital
programme.
ix.
Paid credit to garage services and car parking
services.
x.
Welcomed the improvement under the refuse and
recycling collection and the surplus by the Bereavement Services and Town Hall
lettings.
xi.
Questioned why there was areas of overspend and
underspend in the open spaces’ portfolio.
The Head of Finance and Strategic Director said the following in
response to Members’ questions:
i.
The carry forward for the refit carbon reduction would have been
carried for a purpose.
ii.
A detailed answer would be given outside of the
meeting on the Visit Cambridge and Beyond report and Cycling and Walking
Officer as this could not be provided.
iii.
Referenced p144 of the agenda pack provided a
response to the Environment Improvements question. This confirmed a lack of
recharging income on officer’s time against a budget which required reviewing
as it had been set higher than the potential income that was possible.
iv.
Suggested the staff (environment improvements) in
the team were not sufficient to generate the income
suggested in the budget. This was a significant imbalance and would be
investigated further in the budget process.
v.
Under Culture and Communities, p143, the following
headings - Corn Exchange and Guildhall, City Events and Folk festival and
Cambridge Live when added together represented Cambridge Live that was the
external organisation. The variances added
together showed a figure of £100,000 overspend.
vi.
Reminded the committee that Cambridge Live was
taken over by the council at the start of the year with a considerable amount
of work required to be done with the organisation.
vii.
Work had been undertaken by officers to change the
structure of Cambridge Live which would help to bring down the deficit. The
COVID-19 pandemic had severely impacted on this work and the finances required
additional attention. Officers were wating to find out what funding was
available to support Cambridge Live.
viii.
£750,000 had been allocated to cover the cost of
bringing Cambridge Live back into the council.
Dealing with the deficit on the balance sheet which came into the
council and developing structures to improve ways of running the organisation,
legal advice, accountancy advice and audit. The money had almost been spent.
ix.
Before COVID-19 the Culture and Community Manager
was confident that Cambridge Live was ‘back on track’.
x.
Noted the request for the breakdown of how the
£750,000 had been spent and what was left and would be given outside of the
meeting.
xi.
The crematorium had been significantly impacted by
the upgrade of the A14 which had contributed to three quarters of the loss
revenue. There was an ongoing claim for loss of income regarding the A14
upgrade.
xii.
Prior to COVID-19 officers had put together a work
plan to compete with the new competition, offering a low-cost funeral service
and the introduction of a café on site which would increase income and match
the competition.
xiii.
£13million of the £27million underspend was in CIP
loans with £2.8million in bonds; all of which was for development and outside
the council’s control. If these figures were taken out of the underspend, the
total was still significant but not as large at first glance.
xiv.
There were variables in the open spaces budget each
with a specific reason as referenced on p144 of the agenda pack; different
businesses had been impacted differently by COVID-19.
The Executive Councillor for Finance and Resource said the following:
i.
The original budget for Environment Improvements
was higher and there had been an underspend. Could not comment why it had been
reduced as much as it had.
ii.
Further information on Cambridge Live could be read
on p142 of the agenda pack. The folk festival did not have the ticket sales
anticipated when the council took over and the festival would not be taking
place this year.
iii.
Agreed it was not satisfactory that there was an
underspend on capital and this needed to be looked into
further.
iv.
Expressed thanks to the finance department for compiling
such a comprehensive report while all working from home.
The Committee resolved by 4 votes to 0 to endorse the
recommendations.
The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.
Conflicts of Interest
Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any
Dispensations Granted)
No conflicts of interest
were declared by the Executive Councillor.
Lead officer: Caroline Ryba
Recommend the report to Council, which includes the Council's actual Prudential and Treasury Indicators for 2019/20.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Transformation
Decision published: 24/09/2020
Effective from: 06/07/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision
The Council was required by
regulations issued under the Local Government Act 2003, to produce an annual
treasury report reviewing treasury management activities and the actual
prudential and treasury indicators for each financial year.
This report met the requirements
of both the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management (the Code) and the
CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities (the Prudential
Code) in respect of 2018/19. Both these publications have been revised by CIPFA
and references to these documents are to the 2017 Editions.
During the 2019/20 the
minimum requirements were that Council should receive:
- An annual strategy in
advance of the year
- A mid-year treasury
update report and;
- An annual review
following the end of the year describing the activity compared to the strategy.
In line with the Code of
Practice on Treasury Management all treasury management reports have been
presented to Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee and to Full Council.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources to
recommend to Council to:
i.
Approve
the report with the Council’s actual Prudential and Treasury Indicators for
2019/20
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a report from the Head of Finance.
The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendation.
The Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.
Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor
(and any Dispensations Granted)
No conflicts of interest
were declared by the Executive Councillor.
Lead officer: Caroline Ryba
To reduce the size of the
service, following a reducing in benefits workload arising from introduction of
Universal Credit
To consult staff on options.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Transformation
Decision published: 24/09/2020
Effective from: 06/07/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision
The introduction of
Universal Credit meant that new working-age claimants, or claimants who have
certain specified changes in circumstances, no longer claim Housing Benefit
from the Council, but claim Universal Credit (UC) from the Department for Work
and Pensions (DWP), which includes an amount for housing costs.
The report brought forward
recommendations following a review of the Revenues and Benefits service in the
light of this change.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources
i.
To restructure the Revenues and Benefits service,
as detailed in the officer’s
of the report.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a
report from the Strategic Director.
The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:
i.
Queried what if any impact the changes would have
on staff; would staff be TUPE’d (Transfer of
Undertakings Protection of Employment) across.
ii.
Requested reassurance
that staff would be supported during this period.
iii.
Asked if the council could be sure that standards
would not drop supporting the vulnerable residents in the city.
iv.
Indicated that the
decision was inevitable
v.
Acknowledged the hard
work and dedicated staff that the council had and expressed disappointment that
the changes would have on them.
The Strategic Director said the following in response to Members’
questions:
i.
Staff would not be TUPE’d
as the Department of Working Pensions (DWP) had hired additional staff to
undertake the additional work. Therefore, there could be potential
redundancies.
ii.
When roles were redundant the council did try to
redeploy staff within the council and would work with staff to look at the
opportunities available.
iii.
Staff would be consulted and supported throughout
the process.
iv.
The Council did not have the power to redeploy
staff to external agencies.
v.
The work to support vulnerable people with their
housing cost would be dealt with by the DWP through the universal credit
scheme.
vi.
The council had a strategic interest to ensure that
residents had accessed their benefits, offering financial advice through
inclusion workers and council funding to external agencies such as citizens
advice bureau.
The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendation.
The Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.
Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor
(and any Dispensations Granted)
No conflicts of interest
were declared by the Executive Councillor.
Lead officer: Suzanne Hemingway
To consider the proposed Cambridge City Council
Apprenticeship Strategy 2020.
To strengthen and build on the current successes of the
Council’s Apprenticeship Scheme, by broadening the types of apprenticeships
available to existing employees and new apprentice recruits.
For Council services to plan for and utilise apprenticeships
more to support succession planning, recruiting to hard-to-fill vacancies, and
attracting more younger people to the work for the Council.
To consider a pilot programme beginning in 2020/21 which would see the transference of up to 10% p.a. (approx. £12,000) of the Council’s apprenticeship levy to local SMEs, charitable and not for profit organisations.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Transformation
Decision published: 24/09/2020
Effective from: 06/07/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision
The report proposed a new
revised Cambridge City Council ‘Apprenticeship Strategy 2020’ to replace the
existing Apprenticeship Strategy approved at the Strategy and Resources
Scrutiny Committee in March 2017.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources
i.
Approved the proposed measures for a revised
Cambridge City Council Apprenticeship Strategy 2020.
ii.
Agreed to consider a new provision for the
transference of up to 10% p.a. to local SMEs, charitable and not for profit
organisations as a pilot during 2020/21. This could be achieved by either
working directly with external organisations or through the exiting schemes
such as the Cambridge & Peterborough’s Apprenticeship Levy Pooling Service
which supports local business to take on apprentices.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a report from the Organisational Development Manager.
The Committee made the following comments in
response to the report:
i.
Asked how easy it was to find apprentices for these
schemes particularly at entry level.
ii.
Welcomed the move away from using the levy on
management apprenticeships.
iii.
Apprenticeships were going to be difficult for
people to find, particularly school leavers in the future, especially in the
current conditions.
iv.
Believed over the next two years the council’s
focus on the use of apprenticeships should be coupled with recruitment rather
than internal development. The priority for the community at large was for
people to enter the labour market. If there was any levy left the remainder
could be put into the levy pool and provide support for SME business,
charitable and non-profit organisations who had a recruitment plan for
sustainable employment.
v.
Queried when the absolute deadline was to a make a
final decision regarding the apprenticeship strategy?
The Organisational Development Manager said the following in response to Members’
questions:
i.
Would expect several applicants for each
apprenticeship, particularly given the current climate of the job market that
COVID-19 had caused.
ii.
The council’s focus was in three parts, the levy
transfer, supporting existing staff and new recruits. No level had been put on
support for new recruits and existing staff.
iii.
The Government allowed 25% of the total levy to be
transferred annually, approximately £30,000 could be transferable. The proposal is to transfer 10% approx.
£12,000 p.a.
iv.
The Council pays £120,000 to £100,000 into the
apprenticeship levy annually which lasts two years. This is a rolling programme
with each month’s payment expiring after 24 months.
v.
It would be best to make the decision as soon as
possible so that the funds could be transferred.
The Executive
Councillor for Finance and Resources responded with the following comments:
i.
That the
apprenticeship levy was for training and not for apprenticeship themselves.
Recognising this, the committee should think about the impact on the voluntary
sector, SME’s and non-profit organisations who could make use of the levy.
ii.
Consideration
had been given to put 25% immediately into this sector but felt emphasis should
be for the city council to develop its own apprentices first. This would allow
those organisations the opportunity to develop apprenticeship if appropriate or
express an interest. Salary costs would also have to be picked up by the
businesses as the levy did not cover this cost.
iii.
Believed
there had an issue in the past in finding the appropriate training scheme for
SME’s.
iv.
The work
that the levy had been proposed would see an increase in manual trades that
traditionally had not been offered and was what the apprenticeship scheme was
for. The scheme would be reviewed on a regular basis it could be possible that
the transference of the Council’s apprenticeship levy to local businesses,
charitable and not for profit organisations could be increased in future.
Councillor Bick proposed and Councillor Dalzell seconded an additional
recommendation:
NOTE the report and proposals
RECOMMEND a rethink of the proposed strategy applicable to apprentice
starts over the next two years in the light of the post pandemic depression,
with a view to emphasising the use of apprenticeships to improve recruitment
offers, potentially sharing an increased surplus from the council with local
SMEs, charitable and Not For Profit organisations who provide sustainable,
recruitment-based business plans
AGREE a modified version of the strategy through the procedure for an
urgent decision
The additional
recommendation was lost by 2 votes to 4.
The Committee resolved by 4 votes to 0 to endorse the
recommendations.
The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.
Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor
(and any Dispensations Granted)
No conflicts of interest
were declared by the Executive Councillor.
Lead officer: Vince Webb
Shared Service Annual reports for 2019/20 for approval by Exec Cllr.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Transformation
Decision published: 24/09/2020
Effective from: 06/07/2020
Decision:
Matter for Decision
The Officer’s report summarised the performance for the 3Cs
ICT, Legal Shared Services and the Greater Cambridge Shared Internal Audit
Service during 2019/20.
Decision of Executive Councillor for Finance and
Resources
i.
Noted the content of the
annual reports.
ii. Noted the requirement
for renewal of the 3Cs services partnership agreement the principle variations
planned
iii. Delegated
authority to the Chief Executive and Strategic Director to finalise and agree
the renewed partnership agreement by September 2020, in consultation with
Executive Councillor, Chair and Spokes.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a report from the Strategic Director.
The Committee made the following comments in response to the
report:
i. Asked
if consideration had been given to greater shared scrutiny between the
authorities, such as meeting virtually. There had been recently been a couple
of ICT outages and suggested it could have been resolved more efficiently if
all stake holders had been involved.
ii. Enquired
why the city council’s consumption of legal services was higher than South
Cambridgeshire District Council and Huntingdonshire District Council.
The Strategic Director said the following in response to
Members’ questions:
i.
There had
been a previous proposal for a shared scrutiny committee. However, there were
complications for agreeing the overall decision-making process in line with
each authorities’ constitution and the number of member allocations. Therefore,
it had been decided not to pursue this further.
ii.
The level
and complexity of the services delivered by the city council was currently
greater than the other two local authorities therefore more advice and support
was required from legal services when dealing with issues such as commercial
portfolios.
The Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources made the
following comments:
i.
Echoed the technical difficulties that had
occurred when investigating a greater scrutiny committee; the executive
councillor and scrutiny model used by the City Council was not compatible with
the other local authorities.
ii.
Officers across the local authorities had
regular debate and communication on the business plans and services. This
worked well and there was no need to change.
The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the
recommendations.
The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.
Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor
(and any Dispensations Granted)
No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive
Councillor.
Lead officer: Fiona Bryant
To enable the Committee to scrutinise the Council's representative on the Combined Authority.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for External Partnerships
Decision published: 24/09/2020
Effective from: 06/07/2020
Decision:
Matter for Decision
The report provided an update on the activities of the
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) since the 3 February
2020 meeting of Strategy & Resources Scrutiny Committee.
Decision of Executive Councillor for Strategy and External Partnerships
Noted the update on issues considered at the meetings of
the Combined Authority held on 25 March, 29 April and 3
June 2020.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a report from the Chief Executive
presented by the Executive Councillor for Strategy and External Partnerships.
Matter for Decision
The report provided an update on the activities of the
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) since the 3 February
2020 meeting of Strategy & Resources Scrutiny Committee.
Decision of Executive Councillor for Strategy and
External Partnerships
Noted the update on issues considered at the meetings of
the Combined Authority held on 25 March, 29 April and 3 June 2020.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a report from the Chief Executive
presented by the Executive Councillor for Strategy and
External Partnerships.
The Committee made the following comments in response to the
report:
i.
Agreed the Mayor’s approach to the transport
projects in relation to the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) was not
positive for public accountability or public understanding of the issues that
were involved which was regrettable.
ii.
The GCP had just completed their first five
years of project delivery and had recently been awarded the next tranche of
government funding, therefore the GCP clearly the right organisation to
undertake the transport project work.
iii.
Asked if the capital grants scheme had been
widely advertised and if the criteria to apply for a grant was clear. It was
vital there was transparency to show where and how public money had been allocated,
particularly as funds were being dispersed into the private sector.
iv.
Questioned if the Mayor understood the need for
affordable housing in Cambridge, any delivery was welcome.
v.
Highlighted an article in the local press
regarding affordable housing being delivered by the Combined Authority Mayor.
It also referenced that he had negotiated £100 million as part of the
devolution deal. The council had also taken part in the negotiations and
believed a proportion of funding had been allocated to the city for affordable
housing. Questioned how the income stream was allocated.
vi.
A recent Savills report highlighted the lack of affordable
housing in the city; the median house price to median income ratio was 13 times
the average income, compared with the national average of 7.8.
vii.
Queried the £40million rolling fund the Combined
Authority had, which the same newspaper article referred to.
viii.
Asked how the Mayor decided what the funding
criteria was for strategic projects as this did not appear to be clear. Provided the example of Lancaster Way
Roundabout on the outskirts of Ely and noted there were projects that required
more urgent works.
ix.
Queried the Mayor’s declarations of interests at
meetings at they did not seem to be consistent.
x.
Requested an update on the CAM metro policy.
xi.
Asked for an update on Alconbury Weald as had
read the lease was being surrendered.
The Executive Councillor for Strategy and External
Partnerships and the Strategic Director said the following in response to
Members’ questions:
i.
Understood there had been a widespread publicity
campaign regarding the grant scheme for the first round. Comments made by the
committee overlapped the concern expressed outside of the committee regarding
the governance of the business board. It was important for the board to remain
accountable and to report on their spending.
ii.
Having reviewed the grant applications these had
been submitted by a diverse selection of businesses.
iii.
The grants awarded were to those organisations
who needed the funding to protect jobs.
iv.
The capital grant funding had been linked to the
previous growth hub funding in terms of innovation specifically linked to
COVID-19, shared by the economic sub-groups and had been promoted very
strongly.
v.
Acknowledged the hard work and support that had
been undertaken and given during the COVID-19 pandemic by the Combined
Authority.
vi.
With regards to the CAM metro it did feel that
the Mayor was trying to create ‘banana skins’. The Mayor’s recent actions and
comments were not compatible with the Local Transport Plan agreed at the GCP
January meeting.
vii.
Suggested the Mayor could be invited to a future
meeting of the Strategy and Resources Committee.
viii.
The Alconbury Weald lease was expensive and
unnecessary, the Mayor proposed to relocate but no future strategy had been
provided where this would be.
ix.
The revolving fund of up to £40million could be
used for projects which would achieve an outcome and bring a return.
x.
£10million of the revolving fund had been allocated
to a development on Histon Road on the former squash
club site, four of the nine units would be affordable homes (£100,000 homes).
Up to one thousand people had registered an interest in this scheme.
xi.
Believed that more could be achieved with the
revolving fund.
xii.
Questioned the allocation of funding of projects
and if the best outcome had been achieved; would suggest working with the
committee to look in detail at the work going forward.
xiii.
Suggested that members read the annual finance
report to look at the money spent and what had been delivered.
The Committee resolved unanimously to note the
report.
The
Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.
Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor
(and any Dispensations Granted)
No conflicts of interest
were declared by the Executive Councillor.
Lead officer: Antoinette Jackson
To confirm that the letter and questionnaire responses set out in Appendix 1 of this decision should be made to the Combined Authority on the CAM Sub Strategy.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Planning, Building Control, and Infrastructure
Decision published: 17/07/2020
Effective from: 16/07/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision: |
Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough Combined Authority are consulting upon the draft CAM Sub
Strategy between 4th May and 17th July 2020 at
5pm. This is a secondary document of the
Local Transport Plan for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough which was adopted in
March 2020 and it describes the policy framework for the CAM. Further information and the Sub Strategy
document can be found at the following link: https://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/about-us/programmes/transport/cam-sub-strategy/ Appendix 1 to this decision sets out the proposed
joint response to the Combined Authority from Cambridge City Council and
South Cambridgeshire District Council.
The response is supportive of the potentially transformational role that an
integrated public transport system such as the CAM could make, however it
offers several areas where the Sub Strategy should be refined. Appendix 1 includes a draft letter and more detailed responses to parts
of the sub strategy (indicating which question in the CAM Sub Strategy
questionnaire they relate to). The
purpose of this decision is to agree these, so that they can be submitted
before the deadline. Note: To ensure an aligned
agreement between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District
Council, the Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council is also taking
an out of cycle decision at the same time. |
Why the decision had to be made (and any
alternative options): |
The
consultation provides an opportunity for Cambridge
City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council to make comments on
the content of the CAM Sub Strategy. |
The
Executive Councillor’s decision(s): |
To confirm that the letter and questionnaire
responses set out in Appendix 1 of this decision should be made to the Combined Authority on the CAM Sub Strategy. |
Reasons for the decision: |
To provide the views of
Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council on the CAM Sub Strategy. |
Scrutiny consideration: |
The Chair and Spokesperson of Planning and Transport Scrutiny
Committee were
consulted prior to the action being authorised. |
Report: |
The proposed response is attached as Appendix 1 which can be viewed at
the following link: https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13458 |
Conflicts
of interest: |
None known |
Comments: |
No adverse comments were made. |
Lead officer: Caroline Hunt