Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Moores.

There were no public questions received.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 22nd February 2021 and 23rd February 2021 be approved.

The Cabinet gave consideration to a report of the Director of Finance which provided Members with an update on the Council’s 2020/21 forecast revenue budget position at Annex 1 and the financial position of the capital programme as at 31 December 2020 (Quarter 3), together with the revised capital programme 2020/21 to 2025/26, as outlined in section two of the report at Annex 2. Both elements of the report incorporated more recent information as appropriate.

Revenue Position

It was reported that the current forecast outturn position for 2020/21 was a projected favourable variance of £0.522m after allowing for approved and pending transfers to and from reserves.

The position also included additional costs and pressures that have been identified by the Authority in this financial year as a direct result of the Governments ongoing arrangements to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 which commenced on 23 March 2020. The additional pressures included forecasts of both income shortfalls and additional expenditure that have impacted on the Authority’s budgets as a result of the pandemic

The pandemic has affected nearly all aspects of Council service delivery; however, most significantly People and Place, Children’s Services and Community Health & Adult Social Care Portfolios. Action had been taken and would continue up to the year end to address variances and take mitigating action as detailed in the report.

The overall corporate position was partly being offset by the application of the £25.802m un-ringfenced Government COVID related grant funding from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), of which £7.641m was received in 2019/20 and held in a specific Earmarked Reserve to underpin the 2020/21 budget. There had been actual, in-year, receipts of £17.261m of COVID Emergency Funding, including £1.281m for the first submission for loss of income in relation to sales, fees and charges under the income compensation scheme (SFC). Further provision was made for the second and third SFC submissions in the sum of £0.924m and £0.900m respectively, the former had been submitted but not yet paid, the latter was an estimate for the period December 2020 to March 2021.

The COVID pressure was further offset by actual and anticipated refunds from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) of £3.133m together with a contribution from Oldham CCG to support the cost of adult social care services via the Section 75 Pooled Funding Agreement that was in place between the Council and the CCG.

In Annex 1 to the report, both the full Government grant and the GMCA refunds were presented as single sums so that it highlighted the level of variation across all Council budgets. However, this summary report presented the position after applying the Government grant and the refunds across Portfolio areas.

An update on the major issues driving the projections were detailed within Annex 1, Section 3.

Section 4 of the report supplemented by Appendices 3 and 4 advised the Cabinet of the grants that the Council had received. There had been a number of developments particularly in relation to support for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Cabinet gave consideration to a report of the Deputy Chief Executive, People and Place which sought approval to the arrangements necessary to formulate and prepare the joint development plan document (DPD) ‘Places for Everyone’, including the establishment of a joint committee to represent Oldham Council and the eight other GM districts (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan).

It was reported that on 11 December 2020, following the withdrawal of Stockport Council from the production of the Greater Manchester Plan for Jobs, Homes & the Environment (the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework), the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) Executive Board agreed in principle to the a joint Development Plan Document (DPD) of the nine remaining Greater Manchester (GM) districts, to cover strategic policies including housing and employment land requirements and, as appropriate, strategic site allocations and Green Belt boundary amendments and associated infrastructure.

A report was taken to AGMA Executive Board on 12th February 2021 setting out the next steps in relation to the Joint DPD of the nine GM districts, to be known as ‘Places for Everyone’, including the required decisions by individual Districts to initiate this process as set out below in the recommendations and discussed further in this report.

The approval to establish the new Joint Committee was a decision for each district according to their own Constitutional arrangements and approval to delegate the formulation and preparation of the Joint DPD to that committee was a Cabinet function.

RESOLVED – That: (subject to Full Council approving recommendations on the 24^th March 2021 in relation to the Joint Development Plan and the establishment of a Joint Committee)

1.    The required approval of Full Council to the making of an agreement with the other 8 Greater Manchester councils (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan) to prepare a joint development plan document to cover strategic policies including housing and employment land requirements and, as appropriate, strategic site allocations and Green Belt boundary amendments and associated infrastructure across the nine districts be noted.

2.    The formulation and preparation of the joint development plan document to cover housing and employment land requirements including, as appropriate, strategic site allocations and Green Belt boundary amendments and associated infrastructure across the nine Greater Manchester districts insofar as such matters are executive functions be delegated to a Joint Committee of the nine Greater Manchester councils.

3.    It be noted that the following are the sole responsibility of full Council:

Consideration was given to a report of the Deputy Chief Executive which sought approval to delegate authority the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader the award of the Accessible Oldham Strategic Partnership Agreement and reserve supplier agreement, and to delegate authority to the Director of Environmental Management in consultation with the Director of Finance and the Director of Legal Services to award the individual call off orders for the separate projects, due to the urgency to deliver a programme of works in accordance with the funding timeline constraints.

It was reported that the Transportation and Planning Team in collaboration with Unity Partnership had successfully bid for several capital funded multi-disciplinary highway improvement programme of work, namely Growth Deal 3 (GD3) and Mayor’s Cycling and Walking Challenge Fund (MCF). The funds (cumulatively amounting to circa £16.5m) are managed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) under the overarching administration of Department for Transport (DfT).

For Oldham Council to deliver the programme it was considered necessary to seek a mid-term (4 years) Strategic Partner (Partner) to assist the Delivery Team at key stages of the design and construction work. The current method of delivery of the highway construction work was described below which can take upwards of 12 weeks from tender stage to commencement on site. Ultimately, in order to deliver the GD3 and MCF programme within the set timeframe, a more streamlined method of procuring construction work was required. The intention was that individual projects would be procured via a Call Off procedure under the Strategic Partnership Agreement. This would require Director sign off (in liaison with the Directors of Finance and Legal Services) rather than an individual Cabinet report for each element of work.

The Accessible Oldham Strategic Partnership Agreement was scheduled to be advertised by the Commercial Services Team before the end of the year and it was expected to be available for use in March/April 2021. An initial sift would be undertaken with a shortlist of three Contractors being invited to enhance/review their respective bids with one being awarded as the outright winner.  

RESOLVED – That:

1.    Authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader to award the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement, in consultation with the Director of Finance and Director of Legal Services.

2.    Authority be delegated to the Director of Environmental Management in consultation with the Director of Finance, and the Director of Legal Services  to award the individual call off contracts for the separate works packages under the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement.

3.    Authority be delegated to the Director of Legal Services to affix the Council’s seal to the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement any incidental and ancillary  documentation and also to the individual call off contracts under the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement any incidental and ancillary documentation.

Consideration was given to a report of the Deputy Chief Executive, People and Place which sought approval to secure funding to replace the street bins, two vehicles and the need to minimise manual handling and reduce the dangers associated with needles and glass contained within street bins.

The new bins would no longer require the constant replacement of plastic bin bags which would normally end up in the waste stream assisting with the councils target of becoming carbon neutral by 2025. The new bins have a greater capacity than the existing bins, with approximately 3 times the waste volume which can be currently held before requiring emptying. This new type of bin would allow for a reduction in the number to be installed, however, keeping the same number as current may allow the option to locate bins in more built up residential areas giving greater widespread coverage than we currently have on non-primary routes. This decision will be made following the consultation and ultimately the level of finance secured for this proposal.

In addition it was proposed to replace bins within Oldham Town Centre with a new (ecofriendly) solar powered type. These are similar to those currently in use within Manchester City Centre. The town centre bins are serviced on average 4 times a day; sometimes more depending on season. The new bins which utilise solar power to power a compactor, allows a normal 240 litre wheelie bin to hold the capacity of a large commercial 1100 litre bin.

If the above proposals were accepted it would require the replacement of two existing 3.5-ton crew cab caged vehicles with two new purpose built 7.5-ton small compacting waste vehicles. These new vehicles would take up the role of street litter bin servicing across the whole Borough, but will also take on a secondary role currently serviced by a second crew and vehicle, servicing the existing 19 static dandy staff operating across the districts and main corridor routes. These larger capacity vehicles (3-ton waste carrying capacity) will allow for a full day servicing of bins, requiring only one recycling site visit either early morning or end of day.

Options/alternatives considered

Option 1 – New proposal

Option 2 - Replacement of existing street litter bins on a like for like basis.

The Cabinet gave consideration to a report of the Chief Technology Officer, Unity Partnership which sought approval to modernise the Council’s Telephony system.

Oldham Council currently maintained a traditional, fixed desk telephony system provide by Mitel.  Since 2004 this system had grown and adapted and now required significant investment to bring it in line with the current standards and the council’s needs. The system did not cater for remote working and lacked many modern features.

If left, the current provision will become less reliable and pose cyber security risks for Oldham Council.

Additionally, staff had access to systems with overlapping features.

Option alternatives considered

Option1 - Do nothing.

This option would see Oldham Council retain the outdated telephone system resulting in reliability and cyber security issues.  This would be a strategic barrier.

Annual charges for mobile phones and fixed desk telephony remain the same.

Option 2 - Upgrade the current system.

This option would upgrade the current system, bringing it up to date with modern components, including those needed for Agile working.  This would cost a projected £1.9m over 5 years and is not a good strategic fit.

Option 3  - Migrate to Cloud telephony system.

Allocate £1.6m from the current ICT Capital Programme to fund moving to a modern cloud-based Telephony system.  This option was a strategic enabler, improved service availability and resilience and reduced cyber security risks. 

RESOLVED – That the allocation of £1.6m form the current ICT Capital Porgramme be agreed to fund moving to a cloud based telephony system.

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Director of Commisisoing which sought approval to award a Concession Contract to Procure Partnerships Limited following a fully compliant procurement process that would enable them to commence working with the Council to procure a Construction Works Framework, sought to delegate authority to the Director of Economy in consultation with the Director of Finance and Director of Legal Services to award the planned Framework on behalf of the Council, and authorise the Director of Legal Services to sign the contractual documentation and any incidental and ancillary documentation to enable the required deadlines to be achieved.

The request to award the five year Concession Contract to Procure Partnerships Limited (the “Concessionaire”) following a fully compliant procurement process was to enable the Council and the Concessionaire to commence working together to procure a Construction Works Framework which will facilitate the award of contracts from the Council’s own projected pipeline of works requirements. By virtue of procuring the Framework in a manner which enabled it to also be used by other Public Sector Bodies, the planned Framework was also expected to generate a monetary income for the Council and the Concessionaire which will contribute to the Council’s challenging savings targets.

Option 1 – To approve the award

Option 2 – Not to approve the award

RESOLVED – That the Cabinet would consider the commercially sensitive information at Item 15 of the agenda before making a decision.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Public Health which sought approval to recommission the Integrated Sexual Health Service as part of a cluster commisisoing arrangement with Bury and Rochdale Councils, to ensure that Oldham had a high quality integrated sexual health service to support population health and meet our mandated responsibilities for open access sexual health services.

The current Integrated Sexual Health Service had been provided by the current provider since January 2016 as part of a cluster commissioning arrangement with Bury and Rochdale Councils. In June 2020, Cabinet agreed to extend the contract, under Regulation 72 (1)( c) of the PCR2015, for a period of 12 months (1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022) due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

This paper outlined proposals to recommission the service, with the same cluster arrangement, and proceed to market for procurement of a new service for commencement from 1 April 2022.  Rochdale Council would act as the lead commissioner for the service, and STAR Procurement (Stockport, Trafford and Rochdale Procurement) would lead the procurement. 

RESOLVED – That the Cabinet would consider the commercially sensitive information contained at Item 16 of the agenda before making a decision.

Consideration was given to a joint report of the Managing Director, Children’s Services, Director of Public Health, Strategic Director of Communities and Reform, Strategic Director Commissioning which sought to outline proposals for the future design and delivery of a high quality universal and targeted services for children and families including meeting our mandated public health services for 0-19 year old children, Children’s Centre core offer and support for early years education

The current Right Start and School Nursing Service had been provided by Bridgewater since 1st April 2016. The contract was extended in 2020 for one year from 2020 to 2021 and approval has recently been given to extend it for another year from 2021 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

No further extensions to the service are permissible under the Contract Procedure Rules, and this is the key opportunity to redesign the delivery to meet the wider aims of the services in Oldham. 

This paper outlined proposals for the future design and delivery of the service, ahead of a new contract from 1 April 2022.  The COVID pandemic has impacted on our capacity for this work until now and there was limited time before a new contract needs to be agreed. 

RESOLVED – That the commercially sensitive information contained at Item 17 of the agenda would be considered before a decision was taken.

That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they contain exempt information under paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and it would not, on balance, be in the public interest to disclose the reports.

RESOLVED that, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they contain exempt information under paragraphs 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and it would not, on balance, be in the public interest to disclose the reports.

The Cabinet gave consideration to the commercially sensitive information in relation to Item 11 Construction Framework Delivery and Management Partner Concession Contract.

RESOLVED – That recommendations as detailed within the report be approved.

The Cabinet gave consideration to the commercially sensitive information in relation to Item 12 - Request for approval to collaboratively commission an Integrated Sexual Health Service with Rochdale and Bury Councils.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations as contained within the report be approved.

The Cabinet gave consideration to the commercially sensitive information contained at Item 13 of the agenda.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations contained within the commercially sensitive report be approved.