Search decisions

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director, Place and Economic Growth which sought approval to support the provision of a new high specification pitch facilities to unlock wider opportunities for further investment in community sports pitches, enhanced education provision, more health opportunities and creation of additional employment opportunities.

It was reported that the Council was aware of the Borough’s outstanding sporting achievements with some amazing contributions locally, regionally, nationally and internationally from Oldham’s residents and communities. The elite sporting achievements were now in a number of different sporting fields including netball, cricket, rugby, and we’re now hoping for a turn of fortune following the recent acquisition of Oldham Athletic Football Club.

As with many sporting activities, grass roots provision and investment in youth provision, clubs and community facilities were paramount to help secure a more successful and sustainable future, with talent management and development opportunities to help people, teams and clubs reach their highest possible potential. 

The Council had facilitated the coming together of the Football and Rugby clubs in Oldham, both Oldham Athletic and Oldham RLFC.

The investment  in a new pitch at Boundary Park the Council would assist with the Rugby Club’s shared ambition of playing their home games at Boundary Park from the 2024 season.

Options/alternatives considered

Option 1 – To approve the capital grant funding, subject to agreeing a formal grant funding agreement and subject to subsidy control rules.  This would unlock all the opportunities identified in this report, and careful / robust monitoring regimes would ensure obligations are met for wider community benefit. 

Option 2 – Do not proceed with the finance agreement. This would protect Council capital funds, but it would not bring about any of the enhanced facilities described in this report for sport, enhanced skills and training programmes, nor importantly facilities for Oldham’s residents and community groups. 

Option 3 – To consider the development of a business case for a new multi-million pound sports facility to bring about the same benefits as options 1, to secure rugby league within the borough and to provide enhanced community facilities.  This option is not recommended due to the significant impact on time, resource and future funding investment decisions needed to secure the same outcomes as the grant award / financial agreement.

RESOLVED – That:

1.    The retention of rugby league matches for Oldham Rugby League Football Club within the Borough boundaries and to facilitate growth in community engagement and participation be approved.

2.    The growth and enhancement of higher education provision within the Borough to support a new pipeline of complementary health and sporting employment opportunities be approved.

3.    A grant of £1million capital funding from Council Capital Strategy to enable the provision of an enhanced pitch facility at Boundary Park, which was needed to unlock recommendations 1 and 2 above be approved.

4.    Delegation be given to the Executive Director for Place and Economic Growth, and Directors of Finance and Legal Services in consultation with the Leader of the Council to finalise the grant agreement subject to subsidy control, terms and conditions, and obligations for wider community use linked to recommendations 1 and 2 above, and as set out in this report.

Consideration as given to a report of the Director of Finance which provided the Cabinet with an update on the Council’s 2022/23 forecast revenue budget position at Annex 1 of the report and the financial position of the capital programme as at 31 December 2022 (Quarter 3) together with the revised capital programme 2022/23 to 2027/28, as outlined in section two of the report at Annex 2 of the report.

Revenue Position

The forecast outturn position for 2022/23 was a projected deficit variance of £1.280m after allowing for approved and pending transfers to and from reserves. An operational deficit of £2.055m reduced by £0.775m with the anticipated effect of management actions and strengthened restrictions in relation to expenditure and recruitment. Whilst improving, it was recognised that this remained a challenging position and every effort would be made to further reduce the overall variance before the year end.

The position included additional costs and pressures that had been identified by the Authority in this financial year because of the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were currently two areas which continued to experience significant pressures attributed to the on-going impact of the pandemic; Community Health and Adult Social Care was reporting an adverse variance of £5.717m and Children’s Social Care was recording £3.555m. These pressures were being offset against a corporate provision of £12.000m COVID-19 Legacy funding which was set aside during the 2022/23 budget setting process specifically to mitigate the on-going costs of the pandemic. The residual balance of £2.728m was being used to reduce the operational pressure. This would be monitored for the remainder of the financial year with action taken to address variances and take mitigating action as detailed in the report.

An update on the major issues driving the projections was detailed within Annex 1,

The forecast pressure of £1.280m at Quarter 3 was a £0.953m decrease to the adverse position of £2.233m reported at month 8 and forecasted the impact of, as previously reported, the management actions that had been strengthened across all service areas to review and challenge planned expenditure, control recruitment and to maximise income.

Information on the Quarter 3 position of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Collection Fund was also outlined in the report.

Against a generally improving position, the DSG was forecasting an unchanged in-year surplus of £3.287m, which reverses the deficit brought forward leaving a forecast year-end surplus of £0.514m. Action would continue to be taken with the aim of mitigating cost pressures and delivering and maintaining a surplus position. To assist, Oldham had been invited by the Government to take part in the Delivering Better Value in SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Programme which would provide dedicated support for the SEND Review reforms to 55 Local Authorities with historical DSG deficit issues with the aim of putting the DSG of participating Authorities on a more financially sustainable footing. Working with partners, detailed work had commenced on compiling the grant application for submission in late June/ early July.

There were currently no significant issues of concern in relation to the HRA.

The Collection Fund was forecasting an in-year surplus of £0.060m which in turn contributed to an estimated surplus of £4.179m being carried forward into 2023/24. The Collection Fund had been particularly volatile largely because of COVID-19. Whilst currently in surplus, the position would continue to be closely monitored throughout the year as any surplus or deficit at the end of the financial year wiould have a direct budgetary impact in future financial years.

Capital Position

The report outlined the most up to date capital spending position for 2022/23 to 2027/28 for approved schemes. The most recent estimated revised capital programme budget for 2022/23 was £50.361m, a net decrease of £49.887m from the original budget of £100.248m. The most recently recorded expenditure level was £44.073m (87.51% of the forecast outturn).

It was likely that the forecast position will continue to change as the year draws to a close with additional re-profiling into future years.

Options/alternatives considered

Option 1 – To consider the forecast revenue and capital positions presented in the report including proposed changes

Option 2 – To propose alternative forecasts

RESOLVED – That:

1.    The forecast revenue outturn for 2022/23 at Quarter 3 being a £1.280m adverse variance having regard to the action being taken to manage expenditure be noted.

2.    The forecast positions for the Dedicated Schools Grant, Housing Revenue Account and Collection Fund be noted

3.    The revised capital programme for 2022/23 and the forecast for the financial years to 2027/28 as at Quarter 3 be noted.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Finance which sought approval for a number of amended Local Taxation and Benefits Discretionary Policies, and the introduction of an Empty Property Premium Policy for 2023/34.

The report provided the full detail of proposed updates to the discretionary policies used to support Local Taxation and Benefits administration i.e., Council Tax, Business Rates, Housing Benefits and Council Tax Reduction administration.

The policies and proposed changes were:

• The Discretionary Council Tax Discount Policy

- To introduce the option to award a discretionary discount under the Exceptional Hardship Payment (EHP) scheme to Council Tax arrears accrued outside of the current financial year. The EHP scheme is the means in which the Council consider requests for discretionary discounts from residents in Exceptional financial hardship under Section 13A (1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act.

The Discretionary Council Tax Discounts Policy provided guidance in regard to requests for the removal of empty property premiums. The proposed update would remove this guidance so that a new expanded policy can be introduced solely for this purpose as outlined in the Empty Property Premium Policy. The proposed Discretionary Discount Policy was presented at Appendix 1 to the report.

• The Discretionary Rate Relief Policy

- Central Government had introduced additional discounts and reliefs for the

2023/24 financial year. They had been incorporated into the proposed

Discretionary Rate Relief Policy 2023/24 which was presented at Appendix 2 to the report.

• The Empty Property Premium Policy

- For 2023/24 there was the introduction of a policy covering the application of the Empty property Premium in relation to Council Tax.

The Council currently applied a 100% empty property premium for property

unoccupied and unfurnished for over 2 years. From April 2023, further

premiums would be applied for properties unoccupied and unfurnished for over 5 years. This would mean empty property premiums will be applied as set out below.

• 100% premium on properties unoccupied and unfurnished for at least 2

years

• 200% premium on properties unoccupied and unfurnished for at least 5

years

• 300% premium on properties unoccupied and unfurnished for at least 10

years

To help provide guidance to affected property owners and to Council Officers

administering the premium it was proposed that a specific policy detailing the

circumstances in which the Council would consider the removal of the premium was appropriate. This was included at Appendix 5 of the report.

• Local Welfare Provision and Discretionary Housing Payments

- The Local Welfare Provision (LWP) and Discretionary Housing Payments

(DHP) policies had also been subject to an annual review. No proposals for

changing the policies had been identified for 2023/24.

Options/alternatives considered

Option 1 – Do Nothing

Option 2 - Approve the Local Taxation and Benefits Discretionary Policies

RESOLVED – That:

1.    The proposed amendments to the existing Local Taxation and Benefits Discretionary Policies for 2023/24 together with and the introduction of the Empty Property Premium Policy for the 2023/24 financial year be approved.

2.    The Discretionary Policies presented as appendices 1-5 of the report be adopted for 2023/24.

Consideration was given to a report of the Assistant Director, Youth, Leisure and Communities, which sought approval of Utilities Benchmarking under the contract with Oldham Community Leisure (OCL).

Utilities benchmarking can be carried out where there are extraordinary fluctuations in the utility market. OCL had served notice on the Council invoking the Utility benchmarking clause in the Contract and the details were included at Item 22 of the agenda due to commercial sensitivities.

There had been ongoing discussions with OCL regarding increased energy costs for both gas and electricity in 2022/23.  OCL had provided figures as detailed at Item 21 of the agenda.

Internal discussions had taken place with Finance and Legal colleagues to understand the Utility benchmarking provisions in the Contract and it was concluded that OCL had the contractual right to undertake a benchmarking exercise due to the fluctuations in the utility costs.

Options/alternatives considered

Options were considered at Item 22 of the agenda due to commercial sensitivities.

RESOLVED – That the Cabinet would consider the commercially sensitive information contained Item 22 of the agenda before making a decision.  

Consideration was given to a report of the Assistant Director Youth, Leisure & Communities which approval to extend the term of the Leisure Management Contract between Oldham Council and Oldham Community Leisure (OCL) and the proposed contract variations (as detailed in the commercially sensitive report at Item 21).

The contract, in respect of leisure facilities in Oldham, commenced on 28 March 2013 for an initial term expiring on 31 March 2023 (Contract).but under the terms of the contract this term could be extended for a period of up to 5 years.

OCL delivered the leisure offer through operating leisure centres owned by the Council, and a wider community offer. 

The council worked in close partnership with OCL to ensure that the outputs and outcomes it required from the services were met and that continuous improvement was achieved throughout the Contract Period.

A performance monitoring system was in place with the aim of providing reasonable and prudent checks, while focusing on KPIs which confirmed that a high quality of service was being delivered and measuring the contribution of the service to the Council’s outcomes. OCL were performing well. 

The level of subsidy the Council provided was low in comparison to other GM authorities and many nationally.  Overall financial performance was positive.

To support the monitoring of the performance of OCL, in addition to the contracted quarterly performance meetings, monthly monitoring meetings were also in place. 

Prior approval was given by Cabinet to undertake negotiations with OCL around the contract extension and any required contract modifications and the commercially sensitive information contained at Item 21 of the agenda included the outcome of those negotiations.

The Leisure contract, which is for a 10 plus 5-year term, is due for consideration this financial year with the extension (if approved) beginning 1 April 2023.  If an additional 5-year extension was agreed the contract would finish at the end of March 2028. 

Options/alternatives considered

Options were considered at Item 21 of the agenda due to the commercial nature.

RESOLVED – That the cabinet would consider the commercially sensitive information contained at Item 21 of the agenda before making a decision.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Education, Skills and Early Years which sought approval to accept the funding allocation for the academic year 2022-2022 for the Lifelong Learning Service.

The report provided detail of the  funding offer received from the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) funding allocations of the Adult Education Budget grant for the 2022-2023 academic year and highlighted how this funding would be used to meet the ESFA’s, GMCA’s and Council’s key priorities.

Following devolution of the Adult Education Budget, the Council’s Lifelong Learning Service was now funded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Prior to devolution this was directly awarded by the Education & Skills Funding Agency).

The Service delivery was designed to meet the GMCA Strategy Council’s ambition and key objectives as set out in the Corporate Plan and to support the Oldham Partnership Our Future. The Service worked with the 6 district partnerships with a focus upon the Council’s ‘Get Oldham Working’ campaign and the Co-operative Agenda.

The Service delivered a range of employability programmers in liaison with the Employment and Skills team (GOW), Job Centre Plus, Welfare to Work Providers and the 6 districts. The Service also works closely with the Voluntary and Community sector via Action Together. Partnerships with Children’s Centres, Schools, Public Health, Adult and Children Social Care and others to enable the Service to deliver targeted work which develops self-reliance, confidence, independence, heath and progression to further learning, training and employment.

For the academic year 2022 – 2023, the Adult Education Budget would continue to be split based on the initial 2019/20 geographical delivery with an allocation of GMCA Devolved Education Budget. The allocation provided for the service was a total of £2,804,560.02.

All funds were to be used to support Oldham Lifelong Learning Service’s Strategic Plan, Self-Assessment Report (SAR), Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), the Oldham Community Learning Plan and Lifelong Learning Service’s Business Plan and the Council Corporate Plan. The funding would also support the GM Strategy and GM Local Industrial Strategy and in negotiation with GMCA it will maintain the position of prioritising Adult Skills funded provision.

The Adult Education Budget (AEB) block grant aimed to engage adults and provide skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or other learning. It enabled more flexible tailored programmes of learning to be made available, which may not require a qualification. This would help those furthest from learning or the workplace.

Options/Alternatives considered

Option 1 - To accept the funding and to enter into suitable funding agreements.

Option 2 - To decline the funding.

RESOLVED – That the funding of £2,804, 560.02.for the academic year 2022-2023 be accepted.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director, Place and Economic Development which sought approval of and to accept the £20m Levelling Up Round 2 (LUF2) capital grant allocation following confirmation of award from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in January 2023.

Three projects were selected by DLUHC for progression and financial support from LUF2 broken down as follows: -

• £4.790m for Jubilee Park and Greenway Corridor,
• £6.400m for Northern Roots Learning Centre
• £8.810m for Green Shoots Business Centre

The Levelling Up Fund Round 2 (LUF2) prospectus was introduced in March 2022 with a focus on the following three investment themes:

 • local transport projects that make a genuine difference to local areas

 • town centre and high street regeneration; and

 • support for maintaining and expanding the UK’s world-leading portfolio of cultural and   heritage assets.

LUF2 is a competitive process between local authorities and funding award decisions made by Central Government, specifically the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). In August 2022, Oldham submitted 2 bids into LUF2; the Green Technology and Innovation Network and the Creative Improvement District.

Within Round 2, more than 100 projects totaling £2.1 billion had been supported to boost economies, regenerate communities, and enhance transportation links across the UK. Oldham was successful in its application for £20m for the Green Technology and Innovation Network.  The bid for Creative Improvement District was unfortunately unsuccessful in this round; however there remained further opportunities within the LUF programme to develop and resubmit in the future.

Oldham was one of 111 areas awarded funding to support the three projects within the town centre included in the Green Technology and Innovation Network bid, which aim to enhance active travel networks, deliver vital education infrastructure and create transformational public open space.

The Creating a Better Place Operations Board and Programme Board would provide oversight and strategic management of the projects. This board was already established and working successfully to deliver the Manchester Mayor’s Cycling and Walking Challenge Fund. The Programme Board would meet monthly to discuss Oldham’s wider public realm and active travel projects and are ideally placed to include the LUF projects within their remit.

A Monitoring Group is being established to oversee financial obligations against performance and will report into the CAPB structures.  Wider governance within the Council is in place to ensure issues can be managed with an appropriate level of authority which will ensure the delivery of the project objectives to cost, quality and time.

Delivery for the projects would require the appointment of experienced external contractors and service providers, including project managers/employers' agents; cost consultants; design consultants and other specialist consultants as required, along with main contractors.  All the aforementioned will hold the relevant insurances and will be required to indemnify the Council in event of any adverse impact resulting from their involvement.

The appointment of project professionals would be closely managed through enforceable contracts. External legal and other appropriate professional advice will be in place to supplement in-house advice and to support the delivery of the projects, which will be developed to support the Council’s vision and to assist in the discharge of its fiduciary duties. 

Option 1 - Do Nothing This option means relinquishing the opportunity to bring investment of £20m into Oldham.  Not only would this be a significant loss of valuable resources but also an extremely negative reflection of Oldham and its ambitions.  As one of only three GM authorities to be successful in its application to LUF2, Oldham’s standing within GM would suffer significant political and reputational damage in this scenario.

Option 2:

•        Formally accept the LUF2 Grant Award of £20m in respect of the Green Innovation and Technology Network and agree and enter into a grant agreement with DLUFC

•        Approve the expenditure of the LUF2 Grant Award in accordance with this report

RESOLVED – That The Cabinet would consider the commercially sensitive information contained at Item 20 of the agenda before making a decision.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director for Place and Economic Growth which sought approval to enter into a grant agreement with Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Under the proposed grant agreement, Oldham have been allocated grants funding that would enable the expansion and continued delivery of three services dedicated to supporting residents who are homeless or at risk of homelessness between 2022-25.

The Council were currently delivering three specific services that are intrinsically linked by virtue of the support they provided to people who were homeless or at risk of homelessness. The three respective service were:

-       A Bed Every Night (ABEN)

-       Community Accommodation Support Tier 3 (CAS-3)

-       Rough Sleepers Initiative (RSI)

For the Council to secure the funding needed to continue delivering these vital services locally and to formalise monitoring and reporting arrangements, it needed to enter into a grant agreement with Greater Manchester Combined Authority. The services had been operational for a number of years, save for CAS-3 which was entering its second year of delivery following a successful pilot year (2021-22).

The identified services that GMCA sought to provide ongoing funding between 2022-25 were very much embedded in Oldham and were seen as vital services support the ongoing delivery of its Homelessness Prevention and Reduction Strategy and Central Government’s Ending Rough Sleeping Strategy.

Options /alternatives considered

Option 1 – Do not enter into grant agreement with GMCA. Proceeding with this option would result in the Council being unable to deliver the 3 projects detailed in this report and increased numbers of rough sleepers in Oldham during a period of significant homelessness and pressure, which is further exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.

Options 2 – Enter into agreement with GMCA to continue delivering ABEN, CAS-3 and RSI programmes. Taking this approach would enable the Council to continue funding provision that prevents rough sleeping in the borough. The grant available will fund ongoing temporary accommodation placements for rough sleepers and individuals open to HMPPS, not owed a statutory accommodation duty by the LA. The funds will also make resources available that would stimulate move on into alternative, settled accommodation.

RESOLVED- That the Cabinet would consider the commercially sensitive information at Item 18 before making a decision.

The Committee received the report of Julian Guerriero, Senior Policy Strategy and Commissioning Manager Public Health, and Dr.Rebecca Fletcher, Consultant in Public Health, which updated the Health Scrutiny Committee on the outcome of the recent collaborative commission by Oldham Council and Rochdale Council for the provision of an Adult Integrated Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Service through an open competitive tendering procedure.

Having a high functioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery service offer is an essential component of the range of activity required to achieve better population health and reduce demand on health and social care services.

Oldham Council and Rochdale Council have worked in collaboration to jointly commission a provider for the provision of a drug and alcohol treatment and recovery service through an open competitive tendering procedure.

It was agreed at Cabinet in February 2022 to delegate authority to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, to approve the recommendation of the evaluation panel.

In accordance with the results of the tendering exercise (based on quality, social value and financial modelling) and completion of the tender evaluation processes, the contract was awarded to Turning Point Services Limited, as per the delegated authority agreed by Cabinet in November 2022.

The core contract term is for a period of five years up to the end of 31 March 2028 at a value of £4.4m per year (equal contributions of £2.2m from Oldham Council and Rochdale Council). There is an option to extend the contract year on year for up to a further five years.

A further £600k per year (£300k per authority) is available to support inpatient detoxification and residential rehabilitation placements.

Additional grant funding is within the scope of the contract, with clear exit strategies that can disaggregate spend away from the core specification.

The report introduced the new Adult Integrated Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Service to be delivered by Turning Point and provided an overview of the delivery model and priorities for the first 12 months. Steve Simmons, Senior Operations Manager representing Turning Point Ltd, gave a presentation regarding Turning Point Ltd and can be viewed using the following link https://committees.oldham.gov.uk/documents/b26493/Suppliment%2007th-Mar-2023%2018.00%20Health%20Scrutiny.pdf?T=9

Julian Guerriero emphasised that the specification of the contract now included a preventative element and that recovery needed to go further so as to support the wellbeing of people and engage stability for moving from recovery. This would include working with GPs and pharmacies and including  housing and employment as the next steps with a view to providing a better lifestyle to preventing the possibility of relapse. There would be an  expectation that over the next 12 months the new model would enable more people to be treated.

The contract centred on those persons aged 18 years and above with the plan being to engage young people below the age of 18 years this being a transitional element.

Resolved: that

1.         the outcome of the recent tender exercise to procure a provider for the delivery of the Adult Integrated Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Service be noted;

2.         the Committee supports the new Adult Integrated Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery offer which is available for Oldham residents; and

3.         Turning Point Ltd be invited to this Committee to give a 6 months review on the role out of the new model for Oldham residents.