Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Chitty.

The record of the meeting held on 14 December 2021 and the record of the urgent decision taken by the Leader on 22 December were agreed by the Cabinet and signed by the Leader as correct.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

Councillor Filmer declared an OSI in relation to item 7 (Medway Norse Update) as he had been appointed as a Director of the Board.  Councillor Filmer therefore withdrew for the discussion and decision on this item.

Other interests

There were none.

Discussion:

The report presented the Medway People Strategy 2021-2025, which set out an ambition for all those who live, work, and learn within Medway borders. The strategy aligned closely with the overall corporate vision for the Council to make Medway a waterfront city, connecting innovation, people, and place, driving growth for all.

The report was considered by the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee (CYP) on 1 December 2021 and by the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HASC) on 9 December 2021. The comments of CYP are set out in section 5 of the report and the comments of HASC were set out in an addendum report.

Reasons:

The People Strategy sets out the overarching blueprint and detail of the work we need to do to enable everyone in Medway, whether they live, work, or learn to reach their potential.

This report set out progress made against the 2021-2025 Procurement Strategy and proposed additional objectives to take forward into 2022. The Cabinet was also asked to note the progress made to date and to agree the year 2 objectives. The Strategy had originally been approved by the Cabinet on 15 December 2020.

The report set out that Covid-19 and the UK’s exit from the European Union had both had a significant impact on public sector procurement. The ability to deliver against all objectives set out in the Strategy had been challenging as the focus had primarily been on adapting resources to ensure core and primary Council functions continued to be delivered.

The report had previously been considered by the Business Support Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 25 November 2021 and its comments were set out in section 5 of the report.

Reasons:

The Procurement Strategy provides a holistic suite of objectives to ensure the service maintains national awareness but with the ability to focus on local issues effectively. Approval of the Year 2 objectives will ensure this can continue effectively.

Background:

The Cabinet accepted this report as urgent to enable consideration of the matter at the earliest opportunity given that the final budget proposals would be submitted to the next scheduled Cabinet meeting on 8 February 2022.

This report provided details of the provisional local government settlement that had been delivered, via a written statement on 16 December 2021. This settlement covered a period of one year.

The report explained that the Council Tax referendum limit had remained at its historic level of 2%, however the Adult Social Care precept allowed upper tier authorities the flexibility to increase Council Tax by a further 1% above the referendum limit. Medway’s Draft Budget assumed that Council Tax would be increased by 2.994%.

Concerning business rates, the report explained that no announcements had been made regarding increasing the proportion of Business Rates retained by local authorities. The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities had indicated that the Government would not “move precipitately to a system whereby 75% of business rates is retained because that works against the process of redistributing money to those who need it most particularly in the wake of Covid 19.” In the meantime, the 50% business rate retention scheme would continue in its existing form and Medway remained a top-up authority.

The report also provided details of the impact on other grants, set out at sections 6 to 10 of the report.

Reasons:

These provisional levels of grant are a fundamental component of the 2022/23 budget, and their announcement is a further stage in the process of preparing a balanced budget.

Background:

This report provided details of a mid-year review of the performance of the Joint Venture from the perspective of the Council client for the 2021/22 financial year. It was accompanied by an update on the Joint Venture’s achievements and financial performance prepared by the Partnership Director at Medway Norse. The report provided a breakdown of performance for each service area covered by Medway Norse.

The report also set out a proposal to transfer Medway Council’s sign making service, known as the Sign Shop, to Medway Norse.

Reasons:

When the Cabinet agreed to establish the joint venture company it was also agreed that regular monitoring reports would be provided to Cabinet.