Agenda and minutes

An apology of absence was received from Councillor Filmer.

The record of the decisions from the Cabinet meeting held on 7 February 2023 was agreed by the Cabinet and signed by the Leader as correct. 

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

Background:

This report explained that draft neighbourhood plans for High Halstow and Arches (Chatham) had been submitted to Medway Council and outlined the process and issues for the Council. The Council was required to publish the plans at ‘Regulation 16’ to gather comments, in advance of arranging an examination and therefore approval was sought to publish the draft plans for representations.

The plans would form part of the statutory development plan process and sought to promote the sustainable development of the two neighbourhood areas, improve community well-being and protect and enhance the environment. A Diversity Impact Assessment had been prepared for each draft plan. The assessments were set out at Appendices 3 and 4 to the report.

Reasons:

To meet the legal requirements for the publication of draft Neighbourhood Plans at Regulation 16.

Background:

This report presented the Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP), which set out Medway’s partnership vision and priorities to support and help young people in Medway over the next three years. This Plan would apply to a wide range of organisations that were committed to making children’s lives better, including Children’s Services, Health, Police, Schools, and voluntary and community organisations. The Plan set out the overarching direction that needed to be taken, in partnership, to enable children and young people in Medway to reach their full potential.

The report was considered by the Health and Wellbeing Board on 17 November 2022 and the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 29 November 2022 and their comments were set out in sections 5 and 6 of the report.

A Diversity Impact Assessment had also been undertaken, which was attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

Reasons:

The Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) sets out our partnership vision and priorities to support and help young people in Medway over the next three years. Approval of the Plan will support partner organisations to work together to better meet the challenges and utilise resources in an efficient and cost effective way.

Background:

This Regional Adoption Agency, comprising of the London Borough of Bexley, Kent County Council and Medway Council was formed in September 2020.  Its Annual Report, attached at Annex A to the report, provided information and an overview of the service, performance set against government targets and service and practice development for the period November 2021 – October 2022.

The report had previously been considered by the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 5 January 2023 and its comments were set out in section 4 of the report.

Reasons:

Statutory guidance requires adoption agencies to report on adoption agency activity in the last year.

Background:

This report provided the Cabinet with details of the CCTV Partnership Agreement between Medway Council (Host Authority) and Gravesham Borough Council (Partner Authority). The Partnership Agreement covered the period from April 2021 to April 2024. 

Due to the COVID pandemic, there was delay in the CCTV Partnership Board meeting to consider the draft Partnership Agreement and in 2022 there was a change in key personnel. The Board had since met and supported the draft Partnership Agreement and therefore Cabinet approval was now sought. The draft agreement was provided at Appendix 1 to the report, which was circulated in a Supplementary Agenda, along with appendices to the agreement which were provided in an Exempt Appendix.

Reasons:

To ensure that all legal obligations under the CCTV Partnership Agreement are regularised.

Background:

This report requested the Cabinet’s agreement to commence the procurement of the Medway Integrated Sexual Health Service Contract. 

The report had previously been considered by the Procurement Board, which had recommended it to the Cabinet for approval. It was proposed to run an open market procurement using the competitive dialogue procedure, which would enable the market to be tested and a service specification informed by the interested providers to be drafted. Detail on this was set out at section 4.3 of the report.

Reasons:

A competitive dialogue process will enable Public Health and Category Management to identify risks within the procurement at the earliest opportunity. It will engage with providers who will be expected to design the service for, or less than the maximum budget value. The dialogue will mean that providers are involved in the process, and it is likely to reduce the destabilising the re-procurement will bring.

The competitive dialogue is likely to maximise value and impact for money. This is because provider will know what is achievable and where priority should be placed.

Although time scales are short it is possible to will be possible from a Public Health perspective to complete the process.

It was agreed that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the exempt material relating to agenda item 10 because consideration of the matter in public would disclose information falling within Paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as specified in agenda item 9 and, in all the circumstances of the case, the Cabinet considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Background:

This exempt report set out details in relation to a legal matter and asked the Cabinet to determine whether or not to proceed further with the issue. The Cabinet agreed to accept the report as urgent in order to enable consideration of the matter at the earliest opportunity given that the next scheduled Cabinet meeting would not take place until after the deadline for submitting an appeal (17 March 2023).

It was noted that in line with rule 15.11 of Chapter 4, Part 5 of the Constitution, call-in could be waived where any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the Council’s or the public’s interests. In this case, it was proposed that call-in be waived for the reasons set out in paragraph 1.5 of the exempt report. The Chairman of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee had agreed that the decisions proposed were reasonable in all the circumstances and to them being treated as a matter of urgency and to waive call-In.

Reasons:

To ensure that the Council has adequately considered all the relevant information before taking a course of action.