Agenda and minutes

Venue: David Hicks 1 - Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1BN

Contact: Callum Wernham  Democratic & Electoral Services Specialist

Items
No. Item

50.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

An apology for absence was submitted from Councillor Gregor Murray.

 

Councillor Chris Bowring attended the meeting as a substitute.

51.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 111 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2022.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 3 October 2022 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair, subject to the following minor amendments:

 

Agenda Page 7 – Did the hostel hotel for asylum seekers in Earley…

 

Agenda Page 10 – It was noted that WBC spent a considerable amount of money on external consultants, some of which carried out very specialist work. It was noted that it would be useful to see how much money each department was spending on external consultants. It was requested that the Committee receive a breakdown of the cost of agency workers, contractors, interims and fixed term contracts (that translates into people, outside of IR35).

52.

Declaration of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

53.

Public Question Time

To answer any public questions

 

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

 

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

 

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

54.

Member Question Time

To answer any member questions.

Minutes:

There were no Member questions.

55.

Wokingham Domestic Abuse Update pdf icon PDF 114 KB

To consider an update on the support offered to victims of domestic abuse, and the measures in place to tackle instances of domestic abuse.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 13 to 42, which gave an update on the support offered to victims of domestic abuse in addition to measures in place to tackle instances of domestic abuse.

 

The report outlined that the Wokingham Domestic Abuse Strategy 2021-24 was underpinned by two action plans, one delivered via the domestic abuse partnership focussed on delivering Wokingham Borough Council’s (WBC’s) duties under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and the other which covered wider domestic abuse support which was delivered by the Domestic Abuse Networking group. A number of key achievements had been realised, including appointment of a domestic abuse housing specialist and establishment of a Thames Valley wide group to explore options linked to safe accommodation. A referral programme was in place for the men and masculinities programme, with 7 male referrals to the programme to date.

 

The Committee welcomed Katie Lloyd (Service Manager at Cranstoun), Andrea West (Chief Executive of Berkshire Women’s Aid, and Vickie Robertson (Founder of Kaleidoscopic UK) to provide additional context and to answer member queries.

 

Sarah Kerr (Executive Member for Resident Services and Climate Emergency), Narinder Brar (Community Safety Manager), Francesca Hobson (Assistant Director Environment and Safety), and Karen Evans (Domestic Abuse Coordinator) attended the meeting to answer member queries.

 

During the ensuing discussion, members raised the following points and queries:

 

·         There was a proposal to provide an additional £75k of funding to allow additional staff to deal with case work. Whilst this would bring case work per member of staff to approximately 35, this was still above the safe and recommended level of 30 cases per member of staff. Was additional funding being investigated to address this concern? Officer response – The safe lives best practice level stood at 30 cases per member of staff, and a growth bid was in place to get numbers in the Borough down. Other resources were being put in place to help relieve pressure, and should levels increase even with the additional funding then a further growth bid could be explored. It should be noted that the 30 cases per member of staff figure included a 20% margin either way (27 – 33 cases). Grant funding could also be explored where available, whilst it should be noted that the national economic picture meant that all growth bids at WBC needed to be very carefully considered;

 

·         In relation to the anti-abuse charter, what progress had been made to embed this across WBC? Officer response – This hung on the premise of a reduction of violence across the Borough. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) would be included as part of the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWAG) plan;

 

·         Members congratulated Kaleidoscopic UK for highlighting and delivering upon the impacts of domestic abuse on children;

 

·         A recent television programme had highlighted exempt accommodation, whereby gangs would provide a ‘refuge’ for nefarious reasons. Officers had given assurances that there were no such properties in the Borough, however, what was being done to ensure that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

56.

Violence Against Women & Girls and White Ribbon Accreditation pdf icon PDF 112 KB

To consider the progress made to achieving White Ribbon Accreditation and actions taken to stop Violence Against Women and Girls.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 43 to 54, which provided an update on progress made in achieving White Ribbon Accreditation and actions taken to stop Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWAG).

 

The report provided an overview of the local VAWAG strategy 2023-26, including the timeline for development, implementation and consultation plan.

 

The Committee welcomed Katie Lloyd (Service Manager at Cranstoun), Andrea West (Chief Executive of Berkshire Women’s Aid, and Vickie Robertson (Founder of Kaleidoscopic UK) to provide additional context and to answer member queries.

 

Sarah Kerr (Executive Member for Resident Services and Climate Emergency), Narinder Brar (Community Safety Manager), Francesca Hobson (Assistant Director Environment and Safety), and Karen Evans (Domestic Abuse Coordinator) attended the meeting to answer member queries.

 

During the ensuing discussion, members raised the following points and queries:

 

·         It was noted that this topic was of national and local importance, and focussed on prevention and social and cultural changes;

 

·         What measures of success had other Local Authorities used with White Ribbon Accreditation? Executive Member response – Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) would be assessing what other Local Authorities were doing as part of the development of our VAWAG plan, to understand what success looked like and how it would be measured. A set of KPIs would be developed, whilst Surrey County Council had gone through the accreditation process and their successes could be shared with the Committee;

 

·         Were WBC’s proposals ambitious enough – what percentage reduction of reports were we expecting? Executive Member response – Smart measurements would be put in place, however at this early-stage specifics could not be given;

 

·         Strategic themes were being shared with the community safety partnership in a few weeks time, what were these themes? Officer response – Themes around prevention education and awareness, safe spaces and places were in development alongside other strategic priorities including the justice system to enable better outcomes for victims;

 

·         It was noted that White Ribbon was an element of the VAWAG plan, which would look at issues on a much wider scale;

 

·         It was noted that 25 November was White Ribbon day, and lots of activities were planned to help show how important an issue this was;

 

·         It was noted that there would be vigils for the victims that did not survive, and communications would be sent out when details were more finalised;

 

·         It was noted that the Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Resident Services would work with the communications team to get information about these events to schools;

 

·         It was agreed that an update on the plan would be taken to the March 2023 meeting of the Committee.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)      Katie Lloyd, Andrea West, Vickie Robertson, Sarah Kerr, Narinder Brar, Francesca Hobson and Karen Evans be thanked for attending the meeting;

 

2)      The Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Resident Services would work with the communications team to get information about White Ribbon events to schools;

 

3)      Successes and learning points from Surrey County Council, who had gone through the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

57.

Medium Term Financial Plan 2023-26 - Chief Executive's Office and Resources and Assets pdf icon PDF 84 KB

To consider the proposed revenue and capital bids for the Chief Executive's Office and Resources and Assets Directorates.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 55 to 136, which set out the proposed revenue and capital bids for the Chief Executive’s Office and the Resources and Assets Directorate.

 

Clive Jones (Leader of the Council), Imogen Shepherd-DuBey (Executive Member for Finance), Rachel Bishop-Firth (Executive Member for Equalities, Inclusion and Fighting Poverty), Sarah Kerr (Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Resident Services), Ian Shenton (Executive Member for Environment, Sport and Leisure), Graham Ebers (Deputy Chief Executive (Director of Resources and Assets)), and Glynn Davies (Head of IT) attended the meeting to answer member queries.

 

The Executive Member for Finance commented that Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) was facing significant financial pressure due to inflation, and emphasised that every saving and income generation opportunity was important.

 

During the ensuing discussion, members raised the following points and queries:

 

·         In relation to business rates, had any downturn in the economy been factored into assumptions? Officer response – Business rates was a complex area, where the actual debit had increased (more new businesses had entered the area over time) and the multiple had also increased, whilst collection remained quite reasonable at approximately 99%. The main concern in this area was about a re-evaluation, which would almost certainly not come into play in 2023/24 due to the level of work required by the Government, however any re-evaluation would likely not be favourable for authorities such as WBC who had historically grown;

 

·         In relation to 3G pitch bid, where was the £45k saving going to be generated? Executive Member and officer response – This was based on mimicking the performance at other 3G pitches in the area, whilst being in line with the business case presented to the Executive. This was a modest surplus after the cost of running the site and capital financing costs. The whole scheme was under review as cost assumptions had changed significantly;

 

·         In relation to bid RA R3, car parking fees – Cantley Park, it was guaranteed last year that no car parking fees would be introduced at Laurel Park. Were the same guarantees given to Cantley Park? Executive Member response – More active discussion needed to be had regarding this proposal before it could go ahead;

 

·         In relation to bid RA R3, car parking fees – Cantley Park, there was a lot of alternative options for people to park for free. Did the projected savings factor in people choosing to park for free elsewhere and people choosing to walk or cycle to Cantley Park, and was there an option to place all country park car parks under one set of management with one set of policies? Executive Member response – This proposal needed very careful consideration to ascertain if savings were realistic and to measure any impacts on use of the site and its facilities. The possibility of one set of management for the country park car parks was already under consideration in its early stages;

 

·         In relation to bid RA R12, sport and leisure income generation (unachievable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

58.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 93 KB

To consider the Committee’s work programme.

Minutes:

The Committee considered their work programme, set out in agenda pages 137 to 140.

 

The Committee agreed to move their January meeting to 23 January 2023 to allow officers additional time to understand the implications of the Local Government Finance Settlement (due on or around Christmas Eve).

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)      The Callum Wernham be thanked for attending the meeting;

 

2)      The Committee’s January meeting be moved to 23 January 2023 to allow officers additional time to understand the implications of the Local Government Finance Settlement (due on or around Christmas Eve).