Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 18 June 2025.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is mid-day on Thursday 10 July 2025 [mid-day 3 clear working days before the meeting].

The deadline for the submission of a statement is mid-day on Tuesday 15 July 2025 [mid-day the working day before the meeting].

The deadline for the submission of a petition is Wednesday 2 July 2025 [10 working days before the meeting].

To consider recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny committees on items not otherwise included on the Cabinet Agenda.

The report presents the revenue and capital budget outturn, reserves position, dedicated schools grant outturn, housing revenue account, and results of council company and partner organisations for the financial year 2024/25.

The financial revenue outturn is a £1.2m surplus, an improvement on the reported quarter three balanced position, with this delivered in a challenging budget environment.

In February 2024 Council set a balanced budget and medium-term financial plan over the 4-year period to 31 March 2028 based on conventional local government financial management process. This addressed the inherited £30m structural deficit from using reserves rather than savings to balance the 2023/24 budget.

The non-deliverability of previous year savings was addressed, particularly those expected from the transformation investment. New fully itemised savings of £38m were programmed for 2024/25 with 86% being achieved through service transformation, third party spend reduction, staff savings and raising additional income. Mitigations have been found in other areas to reduce the impact of those unable to be delivered.

The budget recognised the ongoing cost-of-living and service demand pressures that face all local authorities and this required council tax to be increased by the maximum amount permitted by government of 4.99%, with the same increase assumed for future years.

A revised approach was taken to the annual repayment of debt with voluntary contributions made above the statutory minimum to reduce the burden for future years.

This report:

·       Aims to ensure the council presents a legally balanced 2026/27 budget. 

·       Presents an update on the 11 June 2025 Spending Review.

·       Provides details of two consultation documents issued on 20 June 2025 namely the Local Government Fair Funding Review and Modernising and Improving the administration of council tax.

·       Presents an update on the MTFP position of the council.

Acknowledges the action of the Leader of the Council and Director of Finance in writing to Government to seek assurance around the council’s ability to continue to cashflow the significant and growing Dedicated Schools Grants deficit within the statutory framework.

This report presents the outcome of the market testing in respect of the disposal of Poole Civic Centre.

[PLEASE NOTE: Should the Cabinet wish to discuss the detail of the exempt Appendices at Appendix C1 & C2 it will be necessary to exclude the press and public and move into Confidential (Exempt) session]

This report presents the proposal to dispose of the freehold of the former nursery site at Lyndhurst Road to Meyrick Estate for the sum of £850,000.

[PLEASE NOTE: Should the Cabinet wish to discuss the detail of the exempt Appendices at Appendix A & B it will be necessary to exclude the press and public and move into Confidential (Exempt) session]

Since the creation of BCP Council through the local government reorganisation of the four preceding councils in April 2019 we have been negotiating with the trade unions to introduce a new Pay and Reward package which aligns pay and conditions across all colleagues. 

This report sets out the progress made since Cabinet last considered the results of the November trade union ballot process and outlines next steps.

[PLEASE NOTE: Should the Cabinet wish to discuss the detail of the exempt Appendices at Appendix 6 it will be necessary to exclude the press and public and move into Confidential (Exempt) session]

As a Registered Provider (RP) of Social Housing, BCP Council has increased responsibilities under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.

The Act provides greater powers, including inspections, to the Regulator of Social Housing to ensure that the outcomes for tenants as set out in revised regulatory consumer standards are delivered. It also ensures that tenant satisfaction is measured and reported annually through Tenant Satisfaction Measures, enabling tenants to see how well the council as their landlord is performing against other landlords who are also registered providers.

For many of the measures the council is within or near to the top quartile of performance especially those related to repairs and maintenance. For 2024/25 overall satisfaction has increased to 81.2 per cent.

The Housing Ombudsman has also been given enhanced powers through the Act to ensure that tenants have access to an effective complaints process when things go wrong and that landlords are held to account. Landlords have a legal duty to meet the standards set out in the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code which sets out best practice in effective complaint handling.

The Act also sets out qualification requirements for senior housing managers to bring the profession more in line with others such as social workers and teachers.

Other provisions within the Act ensured a review of the Decent Homes Standard and the introduction of Awaab’s law to compel landlords to address damp and mould in their homes.

Ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Act is challenging. This report sets out the council’s responsibilities and progress in meeting these.

The council has received requests from several residents who do not have off-street parking and use, or are planning to use, an electric car or van.  This paper sets out arrangements for a trial to permit them to install a cross-pavement gully channel. This is to enable the vehicle to be charged from the domestic electricity supply using a cable inserted into a channel just below the surface of the pavement and safely out of the way of pedestrians and wheelchair users.

The purpose of this paper is to seek council approval for the trial of EV gully charger installations, the outcome of which would inform a Council policy on such installations.

The installations would be at the cost of the householder.

The purpose of this report is to outline the proposed investment on the bridges and to gain Council approval to release the allocation and commence the programme.

Neighbourhood forums are organisations empowered to lead on the preparation of a neighbourhood plan within a defined area.

Neighbourhood planning involves the local community in developing a shared vision to help shape the future development and growth of their local area. A neighbourhood plan must proceed through several statutory stages before it can be formally ‘made’ (adopted) by the Council.

BCP Council has received two applications for designation of a neighbourhood forum and area within (i) the East Cliff and (ii) East Cliff and Springbourne Ward. Both applications extend into a small part of Bournemouth Town Centre ward. Each application was subject to a statutory public consultation inviting representations. The consultations ran in tandem between 24 February and 7 April 2025.

A prospective forum can determine what area is most suitable to plan for. However, the Local Planning Authority must first formally designate the forum (as a ‘qualifying body’) and designate the neighbourhood area, having regard to a range of factors including comments received from consultation.

This report presents the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP). This has been produced to provide a roadmap and informed action plan to enable the Council, working with partners and other organisations, to address its Climate and Ecological Emergency commitments and achieve the stated aim of carbon neutrality by 2045.

In July 2024, BCP Cabinet and Full Council agreed:

1.     To support the business case for a new Adult Social Care (ASC) transformation delivery model to improve outcomes for residents and to achieve financial efficiencies and savings.

2.     Establishment of a formal Adult Social Care four-year transformation programme called Fulfilled Lives, approving in principle a total investment of up to £2.9m across the first three years.

3.     The release of an initial £1.79m was approved for the first year of the programme to facilitate mobilisation, completion of the design and scope stage, and to commence the delivery phase from January 2025.

4.     The Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee would provide regular scrutiny of progress towards benefits and sustainable change.

The programme entered its delivery phase in January 2025 and is making good progress towards implementing the necessary changes to achieve the anticipated benefits, and savings of £3.5m recurring by year four.

This report provides an update on progress with recommendations for investment in the next phase of the programme.

This paper provides the 2024/25 outturn for the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) high needs block, budget agreed for 2025/26 and actions being undertaken to manage the budget within a challenging national framework. 

The outturn for 2024/25 was high needs expenditure of £111.9m compared with funding of £62.0m (a DSG funding gap of £49.9m) This was £5.3m more than reported to Cabinet in February 2025. There were some non-recurring payments made in the final months of the year that had not been included in the forecast but some of the increase is likely to be ongoing as more young people were being supported by the high needs budget by March 2025 than had been expected.

The high needs budget for 2025/26 was set with the expectation that the annual funding gap would grow to £57.5m as demand growth was expected to continue to outstrip funding growth. There are initiatives in the SEND improvement plan (some being invest-to-save) that should have an impact on the high needs budget over time, and these are set out in this report.

Work is in progress to establish the expenditure forecast outturn for 2025/26. Placements for the new academic year are in the process of being finalised for those new in the system, at transition ages, or requiring a change for other reasons. The forecast will also be updated to reflect progress on service initiatives currently underway or being developed.    

The Chief Executive to report on any decisions taken under urgency provisions in accordance with the Constitution.

To consider the latest version of the Cabinet Forward Plan for approval.