Decisions

A report on Land Disposal by way of formal tender.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

An update on the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

The council is receiving increasing numbers of requests for residents parking schemes within the county. The present criteria for the introduction of these schemes was adopted 11 years ago.  Over the last several years, very few schemes have been introduced due to resource limitations.  More recently, the county council removed the offer of Residents Permit Parking Schemes as part of the Highways Service Delivery Plan (2015). Prior to considering re-starting the introduction of residents parking schemes it is prudent to revise the criteria to allow new schemes to be promoted where the need is the greatest.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

In line with the county council's procurement rules, this report sets out a recommendation to approve the commencement of a procurement exercise for the provision of Lancashire Enterprise Zone Commercial Agency Services.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the requirements of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

Design work and the progression of the planning application has commenced for the Cottam Parkway railway station and new access road.  In order to maintain programme milestones and to ensure the scheme can be delivered, it is essential that the county council has possession of all the necessary land. Negotiations have commenced with landowners however, agreement may not be achievable in time or at all. Consequently, it may be necessary to use Compulsory Purchase powers available to the county council, in particular under the Highways Act 1980 and Town and Country Planning Act 1990, to acquire the land.

Additionally a Side Roads Order under the Highways Act 1980 will also be required to enable alterations to be made to the existing highways and private means of access. Other Schemes and Orders under the Highways Act will also be required to enable the construction of a bridge over the canal navigable waters.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the requirements of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

A report providing an update on the School Basic Needs Programme.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

Phase 2 of the Transport Asset Management Plan started in April 2020 and runs until March 2025. Using the condition of the assets at the end of Phase 1, along with results of Lifecycle Modelling, the original Transport Asset Management Plan assumptions have been reviewed and have been used to produce revised standards and funding proposals for the period 2020/21 to 2024/25. This report sets out the revised standards and recommended approach for the apportionment of future highway funding. 

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

Nationally there is a shortage of foster carers. The more foster carers Lancashire is able to recruit and retain, the more able we are to place Lancashire children with Lancashire foster carers. This not only results in a financial saving, but also allows our most vulnerable children to be cared for by foster carers assessed and supported by Lancashire County Council. This report sets out a strategy to support the recruitment and retention of foster carers in Lancashire County Council including:

(i) Support to Lancashire foster carers who are also employees of Lancashire 

County Council Fostering Wellbeing Activity Programme;

(ii) Retainer fees;

(iii) Word of mouth referrals;

(iv) Welcome recommendation for new applicants.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

This report requests that the county council provide grant funding towards public realm improvement schemes, as requested separately by Pendle Borough Council and Rossendale Borough Council. The grants will facilitate important public realm improvement works and improve accessibility to the Town Centre areas. Both schemes will also enhance further investment opportunities and provide a catalyst for economic growth and regeneration.

The Leader of the County Council and the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

A report on the Clean Energy and Technology Diversification Fund.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C20 have been complied with.

Following the advice of the Director of Corporate Services (Monitoring Officer), the Leader of the County Council agreed that this report would be considered in Part I and a copy of the report is therefore attached to this decision.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

The addition of Blackburn Cathedral Council to the county council's list of outside bodies and the appointment of a county council representative to the Blackburn Cathedral Council.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

This report provides an update to Cabinet on the county council's 2020/21 revenue and capital financial position, as at the end of September 2020, and an updated medium term financial strategy (MTFS) covering the period 2021/22 to 2023/24.

There is ongoing and unprecedented uncertainty in relation to future local government funding and the financial impact of the Covid-19 emergency has exacerbated the problem.

Accordingly, significant assumptions are required to underpin our forecasts. While these can be made with a level of confidence in the current year, over the medium term, with limited information, we rely heavily on advice from national bodies, benchmarking and discussion with peers.

Whilst a multi-year Spending Review was originally expected, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have now decided to conduct a one-year Spending Review, setting department’s resource and capital budgets for 2021/22 only, in order to prioritise the response to Covid-19 and focus on supporting jobs. The exact date of the Spending Review has not been confirmed yet but will conclude in late November and this and the subsequent settlement may have a significant impact on the forecast gap in 2021/22 given the clear recognition now that financial pressures relating to Covid-19 will continue into 2021/22 and beyond.

Whilst the quarter 2 forecast presents a small underspend of £2.017m for the current financial year, there remains a level of uncertainty about the longer term impacts of the ongoing pandemic. There will certainly be ongoing impacts relating to the collection fund that force a pressure, currently estimated at £6.9m per annum, into the next three years.

The wider impacts on economic activity remain uncertain at present and as a result we have assumed no growth in our tax base and share of non-domestic rates for 2021/22 the effects of which impact significantly upon our MTFS.

Any latent impact on price or demand for our services also remains unclear.

The current MTFS indicates an aggregated funding gap of £78.791m by 2023/24, a small decrease of £0.515m from the previously reported position.

In summary:

(i)  The 2020/21 revenue forecast outturn is £842.834m, representing a projected underspend of £2.017m (0.24%) of the agreed budget.

(ii)  The MTFS has been updated for our current expectations of levels of funding, savings delivery, demand and inflation.

(iii)At Cabinet in September 2020 the MTFS showed a deficit of £79.306m in 2023/24. The forecast now indicates a financial deficit of £78.791m by 2023/24.

(iv)The council is forecast to hold a General Reserve against unforeseen issues of £23.437m representing circa 3% of net budget, which is unchanged from the previously reported position. 

(v)  The council is forecast to hold £151.241m of uncommitted transitional reserve at the end of the financial year. This is sufficient to meet the forecast gap for financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 only.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

Given the continued unprecedented circumstances brought about by the Covid 19 outbreak, the Procurement Service has undertaken a further review of contracts which would otherwise have commenced re-procurement work in the next 6 to 12 months, but resources in the service areas continues to be focussed on Covid related activity. Approval is sought to extend contracts.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

In line with the county council's procurement rules, this report sets out a recommendation to approve the commencement of the following procurement exercises:

(i) Agency Staff Neutral Vendor Managed Service

(ii) Framework Agreement for Professional and Technical Services

and to note an amendment to a previously agreed procurement procedure:

(iii) Amendment to plant and vehicle hire report approved by Cabinet on 3 October 2019.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the requirements of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

This report provides details of the Lancashire County Council Adult Social Care Winter Plan for 2020/21, and the additional capacity that will be mobilised to meet the anticipated demand.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

The Transport Asset Management Plan 2015 - 2030 was approved by the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport on 10June 2014 and identified the key strategic priorities of the county council.

It is proposed to publish a review of the progress made during phase 1 of the Transport Asset Management Plan which ran from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2020 and report the latest condition of our assets.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

A report on Eden Project North.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

A report on the proposals for a new sporting campus in central Lancashire.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C20 have been complied with.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.