RECORD OF CABINET BUSINESS MEETING HELD ON 11TH SEPTEMBER, 2001 Agenda Item Business 1. Record of Business (Contact: K.A.Clare 793 3009) AGREED: THAT the record of the meeting held on 4th September, 2001, be approved. 2. Commonwealth Games Update (Contact: T.Stephenson 736 9448) Councillor Eddie Sheehy, Lead Member for Arts and Leisure, submitted a report on the current position with regard to Commonwealth Games related activities based around the City’s relationship with South Africa and the appointment of a Commonwealth Games Co-ordinator. AGREED: THAT the report be noted 3. School Holiday Schedule 2002/03 (Contact:S. Nicholson 837 1833) Councillor Keith Mann, Lead Member for Education, submitted details of the proposed school holiday schedule for 2002/03. AGREED: THAT the school holiday schedule for 2002/2003 be approved; and that Council be recommended to amend the Scheme of Delegation to allow in future for such decisions to be made by the Lead Member. (THIS DECISION IS FOR POLICY COMMITTEE APPROVAL). 4 Progress of the Library Review and the Statutory Public Library Standards (Contact: R. Culpin 736 9448) Councillor Eddie Sheehy, Lead Member for Arts and Leisure, submitted a report on (a) the achievement to date of the Annual Library Plan for 2001/02 noting the shortfall in some of the necessary investment and (b) the new statutory Public Library Standards, how Salford measured up to them and what targets must be achieved to meet the standards by 2004. AGREED: (1) THAT the progress made towards fulfilling the recommendations of the Library Review be noted. (2) THAT a further report be submitted at the meeting of Cabinet to be held on 25th September, 2001, identifying options to be able to achieve the Public Library Standards by 2004. . 5. Rethinking Construction – A Best Value Approach to Procurement r:\status\working\admin\omin\cbtm110901 Councillor Barry Warner, Lead Member for Development Services, submitted a report on the Governments ‘Partnering” approach to the procuring of construction (Contact: M. Collier 793 8337) projects which was seen as representing Best Value for Local government. AGREED: THAT the following action be approved:- (i) the appointment of a senior manager as Lead Officer or partnering ‘Champion’. (ii) establish a corporate in-house Rethinking Construction/Implementation Team to identify options to progress the partnering approach to construction procurement, appraise those options and recommend a way or ways forward for the Council (including the selection process(es) and the preferred form(s) of contract). (iii) the appointment of an external partnering advisor to help with the strategic development of the Council’s implementation of the Rethinking Construction approach. (iv) in future all construction schemes to be assessed in terms of life cycle costs within the financial constraints imposed by the available capital funding. (v) approval to the partnering work currently being progressed in Housing, Education and Development Services continuing (vi) in order to manage the risk to the Council initial partnering initiatives should continue to involve in-house professionals who have experience of working with contractors and delivering current construction programmes (vii) starting this year all services within the Council that procure construction work (including those provided by external consultants) to adopt the Government’s recommended P.I.’s for construction and monitor their performance against them. (viii) the Council’s performance as client, consultant and contractor be benchmarked against the best providers of construction services. (ix) all staff/trade unions to be involved in the process and kept informed of progress. (x) the support of the appropriate Scrutiny Committees be sought. (xi) appropriate Member and Officer training be arranged r:\status\working\admin\omin\cbtm110901 including the possibility of a visit to an Authority already successfully implementing the approach. 6. Neighbourhood/Street Warden Schemes (Contact: E. Davies 793 3448) Councillor Alice Smyth, Deputy Lead Member for Community Safety, submitted a report (a) indicating that DTLR had recently announced additional funding to support the introduction of Neighbourhood/Street Warden Schemes across the 374 Crime and Disorder partnerships nationally and (b) containing options available in terms of focusing future schemes together with a policy framework for their introduction. AGREED: (1) THAT the role and function of wardens as the foundation for future schemes across the City be endorsed. (2) THAT approval be given to the preparation of a Corporate Security Strategy. (3) THAT the following areas be included in the bid for Home Office grant:Brookhouse Estate, Winton Kenyon Estate, Little Hulton (THESE DECISIONS ARE FOR POLICY COMMITTEE APPROVAL) 7 Sure Start – Wave 5 (Contact: S. Ford 793 3421) (Councillor Susan Slater declared an interest in respect of this item) Councillor John Warmisham, Lead Member for Housing Services, submitted a report indicating that the Council had been invited to make applications for funding under Wave 5 of the Sure Start Initiative. AGREED: THAT Higher Broughton / Lower Broughton, Trinity / Islington / Greengate /Ordsall, Barton and Little Hulton be recommended to the Sure Start Partnership for action under Wave 5. (THIS DECISION IS FOR POLICY COMMITTEE APPROVAL) 8. Developing the City’s Stabilisation Policy (Contact: E. Davies 793 3448) Councillor Bill Hinds, Leader of the Council, submitted a report outlining the need to develop a Stabilisation Policy to deal with packets of deprivation across the City. AGREED: 9. THAT the report be noted. Capital Programme 2001/02 Councillor Derek Antrobus, Lead Member for Corporate (Contact: J. Spink Services, submitted a report containing proposals to r:\status\working\admin\omin\cbtm110901 793 3230) eliminate the current over-programming level of £8.8M within the 2001/02 capital programme. AGREED: (1) THAT the strategy agreed by Council not to approve capital expenditure until such time as funding is identified be re-affirmed. (2) THAT the proposal to defer capital expenditure as detailed in the report be approved. (3) THAT approval be given to approaches being made to Government agencies to make them aware of the issues and to seek additional funding; and that a further report be submitted to Cabinet on the outcome of the discussions. (THESE DECISIONS ARE FOR POLICY COMMITTEE APPROVAL) 10. 2001/02 Revenue Budget (Contact: J. Spink 793 3230) A report of the Budget Committee was submitted in respect of the progress of Directorates in the implementation of the savings approved as part of the 2001/02 Revenue Budget. AGREED: THAT the Director of Development Services submit a report at a future meeting of Cabinet on the mechanisms for information being passed to the Strategic Property Management Unit of his Directorate regarding the release of accommodation no longer required by directorates. 11. Budget Consultation 2002/03 (Contact: J.Spink 793 3230) AGREED: THAT the Lead and Deputy Lead Member for Corporate Services in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council be authorised to approved the Budget Consultation document for submission to Council on 19th September, 2001. 12. Future Meetings of Cabinet (Contact: K.A.Clare 793 3009) AGREED: THAT, following the introduction of the Council’s new Constitution, future meetings of the Cabinet at which key and other decisions will be made be held on alternate Tuesdays. (THIS DECISION IS FOR POLICY COMMITTEE APPROVAL) r:\status\working\admin\omin\cbtm110901