Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr David Woan.

To approve the minutes from the previous meeting.

Resolved that the minutes of the Executive held on 15^th January 2025 be confirmed as a correct record.

To receive and note any declarations of interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

(The other registrable interests of Councillors of Somerset Council, arising from membership of City, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes: City, Town & Parish Twin Hatters - Somerset Councillors 2023 )

The following declarations of interest were automatically recorded:

Cllr Theo Butt Philip – Wells City Council
Cllr Graham Oakes – Yeovil Town Council / Yeovil Without Parish Council
Cllr Mike Rigby – Bishops Lydeard and Cothelstone Parish Council
Cllr Heather Shearer – Street Parish Council
Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts – Taunton Town Council
Cllr Richard Wilkins – Curry Rivel Parish Council

The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.

For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.

We are now live webcasting most of our committee meetings and you are welcome to view and listen to the discussion. The link to each webcast will be available on the meeting webpage, please see details under ‘click here to join online meeting’.

Public questions were received from Taunton Town Council and Mr David Orr.

Questions and responses are detailed in Annexe A to the minutes.

To note the latest Executive Forward Plan of planned key decisions that have been published on the Council’s website.

Click here to access - Executive Forward Plan

The Executive noted the Forward Plan.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

1.    Review the organisational structure proposals and potential impacts on staff, services and the budget, including proposed mitigating activities.  

2.    Endorse and recommend the organisational structure proposals as part of the Head of Paid Service’s report to Full Council.  

3.    Agree, where any proposed changes to service delivery as a result of the organisation structure proposals will impact on existing approved service standards, to delegate authority to the relevant Service Director to revise the service standards and also complete a review of any impacted plans and policies (in consultation with their Executive Lead Member) before the end of May 2025. These are set out in Appendix B. 

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Lead Member for Transformation, Human Resources and Localities, Cllr Theo Butt Philip to introduce the report. Cllr Butt Philip highlighted that this was the culmination of an enormous amount of work across the organisation; that this would create a structure which would support the Council’s financial sustainability; that hopefully this restructure would be able to draw a line under the uncertainty staff have been living with; that as a result of the financial emergency the restructure had had to go further than was ever envisaged; and thanks to the staff, particularly HR to get the proposals to the stage they are at.

Cllr Butt Philip proceeded to hand over to Alyn Jones, Executive Director – Resources Strategy & Transformation, who explained the engagement with services and staff across the organisation and elected members; that the consultation had been extended to ensure relevant feedback from trade unions could be taken into account; that a number of impacts have been identified in the report; that there would be inevitable change in how services are delivered; that mitigations have been put in place where impacts will be felt; that there are service equality impact assessments where service level changes will have an impact on vulnerable individuals; that £34m of reductions had been achieved; and the feedback from Scrutiny that had been taken into account.

The Leader of the Council invited comments from Committee Members and other Members present, with officers providing responses as appropriate. Questions and points raised included: the importance of monitoring the impact on staff, performance, productivity and the impact on residents; the difficult timing of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and the restructure; the use of AI improvements in Adult Social Care; the equalities implications; the opportunities provided by the restructure; thanks to the CEO and officers who responded to concerns put forward by the Executive during the consultation period; the changes to SEND and the opportunity to improve SEND services; the importance of consultation, listening and taking into account children and young people’s needs; that staff transferred via TUPE to City, Town, and Parish Councils are still working in and for Somerset; the disconnection between central and local government; the financial emergency and how that had limited the Council’s choices; the risk of reducing planning enforcement to red priority areas only; concerns about the quality of the planning service deteriorating; the impact on vulnerable people from the reduction in staff numbers in Waste; whether reductions in Waste services could be a false economy if it leads to reduced recycling and higher disposals and difficulty implementing service rules; the importance of the Climate team; the impacts and mitigations of the Adults Operations and Housing restructure on older people and disabled people; the services transferred to City, Town, and Parish Councils; whether the savings in this restructure are separate to those set out in the Unitary Business Case; the risk of further delays in areas where the Council has already been criticised for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to endorse the proposals below for approval by Full Council:

1. Additional Budget Savings proposals for 2025/26 of £2.918m as set out in Tables 1, 3 and Appendix A  

2. Budget Growth proposals for 2025/26 of £57.642m reducing to £55.719m by 2027/28 as set out in Table 2 and Appendix B  

3. The proposed changes to Fees and Charges for 2025/26 as set out in Appendix C 

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Finance, Procurement and Performance, Cllr Liz Leyshon, to introduce the item. Cllr Leyshon explained that due to waiting for news on the final settlement and exceptional financial support from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the papers would be coming in a phased format; that policies relating to Treasury had been at Audit Committee the previous week; the timeline for the remainder of the budget papers; that there was a request to increase Council Tax above 4.99%.

Cllr Leyshon proceeded to hand over to Maria G. Christofi, Chief Finance Officer and Section 151 Officer and Nicola Hix, Service Director – Finance and Procurement. They explained that without exceptional financial support from the Government it would be impossible to set a balanced budget for 2025/26 and a Section 114 notice would need to be issued.

The Leader of the Council highlighted the recommendations from the Scrutiny Committee – Corporate and Resources on this item.

The Leader of the Council invited comments from Committee Members and other Members present, with officers providing responses as appropriate.

Questions and points raised included: changes made to the fees and charges with relation to Minehead Sailing Club; the ongoing impact of the capitalisation directive; concerns about the budget timeline and the need for exceptional financial support; future savings proposals to come before the Committee; supporting members of the public with queries about future Council Tax when it remains uncertain; clarity on the process and figures related to devolution to City, Town, and Parish Councils; the impact on retail and hospitality of increases in fees and charges and the comparison to sex establishments; the hardship to retail and hospitality due to the current roadworks in Bridgwater; and the statutory recommendations of the auditors regarding savings.

The Leader of the Council concluded the discussion and proceeded to a vote on the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to endorse the proposals below for approval by Full Council:

1. Additional Budget Savings proposals for 2025/26 of £2.918m as set out in Tables 1, 3 and Appendix A  

2. Budget Growth proposals for 2025/26 of £57.642m reducing to £55.719m by 2027/28 as set out in Table 2 and Appendix B  

3. The proposed changes to Fees and Charges for 2025/26 as set out in Appendix C 

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to endorse the recommendations and refer to Full Council for approval:

1.    Rent Setting for 2025/26 

a.    An increase of 2.7% on Dwelling Rents for 2025/26 in line with the Governments Rent Standard. 

b.    An increase of 2.7% for Sheltered and Extra Care housing rents in line with the dwelling rents increase.  

c.     An increase of 2.7% for Shared Ownership properties. 

d.    An increase of 2.7% on affordable rental tenures, with the rent being reviewed at relet based on 80% of open market rent capped at the LHA rate. 

2.    Fees & Charges for 2025/26 

a.    The service Charges for 2025/26 as shown in Appendix A for Homes in Sedgemoor and Appendix B for the In-House Service. 

b.    An increase of 2.7% for garage rents in the North. 

c.     A freeze on garage rents in the West. 

d.    An increase of 1.7% on temporary accommodation daily rates. 

e.    An increase of 1.7% for Meeting Hall hourly rental rates. 

f.      An increase of 1.7% for Guest Room charges. 

g.    To discontinue the lifeline subsidy from 1 April 2025 for all new tenants (whereas existing tenants will still benefit from this protection). 

3.    To note that the Revenue Budget for 2025/26, Capital Budget for 2025/26 to 2029/30, MTFP and 30-Year Business Plan Update will be presented to a later Executive / Full Council in February 2025. 

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Lead Member for Communities, Housing Revenue Account, Culture and Equalities and Diversity, Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts to introduce the item. Cllr Smith-Roberts explained that the decision had been split from the other reports in order to ensure tenants were notified; that the committee would be recommending the maximum increase allowed by the guidance; that the increase had been discussed at the Tenants Strategic Group; that there would be an impact on users of the lifeline service.

Cllr Smith-Roberts proceeded to hand over to Simon Lewis, Head of Housing, and Kerry Prisco, Interim Service Director – Housing, who added that this had had report from Scrutiny Committee – Corporate and Resources and that this increase was needed to enable setting a balanced budget for the HRA.

The Leader of the Council invited comments from Committee Members and other Members present, with officers providing responses as appropriate. Questions and points raised included: the limit for increase is CPI plus 1%; that the increase is lower than last year; and that there had been no staffing changes in the HRA in transformation and why that was the case.

The Leader of the Council concluded the discussion and proceeded to a vote on the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to endorse the recommendations and refer to Full Council for approval:

1.    Rent Setting for 2025/26 

a.    An increase of 2.7% on Dwelling Rents for 2025/26 in line with the Governments Rent Standard. 

b.    An increase of 2.7% for Sheltered and Extra Care housing rents in line with the dwelling rents increase.  

c.    An increase of 2.7% for Shared Ownership properties. 

d.    An increase of 2.7% on affordable rental tenures, with the rent being reviewed at relet based on 80% of open market rent capped at the LHA rate. 

2.    Fees & Charges for 2025/26 

a.    The service Charges for 2025/26 as shown in Appendix A for Homes in Sedgemoor and Appendix B for the In-House Service. 

b.    An increase of 2.7% for garage rents in the North. 

c.    A freeze on garage rents in the West. 

d.    An increase of 1.7% on temporary accommodation daily rates. 

e.    An increase of 1.7% for Meeting Hall hourly rental rates. 

f.      An increase of 1.7% for Guest Room charges. 

g.    To discontinue the lifeline subsidy from 1 April 2025 for all new tenants (whereas existing tenants will still benefit from this protection). 

3.    To note that the Revenue Budget for 2025/26, Capital Budget for 2025/26 to 2029/30, MTFP and 30-Year Business Plan Update will be presented to a later Executive / Full Council in February 2025. 

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

1.    Note the publication of the Government’s devolution White Paper and welcomes the Government’s devolution policy objectives (as set out in section 2 of this report), including the ambitions to extend the geography of devolution across the country and increase the powers, functions and budgets devolved to local areas.  

2.    Authorise the Leader and Chief Executive to continue to work with partner authorities and Government departments (including Dorset. Wiltshire and BCP Councils in the Wessex grouping) to promote and develop a joint strategic approach to devolution.  

3.    Recommend that Full Council:  

a.    endorses the principle of Somerset Council working with partner local authorities (including Dorset, Wiltshire and BCP Councils) to secure a devolution settlement for the Wessex area and the ambition of the partners to be part of Government’s Devolution Priority Programme.  

b.    accepts that Wessex has agreed to be available to Swindon Borough Council and North Somerset Council should they wish to join Wessex at a later stage.  

c.     recognises that the geographies of authorities within the Devolution Priority Programme are identified as areas for the creation of a new MSA from 2026/27 with mayoral elections in May 2026. 

d.    notes the potential opportunities to promote economic growth, skills and prosperity alongside the financial benefits and strategic and operational implications for Somerset Council arising from a devolution settlement and the creation of a MSA. 

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, introduced the item. Cllr Revans highlighted that this paper was in response to the government’s request for expressions of interest in Strategic Regional Authorities.

Cllr Revans proceeded to hand over to Paul Hickson, Service Director for Economic Development, Skills and Climate, who explained: the approach that the Council and other Councils are taking; the background and context of devolution proposals; the new government’s commitment to extend, accelerate, and standardise the approach to devolution; that there was a focus on the growth agenda and public sector reform; that there was a population threshold of approximately 1.5m; that there would be a premium in the devolution settlement for areas with a directly elected mayor; that this proposal was for the devolution priority programme which would be becoming a strategic authority in 2026/27 and there could be a mayoral election in May of 2026; the dialogue the Council has engaged in with government and partner authorities in the South West; the other options available and their feasibility; the opportunities the proposal could provide.

The Leader of the Council invited comments from Committee Members and other Members present, with officers providing responses as appropriate. Questions and points raised included: the importance of regional planning for roads and transport; the need for funding to support it; reluctant enthusiasm for the proposal; that LGR and becoming a unitary authority was supposed to simplify things but there may now be an additional level of government; whether there would be scrutiny of the strategic authority; the costs of the election and office of the mayoralty and where that would be funded from; the need for a voice in the South West; whether the strategic authority would be a precepting body and how to protect the people of Somerset from further increases in tax; the national significance of things in Somerset such as Hinkley Point C, Agratas and the Gravity Enterprise Zone; the long-term funding model of the strategic authority; that there are good examples of this model working elsewhere in the country; that there was public interest and a need for scrutiny involvement in this; the need for investment in Somerset; that this was driven by central government.

The Leader of the Council concluded the discussion and proceeded to a vote on the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

1.    Note the publication of the Government’s devolution White Paper and welcomes the Government’s devolution policy objectives (as set out in section 2 of this report), including the ambitions to extend the geography of devolution across the country and increase the powers, functions and budgets devolved to local areas.  

2.    Authorise the Leader and Chief Executive to continue to work with partner authorities and Government departments (including Dorset. Wiltshire and BCP Councils in the Wessex grouping) to promote and develop a joint strategic approach to devolution.  

3.    Recommend that Full Council:  

a.    endorses the principle of Somerset Council working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

• Consider and acknowledge the SHRSS consultation response. 

• Consider the comments from the Scrutiny Committee – Adults and Health set out in paragraphs 11, 12 and 13 

• Agree and adopt the Somerset Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy 2025-2030 

• Delegate authority to Executive Director – Adult Services & Housing to bid for grant funding as opportunities arise and to approve any changes which may be required due to any legislative or central Government policy changes. 

Cllr Graham Oakes, Lead Member for Public Health, Climate Change and Environment, gave his apologies for the afternoon session.

The Leader of the Council invited the Lead Member for Adults Services, Housing and Homelessness, Cllr Sarah Wakefield, to introduce the item. Cllr Wakefield explained that: this was a statutory requirement; it had been spearheaded by the Homelessness Reduction Board; it includes input from those with lived experience; our position across the county isn’t particularly good but the Council is ambitious; the NHS is supporting it as there is recognition for how not having a home impacts health; and there is lots of work to do across teams including new local plan for Somerset.

Cllr Wakefield proceeded to hand to Kirsty Larkins, interim Service Director for Housing and Jan Errington, Strategic House Manager. They explained: the work developing the strategy and the consultation process; the vision and the impact of the strategy; that this is a council-wide issue and solution; that it requires everyone in the space to be involved and use system-wide thinking; the principles and themes of the strategy; that Somerset had the 6^th highest numbers of rough sleepers in the country; that there had been feedback that was reflected in the strategy.

The Leader of the Council invited comments from Committee Members and other Members present, with officers providing responses as appropriate. Questions and points raised included: positive to see case studies bringing to life people’s experience; the inclusion of care leavers; the importance of feedback from people who use the process; the implications of a smaller number of households owed prevention duty and the need for earlier prevention and identifying household at risks; the difference between Travellers, van dwellers, and rough sleepers, and the habitable vehicle test that Somerset has pioneered; the many challenges that Somerset faces and the causes behind them; the need for MP involvement to advocate and lobby on Housing; the impact of AirBnB on the housing market; that areas in Somerset such as Glastonbury have a history of attracting people to stay; the impact on towns and communities of van dwellers; the reduced housing available particularly for single people; the difficulty of getting new affordable and social housing built, in part due to phosphate issues; the inclusion of armed forces communities and the vulnerability of that group; the population of rural homeless; the increasing complexity of individuals; hidden homelessness and the increase in multi-generational households in undersized homes; whether pressure could be put on affordable housing developers to build affordable housing first; managing viability for housing developers; young people being concerned about homelessness; difficulty of people who have had multiple placements that are unsuccessful; the data collected on overcrowded households; whether the transformation in Adult Social Care to keep people in their homes for longer may have an impact on the housing market; the importance of keeping it in mind all year round, not just in winter; the need for societal change around accommodation.

The Leader of the Council concluded the discussion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

·       agree the adoption of the revised Complaints Policy from 1st April 2025.  

·       sign-off the 2023/24 Annual Feedback Report and approve publication of it to the council’s website. 

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Lead Member for Communities, Housing Revenue Account, Culture and Equalities and Diversity, Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts to introduce the item. Cllr Smith-Roberts explained the annual review of the complaints policy and the annual feedback report and how different directorates work in terms of complaints and compliments.

Cllr Smith-Roberts proceeded to hand over to Sara Cretney, Service Director Strategy & Performance, and Rebecca Martin, Strategic Manager – Customer Insight, Experience & Standards. They explained: the slight revisions to the new policy bringing it inline with the new Ombudsman Code of Practice; that the revisions involved changes to the timescale and adding remedy at an earlier stage; that the customer feedback report is an annual requirement; that complaints had increased by 30% in the first year of the Unitary authority; that the reasons for this increase included making the complaints process easier with the online self service option and some service requests submitted as complaints; that this data was being used to identify areas where things weren’t going well; and the factors around the large number of complaints in the SEND area and the ongoing work with the ombudsman to improve how those are dealt with.

The Leader of the Council invited comments from Committee Members and other Members present, with officers providing responses as appropriate. Questions and points raised included: the need for improvement in how SEND deals with complaints and improvement in the area of SEND, Inclusion, and Education overall; when repeated requests for areas such as a pothole repairs become complaints; the experience of Councillors receiving complaints in their inboxes and how to address that; and how Somerset Council compares to other councils.

The Leader of the Council concluded the discussion and proceeded to a vote on the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

·       agree the adoption of the revised Complaints Policy from 1st April 2025.  

·       sign-off the 2023/24 Annual Feedback Report and approve publication of it to the council’s website. 

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

1. Determine the Admission Arrangements for all Local Authority Voluntary Controlled and Community Primary Schools for the 2026/27 academic year as set out in this report. 

2. Determine the Admission Arrangements for all Local Authority Voluntary Controlled and Community Secondary Schools for the 2026/27 academic year as set out in this report.  

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Lead Member for Children, Families and Education, Cllr Heather Shearer, to introduce the item. Cllr Shearer explained that the Council is required to determine school admission arrangements annually and that there was only on change this year to decrease the Published Admission Number for Holway Park from 60 to 45.

Cllr Shearer proceeded to hand to Phil Curd, Head of Education Places, who explained that there was a requirement that the decision be made 18 months ahead of the academic year in question; that there had been three responses to the consultation; that the change for Holway Park Primary School is due to a reduction in the number of children requiring places, as there is no housing growth and a falling birth rate; that this would have an impact on the school’s finances; that there may be an increase in places for EHCPs as a result; that the consultation responses related to the armed forced covenant, out of catchment siblings, and the use of straight-line distances as a tie-breaker mechanism; that there had not been any change to the arrangements as a result of these responses.

The Leader of the Council invited comments from Committee Members and other Members present, with officers providing responses as appropriate. Questions and points raised included: whether there would be a knock-on impact on other local schools, including secondary schools.

The Leader of the Council concluded the discussion and proceeded to a vote on the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

1. Determine the Admission Arrangements for all Local Authority Voluntary Controlled and Community Primary Schools for the 2026/27 academic year as set out in this report. 

2. Determine the Admission Arrangements for all Local Authority Voluntary Controlled and Community Secondary Schools for the 2026/27 academic year as set out in this report.