Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr Heather Shearer (in attendance online) and Cllr Graham Oakes (in attendance online). Apologies were also received from Alyn Jones, Executive Director Resources, Strategy and Transformation due to annual leave.

To approve the minutes from the previous meetings.

Resolved that the minutes of the Executive held on the 26^th February 2025 and 3^rd March 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 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’.

No public questions were received ahead of the published deadline.

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. Note Council is now forecasting a balanced revenue position (on-budget).  

2. Note the total Council revenue forecast underspend of £25.774m for the year. There is a forecast underspend of £19.714m within Service Directorates for 2024/25 and the Corporate Contingency of £6.000m, whilst remains unallocated it has been released into the forecast outturn within budget lines Table 1.  

3. Note that the planned use of reserves of £36.800m for Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) Support towards the budget is forecast to reduce by £25.774m to £11.026m, due to the forecast underspend within budget lines (paragraph 18).  

4. Agree that mitigating actions are to be identified in order to reduce any overspends, to take action and to contribute to the long-term financial sustainability of the authority.  

5. Agree that the Council continues with the aim of avoiding a Section 114 notice by taking all of the necessary actions and continuing to operate as if one has been issued.  

6. Note the progress and delivered savings of £33.346m of the approved savings programme as set out in Table 2 and Appendix J. 

7. Note that work will continue to find mitigating or substitute savings for the £3.197m of Red unachievable savings, deliver the £0.310m Amber at risk savings and the £3.379m Green on track savings.  

8. Note the in-year forecast overspend on the Dedicated Schools Grant of £30.738m, a decrease of £0.562m from Quarter 3 (paragraph 12).  

9. Note the total forecast Dedicated Schools Grant year-end deficit of £64.649m as set out in Appendix C.  

10. Note the collection rates for Council Tax and Business Rates as set out in paragraph 19.  

11. Approve an addition to the Capital budget of £0.743m of Disabled Facilities Grants available which are fully funded by a grant from MHCLG  

12. Note the Capital Programme forecast outturn at Month 10 is £151.956m.  

13. Approve the additional Month 10 capital slippage of £0.356m into future years  

14. Note the approved write-offs included in the confidential Appendix N.  

It was noted that Appendix N of this item was confidential and any discussion of it would need to be held to the end of the meeting to allow the Committee to enter private session.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Deputy Leader and the Lead Member for Finance, Procurement, and Performance, Cllr Liz Leyshon, to introduce the report. Cllr Leyshon explained: there was a further improvement in the financial position for the year 24/25; that there would be a reduced draw on earmarked reserves; that pressure remained on all services to continue to deliver necessary savings; that the report had already been to Scrutiny Committee – Corporate and Resources; and that the Month 11 report would be a provisional outturn.

Cllr Leyshon proceeded to hand over to Maria Christofi, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Section 151 Officer, who detailed: the improvement from Quarter 3 to Month 10 and the increase in underspends forecast within service directorates; the need to continue this trajectory to get to outturn; the movement within Children’s Services including a reduction in grants related to unaccompanied asylum seekers; the increased underspend in Communities, Climate and Place, and Resources; that savings delivery is at 83% with just under £33.5m achieved and that some savings were at risk within the financial year; that any savings not delivered will be rolled forward into the 2025/26 financial year; the mitigations in place including the spend boards; the need to not be complacent and that reductions will help in future year budgets; the targets for collection fund deliverables; and that the capital programme is reflected in the report and that there is potential for slippage.

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: that the outcome can’t be changed at this point in the year; a breakdown of the different aspects of the Adults Services budget including both overspend and underspends with an overall underspend; the plan to address the overspend in Intermediate Care in the next financial year; the movement in the Children’s Services budget and the reasons behind it and how they are being addressed; the importance of foster care to addressing the overspend in external placements and the complexity of moving children out of residential care into foster care; the ongoing work with South West Fostering Agency to look at fostering across the region and research why foster carers leave; if the impact of the change in NHS England and reduction in Integrated Care Board (ICB) funding is known; the uncertainty created by the changes to the ICB; whether there will be an impact on Continuing Health Care provision; the importance of the partnership approach between the Local Authority and the ICB; the need for earlier support for families that are struggling and the importance of prevention; the causes behind families struggling including defunding of youth services in Somerset, the cost of living crisis, and increase in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

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

1. Extinguish the Silver Street rank and relocate the provision to Princes Street. 

2. Provide a new nighttime only rank in Stars Lane car park. 

3. Remove the two-car rank in Stars Lane car park. 

4. Remove the rank in Middle Street, northeast of South Western Terrace junction. 

5. Retain and amend the Old Station Road rank. 

6. Retain the Earle Street rank. 

7. Retain the South Street rank subject to further monitoring and annual review of safety. 

8. Retain the Hendford rank subject to further monitoring and annual review of safety. 

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 there were eight different changes to the taxi ranks in Yeovil as part of the Yeovil refresh, ensuring that there was the right model for taxi provision, and that the Town Council and Local Members had been consulted.

Cllr Smith-Roberts proceeded to hand over to Yeovil Refresh Manager, Ian Timms, who detailed the recommendations.

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 accessibility in the town and the distance between Princes Street and Silver Street; the loss of parking spaces to accommodate the taxi rank and whether that will impact on independent shops; the impact on people who are reliant on taxis or people being able to drive them as there is limited public transport; whether the loss of the police space would have an impact; that the changes are trying to improve the situation for all users; that additional accessible parking has been provided in some areas; the safety concerns that have arisen relating to visibility; the consultation process and how many responses were received; that moving taxi ranks may increase footfall in some areas of town; that the Town Council supported the proposals and there was no comment from the Chamber of Commerce; and the importance of listening to local views.

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. Extinguish the Silver Street rank and relocate the provision to Princes Street. 

2. Provide a new nighttime only rank in Stars Lane car park. 

3. Remove the two-car rank in Stars Lane car park. 

4. Remove the rank in Middle Street, northeast of South Western Terrace junction. 

5. Retain and amend the Old Station Road rank. 

6. Retain the Earle Street rank. 

7. Retain the South Street rank subject to further monitoring and annual review of safety. 

8. Retain the Hendford rank subject to further monitoring and annual review of safety. 

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

1. Note the Council’s suite of Anti-Fraud and Corruption policies has been reviewed and updated, and have passed through Audit Committee 

2. Recommend the suite of policies for approval by Full Council. 

3. Note the updated Annual Counter Fraud Strategic Action Plan for 2025/26 setting out the corporate arrangements and actions to be taken to deliver the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy. 

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Deputy Leader and the Lead Member for Finance, Procurement, and Performance, Cllr Liz Leyshon, to introduce the report. Cllr Leyshon explained: that the papers today would go to Full Council in May; that the papers set out the Council’s strong approach to fraud and the streamlined reporting line; the new Counter Fraud role and how that would support the approach; and that the Head of Corporate Finance, Ben Bryant, would be able to provide detail on aspects of the report.

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: how this information and training would be shared with Members and staff and whether it would be mandatory; how this links with current mandatory training; that there had been training for Audit Committee Members on this policy; the need for a publicly accessible whistleblowing policy; how the policy works where Somerset Council is the accountable body for any project; the training provided for staff members moving within the organisation due to the restructure; and the assurance of the training data.

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 Council’s suite of Anti-Fraud and Corruption policies has been reviewed and updated, and have passed through Audit Committee 

2. Recommend the suite of policies for approval by Full Council. 

3. Note the updated Annual Counter Fraud Strategic Action Plan for 2025/26 setting out the corporate arrangements and actions to be taken to deliver the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy. 

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

1. Approve the adoption and publication of the Somerset Council Procurement Strategy 2025/26 as in Appendix A; and 

2. Approve the adoption of the Contract Management Framework covering the financial year 2025/26, 2027/28 as in Appendix B. 

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Deputy Leader and the Lead Member for Finance, Procurement, and Performance, Cllr Liz Leyshon, to introduce the report. Cllr Leyshon explained: that this aligns with new national legal obligations and incorporates local priorities; that this is the area that the Council needs to pay closer attention to; that work is ongoing with officers on how we might better secure social value in contracts; that it would be giving people training to give them knowledge and skills on contract management; and that this aligned with recommended audit actions.

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 this would strengthen Somerset Council’s work with outside bodies and the importance of this; the limited staffing resource of 3 people in contract management with Adults Services where the budget is 90% spent on services and how to manage the high number of contracts; the need to get the best value for Somerset; the need for this to also take place in Children’s Services; whether contract managers for gold and silver contracts have completed the training; the Councillors guide to procurement and the inclusion of Scrutiny and the importance of sharing information with Members; the work to audit contracts and update the contract register; the timeline for delivery of training, particularly for new starters; whether there is sufficient oversight of contracts valued below £100,000; the importance of ensuring contracted social value is delivered; the sharing of risks between Somerset Council and its contractors; and the valuable work in contracting Homes and Horizons.

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. Approve the adoption and publication of the Somerset Council Procurement Strategy 2025/26 as in Appendix A; and 

2. Approve the adoption of the Contract Management Framework covering the financial year 2025/26, 2027/28 as in Appendix B. 

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices and discussion, the Executive resolved to consider and endorse Somerset’s Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited Service Director – Strategy and Performance, Sara Cretney to introduce. Sara Cretney introduced Sarah Hawkins as the new Head of Assurance, Performance, and Risk. Sarah Hawkins highlighted: that the action plan is in response to the LGA Peer Challenge feedback; the 24 recommendations in the report and that many of them were consistent with other audits and external reviews; that the action plan includes a number of existing planned activities; that the action plan is based on several themes; and the ask of the Executive.

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: that the feedback had had the same story and overlaps from other reports such as the annual audit report; that the CQC are coming to do an inspection of Adults Services; the development of an independent advisory board and the details of that; the positives of the actions around pay and grade harmonisation and asset disposal; the need to look at other authorities to see what has made LCNs and other bodies effective; whether the action plan is realistic alongside business as usual; whether there are measurable and demonstrable outcomes to achieve in the action plan; how the actions will be incorporated into performance monitoring; the importance of having Lead Members responsible for actions so that the Council can be held to account; the importance of bringing all the recommendations together as part of transformation; the need for allowance in budget for pay and grading review and to look at how the Council recognises, rewards, supports, renumerates and trains staff; the completion dates for actions and whether they are realistic with many actions due by June 2025 and when these will be reported on; and that there is a mixed view of LCNs but it’s important to get everyone in the same room and involved together.

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 consider and endorse Somerset’s Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan.