To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 15 October 2019.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 15 October 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any communications or announcements from the Leader of the Council.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Steve Darling, referred to a meeting held last week of the Greater South West Team, this involved Chief Executives, Leaders and representatives from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) from Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset and Torbay, where they agreed to proceed with a Greater South West Document to put to the Government to help drive our economy in the South West and unlock additional funding opportunities.  He welcomed all party involvement in supporting this document when it comes forward for approval over the next few months.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Councillor Law, outlined the success of the Children Looked After Awards ceremony held last Friday and how proud she was of these children.  Some of the children had said it was the best event of their lives.  The event also involved local businesses who provided prizes and praised the children for the way they behaved and thanked everyone involved.  Torquay United Football Club and Torbay Steam Railway have also given our looked after children and families free tickets to show the appreciation of all their good work.

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Public Health, Councillor Stockman, referred to a recent meeting with Adel Jones, Director of Transformation and Partnerships - Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, where praise was given to both the Trust and Torbay Council for agreeing the risk share and the commitment to working together to reduce the money spent on adult social care.

To consider any other items the Chairman decides are urgent.

The Cabinet considered the item in Minute 50.1, and not included on the agenda, the Chairman being of the opinion that it was urgent by reason of special circumstances i.e. the matter having arising since the agenda was prepared and it was unreasonable to delay a decision until the next meeting.

The Cabinet considered the following matters, full details of which (including the Cabinet’s decisions) are set out in the Record of Decisions appended to these Minutes.

To consider the submitted report on the above annual report.

To consider the submitted report on the above.

Members received and noted the submitted report which set out the revised Children’s Improvement Plan and Ofsted Monitoring Letter.  These documents had been considered in detail at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board on 29 October 2019 and their feedback was included in the covering report.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services highlighted the ongoing work being carried out by the Service including changes to the relationship with Plymouth City Council, which had been announced since the Board meeting.  Following a review with colleagues from Plymouth City Council and the Department for Education of the joint arrangements with Plymouth it was decided that both Councils need their own dedicated Director of Children’s Services to make the improvements that are necessary for our respective services at pace.  This means that by mutual agreement the arrangements with Plymouth will end in Mid-January 2020 and the Council will seek to recruit a full time Director of Children’s Services.  In the meantime, the Employment Committee has recommended that Nancy Meehan be appointed as the Interim Director of Children’s Services which will be agreed formally at the Council meeting on 9 January 2020.

The Cabinet acknowledged the need to learn from other Authorities’ good practice and welcomed Nancy Meehan, Deputy Director of Children’s Services and her Team, who have a proven track record of improving Children’s Services in other areas such as Tower Hamlets.

Members acknowledged that whilst the letter highlighted some areas in need of improvement, it complimented the Council-wide improvement programme, appointment of a new chair of the Children’s Improvement Board and recognised the corporate and political leadership in driving improvements forward to focus more on the needs of our children.  The Chief Finance Officer advised that the proposed budget for 2020/2021 would include investment in Children’s Services which it was hoped would, alongside the improvement actions, set the Service on a stable basis.

To consider the submitted report on the latest Children’s Services Medium Term Financial Plan.

This item was deferred to 26 November 2019.

To consider the submitted report on the proposed draft Housing Strategy for consultation.

This item was withdrawn.