Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of any interests.

Resolved: that the minutes of the Executive Cabinet meeting held 14 November 2024 be confirmed as a correct record for signing by the Executive Leader.

Members of the public who have requested the opportunity to ask a question(s) on an item(s) on the agenda will have three minutes to put their question(s) to the respective Executive Member(s).  Each member of the public will be allowed to ask one short supplementary question. 

There were no public questions.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Communities and Leisure.

1.    That Members agree for the council to accept £55k from the ASC Transformation Fund, subject to agreement and signing of the grant funding agreements with LCC.

2.    That Members approve the delivery framework set out within the report which seeks to pilot social prescribing as an approach for preventing, reducing or delaying the need for formal social care support.

Councillor Bev Murray, Executive Member for Early Intervention, presented the report of the Director of Communities and Leisure which sought to approve the acceptance of £55,000 from the Adult Social Care (ASC) Transformation Fund, administered by Lancashire County Council (LCC).

Members noted that the Adult Social Care (ASC) Transformation Fund sought to support residents to increase their independence, social inclusion, connection to their communities and improve wellbeing. A further goal was to reduce pressure on the existing model of social care provision by deflecting inappropriate referrals into the system where those individuals identified could be better supported through low level interventions within the community.

The fund would provide the council with the opportunity to build on existing strengths and local infrastructure to deliver a targeted response built around the principles of prevention, early intervention, and independence. This response was based on enhancing the Council’s social prescribing capacity, which had already reduced service pressures across primary and secondary healthcare systems.

Following queries, Members were advised that the fund would target the top three wards with the highest count of contacts to Adult Social Care. The wards identified were Chorley North West, Chorley North and Astley and Clayton East, Brindle and Hoghton.

Resolved (unanimously)

1. That Members agree for the council to accept £55k from the ASC Transformation Fund, subject to agreement and signing of the grant funding agreements with LCC.
2. That Members approve the delivery framework set out within the report which seeks to pilot social prescribing as an approach for preventing, reducing or delaying the need for formal social care support.

Reasons for recommendations          

It is important to have a clear framework and principles for delivery of external funding schemes, ensuring proposals will deliver better outcomes for our communities and are aligned to the council’s existing priorities. This includes clear understanding of any commitments, criteria or expectations of the council set by the external funder e.g. reporting on outcomes, or deliverables being achieved within set timescales.

Other options considered and rejected              

To not accept and allocate the funding would mean that those residents who need support within the local community will not receive it.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public for the following items of business on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

By Virtue of Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Condition:

Information is not exempt if it is required to be registered under-

The Companies Act 1985

The Friendly Societies Act 1974

The Friendly Societies Act 1992

The Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1965 to 1978

The Building Societies Act 1986 (recorded in the public file of any building society, within the meaning of the Act)

The Charities Act 1993

Information is exempt to the extent that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Information is not exempt if it relates to proposed development for which the local planning authority may grant itself planning permission pursuant to Regulation 3 of the Town & Country Planning General Regulations 1992(a).

To exclude the public and press.

Resolved: that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the disclosure of exempt information as defined by paragraph 3 of Part 1 of schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Planning and Property.

1.    To approve the procurement strategy and evaluation criteria for the Town Centre Christmas lights.

2.    To approve delegation to the Executive Member for Economic Development and Public Service Reform to award the subsequent contract up to a value of £500,000.

Councillor Alistair Bradley, Executive Leader and Executive Member for Economic Development and Public Service Reform, presented the confidential report of the Director of Planning and Property which sought approval of the procurement strategy and contract award for the Town Centre Christmas lights.

Following queries, Members were advised that the location of the lights in the town centre could be reconsidered, but there would be limitations based on the tender criteria.

Resolved (unanimously)

1. To approve the procurement strategy and evaluation criteria for the Town Centre Christmas lights.
2. To approve delegation to the Executive Member for Economic Development and Public Service Reform to award the subsequent contract up to a value of £500,000.

Reasons for recommendations

To continue Chorley’s impressive Christmas lighting display and supporting town centre trade by increased levels of footfall.

Other options considered and rejected

To cease this provision - this has been rejected as it would have a detrimental effect on town centre trade.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Finance.

1.    To appoint Technology One to provide the financial system for a period of 10 years (with an option to extend for a further 5 years) at a cost of £125k per annum with one-off implementation costs of £59k.

2.    To approve an increase in the recurring revenue budget for this system of £9.5k (50% of cost increase) and a one-off contribution of £29.5k (50%) from reserves to fund the costs of implementation.

Councillor Peter Wilson, Executive Member for Resources presented the confidential report of the Director of Finance which provided details of the procurement exercise undertaken to appoint a supplier to provide a new Finance System to Chorley Council for a period of 10 years with an option to extend for a further 5 years.

Resolved (unanimously)

1.    To appoint Technology One to provide the financial system for a period of 10 years (with an option to extend for a further 5 years) at a cost of £125k per annum with one-off implementation costs of £59k.

2.    To approve an increase in the recurring revenue budget for this system of £9.5k (50% of cost increase) and a one-off contribution of £29.5k (50%) from reserves to fund the costs of implementation.

Reasons for recommendations

1.    Technology One have demonstrated through a competitive tender process that has been evaluated on a cost, quality and Social Value basis that they offer value for money.

2.    Technology One have also demonstrated that their system will improve access to financial information and the time spent on financial administration for staff across the organisation.

Other options considered and rejected

1.    To award the contract to another provider. This has been rejected as the robust competitive tender process has demonstrated that Technology One offered a tender that met the criteria.

2.    To continue with the existing system. The existing system is significantly out of date for modern requirements and is approaching the end of its contract. An alternative bid from the current provider did form part of the tenders considered.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Customer and Digital.

1.    Approve the joint procurement of food waste caddies in partnership with nine Lancashire districts, led by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

2.    Approve a change in the tender evaluation to a 60% price and 40% quality ratio, including 5% for Social Value, to be procured through a direct award from the ESPO framework. The previous approval was 80:20, with no Social Value consideration due to the nature of the goods.

3.    Approve the food waste caddies to be grey, instead of silver-grey, with the council logo imprinted on them.

4.    Approve the use of polyethylene plastic liners rather than compostable ones.

5.    Approve the initial supply of liners (for one year) with the food caddies and agree to continue supplying liners to participating residents based on ongoing discussions with Lancashire County Council.

6.    Delegate the decision to award the contract to Executive Member for Customer, Streetscene and Environment.

Councillor Adrian Lowe, Executive Member for Customer, Streetscene and Environment presented the confidential report of the Director of Customer and Digital which sought approval to jointly procure food waste caddies, distribution services to households, and caddy liners.

Members noted the proposed change to tender evaluation criteria to 60% price and 40% quality ratio, including 5% for Social Value. They also recognised the importance of circulating information with residents at the early stages of the process.

Resolved (unanimously)

1.    To approve the joint procurement of food waste caddies in partnership with nine Lancashire districts, led by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

2.    To approve a change in the tender evaluation to a 60% price and 40% quality ratio, including 5% for Social Value, to be procured through a direct award from the ESPO framework. The previous approval was 80:20, with no Social Value consideration due to the nature of the goods.

3.    To approve the food waste caddies to be grey, instead of silver-grey, with the council logo imprinted on them.

4.    To approve the use of polyethylene plastic liners rather than compostable ones.

5.    To approve the initial supply of liners (for one year) with the food caddies and agree to continue supplying liners to participating residents based on ongoing discussions with Lancashire County Council.

6.    To delegate the decision to award the contract to Executive Member for Customer, Streetscene and Environment.

Reasons for recommendations

1.    Joint procurement of food waste caddies in larger quantities offers potential cost savings.

2.    The original choice of silver-grey caddies was based on aesthetics. However, after market testing, it was found that grey caddies are more cost-effective, contain 40% recycled plastic, and are more environmentally friendly. This also supports a longer[1]term plan to standardise all waste bins to grey, improving storage efficiency and reducing costs.

3.    Polyethylene liners are more durable, less prone to leakage, and about one-third the cost of compostable liners. These liners are removed at the start of the anaerobic digestion process and converted into Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) for energy recovery. Compostable liners may not degrade quickly enough, potentially ending up as RDF as well. Additionally, polyethylene liners are made from recycled plastic, supporting sustainability.

4.    Providing liners has been shown to increase resident participation in food waste recycling and improve the overall success of food waste collection programs.

Other options considered and rejected

Procuring food caddies and liners separately would not lead to cost savings.

Councillor Alistair Bradley advised that Louise Mattinson, Director of Finance was retiring at the end of the year, and this was therefore her last meeting of the Executive Cabinet. Members thanked her for all her hard work during her time at the council and wished her a happy retirement.