Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Tamoor Tariq.

Members of Cabinet are asked to consider whether they have an interest in any of the matters of the Agenda and, if so, to formally declare that interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

Questions are invited from members of the public about the work of the Cabinet.

Notice of any question must be given to Democratic Services by midday on Monday, 13 February 2023. Approximately 30 minutes will be set aside for Public Question Time, if required.

There were no public questions.

Questions are invited from Elected Members about items on the Cabinet agenda. 15 minutes will be set aside for Member Question Time, if required.

Notice of any Member question must be given to the Monitoring Officer by midday Friday, 10 February 2023.

The following question was submitted in advance of the meeting by Councillor Carol Birchmore:

Referring to the table at section 14 : Expenditure and Forecast 2022/23, we were told at the Overview & Scrutiny Meeting 9th February 2023 that this spending was on decarbonisation and was funded through a government grant. Please can you advise exactly what the nature and purpose of this grant is, whether it has a deadline for spending and if so is it likely that the grant will all be spent or will some of it have to be handed back to the Government.

Responding, Councillor Richard Gold reported that, first of all apologies whilst some of this is due to a decarbonisation grant it is only £990k this year which will all be fully spent this year as part of wave 1. We have also secured a further £1.2m for wave 2 of which we have to match fund with £4m but this has got to be spent by March 2025 so is going to be 2023/4 spend.

In relation to this year STH have confirmed they are still forecasting to spend circa £14.7m this financial year and have completed 70% of the planned works but that payment is running about 3 months behind completion of the works. Officers will pick this up as a separate issue and progress payments before the end of the financial year where this is within the supplier payment terms.

The following question was submitted in advance of the meeting by Councillor Mary Walsh:

School Transport for non-SEND High school children - why is this transport for non-SEND children not included in the budget? Why is it that the issues raised with senior Council Officers about this issue not been both answered and rectified? Will I now receive a reply?

Councillor Lucy Smith reported that the Council’s policy on eligibility for free school travel passes for pupils attending a mainstream school outlines the circumstances in which Bury Council will provide travel assistance for children and young people, of compulsory school age, attending a mainstream school. This will usually be in the form of a free travel pass that is valid for the journey between home and school on school days only, up to 9pm in the evening.

The annual budget for non-SEND travel has not been changes and remains £56,400. However, there continues to be demand pressures on the budget. This year we have seen an increase in the number of applications and eligible pupils. From September 2022 to 14 February 2023, 358 travel passes have been issued to pupils that meet the eligibility criteria within the policy, at a cost of £90,150. Of the 358 passes issued in this period, 193 (53%) were to pupils residing in the Radcliffe area. Of those 193 pupils, 38 are attending the Derby High School, and a further 61 pupils are attending faith schools. The remaining Radcliffe resident pupils are mainly dispersed across Bury secondary schools.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA.122

Minutes from the meeting held on 11 January 2023 are attached.

With regards to minute CA.112, Jacqui Dennis, Director of Law and Democratic Services, advised that Counsel’s fee was £5,000.

It was agreed:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities is attached.

Councillor Richard Gold, Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities, presented the report which outlined the forecast financial position of the Council at the end of 2022/23 based on the information known at the end of the third quarter, 31st December 2022. The report set out the position for both revenue and capital and provided an analysis of the variances, both under and overspending.

In response to Members’ questions, it was agreed that if any schemes on the capital programme were being deprioritised then Councillors would be notified. Councillor Gold gave assurance that savings and budgets would be monitored on a weekly basis by the Executive Team, and Chief Executive Geoff Little advised that savings were being phased and full project plans sat underneath savings targets so they could be effectively prioritised and realised.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Noted the forecast overspend of £3.959m within the revenue budgets at Quarter Three and the need for Directorates to continue to work with their finance managers to maintain tight budgetary control and to ensure services work within their budgets;

2.    Noted the position on the Dedicated Schools Grant, Collection Fund and the Housing Revenue Account;

3.    Noted the transfer of £1.5m from the Utilities reserve which has been allocated to Non Service Specific and therefore already reflected in the position. This will be allocated across the services as part of month 10.

4.    Approved the roll forward of the previously identified reserve of £567k for free school meals during school holidays which was not required in 2021/22 or 2022/23 as a consequence of the Council receiving the Household Support fund monies which provided for free school meals during school holidays;

5.    Approved the additions of £0.600m and reductions of £0.475m to the capital programme;

6.    Noted the capital budget underspend and approve this as rephasing into future financial years. The exact figure to be updated at Outturn.

Reasons for the decision:

To ensure the Council’s budgetary targets are achieved. This report is in accordance with the Council’s financial procedure regulations.

Other options considered and rejected:

None.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities is attached.

Councillor Richard Gold, Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities, presented the report which formed part of a suite of documents relating to the Council’s budget setting process for 2023/24. It established the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2023/24 and proposed the rent levels for Council Housing for Dwelling and Garage rents, Sheltered Support, Management, Service and Heating charges and Furnished Tenancy charges. The report also established the Management Fee paid to Six Town Housing for 2023/24

Decision:

Cabinet approved and commended the following to Council:

HRA Budget

1.    Approve the 2023/24 budget for the Housing Revenue Account; and

2.    Approve a 3% reduction for the Management Fee to Six Town Housing for 2023/24.

Rent Setting

3.    For 2023/24 individual social and affordable rents be set at the Governments rent cap of 7% with effect from 3rd April 2023;

4.    For 2023/24 shared ownership rents be voluntarily limited to an increase of 7% with effect from 3rd April 2023;

5.    Approve an increase in Garage rents by (Consumer Price Inflation as at September 2022) CPI 10.1%;

6.    Approve an increase in Sheltered Management and Support Charges by CPI 10.1%;

7.    Approve an increase in Service and Amenity Charges by CPI 10.1%;

8.    Approve an increase in Support and Heating charges by CPI 10.1%;

9.    Approve an increase in Furnished Tenancy charges by CPI 10.1%;

10.Note that where a social rent property is re-let to a new or transferring tenant the rent level be increased to the target rent for that property; and

11.Note that for 2023/24 and onwards, where an affordable rent property is re-let to a new or transferring tenant the rent level be set by reference to 80% of the market rent (including service charges where applicable) for a similar property at the time of letting or the formula rent for the property, whichever is the greater.

Reasons for the decision:

To progress the Council’s budget setting process to achieve an approved and balanced budget.

Other options considered and rejected:

None.

Budget reports from the Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities are attached:

·         The Council’s Budget 2023/24 and the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24 - 2026/27 (Appendix 4B attached separately below)

·         The Dedicated Schools Grant and setting the Schools Budget 2023- 24

·         Capital Strategy and Capital programme 2023/24

·         Flexible use of Capital Receipts Strategy 2023/24

·         Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators 2023/24

Councillor Richard Gold, Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities, presented the suite of budget papers with comprised:

·         The Council’s Budget 2023/24 and the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24 - 2026/27

·         The Dedicated Schools Grant and setting the Schools Budget 2023- 24

·         Capital Strategy and Capital programme 2023/24

·         Flexible use of Capital Receipts Strategy 2023/24

·         Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators 2023/24

Councillor Gold advised that this budget was set against backdrop of economic crisis, war in Ukraine, increased energy costs, rising interest rates, rising inflation and also local context of children’s improvement journey and workforce shortages, particularly in terms of social workers, which have resulted in the use of expensive agency and managed teams. The funding settlement did result in a welcome increase in grants, but these were non-recurrent and have conditions against them. A raise in Council tax of 2.99% and a 2% adult social care precept was being proposed and had been assumed within these budget proposals.

Taking into account recurrent and non-recurrent spending pressures, the recurrent gap has increased to £31.395m. This has been closed in part by increased Council tax and business rates with the remainder being met by a phased savings approach and through use of £4.802m reserves. It was noted that whilst the Council was able to produce a balanced budget for 2023/24 and was financially resilient in the short term subject to the delivery of all of the savings proposals, reserves have been reduced significantly over the last few years and the Council needs to commence a programme of rebuilding these.

Members discussed the use of reserves, and in response to Members’ questions, it was noted that one of the four Primary Care Networks operated differently from the others and discussions were ongoing to meet the same commitment as outlined in the OCO - Staying Well appendix.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Approved the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and the assumptions regarding resources and spending requirements;

2.    Noted the Council Tax base is the equivalent of 56,708 Band D dwellings, this is the basis on which the Council Tax funding has been calculated;

3.    Approved the net revenue budget of £210.813m for 2023/24;

4.    Approved an increase in Council Tax of 2.99% in terms of General Council Tax and a further 2% for the Adult Social Care Precept in each of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years;

5.    Approved, subject to statutory regulations and legislation with regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State, to implement a 100% Council Tax premium on 2nd homes and to amend the timing of the premium on empty and unoccupied properties with effect from April 2024;

6.    Approved the recurrent changes to expenditure of £16.852m in 2023/24;

7.    Approved the non-recurrent changes to expenditure of £3.618m in 2023/24;

8.    Approved the proposed savings and additional income of £22.545m for the 2023/24 financial year;

9.    Approved the use of reserves of £4.802m in 2023/24;

10.Approved the transfer of £1.912m into reserves with regards to the funding of social  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA.126

Report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR is attached.

Councillor Tahir Rafiq, Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR, presented the report which provided a summary of key delivery and performance that occurred during Quarter Three (October – December) 2022-23, aligned to the 3R priorities. In response to Members’ questions, it was noted that staff absences had been discussed in detail at recent sub-committee meetings, the papers of which could be shared to Councillors upon request, but related to lasting effects of Covid-19 and were in line with national levels. Members also queried bin collection and recycling rates and it was noted that this was cyclical based on seasonal changes (i.e. less garden waste in the winter). It was agreed that, for data like this, average rates be shared in future reports. 

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Noted the performance and delivery against the 3R priorities and the 2022-23 Corporate Plan delivery objectives; and

2.    Noted the ongoing developments to strengthen and improve this reporting process and functionality.

Reasons for the decision:

This report continues our commitment to “strengthening the basics” by embedding the corporate business planning process across all the work of the Council and NHS Bury Integrated Care Partnership (ICP). This will allow for more effective performance management at organisation, departmental and officer level.

Alternative options considered and rejected

No alternative option considered.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People is attached.

Councillor Lucy Smith, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, presented the report which set out the outcome of the consultation on proposed changes to the admissions policy for maintained secondary schools, including removing catchment areas and instead using a distance criterion, so when considering oversubscription priority would be given to those applicants residing closest to the school for which they are applying. The changes would come into effect for applications for secondary school places for the academic year 2024/25 and would apply to all Community secondary schools and non-faith Academies in the borough.

In response to Members’ questions, it was noted that this should reduce the numbers of non-SEN transport to school. Members also discussed the new school in Radcliffe, noting frustration with the DfE over the temporary facilities expected for September 2024, and it was noted that efforts continued to ensure these were fit for purpose and would be for as short a time as possible.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Approved the proposed admissions policy for maintained secondary schools, to come into effect for applications for secondary school places for the academic year 2024/25; and

2.    Following consultation on behalf of Academy Trusts, agreed that the proposed policy will apply to all Community secondary schools and non-faith Academies in the borough.

Reasons for the decision:

Catchment areas in Bury have not been reviewed for many years. Changing demographics across the borough over time, means that catchment areas no longer reflect the schools that they serve. Further, as a number of secondary schools have closed over time, with former catchment areas being consolidated into those of remaining schools, that don’t reflect size of school being served, or geographical boundaries.

The Council is committed to delivering a new secondary school for Radcliffe, which is expected to admit its first cohort of pupils in September 2024. This will also impact on the current designated catchment areas. The majority of respondents to the consultation were in favour of the proposed policy changes. Discussions have taken place with neighbouring LA’s as to their admission arrangements. Removing catchment areas would align with our neighbouring LA’s admissions policies whilst complying with the School Admissions Code.

Alternative options considered and rejected

To retain existing admission arrangements for maintained secondary schools would not be viable due to the reasons stated above.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills is attached.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills, presented the report which sought approval in principle for the relocation of Pennine Care from Humphrey House to 3 Knowsley Place. This would create a revenue savings to the Council and the generation of a capital receipt from the subsequent sale of Humphrey House, which would be used to make a capital contribution towards the fit out costs of 3KP.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Approved the current Heads of Terms of the assignment of the Councils’ Lease at 3 Knowsley Place to Pennine Care;

2.    Approved the relocation of Council staff currently occupying 3 Knowsley Place to 6 Knowsley Place and the Town Hall subject to appropriate consultation;

3.    Approved the Capital contribution towards Pennine Care’s fit out at 3 Knowsley Place;

4.    Delegated any minor variations to the final Heads of Terms to the Director of Regeneration & Capital Growth in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, Section 151 Officer and the Leader of the Council; and

5.    Delegated the signing of all contracts required to complete the assignment, lease and landlords' consent to the Councils Monitoring Officer.

Reasons for the decision:

Relocation of Pennine Care from Humphrey House into 3 Knowsley Place will bring about a capital receipt from the sale of Humphrey House. It will also deliver revenue savings from the shared occupation of 3 Knowsley Place for the duration of the lease term. However, that income will in part be a replacement for the income currently received for Humphrey House.

Alternative options considered and rejected

·         Option 1: Do Nothing - in this scenario Pennine Care would remain in Humphrey House. The Council would be faced with significant capital expenditure to refurbish Humphrey House which would provide very little in the way of additional income. The Council would forgo the opportunity to sell Humphrey House and generate a capital receipt and would lose the opportunity to develop the site for an alternative purpose (housing). The revenue savings from the shared occupation of 3 Knowsley Place would be lost. As such, this option has been discounted.

·         Option 2: Procced with assignment lease to Pennine Care - this option would see Pennine Care relocated. Whilst this option requires the Council to contribute towards Pennine Care’s fit-out costs, in the medium to longer term this is outweighed by the capital receipt from the sale of Humphrey House and revenue savings from the Council assigning its current lease to Pennine Care and the shared occupation of 3 Knowsley Place.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills is attached.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills, presented the report which presented the findings of a cross party Working Group established to look at the future of Bury Town Hall and presented a preferred option for consultation; to undertake a phased refurbishment of the Town Hall. Members discussed the report, noting their hope that the public took advantage of the consultation as the Town Hall was a public building at its heart.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Approved the preferred option of a phased refurbishment of the Town Hall as the basis for a consultation with the public, staff and trade unions;

2.    Requested that the Executive Director (Place) submit a further report to Cabinet in April 2023 on the outcome of the consultation process to coincide with a report recommending detailed terms for the transfer of the Council’s lease obligation for 3 Knowsley Place to Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust;

3.    Noted the intention to submit a detailed investment case for the refurbishment of the Town Hall to Cabinet by summer 2023;

4.    Noted that, subject to satisfactory progress on the proposals to refurbish the Town Hall and the transfer the Council’s lease obligations for 3 Knowsley Place, options for the disposal of the Q Park roof site and Humphrey House will then be presented to Cabinet;

5.    Noted the intention in the longer term to withdraw from the lease for 6 Knowsley Place subject to sufficient refurbished accommodation being made available at the Town Hall; and

6.    Noted the findings of the Member Working Group on the future of the Town Hall as set out in the report in Part B of this agenda.

Reasons for the decision:

·         The recommendations to commission a phased refurbishment of the Town Hall and to withdraw from leased premises at 3 and 6 Knowsley Place are the most cost-effective way of continuing to provide accommodation for the Borough’s civic and democratic functions and suitable space for the Council’s administrative staff.

·         The recommendations also provide the most effective means of reducing the carbon footprint of the Council’s estate compared to other options for the future of the Town Hall. The Council’s corporate buildings account for 41% of its carbon emissions.

·         The recommendations will support the implementation of the Bury Town Centre Masterplan, approved by Cabinet in March 2022 by retaining and refurbishing a key heritage asset and promoting high quality public realm.

·         The recommendations will create a public service hub with Council, NHS and Six Town Housing staff being consolidated at the Town Hall and Knowsley Place.

·         This will improve efficiency and joint working. Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust will transfer staff to Knowsley Pace from Humphrey House and from sites outside of Bury town centre. This increase in public service staff based in a public service hub will support retail businesses in the town centre, which is a key objective of the Masterplan.

Alternative options considered and rejected

·         To undertake an interim upgrade of the Town Hall and maintain  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA.130

Report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR is attached.

Councillor Tahir Rafiq, Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR, presented the report which sought a decision regarding who should be the Council’s Partner (or reseller) beyond the existing Microsoft Licensing Solutions Partner, SCC.

Decision:

Cabinet agreed to extend the existing Microsoft Licensing Solutions Partner, SCC, for a further 2 years via HealthTrust Europe’s ICT Solutions 2019 Framework ComIT2.

Reasons for the decision:

SCC are a leading Licensing Solutions Partner (LSP) and given Bury Council has a fixed price agreement with Microsoft for the next two years there are no savings to be made by switching to a different LSP.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Switch to a different Licensing Solutions Partner (LSP). This option has been rejected as there would be no financial gain to the Council however additional costs would be incurred to run a procurement exercise.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR is attached.

Councillor Tahir Rafiq, Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR, presented the report which sought to procure a solution for consolidated legacy applications not compatible with the Microsoft Azure Cloud Platform. Members voiced their support for the report, in particular ensuring more digitally enabled systems for licensing and ease of use for the end user.

Decision:

Cabinet approved the decision to procure the solution as detailed on Part B to allow the continuation of the cloud migration programme.

Reasons for the decision:

·         The savings that will be generated as detailed in Part B.

·         Two of the legacy applications are not Microsoft Azure compatible and the servers that they currently reside on will be out of security support by the end of the 2023.

·         The existing servers reside within the Town Hall and Textile Hall data centres which are due to be decommissioned by the end of 2023.

Alternative options considered and rejected

·         To continue to invest in the Council’s on-premise data centre which is high risk due to the age of the hardware and infrastructure. In this case the Council would not benefit from having data stored in a cloud environment, or the improved data management to support the delivery of high-quality business intelligence.

·         The Council retains the option to upgrade to newer Azure compatible solutions and remain with the existing suppliers of the legacy systems, however this would mean continuing to pay three sets of maintenance fees for the separate systems and would not realise the benefit of a fully integrated solution.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Health, and Wellbeing is attached.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills, presented the report which sought to formalise revised partnership arrangements for health and care in Bury. It was noted that at the meeting on 6th February, the Locality Board supported and approved the suite of papers submitted, pending enhancement and more detail around Primary Care which will be reviewed and incorporated (as applicable) before submission to the GM ICB.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Approved of the following key documents:

·         Locality Board terms of reference.

·         Bury Integrated Care Partnership Agreement.

·         Section 75 agreement – principles included within covering report.

2.    Recognised the requirement to commit to the 2022/23 finance schedules as part of the GM ICB approvals process and confirmed that this final decision to be approve be delegated to the Executive Director of Finance;

3.    Noted the ongoing commitment of partners to work across neighbourhoods in order to continue to deliver our Locality Plan;

4.    Noted that the principles included within the section 75 report included here will form the basis of the detailed updates to the full section 75 working document and the financial schedules in particular;

5.    Noted the commitment to further strengthen the section 75 legal documentation with a further iteration of this document proposed within next 3-6 months; and

6.    Noted the contents of the updated Locality Plan that underpins all the work happening across the borough.

Reasons for the decision:

To fulfil the requirement of NHS Greater Manchester governance that all localities formalise Locality Board terms of reference and related documentation prior to end of March 2023. This approval will enable Locality Boards to formally adopt decision making powers from 1st April 2023 onwards.

Alternative options considered and rejected

None.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People is attached.

Councillor Lucy Smith, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, presented the report which set out the measures that the Council is taking to ensure that the policy regarding provision of transport or travel assistance is both legally compliant and continues to meet the needs of those young people who require support in accordance with the statutory duty.

Decision:

Cabinet noted that following the LGO findings, the Council has committed to review its current policy for transport and travel assistance as it affects post 19 learners. In advance of the review of the full transport policy, the local authority has made changes to the post 19 arrangements and has published an updated statement on the Council’s website.

Reasons for the decision:

The LGO has requested confirmation that the Council is aware of the outcome of its investigation, and of the measures taken in response.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Following the LGO findings there was an immediate need to review the policy and publish updated arrangements. No alternative options were considered.

To consider the minutes of meetings of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority held on 16 December 2022 and 27 January 2023.

It was agreed:

That the minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority meetings held on 16 December 2022 and 27 January 2023 be noted.

Any other business which by reason of special circumstances the Chair agrees may be considered as a matter of urgency.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills, paid tribute to Geoff Little, Chief Executive, as this was his last Cabinet meeting before retirement. Councillor O’Brien thanked Geoff for adding substance and rigor to reports, and being a driving force behind the level of detail and commitment to delivering outcomes for residents.

To consider passing the appropriate resolution under Section 100 (A)(4), Schedule 12(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the reason that the following business involves the disclosure of exempt information as detailed against the item.

Decision:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100 (A)(4), Schedule 12(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, for the reason that the following business involves the disclosure of exempt information as detailed against the item.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills is attached.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills, presented the Part B report which contained the full financial details.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Approved the current Heads of Terms of the assignment of the Councils’ Lease at 3 Knowsley Place to Pennine Care;

2.    Approved the relocation of Council staff currently occupying 3 Knowsley Place to 6 Knowsley Place and the Town Hall subject to appropriate consultation;

3.    Approved the Capital contribution towards Pennine Care’s fit out at 3 Knowsley Place;

4.    Delegated any minor variations to the final Heads of Terms to the Director of Regeneration & Capital Growth in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, Section 151 Officer and the Leader of the Council; and

5.    Delegated the signing of all contracts required to complete the assignment, lease and landlords' consent to the Councils Monitoring Officer.

Reasons for the decision:

As set out for the Part A report.

Other options considered and rejected:

As set out for the Part A report.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills is attached.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth and Skills, presented the Part B report which presented the full report of the Members’ working group set-up and established to identify a strategic development plan for Bury Town Hall which takes account of the wider administrative estate including commercially sensitive information relating to Council rental levels and lease agreements.

Decision:

Cabinet endorsed the final report of the Working Group.

Reasons for the decision:

The Working Group was established because it was necessary to build cross party support for a strategic approach which will have implications for the next thirty years for Bury Council.

Other options considered and rejected:

The Working Group report contains several options for dealing with the Town Hall building before identifying a ‘preferred option’, the rationale for this is detailed both in the Working Group report and the ‘Part A’ report.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR is attached.

Councillor Tahir Rafiq, Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR, presented the Part B report which contained the full financial details.

Decision:

Cabinet approved the decision to procure the solution as detailed on Part B to allow the continuation of the cloud migration programme.

Reasons for the decision:

As set out for the Part A report.

Other options considered and rejected:

As set out for the Part A report.