The Chair invited Councillor Skeats to address the Committee on the occasion of her last meeting after serving as a Councillor since 1996.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive any petitions from the public and any questions from the public and Councillors.

Questions on the following matters were submitted by members of the public:

Questions on the following matters were submitted by Councillors:

(The full text of the questions and responses was made available on the Reading Borough Council website).

This report seeks approval for the disposal of Caversham Court Stables on a 10-year lease, on the terms set out in the report.

The Executive Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report seeking approval for the disposal of Caversham Court Stables (the Property) on a 10-year lease.  The Property was shown on a plan attached to the report at Appendix A.  Confidential information relating to the disposal was also set out in Appendices B-F which had been submitted to the Committee in closed session (Minute 98 below refers).

The report explained that the Property, a Grade II listed building, was currently vacant and had been declared surplus.  In 2015/16 it had been marketed for short-term commercial leases, but the preferred letting had not progressed due to parking issues raised during the planning application process.  In February 2018, the Property had been re-marketed but issues had been raised with the presence of the gardener’s office within the building complex.  The gardening service was a requirement of the capital and revenue lottery grant for the upgrade of Caversham Court Gardens and a range of options had been considered, with the only viable option being to relocate to a new purpose-built office within the adjacent allotment.  A detailed design feasibility had been carried out including costings, but issues raised during the Listed Building application process meant the proposed site building had not been suitable.  As a condition of any lease the gardener’s office would remain in situ either using the current separate welfare facilities or with a reconfigured layout at an estimated one-off cost to the Council of circa £10,000.

The report explained that the Property had been remarketed in 2021 on the open market and in accordance with the Third Sector Policy, and that a total of nine offers had been received: three from the third sector and six from private individuals/developers.  The offers included retaining the Property for office use as well as a change of use to educational and residential uses.  All offers had been on the basis of a leasehold disposal with the Council retaining the freehold and a landlord role to enable better control on enforcing future uses and obligations in the context of the listed gardens.  Further information on the bids was provided in the Confidential Summary Information Appendix B and Confidential Bid Application Summary Table Appendix C considered in closed session.

The report explained that the top Third Sector offer had been made by Rabble Theatre Group and was an unconditional offer, subject to survey, to lease the Property for 10 years with an option to purchase on a 999-year leasehold.  They had submitted a detailed Business Plan and Third Sector Bid and had undertaken a range of building, financial and professional due diligence as part of the submission.  The offer did not require the reconfiguration of the gardener’s office.  The full bid was set out at Appendix D (submitted in closed session) and was supported by Cultural Services, whose comments were set out in Appendix E (considered in closed session), and by the Council’s Conservation and Urban Design Officer in the context of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

This report outlines the proposed use of Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 and Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme 2021-2024 grant funding to relieve and prevent rough sleeping in Reading.

The Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report outlining funding applications to the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing (DLUHC) for the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) 2022-25 and Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) 2021-2024 to relieve and prevent rough sleeping in Reading.  Subject to approval and award from DLUHC the report sought authority to procure and award contracts utilising the grant funds and authorisation to enter into new contract arrangements from 1 October 2022.

The report explained that the Council had applied for DLUHC grant funding of a maximum sum of £1.8m to fund Housing First and tailored off the streets support under RSI 2022-25, for which alocation announcements were due in April 2022. This three-year funding award from RSI 2022-25 would provide the opportunity for longer contracts than had been possible through previous iterations of RSI.  The full application for RSI 2022-25 grant also included funds of circa £1m for extending existing interventions until new contract start dates in October 2022 to ensure smooth implementation and that no vulnerable people were disadvantaged, increasing FTE internal operational and strategic capacity and seasonal demand/surge funding for emergency accommodation.

The report proposed that, subject to grant funds being allocated and awarded to Reading under RSI 2022-25, an open tender exercise be carried out and 30-month contracts of a maximum sum of £1.8m awarded to the successful tenderer(s) for Housing First and tailored off the street support functions with contract start dates of 1 October 2022. 

The report also stated that grant funds had been applied for and awarded to the value of £220k under DLUHC’s Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) 2021-24 to deliver “Move-on Homes”. Funds would support couples with multiple needs to move on from supported housing into settled accommodation with intensive tenancy sustainment support.  It was proposed that, an open tender exercise be carried out and a 24-month contract awarded, with an overall contract value of £220k, to the successful tenderer for support to couples in “Move-on Homes” with a contract start date of 1 October 2022.

Resolved –

(1)      That the following be noted:

(a)  the application to the DLUHC for Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) 2022-25 funding in the maximum sum of £1.8m to commission (a) Housing First and (b) tailored support from the streets into settled accommodation including navigators, outreach/in-reach & out of hours tenancy sustainment;

(b) the DLUHC award of funding in the sum of £220k from the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) 2021-24 to deliver “Move-on Homes”;

(2)      That, subject to the successful outcome of the application in 1(a) above, the Assistant Director of Housing and Communities, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Housing, be authorised to:

(i)            enter into a grant agreement with DLUHC for it to provide Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) 2022-25 funding of a maximum sum of £1.8m; and

(ii)          procure the necessary contracts to implement the RSI 2022-25 funding conditions and enter into contracts with the successful tenderers in respect of the services referred to 1(a)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

This report sets out the Annual Report on parking enforcement activities as required under the Traffic Management Act 2004.

The Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report presenting the Annual Report on Civil Parking Enforcement, as required by the Traffic Management Act.  The Parking Services Annual Report 2020 – 2021 was attached to the report at Appendix 1 and a Climate Impact Assessment was attached at Appendix 2.

The report noted that the 202-2021 annual report set out financial details relating to total income and expenditure on the parking account and statistical information relating to the number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued, paid, cancelled, and challenged, as required by the Statutory Guidance.  It also included information on Residents Parking Permits, Bus Lane Enforcement, Blue Badge Issues and Enforcement, Car Parks, Pay and Display and Freedom of Information requests.

Resolved –

          (1)      That the Parking Services Annual Report 2020-21 be noted;

(2)      That it be noted that the annual reports for 2015-2020 were available on the Council’s website and that the 2020/21 annual report would be published in April 2022.

This report seeks authority to procure and award a contract for the provision of a third-party hosted strategic HR & Payroll system.

The Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report seeking authority to procure and award a contract for the provision of a third party hosted, strategic HR & Payroll system for a period of two years, with a possible extension period of a further two years.

The report noted that the Council required an HR & Payroll system to effectively manage and pay employees in compliance with relevant legislation, and to meet its obligations in respect of statutory reporting.  Midland HR’s iTrent software had been used for a number of years, primarily for payroll and pensions provision, the most recent contract extension being for five years from 2017 with the contract due to expire in May 2022.  The system was hosted by Midland HR who also provided helpdesk support and upgrades funded as part of the ongoing annual system costs. 

The report explained that since 2019 the Council had transformed its HR service and the development and utilisation of iTrent had increased significantly with additional modules and functionality now including: Recruitment & Onboarding, Performance Management, Absence Management, Annual Leave, HR Case Management and Employee and Manager Self Service.  The implementation costs of £280,318 had been met from the Council’s Delivery Fund due to their transformational nature.

The report proposed that, due to the investment in the use of iTrent since 2019, its integral position in the Council’s processes, and the results of benchmarking showing that this solution was approximately 20% less expensive than the next best priced alternative, the Council retain the iTrent system for a further period with a proposed procurement route to award via the G-Cloud Framework.  The new agreement would see all existing functionality retained with new provision added, including E-signatures, interactive payslips and Chatbot providing an enhanced user experience.  A reciprocal clause would be included to ensure that significant changes in staffing numbers were reflected in the annual charges. The contract would be structured over two years, with the option to extend by two further years.

Resolved –

          That the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Corporate and Consumer Services, be authorised to procure and award a contract for provision of a third party hosted, strategic HR & Payroll system for a period of two years, with a possible extension period of a further two years.

The following motion will be moved by the Chair:

“That, pursuant to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) members of the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following items on the agenda, as it is likely that there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant Paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of that Act”

Resolved –

That pursuant to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), members of the press and public be excluded during consideration of item 97 below as it was likely that there would be a disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs specified in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to that Act.

The Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report seeking authority to enter a contract for the replacement of the Education Management System currently used by Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC). The provision and maintenance of the system were delivered to BFfC through the ICT Service Level Agreement, with the system contract being the responsibility of the Council.  The new system contract was required to deliver both service improvements and efficiencies which were detailed in the report.

Resolved –

          That the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Chief Digital and Information Officer and the Assistant Director of Procurement & Contracts, be authorised to award the contract for a replacement Education Management System.

(Exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3).

Further to the report submitted to the Committee on a proposal to dispose of Caversham Court Stables (Minute 92 above refers), the Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report setting out additional confidential information which the Committee were asked to take into account in making a decision on the proposed disposal.  The following documents were attached to the report:

·       Appendix B – Confidential Summary information

·       Appendix C – Confidential Bid Application Summary Table

·       Appendix D – Confidential RABBLE Theatre Group Third Sector Bid

·       Appendix E – Confidential Culture Development Officer Comments

·       Appendix F – Confidential Valuer’s Report – Section 123 Under Value Report

Resolved –

          That the information set out in Appendices B-F be noted and taken into account in the Committee’s consideration of the proposal to dispose of Caversham Court Stables.

(Exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3).