The Executive Director of Resources submitted a report to the Committee, in its capacity of sole member of Brighter Futures for Children Limited (BFfC), setting out for approval BFfC’s annual Business Plan and contract sum.  The report summarised the key points arising from the Business Plan, which was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

The report stated that the Council had made provision for a contract sum in 2021/22 of £47,436,300, which was a reduction of £985k from the 2020/21 figure. This included £6.76m for leases and services provided by the Council via Support Service Level Agreements.  Investment was being made for provision of additional SEND places, with £4m allocated in the capital programme for 2021/22, which would support savings through fewer placements being made outside the borough.  Workforce planning remained a key part of BFfC service improvement and it remained a priority to reduce usage of agency social workers.  The Business Plan incorporated a revised Transformation Programme, and provision had been made within the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy for £1.5m of transformation funding.

The report noted that the BFfC Business Plan continued to build on the improvement journey to date, which was demonstrated through a revised Ofsted rating across all areas improving from Inadequate to Requires Improvement to Good in September 2019 and services coming out of intervention in February 2021.

Resolved -

(1)      That Committee, in its capacity as sole member for BFfC, agree the Company’s Business Plan and contract sum for 2021/22 as set out in Appendix 1 and the report, and note and agree the provision for transformation funding as set out in the report;

(2)      That the Assistant Director of Procurement & Contracts and the Assistant Director of Legal & Democratic Services be authorised to review the financial reporting arrangements of BFfC to Policy Committee in its capacity as sole member and report back to the Committee on changes that could be made to assist and improve oversight of the Company’s financial performance.

Further to Minute 53 of the meeting held on 28 September 2020, the Executive Director of Resources submitted a report asking the Committee, in its capacity as the sole member of Brighter Futures for Children Limited (BFfC/the company), to make decisions regarding the ongoing company Executive Leadership Team and Board membership.

The report noted that at its meeting on 28 September 2020 the Committee had approved the appointment of BFfC’s Interim Executive Director of Finance and Resources to the Company Board until 31 March 2021, following the departure of the Managing Director, and to fulfil the requirement for at least one Executive Director on the Board in addition to the Executive Director of Children’s Services.  The Company had subsequently considered the future Executive Leadership Team and decided to operate without a Managing Director role in future and continue with the current leadership arrangements with an amended role for the Executive Chair.  The Committee were asked to endorse the ongoing amended role of the Chair and to extend the appointment of the Interim Executive Director of Finance and Resources to the Company Board until 31 December 2021.  The Company’s Articles specified that Executive Directors (other than the Executive Director of Children’s Services) must be employees of the Company, and it was therefore necessary to also extend the waiver to the Articles until 31 December 2021 as the Interim Executive Director of Finance and Resources was not an employee of the Company but was employed on a contract for services.

The report also proposed that the three current Non-Executive Directors be re-appointed for a second term of three years.  It was planned to recruit a further Non-Executive Director to provide additional breadth of skills and support succession planning for the Board.

Resolved –

(1)          That the continuation of the amended role of the Executive Chair be endorsed;

(2)          That the appointment of the interim Executive Director of Finance and Resources as a Company Director be extended until 31 December 2021;

(3)          That the waiver of the requirement in the Articles for the interim Executive Director of Finance and Resources to be an employee of the Company be extended until 31 December 2021;

(4)          That Tony Byrne, Nicola Gilham and Paul Snell be reappointed as Non-Executive Directors of Brighter Futures for Children for a second term of office (three years) from 15 November 2021 until 14 November 2024;

(5)          That the recruitment of a further Non-Executive Director to provide additional breadth of skills and support succession planning for the Board be endorsed.

The Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report on progress that had been made by Reading UK with the implementation of planning policies concerned with promoting Employment and Skills Plans (ESP). The report also highlighted Reading UK’s proposals for delivery over the next two years to specifically address the challenges facing the town and support the economic recovery of the town, in line with the Powered by People Strategy that had been adopted by the Council at the meeting of Policy Committee on 28 September 2020.

The report explained that the Council had adopted the requirement for Employment and Skills Plans (ESP) under a 2013 Supplementary Planning Document that had sought to implement adopted Core Strategy Policies CS9: Infrastructure, Services, Resources and Amenities, and CS13: Impact of Employment Development to improve the work and training opportunities of local people. An ESP requirement was attached to any new development or any regeneration or extension Programme where more than 1,000 square metres of new non-residential floor space or ten dwellings were being created, or where the cost exceeded £1million.

The report stated that Reading UK was the main agent for implementing the policy.  The process enabled the developer to choose to either enter into a delivery plan, through Reading UK and work with local partners, or to pay a financial contribution towards the delivery of training and employment Programmes. The financial contribution was based on a simple percentage of the anticipated construction costs and would be confirmed by a Section 106 legal agreement which was entered into by the developer before planning permission was granted.  To date (November 2020), 32 developers had chosen to pay financial contributions ranging from £1,600 to £178,000 and a total of 54 plans had either been delivered or were in the process of being delivered.  There were a range of partners supporting this work.

The Programmes that had been delivered from July 2019 to June 2020 were set out in Appendix A to the report: these had been supported by Section 106 cash contributions. It was noted that most of these Programmes had provided outcomes benefiting local people and the economy. 

The report went on to explain the Programmes that would be delivered within the framework of Reading’s adopted Economic Recovery Strategy Framework, “Powered by People”, which was prepared by Reading UK, working with key stakeholders, and had been adopted by the Council at the meeting of Policy Committee on 28 September 2020. The Strategy provided a short term and medium-term response to ensure that every part of the community would benefit from support, both during and beyond the pandemic. 

The post lockdown employment impacts on Reading following Covid-19 (October 2020) were set out in Appendix B to the report, Appendix C provided details of the Programmes to be delivered between 2020/21 and 2021/22 continuing the work to support local people into self-employment, develop sector skills and find good quality work. The total package of delivering the Programme over the next two years was £385k: comprising around £249,500 to Reading UK CIC and around £135k to New Directions. 

Attached at Appendix D was a table setting out the Section 106 contributions by development.

The Committee welcomed the ongoing work by Reading UK CIC and New Directions in the delivery of the projects to date and its ongoing work in delivering future projects which would benefit local people and the economy.

Resolved -

(1)     That the report be noted and the delivery of the employment and skills outcomes by Reading UK, as enabled by Section 106 Employment and Skills Plans, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be welcomed;

(2)     That the following be agreed:

(a)   The proposed action plan, specifically tailored to the needs of the local economy following the financial impact of Covid 19 on residents and small businesses, as set out at Appendix C;

(b)   The Council’s commitment to close partnership working to support Reading UK and its partners to manage and deliver this Programme to ensure the sustainable economic recovery of Reading;

(c)   The allocation of £385k of Section 106 developer contributions comprising around £249,500 to Reading UK CIC and around £135k to New Directions to support the delivery of the action plan.