Agenda item

Report number CEX346 by the Chief Executive.                        (Enclosure)

DECISION:

The Cabinet recommends to other Lincolnshire Authorities that:

1.                  A target is set to increase participation in sport, the arts and other diversionary activities amongst children and young people from all areas of Lincolnshire;

2.                  Targets are set for increasing detection and prosecution of environmental crime by 20% and a co-ordinated campaign across the county is undertaken with the aim of achieving a 10% increase in satisfaction with our response to fly-tipping and other environmental crimes;

3.                  A target is set for every Council in Lincolnshire to reach at least Level 2 on the Local Government Equality Standard;

4.                  The Health community in Lincolnshire is asked to confirm that the targets being proposed are still achievable if all proposals for service reductions and reconfigurations recently proposed are implemented;

5.                  A new target is set for improving the provision of affordable homes in the county by 10% per annum;

6.                  A new target is set for the engagement of young people in local democracy by the establishment throughout the county of youth forums or councils;

7.                  A more ambitious target is considered for improving employment in deprived areas;

8.                  A new target is introduced to undertake health checks on all market towns in the county and to prepare specific action plans for improving the economy and vitality of these settlements;

9.                  Serious consideration is given to introducing a new target relating to improving transport within the county;

10.             In negotiating the Local Area Agreement, a specific flexibility is sought for all Lincolnshire authorities to use any MRA reserves to fund the provision of new social housing and to retain these reserves for this sole purpose following any transfer of the housing stock;

11.             In negotiating the Local Area Agreement a specific flexibility is sought to enable collection authorities in Lincolnshire to offer rebates to householders to reflect the amount of recyclable waste being produced from their property;

12.             The Council strongly urges partners to engage in a process that can lead to a clear vision or theme for the Lincolnshire Local Area Agreement.

Considerations/Reasons for Decision:

(1)               Report number CEX346 by the Chief Executive on the consultation on Local Area Agreement outcome framework, the draft Local Area Agreement (LAA) document and the supplementary consultation document on the Local Area Agreement Safer Stronger Communities Block;

(2)               Sign-off of the LAA’s first stage would be in September 2006;

(3)               LAA offer the opportunity of improving efficiency and effectiveness by merging funding streams into a single pot;

(4)               Local Authorities could identify any freedoms or flexibilities that could be given under ministerial delegated authority to help deliver outcomes;

(5)               Agreement sign-off is on a county basis; it was anticipated that the County LAA would be submitted to the Government Office by September 2006;

(6)               The ‘Safer and Stronger Communities’ element of the document relates closely to SKDC’s priorities;

(7)               Little has been made on preventative approaches for creating ‘Safer and Stronger Communities’ and there little reference had been made to the equality and diversity agenda;

(8)               The unknown input of the PCTs in Lincolnshire and the United Lincolnshire NHS Hospital Trust into the targets for ‘Healthier Communities and Older People’;

(9)               Outcomes relating to housing focused solely on non-decent homes and did not set out any targets for increasing the provision of affordable homes in the county, which was identified as a major priority for the District Council;

(10)          The section on ‘Children and Young People’ did not include the engagement of young people in democracy and the governance of their communities, as per the District Council’s priorities;

(11)          Targets proposed for areas of deprivation using the deprived areas fund eligibility as a benchmark, which excluded areas of South Kesteven, were set at 1%;

(12)          The importance of market towns as rural capitals and engines for the revival of the economy was not included;

(13)          No proposals for the improvement of transport links or plans to tackle traffic congestion were made;

(14)          If the scope of the LAA was increased, there would be the opportunity for Lincolnshire to use the Major Repairs Allowance to fund the provision of new social housing;

(15)          There could be the opportunity for Lincolnshire to be given pilot status in considering the charging of householders for the production of household waste, allowing the ability to charge or offer rebates according to the amount of non-recyclable waste each household produces;

(16)          A theme around innovation in service provision could challenge conventional thinking.