Transcript

I'm Councillor Amanda Hopgood, Leader of Durham County Council and Chair of this meeting. The meeting is being broadcast live through our YouTube channel and before we commence with today's formal business I'd like to cover some of the housekeeping issues for us to follow. Please switch off or make silent your mobile phones and all of the devices and keep microphones switched off at all times unless invited to speak by myself as the chair. When invited to speak please use the microphone nearest to you and introduce yourself. Before we move on to the agenda I've been notified that item number 12 concerning the future partnership of the airport has been withdrawn. Item 1, public questions. There are no public questions for today. Item 2, minutes. Can I have a move and a second for the minutes of the 12th of March please. Move the minutes, Chair. Second those minutes, Chair. Thank you. The minutes are a correct record? Okay, confirm that they're agreed. Item 3, declarations of interest. Are there any declarations from members this morning? No? To move on to item 4 which is the quarter 3, 2024-25 performance management report. Can I invite Steve Evans, Head of Corporate Affairs, to present the report please. Thank you, Chair. Good morning, everybody. I'm Steve Evans, Head of Corporate Affairs. The course 3 performance report sets out details of progress towards the targets and outcomes set out in the Council Plan for 2024-2028 with data and analysis up to the end of December 2024. This report is structured to set out progress against the strategic ambitions and objectives outlined in the plan through a range of key performance indicators contextualised with benchmarking data from similar authorities and information from service teams. The plan aligns to both our medium-term financial plan, which sets out how our priorities will be resourced, and the County Durham plan, which sets out our partnership vision for 2035. The report also includes a range of service-level dashboards and supporting narrative, providing a clear golden thread between the priorities of this Council and the performance of operational services. Overall, performance remains strong across most areas, both in terms of progress against strategic objectives and when benchmarked against IPOs regionally. Importantly, strong performance continues when benchmarked against statistical neo-neighbour authorities. As members will appreciate, this is a considerable achievement in the face of inflationary and demand-driven pressures. Where there are areas of performance falling below our expectations, we're aware of them, and improvement plans are in place. These are referenced within the report. The main performance report is attached to Appendix 2, and the executive summary pulls out some of the key highlights, and greater details contained within the chapters, which are linked to the ambitions in the Council Plan. The performance data here will be reported to thematic overview and scrutiny committees in the coming weeks, where there will be a chance for more in-depth analysis of the Council's performance and for them to feed back. Cabinet are asked to note the report. Thank you. Thanks, Steve. And thanks to Steve's team for this detailed and comprehensive update on our performance against our priorities as set out in our Council Plan. The report provides continued insights into how we are dealing with the many challenges that face us and other local authorities up and down the country. The transparency of our strategic planning and performance management arrangements is welcome, and something that this administration continues to champion. I'm also pleased to note the feedback from our residents and customers in this report. Notably, this Council continues to deliver strong performance despite the challenges we face. We are a large organization providing a broad range of services. Our operating environment, which can be challenging, is heavily influenced by many factors, including inflationary, demographic, and demand pressures, as well as decisions by central government. Cabinet colleagues may wish to highlight particular aspects of this report associated to their own portfolios, but there are a number of areas which, as leader of the Council, I wanted to highlight. Our recent economic review provides a detailed assessment showing strong economic performance across the county. Since the integrated economic strategy, the inclusive economic strategy was adopted in 2022, our economy has grown with more jobs, higher employment, and greater productivity as we navigate our way through the pandemic and its after effects. We continue to exceed targets for securing investment and supporting businesses, and our planning application processes have improved meeting all targets in the quarter. Last autumn's Durham Book Festival was a great success, bringing in more out-of-county visitors, raising Durham's profile and doubling its economic impact compared to 2023. We are making a difference for our environment, diverting a large proportion of waste to landfill, with improving performance better than target. For our people, statutory referral demand for children's social care has increased significantly compared to last year. However, improved practice across statutory children's social care has led to a consistently low re-referral rate, and despite higher demand, performance remains strong. Children taken into our care remains relatively high, though the rate of increase has slowed significantly throughout 2024. Our sufficiency in commissioning strategy is delivering against its objectives, opening more of our own homes to help mitigate against ongoing challenges in the sector, experienced both locally and nationally. Like many other areas, demand for education, health, and care plans continues to be very challenging, and we continue to work with schools and families to provide support with the SEND system. Our investment in improving EHCP processes and building capacity has consistently improved timeliness performance over the course of this financial year, and we expect this to continue through 2025. Referrals into adult social care and Care Act assessments remain stable, and the percentage of service users receiving an annual review has improved, now meeting our compliance target. Performance against homelessness outcomes is improving, and we are closing the benchmarking gaps, but more people are presenting as already homeless. We are aware that some councils are relocating their homeless residents across our county, and the Secretary of State has been contacted and has written to all councils to remind them of their responsibilities. For our communities, reports of fly-tip and remain low, environmental cleanliness is high, and more long-term properties are being brought back into use. Town centres in County Durham are following national trends as changes in retail habits, as online and out-of-town centre shopping become more popular options. Overall, vacancy rates are higher than we would want them to be, and we continue to support increased vibrancy of our town centres through various initiatives, including the Towns and Villages Programme and Targeted Business Improvement Scheme. Our strategic place plans will provide a blueprint for future investment and development in town centres, all shaped by our local communities. Bus patronage continues to improve with over 4.7 million passengers using buses in Durham. This is a rise of 2.3% from the same period last year. For our council, satisfaction with overall service delivery remains high. The majority of service requests meet or exceed their performance standard, and we are receiving fewer complaints. The process and times of housing benefit and council tax reduction requests, both new claims and changes in circumstances, have improved further. We continue to provide much-needed support to our most vulnerable residents through our financial support schemes. One of only a few authorities in the country left which offer full support of this type and to this extent. There are a range of other areas to note which are summarised in the Executive Summary of the Main Performance Report in Appendix 2, Paragraphs 4 to 52. Greater detail is contained throughout the report within the respective chapters and dashboards. With that, I propose that Cabinet note the report. Let's like if any other Cabinet members would like to speak. Councillor Sheld. Thank you, Chair. I'm not going to go into any detail about the poverty-related issues because that is Item Agenda 6, but just quickly to push through some of the positive results with regard to homelessness, both in prevention and in relief. That means that for prevention people have the opportunity to remain in their own home or move to other accommodation. All continue to improve, although there is still improvement to be made. And with regard to housing benefit and council tax benefit, new claims and change of circumstances all continue to be well below target and continue to reduce. The statistics, information and evidence – I apologise for it, Mr. Bell, I do make my statements yet again – the evidence prove that County Durham is a well-run council, contrary to the information publicised by Mr. Farage, that Britain is broken. In some areas that may be the case, but I can assure Mr. Farage and everyone else that County Durham is not broken. County Durham has strong, clear and positive leadership and delivery in both the political and administrative arena. But as far as Mr. Farage and other political speakers are concerned, why let the truth get in the way of a good story? Or in his case, a fairy story. Thank you, Chair. Thanks, Alan. John? Councillor Shortwood? Yeah, thanks, Chair. I wasn't actually going to say anything today. But just based on comments that's put out there by, I think, one of Mr. Farage's disciples saying that we have 6,000 potholes across the county, that individual and his disciples need to read the highway's asset management plan and understand that highway defects are categorised by risk, and resources are directed towards those with the potential to cause the greatest harm. And he needs to know, and they need to know, that we have committed, we're committed to repair 90% of all highway defects, regardless of category, within a set time. During quarter three of October, December, we achieved the target for all defects. And if they're bothered about it, county Durham, they need to go into Northumberland and Cymru because they're a mess. But Mr. Farage and his disciples want to get the facts right and stop giving information wrong about this organisation. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor McDonnell. Thank you, Chair. You normally only ever hear about customer service when it's bad. But I'd like to share some information on how great our customer service teams really are. Delivering the best levels of customer service and ensuring we put our customer first remains a key priority for the Council. And over the last year, we have delivered a number of improvements in line with a range of key performance indicators. Just to put some facts and figures on that, not percentages. Over the last year, customer services teams have handled 470,000 calls, 78,175 emails, 4,976 web chats, and 6,279 face-to-face contacts with our residents. Of course, telephony remains our most popular contact channel over the last 12 months. And despite continued high levels of demand, our customer services team is answering a greater proportion of calls within their three-minute target. Following a successful pilot in quarter two, customer services officers were trained across quarter three in additional council tax processes. And this enabled them to deal with queries at the first point of contact. The completion of low complexity changes at the first point of contact increases the speed of resolution for residents, increases the volume of accurate bills, and creates additional capacity in the council tax team to enable them to deal with more complex queries quicker. I actually spoke to a Peter Lee resident yesterday, who told me that he'd spoken to customer services about a query on his council tax. He said she was a canny lass, and she sorted it out there and then, so I've paid what I owe. Just over 1% of the contact handled by customer services in the last 12 months was through our customer access points, or CAPs as we refer to them. And while we remain committed to supporting channel choice, over the last year we've reviewed our service offer to ensure that we are balancing provision with reducing levels of face-to-face demand. We continue to support customers during the Green Lane and Spenimo refurbishment, and a new customer access point surgery has been set up in Newt-Naycliff, ahead of schedule, with appointments available there on a Friday. And a new CAP will be opened in Peter Lee Leisure Centre later this year. Although it appears that digital contact has declined in recent years, most of the data periods aren't comparable. This is due to a number of one-off initiatives, which have been conducted while business as usual carries on, and they were put in place to help people, specifically through the pandemic, and then through the cost of living crisis. The service requests created to administer these initiatives were very time limited and generated high volumes, but they're now redundant. Satisfaction with our overall customer service remains high, and we continue to deliver fewer corporate complaints, which are down 8% on the same period last year. And the proportion reaching the local government and social care ombudsman service remains static. And while other surveys sometimes have a limited response from our residents, during the 12 months ending December 2024, more than 14,000 customers responded to our CRM satisfaction service, with 82% stating they were more than satisfied with our service delivery. The teams are headed up by Vicky Murray and Sarah Welsh, and I can't thank them and their teams enough for the great work they've done over the last four years, and will continue to do. Thank you, Chair. I'm delighted to see the positive impact that this administration has had on County Durham's economy. We're now in a position where productivity and employment levels have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, and positive approach to growth. Thank you. Thanks, Elizabeth. Councillor Hood. Thank you, Chair. I'm pleased to say that the Quarter 3 performance report mentioned several key issues for our Adult and Health Services. The report reaffirms our commitment to help County Durham residents to live long and independent lives remaining in good health for as long as possible. We will continue to protect and improve health by tackling the leading causes of illness and early death, inequalities, and the challenges around mental health. The report also recognizes that cost of living is a long-term problem, especially for the large number of people with health conditions, disabilities, and caring responsibilities. And finally, the report also highlights that the Better Care Fund policy framework has been published setting out the objectives, conditions, and funding arrangements for 2025-26. This will support local systems to deliver integrated health and social care in a way that supports patients and delivers better outcomes. Thank you, Chair. Thanks, Chris. Councillor Wilkes. Thank you, Chair. I would like to highlight the incredible improvement that we can see in this plan that we've been able to achieve regarding air quality in Durham City. When we took over the Council, nearly 40% of air quality monitoring sites in the city were above the UK Government guidelines. This is now down to just one site, or 3%. Our numerous actions in our new air quality management plan will help us to continue to improve air quality in the city, as we move towards reducing pollution levels towards the World Health Authority guidelines, which set lower recommended guidelines in the UK Government. I'd also like to echo the comments of Councillor Shuttleworth and Shield by pointing out to those who would seek to take us back to the past, with coal and oil and diesel, that we're determined to make sure our county is a safe and clean place to live in, and that there's no place for climate change deniers and pollution deniers like farage and reform in County Durham. And I'd like to highlight the fact that we continue to keep fly-tipping levels close to record lows, and to clean up our communities faster than ever before. Way better than we inherited under Labour, thanks to the actions that we've implemented. We can't go back to the bad old days under Labour, where yards and gardens were left filthy for months on end, and fly-tipping was out of control. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. I'm pleased to see in the report that for the second quarter running, our leisure centres are ahead of target for membership and footfall. It is a credit to our staff in leisure centres who have taken on the challenges in a competitive market to have a pleasant and helpful attitude. The health and wellbeing of our residents is one of our major targets, and the performance of our leisure centres is feeding into this. Thank you, Chair. Thanks, James. Councillor Bennet. Thanks, Chair. I'm sure members and corporate management team will be missing their usual fix of MTFP and financial reports from myself and the Director. So I would draw people's attention to the fact that our Council tax collection rate, up to December last year, is the second best of all the North East Councils. I'm sure Paul and I will talk about how to make it the best. And also, in terms of MTFP savings, by the end of the year, we had achieved 82%. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Ted, do you want to come in? Not quite. Okay. Thank you, everybody. Can I ask Cabinet to note the report? Thank you. Thank you. Item five, Community Asset Transfer Policy. Can I invite Paul Darby, Corporate Director of Resources, to present the report, please? And I just have to say, I am impressed that this is the last Cabinet meeting of this term, and Mr. Darby has finally given me a report that is only four words long. Thank you. Well, the title is only four words long, but the report is quite extensive. Thank you, Chair. Good morning, Members. This report sets out for Cabinet consideration and adoption a policy framework for community asset transfers, which effectively codifies current operating practices and processes. It builds on the community building strategy adopted by Cabinet in 2012, which has resulted in the transfer of a number of our community centres over the last 12 years. The report sets out the governance and oversight arrangements to deal with requests for community asset transfers through an internal community asset steering group. The policy is underpinned by and seeks to deliver on five key objectives, and these are set out of paragraph 13 to the report. The community asset transfer policy is attached to the report in Appendix 2, and in the table of paragraph 16, there is an overview of its contents and the purpose of each section and each part of the policy. The policy provides a framework and the overall approach to considering requests for transfers of assets or services, and is supported by a process guide in Appendix 3. Members will see that a community asset transfer is considered in four stages, those being an expression of interest, which develops then into an outline business case before we progress through a full business case and then the legal transfer process. Standard templates have been established for each phase so that applicants are required to utilise these to ensure we capture all the relevant information that we need to consider their request and execute their request. Each transfer is different and unique and comes with individual complexities often linked to the building conditions and legal title, and the robustness of the business plan for the proposed use of the facility once transferred, and therefore there are no set target dates for individual transfers, and in some cases third-party approvals can be necessary. Members will see that engaging with local ward members is built into the process, that fees and charges are levied by the Corporate Property and Land Team and by our legal services team as part of the process. Subject to Cabinet approval, the policy and processes and supporting templates will be made available on our website, which will ensure that applicants are fully aware of the process and the requirements when considering putting in a request. And the recommendations are set out at paragraph 8. Thank you, Chair. Thanks, Paul. Can I invite Councillor James Rowlandson, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Resources, Investments and Assets, to move the report, please? Thank you, Chair. Can I thank officers for this comprehensive report which establishes for the first time a formal policy and approach to facilitating the transfer of assets to community organisations. in support of the Council's commitment to the development and empowerment of communities. It is important that any community group seeking to take on a service or responsibility for a building are capable of doing so. They have a robust business plan that has considered all the relevant issues relating to operating that building or service. Building on the community building strategy adopted in 2012, the community assets transfer policy attached at Appendix 2 to this report, with supporting documents set out in Appendix 3, seeks to establish a comprehensive policy and process and a standard set of templates to provide the basis for any future community asset transfers and the arrangements that need to be put in place post-transfer. The management and oversight of requests and any transfers that are being processed will be overseen by the Community Assets Steering Group, which brings together all relevant service areas to ensure the process is as smooth as possible and the community organisation is supported through that process. With that, Chair, I move the recommendations set on in the report at paragraph 8. Thanks, James. Can I invite Councillor Mark Wilkes, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Climate Change to second the report? Thank you, Chair. And can I also thank the officers for this report and for developing and documenting the policy processes and protocols involved in managing community asset transfers. Placing services and assets in the heart of communities is a Council ambition, and any requests received need to be carefully considered and community groups supported to take on these responsibilities. The policy attached to Appendix 2 and the supporting expression of interest and business case templates at Appendix 3 will assist community groups to better understand and prepare for what is involved in taking on a community building or service. The Council officers through the Community Assets Steering Group will support any group who expresses an interest in taking on a building or service to work through the implications of doing so. Every building or service is different and therefore the time taken and the extent of the considerations will be different from scenario to scenario. Particularly where third party interests such as Kiswo considerations are a factor. But the adoption of this policy and process today will at least set out the steps that must underpin such decisions and help manage expectations. I am particularly pleased that we have helped to transfer buildings in Brandon and Great Lumley to those communities with investment in these community facilities making them far more sustainable for the future and able to secure grant funding which they might not otherwise be able to apply for. Chair, I formally second the recommendations set out in the report at paragraph 8. Thanks Mark. Is there anyone else which can speak on this report? Can we agree the report and its recommendations please? Okay, I can confirm the recommendations are agreed. Item 6, Poverty Issues Annual Report. Can I invite Paul Derby to present the report please? Another short title. Thank you Chair. So, this report provides Cabinet with an update on the most recent welfare, economic and poverty indicators for County Durham. It details core expenditures supporting poverty related activities and the progress made by the Council and its partners in addressing poverty, including actions in line with the poverty strategy and action plan adopted in 2022. In terms of the poverty landscape, the poverty highlights that the Council remains, or the County Durham remains, ranked 48th in terms of the most deprived area in England, with an estimated 112,000 residents living in absolute poverty after housing costs, with employment related poverty a grown concern, where 56% of working age adults with low income are living in households where at least one adult works. The report shines a light, though, on the broad range of financial support mechanisms and arrangements the Council has put in place through its Poverty Strategy and Action Plan to alleviate poverty through the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme, our welfare rights support and commission advice and guidance support, discretionary housing payments and the Welfare Assistance Scheme. National funding sources like the Household Support Fund, the DfE Fund and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund have been utilised across the last 12 months to sustain existing work and to develop new programmes, and the report includes details of these schemes and the outcomes being delivered. Details of the funding received and the applications of that funding are set out of paragraphs 130 to 152 of the report. Members will say that whilst the Autumn Budget Statement confirmed the welcome extension of the Household Support Fund into 2526, it has come with a reduced allocation by about £1 million compared to the previous year. The guidance for the Household Support Fund was only received in late March and the delivery plan has now been agreed for the coming year to ensure that once again this year the Council will fully invest the full amount of funding received through the Household Support Fund in providing additional support to vulnerable families. The report also highlights the additional investment and support to residents which has been delivered through the work of the Poverty Action Steering Group. The overarching vision of the Council's Poverty Strategy and Action Plan is to work with partners and stakeholders so that fewer people will be affected by poverty and deprivation in the County. The Strategy and Action Plan is structured around four key objectives and these are set out of paragraph 6 to the report. In paragraphs 50 to 106 of the report there is a detailed overview of all the actions taken and implemented in support of these four strategic objectives. Appendix 2 summarises the current position in terms of the Strategy and Action Plan which was previously adopted, which is shaping the initiatives and work over the next 12 months as we seek to refresh and update the Strategy and Action Plan with an updated version to come to Cabinet this time next year. Chair, the report sets out in detail the consideration of this report by the Corporate Government Security Management Board and their comments are set out at paragraph 232. The report acknowledges the ongoing economic pressures and the need for a continued strategic approach to addressing and developing sustainable pathways out of poverty. Inflation pressures, national policy changes and the cost of living crisis continue to impact residents and public services. Examples include the cessation of the winter fuel payments, the universal credit migration acceleration across the coming year, and the employers' national insurance increases have all contributed to challenges we continue to face. More recently, the Government have announced a range of changes to the welfare benefits system in terms of incapacity and ill health benefits designed to incentivise more people back into work and reduce costs. In summary, Chair, the report sets out how the Council remains fully committed to tackling poverty through a partnership-based approach, whilst recognising that many tools needed to address poverty lie with national government and with the routes out of poverty being through more and better jobs. The locally-led actions described in this report are critical in helping lift people out of poverty, but there is still much work to be done to promote social inclusion and support vulnerable families. Chair, the recommendations are set out at paragraph 34. Thanks, Paul. Can I invite Councillor Alan Shield, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Equalities and Inclusion to speak to the report, please? Thank you, Chair. Can I thank Paul and his team, particularly Vicky Murray, our Head of Transactional and Customer Services, and Patrick Hetherington, our Assessments and Awards Manager for all of their hard work that they and their teams put in, working with others to provide support for the most financially vulnerable people across our country, county. Their individual and combined efforts really make a difference in improving people's lives. I'd also like to acknowledge the work of the Poverty Action Steering Group, the Child Poverty Working Group, the Advice and County Derm Partnership, and lastly, the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee, and all of the stakeholders helping us to shape this report. Poverty is a complex issue. Its impacts are as complex as its causes. It is devastating for those who find themselves in this situation, sometimes by no fault of their own. The impacts of poverty manifest themselves in many different ways. It leads to and can exacerbate health inequalities. It has adverse impacts on wellbeing, and in some cases, it is intergenerational, impacting on the aspirations of young people. It blights and holds back many of our communities right across the county. The following statistics and additional statistics set out in the report make for some sobering reading. The number of households below average between 2021 and 2024 shows that 18.9% of people in the North East were living in relative poverty before housing costs. That compares to 16.9% across England. An estimated 16.2% of people in the North East were living in absolute poverty before housing costs, compared to 14.5% across England. An estimated 28.8% of children in the North East were living in relative poverty, compared to 22.6% across England. An estimated 24.4% of children in the North East were living in absolute poverty, compared to 19% across England. For clarity. Children living in low-income families. Children living in low-income families. Children living in low-income families. An estimated 27.7% of children aged between 0 and 19 were living in relative poverty in County Durham, in 22.23 to 23.24, compared to 21.9% across England. For clarity, the difference between absolute and relative poverty can be clarified as false. Absolute poverty is classified as a condition where the household income is below the necessary level to maintain basic living standards of food, sanitation, health, education and shelter. Relative poverty is classified as a condition where household income is a certain percentage below the median or average incomes. Tackling such complex problems require a multifaceted approach, recognizing that the Council cannot alone address its causes and its impacts. That said, our Council response continues to be comprehensive. And we have a strong safety net in place here in County Durham. The strongest anyway, if not stronger than lots of other local authorities and those nationally. And various schemes in place are outlined in the report. We can be proud of the report we provide, of the support we provide. And as previously mentioned through our Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme, our Welfare Assistance Scheme and our Discretionary Housing Payment Policy. Particularly the support provided through the welfare rates and the external advice services we commission. We've also drawn on national funding sources to sustain and enhance existing work and develop new programs, including from the Household Support Fund, Department for Education and the UK Prosperity Fund. The report highlights some of the projects focusing on mitigating the impact of food and fuel poverty, ensuring access to welfare advice and promoting financial inclusion and sustainable pathways out of poverty. Appendix 2 is a summary of the progress made and many projects initiatives have been implemented in support of these strategic planning objectives. I'm sure everybody will agree that our response has been and still is extensive. As previously stated, going further than most other councils and rightly so, given the challenges we face. I particularly like to highlight a few of those issues. The free school meals auto enrollment pilot, which commenced in August last year, resulted in 1,700 families, almost 2,500 school aged children. Being identified as being eligible and enrollment onto free school meals, saving families in excess of 1 million pounds and unlocking some 3.5 million of pupil premium funding to schools. The expansion of the bread and butter thing food hub network, which has currently been expanded from 15 to 20 hubs and which once in place will enable around 1,600 families each week. To access low cost food and advice, including financial support. The financial inclusion support officer program, which has assisted almost 300 referrals with various positive outcomes, including additional benefit gains, school uniform improvements and access and fuel poverty advice. Our pension credit campaign, which has unlocked an estimated 2.9 million pounds in extra financial support for pensions in County Durham, helping offset the impact of this government's withdrawal of the wind fuel allowance for some 1,346 pensioners across the county. And lastly but not least, AAP funded poverty projects have seen over 1,000 families benefiting from schemes aimed at improving support and outcomes for families. As stated, tackling the complex issue of poverty and its impacts regionally and nationally requires a joined up approach to ensure that people in crisis are provided not only with the advice and financial assistance, but also provide a route out of poverty. A welfare information, advice and guidance review and consultation run from July to September 2024, with 844 people engaged in the consultation. This report was presented to Cabinet in January this year and recommendations were approved to enhance the current hybrid approach, but also to explore more service delivery through partner organisations. This service is currently going through a procurement exercise and will be in place later this year. As stated, the route of poverty is access to more and better jobs. Why it is so imperative that the inclusive economic strategy and digital strategy are so combined and vitally important. The provision of better education skills and training opportunities alongside digital connectivity and well-connected transport infrastructure also support all initiatives. We must continue to seek the aspirations of our young people and our residents to provide opportunities for all. We cannot do this alone and we must work in partnership. And that's why the overall aims of the poverty action plan and strategy to work together so fewer people would be affected by poverty and deprivation is so vitally important. This report was considered by the Corporate Overview Management Board on the 28th of March and their comments are found in Appendix 3. I would like to place on record my thanks to the Scrutiny Management Board for their continued support on this agenda. The Council will, of course, need to be alert to any future risks that may come from government announcements around further welfare reform, including the recent announcements regarding changes to the personal independent payments and the associated assessment process, but also any reductions in funding through the comprehensive spending review, which could trigger a return to some form of austerity for local governments. By maintaining our partnership approach to deliver the poverty action strategy and action plan, we continue to make it everybody's business to respond to poverty and the risk of financial exclusion and deliver it in line with the poverty action plan. And this will continue through the close warranty program into the ensuing year 25-26. And with that, Chair, I move to Cabinet to accept the report and the progress made therein. Thank you. Thanks, Alan. Is there anyone else wishing to speak to the report yet? Ted? Thanks, Chair. An estimated 23.3% of children aged from 0 to 19 lived in absolute poverty in the county in 2023-24, compared to 19% across the rest of the country. As has been said by Councillor Shield, in August 2024, the free school meals auto-enrolment pilot was rolled out, which resulted in 1727 families with 2,469 school aged children as being identified as in line for free school meals. The savings is estimated as £1.1 million and unlocks about £3.5 million premium funding to schools. By enrolling these children for the free school meals ensures that they had a better basis for learning within the classroom, and also that they are guaranteed a substantial meal each day. Thank you, Chair. Thanks, Ted. Councillor Hood. Thank you, Chair. The data highlighted in the report paints a stark picture for our residents and communities. What the data does not show us, however, is the human impact of poverty. I was very pleased to read in the report about the importance of participation and voice, particularly the development of the Poverty Truth Commission, funded by our public health team, which provides a framework for engagement, bringing together people surviving poverty with decision-makers and organisational leaders to share stories, identify, plan and, more importantly, deliver change that can make a difference. I look forward to seeing how the Poverty Truth Commission comes to fruition over the course of the next couple of years. People do not want to be defined by their poverty. People surviving poverty have many talents, skills and experiences, and they are real assets in our mission to reduce and alleviate poverty and its impact in County Durham. It is good to see Council officers beginning to work alongside people as equal partners to develop solutions to enable people living in poverty to thrive. Thank you, Chair. Thanks, Chris. Councillor Scott. I thought your hand was up. Councillor Wilkes. Thanks, Chair. And I'd like to thank officers as well throughout the Council who are working towards reducing poverty in our County. And I'd like to highlight one of the points that Councillor Shield has spoken about, and actually the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, has recently praised us for. Our auto-enrolment of eligible children for free school meals, as Councillor Henderson has just said, helped 2,400 children. That's 2,400 children who would not have had free school meals if Labour had been running this Council, now receiving £400 worth of meals each year. That pilot has now been made a permanent approach, and I'm astounded that the Labour government hasn't demanded all councils do the same, presumably because they don't want to pay for it. So I urge all councils here in the North East and across the country to follow our approach, so that hundreds of thousands of families and their children get this help. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Bell. Thanks, Chair. Yes, I'd like to commend the work of Council staff and others in addressing the poverty issue as I've detailed in this report, and particularly in their success on obtaining national funding sources to sustain existing work and develop new programmes. I just want to comment on the high numbers that have been quoted in terms of absolute poverty. Most people hearing the phrase absolute poverty would think of people who can't afford the basics of housing, food, heat or clothing. But it is, in fact, a relative metric. So absolute poverty is defined as households with income below 60% of the median household income, and that's an average. And this is the national government statistical measure. The problem with that measure is that you're never going to get out of absolute poverty, because if everybody's income rises all the time, a certain proportion is always going to be below 60% of the median. So I think the lesson to me is from some of these numbers is we need to continue to focus the work of this Council on the people who are in true absolute, not poverty, because if you define the net too wide, I'm afraid it begins to become meaningless. Thank you. Thanks, Richard. Anyone else wishing to speak on this? Now, can I ask Cabinet to note the report? Agreed. Thank you. Item seven is the Corporate Asset Management Plan 2025 to 2030. Can I invite Paul Darby to present the report, please? Thank you, Chair. This report sets out for Cabinet's consideration and adoption the updated Corporate Asset Management Plan, which covers all of the Council's property portfolio and estate. The camp, as it is known, is attached at Appendix 2 to the report and covers a five-year period. It replaces the existing camp, which was approved by Cabinet in April 2023 and which covered a two-year period to March 25. Members will recall that a progress update on the existing camp was presented to Cabinet in June of last year. The camp is structured around three main parts, the Asset Management Strategy, the Asset Management Policy and the Asset Management Action Plan. Attached at Appendix 3 is the Council's empty property policy, which is referenced in the camp and which provides a framework and process for dealing with Council-owned empty and surplus properties. Set out at paragraph 16, there is an overview and summary of the key issues covered by each of the three main components of the camp. And at paragraph 21, there is a table which exemplifies what changes have been made to the existing Corporate Asset Management Plan in formulating the new one. It is good practice to have a Corporate Asset Management Plan and to regularly review it. The action plan, which is attached, will form the basis of the work programme for the Corporate Property and Land Team over the coming 12 months and the next five years. And we will bring regular update reports back to Cabinet to track progress against this plan going forward. Chair, the recommendations are set out at paragraph 8. Thank you, Paul. Can I invite Councillor James Rawlinson to move the report, please? Thank you, Chair. Can I thank officers for this report, which updates and replaces the Corporate Asset Management Plan 2023 to 2025 that we adopted in April 2023. In the two years since the Corporate Asset Management Plan was approved by Cabinet, we have continued to make significant improvements in the way we manage our property. And we have affirmed our commitment to ensure that the estate delivers for the Council as a whole. The updated camp sets out some of the achievements and improvements since the existing camp was adopted in 2023. The development of a new Corporate Asset Management Plan covering a longer five-year period will allow us to continue to embed the Corporate Landlord and Estate Management model within and across the Council. It will provide the basis on which our property portfolio is managed, how we wish to improve the estate and how we will ensure that we are making a positive contribution to both the delivery of public services and to the growth and development of Durham as a vibrant and ambitious county over the next five years. We believe in striving to be more effective in the way that we hold and use our property to not only make savings on property-related expenditure, but to better link our property assets to service delivery and growth. The overall vision as set out in the Corporate Asset Management Plan is for a dynamic, sustainable estate, optimising our assets and promoting prosperity for the benefit of the Council, our people and places. The camp is a comprehensive and important plan built on best practice, which sets out the future strategic direction and guiding principles to underpin the management of the Council's assets and wider estate. It is supported by a surplus property policy, which is attached to Appendix 3 for the Cabinet to consider and approve. The updated camp for 25 to 2030 remains unchanged in terms of its structure and the report contains a useful summary of the structure and content of the updated camp, together with the main changes that have been made to the previously adopted version. Progress against the camp 25 to 30 will be reviewed annually to ensure its objectives continue to be aligned with the Council's ambitions and to assess whether we are on target to meet our strategic objectives and our action plan against its goals. With that, Chair, I move the recommendations set out in paragraph 8. Thanks, Chair. Thanks, James. Can I invite Councillor Richard Bell, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance to second the report, please? Thanks, Chair. Can I also thank the officers for this refreshed and updated corporate asset management plan? Excluding highways and related infrastructure, the Council owns and operates a large and varied property portfolio, which extends to around 23,000 acres of land, about 10% of the county areas, supporting 961 buildings, from which we deliver a wide range of services to communities. Those are good figures to bear in mind when people criticise our overall level of indebtedness. Many of our property assets are held as a historic legacy, having been inherited through local government review, acquired over many years, and bring specific challenges and responsibilities. In some cases, there are complicated lease arrangements in place, again inherited from previous authorities. We are committed to providing value for money through managing our people and resources effectively, which includes all our property assets. It is essential, therefore, that we continuously review how we strategically use our portfolio to develop the best outcomes. The Corporate Asset Management Plan will help ensure that the property portfolio supports the achievement of our corporate ambitions, such as climate change. Its purpose is to provide a clear picture of what we want from our property portfolio going forward, and to set out the overarching principles by which we will achieve those objectives. It also provides a framework to guide future planning and use of our portfolio, and influences all property-related activities across the Council. I welcome the inclusion of the Empty Property Policy, appended to this report, which presents to Cabinet the policy that has been in place for a number of years now. With that, Chair, formally second the recommendations as set out in paragraph 8. Thanks, Richard. Is anyone else wishing to speak? Councillor Shelterworth? Thanks, Chair. I really support this. It's long overdue, and it shows what working together can do. I just want to thank everybody in the room. We've all worked together for the common good. Whatever happens on the 1st of May, we've done our best. Thanks. Thanks, Jan. I'm a bit concerned about Councillor Wilkes having two photos on two pages, like. Right. Can we agree the report on its recommendations? Agreed. I can confirm the recommendations are agreed. Item 8, there's no other business in the public part of the meeting. Item 9, exclusion of the press and public. Can I have a mover and seconder, please? Move it, Chair. Thank you. Seconder? Seconder, Chair. Thank you. Can I ask Cabinet to agree the resolution? Agreed. Okay, that concludes the public business for this meeting. And I'd like to thank everyone for taking part, and to those members of the public and media who've watched the meeting. Thank you very much. Thank you.