The Cabinet of Worcestershire Council is scheduled to consider proposals for charging developers for the long-term maintenance of non-standard highway assets and the reprovision of the Appointees and Deputies Service.

Charging Commuted Sums for Non-Standard Highway Assets

The Cabinet is scheduled to consider a report on the implementation of a formal charging strategy for commuted sums for non-standard highway assets. A commuted sum is a one-off payment made by property developers to local authorities to cover the long-term future maintenance costs of new infrastructure, as part of agreements made under the Highways Act 1980¹. Worcestershire County Council (WCC) currently does not have a formal policy for these sums for non-standard highway assets, which are defined as items requiring a higher or different level of maintenance than the authority's standard specification, such as bespoke paving, trees, or specialist street lighting.

The proposed policy aims to ensure transparency, consistency, and financial security for maintaining these assets, preventing local taxpayers from inheriting financial liabilities for high-maintenance infrastructure. The report outlines that implementing such a policy will protect the Council's highway maintenance budget from increased costs. The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT)² published guidance in 2024 suggesting a whole-life costing approach for calculating commuted sums, typically over 60 years for most assets and 120 years for bridges and structural items.

The report recommends authorising the Strategic Director for Economy and Infrastructure to undertake technical stakeholder engagement on the draft Commuted Sums Policy and its calculation methodology. It also proposes delegating approval of the final wording to the Strategic Director, following consultation with Councillor Tom Wells, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport. The intention is to allow developers to innovate with designs while ensuring that the long-term upkeep of enhanced items does not fall on the public purse.

Reprovision of Internal Appointees and Deputies Service

The Cabinet is also scheduled to consider proposals for the reprovision of the in-house Appointees and Deputies Service. This non-statutory service currently provides an appointee or deputy service for 144 vulnerable adults who lack the mental capacity to manage their own finances and have no other appropriate person to do so. The service manages Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)³ appointeeships and Court of Protection⁴ deputyships, ensuring payments of care fees, protection from financial abuse, and compliance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005⁵.

The report highlights that the service is not fully cost-recoverable, with fees only recovering approximately 43% of the total costs, resulting in an annual net subsidy of around £0.175 million from Council resources. Due to internal capacity issues and long-term sickness absences, new cases have only been accepted in exceptional circumstances since June 2024. All other new referrals have been signposted to the established external provider market, which already supports approximately 2,700 Worcestershire residents.

The recommendations include approving the permanent closure of the in-house service to new referrals, noting that all new service users have been able to secure support in the private sector. The Cabinet is asked to approve consultation on options for transferring existing cases to external providers, with a view to achieving recurring cost reductions of approximately £0.175 million per annum. Councillor Adam Kent, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Finance, Corporate Services and Business, would be delegated authority to make the final decision on the transition programme following consultation. The proposed transfer programme aims to eliminate the Council subsidy, allow exit from a discretionary service, and redirect management resources towards statutory priorities, while maintaining safeguarding through established external provision.