7. Joint Arrangements

7.1

The Central Lancashire Strategic Planning Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) is made up of members from Chorley, Preston and South Ribble Councils. They are responsible for scrutinising and deciding on the Local Plan, considering proposals, debating key issues, and endorsing or challenging elements of the plan at their discretion.

7.2

The Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Joint Advisory Committee is a meeting of all interested partners and stakeholders who hold an interest in the Forest of Bowland AONB and the development of the area and management of the natural habit. The Committee meeting is open to public attendance and generally meets twice a year.

7.3

The Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) makes recommendations to the constituent authorities regarding matters concerning the Minerals and Waste Local Plan.

7.4

The Police and Crime Panel (PCP) will have the power to scrutinise Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) activities, including the ability to review the Police and Crime Plan and annual report, request PCC papers and call PCCs and Chief Constable to public hearings. The PCP can also veto decisions on the local precept and the appointment of a new Chief Constable.

7.5

LPPL was formed in partnership between the County Council and the London Pension Funds Authority (LPFA) to carry out certain pension functions such as investment activity and administration on behalf of the two partner authorities.

7.6

The relationship between the County Council and LPFA is governed by various agreements, one of which (the Shareholders' Agreement dated 8 April 2016) reserves certain key matters for the determination of the County Council and LPFA rather than LPPL (the "Reserved Matters"). References to delegated powers relating to LPPL address the Reserved Matters. Unless stipulated, any reference to the "Agreement" is a reference to the Shareholders' Agreement dated 8 April 2016.

7.7

Pension administration services are provided by the administration arm of LPPL, which is called Local Pensions Partnership Administration Limited.

7.8

LPPL's responsibilities include:

Incorporation or Winding Up of Subsidiaries

a) To approve, with the exception to the formation of vehicles which are necessary for any transactional, operational or tax efficiency reasons in the sole opinion of the Board:

(i) Any incorporation of any new subsidiary of LPPL or any of its Group Companies;

(ii) Any liquidation or winding up of LLP or any of its Group Companies;

(iii) Any acquisition of any shares in any company, whether through subscription or transfer, such that the company concerned becomes a subsidiary of LPPL or any Group Company.

Merger/Acquisition of any Business Undertaking

b) To approve the amalgamation or merger with any company, association, partnership or legal entity or the acquisition of any business undertaking of any other person.

Financial and Business

c) To approve any Strategic Plan for LPPL or make any material changes to any strategic plan after its approval.

d) To approve any extension of the activities of LPPL outside the scope of the business or to close any business operation.

e) To receive the annual accounts of LPPL.

f) To approve the establishment, provision, or amendment of any pension scheme for LPPL.

g) To give or take any loans, borrowing or credit (other than normal trade credit in the ordinary course of business) exceeding £1m or cause the aggregate indebtedness of LPPL to exceed £5m.

Shares, Shareholder Loans and Constitutional

h) To pay or declare any dividend (other than as expressly provided for in the Shareholder Agreement) or other distribution to the shareholders or redeem or buy any shares or otherwise reorganise the share capital of LPPL.

i) To admit any person whether by subscription or transfer as a member of LPPL save as provided for in the Shareholder Agreement.

j) To approve any change to the name of LPPL.

Control, Management, Directors, and Employees

k) To approve the remuneration policy of LPPL non-executive directors.

l) To approve the appointment or removal of any statutory director of LPPL otherwise than in accordance with the Shareholder Agreement and the Articles of LPPL.

m) To enter or vary any agreement for the provision of consultancy, management or other services by any person which will, or is likely to result in, LPPL being managed otherwise than by its directors or controlled otherwise than by its shareholders.

n) To approve the move of the central management and control of LPPL or LPPL’s tax residence outside the UK.

Contract with Related Parties

o) To enter into or vary any contracts or arrangements with any of the shareholders or directors or any person with whom any shareholder or director is connected (whether as director, consultant, shareholder or otherwise) save as anticipated in the various agreements between the County Council, LPFA and LPPL entered into on 8 April 2016.

p) To approve the commencement or the taking of steps to commence any insolvency proceedings under any law relating to insolvency anywhere in the world unless LPPL is at the relevant time unable to pay its debts as they fall due or the value of its assets is less than its liabilities, including its contingent and prospective liabilities and the directors reasonably consider (taking into account their fiduciary duties) that it ought to be wound up or it ought to enter into administration.

q) To enter into any partnership, joint venture or profit-sharing arrangement with any person or create any share option scheme.

r) To enter into or make any material variation to any agreement not in the ordinary course of the Business and/or which is not on an arm’s length basis.

s) To approve the sale, lease (as lessor), licence (as licensor), transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its material assets.

t) To enter into any contract which cannot be terminated within 48 months and under which the liability for such termination could exceed £1 million.

7.9

Channel provides a mechanism for ensuring that individuals identified as vulnerable to being drawn into any form of terrorism are referred to and assessed by a multi-agency panel which decides on the most appropriate support. It complements other existing multi-agency risk management processes such as the Early Help Assessment, Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), Safeguarding Adults procedures and Children in Need.

7.10

Section 36 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 places a duty on local authorities to ensure that Channel Panels are in place for their areas. The Panel’s terms of reference reflect the statutory Channel Duty Guidance “Protecting vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism”.

7.11

The Channel Duty Guidance identifies a multi-agency approach to protect vulnerable people by:

a) Identifying individuals at risk;
b) Assessing the nature and extent of that risk; and
c) Developing the most appropriate support plan for the individuals concerned.

7.12

Full details of the Channel and Prevent duty arrangements can be found on the website: 5.33 Radicalisation (proceduresonline.com).

7.13

The Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (CSAP) is a statutory multi-agency partnership established in accordance with the Children and Social Work Act 2017 and Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance. It provides arrangements under which the safeguarding partners and relevant agencies across the Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Lancashire region work together to coordinate their services, identify and respond to the needs of children, commission and publish local safeguarding practice reviews and provide scrutiny to ensure the effectiveness of the arrangements.

7.14

The three safeguarding partners in relation to the pan-Lancashire region are defined under the Children Act 2004 (as amended by the Children and Social Work Act 2017) as:

a) The local authorities (Blackburn with Darwen Borough, Blackpool and Lancashire County Councils);

b) The Integrated Care Board for an area any part of which falls within the local authority area;

c) The Chief Officer of Police for an area any part of which falls within the local authority area (Lancashire Constabulary).

7.15

The purpose of the CSAP is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in Lancashire. This is done by coordinating the work of those people and all organisations working in the county ensuring that what they do is effective. The CSAP is not an operational body. Its role is to ensure the coordination and effectiveness of the services provided to children, young people and their families by member organisations.

7.16

Full details of the CSAP can be found on its website: Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (safeguardingpartnership.org.uk).

7.17

The Lancashire Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB) is a multi-agency partnership, which provides strategic leadership for adult safeguarding across Lancashire. It has an independent Chair and its remit is to agree objectives, set priorities and co-ordinate the strategic development of adult safeguarding.

7.18

The overarching purpose of LSAB is to help and safeguard adults with care and support needs. It does this by:

a) Assuring itself that local safeguarding arrangements are in place as defined by the Care Act 2014 and supporting statutory guidance;

b) Providing strategic leadership and secure assurance of safeguarding quality and performance activity across the county, that enquiries are appropriate and person centred;

c) Working closely with multi-agency partners and parallel strategic boards to provide strategic vision across the county and set clear and achievable aims and priorities;

d) Ensuring that partners and agencies share a common understanding of what constitutes abuse and are able to recognise risk factors and what situations should be alerted and reported; and

e) Ensuring that the LSAB has strategic links to promote early intervention to prevent harm and supports the creation of vigilant services and communities.

7.19

Safeguarding leads from agencies across the health economy, local authorities, police, fire & rescue, community safety partnerships, probation, faith, voluntary and community sectors all support the activities of the LSAB.

7.20

The LSAB has three core duties:

a) To develop and publish a strategic plan setting out how it will meet its objectives, what each member will do to implement the strategy and, in developing the plan, consult the local Healthwatch organisation and the community;

b) To commission safeguarding adults reviews (SARs) for any cases that meet the criteria for these and implement the findings; and

c) To publish an annual report detailing how effective its work has been, as well as report the findings of any SARs and reference any ongoing reviews.

7.21

Full details of the LSAB can be found on its website: Lancashire Safeguarding Adults Board (lancashiresafeguarding.org.uk).