Agenda and minutes

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 14 January 2013 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

There were no apologies for absence received.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter.  The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Audit, Pensions and Standards Committee. 

There were no declarations of interest.

1.      That approval be given to a council tax reduction of 3% for the Hammersmith & Fulham element for 2013/14. 

2.      That the council tax be set for 2013/14 for each category of dwelling, as calculated in accordance with Sections 31A to 49B of the Localism Act 2011, as outlined below and in full in Appendix A:

(a)          The element of council tax charged for Hammersmith & Fulham Council will be £757.90 per Band D property in 2013/14.

(b)          The element of council tax charged by the Greater London Authority will be confirmed on the 25^th February and is expected to be £303.00per Band D property in 2013/14. A reduction of 1%.

(c)           The overall Council Tax to be set will be £1,060.90 per Band D property in 2013/14.

3.      That the Council’s own total net expenditure budget for 2013/14  is set at £181.944m

4.      That fees and charges are approved as set out in paragraph 5.2

5.      That the budget projections made by the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Governance to 2015/16 be noted.

6.      That the statement made by the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Governance under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 regarding the adequacy of reserves and robustness of estimates be noted (section 14).

7.      That the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Governance be authorised to collect and recover National Non-Domestic Rate and Council Tax in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (as amended), the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the Council Schemes of Delegation.

8.      That all Executive Directors be required to report monthly on their projected financial position compared to their revenue estimates (as part of the Corporate Monitoring Report).

9.      That all Executive Directors  be authorised to implement their service spending plans for 2013/14 in accordance with the recommendations within this report and the Council's Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and relevant Schemes of Delegation.

10.Members’ attention is drawn to S106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 which requires any Member who is two months or more in arrears on their Council Tax to declare their position and not to vote on any issue that could affect the calculation of the budget or Council Tax.

1.      That the draft General Fund Capital Programme budget at £65.0m for 2013/14, be approved.

2.      That a Debt Reduction target of £20m for 2013/14 which will reduce underlying debt – based on current forecasts and as measured by the Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) - to £71.4m, be approved.

3.      That 25% of receipts generated for the Decent Neighbourhoods programme continue to be used to support general capital investment or debt reduction in 2013/14 to 2016/17, subject to future review and potential regulatory changes.

4.      That approval be given to the following proposed capital receipts funded initiatives within the General Fund capital programme 2013/14 (Table 5):

•        The continuation of the rolling programmes for repairs to Carriageways and Footways £2.03m;

•        Corporate Buildings Planned Maintenance £2.5m;

•        Private Sector Housing Grant (Disabled Facilities) £0.45m;

•        Parks Improvements £0.5m;

•        Contributions to the Invest to Save Fund £0.75m;

This totals £6.23m.

5.      To note existing capital receipts funded schemes (approved for 2012/13) but now scheduled for 2013/14 as follows:

•        The Schools Capital Programme £8.906m;

•        The Corporate Buildings Planned Maintenance £1.84m

This totals £10.746m.

The overall total use of capital receipts for General Fund capital schemes in 2013/14 is £16.976m.

6.      That the level of resource forecast (Table 2) and indicative capital expenditure budget 2013/14 of £27.6m for the Decent Neighbourhoods programme, funded fully by capital receipts, as detailed in Appendix 2, be approved.

7.      That the 2013/14 HRA capital programme of £37.0m as set out in Table 7 (Appendix 4) and the use of £15.212m of Decent Neighbourhoods’ capital receipts in support of this programme for 2013/14, be approved.

8.      That approval be given to the annual Minimum Revenue Provision for 2013/14 (Appendix 7).

•        For debt which is supported through Formula Grant this authority will calculate the Minimum Revenue Provision in accordance with current regulations (namely 4% of the Capital Financing requirement net of adjustment A).

•        For debt which has arisen through prudential borrowing it should be written down in equal instalments over the estimated asset life. The debt write-off will commence the year after an asset comes into use.

9.      That the CIPFA prudential indicators as set out in Appendix 8 to the report be approved.

1.                  That the future borrowing and investment strategies as outlined in this report be approved and that the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Governance be authorised to arrange the Council’s cashflow, borrowing and investments in 2013/14.

2.                  That in relation to the Council’s overall borrowing for the financial year the comments and the Prudential Indicators as set out in this report, be noted.

3.                  That to pay the HRA investment income on unapplied HRA receipts and other HRA cash balances calculated at the average rate of interest earned on temporary investments with effect from 1 April 2013, be approved.

4.                  That the Money market Funds set out in Table 1 of Appendix B to the report for use as part of the Council’s investment strategy, be approved.

1.                  That the new Corporate Complaints Policy be approved and implemented with effect from 1 April 2013.

2.                  That the new model for managing Stage 2 complaints be agreed and implemented for all Stage 2 complaints recorded after 31 March 2013.

1.                  That the Council enters into a contract with the preferred supplier, BT,  for five years (with the potential to extend for a further three years) at an annual cost of £1.5 million to provide the full range of services covered by the Tri-borough Managed Services Framework Agreement for Finance and Human Resources (transactional services).

2.                  That £4.15 million be set aside from the Efficiency Projects Reserve to fund the transitional costs involved in moving finance and HR transactional services to the preferred supplier.

3.                  That delegated authority is given to the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Governance and the Director of Law to finalise the contract arrangements with the preferred supplier.

4.                  That the Leader of the Council approves any amendments to the services to be drawn down from the preferred supplier.

5.                  That arrangements are put in place for Westminster City Council to provide an Intelligent Client Function to manage the relationship between the preferred supplier and this Council at a cost of £100,000 per annum.

1.            That the requirement contained in the Council’s Contract Standing Orders to seek competitive tenders be waived, in accordance with CSO 3.1, and that approval is given to negotiate new contracts for children’s centres and Sure Start services with existing providers, in accordance with CSO 9.11.

2.            That these new interim contracts with existing providers are for no more than a period of two years, with provision for a break clause after one year, be approved.

3.            That the interim contracts with existing providers are negotiated so that they meet new funding and inspection regimes, including formal registration, leadership and management of the ‘hub and spoke’ model, and clear links with the targeted 2 year old offer, be approved.

4.            That funding to the hub centres is reduced by 5% in 2013/14, or that the 5% is achieved through equivalent savings, with either option reflecting the national reduction in Early Intervention Grant Funding and the impact of this at a local level, as set out in Appendix 2: Current and proposed children’s centres funding allocations, be approved.

5.            That the interim contracts with existing providers incorporate a revised performance management framework that clearly reflects national developments, the Council’s priority outcomes for children and families, and the statutory duty of Best Value, taking in to account cost and quality, be approved.

6.            That the Children’s Centre spot purchasing fund (currently £133,000) be re-profiled to  support the efficient delivery of these recommendations, service transition, and any other relevant interim measures, including the employment of one fixed-term FTE post at grade PO 3 (approximate cost £46,000), and contribute to mitigating the proposed level of reduction in funding to the hub centres, be approved.

7.            That authority to approve any further actions necessary to ensure that the Council meets its statutory duties for the provision of children’s centres, and to give practical effect to these interim measures, be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, be approved.

1.                  That the HRA financial strategy as set out in section 7 of the report, be endorsed.

2.                  That the Housing Revenue Account 2013/14 budget as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, be approved..

3.                  That a rent increase for 2013/14, based on application of the Government’s rent restructuring formulae for dwellings of 3 bedrooms and below, and a new Council rent policy for dwellings of 4 bedrooms and above, of 5.42% and also that approval be given to the simplification of the presentation of Sheltered Accommodation rents as referred to in paragraph 9.7, be approved.

4.                  That a rent increase of 3.73% based on application of the Government’s rent restructuring formulae for properties under licence and hostels as referred to in paragraph 9.6 of the report, be approved.

5.                  That in order to move towards full recovery of Water Rates an increase in water rate charges equating to an average rise of 58 pence per week as set out in paragraph 15.7 of the report, be approved.

6.                  That a reduction in the communal heating charge of 5% as set out in paragraph 15.3 of the report, be approved.

7.                  That an increase in service charges for 2013/14  of 3.1% as set out in section 10 of the report, be approved.

8.                  That an increase in garage and parking rents of 3.1% as set out in paragraphs 15.4 and 15.5 of the report be approved and that Cabinet note that a review of garage and parking operations is currently being conducted by officers in consultation with residents which is likely to result in further changes.

9.                  That in line with the strategic financial objective of repaying debt as it becomes due £ 9.582 million of HRA debt is repaid in 2013/14, be approved.

10.              That the risks outlined in section 12 and in Appendix 5 of the report, be noted.

1. That funding for this scheme is contained within the 2012/13 Housing Capital Programme which was approved by Cabinet on 11 December 2011 and by Budget Council on 29^h February 2012 (within this £80k was included in 2012/13 and £690k in 2013/14, now revised to £770k - excluding professional fees - in 2012/13 in order to accelerate delivery of the project funded by savings and movement on other programmes), be noted.

2. That the contract is expected to be awarded on 18February 2013, and has a contract period of 45 weeks from the date of the award, with start on site expected on 20 May 2013, be noted.

1.                  That the list of planned carriageway and footway maintenance schemes as set out in Appendix A of the report, be approved.

2.                  That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Transport and Technical Services, in conjunction with the Executive Director of Transport and Technical Services and the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Governance,  to make amendments to the programme as agreed for operational and cost effectiveness reasons in order to make the optimum use of resources allowing virements to contain expenditure within the approved resources and not subject to the normal virement rules.

3.                  That reports and updates on  programme amendments (additions and removals) to the approved scheme list be made to the Cabinet Member for Transport and Technical Services, be approved.

The Forward Plan was noted.

The Cabinet is invited to resolve, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business, on the grounds that they contain the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraph 3of Schedule 12A of the said Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the remaining items of business on the grounds that they contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of a person (including the authority) as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

[The following is a public summary of the exempt information under S.100C (2) of the Local Government Act 1972.  Exempt minutes exist as a separate document.]

That the recommendation contained within the exempt report be approved.

That the recommendation contained within the exempt report be approved.