Agenda and minutes

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 1 December 2014 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

There were no apologies for absence.

• Subscriptions/Affiliations for External Organisations 2015/16

Councillor Wesley Harcourt declared a pecuniary interest as his full time job was funded by a London Councils grant.  He left the room during the discussions and did not take part in the vote.

• Delivering The Schools Capital Programme

Councillors Wesley Harcourt and Sue Fennimore declared a significant other interest as Governors of Phoenix School.  They took part in the discussions and voted on the matter.

• Award Of The Framework Agreements And Call Off Agreements For Advocacy Services

Councillor Vivienne Lukey declared a significant other interest as a Trustee of H&F Mind.  She took part in the discussions and voted on the matter.

• Exiting Three Community Admission Bodies From The Local Government Pension Scheme

Councillor Wesley Harcourt declared a significant other interest as the Chair of Old Oak Housing Association which is a subsidiary of Family Mosaic Housing Association. Councillor Vivienne Lukey also declared a significant other interest as a Trustee of H&F Mind.

They took part in the discussions and voted on the matter.

That the Council continues to award a council tax discount as though the Council Tax Benefit regulations were still in place, meaning that no one currently in receipt of council tax support will be worse off. 

That the following recommendation be made to Council for the financial year 2015/16 and subsequent years until revoked:

Determine that the council tax on dwellings that have been empty (unoccupied and unfurnished) for more than two years be 150% of the normal council tax charge.

That approval be given to the following recommendations for the financial year 2015/16:

(i)    That the estimated numbers of properties for each Valuation Band as set out in this report, be approved.

(ii)  That an estimated Collection rate of 97.5%, be approved.

(iii)That the Council Tax Base of 71,983 Band “D” equivalent properties, be approved.

1.1.        That the General Fund and HRA month 7 revenue outturn forecast, be noted.

1.2.        That the proposed use of the HFBP 2014/15 IT systems refund to cover in year H&F Direct spending pressures and transfer the balance to the Housing Benefit Reserve, be approved.

1.1.        That the subscription to the Local Government Association for 2015/16 of £26,577, be approved.

1.2.        That the 2015/16 contribution of £191,078 to the London Boroughs Grant Scheme, be approved.

1.3.        That the subscription of £167,473 (£142,473 net of one off rebate) for 2015/16 to London Councils, be approved.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt declared a pecuniary interest as his full time job was funded by a London Councils grant.  He left the room during the discussions and did not take part in the vote.

1.1       That the approach for the procurement of information technology and communication services as set out in section 5 of the report, be endorsed.

1.2       That funding of £330,000 to support the procurement process, apportioned equally across each Council (H&F funding of £110,000 will be met from the Efficiency Projects Reserve, the RBKC funding will be met from the Transformation Reserve, and the WCC funding will be met from WCC Reserves), be approved.

1.3       That the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea be nominated as the contracting authority for the framework agreement as the authority who will award the framework contract.

1.4       That approval be given for delegate authority to award any call-off contract to the appropriate Cabinet Member within each authority.

1.5       To note that similar recommendations have been submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council for approval.

That approval be given to the procurement decisions, capital allocations, and appropriate delegations where required to develop the priority schemes at the following schools:

a)    Burlington Danes Primary

  To appoint Lakehouse Contracts Ltd as the Main contractor for the contract sum of £5,073,342.00 (+ £142,951 Construction Contingency) following a competitive tender exercise as set out in the body of the report. .

b)    Phoenix High School

To allocate the sum of £185,000 to Phoenix High School (PHS) to allow for the completion of an evaluation study on the feasibility of the redevelopment of the existing PHS site for education purposes by 3BM and to include partial disposal, development of new accommodation and potential inclusion of additional community facilities.

Councillors Wesley Harcourt and Sue Fennimore declared a significant other interest as Governors of Phoenix School.  They took part in the discussions and voted on the matter.

1.1.                That the Long Term 40 Year Financial Plan for Council Homes as set out in section 8 of this report, be endorsed.

1.2.                That the Housing Revenue Account 2015/16 budget for Council Homes as set out in Appendix 1, be approved.

1.3.                That the proposed new Council Homes Rent Policy for increases from 2015/16 onwards of Consumer Price Index (CPI)^[1]+1% plus an additional £1 per week for tenants not yet paying target / formula rent, be endorsed.

1.4.                That the proposed new policy to increase tenant service charges by CPI^[2]only for 2015/16 onwards in line with the increases in the majority of associated contracts, be endorsed.

1.5.                That an average rent and service charge increase for 2015/16 for Council Tenants based on application of the new Council Homes Rent Policy and new service charge increase policy of 2.89% as set out in section 10 of this report, be approved.

1.6.                That an average rent and service charge increase of 2.74% based on application of the Government’s rent restructuring formulae for properties under licence and hostels as referred to in paragraph 10.9, be approved.

1.7.                That the HRA Medium Term Financial Strategy which plans to deliver further on-going annual revenue savings of £2.2million per annum by 2015/16, rising to £4.8million per annum by 2021/22, with savings coming principally from back office costs, be endorsed.

1.8.                That £13.0m of Housing debt is due to mature in 2015/16 and to approve the refinancing of £11.5m of this debt during 2015/16, in order to both meet the investment in repairs and improvements to Council Homes, and to balance the gap in the financial plan that is a result of stopping selling empty Council Homes, be noted.

1.9.                To note that the water regulator OFWAT is not due to confirm the increase in tenants’ water charges until January 2015, and therefore to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Housing and Regeneration to agree the average increase in water charges as set out in section 14.

1.10.              That approval be given to freeze the communal heating charge at 2014/15 rates as set out in section 14 of the report.

1.11.              That a freeze in parking charges as set out in section 14 of the report, be approved.

1.12.              That approval be given to freeze in garage charges as set out in section 14 of the report.

1.13.              That the risks outlined in section 11 of this report, be noted..

1.1.        That the Council no longer adopts the Asset Based Voids Disposal Policy and that all future disposals of Council Homes that are uneconomic to repair are considered by full Cabinet.

1.2.        That any future disposal of Council Homes will only be considered if at least a one for one replacement home is provided as part of the disposal proposal.

1.1       That the Leader of the Council, in conjunction with the Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Health, award:

·         The three Framework Agreements that will be accessed by Adult Social Care, which H&F and the successful Providers will be party to, and from which the three boroughs can call off; and

·         The three H&F Call Off Agreements that will be accessed by Adult Social Care and which will allow H&F to access the services and for which the contract period for is from 1^st July 2015 to 30^th June 2019.

Councillor Vivienne Lukey declared a significant other interest as a Trustee of H&F Mind.  She took part in the discussions and voted on the matter.

1.1.        That approval be given to the inclusion of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on the People First Adult Social Care information and signposting website, the procurement of which will be managed under the contract with the Council’s strategic IT partner.

1.2.        That approval be given to amend the Adult Social Care pages of the LBHF corporate website[1] to direct website users to People First where appropriate.

1.1      That Hammersmith & Fulham call off from the Westminster City Council framework contract which was awarded to F M Conway Ltd, commencing on 1 April 2015 for a period of 4 years and with a notional annual value of £9.4 million. 

1.2      That approval be given to extend the arrangements for a 12 month period of both the Street Lighting and Tree Maintenance contracts to allow further tendering opportunities to be explored. (Both contractors have offered savings to extend the contracts).

1.3      To note that Westminster City Council will act as the Contracting Authority for the purposes of the Regulations and subsequently the employing borough for these Bi-borough contracts (subject to legal agreements between the boroughs for the management of the service).

The Key Decision List was noted.

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 minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 1^st December 2014 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

That the recommendations in the exempt report be approved.

That the recommendations in the exempt report be approved.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt declared a significant other interest as the Chair of Old Oak Housing Association which is a subsidiary of Family Mosaic Housing Association. Councillor Vivienne Lukey also declared a significant other interest as a Trustee of H&F Mind.

They both took part in the discussions and voted on the matter.

That the recommendations in the exempt report be approved.

That the report be noted.

That the Appendix attached to the report be noted.

That the report be noted.