Agenda and minutes

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 14 January 2019 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

There were no apologies for absence.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt declared a significant interest in respect of agenda items 11 and 24 entitled “Linford Christie Outdoor Sports Stadium - Public Consultation on Options”, as he is the Chair of Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust. He considered that in the circumstances it would be unreasonable to participate in the matter and therefore left the room during the discussion without speaking or voting thereon.

Considering the above, the Leader suggested rearranging the order of the agenda and discuss Agenda Item 11 after Item 20 and Agenda Item 24 after Item 22 respectively, which was agreed by Cabinet.

That the Cabinet recommends that Council, for the reasons set out in this report and appendices, agrees:

1.     To note that the Council is entering the 10th year of government-imposed austerity. This year’s reduction in government investment is £3.5m, meaning a total reduction of £73m. 

2.     To apply central government’s modelled “adult social care precept” levy of 2% for 2019/20.

3.     To note that in previous years this levy was covered by the council but due to continued government cuts this has become unsustainable

4.     To adjust the Hammersmith & Fulham element of the council tax in line with inflation (2.7%) for 2019/20.

5.     To set council tax for 2019/20 for each category of dwelling, as calculated in accordance with Sections 31A to 49B of the Localism Act 2011, as outlined in the table below and in full in Appendix A:

(a)       The element of council tax charged for Hammersmith & Fulham Council will be £762.02 per Band D property in 2019/20

(b)      The overall Council Tax to be set at £1,082.53 per Band D property in 2019/20.

(c)        The AdultSocial Care Precept will be set at 2% and forms £14.55 of the Hammersmith & Fulham Band D charge.

6.    To note the element of council tax charged by the Greater London Authority in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 will be £320.51 per Band D property in 2019/20.

7.    To set the Council’s own total net expenditure budget for 2019/20 at £136.678m.£

8.    To approve £10.8m new investment on key services for residents.

9.    To approve fees and charges as set out in paragraph 6.1 including freezing charges in adult social care, children’s services and housing.

10.To approve the use of £2.0m from the additional benefit receivable from the 2018/19 London 100% business rates retention pilot.

11.To note the budget projections to 2022/23 made by the Strategic Director, Finance and Governance in consultation with the Strategic Leadership Team.

12.To note the statement of the Strategic Director, Finance and Governance, under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003, regarding the adequacy of reserves and robustness of estimates (section 14).

13.To authorise the Strategic Director, Finance and Governance 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’s Scheme of Delegation.

14.To require all Directors to report on their projected financial position compared to their revenue estimates in accordance with the Corporate Revenue Monitoring Report timetable.

15.To authorise Directors to implement their service spending plans for 2019/20 in accordance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

1.      To note the forecast General Fund outturn and require the Directors and Cabinet to identify further mitigating actions that offset the forecast overspend.

2.      To note the HRA forecast underspend.

3.      To agree the virements detailed in appendix 10.

1.    To approve the proposed budget variations to the capital programme totalling £2.5m (summarised in Table 1 and detailed in Appendix 2).

2.    To approve the potential application of capital receipts under the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts provisions to fund £5.39m of Invest to Save schemes with a final decision on whether to use this flexibility delegated to the Strategic Director, Finance and Governance, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Commercial Services, as part of the closure of the 2018/19 accounts.

3.    To approve use of Special Provision Capital Fund (SEND) grant to fund remaining £406,000 of expenditure in relation to Queens Manor Resource Centre (Stephen Wiltshire Centre).

4.    To note the issues regarding General Fund Capital Programme described in sections 5 and 6 of the report.

1.    To approve the General Fund Capital Programme budget at £54.3m for 2019/20 (paragraph 5.1, Table 2 and Appendix 1).

2.    To approve the Council’s rolling programmes and the continued use of internal funding for 2019/20 General Fund ‘Mainstream’ Programme as set out in Table 3 (paragraph 5.2) and specifically as follows:

·         Capital receipts and internal borrowing amounting to £4.53m to fund the Council’s rolling programmes as follows:

·         Contributions from revenue amounting to £0.521m to fund the Council’s rolling programmes as follows:

3.     To note existing capital receipts funded schemes previously approved, but now scheduled for 2019/20 (paragraph 5.2, Table 3):

·         One off scheme: Carnwath Road - £1.87m (reduced from £3.07m)

·         Rolling programme: Planned Maintenance/DDA Programme - £3.57m

4.    To approve the Housing Programme at £66.7m for 2019/20 as set out in Table 5 (paragraph 7.2) and Appendix 1.

5.    To delegate the potential application of 2018/19 capital receipts (totalling £5.39m) under the Government’s Flexible Use of Capital Receipts provisions to fund Invest to Save schemes in 2018/19 and 2019/20 (as identified in Appendix 5) to the Strategic Director, Finance and Governance, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Commercial Services, as part of the closure of the 2018/19 accounts.

6.    To approve a change of funding of £0.45m of Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) budget for 2019/20 and future years, to be funded from DFG grant instead of mainstream resources.

7.    To approve an additional budget envelope of £50m, from 2019/20 onwards, to provide operational flexibility, for taking forward the major projects set out in Capital Strategy Report. Use of this budget will be subject to relevant Member approval, agreement of funding sources and sign-off of an appropriate business case. 

8.    To approve budget envelop of £7.6m for Schools Maintenance Programme funded from Department of Education external grants. Use of this budget will be subject to relevant Member approval and sign-off of an appropriate business case. 

9.    To approve Capital Strategy 2019/20, as set out in Appendix 4.

10. To approve annual Minimum Revenue Provision policy statement for 2019/20, as set out in Appendix 6.

11. To approve that the Parks Capital programme for 2019/20 and future years continues to be funded from S106 and other external funding sources where available. Schemes will be added when funding is confirmed and in line with the Parks Capital Strategy.

1.    That approval be given to the future borrowing and investment strategies as outlined in this report and that the Strategic Finance Director, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, be authorised to manage the Council’s cash flow, borrowing and investments in 2019/20 in line with this report.

2.    In relation to the Council’s overall borrowing for the financial year, to approve the Prudential Indicators as set out in this report and the revised Annual Investment Strategy set out in Appendix E.

To approve the closure of the on-site printing service provided by Hammerprint resulting in the deletion of two posts, as set out in option 3.  Funding for any redundancy costs will be met from the Corporate budget provision for these costs.

1.    To approve a waiver under Contract Standing Orders (CSO) 3.1 in relation to the competition requirement (for obtaining 3 quotes) set out in CSO 10.2 to award a support contract for I@Work on the basis that it is in the council’s overall interest and that the nature of the market for the goods to be purchased has been investigated and is demonstrated to be such that a departure from these CSOs is justifiable.

2.    To approve the award of the support contract to Northgate Public Services Limited for 2 years with an option to extend for 1 additional year at a total contract value of £120,000 for the three-year period to be funded from the existing operational budget.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt declared a significant interest in respect of this item, as he is the Chair of Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust (WSCT). He considered that in the circumstances it would be unreasonable to participate in the matter and therefore left the room during the discussion without speaking or voting thereon.

At the request of Councillor Harcourt prior to the meeting the Leader stated that although the version of the report on the agenda was the one that was presented to, and discussed at the WSCT Board meeting on 19 December 2018, and while the Board agreed, in principle, to the joint consultation on the future of Linford Christie Stadium, the report had not been agreed and a number of amendments had been requested. The revised report incorporating the amendments was only circulated, to the WSCT Board Members this afternoon, before the Cabinet meeting.

In light of Councillor Harcourt’s comments, the Leader proposed that recommendation 2.2 be amended, incorporating the section underlined below:

2.2  To approve a joint public consultation with the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust on the options for the Linford Christie Outdoors Sports Stadium for a period of 12 weeks, subject to confirmation by the Trust that they wish to proceed with the consultation.

RESOLVED:

1.         To note the ongoing financial challenge that the Council and the Trust face in continuing to maintain and operate the Linford Christie Outdoors Sports Stadium and the associated sports facilities on the Scrubs.

2.         To approve a joint public consultation with the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust on the options for the Linford Christie Outdoors Sports Stadium for a period of 12 weeks, subject to confirmation by the Trust that they wish to proceed with the consultation.

3.         To approve a budget of £100,000 to cover costs arising from 2.3 for professional advice required in assessing the consultation responses and making recommendations to Cabinet, to be funded from the Corporate Demands and Pressures reserve.

1.      To Approve the Procurement Strategy and Business Case, attached as Appendix 1, which is to call off from the Crown Commercial Service Framework.

2.      To approve the award of a contract to Lewis Silkin LLP for the supply of legal support to the Council in relation to the Earl’s Court Regeneration Project and the Conditional Land Sale Agreement (CLSA) for an initial duration of two (2) years with an option to extend for up to two (2) more years on the rates as set out in the CCS framework and at a contract value contained within budgets as set out in sections 9.3 & 9.4, in the exempt report on the exempt Cabinet agenda.

3.      To delegate the decision to extend the contract by up to two years (as set out in section 2.5 of appendix 1) to the Strategic Director of Growth and Place.

1.    That Cabinet approves a waiver of the standard tendering requirements of Contract Standing Orders to permit a direct award of contract for the appointment of a contractor for a building scheme at Spring Vale Estate on the basis that the market for the works has been investigated and demonstrated to be such that a departure from Contract Standing Orders is justified.

2.    That Cabinet approves an increase in the project budget of £352,559 to allow for development costs that fall outside of the scope of the contract as well as a 5% contingency on the build contract. 

3.    That the increase in the project budget of £352,559 be funded by:

·         £105,768 of Right to Buy one for one receipts

·         A £246,791 increase in the Housing Capital Financing Requirement, financed initially by internal borrowing.

1.    That approval be given to award a contract for replacement of the lifts on the Springvale Estate to Liftec Lifts Ltd in the sum stated in the exempt report for an anticipated contract period of 45 weeks. Following off-site design and fabrication of the new lifts the works are expected to start on site on 3rd June 2019, with a completion date of 23rd December 2019.

2.    That approval be given to the inclusion of the contingency sum stated in the exempt report in the overall budget, making a total sum for approval as stated in the exempt report.

3.    To note that this award is subject to completion of consultation with affected leaseholders under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

1.     To approve in principle the details of the DLO and interim repairs delivery model that will be in place from 17^th April 2019. A further report will come to Cabinet in March to confirm the financial implications and request budget approval.

2.     To note that there are further recommendations on the exempt report.

1.      To approve the Housing Revenue Account 2019/20 budget for Council homes as set out in Table 1.

2.      To approve a rent reduction of 1% from April 1^st 2019 which equates to an average weekly decrease of £1.16 in 2018/19 (as required under the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016).

3.      To approve 2018/19 capital programme slippage of £1.4m

4.      To recommend that Full Council approves the HRA capital programme for 2018/19 to 2022/23 for a total of £255m including additions of £41.9m in 2022/23 which are presented in Table 4 (with individual schemes subject to Cabinet approval where appropriate).

5.      To note the 5-year revenue budgets for 2019/20 to 2023/24 (Table 1).

6.      To note the 40 Year Financial Plan for Council Homes for 2019/20 to 2058/59 as set out in section 5 of this report.

7.      To note the HRA Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which includes revenue growth relating to the restructure of the Growth & Place department of £1.94m (see Appendix 2) and also plans to deliver on-going annual revenue savings of £0.1million per annum from 2019/20 rising to £0.8million per annum from 2020/21 and £0.9million per annum from 2021/22 onwards with savings coming principally from better stock condition and housing management (see Appendix 1).

8.      To approve a change in rent policy to CPI[1] + 1% from 2020/21 plus use of the rent flexibility level (where rents for new lets are set at 5% above the formula rent subject to the rent cap).

9.      To approve an increase to equity share rents, which fall outside the Government’s requirement to reduce social housing rents by 1% each year, of CPI (2.4% as at September 2018).

10.   To approve an increase in tenant service charges of CPI (2.4% as at September 2018).

11.   To note that Thames Water Authority is not due to confirm the increase in tenants’ water charges until the end of January 2019, and therefore to delegate authority to the Strategic Director Growth and Place in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Housing to agree the average increase in water charges.

12.   To approve a freeze in the communal heating charges.

13.   To increase parking and garage charges by CPI (2.7% as at August 2018).

14.   To note the risks outlined in Appendix 3: Key Risks, of this report.

1     That Cabinet approves a waiver of Contract Stranding Order 3.1 to allow the direct award of a nine-month contract to Healthwatch Central West London on the basis that this is in the Council’s overall interest.  This will commence on 1st April 2019 and end on 31^st December 2019 at a cost of £105,000.

2     That Cabinet approves the Procurement Strategy and Business Case for the procurement of a new contract for the provision of Healthwatch services. The new contract will commence on 1st January 2020 for a period of two years with the option to extend for two further periods of one year. The maximum estimated annual value is £122,500 with a maximum lifetime value of £490,000.

1.    To approve the procurement strategy to call-off from the TfL’s Rapid Charge Point Concessions Framework agreement for this (three spaces in Sussex Place) and any future requirement for electric vehicle rapid charge points during the period of the Framework.

2.    To delegate the approval to award any future electric vehicle rapid charge point call-off contracts to the Director of Residents’ Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Environment.

1.    To increase the standard Pay & Display (P&D) parking tariffs 1 and 2 to £2.50 and £3.20 per hour respectively, during the 2019/20 financial year, in order to better manage and control parking in the Borough.

2.    To note that the Borough welcomes businesses to locate in Hammersmith and Fulham and positive developments and can support these by suspending parking bays for a limited time, however to better control these in the interests of residents and their visitors increases in fees should be applied. 

3.    To agree that to meet these demands suspension charges will become £44 per day for periods up to five days, £66 per day for periods between six and 42 days, and £88 per day for periods of more than 43 days.

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 14 January 2019 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.