Agenda and minutes

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 12 October 2020 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Stephen Cowan and Andrew Jones.

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 Standards Committee.

Councillor Sue Fennimore subsequently declared a significant interest in respect of Item 8 on the agenda  - Education City Update – as she was a member of the board of OnSide Youth Zone. She considered that this did not give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests and, in the circumstances it would be reasonable to participate in the discussion and vote thereon.

Councillor Max Schmid presented the report and thanked the finance officers for managing to keep the projected non Covid-19 overspend lower than in previous years under difficult budget pressures.

RESOLVED:

1.     To approve the General Fund virements of £4.884m and £0.276m HRA virements as detailed in appendix 9.

2.     To note General Fund forecast overspend of £8.691m, £5.844m of which arises from the in-year impact of Covid-19 on the General Fund.

3.     To note the Housing Revenue underspend of £1.006m.

4.     To note the in-year Dedicated Schools Grant overspend of £3.582m.

5.     To note the need to develop and implement mitigation measures to close overspends.

Councillor Max Schmid stated that as the government had broken its promise to fully fund councils for the financial impact of the pandemic, this Council now had a deficit of £13.7 million, even before moving into a second wave of the pandemic.  The financial impact of the pandemic had been aggravated by a decade of austerity due to previous reductions in government funding. Therefore, the Council should avoid entering into any significant new unfunded financial commitments. The Council had a good level of reserves retained over the last few years that would need to be used if significant additional government grant was not made available. Many councils around the country were not in this fortunate position and were cutting down services to residents and making large scale redundancies. Thus, Councillor Schmid appealed to the government to honour the commitment it had originally made to fully fund councils to meet the financial cost of Covid-19.

Councillor Sue Fennimore stated that it was deeply disappointing that England did not have a short lockdown of two to three weeks to bring the rising rate of coronavirus under control, that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for a few weeks ago. It would have made sense to the public to do that over the half-term. Now the second lockdown would have a significant impact on residents and on the Council’s finances.

Councillor Ben Coleman provided an update on what the Council was doing to prepare for the second lockdown, which he agreed should have started earlier and be shorter. The Council had a strong plan to manage this second wave and was focusing on supporting the community and ensuring critical services were maintained. He thanked all officers involved in preparing this plan, particularly Linda Jackson, Director of Covid-19 response & recovery, Dr Nicola Lang, Director of Public Health, and Lisa Redfern, Strategic Director of Social Care. He informed that the Council was stepping up contact tracing to mitigate and manage local outbreaks, as the national test and trace system was proving to be inadequate and was only reaching 60% of people with the virus. The Council was reaching 90% of the unreachablepeople by knocking on the doors of residents who the central system had failed to contact, encouraging them to self-isolate. Councillor Coleman strongly believed the government should use the four weeks of the lockdown to turn NHS Test and Trace into a locally led service, putting local authorities and local public health officials in the driving seat in the battle against this pandemic, with appropriate delegated powers and funding. He added that H&F CAN was still supporting residents and would shortly be sending a letter to all residents who were previously shielded to offer their support. He also stated that flu immunisation was being made accessible and available to all vulnerable residents to reduce the impact of Covid-19.

Councillor Sue Fennimore stated that Professor Kevin Fenton, London regional director for Public Health England, had praised the Council for the work being done  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillor Ben Coleman, on behalf of Councillor Andrew Jones, presented the report. The Sands End Arts and Community Centre (SEACC) replaced the Sands End Community Centre, that was closed in 2013, with a brand-new architect designed building run by and for local people. Funding had been negotiated from developers for the construction and start-up costs and the SEACC Trust, which Councillor Coleman would be the Chair, would raise its own long-term funding, so the facility did not represent a cost to residents. The centre would be fully open at the beginning of the new year. It would develop, thrive and strengthen local citizenship and community engagement. He thanked all residents involved in helping to deliver this centre.

RESOLVED:

1.     To grant the lease of SEACC and the Seed Bank to the proposed SEACC Trust, for an initial term of 60 years with an option to extend to 99 years in accordance with the Heads of Terms and conditions contained in Appendix 1.

2.     To delegate authority to the Interim Strategic Director for the Economy in consultation with the Head of Law and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Commercial Services, to finalise and complete negotiations with the SEACC Trust in order to give effect to the decision in 1 above.

3.      To approve a grant of the balance of £400,000 after the deduction of costs of fit-out of SEACC by the Council, to be funded by a combination of remaining Tideway grant balances and s106 receipts in hand, to the SEACC Trust for equipment and cash flow.

4.      To delegate approval of the actual grant amount to the Strategic Director for the Environment.

5.      To delegate approval of the Business Plan of the proposed SEACC Trust to the Strategic Director of Environment in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy, following its approval from the Charities Commission, for the sustainable running of SEACC buildings, contained in Appendix 2.

6.      To approve the Council entering into a grant agreement with the Trust, to ensure that the requirements of third-party funders are complied with.

Councillor Lisa Homan presented the report on behalf of Councillor Andrew Jones. She stated that the project at Sulivan Court was one which the Council had committed todeliver as part of the Asset Management Compliance Strategy and CapitalProgramme approved by Cabinet in July 2019. The proposed projects atBecklow Gardens and Emlyn Gardens were similarly guided by theprinciples of the strategy to improve the Council’s estates.

RESOLVED:

It is recommended that Cabinet approves the Business Case & Procurement  Strategy for procurement of each of the following works contracts:

1.      The major refurbishment of Sulivan Court estate SW6 at an estimated value of £6.081m.

2.      The major refurbishment of Emlyn Gardens estate W12 at an estimated value of £4.5m

3.      The major refurbishment of Becklow Gardens estate W12 at an estimated value of £4.3m

4.      Approves a £5.8m capital budget, funded by HRA borrowing, to progress Becklow Gardens and Emlyn Gardens with the remaining £3m funded from uncommitted and unallocated budgets identified within the overall programme.

This report has an appendix which contains information exempt within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and is not for publication. The appendix has therefore been circulated to Cabinet Members only.

Any discussions on the contents of an exempt appendix will require Cabinet to pass the proposed resolution identified at the end of the agenda to exclude members of the public and the press from the proceedings for that discussion.

Councillor Sue Fennimore subsequently declared a significant interest in respect of this item, as she was a member of the board of OnSide Youth Zone. She considered that this did not give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests and, in the circumstances it would be reasonable to participate in the discussion and vote thereon.

Councillor Max Schmid presented the report on behalf of Councillor Andrew Jones. He noted that this scheme had previously been approved by Cabinet in April 2019 and Full Council in May 2019, but the changes to the tenure and the funding of the youth zone required additional capital budget, for which Cabinet approval was required and the awarding of a commercial loan would require Full Council approval. This project had been amended to deliver 100% affordable housing.

Councillor Larry Culhane spoke about the positive impact this scheme would have on young people. Some of the key aspects of the scheme were that ARK Swift primary school was being rebuilt, ARK head offices would be moving to White City, an adult learning centre and nursery would be provided and there would be a brand-new Youth Zone, in addition to the 100% genuine affordable housing. He thanked Councillor Sue Macmillan, his predecessor, who had worked on the wider scheme.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet

1.    Notes that Appendix 1 is not for publication on the basis that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) as set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

2.    Approves an additional £5,114,000 to the council’s capital budget giving a total capital budget of £72,622,000 for the construction of 132 residential units, Adult Learning Centre, Nursery and associated professional fees and development management costs.

3.    Approves a further capital budget of £1,750,000 to be funded by section 106 contributions  for the Council’s additional contribution to the Youth Facility giving a total contribution of £5,250,000 subject to receipt by the Council of the section 106 contributions.

4.    Agrees that the Council enters into a funding agreement and agreement for lease with OnSide Youth Zones and any subsidiary company, which are required to facilitate the development of the Youth Zone and Education City subject to receipt of satisfactory state aid advice.

5.    Delegates authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy and the Arts and the Head of Law, to finalise and complete negotiations with OnSide Youth Zone and any subsidiary company in order to give effect to the decision in 3 above.

6.    Notes the proposed changes to the master development agreement required in order to facilitate the development moving forward.

7.    Notes the proposed the change of residential tenure of 61 private rented units to 61 Shared Ownership units, subject to any necessary planning approval.

That Cabinet recommends to Full Council

1.    That the Council approves a loan of up to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

This report has an appendix which contains information exempt within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and is not for publication. The appendix has therefore been circulated to Cabinet Members only.

Any discussions on the contents of an exempt appendix will require Cabinet to pass the proposed resolution identified at the end of the agenda to exclude members of the public and the press from the proceedings for that discussion.

Councillor Lisa Homan presented the report on behalf of Councillor Andrew Jones.  This was part of the Building Homes and Communities Strategy, which  the Council was committed to using its assets to meet its strategic objective of deliveringgenuinely affordable homes. This report recommended Option B because it delivered a higher quantum of affordable housing as  it proposed a 45-home scheme comprising 23 (50%) affordable homes.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Notes that Appendix 1 is not for publication on the basis that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) as set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

2.    Approves a capital budget of £1,802,000 in the General Fund (GF) to facilitate the redevelopment of the Lillie Road Site, to the planning and procurement stages.

3.    Delegates authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy authority to approve any drawdowns of the approved capital budget above £1,000,000.

4.    Notes that the remaining budget of £802,000 will be funded from a combination of capital receipts and borrowing and delegate final confirmation of funding to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Finance and Commercial Services.

5.    Resolves that the area of land shown edged red on the plan at Appendix 2 of the report are no longer required for the purpose for which it is currently held (General Fund purposes).

6.    Approves the appropriation of the Lillie Road site shown edged red on the plans at Appendix 2 from the General Fund to the Housing Revenue Account subject to securing external valuations and approval of the Head of Asset Strategy and Portfolio (Borough Valuer).

7.    Delegates authority to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Head of Asset Strategy and Portfolio (Borough Valuer) and the Cabinet Member of Finance and Commercial Services to take the necessary steps, including securing external valuation of the site in order to facilitate the decision in 6 and consequently, re-assign the development budget and spend to the HRA from the General Fund.

This report has an appendix which contains information exempt within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and is not for publication. The appendix has therefore been circulated to Cabinet Members only.

Any discussions on the contents of an exempt appendix will require Cabinet to pass the proposed resolution identified at the end of the agenda to exclude members of the public and the press from the proceedings for that discussion.

Councillor Ben Coleman presented the report on behalf of Councillor Andrew Jones. He stated that it was part of the Administration Manifesto commitment to revive North End Road. He informed that the Council had been successful with an application to the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund. The fund would allow access to £1m of external funding to implement a range of improvement projects for North End Road. This would enable to improve the safety and space for pedestrians and cyclists, would support the growth and viability of the street market and high street, provide support for existing market traders, attract new market traders, increased customer choice, amongst other benefits. This report requested approval to establish a budget for the project and how the Council intended to provide match funding. Prior to implementation of the projects and throughout delivery there would be extensive engagement with stakeholders to review the emerging priorities for North End Road.

Councillor Sue Fennimore stated that the revival of North End Road and the marked would offer significant support to local residents and affordable, healthy food. She reminded everyone about the great importance of the local markets across the whole borough.

RESOLVED:

1.    To note that Appendix 2 is not for publication on the basis that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) as set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

2.    To approve the strategy to provide match funding equivalent to £1,350,000, required to draw down the Good Growth Fund from the GLA as set out in the detailed analysis section of the report.

3.    To approve a new capital budget of £2,220,000 which is funded by the GLA’s grant and capital receipts if available or borrowing, with final confirmation of funding delegated to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member of Finance and Commercial Services.

4.    To approve a new, one-off, revenue budget of £30,000 for North End Road seasonal markets and training and development for new and existing market traders, funded by Neighbourhood CIL.

The Key Decision List was noted.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Proposed resolution:

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 3 of Schedule 12A of the said Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.       

There was no other business.