Agenda, decisions and minutes

In the absence of the Leader the Deputy Leader, Councillor Ben Coleman chaired the meeting.

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held On 7 November 2022 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Stephen Cowan, Councillor Andrew Jones and Councillor Bora Kwon. Councillor Rowan Ree attended virtually and did not vote.

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.

1.    That Cabinet approves the procurement strategy proposing the use of the South East Consortium’s suite of public sector frameworks to source works contractors to enable the delivery of projects outlined in Appendix 1.

2.    That Cabinet delegates authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, to approve future amendments to the proposed projects and programmes in Appendix 1 for operational reasons where such amendments can be contained within the overall approved budget envelope and available resources.

3.    That Cabinet notes that any external grant funding secured will be in addition to the estimated budgets identified in Appendix 1.

Councillor Frances Umeh introduced the report requesting to approve a procurement strategy to enable the Council to appoint contractors for a series of major refurbishments on 22 schemes across the borough, including window replacement, structural works and insulation improvements. There was a need to invest in Council’s housing stock and this work would also help progressing with the Council’s ambitions including cutting carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency, tackling fuel poverty, and complying with statutory fire safety regulations.

Councillor Adronie Alford, the Conservative Spokesperson for Housing, pointed out that Chasemore House & Donnelly Court were not getting the same works as most of the other blocks as there was no mention of replacement windows. These two blocks were situated in the middle of the redevelopment of Hartopp & Lannoy and they suffered from a lack of insulation. She hoped that once works commenced they would also get more than cosmetic works.

Councillor Frances Umeh replied that the works listed for the schemes on this report were based on a housing stock condition survey to improve residents  homes and included more than just cosmetic works. These properties had been severely under invested in over many years due to the lack of funding coming from Central Government. She assured that Chasemore House & Donnelly Court would not be overlooked.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1.  That Cabinet approves the procurement strategy proposing the use of the South East Consortium’s suite of public sector frameworks to source works contractors to enable the delivery of projects outlined in Appendix 1.

2.  That Cabinet delegates authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, to approve future amendments to the proposed projects and programmes in Appendix 1 for operational reasons where such amendments can be contained within the overall approved budget envelope and available resources.

3.  That Cabinet notes that any external grant funding secured will be in addition to the estimated budgets identified in Appendix 1.

That Cabinetapproves the2021/22 drawdownof Section106 andCommunity Infrastructure Levy monies as set out in this report and in the 2021/22 DrawdownReport attachedat AppendixA, tofund expenditureof £17,484,381.15including £377,210.49 of s.106 andCIL monitoringand administrationcosts.

Councillor Rowan Ree introduced the report virtually via Zoom.

Councillor Adronie Alford stated that the report seemed to be misleading as Hartopp & Lannoy was situated on Pellant Road  and there was no other area on the road for a redevelopment. The pictures on the report implied that there were two developments, Hartopp & Lannoy and Pellant Road,  therefore it should be clarified that it was just one scheme.

Councillor Ben Coleman replied that they would take her point into consideration.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

That Cabinetapproves the2021/22 drawdownof Section106 andCommunity Infrastructure Levy monies as set out in this report and in the 2021/22 DrawdownReport attachedat AppendixA, tofund expenditureof £17,484,381.15including £377,210.49 of s.106 andCIL monitoringand administrationcosts.

That Cabinet notes the report which looks back on work undertaken over the last 15 months (running 01/07/21 to 30/09/22) and the work plan for the remainder of 2022/2023.

Councillor Rebecca Harvey stated that the Council had responsibilities to plan and respond to emergencies and to have business continuity arrangements in place to reduce the risk of service disruption. This annual report provided an overview of activity over the previous year and the priorities and work plan for the forthcoming year.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

That Cabinet notes the report which looks back on work undertaken over the last 15 months (running 01/07/21 to 30/09/22) and the work plan for the remainder of 2022/2023.

This report has one appendix which contains information exempt within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and are 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 the proceedings for that discussion.

1.    Cabinet to approve the procurement strategy set out here. The contracts will be awarded for five years, with the option to extend for another two years. The financial implications are set out in exempt Appendix A.

2.    Notes that Appendix A 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).

Councillor Ben Coleman stated that since 2015 the Council was providing home care in the borough for free at the point of need, being the only Council in the country to do so. The Council was also committed to supporting residents with independent living, enabling them to live their lives with greater control. This report was seeking agreement for the procurement of a newly named Home Care and Independent Living service. The aim was to provide a range of care at home to support independent living and improves on the quality of the service residents currently received. It was extremely important to attract and keep an excellent workforce to keep consistent good quality of care.

Councillor Adronie Alford asked whether there would be a monitoring process to control quality of care.

Councillor Ben Coleman replied that currently they were being monitored through a vigorous performance management and with the various new providers there would be continuous strong measures of the quality of care provided. This was one of the key Council’s priorities.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1.    Cabinet to approve the procurement strategy set out here. The contracts will be awarded for five years, with the option to extend for another two years. The financial implications are set out in exempt Appendix A.

2.    Notes that Appendix A 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).

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 discussion of exempt elements.