Agenda, decisions and minutes

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 6 February 2023 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 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.

1.         Schools Block Budget 2023/24 Financial Year:

a.         To approve the local authority formula for allocating resources to Hammersmith & Fulham schools for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 1, the Authority Proforma Tool (APT) for setting school budgets.

b.         To approve the National Funding Formula (NFF) transitional funding formula factor rates (as set out in Appendix 1) as the basis for calculating the 2023/24 schools funding formula, together with a 0.5% per pupil Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) protection for individual schools versus 2022/23 levels with respect to pupil led funding.

c.         To approve a transfer of £0.577m (0.5% of the total schools' block allocation) from the schools' block to the high needs block in the 2023/24 financial year.  This approval is pending the outcome of the disapplication request to the DfE to transfer £1.154m (1.0% of the total schools’ block allocation).  Should the DfE provide a positive response to the disapplication an approval of the 1% transfer is recommended.   This is to support high needs education expenditure for special educational needs in Hammersmith and Fulham.

d.         To approve the proposal to top-slice the 2023/24 Schools Block to the value of £0.200m or 0.17% of the total for the Falling Rolls protection fund in 2022/23. Allocations to mainstream schools from the agreed fund would be agreed by a sub-group of the Schools Forum.

e.         To approve de-delegation budgets of £0.691m for maintained mainstream schools only.

f.          To approve the education functions budgets of £0.262m for maintained mainstream schools only, as confirmed by Schools Forum on 17 January 2023.

2.         Central Services Schools Block Budget 2023/24

a.         To approve the proposed budget allocation for Central Services Schools Block DSG totalling £2.422m.

Councillor Rowan Ree introduced the report seeking approval to the final proposed 2023/24 schools block allocation and funding to schools through the schools funding formula for the financial year ending 31 March 2024.  Hammersmith & Fulham Schools Forum had agreed the model for 2023/24 budget shares on 17 January 2023. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) required political endorsement of the Schools’ Forum decision to agree the 2023/24 budget.

Councillor Aliya Afzal-Khan, member of the Children and Education Policy and Accountability Committee, asked how the figure of 0.5% to 1% was calculated for the budget approval of the school blocking transferred to the high needs block. She questioned whether that would cover the extra funding needed by schools to support their special education pupils adequately to enable them to access good quality of education in the borough.

Councillor Rowan Ree reiterated that this budget had been agreed by the  Hammersmith & Fulham Schools Forum and that the schools were happy with the figures. This report was just to ratify the budget that had been agreed.

The Leader added that every year the budget increased significantly. Most of the cost went to children who required the greatest amount of support. including special education needs (SEN). Despite challenging times this was a priority that was reflected in the budget.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1.         Schools Block Budget 2023/24 Financial Year:

a.         To approve the local authority formula for allocating resources to Hammersmith & Fulham schools for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 1, the Authority Proforma Tool (APT) for setting school budgets.

b.         To approve the National Funding Formula (NFF) transitional funding formula factor rates (as set out in Appendix 1) as the basis for calculating the 2023/24 schools funding formula, together with a 0.5% per pupil Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) protection for individual schools versus 2022/23 levels with respect to pupil led funding.

c.         To approve a transfer of £0.577m (0.5% of the total schools' block allocation) from the schools' block to the high needs block in the 2023/24 financial year.  This approval is pending the outcome of the disapplication request to the DfE to transfer £1.154m (1.0% of the total schools’ block allocation).  Should the DfE provide a positive response to the disapplication an approval of the 1% transfer is recommended.   This is to support high needs education expenditure for special educational needs in Hammersmith and Fulham.

d.         To approve the proposal to top-slice the 2023/24 Schools Block to the value of £0.200m or 0.17% of the total for the Falling Rolls protection fund in 2022/23. Allocations to mainstream schools from the agreed fund would be agreed by a sub-group of the Schools Forum.

e.         To approve de-delegation budgets of £0.691m for maintained mainstream schools only.

f.          To approve the education functions budgets of £0.262m for maintained mainstream schools only, as confirmed by Schools Forum on 17 January 2023.

2.         Central Services Schools Block Budget 2023/24

a.         To approve the proposed budget allocation for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

1.    That Cabinet provides ‘in principle’ approval for award of contract up to a value of £ 14m via the REFIT framework (subject to the size of the PSDS3b grant awarded by Salix), but where the total value of the contract will not exceed the combined amount of grant funding received (£6.04m or less) and funding available to be allocated to the scheme via the CPMP budget.

2.    To delegate the authority to approve the award of the WOS contract (which will be awarded after the announcement of funding in March / April 2023 when the contract value can be determined) to the Strategic Director of the Economy  in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy. 

The Leader introduced the report proposing a significant investment to decarbonise larger corporate buildings and schools in the borough.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt added that his was one of the key priorities for the Council. It was essential to decarbonise the Council stock and they were working with the private sector to do the same in order to meet the Council’s 2030 net zero target.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1.    That Cabinet provides ‘in principle’ approval for award of contract up to a value of £ 14m via the REFIT framework (subject to the size of the PSDS3b grant awarded by Salix), but where the total value of the contract will not exceed the combined amount of grant funding received (£6.04m or less) and funding available to be allocated to the scheme via the CPMP budget.

2.    To delegate the authority to approve the award of the WOS contract (which will be awarded after the announcement of funding in March / April 2023 when the contract value can be determined) to the Strategic Director of the Economy  in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy. 

Councillor Aliya Afzal-Khan asked questions in relation to three items on the Key Decision List. This list contains decisions that the Council intends to take in the future; therefore no decisions have been taken on these items yet.

Healthy School Streets- a public health approach to infrastructure on highways and air quality monitoring

Councillor Aliya Afzal-Khan asked if the Council would consider involving the Law Enforcement Team into this programme so pupils could get an education on how to use their local park and streets in a lawful and civic manner. This might help reduce team muggings, littering and anti-social behaviour.

The Leader stated that they could involve the Law Enforcement Team as their priority was to reduce all types of anti-social behaviour and crime and they could work with the schools on certain issues. However, it was not their role to train children to be law abiding and good citizens.  The Law Enforcement Team worked alongside the Gangs Unit, aided by CCTV operation across the borough. The Violence Against Women and Girls was also an important programme to help people suffering from domestic abuse. These were all additional to the work done by the Police.

Bishops Park - Improvement Programme

Councillor Aliya Afzal-Khan asked whether this programme would include painting the railings on the Riverside Walk and ensuring the “No Cycling” slabs were visible to cyclists and e-bike users.

The Leader replied that they had recently passed guidance and rules to enforce on e-cycling on the riverside, which covered some of the parks. They wanted to encourage people to use greener means of transport but had tightened the rules to ensure safety, which would be enforced in the whole borough.

Decision on whether to introduce a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in relation to the use of E-scooters, E-bikes, and Pedal Cycles

Councillor Aliya Afzal-Khan stated that residents with visual disabilities, on mobility scooters or pregnant had been suffering the consequences of the increase of e-scooters and e-bikes been left on pavements. She asked when those residents would be consulted, and action taken to respect their right to enjoy and be safe in the borough.

The Leader replied that the Council had already consulted very actively with the Disabled People’s Commissioning on all sort of traffic issues. The issue with bikes being left on pavements affected all areas across London and boroughs were working together on ways to resolve it.

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.