Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bora Kwon, Frances Umeh, and Sharon Holder.

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.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2025 were agreed as an accurate record.

1. That Cabinet approval be given for the guidance to be published and used to assist in calculating Carbon offset costs on development sites.

Councillor Andrew Jones, Cabinet Member for Economy, introduced the report that sought approval from Cabinet to publish a carbon offset cost guidance note. The guidance note was designed to help planners and developers calculate the carbon offsetting costs on major development sites to incentivise developers to include more on-site carbon reduction measures. Councillor Jones noted that the guidance would come into force from the 1^st of July 2025.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Ecology, noted this was a key element of the Council’s plan to combat climate change. He said the Council wanted new developments to be as green as possible, and he hoped this guidance would lead to developers implementing more energy efficient buildings.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1. That Cabinet approval be given for the guidance to be published and used to assist in calculating Carbon offset costs on development sites.

1. To delegate authority to the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, to take all decisions necessary to facilitate the closing of the final accounts.

2. To note the General Fund financial forecast variance at Month 9 and mitigating actions to reduce the overspend forecast variance position (Table 1 and Appendix 1).

3. To note progress on delivering the 2024/25 agreed budget savings (Appendix 3).

4. To note the HRA forecast (paragraph section 9 to 11 and Appendix 2).

5. To note and approve the budget movements (Appendix 4).

Councillor Rowan Ree, Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, introduced the report which presented the third provisional outturn position for 2024/25 at Month 9 (December 2024). He noted the forecast General Fund overspend was down to £1.1m and anticipated this would come down further over the period. Despite the challenging fiscal environment, both the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account budgets were forecast to be balanced at the end of the year.

Councillor Adroine Alford, Opposition Spokesperson for Housing, addressed the meeting and said she welcomed the news that the Housing Revenue Account was forecast to be balanced by the end of the year, noting that she would continue to scrutinise and monitor it closely.

Councillor Stephen Cowan, Leader of the Council, thanked Councillor Ree and finance officers for their stewardship of the Council’s finances. He stressed the importance of careful financial management that allowed Hammersmith & Fulham to deliver services that other Council’s couldn’t, such as free Home Care and free breakfasts for primary school children, while having the third lowest council tax in the country. He said he was grateful for the hard work that made that possible.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1.    To delegate authority to the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, to take all decisions necessary to facilitate the closing of the final accounts.

2.    To note the General Fund financial forecast variance at Month 9 and mitigating actions to reduce the overspend forecast variance position (Table 1 and Appendix 1).

3.    To note progress on delivering the 2024/25 agreed budget savings (Appendix 3).

4.    To note the HRA forecast (paragraph section 9 to 11 and Appendix 2).

5.    To note and approve the budget movements (Appendix 4).

The Forward Plan of Key Decisions was noted.