Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 4 November 2024 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.

To agree the adoption of the Council’s new Air Quality Action Plan 2025-30.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Ecology introduced the report aiming to protect the health and wellbeing of the people in the borough from the effects of air pollution, and to promote healthy living. He informed that Hammersmith & Fulham was the tenth worst local authority in England for air pollution - with 7.4% of deaths linked to toxic air. There was not a single part of the borough where the air quality met World Health Organisation targets.

The Council had a statutory duty to tackle pollution and was required to have an Air Quality Action Plan. The Plan, recommended in this report set out how the Council would work to meet national objectives for air pollution and help improve the health and wellbeing of everyone in the borough over the next five years. As a statutory document, the style and format of the Plan was quite technical and not easily understandable as it needed to follow a template.

In addition to health, the Pan was also important in terms of equalities because the most vulnerable people were living in the worst areas for air quality and their health was adversely affected.

Councillor Adronie Alford stated that there should be some tolerance to motorists using their cars and control on the misuse of e-bikes. As some of the suggestions on the Plan would impact some residents, Councillor Alford asked if the Council was going to consult with the local neighbourhood, particularly on issues related to parking, before implementing any changes.

The Leader confirmed that consulting with residents was key to the way this Council operated. Residents had been consulted extensively before the cleaner neighbourhood in South Fulham was introduced and it was now extremely popular. The essence of consultation was trying to understand people's concerns and taking reasonable measures to address them. However, any form of change could be controversial.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

To agree the adoption of the Council’s new Air Quality Action Plan 2025-30.

To approve the procurement strategy to procure a new gas and ancillaries’ contractor, using the mini competition option of the SEC domestic and commercial heating framework, for a contract term of 5 years.

Councillor Frances Umeh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, introduced the report seeking to approve the procurement strategy to procure a new gas and ancillaries’ contractor, starting on 1 August 2025. The provision of safe gas, heating and hot water was fundamental for the Council and was a priority of the building safety compliance.

Councillor Adronie Alford asked how the Council would ensure that a good contractor would be selected following the tendering process.

The Leader replied that the national legislation on procurement would be strictly followed, and the Council would seek the highest standards for its residents.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

To approve the procurement strategy to procure a new gas and ancillaries’ contractor, using the mini competition option of the SEC domestic and commercial heating framework, for a contract term of 5 years.

1.    To note the General Fund financial forecast variance at Month 6 and mitigating actions to reduce the overspend forecast variance position (Table 1 and Appendix 1).

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

3.    To note the HRA forecast (paragraph section 13 to 15 and Appendix 2).

4.    To approve the proposed budget allocations from s106 funding (Appendix 5).

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

Councillor Rowan Ree, Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, introduced the review of the 2024 2025 Revenue budget looking at the budget as of month six. The report asked to note any variances and movements.

In response to a question from Councillor Alford, Councillor Ree assured that the HRA budget was going to balance. He was pleased to note that they had been able to eliminate the structural deficits in the HRA.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1.    To note the General Fund financial forecast variance at Month 6 and mitigating actions to reduce the overspend forecast variance position (Table 1 and Appendix 1).

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

3.    To note the HRA forecast (paragraph section 13 to 15 and Appendix 2).

4.    To approve the proposed budget allocations from s106 funding (Appendix 5).

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

1. To note the overall forecast of £274.1m for 2024/25 capital expenditure which is a net decrease of £20m in comparison to the first quarter forecast of £294.1m.

2. To approve the updated four-year capital programme for 2024-2028 of £643m, as detailed in Appendix 1. This is a net increase of £66.6m in comparison to the four-year programme of £576.4m approved at Full Council in February 2024.

3. To approve an additional budget envelope of £1.45m for various General Fund capital schemes, funded from reserves (£1.3m), and borrowing (£0.150m) as detailed in paragraph 3 of the report.

4. To note the revenue impact of any additional borrowing, as outlined in the Economic and Strategic Overviewsection.

5. To approve £22.767m of s106 funding allocations for various capital schemes, as detailed in Appendix 5. The specific projects will be added to the capital programme once the programme of works has been identified and the schemes’ budgets are approved.

6. To delegate to the Strategic Head of Regeneration & Development ,in consultation with the Executive Director for Finance, the use of any unspent Right to Buy 1-4-1 receipts at risk of repayment to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to acquire homes on the open market without use of any additional borrowing, as described in paragraph 4 of this report.

7. To note the prudential indicators presented in Appendix 4, as per Prudential Code requirements.

Councillor Rowan Ree introduced a budget monitoring report looking at the capital program as of the second quarter of the year. This report asked to note any variances and movements.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1. To note the overall forecast of £274.1m for 2024/25 capital expenditure which is a net decrease of £20m in comparison to the first quarter forecast of £294.1m.

2. To approve the updated four-year capital programme for 2024-2028 of £643m, as detailed in Appendix 1. This is a net increase of £66.6m in comparison to the four-year programme of £576.4m approved at Full Council in February 2024.

3. To approve an additional budget envelope of £1.45m for various General Fund capital schemes, funded from reserves (£1.3m), and borrowing (£0.150m) as detailed in paragraph 3 of the report.

4. To note the revenue impact of any additional borrowing, as outlined in the Economic and Strategic Overviewsection.

5. To approve £22.767m of s106 funding allocations for various capital schemes, as detailed in Appendix 5. The specific projects will be added to the capital programme once the programme of works has been identified and the schemes’ budgets are approved.

6. To delegate to the Strategic Head of Regeneration & Development ,in consultation with the Executive Director for Finance, the use of any unspent Right to Buy 1-4-1 receipts at risk of repayment to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to acquire homes on the open market without use of any additional borrowing, as described in paragraph 4 of this report.

7. To note the prudential indicators presented in Appendix 4, as per Prudential Code requirements.

1.    To note that Appendices 1-6 are not for publication on the basis that they contain 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 note the status of the companies.

Councillor Rowan Ree introduced the report providing an update on the status of the Council’s companies. This was part of a biannual report brought to Cabinet since the Commercial Revenue Committee was decommissioned.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1.    To note that Appendices 1-6 are not for publication on the basis that they contain 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 note the status of the companies.

1. To note that Appendices 1-5 are not for publication on the basis that they contain 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 note the lease status and marketing position of current advertising sites.

Councillor Rowan Ree introduced the report giving an overview of all current digital advertising sites across the borough and an update on future planned sites to generate more revenue.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1. To note that Appendices 1-5 are not for publication on the basis that they contain 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 note the lease status and marketing position of current advertising sites.

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 an item of business, on the grounds that it contains 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.