Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Ayshe Simsek, Acting Democratic Services & Scrutiny Manager 

Media

Items
No. Item

72.

FILMING AT MEETINGS

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

 

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader referred to agenda item 1, as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at the meeting and Members noted this information.

73.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were apologies for absence from Councillor Adje and apologies for lateness from Cllr Mark Blake.

74.

Urgent Business

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be dealt with under Item 19 below. New items of exempt business will be dealt with at Item 22 below).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The Leader advised the meeting that Cabinet did not have any new items of urgent business to consider. However, there were two items of late business to consider relating to items 9 and 10 on the agenda which he had accepted as urgent business. These were as follows:

 

An EQIA for consideration with the Borough Plan at item 9. This report was late to allow finalisation of the presentation of key data and needs urgent consideration alongside the Borough Plan. This was deemed urgent in order to agree the recommendations set out in the report and allow the borough plan to be considered alongside the budget report.

 

In relation to the MTFS report at item 10, there was an addendum setting out some minor updates to report which needed to be noted before considering the recommendations. The Leader advised that the addendum had to be considered with the 2019/20 Budget/Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2019/20-23/24 at the meeting tonight to facilitate an accurate recommendation on the adoption of the 2019/20 Budget/Medium Term Financial Strategy 2019/20-2023/24 to be made to Full Council at its meeting on the 25th February 2019. Further, to meet the requirements of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, Full Council needed to approve the budget and agree the Council Tax for that year by the statutory deadline of 11th March.

 

Cabinet also was required to consider Appendix 7 – Overview and Scrutiny Committee Recommendations and Proposed Response. This was marked to follow in the published agenda pack and was not published with the original pack due to the requirement for an extraordinary Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting to be held on 5th February 2019 and enable any recommendations arising from this meeting to be addressed. The appendix was now included.

 

75.

Declarations of Interest

A Member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

 

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

 

A Member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

 

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

  • The Leader declared a personal, non-pecuniary and non-beneficial interest in item 10, Medium Term Financial strategy (2019/20 to 2023/24) due to a connection with Fortismere secondary school.

 

  • In the absence of Councillor Mark Blake at the start of the meeting, the Leader, declared on his behalf, a personal, non-pecuniary and non-beneficial interest in item 10, Medium Term Financial strategy (2019/20 to 2023/24) due to a connection with Fortismere secondary school.

 

  • The Leader further declared a personal interest in item 12, the Fees and Charges 2019/20 report due to a connection with a charge increase listed.

 

  • Cllr Noah Tucker declared a personal interest in item 12, the Fees and Charges 2019/20 report due to a connection with a charge increase listed.

 

  • Cllr Pat Berryman declared a personal, non-pecuniary and non-beneficial interest in item 10, Medium Term Financial Strategy (2019/20 to 2023/24) due to a connection with Fortismere secondary school.

 

76.

Notice of Intention to Conduct Business in Private, any Representations Received and the Response to any such Representations

On occasions part of the Cabinet meeting will be held in private and will not be open to the public if an item is being considered that is likely to lead to the disclosure of exempt or confidential information. In accordance with the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 (the “Regulations”), members of the public can make representations about why that part of the meeting should be open to the public.

 

This agenda contains exempt items as set out at Item [20] : Exclusion of the Press and Public.  No representations with regard to these have been received.

 

This is the formal 5 clear day notice under the Regulations to confirm that this Cabinet meeting will be partly held in private for the reasons set out in this Agenda.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no representations received at the agenda publication stage in relation to the exempt items on the agenda.

 

At this point in the meeting, the Leader proposed to vary the agenda to  consider agenda items 10, 14,15 and 11 after consideration of the deputation at  item 8.The agenda order would resume at  item 9 after consideration of these housing related items. Cabinet agreed to this variation of the agenda.

 

 

77.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 405 KB

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2019 as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on the 22nd of January 2019 were agreed as a correct record of the meeting.

78.

Matters Referred to Cabinet by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no  Overview and Scrutiny Matters for consideration  by Cabinet.

 

The Scrutiny recommendations relating to the budget would be considered with item 10.

79.

Deputations/Petitions/Questions

To consider any requests received in accordance with Standing Orders.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Deputation - Haringey Defend Council Housing – Paul Burnham

The deputation was put forward in relation to tenant’s service charges. This was a small part of the budget but of great concern to Haringey Defend Council Housing, who were representing tenants in the borough. Over the years, landlords had increased charges but this has been done with the premise of involving the tenant in these decisions. There were 21 different service charges which demonstrated the range and complexity of the charges being made to tenants and further underlined the importance of tenants having their say through a consultation process on the final charges. This was part of the wider right of the tenant to hold the landlord to account.

 

The deputation asserted that there had been no recent consultation on these tenant service charges and highlighted that, pre 2015, it was the practice to have a consultation process on tenant service charges. The period of consultation was previously announced and this allowed tenants to make representations through a set process. In the past, it had also meant that some charges were not taken forward when the views of tenants was considered so a successful process, in the deputation’s view.

 

The deputation referred to the December MTFS Cabinet report which released the overall budget for consultation, highlighting that this documentation also did not include the proposed tenant service charge increase. Therefore, there had been no information available in the budget consultation period to signal these increases. Despite this, Haringey Defend Council Housing had put forward representation in relation to service charges to ensure that this issue was considered and also put forward a deputation to Cabinet, prior to the publication of the budget report, and knowing what the detail of the tenant service charges might be.

 

The deputation referred to the proposed services charge increases in the report which contained no explanation about the reason for the scale of the changes taking place. There was estimated to be a £656k increase in this charge. The deputation questioned what changes were taking place to warrant these increases?

 

The deputation further reiterated that the tenant service charges have to be specifically linked to the service being provided and questioned the specific changes taking place for these increases as this was not set out in the report.

 

The deputation referred to the Homes for Haringey recent board meetings which had considered reports indicating good performance with service charges in the current year .There were 7 different service, indicating 5 charges within budget and 2 over budget and an overall surplus of £209k .The deputation was disappointed on how the Council had dealt with this issue and the performance data from the Homes for Haringey Board meetings underlined that there was no need to increase charges. The deputation suspected that the landlord was likely using this income to top up the income from housing rent.

 

There were no questions put forward from Cabinet Members to the deputation and the Leader asked the Cabinet Member for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

80.

Budget report (2019-20 )and MTFS pdf icon PDF 18 MB

[Report of the Director for Finance. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance]

 

 

Following public consultation and Scrutiny Review, the report will set out the details of proposed budget for 2019/20 and MTFS through to 2023/24, including savings, growth and capital proposals. The report will also set out details of provisional funding for 2019/20 and if available the remainder of the planning period and highlight areas of risk. The report will be for onward approval by Full Council on the 25th of February, and will include the details of the council tax resolution.

 

[ Appendix 7  - Overview and Scrutiny recommendations and responses  to  these recommendations is marked to follow]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

[Cllr Mark Blake entered the meeting for the start of this item]

 

The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the Council’s 5 year Medium Financial Strategy for 2019-24. This would provide a clear financial plan during this period of uncertainty for local authority budgeting. It was noted that the Council had been able to bridge the £6.5m budget gap communicated in the December MTFS report. This had been arrived at through minimal recourse to additional savings or cuts to services.

 

The Cabinet Member re-iterated the unprecedented reductions to government funding for local services over the last 8 years. This meant that Councils were finding it difficult to keep up with rising cost or demand. This was also causing an impact on those most in need and further causing an impact on quality of life for residents.

 

The Cabinet Member commented that local authorities had reached a stage where making cuts would now cause an  overspend in another area of the budget. This has been highlighted by the ‘breaking point’ campaign being led by the Islington Council Leader.

 

In compiling the Medium Term Financial Plan, there had been attention given to supporting the manifesto priorities of supporting the delivery of Youth services, become a London Living wage employer, and extending the council tax reduction scheme.

 

The Cabinet Member further welcomed the removal of the borrowing cap on the HRA which would help the Council in their commitment to deliver 1000 new Council homes at Council rents.

 

However, it was important to recognise that the next year’s budget process will again be a hard process with demand increasing and households coming under pressure from welfare reductions and rising housing costs.

 

The attached report was putting forward a balanced budget for 2019/20. It was also currently estimated that the Council will not need to utilise balances in 2018/19.

 

The Vice Chair of Overview and Scrutiny was invited to present the scrutiny recommendations contained at appendix 7 of the report pack. She drew attention to the important work of scrutiny and the key role of this function in the budget setting process. There was a request for increased access to officers with financial expertise to assist the panels and main Committee in their scrutiny of the budget and their regular consideration of the quarterly budget update. This was particularly important given the number of medium to high risk savings listed in the budget.

 

The Vice Chair of Overview & Scrutiny continued to draw attention to the medium to high-risk savings listed in the Scrutiny recommendations. It was important to note real risk around these areas and the risk to achieving savings next year. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had noted the use of reserves to balance the 2019/20 Budget. Whilst the Committee fully acknowledged the risk around unachievable savings, there was also the risk attached to savings that were being taken forward negatively affecting residents that need support the most.

 

The Vice Chair of Overview and Scrutiny highlighted three areas of savings for reconsideration by Cabinet:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

81.

Housing Strategy pdf icon PDF 226 KB

[Report of the Director for Housing and Growth. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.]

 

To agree the final draft of amended Appendix C, and the deletion of Appendix D, of Haringey's Housing Strategy 2017-2022, following consultation.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced this report which sought Cabinet approval to the draft of amended Appendix C, and the deletion of Appendix D, of Haringey’s Housing Strategy 2017-2022, following consultation. The Cabinet Member acknowledged the administration had been elected on a manifesto which committed to the following five pledges for housing:

 

  • To deliver a thousand new council homes by 2022
  • To review the planning targets and ensure new ‘affordable’ is genuinely affordable
  • To expand our landlord licensing scheme to cover all wards
  • To ensure that new housing for sale is made available to Haringey residents first, and
  • To aim to end street homelessness in Haringey by 2022.

 

The Cabinet Member outlined that Haringey’s Housing Strategy set the strategic direction for housing in the borough. The Council last published a Housing Strategy in 2016. Since that time, there had been important changes at the national and regional level, with which the existing strategy was considered no longer relevant.

 

The Cabinet Member continued to highlight, that the Government had abandoned a number of proposed housing policies and there has been a renewed focus on social housing. At the same time, the lifting of the HRA borrowing cap and the significant funding for new Council housing from the GLA transformed the potential to develop new Council housing. The Council had made a successful bid for funding which meant it would receive a £62.8m grant to deliver Council homes.

 

The Cabinet Member noted work on a new housing strategy had already been undertaken, but to ensure consistency, it needed to follow the adoption of the Borough Plan, reflecting and expanding on the housing aims in that document. In the interim, it was proposed that Appendix C of the current Housing Strategy be amended, to define more clearly what was meant by affordable housing. The new Appendix was clear that the Labour administration’s first priority was Council Rented homes and that it would ensure other affordable homes delivered in the borough would be affordable to existing residents. Developing a new housing strategy to address all the Council’s housing commitments would be a priority for the Labour administration in 2019.

 

The Cabinet Member was to establish a Member group to help guide the work above to collaborate with fellow councillors.

 

Following questions from Cllr Dennison, the following was noted:

 

  • The focus would not be isolated to specific areas of the borough but rather on a site-by-site basis, dependent on what that site was able to offer. Officers confirmed the principal intention was to redress the balance of particular types of housing in parts of the borough. Site-by-site flexibility was a key approach to ensuring that the best outcome was achieved across the borough.
  • The Cabinet Member’s preference was for social rent to London Living Rent and affordable Rent.
  • Officers confirmed the policy stated social rent housing was the preferred option on affordable rented housing but recognised the distinction between social rented and intermediate homes. Within the intermediate category, the policy was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

82.

Housing Company pdf icon PDF 252 KB

[Report of the Director for Housing and Growth. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.]

 

To make the necessary decisions to incorporate Haringey's wholly owned company for housing development.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced this report which sought Cabinet approval to make the necessary decisions to incorporate Haringey’s Wholly Owned Company (WOC) for housing development. The Cabinet Member noted the Labour administration had been elected on a manifesto which had placed housing at its core. The manifesto had committed to deliver at least 1,000 new Council homes at Council rents by 2022. This was the latest report that had the recommendations to put in place the structures to deliver those homes.

 

The Cabinet Member referred to the Labour administration’s preference in the Manifesto was to build Council housing directly through a company we fully own. However, this was at a time when the GLA funding was not available and was before the announcement in the October budget of the scrapping of the HRA borrowing cap. The Council had since considered what those changes meant for housing delivery in the borough, and the role that the Company could best play in making that delivery happen.

 

The Cabinet Member stressed the recommendations Cabinet were asked to approve would create the housing company contained within the Labour administration’s manifesto, to support the creation of new Council homes for Haringey families on the waiting list.

 

Clerk note - Cllrs Bevan and Rossetti addressed the Committee in their capacity as board members of Homes for Haringey and as Councillors.

 

Following questions from Cllrs Bevan, Dennison, Williams, Rossetti, Brabazon and Carlin, the following was noted:

 

  • Homes for Haringey (HfH) is an Arms-Length Management Organisation (ALMO). The Cabinet Member noted HfH could be supported to create new Council homes in the future but that was not the commitment the administration had made within its manifesto. The manifesto had made a commitment to directly creating those Council homes, not at arms-length, which is what HfH effectively was to the Council. This consideration was set out in the July Cabinet report on the WOC.

·         The Cabinet Member held frequent discussions with the Managing Director for H4H and discussions had been productive but it was accepted the direction of travel was for the creation of a WOC and for HfH to continue to it’s current role. July Cabinet had considered the option of exploring creating the 1,000 new Council homes with HfH but this was ruled out for the reasons contained in that report to Cabinet

  • Officers referred members to the 17th July 2018 report entitled ‘Setting up a Wholly Owned Company for Housing Development’ to Cabinet where the option to explore creating Council homes through the HfH had been explored as an alternative option but was not pursued for the reasons set out in that report.
  • Contractual arrangements would be sought with companies to build any new properties, which would follow the usual tender process. Once built, HfH would be managing those newly built Council properties.
  • The Cabinet Member highlighted the Labour manifesto had given the administration the mandate to set up a wholly owned company and this was what the administration  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

83.

Property Licensing Designation pdf icon PDF 327 KB

[Report of the Director for Environment and Neighbourhoods. To be introduced  by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.]

 

Report to recommend that Cabinet designate a borough wide licensing scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and a smaller selective licensing scheme in 29 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) for non HMO property. The report will also be recommending outlining the proposals for selective Licensing for non-HMO property.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced this report which sought Cabinet to designate a borough wide licensing scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and a smaller selective licensing scheme in 29 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) for non HMO properties.

 

The Cabinet Member noted current estimates were that some 33% of households in Haringey were privately rented (equating to 35,000) exceeding by 14% the national average of 19%. Between 2001 and 2011, Haringey’s private rented sector had grown by 45.6%, an upward trend which was likely to continue given the huge need and the current lack of affordable public sector housing. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) were a significant component of the private rented sector and provided accommodation for a wide range of individuals and families. It was vital that those properties were well and effectively regulated, to ensure they were safe and compliant with environmental and other regulations. The landlord licensing scheme proposed in the report provided the regulatory framework to support the many good landlords in Haringey, whilst also providing the powers for officers to tackle the rogue landlords who did not comply.

 

The Cabinet Member advised that the scheme would also enable the Council to know who owned and managed those properties through the issuing of licenses to operate. The additional (HMO) scheme had been developed following wide research, evidence gathering and public consultation.

 

Following questions from Cllr Dennison, the following was noted:

  • A dedicated officer dealt with empty properties in the private rented sector. It was encouraged that a relationship be built with empty homeowners and advice and guidance provided to them on bringing homes back into use before any enforcement action was taken.
  • The use of Empty Dwelling Management Orders was an expensive process and counter cost effective for the Council to pursue.
  • The Council did not have grants in this area but could explore schemes that financially assisted individuals into bringing empty properties back into usage that could then be provided for temporary accommodation for homelessness families, as had been done previously by the Council.

 

RESOLVED

 

  1. To consider the consultation results and representations received in response to the consultation on the Additional HMO Licensing Scheme. (Appendix 4).

 

  1. To designate pursuant to s56 (1) (a) of the Housing Act 2004 the whole area of the Borough as subject to additional licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMO’s) as set out in the draft designation at Appendix 1, the designation to be cited as the “London Borough of Haringey Designation for an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation, No 3, 2019” coming into force on 27 May 2019. (Appendix 1).

 

  1. To approve the scale of fees and charges (Appendix 5).

 

  1. To delegate to the Director of Environment and Neighbourhoods in consultation with the lead Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal, the authority to agree minor changes to the proposed implementation and delivery, including administration, fees and conditions and give all necessary statutory notifications.

 

  1. To approve the policy on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

84.

Borough Plan, 2019-23 pdf icon PDF 276 KB

[Report of the Chief Executive.To be introduced by the Leader of the Council.]

 

Formal adoption of final Borough Plan, incorporating consultation feedback, performance indicators, governance arrangements.

 

 

Appendix b – EQIA for Borough Plan to follow

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader introduced the report and set out the key ambitions behind the compilation of the plan which had been based on the manifesto. This included building 1000 Council homes in Haringey .The Leader expressed that the Cabinet were ambitious for Haringey’s future and for the people who live here. The Borough Plan set out the priorities of the Council and its partners for the next four years; and sets out the framework to deliver on this agenda for the borough together.

 

The Leader outlined that to achieve these goals, the Council need to change how it did things. The administration wanted to run an open, collaborative Council that genuinely engages people in shaping the borough’s future.

 

The Leader emphasised the default position of the administration which was to deliver services directly where this was prudent to do so, in order to maximise accountability, quality and other benefits to the community, as well as improving value for money where possible. The administration believed that public services need to be responsive to change and more democratically accountable.

 

The Borough Plan sets out the priorities for the borough. The consultation and engagement had confirmed that these were also top priorities for residents:

  • Housing Haringey’s people: We believe that increasing the supply of traditional Council housing is one of the most important things we can do.
  • Building and retaining wealth in our community: We will work to increase the prosperity of Haringey residents. We will put greater emphasis on procuring goods and services locally. We’ll support small and medium sized businesses to create high quality local jobs. Public pound spent on the community.
  • Tackling serious violent crime: in particular, setting out a public health approach to tackling youth violence.
  • Reducing inequality and making Haringey a fairer place: tackling inequality underpins everything we do.    

 

In addition to the requirement to identify and agree organisational priorities and objectives, the Council had a legal duty to set a budget. The administration were adopting a number of principles to guide them in making financial decisions, to make sure that the Council focused resources where there was the greatest need, and minimised the impact of cuts on those who need the Council’s support the most. The Budget was published alongside the Borough Plan and has been developed in parallel to it.

 

The Pledges were also set out and demonstrated the Council’s need to work with stakeholders and partners in the borough.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Dennison and Cllr Connor the following was noted:

 

In relation to the risks around keeping spending local, this was aimed at exploring how the Council spend money in a broader sense and of course there would be consideration of Haringey in the London context. The Cabinet recognised that there were local suppliers that employ local people and there would be further detail on what local should mean.

 

With regards to the saving on flexible police resources, the Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety, and Engagement commented on the appropriateness of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

85.

Fees and Charges 2019-20 pdf icon PDF 203 KB

[Report of the Director for Finance. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance]

 

The Council’s income policy requires an annual review of the level of the fees and charges levied upon service users This report considers the relevant factors affecting the review of fees and charges, identifies those services where an increase is being proposed and seeks:
- Approval to increase the fee or charge rate to those services where an - increase is proposed in line with inflation.

 

Member’s agreement where an alternative approach is being proposed.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report which set out the Fees & Charges that are proposed to be applied to services from the start of 2019/20. This report considered the relevant factors affecting the review of fees and charges, identified those services where an increase was being proposed and sought approval to increase the fee or charge rate to those services where an increase is proposed in line with inflation and agreement where an alternative approach is being proposed.

 

In response to a question on the reasons for increasing fees for users of parks which were running physical activities and not increasing the commercial fees for events at Parks, the Cabinet Member’s initial observation was that this may be connected to  maintaining the competiveness of Council facilities use for events ,in a  competitive market for events, but would provide a written response on this.

 

RESOLVED

a)    To agree the proposed fees and charges to be levied by the Council with effect from 1 April 2019, unless otherwise stated, and as detailed in Section 8 and Appendices I – XII d taking into account the findings of equalities assessments as set out in section 8 of the report, save as provided at (b) below;

 

b)    To note that this meeting will also consider proposals to introduce Additional Licensing schemes for private rented properties which are detailed at Appendix X b ‘HMO Licensing’ of this report, and subject to approval by the Cabinet of this proposal, to agree the proposed fees and charges as set out in said Appendix X b;

 

c)    To note that the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2019/20-2023/24 assumes that the changes to Fees & Charges set out in this report are agreed.

 

Reasons for Decision

It is a requirement to review fees and charges as a minimum annually. The financial position of the Council supports the view that levels of fees and charges should be maximised where possible taking into account all relevant factors including the effect on service users and any consequent demand for services.

 

Alternative options considered

This report summarises the conclusions after consideration of a range of alternative approaches dependent on particular services and relevant factors. As such a range of alternative options ranging from no increase to differentiated rates of increases have been considered and reflected in this report.

 

 

86.

Outcome of consultation on revised Gambling Policy pdf icon PDF 278 KB

[Report of the Director for Environment and Neighbourhoods. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Civic Services]

 

The Gambling Act 2005 requires the Licensing authority to review and adopt its policy every 3 years under section 349 of the legislation.  Cabinet will be asked to consider the response to the consultation and asked to recommend the policy for full Council adoption.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Civic Services introduced this report which sought Cabinet to consider the response to the consultation regarding the review of the Council’s Gambling Policy and to recommend it to Full Council for adoption. The report set out the Fees & Charges that were proposed to be applied to services from the start of 2019/20. The report considered the relevant factors affecting the review of fees and charges, identified those services where an increase was being proposed and sought approval to increase the fee or charge rate to those services where an increase is proposed in line with inflation, and Member’s agreement where an alternative approach was being proposed.

 

The Cabinet Member noted the Council had compiled information on the level of crime and deprivation in each ward as well as mapping the locations of schools and vulnerable service providers. It was intended for this to be used by betting operators as they were required to be mindful of the areas in which they operate and, if they operated in a vulnerable area, they should be conscientious of the makeup of that area they were operating.

 

The Cabinet Member stated one response had been received during the consultation, which requested that Woodside Ward be included in the list of vulnerable areas as the betting shops on Lordship Lane given the significant level of crime in its immediate area. That request was accepted.

 

Following questions from Cllrs Tucker, Ibrahim, Berryman, Dennison, Connor, the following was noted:

 

  • Officers confirmed there were no casinos within Haringey and there was no risk of that changing unless the Secretary of State increased the number of casino licenses across the country.
  • Government had not set out the outcome of the changes to the fixed odd betting terminals and any implementation date for changes had not been set.
  • The Council was anticipating an increase in the number of bingo operators but they would be required to consider the local area profiles when deciding on suitable locations.
  • Officers assured Cabinet that the Council had been robust in dealing with questionable practices of certain private members clubs (especially around Green Lanes) which had led to a change in how those businesses operated.
  • There were three licensed social clubs off Philip Lane and Officers confirmed they received regular enforcement checks. On occasion, illegal gaming machines had been found on those premises and officers would perform a tailgate operation and destroy such machines on site, if discovered.
  • All adult gaming centres were required to be licensed. Officers noted adult gaming centres generated similar level of crimes to betting shops, partly due to damage to betting machines being recorded as criminal damage.
  • The Gambling Commission had introduced a requirement for the staff of betting operators to perform a welfare check on customers when they had concern for their wellbeing, if, for example, they remained at a machine for a significant period.
  • New conditions introduced in the revised Statement of Gambling Policy centred on fraud prevention. Betting operators were required to improve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

87.

Admission to Schools – Determined Admission Arrangements for 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 4 MB

[Report of the Director for Children’s Services. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families.]

 

Following public consultation held between November 2018 and January 2019, Cabinet is asked to determine the admission arrangements for admission to community nursery, primary, junior and secondary schools and to St Aidan’s Voluntary Controlled school and for sixth form admission for the year 2020/21.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families introduced this report which sought to set the council school admission arrangements for the academic year of 2020/2021. Local authorities were required to consider and determine admissions arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools by 28th February in each determination year. The Council had carried out a consultation to inform that decision making process from 26th November 2018 to 7th January 2019. The consultation response was set out in paragraph 6 of the report onwards. The Cabinet Member noted there was no proposed change to the oversubscription criteria for community and voluntary controlled schools for 2020/21. However, it was proposed to change the public admission numbers for Welbourne and Tiverton primary schools by one form of entry (30 reception pupils each). It was hoped that reduction would allow the two schools to more effectively manage their budgets. It was not anticipated that families in the areas would be disadvantaged by these reductions, as there were surplus placements areas across both planning areas.

 

RESOLVED

  1. To consider and take into account the dieback from the consultation undertaken which is set out in Appendix 8 and a summary included from paragraphs 7.1 – 7.9 of this report.

 

  1. To consider and take into account the equalities impact assessment of the proposals on protected groups at Appendix 7.

 

  1. To agree the recommendation set out in this report to proceed with proposal to reduce the published admission number (PAN) for Welbourne and Tiverton Primary Schools by one form of entry (1FE) – 30 Reception pupils each from September 2020 as part of the community and voluntary controlled (VC) schools’ published admission arrangements.

 

  1. To determine the Council’s admission arrangements for the academic year 2020/21 as set out in Appendices 1 – 4.

 

  1. To agree the in-year fair access protocol (IYFAP) as set out in Appendix 5 to come into force from 1 March 2019.

 

  1. To agree that the determined arrangements for all maintained primary and secondary schools in the borough are published on the Council’s website by 15 March 2019 with an explanation of the right of any person or body, under the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) Regulations 2012, to object to the Schools Adjudicator in specified circumstances.

 

Reasons for decision

The School Admissions Code 2014 requires all admission authorities to determine admission arrangements every year, even if they have not changed from previous years. Regulation 17 of the School Admissions Regulations 2012 also requires admission authorities to determine admission arrangements by 28 February in the determination year.

In addition, the Regulations require the admission authority (in this case, the Local Authority) to publish on its website by 15 March in the determining year the determined arrangements of all maintained primary and secondary school and academies in the borough, advising the right to object to the Schools Adjudicator, where it is considered that the arrangement does not comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code 2014.

The Council consults on its admission  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

88.

Minutes of Other Bodies pdf icon PDF 114 KB

To note the minutes of the following:

 

Cabinet Member Signing 18th January 2019

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

To note the minutes of the Cabinet member signing held on the 18th of January 2019.

89.

Significant and Delegated Actions pdf icon PDF 205 KB

To consider significant and delegated actions taken by Directors in January 2019.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

To  note the significant and delegated actions taken in January by directors.

90.

New Items of Urgent Business

To consider any items admitted at Item 3 above.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There was no new items of urgent business.

91.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

Note from the Acting Democratic Services & Scrutiny Manager

 

Items 21and 22 allow for consideration of exempt information in relation to items  6 and 3 .

 

TO RESOLVE

 

 That the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as the items below contain exempt information, as defined under paragraph 3 and 5, Part 1, schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as the items  below contain exempt information, as defined under paragraph 3 and 5, Part 1 Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

92.

Exempt Cabinet Minutes

To approve the exempt minutes for the Cabinet meeting held on the 22 January 2019.

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

To agree the Exempt Cabinet minutes for the meeting held in the 22nd of January 2019.

93.

New Items of Exempt Urgent Business

To consider any items admitted at Item 3 above.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None