Agenda and minutes

Please note 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.  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’, 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.

The Chair referred to the notice of filming at meetings and this information was noted.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Alessandra Rossetti and Councillor Scott Emery. Councillor Alessandra Rossetti joined the meeting virtually but could not be considered to be present for the purposes of the attendance record.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business.  (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear.  New items will be dealt with under item 13 below).

There was no urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest. Councillor Joseph Ejiofor stated that, following advice from the Monitoring Officer, he did not have any interests to declare.

There were no deputations, petitions, presentations, or questions.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Corporate Committee meeting held on 9 September 2021 as a correct record.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Corporate Committee meeting held on 9 September 2021 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Under s100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chair of the meeting was of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances. These circumstances were because there were some amendments where the proposals cut through parkland (specifically the border between APK-B and APK-C and between WOD-A and WODB). The polling district boundary had been moved to the perimeter of the park. The red line was the original proposal and the green was the revised. Therefore the boundaries in this whole borough map should replace those shown on the individual polling scheme maps for these districts. This was a technical change and made no alteration to the electorate for either of the areas but required approval of the committee to be included in the polling scheme (Appendix 1b), as set out in Recommendation 1.

The Assistant Director Direct Services introduced the report which set out recommendations for each polling district and the associated polling place, including where feedback was received and any changes that were made as a result of the consultation phase.

It was explained that the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) concluded in December 2019 and recommended that Haringey should continue to have 57 councillors, should have 21 wards rather than 19, and that all ward boundaries should change. This was enacted by Parliament. The Electoral Services Team was responsible for developing proposals to create polling districts for these new wards and to identify polling places within each district. It was noted that there had been input from a member working group and an officer working group. It was also noted that a public consultation had commenced on 31 August 2021, including an all-member briefing, and that this had resulted in some changes which were set out in the report.

It was added that, if approved, the polling districts would be uploaded to the council’s electoral register and would be operational for the council elections in 2022. It was highlighted that a full communications plan for the elections would make sure that people were informed about the location of their polling stations. It was noted that the proposals were due to be reviewed next year following the parliamentary boundary review which was due to report in 2023.

It was highlighted that a drawing which showed the new districts on a boroughwide map had been circulated as a late paper. It was noted that this drawing also showed locations where there had been minor boundary amendments to align with parkland boundaries. It was explained that this was a technical change which did not alter the electorate but that this needed to be approved by the Committee for inclusion in the polling scheme (Appendix 1b), as set out in the report recommendations.

It was noted that it was proposed to reduce the number of polling districts from 83 to 76 and it was enquired why there were some differences in the sizes of polling districts.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Head of Finance and Chief Accountant introduced the report which presented the council’s plan for the audit of the Statement of Accounts for 2020-21, which included the Housing Revenue Account and Haringey Pension Fund. It was explained that the plan had been updated and set out the approach that the auditors would be taking, including the highlights of the audit and the proposed audit fee. It had been noted that the deadline to complete the 2020-21 audit was 30 September 2021 but that only about 9% of local authorities had met this deadline.

David Eagles, the Audit Partner from BDO, noted that the materiality levels for the audit had increased slightly compared to the previous year to reflect the increased gross spend for the year and were set out on page 224 of the agenda pack. It was also noted that the timeline for the audit was set out on page 231 of the agenda pack.

It was stated that the significant risks for the purposes of the audit were identified in the report and included management override of controls, revenue recognition, expenditure cut-off, valuation of non-current assets, valuation of pension liability, reconciliation of bank accounts, allowance for non-collection of receivables, and sustainable finances (use of resources). It was commented that the risk relating to management override of controls was a standard risk in most audits and was not related to any particular concerns in Haringey and that the risk relating to related parties was not considered to be a significant risk but that there had been some issues in the past and this area remained under closer review.

It was highlighted that some issues had been identified in relation to IT general controls and that the complexity of this issue meant that specialist IT auditors were required. The specialist audit had identified areas of weakness where there was potential for manipulation and it was believed that stronger controls would be required to mitigate this risk. This required additional testing which would impact on the audit and would need to be discussed with management. It was clarified that officers would be working to complete as soon as possible but wanted to inform the Committee that there was a real risk of delays.

In response to a question from the Committee, David Eagles stated that the audit deadline was unrealistic as authorities were still catching up from the previous audit period, which had been significantly disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and had therefore been given a shorter time scale for the 2020-21 audit. David Eagles was not aware of any penalties for local authorities who completed their audit after the deadline and it was noted that the regulators were being understanding in acknowledging that there was an ongoing national crisis.

Some members of the Committee noted that the outturn position for the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) was a £6.8 million overspend and it was enquired whether there would be a review of the strategies to close the budget gap.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Head of Audit and Risk Management introduced the report which detailed the work undertaken by the in-house Audit and Risk Team, as well as our outsourced partner Mazars, for the quarter ending 30 September 2021. It was noted that the service had received fewer fraud referrals during the Covid-19 pandemic but that this was now increasing to more normal levels.

It was noted that Early Help Care Plans had been removed from the audit plan but the Committee queried whether this issue had been resolved. The Head of Audit and Risk Management stated that the EY audit had been delayed by six months to allow the findings from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to be embedded before an evaluation. It was added that this area would be reviewed as part of the internal audit plan in 2022-23. It was confirmed that Commercial Land and Property had been added to the audit plan in response to a request from management. The rationale for this was to ensure that there was a robust arrangement for the management of the portfolio.

It was noted that Park View School had been subject to cyber fraud and it was enquired whether there was evidence of similar issues elsewhere. The Head of Audit and Risk Management stated that this was the only known case at present. It was highlighted that cyber fraud was increasingly common and that a cyber audit was being conducted which would be shared with the Committee.

Some members asked whether it would be possible to provide comparative data and learning points over the previous two years in each quarterly report. The Head of Audit and Risk Management noted that there was an annual report which set out in detail the work relating to anti-fraud and any lessons learned, including the numbers of cases.

The Committee noted that there were currently 230 potential tenancy fraud cases outstanding and it was enquired whether there were a large number of older cases or whether this represented mainly new cases. The Head of Audit and Risk Management stated that there were 230 ongoing cases but that a number of these were older cases that required some physical visits and had been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Committee noted that it would be helpful to have further information on the average timescales for processing cases.

The Committee noted that the audits on Purchasing Cycle and Management of Contracts Register had been removed. It was enquired why these audits had been removed given the Committee’s previous questions and concerns about whether there were satisfactory assurances. The Head of Audit and Risk Management explained that the audits had been delayed pending the outcome of an organisational review about procurement related activities, including contract management. It was noted that the audit of Contract Management was currently at the fieldwork stage and it was enquired whether this would be deferred pending the outcome of the organisational review. The Head of Audit and Risk Management explained that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Head of Pensions and Treasury introduced the report which provided an update on the council’s treasury management activities and performance in the first half of the financial year to 30 September 2021 in accordance with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Treasury Management Code of Practice. It was explained that the report was for the Committee to note and that it would be presented to Full Council as required by the Code of Practice.

It was highlighted that there had been additional borrowing of £41 million, £11 million of long term borrowing and £30 million of short term borrowing, which aimed to incorporate the council’s strategy to strike a balance between securing low financing costs and achieving long term cost certainty. It was anticipated that there would be additional long term borrowing later in the year. It was also noted that all activity had been in line with the approved Treasury Management Strategy so far this year.

The Committee noted that the council had held some Lender’s Option Borrower’s Option (LOBO) loans for a number of years and enquired about the process for repaying these loans. The Head of Pensions and Treasury explained that LOBO loans provided the lender with the option to propose an increase in the interest rate payable on a loan at pre-specified dates. It was stated that, if a lender proposed to raise its interest rate, the council could decide to repay the loan rather than accept a new, higher rate. It was noted that the likelihood of a lender deciding to exercise this option remained low. The Head of Pensions and Treasury stated that the council periodically reviewed opportunities to repay LOBOs with the treasury advisor but that these opportunities had not yet materialised.

Some Committee members suggested that interest rates were expected to rise and suggested that this would necessitate a review of how the council refinanced ongoing borrowing. The Head of Pensions and Treasury explained that restructuring a LOBO loan typically involved the council paying a premium to the lender which would most likely be expensive, given the length of time before the loans reached maturity. It was noted that officers were conscious that interest rates were likely to increase and were seeking to secure longer term interest rates for the Housing Revenue Account and the General Fund by taking out long term Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) borrowing. It was stated that, if any good opportunities to exit LOBO loans were identified, they would be investigated.

RESOLVED

1.    To note the Treasury Management activity undertaken during the first half of the financial year to 30 September 2021and the performance achieved which is attached as Appendix 1 to this report.

2.    To note that all treasury activities were undertaken in line with the approved Treasury Management Strategy.

The Assistant Director for Commissioning introduced the report which responded to the Committee’s request for further consultation on the proposals for renaming Black Boy Lane before moving forward. In this context, the report detailed the council’s proposed approach to working with residents and communities on improving the diversity and representation in Haringey’s public realm. This report covered the range of issues where there were plans to engage with residents in relation to the public realm, the approach to co-production to be adopted, and a summary of work to date.

It was noted that a number of residents would be affected by street renaming and that the report considered the council’s approach to reviewing the council’s public realm and wider conversations. It was envisaged that the approach would be community led and would address systemic inequalities in the borough.

Cllr Ejiofor expressed his disappointment with the content of the report. He commented that the Committee had undertaken a long discussion at its meeting in March 2021 and that a number of recommendations had been made which were due to be implemented between March and October 2021. He stated that Black Boy Lane was offensive and that the report presented to the Committee appeared to delay the renaming of this street. He asked that the renaming of Black Boy Lane was separated from the broader review on street renaming across the borough. He added that the costs of renaming this street would be notional and would be met from existing budgets. Cllr Ejiofor expressed concerns that no action had been taken regarding the renaming of this street and stated that councils should lead change in relation to challenging racism.

Cllr Ejiofor moved the following motion:

This Corporate Committee has decided to separate the process for a broader buildings review from the process for moving forward with the renaming of Black Boy Lane.

The Committee recalls the comments made by the Corporate Committee at their meeting of 17 March 2021 and notes that the Committee has already agreed the following:

(i)            Considered the feedback from the Second Statutory Consultation ‘Notice of Intention’ on the renaming of Black Boy Lane to La Rose Lane, in particular, the Corporate Committee had noted the objections from residents and organisations directly affected by the proposed renaming;

(ii)          Considered and took into account the Equalities Impact Assessment of the proposed change on protected groups and the actions proposed to mitigate the impact including a commitment to provide support, a dedicated staff resource and resident/organisation payments; and

Furthermore, using the authority granted to this committee under the London Building Act (Amendment) 1939 Section 6(1) now agrees to the making of an Order to rename Black Boy Lane to La Rose Lane to take effect on 1 February 2022 and concurs that officers should now provide the necessary assurances to residents of Black Boy Lane for the change of this street name. The Committee also instructs officers that the support package offered to the residents be further explained and clarified.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Report to follow

To be considered at the reconvened meeting on 23 November 2021.

To consider any items of urgent business as identified at item 3.

To be considered at the reconvened meeting on 23 November 2021.

To note the dates of future meetings:

1 February 2022

10 March 2022

To be considered at the reconvened meeting on 23 November 2021.

Note from the Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager

In accordance  with  Access to Information rule 11 - If the Monitoring Officer thinks fit, the Council may exclude access by the public to reports which in his or her opinion relate to items during which, in accordance with Rule 10, the meeting is likely not to be open to the public. Such reports will be marked "Not for publication" together with the category of information likely to be disclosed.

In accordance  with rule 10  - Item 16  contains exempt information as defined under paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 5, Part 1, schedule 12A of the Local Government Act:

·         Information relating to an individual

·         Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual

·         Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

·         Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

TO RESOLVE

That the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as

the items, contain exempt information, as defined under paragraphs 1,2, 3

and 5, Part 1, schedule 12A of the Local Government Act:

·                     Information relating to an individual

·                     Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual

·                     Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

·                     Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

To be considered at the reconvened meeting on 23 November 2021.

Report to follow

To be considered at the reconvened meeting on 23 November 2021.

To be considered at the reconvened meeting on 23 November 2021.