Agenda and minutes

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.

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

There were no apologies for absence.

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 16 below. New items of exempt business will be dealt with at Item 20 below).

There were no items of urgent business.

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.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal declared a personal interest in item 9 as she was renting a private property in a Homes for Haringey Housing block and her mother was a Council tenant in a Homes for Haringey managed property.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal further declared a personal interest in item 14, by virtue of her wider connection with advice provision in the borough. Her mother was a Management Committee Member of the Turkish Cypriot Women Projects [TCWP] and the Cabinet Member, herself, was closely associated with the Cypriot Centre in Wood Green.

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 [17 ] : 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.

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

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th of March 2019 as a correct record.

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on the 12th of March 2019 were agreed as a correct record of the meeting.

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

There were no deputations, petitions, questions for consideration at Cabinet.

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

The Council is proposing to reassess its housing management and housing demand services, and consider whether a review of the use of an ALMO as the preferred option is justified at this stage.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced the report, which was an information report only. It sought Cabinet to note the contents of the report, and in particular, the options for the future provision of the Council’s housing management and housing demand services. It also sought Cabinet to agree to further consider whether a review of the Council’s housing management and demand services should take place, and if so one which would be consistent with the terms set out at paragraph 6.23 of the report.

The Cabinet Member highlighted the commitment of the Labour Administration to ensure that Council tenants, leaseholders and anyone who was at risk of homelessness, received the best service possible from the Council. The review was sought to ensure that the operating arrangements for delivering housing services were fit for purpose.

The Cabinet Member noted there were 20,000 households in the borough that lived in a property where the Council was the landlord. Those residents had a right to a service that would maintain the quality of their homes and would deliver excellent housing management. Due to the pressures of the London housing market, many other residents needed help to prevent them from becoming homeless or to find a new home. The Cabinet Member stated it was the Council’s responsibility to ensure people were offered the best service possible.

It was the intention to consult both Labour and Liberal Democrat Councillors within the next six months to discuss the way forward on the Council’s housing management and demand services. Following those discussions, the decision whether to commission a formal review of HfH (Homes for Haringey) would be taken.

In response to questions from Cllr Palmer, the following information was noted:

• The Cabinet Member confirmed that one of the possible potential options would be to bring HfH under direct Council management, but reiterated that no decision had yet been taken and that all options were available for consideration.
• The Cabinet Member accepted that there were mixed views on the way forward and councillors would be consulted within the next six months in order to ascertain what the most popular options were.
• The Cabinet Member stated it would be right for any future decision regarding HfH to be balloted, in light of the fact that HfH originally being set up through a ballot.
• The Cabinet Member was committed to increasing the voice of tenants and they would be also be involved in any future decisions regarding the future of Housing Management and Housing Demand services.
• The Cabinet Member advised that the current management arrangement with HfH continued until 2021, where there was a break clause. If a return to direct management were to be selected as the preferred option, then a gradual change over of management would limit potential issues arising by ensuring a smooth transition.
• Officers noted that consideration of a review of Housing Management and Housing Demand was at an early stage and there was an opportunity to learn from other Councils that had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 130.

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

To agree a strategy to tackle fly-tipping in the Borough.

The Cabinet Member for Environment introduced the report which sought Cabinet to adopt the Fly Tipping Strategy 2019 – 2024 and note the Action Plan for 2019-2020.

The Cabinet Member was delighted to introduce the strategy and informed it would mitigate against the adverse effects of fly-tipping on the community and environment.

The Cabinet Member praised the efforts of the community in working against fly tipping, specifically Tidy Up Tottenham, and looked forward to working with more local groups in the future to combat fly tipping in Haringey.

In response to questions from Cllr Ejiofor and Cllr Palmer, the following information was noted:

• The Cabinet Member confirmed that enforcement was as much a part of the Fly Tipping Strategy as education.
• The Cabinet Member informed there would be a number of staff already employed by the Council who would be involved in the delivery of the strategy, not just the proposed project manager who would co-ordinate the delivery of the plan.

RESOLVED

1. To adopt the Fly Tipping Strategy 2019 – 2024 attached at appendix 1

2. To note the Action Plan for 2019-2020 attached at appendix 2.

Reasons for decision

A fly tip is rubbish left on the street (or other land) without arrangements for its collection and without agreement with the council. A small proportion of fly tips in Haringey is left by illegal waste collectors (just 4%) – the vast majority (83%) is household waste, often presented in the wrong place and/or at the wrong time. The remaining 13% of fly tips is from local businesses. Of the fly tips that are household waste, nearly half are carrier bags or black bin bags and over a quarter is furniture.

Last year (2017/18), Haringey received reports of 24,000 fly tips and a similar level is projected for 2018/19. The cost to Haringey’s tax payers to collect fly tipping is over £3 million per year. This has a wider impact on the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy, and the council’s ability to provide other vital services to our residents.

Haringey’s Borough Plan has made a firm commitment to reducing the levels of fly tipping in the borough, as part of the Place Priority. Our ambition is for a borough which is cleaner, accessible and attractive. We know from our 2018 Resident Satisfaction Survey that cleanliness is a top priority for residents (11% of residents saying this makes a difference to their day to day quality of life), second only to safety (13%). 

The Fly Tipping Strategy sets out an approach using three strands, to be   delivered through a series of ‘hot spot’ targeted locations (see section 6.11):

• Education, communication and early intervention
• Prevention of recurrence
• Targeted enforcement

The approach in the draft Strategy has been defined over a five year period          using existing resources across the Waste Client Team, Enforcement, Communications and our waste contractor Veolia.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing. There is clear ambition in Haringey for a cleaner environment, as captured in the new Borough Plan’s ‘Place’ Priority.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 131.

[Report of the Director for Customers Transformation and Resources. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for  Corporate Resources and Insourcing]

To agree the Policy/criteria for access to Discretionary Housing Payments.

The Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Insourcing introduced the report which sought Cabinet to approve Haringey’s Discretionary Housing Payments Policy 2019/20 and agree to make up the £30,398 shortfall from contingency funding.

The Cabinet Member noted that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) made grants available to local authorities for Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) purposes and a report was taken to Cabinet with an updated DHP policy to reflect the new funding allocation. For 2019/20, the amount allocated to Haringey Council was £1,563,947, and this was £30,398 less than the amount allocated in 2018/19 equating to a 1.9% reduction.

The Cabinet Member was pleased to inform the meeting that the Council would provide an extra £30,398 to the DHP fund to ensure that there was no reduction for 2019/20. This money would be provided from an underspend on the 2019/20 NLWA levy.

RESOLVED

1. To approve Haringey’s Discretionary Housing Payments Policy 2019/20 (see Appendix A) as the means by which the Council will determine how the DHP funds will be allocated during the 2019/20 financial year having regard to the Equalities Screening Tool (set out in Appendix B).

2. To agree to make up the £30,398 shortfall from contingency funding.

Reasons for Decision

The DHP Policy has to be reviewed and approved every year in line with the changing funding allocated by the DWP.

Alternative Options Considered

Local Authorities can allocate their own resources to top up the overall DHP budget, however due to the significant financial pressures the Council is currently under, it is proposed to only make-up the £30,398 funding reduction. 

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

The Air Quality Action Plan is required as part of Council's duty to manage local air quality.  The plan sets out the commitment and actions Haringey will take to improve air quality between 2018 and 2022.  It replaces the previous action plan of 2010 - 2018.

The Cabinet Member for Environment introduced the report which sought Cabinet to agree to consult on the draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) 2019-24 in Appendix A in accordance with the consultation plan in Appendix B.

The Cabinet Member noted that Full Council had declared a climate emergency and outlined the adverse effects of climate change on the community and environment. Air quality drastically impacted on the health of elderly and vulnerable people and the Cabinet Member was committed to cleaning up the quality of the air in Haringey. The consultation would be looking to discuss how issues could be tackled together to improve air quality. Promoting more walking and cycling were some of the options that would be encouraged.

In response to questions from Cllr Palmer, the following information was noted:

• Regarding the LAEI model, Officers noted that it was prepared in 2013 but that the data was collected every year. The data collected from 2018 was due to go on Haringey’s website imminently. Officers accepted the measurements were collected across the whole of London and therefore they could only work with those measurements.
• Officers informed that a number of bids had been made to the GLA for projects which totalled £750k. A response to those bids was expected in April 2019 and the Council would be required to match fund that figure.

Cllr Palmer sought a response as to whether the Cabinet Member would reconsider the Liberal Democrat amendments to the Climate Emergency motion that was rejected at Full Council on the 18^th of March which would have ensured all energy supplied to Council buildings was sourced through a district energy network or 100% renewable energy. The Cabinet Member confirmed a written response would be provided to this question.

RESOLVED

3 

3.2 

To agree to consult on the draft AQAP 2019-24 in Appendix A in accordance with the consultation plan in Appendix B.

Reasons for Decision

1. 

Similar to other London Boroughs, Haringey was declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in 2001, due to air quality levels for two key pollutants - Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulates (PM’s) exceeding statutory limits.

Under Part 4 of the Environment Act 1995 Haringey is required to provide an AQAP to address the areas of poor air quality identified within the AQMA.

NO₂ is created when fuel is burnt and the main sources have been combustion engines, heating plant and construction plant/vehicles. 

PM10 is made up from a variety of substances i.e. soot, dust and secondary particles formed by the reaction of other pollutants in the air. The main sources of particulate matter are combustion engines, biomass heating plant (wood fuelled), brake and tyre wear, construction activity/plant and HGV’s.  

There is strong evidence that NO₂ and PM’s are harmful to health in a following way:

• Short term exposure: - is associated with worsening symptoms of pre-existing lung disease and asthma, as well as increased risk of cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarctions and stroke;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 133.

[Report of the Director for  Housing, Regeneration and Planning . To be introduced by the Leader of the Council.]

Cabinet is asked to agree the final price and terms of the acquisition of the Welbourne Centre site and the details of the novation of the Development Agreement and Funding Agreement between the Council and Argent Related.

The Leader introduced the report, highlighting that, in December 2018, Cabinet had agreed to the principle of the acquisition of the Welbourne Centre site. This report clarified a number of supplementary issues that surround that decision.

The Leader advised that securing homes for Haringey’s residents was central to what the Labour administration had set out to achieve. The acquisition of the Welbourne site delivered 131 council homes - or 13 per cent towards the overall target of delivering 1000 new council homes. Furthermore, the acquisition also helped to secure the delivery of a district health centre that had been long fought for locally. The Leader was pleased the Council would be playing its part in bringing forward this critical facility that would significantly improve healthcare facilities and health opportunities for Tottenham residents.

This report also set out the final company structure under which the developer would deliver those outputs. The Council had also received funding from this partnership which has allowed the Council to facilitate the delivery of 167 much-needed affordable homes and infrastructure. This was a significant outcome for residents in the east of the borough and the Leader looked forward to the rapid delivery of those homes and the much-needed health centre on the Welbourne site.

In response to a question from Cllr Palmer, the Leader confirmed that all the housing on the Welbourne site was council housing at council rents. The Leader reiterated that the Cabinet was against segregation of spaces on housing developments.

Further to considering the exempt information at item 25,

RESOLVED

To agree:

1. To the council proceeding with the acquisition for housing purposes of 131 homes and a ground floor non-residential space from Argent Related, to be constructed at the Welbourne site, for a total sum plus expenditure for acquisition process costs and on-costs, as set out in the exempt part of the report.

2. To the final terms of the Contract for the acquisition attached at Appendix B and based on the Heads of Terms previously approved by Cabinet and attached at Appendix A.

3. To give delegated authority to the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning to agree any future amendments to the contract, in consultation with the Director of Finance.

4. To the novation of the Development Agreement and Funding Agreement from TH Ferry Island Limited Partnership to TH DM Limited as set out in the Deed of Novation for the Development Agreement attached at Appendix C and the Deed of Novation for the Funding Agreement attached at Appendix D.

Reasons for decision

Acquisition of Affordable Housing on the Welbourne Site

As detailed in Paragraph 1.1 above, on 11^th December 2018 Cabinet agreed (subject to the council’s full budget setting meeting in February 2019) to the in-principle acquisition of the homes and ground floor non-residential space to be constructed at the Welbourne site for a maximum total sum; to unallocated General Fund capital receipts being retained corporately and to note that a further Key Decision will be taken at a later  ...  view the full minutes text for item 134.

[Report of the Assistant Director for Commissioning. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health.]

This report seeks approval to extend the Council’s existing contract for the provision of Information, Advice and Guidance services for one year, as provided for under clause 3.2 of the contract and in accordance with the Council’s Contract Standing Order (CSO) 10.02.1(b).

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health introduced the report which sought Cabinet’s approval to extend the Council’s contract for the provision of Information, Advice and Guidance services, held by Haringey Citizen’s Advice Bureau, for one year from 3rd April 2019 to 2nd April 2020.

The Cabinet Member was pleased to introduce the report and highlighted the important work the Council carried out with regard to ensuring that residents who needed information, advice and guidance, had access to high quality services.

The Cabinet Member commended the recommendations to Cabinet.

In response to a question from Cllr Palmer regarding the reduction of £50,000 against the original annual contract value, Officers confirmed this would not have a direct impact on service delivery. Officers expected to make small savings across a range of the contracts that made up the service.

RESOLVED

1. To approve, in accordance with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 10.02.1(b), the extension of the Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) Contract with the Haringey Citizen’s Advice Bureau across all four lots of the existing contract.

2. That the contract across all four lots be extended for a period of one year from 3^rd April 2019 to 2^nd April 2020, to the total of £816,000.

3. To approve the underwriting of a £55,000 contribution made to the IAG contract by the Better Care Fund, which as yet remains unconfirmed, due to administrative delays beyond the Council’s control. This contingency is recommended to ensure the contract extension is promptly completed and service delivery is maintained, however it has been strongly indicated that this funding will continue into the final year of the contract. If necessary, the contribution will be secured from within the Council’s Housing Related Support budgets.

Reasons for decision

It is in the Council’s overall interest to agree to an extension of the current contract whilst a review of the contract is completed and recommendations are made for a redesign to the service. The contracts were awarded for a period of three years with an option to extend for a further one year until 2020 in order to facilitate this.

Performance has been evaluated as good throughout the contract period. Performance returns are completed and submitted on time and targets are met. There is a demonstrable need for IAG in Haringey and the service is evidently delivering positive outcomes for residents. It is proposed that in order to continue to best service Haringey residents, the contract extension period is used to explore the current and future IAG needs of service users, alongside a range of new Council and Clinical Commissioning Group priorities and strategies, including the integration of health and community services. This process will consider any changes to be made to the service and will result in recommendations which will be used to inform the recommissioning of the contracts.

Extending this contract with a value of £816,000, will result in a reduction of £50,000 against the original annual contract value. This saving is required in order to contribute to the Council’s Medium  ...  view the full minutes text for item 135.

To note significant and delegated actions taken by directors.

RESOLVED

To note the significant and delegated actions taken in February and March 2019 by directors.

To consider any items admitted at Item 3 above.

None.

Note from the Acting Democratic Services & Scrutiny Manager

Items 18, 19 and 20 allow for consideration of exempt information in relation to items 13,  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.

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.

As per item 13.

As per the exempt minutes and item 134.

To agree the exempt minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on the 12 March 2019.

RESOLVED

To agree the Exempt Cabinet minutes for the meeting held in the 12^th of March 2019.

To consider any items admitted at Item 3 above.

None.