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

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Davies and Williams.

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 19 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.

Councillor Chandwani declared a personal interest in respect of agenda item 10 – Council House Energy Action Plan – as she was a Haringey Leaseholder.  It was advised that as the decision would apply to Council owned properties, Councillor Chandwani was permitted to remain in the meeting and take part in the decision-making for the item.

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 five 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 in respect of the exempt items.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 6^th of December 2022 as a correct record.

RESOLVED

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2022 as a correct record.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Standing Orders.

None received.

For Cabinet to note (if any).

None received.

Report of the Director for Culture, Strategy and Engagement. To  be introduced by the Leader of the Council.

This report introduces Haringey Council’s Corporate Delivery Plan for 2022-24. The aim of this plan is to set out what the council will deliver up to April 2024.

The Leader introduced the report which set out Haringey Council’s Corporate Delivery Plan for 2022-24.  The delivery plan included information on the outcomes that the Council were working towards as an organisation, the activity planned to deliver the outcomes, and how the Council would work to deliver it.  The Corporate Delivery Plan would act as a replacement for the previous Borough Plan.

In response to questions from Councillors Carlin and Emery, the following information was provided:

-       A detailed plan for reporting was being developed.  High level elements would be reflected in detailed service delivery plans, and all metrics and Key Performance Indicators would be published and transparent.

-       There was a programme in place to deliver 3000 Council Homes.  A large number of sites had been identified as suitable, many with planning permission, and a significant number of schemes had started on site.  The Leader was confident that plans were in place to achieve the target.

-       A review of the complaints process was to be carried out and the aim was to ensure that residents receive better quality responses to their queries.

RESOLVED to

1.            To agree the Corporate Delivery Plan for 2022-2024 as attached at Appendix 1.

Reason for decision

The council’s current Borough Plan 2019-2023 runs until January 2023. Since it was approved the global Covid pandemic and cost of living crisis have significantly changed the context in which the council undertakes its work. 

The council’s new administration was elected in May of this year on a clear policy agenda and detailed set of manifesto commitments. These need to be reflected in a new set of delivery plans, alongside ongoing corporate priorities.

The role of this Corporate Delivery Plan 2022-24 is to set out what we will deliver and the outcomes we hope to achieve.   It is intended to articulate what we have chosen to prioritise and invest time and resource in; and therefore focuses on ‘discretionary’ activity rather than the delivery of our core, statutory functions. 

The corporate delivery plan will act as a replacement for the Borough Plan for the length of time that it applies, setting out the council’s priorities and the change it is seeking to achieve.

Alternative options considered

There are a number of alternative options, including:

·         Extend the governance period of the existing Borough Plan;

·         Do not publish delivery plans; and/or

·         Develop a new Borough Plan.

It is not considered feasible to pursue option A, as the existing Borough Plan does not reflect the context in which the council is operating, following the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. 

It is not considered feasible to pursue option B, as this would mean that the organisation would not have a single articulation of the outcomes it is working towards, including to reflect the new administration’s manifesto.

It is not considered feasible to pursue option C, as the organisation needs a document which articulates its priorities and delivery plans to guide our immediate operations.  As set out in the Plan, we committed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Director for Placemaking and Housing.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning.

The Council Housing Energy Action Plan sets out the Council’s strategy for retrofitting its social housing stock, with detailed targets and outcomes for the period 2023 to 2028.

The Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning introduced the report which set out the Council’s Housing Energy Action Plan for its housing stock and how energy efficiency retrofits would be implemented across the Council’s housing portfolio. 

Councillor Hakata added that this was one of the most ambitious programmes, and the financial pledge from the Council underlined the commitment to Climate Change.  There would be a number of benefits arising from the programme – improvements to air quality in homes and investment in the local supply chain.

In response to questions from Councillor Emery, the following information was provided:

-       There were some properties on the Coldfall Estate not included in the plan because they had already been assessed as meeting a high EPC rating.

-       Programme leads were working with Housing Services to ensure that a similar service would be made available to leaseholders.  The Council offered a number of schemes for leaseholders to help pay for the works required.

RESOLVED to

1.            Approve the policy, management, and design approach of retrofitting the Council’s housing stock as set out in this report and the Housing Energy Action Plan attached (Appendix A).

2.            Agree the prioritisation criteria for retrofitting the council housing as set out in section 6.3 of this report.

3.            Agree that following a draft retrofitting design and identification of funding to deliver the necessary measures the Council will undertake consultation with those affected to secure community views on the measures proposed in properties that have been identified as appropriate for a retrofit. This consultation will be carried out in line with the approach set out in the Housing Energy Action Plan and will be concluded before designs are finalised.

4.            Agree that the outcome of the consultation be reported to the Director of Placemaking and Housing to authorise finalised designs in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning.

5.            Agree to delegate authority to the Director of Placemaking and Housing after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning, the Director of Finance and the Head of Legal and Governance, to accept funding and enter into funding agreement(s) that will support the delivery of the works identified within the Housing Energy Action Plan, from external sources such as the SHDF in the event that any future bid is successful.

6.            Agree that subject to agreement of the above stages (3.1 through to 3.5) the first batch of properties to be retrofitted will be selected from the properties listed in Section 6.6.8 of this report. 

Reasons for decision

The Haringey Climate Change Action Plan sets a target for the Council’s Housing stock to be an average EPC rating of B by 2035 and EPC A, where technically feasible, by 2041. Nearly all the existing Council housing stock will require some form of retrofit to meet these targets. Adopting this 5-year Action Plan will ensure that the retrofit targets are met in a cost-effective manner, while minimising technical  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

[Report  of the Director for Environment and Neighbourhoods. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Resident Services.

The contract is due to expire at the end of September 2023, provision was included for a possible two year extensions to the current contract.  Cabinet approval is sought to for a two year extension of this contract.

The Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Resident Services introduced the report which requested approval to extend the street lighting maintenance contract for a further two years to 30 September 2025, and to the revised project spend of £8m.  The contract was originally awarded to Marlborough Highways Ltd on 1 October 2019 for a minimum of 4 years (with the options to extend for 2 + 2 years).

In response to questions from Councillor Emery, the following information was provided:

-       The Council were pleased with the performance received from the contractors.

-       The Council had responsibility for maintaining the light columns and bulbs.  However, any issues with the electricity supply was the responsibility of UK Power Networks and so was subject to their response times.

RESOLVED to

1.            Approve the extension of the existing contract awarded to Marlborough Highways Ltd for the maintenance of the Council’s street lighting assets for a period of a further 2 years from 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2025.

2.            Approve an increase in total expenditure through the contract from £12m to £20m, with the significant investment in LED street lighting being the main driver of increased spending through the contract.

Reasons for decision

The decision is required to allow the Highways and Parking Service to continue to commission street lighting services.

Alternative options considered

The Council could consider retendering the contract to test the market. However, besides the significant cost of the procurement exercise, there might be limited value in such an option having regard to the following factors:

·           Potential disruption to the current benefit of delivery of both street lighting and highway works contracts through a single contractor operating from the same depot within the borough.

·           Relative competitiveness of the initial tender – tender evaluations revealed that overall, in a combination of price and quality, the successful contractor achieved an overall margin of 4% over the nearest competitor. In terms of pricing, the contract secured a price margin of 7.5%.

·           Current uncertainties within the market (due to inflationary costs and material supply problems) would lead to contractors perceiving greater risks when tendering. This would likely to be reflected in inflated prices received in any new tendering round.

Report of the Director for Placemaking and Housing. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Council Housebuilding, Placemaking, and Development.

Cabinet approval to vary the works contract for Lilstone Ltd for the Bruce Grove Public Conveniences.

The Cabinet Member for Council Housebuilding, Placemaking and Development introduced the report which requested approval to increase the Contract Award to Lilstone Limited (no.1) of £1,027,414.08, by £473,934.00 to a maximum of £1,501,400, in order to continue the refurbishment of the Grade II listed former public convenience and transform it into a new café with a social value operator, and remove it from Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk’ Register.

Councillor Jogee welcomed the proposal and noted the opportunity for creating local jobs.

In response to questions from Councillor Emery, the following information was provided:

-       Re-tendering the contract was not a consideration, as there had not been any issues with the performance of the existing contractors.  To re-tender the contract would cost more money and cause further delays.

-       The additional costs had occurred as a result of the delays in obtaining National Rail approval, along with unforeseen and unforeseeable heritage repairs.

RESOLVED

1.            To approve a further variation (no. 2), to increase the Contract Award to Lilstone Limited (no.1) of £1,027,414.08, by £473,934.00 to a maximum of £1,501,400.

Reasons for decision

During the construction works, the project has suffered significant delays attributed to the delay in receiving NR technical approvals, unforeseen and unforeseeable heritage repairs, and sequencing of works. This variation Report seeks approval to vary the contract award made by Cabinet on 18^th January 2022, which in itself was, a variation to the original contract awarded in July 2021.

At the end of March 2022 NR advised that the technical approval process for NR had changed. At the same time, officers were made aware that due to the minor design changes to the accommodate the new building extension within our title boundary a new full technical approvals application would be needed.

The delays with obtaining the NR technical approvals have impacted on the construction programme. The contractor has not been able to commence with the demolition or piling works, which are critical path items, as these are located on the boundary line with NR. 

Whilst there have been some movement recently from NR to allow some works to progress with certain elements of work to reduce the impact on the programme, due to the ongoing delays with approvals, the works have reached a critical stage in the project resulting the contractor advising in August 2022 that they had run out of work which could be completed on site.

Due to the nature of the building and dereliction over a number of years, elements of unforeseeable heritage repairs to preserve the Grade II Listed status of the Pavilion Building have been uncovered. Listed Building Consent was also required for these repairs, which has contributed to the delay.

Alternative Options Considered

Option 1: Continue with the refurbishment works

Continue with the refurbishment works whilst the NR and Listed Building Consents are gained; this option was discounted as it would have allowed the contractor to maintain a site presence and charge full preliminary costs whilst they waited for NR approvals  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

Report of the Director for Placemaking and Housing. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment, and Transport and Deputy Leader of the Council.

This report requests approval to commence procurement for Design and Build (D&B) contracts for the Council’s Decentralised Energy Network (DEN) programme.

RESOLVED to

1.            Agree to commence the Design and Build (D&B) procurement for the Council’s Decentralised Energy Network (DEN) Programme in accordance with the Utilities Contract Regulations (UCRs) utilising Negotiation with Prior Call for Competition as permitted under UCR 47.

2.            Agree the procurement strategy set out in section 7 of the report.

Reasons for decision

Procurement of the DEN infrastructure must start in early 2023 in order to deliver the FBC by late 2023 and to support the Council to fulfil obligations in the Development Agreement at High Road West.

A full range of options has been considered and the proposed strategy will deliver best value to the Council.

Alternative options considered

Note a glossary is provided in Section 10 of the report to explain some terminology

Do nothing

If procurement is not commenced, the costs and contract terms for building DEN infrastructure would not be known and the Council will not be able to deliver the FBC for the DEN programme which in turn would not deliver the government requirements of the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) funding.

This option has not been considered further.

See also further information on the Do nothing option in paragraph 5.1.1 of the Exempt Report,

Seek Third Party Investors

It is possible to run a procurement to select a third party investor who will then deliver the project directly (including procuring the infrastructure) or to simultaneously seek to find a third party investor as a partner while procuring the infrastructure (with this second route, the pool of investors is limited to those bidding for the works).

The OBCs for the various projects have considered the potential for 3^rd party investors in the Haringey DEN projects. The projects are large, complex, at an advanced stage and the Council does not have control over significant parts of the projects. This makes it difficult to find a third party investor under either of the routes summarised above. Even if it were possible to attract third parties to invest in Haringey’s DEN projects, there are two principal reasons why this has been discounted. Firstly, there is a preference for the future provider created by the project to be publicly owned which suggests first seeking a partner and then procuring the infrastructure (rather than seeking an investor at the same time as procuring the assets). Secondly, the three opportunities are all time-limited and there is insufficient time for the Council to select a project partner and to then deliver the projects.

It is important to note two things. Firstly, that any effort to seek a third party investor will be time and resource intensive. Seeking to do this while also trying to get the projects off the ground is not recommended. Secondly, there is nothing preventing the Council from seeking investors in the projects at a later date.

This option has not been considered further.

Contract Aggregation Options

Given the above, it will be the Council procuring the infrastructure. The options for aggregating the different  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To note the minutes of the following:

Cabinet Member Signing

 28 November 2022

28 November 2022

1 December 2022

1 December 2022 – 4pm

7 December 2022

15 December 2022 9am

15 December 2022 10am

RESOLVED

To note the minutes of other bodies.

To note the delegated decisions taken by Directors.

None to note.

As per item 3.

There were no items of urgent business.

Note from the Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager

Item 18 allows for consideration of exempt information in relation to items 13.

TO RESOLVE

That the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as items 18 to 19 contain exempt information as defined under paragraphs 3 and 5, Part 1, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972:

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.

RESOLVED

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of agenda items 18 and 19 as they contain exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972: Paragraph 3 – information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information); and Paragraph 5 – information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

As per item 13.

The information in the exempt appendix was noted.

As per item 3.

There were no items of exempt urgent business.