Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Centre, High Road, Wood Green, N22 8LE

Contact: Ayshe Simsek, Acting Democratic Services & Scrutiny Manager 

Media

Items
No. Item

142.

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 meetings and Members noted this information.

 

The Leader welcomed Cllr Brabazon and Cllr Chandwani to the Cabinet.

 

The Leader proposed to vary the agenda to enable the items for the Corporate and Civic Cabinet Member portfolio to be considered at the start of the meeting as Cllr Amin had a significant external meeting to attend. It was agreed to consider agenda items 11, 18, 19 after item 8.

 

[Cllr Amin left the meeting after consideration of item 152]

 

143.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Ibrahim and Cllr Hearn.

144.

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 21 below. New items of exempt business will be dealt with at Item 29 below).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader outlined that there was one item of late business to consider relating to item 9, the Community Safety Strategy, on the agenda, which he had accepted as urgent business.

 

The Leader outlined that the Community Safety Strategy was a Policy Framework Strategy, and as set out in the supplementary pack, Scrutiny and Cabinet develop budget and policy framework proposals and recommend these to full Council for adoption.

 

The Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel had met on 11th of June 2019 to consider and comment on this strategy, which was after the publication of the Cabinet agenda. Therefore, these comments could not have been available at the time of the Cabinet agenda publication. They were now included in the supplementary pack as Appendix 4 to the report, and were to be considered with recommendation 3.1a)

145.

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:

There were no declaration of interest put forward.

146.

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 [22] : 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.

 

147.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 246 KB

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 2 April 2019  as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on the 2nd of April were agreed as a correct record of the meeting.

148.

Matters Referred to Cabinet by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

There are no matters to report.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

149.

Deputations/Petitions/Questions

To consider any requests received in accordance with Standing Orders.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

150.

Physical Activity and Sports Strategy 2019-23 pdf icon PDF 361 KB

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

 

To agree the Haringey Physical Activity and Sport Strategy and two key supporting strategies - the Outdoor Sports and Play Facilities Framework and the Indoor Sports Facilities Strategy

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Corporate and Civic Services introduced the report which sought approval to the Haringey Physical Activity and Sport Strategy 2019 – 2023. The Cabinet Member summarised that the strategy set out the borough’s vision, mission, aims and objectives for increasing rates of physical activity over the next four years.

 

The Cabinet Member continued to seek support for the strategy which built on the Council’s partnership work over many years to create a culture of activity, further echoed in the Borough Plan which also strives to increase activity rates. Essentially, the vision was to create and embed a culture of activity and aspiration, becoming the best borough in London for activity. The far reaching benefits of increased physical activity were outlined such as good mental health and inclusion in the community.

 

In response to questions from Councillors: Bull, M Blake, das Neves and Cawley- Harrison, the following information was noted:

 

·         The Cabinet Member would be working with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that there was a joined up approach to considering both diet and activity to support increased health benefits. Health sector colleagues were already a key partner in the compilation of the strategy.

 

·         In relation to the provision of sporting activity for diverting young people into positive activity and involving Fusion with the increase in the take up activities after school time, the Cabinet Member for Corporate and Civic Services was happy to work with the Cabinet Member for Communities and Equalities on this issue, noting that Fusion already offer a significant programme of after school leisure activities for children and young people.  

 

·         With regards to the level of aspiration being taken forward with the target of 2% improvement, this required realistic consideration in light of the level of persuasion involved in advocating lifestyle changes. This often involved increasing the number of small changes to have an impact.

 

·         The Cabinet Member provided assurance that this was a joined up strategy which had been compiled with the different areas of the Council connected with supporting physical activity such as transport.

 

·         The Cabinet Member agreed that active travel with schools and introducing school streets around the borough would help tackle inactivity and this connected with the wider aim of the strategy to increase activity.

 

·         In relation to the charges for use of some park facilities , this was a small charge  in what were challenging times for the budget of the local authority and the priority was to ensure that parks remained accessible to residents.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    To approve the Physical Activity and Sport Strategy 2019 – 2023 as set out in Appendix 1;

2.    To approve the two supporting facility strategies; The Outdoor Sports and Play Facilities Framework 2016 – 2026 and the Indoor Sports Facility Strategy 2018 – 2028 as set out in Appendix 2 and Appendix 3;

3.    To approve the governance arrangements detailed in 6.24 and 6.25.

 

Reasons for decision

 

In approving the Physical Activity and Sport Strategy the Council sets out a positive vision and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 150.

151.

Approval to appoint a contractor for the implementation and maintenance of a new Housing Management IT System pdf icon PDF 233 KB

[Report of the Director of Customers, Transformation & Resources. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Corporate and Civic Services.]

 

 

Haringey Council is conducting a Mini Competition under the CCS Framework RM3821 to Contract the next New Housing Management System that will provide the platform for Haringey to manage a portfolio of approximately 25,000 properties across tenure types.

The new system is expected to be modern and future proof with  an intuitive user interface that knows the user and prompts them to take the actions needed to deliver an excellent customer focused service. It will be a critical business system used in the effective management of the Council’s Housing Services including Homelessness (incl. HRA), allocations, lettings, rents and income collection, housing management, voids and repairs, management of temporary accommodation and non-residential units, estate services, reporting and performance monitoring.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Corporate and Civic Services introduced the report which sought approval to award a contract for the provision of Housing software, and support and maintenance services. The Cabinet Member outlined that the Housing Management IT System was a crucial business system used in the effective management of the Council’s Housing Services, including, homelessness (incl. HRA), allocations, lettings, rents and income collection, housing management, voids and repairs, management of temporary accommodation and non-residential units, estate services, reporting and performance monitoring. Therefore, the system needed to be inclusive and the CCS framework provided the framework for the management of 25000 properties in the borough. The new housing management system was further expected to be modern, intuitive, focused on customer services and reducing service failure. It was also used by neighbouring boroughs.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Cawley – Harrison, it was noted that this was a more user-friendly system for residents and staff were being trained to use this system well. It was further reiterated that this was a modern system and the Council had been working with Camden and Islington, as former partners in the shared digital service, and sharing their learning from prior implementation of this system. The Director for Customers, Transformation and Resources emphasised that this was a more intuitive system for service users and widely used by other boroughs.

 

In response to the query about the timing of the decision given the expiry date of the present contact, it was explained that this was actually the start of the procurement process as deemed an upgrade to the current IT system.

 

Following consideration of the exempt information at item 26,

RESOLVED

1.    To approve, in accordance with Contract Standing Order 9.07.1(d), the award of a contract to the supplier named in paragraph 1 of Part B: Exempt report, for the provision of the Housing software and support and maintenance services for a period of 5 years at a contract value of £1,006,950 (Including implementation and support) with an option to extend for up to a further 2 years at a total maximum contract value of £1,247,152.

 

2.    To note that this contract includes the provision of software licences, hardware, replacement and new modules, support and maintenance together with migration to the new system.

Reasons for decision

The Council’s current  contract expires in October 2019 and a procurement process has been undertaken to ensure a new contract can be placed that meets the Council’s current requirements.

The new contract will feature migration to the more modern housing system and allow the service to realise savings of around £1,327K over the maximum 7-year contract period with scope for future savings.

Alternative Options Considered.

Do Nothing

This is not a viable option as the current contract for the existing housing management system expires on 31st October 2019.

Renew existing contract

The existing contract could not be further renewed without running an EU compliant procurement.

In addition, the existing software (OHMS) cannot support the new customer focus identified in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 151.

152.

Award of Contract for Hornsey Library pdf icon PDF 152 KB

[Report of the Director of Customers, Transformation & Resources. To be introduced by the Cabinet member for Corporate and Civic Services.]

 

To award a construction contract for the works at Hornsey Library.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Corporate and Civic Services introduced the report, which set out approval to appoint the recommended contractor, Contractor C, to deliver adaptation, and refurbishment works at Hornsey Library for the total contract cost of £2,300,370.

 

The Cabinet Member emphasised the value of Haringey’s libraries and the Council recognised that they provide a valuable service to the borough. For Hornsey Library, this investment would enhance its integral role within the local community for years to come.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Cawley- Harrison, the following was noted:

  • It was hoped that there would be little impact in terms of connection with the library for the community. The library would not be closed for the refurbishment period as the contract for the works had been organised to allow use of the library and works to be completed at the same time. This did add extra cost but allowed library users to continue to use the building. This was also another reason for the delayed procurement works.

 

 

  • Background information on the original scope of the works was provided. This had led to the discovery of major unavoidable works being required to the walls of the library. As the refurbishment continued, the costs had further increased due to the listed building status of the library.

 

Following consideration of the exempt information at item 26,

 

RESOLVED

To approve the appointment of Contractor C to deliver refurbishment and enhancement works to Hornsey Library for a contract sum of £2,300,370; and 3.2. To approve the issue of a letter of intent prior to the formal contract signature for £230,037 being 10% of the contract sum

Reasons for decision

To award a contract which will enable the timely mobilisation and construction of works to Hornsey Library.

Alternative options considered

The authority procured the contractor through the London Construction Programme (LCP) Major Works 2014 Framework Agreement. The authority considered use of the Southern Construction Framework for award of this contract. Upon consideration, the SCF framework was considered not suitable for this size of project.

 

 

153.

Community Safety Strategy pdf icon PDF 156 KB

[Report of the Assistant Director for Stronger Communities. To be introduced  by the Cabinet Member for Communities and Equalities.]

 

The Community Safety Strategy presents the Community Safety Partnership’s approach and priorities to achieving a reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour in Haringey up to 2023.

 

Appendix 4 Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel comments   - To Follow

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Equalities introduced the report, which set out the partnership approach and priorities to achieving a reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour in Haringey up to 2023.

 

The Cabinet Member stressed that the corporate response was at the heart of the strategy, which considered all of the Council’s areas of powers in order to achieve the priorities. This involved considering ways of planning out crime including particular trades and licenses and working with wider partners such as health, education and police. The Cabinet Member underlined the importance of having a civic community response to tackling crime and in particular youth violence.

 

The Cabinet Member continued to outline the six outcome areas to be focused on, in the strategy, and provided comments on the activities to be taken forward, which were as follows:

 

  • Targeting police resources at violent hotspots - this had received a positive reception from the new community borough commander and work was underway to ensure that there was a visible police presence in these areas at key times on the day.
  • Stafford Scott would be commissioned to take forward a mediation role with young people potentially involved in gang retribution. A scoping paper was being compiled on this planned role and it was likely that the mediation work would take place at a local community centre.
  • Increasing the confidence of young women to report sexual offences. This needed a greater focus on attitudes and behaviour of young men.
  • There would be a seminar in the autumn on exploitation and reducing the criminalisation of children.

The Cabinet Member acknowledged the concerns from scrutiny panel on current levels of public confidence for the borough tackling crime; this needed to be addressed but there would not be overnight change. Assurance was provided that the Council and partners were focused on increasing public confidence together with acknowledging the issues behind the survey findings such as the historical negative experiences in the community with stop and search. The Cabinet Member would be taking forward a themed meeting with officers going through the data, looking at how policy changes have been implemented and communicated across the borough.

 

The Cabinet Member concluded by expressing the ongoing need to tackle anti -social behaviour which was a battle with the reduction of resources, and reducing re – offending by supporting initiatives that work. He highlighted that the UK had the worst record in Western Europe on re- offending which demonstrated the urgent need for better support when prisoners were leaving prison. There was some good working initiatives to replicate for offenders leaving prison. Finally, the Cabinet Member welcomed the Home Office decision to bring the Probation service back in house.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Bull, Brabazon, das Neves and Cawley- Harrison, the following information was noted:

 

 

  • The Cabinet Member agreed that there was an issue to tackle with under age sale of alcohol in the borough and its connection to crime. The Assistant Director for Stronger Communities referred to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 153.

154.

New Safeguarding Partners Arrangements (MASA) pdf icon PDF 1001 KB

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

 

The report outlines the way in which Haringey Council, Haringey Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Metropolitan Police (‘the safeguarding partners’) will work together with other partners to deliver the new multi-agency safeguarding arrangements in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in Haringey.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children and Families introduced the report, emphasising that safeguarding children is the highest priority of  a Council and seeking approval to the proposed new local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements to promote the welfare of children in the borough and to be referred to as “Haringey Safeguarding Children’s Partnership,

 

In considering the new safeguarding arrangements outlined in the report, it was noted that these were developed as a consequence of the 2016 Wood review and publication of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018. There was a requirement to replace LSCBs with new local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements to be determined by the local authority, CCG and the police. The arrangements, critically, required the three statutory partners of the Council, Police and Health working together to develop ways of working to safeguard children. All three partners were equal partners and would act as a strategic leadership group to ensure safeguarding arrangements were robust and working effectively.

 

The Cabinet noted the arrangement proposals included maintaining the role of the chair of LSCB and contained details about improving the review of a child’s death process, making this more robust. This was to support better learning from child deaths in order to improve care and outcomes, recognising that while the current process has its origin in safeguarding guidance, most preventable child deaths are not connected to safeguarding but largely medical in nature.

 

Cabinet further noted that, once the arrangements were agreed and published, they would be applicable across the north London boroughs.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Cawley – Harrison, the following information was noted:

 

  • In line with the core element of the report, which was strengthening the arrangements in place for safeguarding, the three statutory partners would share the responsibility of communication rather than the local authority always being the focus when a communications failure was identified. The Director for Children’s services echoed this and added that there would also be a separate communications strategy for the strengthened arrangements, ensuring these were fully understood across all the staffing levels of the partner organisations.

 

  • In response to concerns about the low number of schools attending the leadership meetings, the mechanism and pathways for all schools and relevant agencies accessing the arrangements and reporting safeguarding concerns was outlined. However, on a practical level, it was not possible to involve a higher number of schools at the leadership group meetings. The Assistant Director for Schools and Learning was a member of the group and would be the contact point, responsible for engaging with the schools and reporting concerns to the leadership group.

 

  • Responding to the question about how safeguarding arrangements were applied to children and young people outside of the education system, there was a process in place to be informed of home-educated children. The local authority was able to make contact but powers were limited. There was also a robust process available through community safety procedures for children and young people moving through different boroughs. Over and above these pathways, there would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 154.

155.

Sustainable Transport Works Plan 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 918 KB

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

 

The Sustainable Transport Works Plan (STWP) for 2019/20 sets out the Council’s approach to managing the highways infrastructure, delivering the Borough Plan priorities as well as the Council’s strategies as set out in the Local Implementation Plan (LIP3) and in the Transport Strategy.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods introduced the report which sought approval of the Sustainable Transport Works Plan for 2019/20 and would lead to reinvesting  over £14.4m into a range of highways improvement schemes, making streets safer, identifying and improving locations with high accident levels, improving the overall quality of our road network and encouraging walking and cycling.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Brabazon, Cllr Bull and Cllr Cawley – Harrison, the following information was noted:

 

  • Officers would be exploring the potential for increasing the replacement of lamppost white lighting with LED lighting for the coming financial year.

 

  • In relation to drainage concerns outlined, the attached budget was focused on making the drainage network across the borough more resilient and ensuring crisis points could be mitigated. The service were currently looking at where the problems are occurring. The Cabinet Member agreed to facilitate the provision of appropriate information being supplied to all Councillors about the plans for dealing with flooding issues.

 

  • The Cabinet Member had been on an event day parking tour, considering the parking issues around event day parking. The attached report provided a high-level response on event day planning and CPZ operations. During the pre – season period, the Cabinet Member would be meeting with officers to discuss the CPZ and review of event day management day and parking.

 

  • It was noted that £70k of capital funding would provide for 14 bike hangers in the borough. These were supplied on a demand led basis. The Cabinet Member indicated that she would like to increase numbers to meet the demand. However, the cost of maintenance had to be borne in mind and ensuring that the hangers already in place were fully utilised.

 

  • In response to a suggestion to place bike hangers on housing estates, this would need further exploratory work and would require discussion with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.

 

  • It was noted that the local safety scheme in Crouch End was a multi-year project. The money which was available for development of the project, this year, would be rolled into the liveable neighbourhood project. It was confirmed that the outcomes of the liveable neighbourhood project would define what the Ferme Park road budget becomes. Therefore, both projects will be developed in parallel and would complement each other.

 

  • With regards to school streets, there was £40k allocated and although this was not explicitly referred to in the report, it was included as part of the school travel improvements. In terms of the use of the £40k funding, there would be a review of the Lordship Lane school streets pilot scheme, with a traffic survey and then smart travel plan work. As the Sustainable Transport Works Plan was updated and agreed annually; it allowed learning from schemes such as this to be taken forward in later years. The Cabinet Member agreed to explore whether the Sustainable Transport Works Plan could be updated to make more explicit the reference to funding of ‘School Streets’.

 

156.

CPO - 44 Cobham Road and 29 Fairfield Road pdf icon PDF 175 KB

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

 

Approval is sought from Cabinet to present to the Secreatry of State the case to CPO 44 Cobham Road N22 and 29 Fairfield Road N8. If the Secretary of State agrees, an Order will be issued, the properties / land will be purchased and then sold on the open market.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council introduced the report which sought approval from Cabinet to present to the Secretary of State the case to CPO 44 Cobham Road N22 and 29 Fairfield Road N8. If the Secretary of State agrees, an Order would be issued, the properties / land will be purchased and then sold on the open market.

 

The Leader described the interventions and communications taken forward once long term empty homes was identified and the evidence required to instigate a CPO process. It was clear from the report that the authority had made every effort to work with the owners of the empty homes and had failed to obtain a satisfactory response.

 

The Leader further commented that taking the CPO action outlined in the report will also prevent damage to adjoining properties and nuisance to the local community that could be caused if they remain empty with no maintenance.

 

Further to considering exempt information at item 23,

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    To authorise the submission of 44 Cobham Road N22 and 29 Fairfield Road N8 to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for a confirmed Order, under Compulsory Purchase powers;

 

2.    To authorise the Assistant Director of Corporate Governance to:

 

(a)      Make and seal the Orders for submission to the Secretary of State for consideration and approval (including the service of any requisition notices necessary to establish interests in the property) and to carry out the statutory notification required;

 

(b)      Confirm the Compulsory Purchase Order in the event of the Secretary of State returning the Order authorising the Council to do so;

 

(c)      Prepare for, and represent the Council at, any public inquiry held following submission of the Order to the Secretary of State;

 

(d)      Upon confirmation of the Compulsory Purchase Order proceed with acquisition of the property;

 

(e)      In the event that any of the owner(s) undertakes in the form of a legally enforceable cross undertaking to bring the relevant property back into residential occupation and use within a reasonable timescale, to authorise the Head of Legal Services in consultation with the Director of Environment & Neighbourhoods to enter into and enforce such an undertaking instead of proceeding with the CPO for the property in question; and

 

(f)        Act in relation to any other procedural matters that may arise in the normal course of the CPO process.

 

3.    To approve (subject to the confirmation of the CPO by the Secretary of State) the disposal of the property to a Registered Provider where possible, or to an individual or private developer, with covenants to bring the property back into use as soon as practicable.

 

4.    To authorise the costs of the CPO to be met from the capital programme; and

 

5.    To approve the recycling of the receipt from the disposal back to the capital programme budget for the continued private sector housing CPO programme.

 

Reasons for decision

 

44 Cobham Road N22 has been through the CPO procedure and all avenues of informal and formal engagement with the owners  ...  view the full minutes text for item 156.

157.

2019/20 Provisional Financial Outturn pdf icon PDF 716 KB

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

 

This report sets out the revenue and capital outturn for 2018/19 together with proposed transfers to/from reserves and revenue and capital carry forward requests.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration introduced the report, which set out the Council’s provisional budget outturn for the year ended 31 March 2019. The report further contained the draft revenue outturn for the General Fund (GF), the Housing Revenue Accounts (HRA) the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and Capital Programme compared to budget. Cabinet considered the explanations of significant under/overspends and proposed movements in reserves.

 

The Cabinet Member was pleased to report a balanced position with the overspend against service budgets of £9.1m offset by corporate interventions as previously forecast in the quarter 3 budget report in March. Whilst the 2019/20 budget and 2019/20-2023/24 MTFS sought to rebalance some of the budget pressures in Children’s and Adults, and unachievable savings had been written out, the overall budget gap remaining for 2020/21 and beyond was a challenging one. There were presentation sessions open to all Members on context of the budget before the detailed review began, in the autumn, in preparation for the budget.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Brabazon and Cllr Cawley- Harrison, the following information was noted:

 

  • The capital budget variances of £34m relating to developer contribution was set out at the foot of table 5, paragraph 8.13 of the attached report. This contained the information on the variation between the budgeted use for funding and the actual use of the funds. Within that, there was an explanation about developer contributions being under budget. Essentially, this information related to delivery of certain schemes and provided a list of explanations regarding delays and other changes to the authority’s intended plans.

 

  • In response to a query regarding the PFI lifecycle reserve, it was normal practice for any organisation, that have been subject to PFI, to receive an ongoing stream of revenue grants from government that actually in early years exceeds PFI payments .The excess received was placed into a reserve to meet the contractor payments once the grant funding stops.

 

  • With regards to decommissioning the community infrastructure reserve, it was good practice to complete an annual review of reserve holdings to ascertain if still required and to understand the purpose for which it has been put aside is still applicable. It was noted that this particular reserve allocation had no back-story that could be located. Rather than leave this reserve standing unused, it was proposed to re -purpose this fund to part finance the change agenda of the authority, allowing increased funding for transformation ICT spend and to manage the delivery risk associated with the DSG overspend.

 

  • Responding to the question on Local Implementation Plan funding from TFL, it was noted that the authority was facing significant financial challenges and the Council understood from previous experience, tackling this requires investment in change to enable required transformation to meet future financial conditions. This reserve had been run down and was previously at a higher level. The change in funding of the LIP highways funded works presented an opportunity to create some more financial capacity to go into  ...  view the full minutes text for item 157.

158.

Adults and Health MTFS Proposal: charging for managed accounts: public consultation pdf icon PDF 183 KB

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

 

This paper proposes a period of statutory consultation on the plans to introduce fees for the administration of accounts for clients who are self-funders and those for whom the Council has appointeeship.  This proposal is put forward as part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2019/20.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health introduced the report which sought agreement to a period of consultation on the introduction of fees for the administration by the Council of accounts for clients who are self-funders and those for whom the Council has appointee-ship. As part of ensuring the long-term sustainability of administrative support to these clients, these measures were being consulted on before Cabinet takes a view as to whether they should be implemented. The Cabinet Member encouraged stakeholders to respond to the consultation to inform Cabinet’s decision on the outcome of the consultation findings.

 

Further to a question from Cllr Cawley- Harrison on the impact of the proposals on residents with protected equalities characteristics of age, disability and ethnicity, it was noted that the Council were not happy about putting these proposals forward but would endeavour to put in mitigations to prevent financial harm or ensure that this was minimised. The Council would be asking people affected by the proposals to provide their comments in the consultation period.

 

The proposal was also enshrined as part of Fairer Charging policy so the Council were looking to ensure that anyone affected by the policy was able to pay and Council would need to be aware if they were disadvantaging anyone through this process. The mitigations would also be set out in the final proposals to Cabinet.

 

RESOLVED

  1. To approve for consultation with service users, carers and other stakeholders the proposal to introduce administration fees for self-funders and the management of Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) appointeeship clients.
  2. To agree that a report on the findings of the consultation and the proposed recommendation be brought back to Cabinet for a decision.

 

Reasons for decision

As part of the MTFS [Medium Term Financial Strategy] for 2019/20 the Council has recommended to take forward the proposals made to introduce a fee for the administration of accounts, which would generate income of approximately £120K p.a. in relation to self-funders and the management of Department for Work and Pension (DWP) appointee-ship clients. In order to take forward these proposals, a period of consultation with users, carers and other stakeholders is required to inform a Cabinet decision on any proposal to implement.

Alternative options considered

The Council has a statutory duty to consult on these proposals and there is therefore no alternative to the proposals to consult set out here.

 

159.

Tottenham Hale Strategic Development Partnership - draw down of sites and development agreement variation pdf icon PDF 648 KB

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

 

This report covers the request to waive one of the Development Agreement conditions to allow for early draw down of the following SDP sites: Welbourne, Ashley Road West and Ashley Road East. The report sets out the reasoning for this request and the benefits of this approach to the Council. This will allow the sites to be drawn down early to facilitate the timely delivery of affordable homes on the Welbourne site.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council introduced the report which sought approval to waive the Building Contract Condition for sites 3 – Ashley Road West and 4 – Ashley Road East (the Building Contract Condition would remain in respect of site 2 – Welbourne).

The Leader continued to remind Cabinet of the overall aim of the Strategic Development Partnership between Haringey Council and Argent Related which was to create a new town centre for Tottenham Hale, including the delivery of new homes, workspace and a much-needed new health centre.

 

The Council had worked with Argent Related to change their planning application in November 2018 to include 131 Council homes on the Welbourne site. This represented 13% of the Council’s 1,000 Council homes target.

 

The Leader looked forward to seeing this development move forward into construction stage in the autumn, as a tangible example of the Council using all the tools at its disposal to secure the delivery of Council homes.

 

The Leader commended the recommendations for approval to ensure that this delivery happened immediately, securing the Council homes, and just as importantly the district healthcare facility.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Cawley- Harrison, the following was noted:

 

·         The Leader disagreed with the assertion that the Council were conceding on the previously agreed delivery timelines and were creating a precedent for other developers to follow. The Leader reiterated that this proposal was ultimately in the best interest of the Council due to the urgent need to provide people in Haringey with social housing. There was a judgement to be made on whether the re- evaluation of land would benefit the Council or the developer Therefore, on balance, it was felt that, if the land was re-valued, it would not benefit the Council and hence the Cabinet were considering this report in order to take a decision, at the present time, to make more money for the land and retain the opportunity to get housing onsite.

 

·         The Assistant Director for Regeneration further outlined that, on arrival of the new administration in May 2018, there had been re-negotiation on the nature of the homes to be contained on the Welbourne site. This had taken some time and the developer had facilitated this. Therefore, this had cost the Council a short time on the original process, However, what this facilitated, which the Council only missed by a few months, and not years, was a continuing regeneration with increased social housing. The Council did hold developers to account for timescales but when the Council were part of the factors to the change in the timings, this should also be recognised in the development agreement.

 

Further to considering the exempt information at item 24,

 

RESOLVED

  1. To waive the Building Contract Condition in respect of site 3 – Ashley Road West and site 4 - Ashley Road East contained in clause 9.5 of the Development Agreement dated 21st March 2017 for the reasons set out in section 4 of this report to allow these sites to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 159.

160.

Short Breaks Services pdf icon PDF 254 KB

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

 

The Council is seeking to implement a new framework contract for the provision of short breaks services for children and young people aged 0-18 (resident in Haringey) with a disability and/or additional needs.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children and Families introduced the report, which sought approval from Cabinet to establish an open framework for the provision of short break services for children and young people with disabilities, and award framework agreements with the eight providers identified in appendix 1of the attached report, as allowed under Contract Standing Order 9.07.1(d).

 

The Cabinet Member advocated this improved framework for commissioning placements for some of the most disadvantaged children and young people with disabilities in the borough.

 It was important for the Council to promote inclusion of children with special needs at every juncture. It was a statutory responsibility to provide short breaks for children with disabilities, required under Children’s act 1999; the policy framework offered a more organised approach, moving from a spot purchasing system to a framework with providers commissioned through a robust process. These providers were largely charitable organisations. In summary, the report demonstrated a positive approach to improving this service. The Cabinet Member was pleased that a consultation process with families had been undertaken and had allowed them to set out their priorities and say, what they thought was important to assist them supporting their children.

Around 200 children would access this service and the outcomes devised with families who were in the best position to advise on the type of breaks for their children.

In response to questions from Cllr Mark Blake and Cllr Cawley- Harrison, the following was noted:

  • The Cabinet Member, personally, felt that Pendarren could be used all year round and  would work with officers to explore this potential.
  • The Cabinet Member agreed that quality of service was a critical issue and it was noted that the key driving factor was the views of parents of disabled children and this provided a core specification on which to judge the quality. The service had asked providers to submit method statements against specified criteria for scoring. There was transparency within these four bidders and how the scoring had been taken forward. In terms of future review, the ambition behind this was evident, in that it was an open review. Therefore, if parents felt there was a gap in the services, officers can review concerns and could add to the framework to meet the need. The key driver was making the difference in the lives of children and young people with SEND.
  • It was noted that the Commissioning Service followed the procurement public sector regulations to make an award of this type.
  • In terms of access to the scores from the adjudicators on how the points were awarded. This was exempt information but the service could publish the method statements and criteria applied but not the detailed information on the scoring. The Assistant Monitoring Officer concurred with this response and added that a ‘need to know’ statement would need to be provided through the member enquiries process in order to access this exempt information.

Further to considering exempt information at item 25,

RESOLVED

  1. To establish an open framework for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 160.

161.

Establishment of Cabinet Sub Committees pdf icon PDF 329 KB

[Report of the Assistant Director for Corporate Governance. To be introduced by the Leader of the Council.]

 

Cabinet is asked to agree the establishment of the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee and agree Cabinet Member appointments to the Community Safety Partnership and LHC.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council introduced the report which sought approval to establish the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee, and appoint Cabinet Members to the LHC and the Community Safety Partnership.

 

RESOLVED

  1. To establish the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee, and that the terms of reference for this advisory subcommittee, attached at appendix A be noted;
  2. To note the Community Safety Partnership membership and terms of reference attached at Appendix B;
  3. To note the LHC Constitution, set out in Appendix C.
  4. To appoint the Members, indicated below, to serve on the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee, and the LHC and Community Safety Partnership

 

Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee

Chaired by the Cabinet Member for Children and Families –

Councillor Brabazon

Cllr Ahmet

Cllr Dogan

Cllr Culverwell

Cllr Davies

Cllr Chenot

Cllr Palmer

 

LHC

X2 – Cllr Bull Cabinet Member for Local Investment and Economic Growth and one non Cabinet Member -Cllr John Bevan. These appointments are for a term of 4 years, which started from [2018/19] in accordance with the LHC constitution.

 

Community Safety Partnership

Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety and Engagement

Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families

Councillor Ogiehor

 

 

 

Reasons for decision

Establishing a Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee ensures that there is an overview of the Councillors statutory role as a corporate parent, assisting the Council to deliver its duties to children in care and young people leaving care.

The Council currently uses LHC frameworks as an efficient way of procuring technically complex products and services for its building refurbishment and maintenance programmes.

By becoming a Constituent Member of LHC the Council will benefit from: influencing the future direction of LHC including the identification of new products and services which could be beneficial to the Council; increased learning of procurement practices and technical know-how for use by the Council’s officers in carrying out its own procurement programmes, and share of the LHC annual surplus.

The LHC Committee agreed, in June 2016, to amend their constitution to allow members to nominate for a term of office of four years duration, from 2018, to coincide with the local Council elections. They agreed that the Joint Committee shall comprise two members from each of the Authorities. Each Authority’s representatives on the Joint Committee shall be appointed by the Authority’s executive, a member of the executive or a committee of the executive, as appropriate and be appointed to serve for a term of four years.

The LHC agreed that the Joint Committee shall elect a chairperson of the Joint Committee and a Vice Chairperson of the Joint Committee from among the members of the Joint Committee to serve for a term of four years.

Appointments from Cabinet are required to the Community Safety Partnership to reflect statutory duties and enable high level, accountable, strategic, oversight of issues relating community safety.

Alternative options considered

The Constitution advises that all Advisory or Consultative Committees will continue in operation only until the first meeting of the Cabinet, in the next municipal year following their establishment, when they must be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 161.

162.

New Items of Urgent Business

To consider any items admitted at Item 3 above.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no new items of urgent business.

 

163.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

Note from the Acting Democratic Services & Scrutiny Manager

 

Items 23, 24, 25, 26,  27, 28 and 29 allow for consideration of exempt information in relation to items 13, 16, 17 , 18,19 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.

164.

CPO - 44 Cobham Road and 29 Fairfield Road

To consider exempt information pertaining to item 13.

Minutes:

As per item 156.

165.

Tottenham Hale Strategic Development Partnership - draw down of sites and development agreement variation

To consider exempt information pertaining to item 16.

Minutes:

As per item 159.

166.

Short Break Services

To consider exempt information pertaining to item 17.

 

Minutes:

As per item 160.

167.

Approval to appoint a contractor for the implementation and maintenance of a new Housing Management IT System

To consider exempt information pertaining to item 18.

 

Minutes:

As per item 151.

168.

Award of Contract for Hornsey Library

To consider exempt information pertaining to item 19.

Minutes:

As per item 152.

169.

Exempt Minutes

To approve the exempt minutes of the meeting held on the 2nd of  April 2019.

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

To agree the exempt  minutes for the meeting held on the 2nd of April 2019.

170.

New Items of Exempt Urgent Business

To consider any items admitted at Item 3 above.

 

Minutes:

None