Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Members are asked to declare any interest they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting.  Members are reminded that the provisions of paragraph 9.3 of Chapter 1, Part 5 of the Constitution in relation to Council Tax arrears applies to agenda item 8 “Budget Framework 2015/16”.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 2015 were confirmed as correct.

In respect of Minute 43, Councillor McCarthy referred to his supplementary question regarding the written guarantees the Cabinet Member for Regeneration had regarding the funding of the London Overground extension to Barking Riverside, not only for the £55m Government loan as minuted but for the total projected cost of £190m. 

The Chief Executive agreed to look into the issue and provide Councillor McCarthy with a written response outlining the detail of any funding guarantees should they be available from a number of different sources.

The Chair announced with deep regret that Lord Derek Johnson had passed away on 11 February 2015 following a battle with cancer.

The Chair led the tribute to Lord Johnson, who had been a prominent member of the local community having formed a successful shipping company in the Borough.  Lord Johnson had been a long-serving Magistrate who had risen to the position of Chair of the Bench at Barking Court and had served on a number of Council and other bodies as part of his voluntary contribution to the Borough.  In recent years, Lord Johnson had been awarded the Freedom of the Borough and the Freedom of the City of London as well as receiving the MBE for services to the shipping industry.

A number of other Councillors paid tribute to the work of Lord Johnson and the Assembly stood for a minute's silence as a mark of respect.

The Assembly received and noted the minutes of the JNC Salaries and Conditions Panel held on 28 January 2015.

The Leader of the Council presented a verbal statement updating the Assembly on the following matters:

• £41m Housing Zone funding

At the end of last week the Leader received confirmation that the Council had secured £41m of funding from the GLA to support the delivery of 2,000 new homes and 4,000 new jobs in Barking.  The investment was in addition to the ongoing work the Council was doing with the Barbican and, alongside the cultural offer at the Icehouse Quarter, Barking was now being recognised as a cultural hub for creative arts.

The Leader stated that he had asked officers to push ahead with plans for improved public spaces as well as new leisure facilities including a new cinema to complement the new leisure centre which is due to be opening soon.

• Devolution Conference

The Leader referred to the recent conference he had attended with other Cabinet Members and senior officers regarding future prospects of devolving powers down to London Boroughs.  Eight other London borough Leaders attended from the NELSA group (North East London Strategic Authority) to discuss ideas about what a devolved Greater London could look like. 

The Leader commented that it was vital that Barking and Dagenham puts itself centre stage in the debate about the future of local government and that the conference built on the effective working already achieved with the Mayor and GLA on the growth agenda for the Borough.

• New deal for Council tenants

The Leader was pleased to announce that this month the Council was putting forward a ‘new deal for Council tenants’ which aimed to:

-  bring massive investment in the existing Council homes;

-  create more Council houses;

-  tackle neglected housing blocks; and

-  retain one of the lowest rent levels in London.

• Ofsted

The Leader congratulated Cllr Carpenter and the Education Team after Ofsted had published its report into the inspection of Barking and Dagenham School Improvement Services.  The inspection found strong leadership in the Council with Members and senior officers providing clear direction and demonstrated that the Council was continuing to turn the tide, recognising that there were no barriers when it came to providing the best quality education for our children.

The Leader expressed his heartfelt thanks to all those involved.

• 1^st Women’s Empowerment Month

The Leader was delighted to announce the inaugural celebration of Women’s Empowerment Month in March as part of the Borough’s 50th anniversary celebrations.  The event aimed to promote pride and to honour the many influential women who had lived and worked in Barking and Dagenham throughout the years.

The Leader advised that the Council was hosting a community awards event to recognise the achievements of the borough’s women across nine different categories, with an overall ‘Woman of the Year’ selected from the category winners.  Councillors Ashraf and Bright were also giving presentations linked to the awards and the Leader encouraged all Members to get involved.

• Young Mayor

Following on from the Mayor’s commitment made at last year’s inaugural Youth Parade, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

The Assembly resolved to make the following appointments:

-  Councillor Oluwole to the Health and Adult Services Select Committee;

-  Councillor Bremner to the Children’s Services Select Committee;

-  Councillor Kangethe to the OFSTED Report Panel.

The Assembly received the BAD Youth Forum’s annual report for 2014, introduced by Erik Stein, Group Manager for Youth Services, who was accompanied by Chloe Kent, Adeola Ajayi, Sharon Obens, Ryia Bernard-Jones, Viroshan Gnanapandithan, Angel Olorode, Roshelle Mitchell, Faraz Hanif, Joe Fuller, Rao Khan and Danielle Mitchell from the Forum.

The Forum was made up of 70 young people who were elected from schools and youth groups in the Borough in January 2014.  Amongst the initiatives undertaken by the Forum during the year were the creation of two sub-groups to focus on ‘Raising a Positive Profile for Young People’ and ‘Teenage Pregnancy and Sexual Health’, alongside a third standing group, ‘Young Inspectors’. The Forum representatives gave a presentation on the work of each of the sub-groups as follows:

Raising a Positive Profile of Young People - A number of events were organised by the sub-group to promote a positive profile for young people, which included helping elderly residents at the Bennetts Castle Lane Care Home, a car wash in aid of the Mayor’s charity and a litter clean up day at Pondfield Park. The group also worked on a short presentation to raise awareness of World AIDS Day, creating information cards for distribution throughout the Borough’s schools.

Teenage Pregnancy and Sexual Health - Having had various discussions about the importance of sexual health education in schools, the group devised a range of activities, short films and exercises for students to participate in.  The group also worked with a Health and Personal Development Advisor to develop lesson plans for use by teachers alongside the other resources, to be delivered to schools during 2015.

In order to purchase some of the resources to be, the sub-group successfully bid for a Think Big grant from O2 for the bid limit of £300.

Young Inspectors - Following training led by the Terence Higgins Trust, the Young Inspectors sub-group was commissioned to carry out inspections of pharmacies, to check on correct condom distribution, and sexual health clinics.  A report was completed following each inspection on the positive and negative aspects of the services provided and recommendations made on how to improve the services.

Other key aspects highlighted during the presentation included:

·  Two members of the Forum had been elected to be representatives on the UK Youth Parliament and the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Forum had attended all meetings of the Children Services Select Committee, contributing ideas for the Select Committee’s work plan focussing on supporting more primary schools to become outstanding as well as giving views around the Council’s budget savings proposals.

·  All forum members had the opportunity to work towards the Youth Achievement Awards, mostly at bronze level, while Paul Cox, then Chair of the Forum, received a Gold Award, the first time this had been achieved by a young person working with the Integrated Youth Service. 

·  In December 2014 the Forum was awarded the “Inspiring Project Award” by the British Youth Council for its overall  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

Assembly received this report presented by Councillor Twomey, Cabinet Member for Finance, which set out the:

·   Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2015/16 to 2018/19;

·   Proposed General Fund budget for 2015/16;

·   Proposed level of Council Tax for 2015/16;

·   Financial outlook for 2016/17 onwards;

·   Draft capital investment programme for 2014/15 to 2016/17.

The Cabinet Member announced that the key messages from this budget were:

·  This budget is made out of necessity and not choice with decisions made against the backdrop of the draconian austerity cuts imposed by the current, but hopefully by 7 May former Tory lead coalition government

·  £90m of savings have been taken out of the budgets over the past four years with the prospect of another £39m in the next two years and a further £14m in 2017/18. Going forward this will be increasingly harder to achieve not least that the government has only set a one year settlement and so years two and three could prove even more challenging.

Whatever the future holds the Council will need to manage budgets even more closely and ensure that reserves are used as sparingly but as effective as possible.

·  The reduction in government grant and the unfairness of the government funding formula consistently works against this authority at a time of significant demographic growth.

·  The disproportionate affect for local residents of the government’s welfare reforms.

·  Protection as far as possible to the staff, our most valuable asset, through retaining jobs and services, and in so doing continue to pay above the London Living Wage of £9.25 per hour for the lowest paid staff.

·  To achieve this to impose a small increase in Council Tax of 1.994%, the first increase in seven years of approximately £20 per year in a band D property for those that pay full Council Tax, and

·  An ambitious capital programme to attract business and new housing and transport links alongside school improvements.

The Cabinet Member explained that given the significant level of savings required it was decided early on that alongside the usual budget scrutiny by the Select Committees the Council would embark on the most extensive consultation with residents, trade unions and wider groups in the Borough to ensure that everybody has an understanding of the difficult times ahead and more importantly where possible to shape budget decisions around their views and needs.

Moving forward whilst central government cuts will continue it is hoped that under a new Labour government the funding formulas will be revised and that the allocation of grant funding will be carried out in a more proportionate way to the benefit of the Council and NE London Boroughs who are adversely affected at present. 

As a Council we will continue to :

·  Look wherever possible for new ways of raising additional income and moving towards more efficient ways of working in terms of online service provision and ongoing reviews of management tiers and business support.

·  Lobby government, GLA, TfL and other organisations for new funding and investment on top of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

The CFO introduced a report setting out the Council's Treasury Management Annual Strategy Statement for 2015/16 (TMSS).

Assembly noted that the overall TMSS included details of the proposed borrowing limit for the year and a range of other aspects aimed at ensuring that the Council had prudent and robust arrangements in place to meet all of its financial commitments and responsibilities, in line with the requirements of Section 15(1) of the Local Government Act 2003.

Responding to the report, Councillor Gill sought clarification as to the proposal to extend the authorised Borrowing limit to the maximum statutory limit of £800m in 2015/16 with no plans to repay loans.  The CFO explained that the principle reason to maximise borrowing limits was to achieve headroom in the short term to allow the Council to maintain a healthy cash flow to meet its ongoing revenue commitments. He confirmed that there are no existing loans due to mature next year although officers constantly review all current loans to make sure the Council is achieving the best terms. 

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Note that on 15 January 2015 the Council borrowed £89 million from the European Investment Bank as outlined in section 4.5 of the report;

(ii)  Adopt the Treasury Management Strategy Statement for 2015/16 as set out in the report and in doing so:

(a)  Note the current treasury position for 2015/16 and prospects for interest rates, as referred to in sections 4 and 7 of the report;

(b)  Approve the Council’s Borrowing Strategy, Debt Rescheduling Strategy and Policy on borrowing in advance of need for 2015/16 as referred to in section 9 of the report;

(c)  Approve the Annual Investment Strategy and Creditworthiness Policy for 2015/16 outlining the investments that the Council may use for the prudent management of its investment balances, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report;

(d)  Approve the Authorised Borrowing Limit of £800m for 2015/16, representing the statutory limit determined by the Council pursuant to section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report;

(e)  Approve the Treasury Management Indicators and Prudential Indicators for 2015/16, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report;

(f)  Approve the Minimum Revenue Policy Statement for 2015/16, representing the Council’s policy on repayment of debt, as set out in Appendix 4 to the report;

(g)  Maintain the authority delegated to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, to proportionally amend the counterparty lending limits agreed within the TMSS to take into account the initial increase in cash from the EIB but also the subsequent decrease in cash balances as payments are made to the SPV; and

(h)  Agree that the delegated responsibility be reviewed as part of the 2014/15 Treasury Management Outturn Report to Assembly in July 2015.

The Assembly received a report on the draft Pay Policy Statement for the Council for 2014/15, introduced by the Cabinet Member for Central Services.

The Cabinet Member stated that the report was a demonstration of the Council’s commitment to greater transparency, remembering that staff were the Council’s greatest asset.  In that respect, Members were reminded of the Council’s continued commitment to paying a living wage above the level which was paid across the rest of London.

In recommending the report, Councillor Ogungbose referred to an amendment to the Pay Policy Statement to reflect an error in the stated salary of the Divisional Director of Adult Social Care, from £89,763 to £91,558, to take account of the 2% national pay award for JNC officers.

Responding to the presentation and specifically the table setting out the Chief Officer pay levels, Councillor McCarthy enquired as to the cost since April 2014 of filling the Director of Housing post on an interim basis, and when it was anticipated that the position would be recruited to on a permanent basis. He also questioned why there was no reference to the grade and salary of the post of Director of Growth, currently stated as vacant.

The Chief Executive referred to the wording in the covering report which stated that he would be reviewing the senior management of the Council to ensure it was fit for purpose and his review would include those two posts. Should that result in any changes then the Pay Policy Statement would be amended including grades and salary levels.  In respect of the filling of the interim post of Director of Housing, the Leader confirmed that a written response would be provided to Councillor McCarthy within a week, which would be copied to all Members. 

Referring to the decision to award temporary honorariums to the posts of the Chief Finance Officer and Head of Legal and Democratic Services, and in response to a question from Councillor Gill, Councillor Ogungbose confirmed there were no plans at this time to award honorariums to other JNC post holders. 

The Assembly resolved to approve the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Pay Policy Statement for 2015/16 as set out at Appendix A to the report, for publication on the Council’s website with effect from 1 April 2015, subject to the amendment in respect of the stated salary of the Divisional Director of Adult Social Care.

The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report which related to the introduction of a local Pension Board for the Barking and Dagenham Pension Fund and its proposed structure and terms of reference, defined as a consequence of regulations brought about through the Public Service Pensions Act 2013.

The proposals supported by the Pensions Panel aimed to secure compliance with all relevant regulations and ensure the effective and efficient governance and administration of the fund.  The report set out details of the functions and proposed composition of the Board and the appointment process which will see the Board in place by April 2015 with the first meeting being held before July.

Councillor McCarthy, as a member of the Pension Panel, supported the recommendation to establish the Pension Board with an independent Chair.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Note the requirement for the Council to establish a Pension Board by 1 April 2015;

(ii)  Approve the proposals for the establishment of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Pension Board, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report; and

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Chair of the Pension Panel and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, to agree the final terms of reference of the Pension Board.

Further to Minute 28/11/14 Councillor Geddes, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, presented a report concerning the implementation date of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which would largely take over from Section 106 planning agreements as the primary means of obtaining a contribution from developers towards new infrastructure requirements.

He explained that due to the complexity and need to secure the authorities best interests in relation to a number of ongoing major development applications, it was proposed to put back the date of implementation from 2 March to 3 April, and in so doing allow sufficient time to conclude the planning applications referred to in the report whilst still allowing the CIL to come into force before new restrictions on the use of S106 agreements come into effect from 6 April 2015.

In supporting the recommendation Councillor Gill questioned why the original implementation date had slipped?. Councillor Geddes explained that due to the complexities of negotiations the implementation timetable was always going to be tight but that he was confident that the new date would allow for the successful conclusion of the various applications. In those circumstances, 

The Assembly resolved to revise the introduction date of the Community Infrastructure Levy rates from the previously agreed date of 2 March 2015 to 3 April 2015.

Councillor James Ogungbose, Cabinet Member for Central Services presented a report on the appointment of Independent Persons (IP) to carry out an advisory role as part of the arrangements the Council must have in place in accordance with the provisions of the Localism Act 2011. The law requires that at least one IP must be appointed to give an impartial view regarding the management and response to complaints made against elected members in accordance with the Councillors Code of Conduct.

Both the Monitoring Officer and any councillor who is the subject of a complaint have the right to consult the IP. This creates the potential for a conflict of interest. Consequently following the resignation  last year of one of two IP, the Standards Committee decided it would be sensible to appoint a further two IP’s, for which a recruitment exercise was carried out.

At the meeting of the Assembly in September Members decided they would like to see local people taking up the position of IP and therefore officers were asked to undertake a further recruitment exercise from which two candidates, both with strong local connections, and suitable to the role were identified, and whom Councillor Ogungbose recommended for appointment. 

Councillor McCarthy commented on the absence in the report to the previous discussions at the Assembly in September and the decision not to appoint the two candidates presented at that time. He questioned why only two men had been put forward for two positions, what had happened to those applicants this time around and why there were no suitable female applicants.  He suggested that it demonstrated serious flaws in the recruit process and certainly was not representative of the Council’s policy towards equal opportunities. Councillor Gill added that with a local population of more than 180,000 he would expect it to be possible to attract some female applicants.

Councillor Ogungbose explained that adverts for the position were placed across a wide area. The Monitoring Officer added that at the September meeting of the Assembly when the appointments were considered and the decision was taken to go out to recruit persons with local connections, the two applicants put forward at that time were effectively ruled out as neither had close enough links with the Borough.

Councillor Twomey stated that it was unfortunate that the recruitment exercise had not thrown up a bigger pool of suitable applicants. However the post attracted a remuneration of only £500 and was a voluntary role, which in all likelihood was a contributory factor for the lack of interest.  He added, however, that the two applicants presented before the Assembly fully met the criteria laid down for the role.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Approve the appointment of Dr. Gurpreet Singh Bhatia and Pastor Thomas Adeyemi Aderounmu as Independent Persons in accordance with Section 28(7) of the Localism Act 2011; and

(ii)  Agree that the appointment of all the Council’s Independent Persons be until the next Assembly meeting following the Annual Assembly in 2018 when  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

Councillor James Ogungbose, Cabinet Member for Central Services, presented a report seeking approval to amendments to the Council’s Constitution in relation to meeting start times and duration as well as noting a number of minor administrative changes which had been implemented by the Monitoring Officer. 

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Approve the revisions to Chapter 3, Part 2 of the Constitution in respect of the default start time of evening meetings and the termination threshold, as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report; and

(ii)  Note the schedule of other administrative changes made to the Constitution by the Monitoring Officer, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

Question 1

From Councillor McCarthy

“I have received many enquiries regarding dropped kerbs. Can the relevant Cabinet Member please advise how many enforcement letters have been sent ward by ward since June 2014 requesting residents to pay for a dropped kerb?”

Response from Councillor Butt, Cabinet Member for Crime and Enforcement

“469 letters have been sent to residents where no permissions were in place for driving or parking across the footpath.”

Supplementary question from Councillor McCarthy

“I do not feel the Cabinet Member’s response addresses my question. I asked for a ward by ward breakdown.”

Response from Councillor Butt

“Councillor McCarthy was previously responsible for this area and I know he was keen to enforce parking regulations, especially where regulations were not being followed.

We have to balance the need to enforce parking regulations at the same time as making it easier for people to pay for installing dropped kerb. We want an affordable parking policy. That is why we are introducing a scheme to allow residents to pay for a dropped kerb in instalments through a payment plan which they can set up with the Council.

I would be happy to come back to him after tonight’s meeting with the additional information he has requested.”

Question 2

From Councillor McCarthy

“Can the Cabinet Member of Housing state a numerical definition for the term “substantial” in respect of the number of council properties lost to estate renewal, as contained in the Cabinet report dated 16th February 2015?”

Response from Councillor Ashraf, Cabinet Member for Housing

“796 properties that have been subject to estate renewal initiatives.”

Supplementary question from Councillor McCarthy

“What impact will that have on the HRA and staffing numbers in the Housing service going forward?”

Response from Councillor Ashraf

“There will be no impact in staffing levels as we will be looking to provide services in the private housing sector.”

Question 3

From Councillor Mullane

“John Smith House as the current location for the Boroughs' homeless is closing in approximately two years time and Council Officers have been tasked to find new premises. As elected Councillors we have been advised by the Leader that there is a shortlist for a new site.  Can the Cabinet Member for Housing please advise what sites have been short-listed?”

Response from Councillor Ashraf, Cabinet Member for Housing

“Property Services are conducting a feasibility study about accommodating the Housing Advice Service.  This has identified the Pondfield House site as a possible location.”

Supplementary question from Councillor Mullane

“Is this the only site that has been identified?”

Response from Councillor Ashraf

“Yes. The move would place the Housing Service in one location. This would give us the opportunity to improve the way we provide our service, which has to be our main aim for residents.  A full impact assessment will be undertaken before any decision is taken.”

Question 4

From Councillor P Waker

“As well as Westminster, a number of boroughs in London have either rented temporary accommodation or bought houses and flats in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.