Agenda and minutes

Agreed.

Received a report on the request from the Church Commissioners for financial support from the Council towards the repair and refurbishment of the Curfew Tower, a Grade II* listed building within the Abbey scheduled Ancient Monument Site in the Barking Town Centre Conservation Area.

Agreed, in order to preserve and maintain the Borough’s heritage and to contribute to the Community Priorities of ‘Raising General Pride in the Borough’ and ‘Regenerating the Local Economy’, to:

1.  Make a one-off contribution of £50,000 towards the capital costs for the repair and maintenance of the Curfew Tower, under the provisions of Section 57 of the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, subject to the terms as detailed in the report; and

2.  The above funding being met from the underspend on the ‘Social Services – Accommodation and Services – Fit for Purpose’ capital project.

Received the second quarter monitoring report in respect of the Council’s Best Value Performance Plan targets for 2004/05.  The Management Team gave a presentation on the performance against a range of key indicators including the Council’s Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA) targets.

Noted that a series of further reports on below target / under performing areas will be presented in due course and requested, in particular, that additional information be provided in respect of the following:

1.  BV174 - number of racial incidents recorded by the authority per 100,000 population - Requested that a fuller report be provided to include a statistical breakdown by Ward, if possible, and other comparative data, together with details of racial incidents reported to the Police;

2.  LPSA 3 - number of domestic burglaries - Requested that future reports include a statistical breakdown of Council / private property burglaries, if available, and also burglary hotspots in the Borough;

3.  LPSA 6(i) - (iv) - absence in schools - Requested that officers discuss with the Primary Care Trust possible steps that can be taken to minimise the need for children to miss school due to medical appointments; and

4.  LPSA 8(1) & (2) - cleanliness of highways - The Director of Regeneration and Environment undertook to provide Executive Members with details of cleanliness standards and also to provide Councillor McCarthy with further information on the surveys carried out by Encams.

Received and noted a report providing an update on the Council’s Revenue and Capital Budget position for the six-month period April - September 2004.

Agreed to exclude the public and press for the remainder of the meeting, as the business was confidential.