Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Agreed.

Received a report from the Corporate Director of Finance and Commercial Services providing an update on the Council’s revenue and capital position for the 2009/10 financial year as projected at 30 November 2009.

The current forecast for revenue expenditure across the Council shows in-year pressures amounting to £3.1m, for which current recovery plans requested by the Chief Executive have identified expected savings of £2.5m.  In addition to this potential shortfall, there are net potential corporate risks of a further £1.9m.  Overall this represents an improved forecast position of approximately £1.1m to that contained within the budget report for the period up to the end of October 2009 and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Human Resources stressed the need to maintain this prudent approach during the remainder of this financial year.

The Corporate Director also advised on a review of the delivery of all capital projects which has resulted in proposals to make a number of adjustments to better reflect expected expenditure for this year and beyond.

Agreed, as a matter of good financial practice, to:

  (i)  Note the current projected position for 31 March 2010 of the Council’s revenue and capital budget as detailed in sections 3 and 5 and Appendices A and C to the report;

  (ii)  Note the position for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as detailed in section 4 and Appendix B to the report;

  (iii)  Note that in light of the current potential overspend, departments are continuing work to identify recovery plans to eliminate overspends;

  (iv)  Note that the Corporate Director of Finance and Commercial Services has imposed mechanisms to reduce in-year expenditure;

  (v)  Note that potential additional actions may be required which will be the subject of further reports as appropriate; and

  (vi)  The reprofiles and virements to capital schemes as detailed in section 5 and Appendix D to the report.

The Corporate Director of Finance and Commercial Services presented the four-monthly report on performance against the range of national indicators (NIs) contained within the Local Area Agreement and the outcome of the Comprehensive Area Assessment for 2008/09, from which the Council received an Organisational Assessment of three out of four.

Noted the key areas of good performance and the areas for improvement and discussed issues in relation to:

  (i)  Corporate Assessment 2009/10 – An inspection and assessment is to begin in February with the outcome published in June 2010.

  (ii)  NI 15 (serious violent crimes) and NI 16 (serious acquisitive crimes) – A significant improvement in the end of year position is anticipated.

Further to Minute 89 (17 November 2009), received a report from the Chief Executive and the Corporate Director of Resources on the proposals to progress the building of new Council housing in the light of the announcement on 11 January 2010 that the Council has been successful in securing significant investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) via the National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP).

The Council has secured £3.217m under the latest round of NAHP bids which will support the entire Phase 1 programme, as identified at our earlier meeting, and three of the sites identified under Phase 2.  A further £4.044m has been separately secured towards the development of 31 new homes at King William Street Quarter, in the area of the former Lintons estate.  As a result, the Council’s contribution to these projects will be £4.883m and this leaves the sum of £2.189m, from the £7.073m set aside in the Capital Programme, to be reallocated to support the remaining projects.

The officers also reported on the progression of contracting arrangements for the developments at King William Street Quarter and those under Phase 1.

Agreed, in order to assist the Council in achieving the Community Priority “Prosperous” through increasing the supply and range of family sized social rented housing by utilising existing Council land and development sites, to:

  (i)  The use of £1.228m from the re-allocated resources of £7.073m to fund the borrowing requirement for the delivery of Phase 1 Council Housing New build programme;

  (ii)  The use of £2.435m from the re-allocated resources to meet the borrowing required after grant to deliver 31 homes at King William Street Quarter;

  (iii)  The use of a further £1.219m from the remaining re-allocated resources to meet the borrowing required for the remaining sites allocated grant at Beamway and Charlton Crescent (sites 1 and 2);

  (iv)  Note that a further report will be submitted in due course on options for the use of the remaining re-allocated resources up to the borrowing limit of £7.073m; and

  (v)  The procurement of construction services, in accordance with national and EU procurement legislation and the Council’s Contract Rules, for the construction of the Phase 1 Council Housing and King William Street Quarter Phase 1 developments as detailed in the report, and to authorise the Corporate Director of Resources, in consultation with Legal Partners, to appoint the preferred contractors.

Received a report from the Chief Executive on the draft Barking and Dagenham Climate Change Strategy which draws on national, regional and local best practice to set out specific actions for the Council and the Local Strategic Partnership.

The draft Strategy seeks to address both the causes and impacts of climate change and focuses on reducing the carbon footprint of the borough through a range of mitigation and adaptation measures contained within an Action Plan.  Furthermore it will enable the Council to meet its legal requirements in terms of the Climate Change Act 2008 and the emerging Carbon Reduction Commitment as well as many of the objectives of the National Indicators (NIs) around Climate Change, including NI 185, 186, 187, 189, 194 and 198.  Most importantly, the Council, its key partners and those that live and work in the borough will be prepared for the challenges of climate change.

A further aspect of the draft Strategy, which will replace the Council’s Sustainable Energy Strategy adopted in 2005, is to reduce costs through greater energy efficiency and specific reference was made to the energy costs in relation to Council buildings, which are currently £8-9m per annum, improved heating and insulation in the Borough’s schools and those on a low income who currently spend a large proportion of their income on heating and lighting.

Agreed, in order to assist the Council in meeting its Community Priority of “Clean”, to:

  (i)  The draft Strategy being the subject of formal public consultation, in the form of the executive summary (Appendix 1 to the report) and action plan (Appendix 2);

  (ii)  The adoption, in principle, of a target to reduce the borough’s carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050, in line with the national target, and that the Council collectively works towards this through all departments taking ownership of the strategy and their respective responsibilities in the action plan;

  (iii)  Those responsible in the Local Strategic Partnership (including those responsible for: highways and drainage maintenance, health and community services, parks and leisure, schools and public building assets, housing services and emergency planning) being encouraged to work with the Council’s officers in developing and implementing a comprehensive climate change risk assessment for the Borough;

  (iv)  The Council investigating the signing up to the national “10:10” campaign, which would require a 10% reduction in carbon emissions through the Council’s business practices in 2010;

  (v)  Note that the final Strategy will be presented to the Assembly for adoption in summer 2010; and

  (vi)  Note that progress on the key aspects of the Strategy will be incorporated into the regular Corporate Performance reports that are presented to the Executive.

The Executive commended the work undertaken by officers in the development of this Strategy.

(* The Chair agreed that these items could be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency under the provisions of Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.)