Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2016 were confirmed as correct.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced a report on the Council’s capital and revenue position for the 2016/17 financial year, as at 31 May 2016.

The General Fund showed a projected end of year spend of £155.1m against the approved budget of £150.3m. The projected overspend of £4.8m was attributable to the ongoing pressures within the Children Social Care, Homelessness and Leisure services.  Using the experiences of past financial years, officers have put in place plans at an early stage to address the overspendings.

Together with funding for Ambition 2020, savings implementation and taking into account the use of reserves, the projected year-end overspend would reduce the General Fund balance to £16m at year end, above the recommended minimum level of £15m.

The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) showed a predicted breakeven position while the forecast outturn for the Capital Programme was on budget at £197.2m.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the projected outturn position for 2016/17 of the General Fund revenue budget at 31 May 2016, as detailed in paragraphs 2.1, 2.4 to 2.13 and Appendix A of the report;

(ii)  Note the progress against the agreed 2016/17 savings at 31 May 2016, as detailed in paragraph 2.14 and Appendix B of the report;

(iii)  Note the overall position for the Housing Revenue Account at 31 May 2016, as detailed in paragraph 2.15 of the report;

(iv)  Note the projected outturn position for 2016/17 of the Capital Programme as at 31 May 2016, as detailed in paragraph 2.16 and Appendix C of the report.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Performance and Delivery introduced a report outlining the detail of the Corporate Plan 2016/17, which set out the Council’s vision and priorities for the next 12 months.  The Plan had been developed to ensure that the Council’s contribution to achieving the priorities were proactive, co-ordinated and resourced in line with the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and monitored through the establishment of a set of key performance indicators (KPIs).

In putting the Plan into context, the Cabinet Member referred in particular to the graphs in the document that explained the budget position through to 2020/21, together with data showing how Barking and Dagenham compared with other London Boroughs across a range of areas in 2015.

Since inclusion in the agenda, a number of enhancements had been made to the draft Plan which the relevant Cabinet Members referred to and it was noted that further enhancements would be made prior to the Corporate Plan 2016/17 being presented to the Assembly for formal adoption.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Recommend the Assembly to approve the Corporate Plan 2016/17 as attached at Appendix 1 to the report, subject to the updates to the delivery plans for 2016/17 referred to at the meeting; and

(ii)  Authorise the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement, to make further enhancements to the draft Corporate Plan prior to its presentation to the Assembly for approval.

The Leader of the Council introduced a report on proposals to re-shape the Council and the way in which services were provided through the Ambition 2020 transformation programme. 

Public consultation on the proposals was launched in April and concluded in June.  During that time, the Council received over 200 responses from individuals, community organisations and local businesses while more than 2,000 attended staff road shows.

Analysis of the feedback showed that over 90% were supportive the Council’s future plans, although it was noted that many respondents questioned the suggestion that the ‘Digital By Design’ premise would necessarily improve the customer experience and could unduly affect the elderly and vulnerable who did not have access to the internet.  The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration responded that she recognised that there would always be a need to maintain face-to-face contact for some although studies showed that the vast majority of residents did have access to the internet.

Cabinet Members commended the report for its detail and endorsed the direction that the Council was taking, which in their view was far more than merely responding to the Government’s austerity measures and represented new ways of working to deliver services underpinned by growth.  The Leader commented that had the Council not embarked on the Ambition 2020 programme it was likely that up to one-third of the Council’s workforce could have been lost.  It was also noted that the Council’s approach and direction had been supported by Cabinet Office officials during a recent visit to the Borough.

The Leader explained that the proposals under the Ambition 2020 programme would be taken forward individually and a timetable would soon be published for more detailed discussions with staff and the Trade Unions regarding the implementation of the changes to existing services.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the responses to the public consultation, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report;

(ii)  Note the feedback from staff in response to the staff road shows and briefings, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report;

(iii)  Confirm the future shape of the Council and that officers should implement the service design proposals as set out in the consultation document and noted that, where necessary, proposals would be referred to Cabinet for further approval of key decisions in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and scheme of delegation; and

(iv)  Note that further consultation with staff and Unions would take place as each service design proposal was developed, in accordance with the Council’s procedure for managing change.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced an update report on the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which focussed on the proposals to address the 2017/18 budget gap, the potential impact on the MTFS of the Chancellor’s March 2016 Budget Statement and the delivery of the Ambition 2020 programme.

In December 2015, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) announced an offer to Councils of a provisional four-year settlement. The Cabinet Member explained that accepting the offer would provide the Council with a degree of financial certainty going forward and, with reference to the link between the MFTS and the Ambition 2020 programme, suggested that the savings that the latter would ultimately realise would lessen the impact on residents as well as protect jobs. 

The Cabinet Member added that the MTFS that was approved by the Assembly earlier in the year was based on a number of assumptions and estimates at that time.  Changes to the Council’s prevailing financial position, a reassessment of the assumptions applied and a re-examination of service needs in the light of the Ambition 2020 programme had resulted in the proposed rescinding of savings ACS/SAV/12a, CEX/SAV/54 and CEX/SAV/54g and write-off of saving ACS/SAV/36 for the reasons detailed in the report.  The Cabinet Member also introduced a proposal to rescind saving CEX/SAV/73, which would have involved reverting to the statutory redundancy pay scheme from October 2016, as a consequence of the positive outcomes from the current voluntary redundancy scheme and the limited impact that moving to the statutory scheme would have on future redundancy costs to those that would be eligible, the majority of whom were on the lower pay grades.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree to accept the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) four-year local government settlement, as set out in paragraphs 3.3 and 3.4 of the report;

(ii)  Agree to use the “Council’s Response to the Growth Commission and Ambition 2020” report to Cabinet on 19 April 2016 as the basis of its Efficiency Plan statement, to be submitted to DCLG by 14 October 2016;

(iii)  Agree to the growth items required in the MTFS, as set out in section 8 of the report;

(iv)  Agree to reverse savings proposal ACS/SAV/12a, agreed by Minute 71 (16 December 2014), in respect of funding for the Citizens Advice Bureau savings in order to support the Council’s Community Solutions approach, as detailed in paragraph 8.3 of the report;

(v)  Agree to reverse savings proposals CEX/SAV/54 and CEX/SAV/54g, agreed by Minute 31 (7 October 2014) and Minute 71 (16 December 2014) respectively, in relation to proposed Insurance and Freedom of Information shared services with Thurrock Council which are not now being progressed, as detailed in paragraph 8.5 of the report;

(vi)  Agree to write off savings proposal ACS/SAV/36, agreed by Minute 71 (16 December 2014), in relation to the Leisure Trust proposals to avoid double counting in the MTFS, as detailed in paragraph 8.4 of the report;

(vii)  Note the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Appendix 4 to the report is in the exempt section of the agenda at Item 21.

Further to Minute 128 (30 June 2014), the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced a report on the delivery proposals and funding options for phase 2 of the Gascoigne Estate (East) regeneration scheme.

With phase 1 due for completion in early 2018, the Cabinet Member stressed the importance of maintaining momentum into Phase 2 and he referred to the proposed mix of units within the phase 2 which he felt represented an equitable combination of tenures.  It was noted that the Living and Working Select Committee (LWSC) had undertaken a pre-decision scrutiny of an earlier draft version of the report and had made a number of observations and recommendations which were detailed in the report.

The Cabinet Member confirmed that, as with phase 1, the residential development would be delivered in partnership with East Thames Group, via the creation of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) within the Barking & Dagenham Reside structure and the charity Barking Renew.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree the appropriation of the land, as shown edged in red in Appendices 1 and 2, at Phase 2 (including the site for Greatfields School) under Section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972 from the Housing Revenue Account to the General Fund following completion of the decanting and demolition of each block, to enable the delivery and regeneration of the eastern side of Gascoigne estate via the proposed delivery structure;

(ii)  Agree that the residential units in Phase 2 be developed in conjunction with East Thames Group and the Council acting as joint development manager;

(iii)  Agree to the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) within the Barking and Dagenham Reside structure to develop, own and procure the construction, management and maintenance of 100 affordable rented and 115 shared ownership units;

(iv)  Agree to the sale at practical completion of 115 shared ownership units to East Thames Group;

(v)  Agree to the establishment of a SPV within the B&D Reside structure to develop, procure the construction and sale of 140 private sale units to be sold on the open market jointly with East Thames Group / London and Quadrant Housing Trust;

(vi)  Agree to the principle of borrowing up to £23.49m within the General Fund from the Public Works Loan Board and/or the European Investment Bank to finance the development and ownership of the affordable rent homes via a loan agreement made between the Council and the affordable rent SPV;

(vii)  Agree to the affordable rent SPV being legally owned for the funding term by the Barking Renew Charity and B&D Reside for the purposes of owning, managing and maintaining the units in accordance with the funding terms in a loan agreement between the Council and SPV;

(viii)  Agree to the principle of borrowing up to £26.02m within the General Fund from the Public Works Loan Board and/or the European Investment Bank to finance the development and ownership of the shared ownership homes via a loan agreement made between the Council and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

Further to Minute 108 (9 March 2016), the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced a report relating to the appropriation and disposal of open space adjacent to Gurdwara Way, Barking for the construction of 44 starter affordable homes by Pocket Living.

The Cabinet Member commented that the scheme represented another example of the Council’s commitment to providing a good mix of tenures and the project would encourage and support first-time buyers under the age of 40 in getting on the property ladder.  

In noting details of the project, Cabinet Members were particularly pleased with the inclusion of defined eligibility criteria that gave priority to key worker categories as a means of maximising local benefit.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree that, there being no objections registered in response to the statutory notice placed in the local press under Section 122 Local Government Act 1972 and Section 233 the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the land shown hatched in blue on the plan at Appendix 1 to the report be appropriated from its existing use as open space for planning purposes and identified for disposal;

(ii)  Agree to the disposal of the freehold interest in the site to Pocket Living on terms detailed in the report;

(iii)  Authorise the Strategic Director of Growth and Homes, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment, the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment and the Director of Law and Governance, to approve final terms for the disposal of the site to Pocket Living and complete the necessary legal agreements under delegated authority; and

(iv)  Agree, in principle, the eligibility criteria and the priority categories of key workers identified in paragraphs 2.17 - 2.19 of the report, while noting that the final criteria and categories would be incorporated into a draft Section 106 Agreement that would accompany the planning application for the residential scheme for consideration and determination by the Development Control Board.

Appendices 1 and 2 to the report are in the exempt section of the agenda at Item 22.

By Minute 26 (21 July 2015), it was agreed that the Council would enter into an Overarching Borough Agreement with the Greater London Authority (GLA) regarding the selection of the Barking Town Centre (BTC) area as a Housing Zone under the GLA’s London Housing Zones programme.

One of the key sites within the BTC Housing Zone was Crown House and the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced a report setting out details of the negotiations with the site leaseholder, Lightquote Limited, as well as a recommended way forward to deliver the outputs under the Housing Zone funding agreement and the Council’s wider objectives for the area.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the proposed delivery route for the project, as set out in paragraph 3.2 of the report;

(ii)  Authorise the Strategic Director of Growth and Homes, in consultation with the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment, the Director of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment, to finalise terms with Lightquote Ltd for a memorandum of understanding, an agreement for lease, building licence / new lease or other tax efficient alternative, under the principles set out in the report;

(iii)  Agree to enter into the Borough Intervention Agreement (BIA) for the Crown House site with the Greater London Authority;

(iv)  Agree to the principle of loan funding being used for the capital costs of construction of the development on Council land with repayment through rental income;

(v)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment, to determine the amount of borrowing required to support the project and to enter into the necessary arrangements to acquire the funding;

(vi)  Agree to the purchase of the Baptist Church car park and community hall required to deliver the scheme plus, subject to viability, other land shown hatched on the plan at Appendix 1 to the report, and to delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment and the Strategic Director of Growth and Homes, to negotiate terms and enter into any necessary agreements;

(vii)  Agree to commit funding for 50% of the costs associated with submitting a planning application for the site; and

(viii)  Agree to Roycroft House car park being used as the market traders’ car park on market days as well as some space within London Road multi-storey car park in order to unlock the development site.

The Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety introduced a report on the draft Parking Strategy for 2016 – 2026.

The Cabinet Member explained that as part of the Strategic Parking Review, a new Parking Strategy had been developed which had gone through the first stage of consultation with internal stakeholders.  Appropriate revisions had been incorporated and the draft Strategy was now ready for external consultation with local residents, businesses and other stakeholders, as well as being presented to the Safer and Stronger Community Select Committee at its meeting on 13 September 2016.

Cabinet Members commented that the draft Strategy was open, fair and transparent and brought together the wide range of parking issues into one overall Borough parking plan.  Specific mention was made of the proposal for 30 minute free parking in shopping areas which Members felt would be particularly welcomed by both residents and businesses.  It was also noted that the planned consultation period was being extended to take into account the school summer holiday period.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the draft Parking Strategy at Appendix A to the report for public consultation; and

(ii)  Note that a further report would be presented to Cabinet in November on the outcome of the public consultation and seeking adoption of the final Parking Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Strategy presented a report seeking approval of a revised Enforcement Policy for the Council’s Regulatory Services.

The Cabinet Member advised that the new Policy sought to ensure that all enforcement action would be compliant with all relevant legislation, codes of practice and Government guidance, as well as supporting the Council’s priorities of ‘Encouraging civic pride’, ‘Enabling social responsibility’ and ‘Growing the borough’. 

Cabinet resolved to adopt the revised Regulatory Services Enforcement Policy 2016 - 2020 as set out at Appendix 1 to the report, for implementation by all relevant Council regulatory functions.

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration introduced a report on the proposed creation of a London Regional Adoption Agency, in response to the Department of Education’s ambition for all local authorities to be part of a regionalised service by 2020 in order to tackle the low rate at which children in care became adopted.  The project was being led by London Councils and the intention was for the new Agency to become operational in 2017/18.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree, in principle, to join a London Regional Adoption Agency, as supported by London Councils and the Association of London Directors of Children’s Services; and

(ii)  Authorise the Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, to progress arrangements relating to the development of the Agency model.

Further to Minute 120 (19 April 2016), the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement presented a report on the revised position of the Governors of Robert Clack School of Science who now supported the Council’s desire to expand the School by providing two additional forms of entry on the existing site together with the development of a three-form entry primary facility and a sixth-form entry at secondary age at the Lymington Fields site.

The Cabinet Member referred to the funding aspects of the project and concurred with the sentiments of her Cabinet colleagues that the much needed new school places in the area would be provided significantly quicker via Robert Clack School, as opposed to any other arrangement such as a Free School.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the proposed expansion of Robert Clack School of Science as detailed in paragraph 2.4 of the report, subject to the approval of the Department for Education following formal consultation;

(ii)  Approve the inclusion in the Capital Programme of the following sums to support the expansion of Robert Clack School, as detailed in section 3 of the report:

(a)  £17m DfE Basic Need Grant for 2017/18;

(b)  £10m DfE Basic Need Grant previously allocated for new school provision in central Barking;

(c)  £1.75m of S106 funding secured to support the development of school provision on the Lymington Fields site.

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement, the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment and the Director of Law and Governance, to procure and award the respective project contracts following the approval of the Corporate Procurement Board to the final procurement strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement introduced a report concerning the freehold ownership of and/or disposal of land at three school sites in the Borough.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree the transfer of land shown edged red on the plan at Appendix 1 to the report at St Jospeh’s RC Primary School, Barking, to the Diocese of Brentwood;

(ii)  Agree the transfer of land shown edged red on the plan at Appendix 2 to the report at Gascoigne Shaftesburys Primary School, Barking, to the Council’s Children’s Services for incorporation into the new school site and specifically designated for educational purposes; and

(iii)  Agree the transfer of land shown edged red on the plan at Appendix 3 to the report at Lymington Fields from the Greater London Authority to the Council under a Section 106 Agreement, which shall be incorporated into the proposed all-through School site and specifically designated for educational purposes.

The Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement outlined proposals for the demolition of low, medium and high rise blocks on the Gascoigne Estate to make way for the development of the proposed Greatfields School, via a two-stage restricted process procurement route.

Cabinet Members welcomed the development of the new school for the benefit of those living on the Estate and the Borough as a whole.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree that the Council proceeds with the procurement of a contract for demolition works to enable the construction of the proposed Greatfields School, in accordance with the strategy set out in the report; and

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Service Development and Integration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement, the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment and the Director of Law and Governance, to conduct the procurement and enter into the contract and all other necessary or ancillary agreements with the successful bidder(s) and/or other related parties, in accordance with the strategy set out in the report.

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration presented a report seeking approval for the procurement of a four-year Framework Agreement for the provision of short breaks and activities for disabled children, young people and their families.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree to commence the procurement of a four-year framework contract for the provision of short-break activities for disabled children and their families, in accordance with the Council’s Contract Rules and the strategy set out in the report; and

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Service Development and Integration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment and the Director of Law and Governance, to award and enter into the contracts and relevant extended periods.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced the performance report for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2015/16 in respect of the debt management function carried out by the Revenues and Benefits Service within Elevate East London.

It was noted that, despite the continuing pressures on local residents’ finances, the rate of collection in cash terms had increased.  Cabinet Members particularly commended Elevate’s performance in collecting 98.2% of national non-domestic rates (NNDR) due in 2015/16, which was the highest collection rate since 2009/10.

The Cabinet Member also referred to the plan to no longer publicise the top ten debtors as the practice had not led to any recovery actions since its inception.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the performance of the debt management function carried out by the Revenues and Benefits service operated by Elevate East London, including the performance of enforcement agents;

(ii)  Note the debt write-offs for the fourth quarter of 2015/16; and

(iii)  Agree that the practice of publicising the top 10 debtors cease, as there had been no examples where members of the public had identified any of those debtors which would have enabled Elevate to re-instate recovery action.

The Cabinet placed on record its thanks to both Helen Jenner, Corporate Director of Children Services, and Jeremy Grint, Commissioning Director for, Growth, Homes and Regeneration, who were attending their last Cabinet meeting before retiring, having given 7 and 26 years loyal service respectively.

Members paid their own tributes to both officers, reflecting on their hard work and dedication to the Borough and their achievements.  With regard to Helen Jenner, particular mention was made of her inspirational leadership and ability to challenge at all levels, which were instrumental in all Children’s Centres in the Borough being classified as outstanding and 88% of the Schools classified as good or outstanding, with more young people than ever moving on to further and or a university education.

In respect of Jeremy Grint, Members commended his drive, vision and tenacity and commented that projects such as Barking Riverside would not have come to fruition without his significant input.  Jeremy had been instrumental in promoting the Borough and highlighting its regeneration potential to partners such as the GLA and as a testament to his legacy it was remarked that he was retiring at a time when Barking and Dagenham was now regarded as London’s growth opportunity.

Members wished both a long and happy retirement.