Agenda and minutes

A minute’s silence was observed at the request of the Leader in memory of those affected by the barbaric attack at Manchester Arena the previous evening.

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 April 2017 were confirmed as correct.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced a report on the Council’s provisional revenue and capital outturn position for 2016/17.

The Cabinet Member advised that revenue expenditure for the financial year was projected at £162.095m, which included £6.839m of expenditure funded from specific reserves.  The final outturn of £155.255m represented an overspend variance of £4.940m, which was broadly in line with the projections that had been presented in the most recent monthly Budget Monitoring reports to Cabinet.  The Cabinet Member commented that the significant overspend position that had been predicted early in the financial year had been well managed, which had enabled the General Fund reserve to remain well above the minimum target balance of £15m, at approximately £17.9m.

The provisional outturn for the Capital Programme showed expenditure of £173.070m against the revised budget of £184.662, although the Cabinet Member stressed that the difference was due to slippage rather than projects not being progressed.  The Cabinet was also advised of carry forward requests, proposed transfers to and from reserves, a proposal to capitalise pension strain costs stemming from the in-year redundancy programme and costs associated with the Council’s transformation programme.

In response to a question, the Cabinet Member undertook to provide his colleagues with details of the two window replacement projects listed in Appendix B to the report.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the provisional outturn position for 2016/17 of the Council’s General Fund revenue budget at 31 March 2017, as detailed in sections 2 to 4 of the report;

(ii)  Approve the requests for carry forwards and transfers to and from reserves as set out in section 5 and Appendix A of the report;

(iii)  Note the provisional outturn for the Housing Revenue Account at 31 March 2017 as detailed in section 6 of the report;

(iv)  Note the projected outturn position for 2016/17 of the Council’s capital budget as at 31 March 2017, as detailed in section 7 and Appendix B of the report;

(v)  Approve the proposal to capitalise the pension strain costs arising from redundancies as detailed in section 8 of the report; and

(vi)  Note that £5.101m was allocated under the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts approach, approved by the Assembly as part of the MTFS on 22 February 2017, to support the Council's transformation programme.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment presented a report on the procurement of 32 contracts for a range of services relating to the Council’s housing stock.

The Cabinet Member referred to the details of each procurement, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, and confirmed that appropriate break clauses would be included in contracts to ensure that the new Home Services delivery model could benefit in the future.

Arising from consideration of the proposed specifications, procurement routes and tender evaluation criteria, the following observations were made:

a)  A number of the contracts had proportionally high ‘price versus quality’ evaluation ratios.  The Cabinet Member explained that a proportionally high price ratio was considered appropriate in those instances as the minimum specification requirements in terms of quality and health and safety standards would be set at very high levels in the first place;

b)  The Cabinet Member acknowledged that the high-value contracts for an initial two-year term and three-year extensions options could potentially deter larger companies from bidding, although it was believed that the proposals struck the correct balance; and

c)  The Green Smart Street Project did not include details of the evaluation criteria.  The Cabinet Member advised that the criteria were still being developed as it was an emerging area in which the Council was leading the way in its drive to become the “Green Capital of the Capital”.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Delivery and Performance also sought clarification of the arrangements for Cabinet Members to be advised of the outcome of the procurements and the subsequent performance of the successful contractors.  The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment clarified that, in line with normal arrangements, he would be involved in the procurement and award processes.  Taking on board further comments regarding (1) the desire to increase the level of contract expenditure that went to local businesses from the current level of 14%, which placed Barking and Dagenham in the Top 40 performing local authorities, to a target figure of 25%; (2) the numbers of local people and apprentices employed by the Council’s contractors; and (3) other ‘social value’ issues; the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment agreed to present an annual report to the Cabinet on the performance of all Council contracts.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree that the Council proceeds with the procurement of the 32 contracts as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report and in accordance with the proposed strategy; and

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Growth and Homes, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment and the Director of Law and Governance, to approve the final procurement strategy for the appointment of a main contractor and to conduct the procurement and award and enter into the contracts and all other necessary or ancillary agreements with the successful bidder(s) following its endorsement by the Procurement Board, in accordance with the Council’s Contract Rules, the European Tendering Regime and Public Contract Regulations.

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration presented a report on proposals to provide accommodation and support tailored to the needs of young people leaving care via a new four-year framework contract with specialist providers.

The Cabinet Member advised that the Council currently met its responsibilities under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 via a number of smaller contracts and spot-purchasing arrangements.  The new framework contract would bring about improved standards and quality of accommodation while also providing a clearer pricing structure and efficiency savings for the Council.

In response to an enquiry, the Cabinet Member confirmed that the specification would highlight the Council’s preference for the accommodation to be within the Borough, although it was acknowledged that some specialist accommodation may not be available in-Borough while in some cases the young person leaving care may specifically ask to be housed outside of the Borough in order to make a fresh start. 

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree that the Council proceeds with the procurement of a four-year framework contract for the provision of supported and unsupported accommodation together with outreach support for Care Leavers in accordance with the strategy set out in this report; and

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Service Development and Integration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, the Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Law and Governance, to award and enter into the contract and access agreements.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced a report on proposals to procure a new two-year contract for the supply of automotive fuel and fuel oil as the current contract was due to expire on 11 August 2017.

Arising from the discussions, it was acknowledged that the Council should look to move away from using diesel-powered vehicles when new leasing and/or purchasing arrangements were being considered.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree that the Council proceeds with the procurement of a contract for the provision of automotive fuel and fuel oil in accordance with the strategy set out in the report; and

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment and the Director of Law and Governance, to conduct the procurement and award the contract to the successful bidder in accordance with the strategy set out in the report.

Further to Minutes 29 (19 July 2016) and 62 (15 November 2016), the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement presented a report on the formal proposals to expand both Barking Abbey and Robert Clack Secondary Schools.

The Cabinet Member explained that the very high birth rate in the Borough since the beginning of the decade had begun to have a significant bearing on demand for school places in the secondary age range.  Over 60 additional classes in Years 7 to 11 had been provided between September 2013 and September 2016 and the latest proposals would mean Barking Abbey School expanding from 9 to 12 forms of entry from September 2017 while Robert Clack School would expand from 10 to 18 forms of entry from 1 September 2019 (on a phased basis).  Robert Clack School would also accommodate three forms of entry of primary aged pupils and 39 places for nursery aged children from that date.

The Cabinet Member reassured her colleagues that the expansion proposals would not undermine the “Good” OFSTED ratings held by both Schools and also suggested that many of the apprehensions associated with very large schools were not relevant as Robert Clack would be operating from three separate sites and Barking Abbey from two sites. 

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the proposals and commended officers, the Cabinet Member and School representatives for their work in meeting the significant challenge of creating sufficient school places for the Borough’s children, including securing the necessary funding from the Department for Education and the Education Funding Agency.  It was further noted that Barking and Dagenham was ranked No. 1 across London for the percentage of first choice school placements for the upcoming 2017/18 academic year.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree the extension of the age range for pupils attending Robert Clack Secondary School in order to accommodate primary aged pupils (3FE) and also nursery aged pupils (39 places) from September 2019;

(ii)  Agree the expansion of Robert Clack Secondary School from 10 to 18 FE from 1 September 2019 to be a phased planned expansion in collaboration with the school; and

(iii)  Agree the expansion of Barking Abbey Secondary School from 9 to 12 FE from 1 September 2017.