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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX

Contact: Victoria Lower
020 8726 6000 x14773  Email: victoria.lower@croydon.gov.uk

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22/19

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 129 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 2019 as an accurate record.

Minutes:

The part A minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 25 February 2019 were agreed. The Leader of the Council signed the minutes as an accurate record.

23/19

Disclosure of Interests

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to register disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and gifts and hospitality to the value of which exceeds £50 or multiple gifts and/or instances of hospitality with a cumulative value of £50 or more when received from a single donor within a rolling twelve month period. In addition, Members and co-opted Members are reminded that unless their disclosable pecuniary interest is registered on the register of interests or is the subject of a pending notification to the Monitoring Officer, they are required to disclose those disclosable pecuniary interests at the meeting. This should be done by completing the Disclosure of Interest form and handing it to the Democratic Services representative at the start of the meeting. The Chair will then invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3. Completed disclosure forms will be provided to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion on the Register of Members’ Interests.

Minutes:

There were none.

24/19

Urgent Business (If any)

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council congratulated, on behalf of the Cabinet, the work of the two teams which won Local Government Chronicle Awards earlier in the month. It was noted that Croydon was the only council to win two awards at the ceremony, and the awards were for the Choose Your Future campaign, and the partnership work on the One Croydon Alliance.

 

The Leader of the Opposition noted the Leader of the Council had tweeted a photo of part of a letter in relation to the Croydon Partnership and was informed that the letter would be published in full save for the exclusion of any  commercially sensitive information. The Leader stated it was a powerful letter which reiterated a strong commitment to Croydon, however it was noted that the council should not be complacent as economic uncertainty remained a national issue.

25/19

Council Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Sector Strategy, and Community Fund Progress Report pdf icon PDF 686 KB

Officer: Hazel Simmonds

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader proposed and Cabinet agreed to take the Part A items in the meeting in the following order:

  1. Item 6 (0-25 Special Education Needs and Disabilities Strategy)
  2. Item 10 (Adoption of Supplementary Planning Document 2 – Suburban Design Guide)
  3. Item 5 (Council Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Sector Strategy, and Community Fund Progress Report)
  4. Item 7 (Post-16 Travel Assistance Policy Changes)
  5. Item 8 (Parking Policy 2019-2022)
  6. Item 9 (Equality Annual Report)
  7. Item 11 (Stage 1: Recommendations arising from Scrutiny)
  8. Item 12 (Investing our Borough)

 

The Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities introduced the report which was in two parts; the first part looked towards the introduction of a Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Sector Strategy, and the second half of the report reviewed the second year of the Community Fund.

 

The council had not previously had a Strategy on how it would work with the community sector and facilitate coordination within the sector. Consultation had taken place in relation to the Strategy with over 200 organisations taking part in online surveys and workshops. It was recognised that the Strategy was a high level paper which set out the policy framework in the context of the Corporate Plan and the findings of the Opportunity & Fairness Commission, and that a further report would be taken to Cabinet in May 2019 which would set out how the council would commission future work with the voluntary sector. The Cabinet Member stated the council would support the voluntary sector in preparation for the recommissioning of the sector later in the year.

 

The organisations which had taken part in the consultation, along with the officers and the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources were thanked for their work in developing the Strategy.

 

Members were informed that the report outlined the outcomes of the Community Fund with accompanying case studies on the impact of the funding following year two of the Fund. The Cabinet Member thanked all the organisation for their work in delivering projects and outcomes through the Community Fund.

 

The Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources stated he was proud that the council had not reduced its commitment to the voluntary sector over the past five years despite reduced budgets, and had actually increased its commitment. It was noted that the council spent in excess of £15million annually on the voluntary sector and would seek to continue to support the sector.

 

Members noted that the Strategy would be important especially in light of increased locality working and requested a timescale on the implementation of the Strategy and new commissioning of the sector. In response the Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities stated that locality work would only be successful through stronger partnership working with the voluntary sector and that the Strategy would facilitate improved working. To assist the voluntary sector to prepare for the changes to the commissioning of their services the Cabinet Member requested that all councillors assist in alerting organisations of the changes.

 

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/19

26/19

0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Strategy pdf icon PDF 246 KB

Officer: Robert Henderson

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning introduced the Strategy which supported the council’s priority to support all young people to achieve their potential. Consultation on the Strategy ran from 3 December 2018 until 31 January 2019 and covered four key areas for strategic development; including the early identification of young people with SEN, joint working to support the Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP), improved commissioning and provision of support, and improved post-16 pathways and transition for young people.

 

The Cabinet Member welcomed the guests who attended the meeting, young people and parents, who had been involved in the consultation process for the SEND Strategy.

 

Ms Kishore-Bigord, a parent of twin 16 year olds, spoke of her and her son’s journeys. She had felt passionate about being involved in the consultation for the Strategy and recognised that there had been opportunity to engage with the council on the development of the Strategy; however she raised concerns that those who were hard to reach had not been heard. Ms Bigoord stated she had been pleased that the council had gone back to the drawing board last year following responses from parents and had built a joint Strategy which brought in health.

 

Members were informed that young people with SEND were not asking for everything to be reinvented, but that they wanted the same opportunities as all other young people. Their experiences were that everything was a little more difficult and was very complicated; they wanted only to have the same opportunities and it was felt by Ms Bigoord that the Strategy would support young people to achieve their aspirations. To further the ambition of the council, Ms Bigoord suggested adding the following to the council’s vision for young people – “Achieve through improved joint working between education, health and social care services to include our children, young people, and their parents and carers.”

 

Ms Bowell, a parent, stated she continued to have concerns and that she felt that the Strategy should be overhauled to ensure there was joint working with health, education and social care, as she felt that there was not enough emphasis in the proposed Strategy. Members were informed that it was important that all children had aspirations and were supported to achieve them, and the Strategy did not outline how it would be delivered.

 

Concerns were raised by Ms Bowell that the Strategy only mentioned Supported Internships which were unpaid and not paid apprenticeships; and as such it was suggested the message was that young people with SEN could not aspire to be paid.

 

Ms Speller from Parents in Partnership thanked Cabinet for inviting parents and young people to attend and speak at the meeting. Members were informed that parents were pleased to have been involved at the start of developing the Strategy and were able to help shape a document which was for all of Croydon.

 

The Leader thanked the parents for their contributions and agreed that the delivery of the Strategy was integral to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26/19

27/19

Post-16 Travel Assistance Policy Changes pdf icon PDF 254 KB

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: yes

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning introduced the report noting that the preferred option for Post-16 travel was travel training; however other options were available including travel budgets if they were considered to be the most appropriate.

 

A consultation on the Policy changes ran alongside the SEND Strategy consultation with workshops, online forms and engagement with support organisations. Additionally, an easy ready version was produced following responses to ensure everyone was able to understand the proposed Policy.

 

Ms Kishore-Bigord of Parents in Partnership stated that she welcomed the Policy as it was recognised that changes were needed in how transport assistance was delivered. Additionally, it was raised that it was important to ensure that no young person was excluded from accessing education as there was a lack of transport support. As such it was reiterated that it was necessary to ensure the terminology used in the Policy was clear so as to ensure that young people were aware that support would be provided.

 

The Cabinet Member recognised that the original document had been complex and as such an easy read version was designed and used for engagement with young people. It was stated that easy read formats would also be considered for future engagement exercises.

 

It was recognised that the Policy changes would assist in liveability and would provide support to young people to assist them in the move towards independence.

 

The Cabinet Member thanked officers for their work in developing the service over a number of years and for their commitment to ensure no young person was excluded from education due to travel.

 

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make the decisions set out below

 

RESOLVED: To adopt the proposed change to the Post-16 Travel Assistance Policy, for the 2019/2020 academic year that where Independent Travel Training was not appropriate, the Council’s default offer of support would be to provide a Personal Transport Budget (PTB) to learners aged 16 to 18 with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

 

28/19

Parking Policy 2019-2022 pdf icon PDF 555 KB

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (non-voting – Job Share) informed Members that the council did not have a formal parking policy and it was important to codify policy as parking played an important role for many. It was intended that there would be two consultations, one being on the Policy and the other on proposed parking charges, with the second consultation being particularly important as it sought to be a means to tackle and prevent poor air quality.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that poor air quality was responsible for more than 9,500 deaths annually in London and disproportionally affected the most vulnerable in the community. It was stated that it was important that the council worked to improve air quality, and a recent survey of residents showed that three quarters of residents were concerned by air quality, further evidencing that it was important that policies were introduced which would help tackle the issue. As such the council’s proposal was to introduce emission based parking charging with emission based permits being introduced from October 2019 and business permits following.

 

Members raised concerns that residents who had bought hybrids in a move to reduce their emissions would be penalised, and suggested that the NOx emissions should be taken into consideration along with the lifetime of the vehicle.

 

In response to Member questions the Cabinet Member noted that the consultation should help to raise any issues with the bandings for permits and would be considered in the final decisions. The Cabinet Member noted that the proposed costings were broadly in line with neighbouring boroughs and it was the intention to have a simple system and so would avoid a large number of bandings which would need to be publicised at Pay & Display machines. It was recognised that technology would be important in the delivery of emission based permits and it was hoped that more residents would use the app which would charge them the correct amount based on the DVLA information on their vehicle.

 

The Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board welcomed the paper and its ambitions to tackle health inequalities and protect the most vulnerable in the borough. It was further noted that the School Streets Programme was a further example of how parking had an impact on the health of young people, with three schemes having been made permanent and a further eight to be introduced in September 2019. The Cabinet Member stated that it was the intention that all schools were part of the School Streets Programme in the future.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that poor air quality was a hidden killer of 200 people annually in Croydon and that it was important that everyone worked to tackle the issue. The Administration, it was stated, was committed to take the required steps to improve public health and would listen to the consultation responses.

 

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make the decisions below.

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Note the core principles of a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28/19

29/19

Equality Annual Report pdf icon PDF 152 KB

Officer: Hazel Simmonds

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities informed Members that the report provided analysis of how the council was complying with its equalities duties. Each objective was detailed within the report with case studies.

 

It was noted that it was a statutory responsibility to publish the council’s gender pay gap, which had been complied with, however the council intended to also publish by the end of the month the ethnicity and disability pay gap analysis. This was in addition to the statutory responsibility and the Cabinet Member stated this showed that the council sought to be forward thinking and inclusive.

 

The Cabinet Member thanked the Equalities Manager for her work and for continuing to challenge the organisation to ensure equalities was at the centre of all work.

 

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make the decisions below.

 

RESOLVED: To note the Equality and Inclusion Annual Report 2018 and that arrangements were in place to publish the Annual report.

 

30/19

Adoption of Supplementary Planning Document 2 - Suburban Design Guide pdf icon PDF 255 KB

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: yes

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (voting – Job Share) stated that all planning documents were important, however Supplementary Planning Document 2 was especially important as it sought to deliver the homes which were needed within the borough. It was noted that Croydon was required to deliver 33,000 additional homes in the next 18 years and the necessary social infrastructure to support additional housing.

 

To facilitate the delivery of the additional homes, the Cabinet Member stated, the council had taken a proactive role in developing the guidance which had already been nominated for a planning award before it had been adopted. The Cabinet Member thanked all the officers involved in the development of the document and consultation events.

 

The Cabinet Member read out an email which a colleague had received from a Kenley resident to remind Members of why it was important that such a Guide was needed. The email outlined the residents’ desire for Kenley to remain the same, but that they supported planning applications as it was not possible for young people to afford houses in Kenley but flats would be more affordable. The email concluded by requesting that Members think of the young people in the borough when considering applications.

 

A presentation was provided to Cabinet which set out the context in Croydon which required a third of new homes to be delivered in the suburbs and the evolution of the suburbs over the last 100 years. The Guide, it was stated, sought to encourage developers to ensure sites were not underdeveloped and as such looked for wider, deeper and taller homes to ensure the effective use of sites. Whilst it was recognised that there would be an impact on the area following development, it was the ambition of the council to ensure that the negative impact was as small as possible.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that there was often a large amount of discussion in regard to character at Planning Committees, and whilst the Guide sought to retain the character of the area it supported innovative design or modern interpretation. Additionally, transport and parking were often discussed and it was recognised that social infrastructure and sustainable forms of transport were important for the delivery of homes, and the council continued to work with the Mayor to deliver transport improvements.

 

To facilitate the consultation on the Guide, officers set out windows at the events at the distance proposed for as gaps between developments so residents would be able to establish the possible impact.

 

The Cabinet Member stated that they had worked with officers to produce a guide which ensured sensitive intensification of land.

 

Concerns were raised by the Opposition spokesperson that the Guide did not protect the character of areas or support the right mix of development. It was felt that the Guide did not work for the current communities of Croydon, and that larger, taller, wider and deeper development would not fit within the local areas. As such, it was suggested that many residents would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30/19

31/19

Stage 1: Recommendations arising from Scrutiny pdf icon PDF 209 KB

Officer: Jacqueline Harris Baker

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair of Scrutiny and Overview Committee noted there were a number of recommendations from scrutiny and stated that he looked forward to receiving responses from Cabinet in May 2019.

 

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make the decisions set out below.

 

RESOLVED: To receive the recommendations arising from the Scrutiny & Overview Committee (15 January 2019) and from the Streets, Environment & Homes Scrutiny Sub-Committee (22 January 2019) to provide a substantive response within two months (i.e. at the next available Cabinet meeting on 7 May 2019).

 

32/19

Investing in our Borough pdf icon PDF 204 KB

Officer: Jacqueline Harris Baker

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make the decisions set out below.

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.     The contracts over £500,000 anticipated to be awarded by the nominated Cabinet Member, in consultation with the nominated Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources or, where the nominated Cabinet Member is the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Leader; and

 

2.     The list of delegated award decisions made by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement, between 12/01/2019 – 11/02/2019.

 

RESOLVED: To approve

 

3.     The establishment of the Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System  for the initial period of four years with options to extend for two subsequent periods each of two years with a total estimated value of £68,000,000, pursuant to the procurement strategy approved by Cabinet on 15th October 2018, and as set out at agenda item 12a; and

 

RESOLVED: To recommend

 

4.     To the Leader of the Council that prior to the next meeting of Cabinet in May, in respect of any contracts and property acquisitions and disposals valued over £500k and that have not previously been notified or reported to Cabinet, the nominated Cabinet Member in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources or, where the nominated member is the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources in consultation with the Leader, be authorised to agree the award of such contracts. Note that any awards made under this delegation will be notified in the standard contracts report to the next meeting of Cabinet.

32/19a

Award of Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) pdf icon PDF 379 KB

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: yes

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make the decisions set out below.

 

RESOLVED: To approve

 

1.    The establishment of a Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System (‘DPS’) for the initial period of four years with options to extend for two subsequent periods each of two years with a total estimated value of £68,000,000, pursuant to the procurement strategy approved by Cabinet on 15th October 2018;

 

2.    The initial appointment of suppliers listed in Part B of the report to join the DPS on the basis of contract terms issued as part of inviting tenders, such suppliers being those who have satisfied specified selection criteria;

 

3.    That authority to approve the appointment of further suppliers who meet the  specified selection criteria over the life of the DPS be delegated to the Council’s Contracts and Commissioning Board (CCB); and

 

4.    That the award of contracts called off under the DPS shall be approved in accordance with Regulation 8 of the Council’s Tender and Contracts Regulations and notified to Cabinet in accordance with paragraph 3.4 of the report.

 

33/19

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

Minutes:

The following motion was moved by Councillor Tony Newman and seconded by Councillor Alison Butler to exclude the press and public:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

 

The motion was put and it was agreed by the Committee to exclude the press and public for the remainder of the meeting.

34/19

Award of Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS)

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: yes

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make the decisions set out below.

 

RESOLVED: To approve

 

1.    The establishment of a Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System (‘DPS’) for the initial period of four years with options to extend for two subsequent periods each of two years with a total estimated value of £68,000,000, pursuant to the procurement strategy approved by Cabinet on 15th October 2018;

 

2.    The initial appointment of suppliers listed in Part B of the report to join the DPS on the basis of contract terms issued as part of inviting tenders, such suppliers being those who have satisfied specified selection criteria;

 

3.    That authority to approve the appointment of further suppliers who meet the  specified selection criteria over the life of the DPS be delegated to the Council’s Contracts and Commissioning Board (CCB); and

 

4.    That the award of contracts called off under the DPS shall be approved in accordance with Regulation 8 of the Council’s Tender and Contracts Regulations and notified to Cabinet in accordance with paragraph 3.4 of the report.