Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2019 as an accurate record.

The part A minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 18 November 2019 were agreed. The Leader of the Council signed the minutes as an accurate record.

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.

There were none.

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.

There were no items of urgent business.

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (Job Share)

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: yes

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (voting – Job Share) introduced the report stating that the intention of Place Plans was to work with local communities to support good growth in the area. Pilots had taken place in South Norwood, Kenley and Selsdon which had seen local communities work to develop and mould their areas.

In response to questions, Members were informed that Place Plans had facilitated areas being awarded large grants for projects as the groups were able to evidence community engagement. Additionally, the Cabinet Member noted that Place Plans could help areas to access CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) and Section 106 funding for projects to develop the areas.

Whilst it was the desire that Place Plans were developed in each of the 16 areas of the borough, it was recognised that each Plan would be unique and it was the intention that the council would support all areas to develop their Plans.

The Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs noted that the reports aligned with the Economic Strategy which had been agreed by Cabinet in November 2019 as it would support developing areas and bringing more jobs and opportunities to areas. Cabinet Members stated that it was their ambition to work together in a holistic manner to create a more inclusive Croydon.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.    Endorse the Council’s approach to place regeneration;

2.    Delegate to the Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Regeneration (Job Share) approvals of the Place Profiles before publication; and

3.    Delegate the approval of the emerging Place Plans to the Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Regeneration (Job Share) in consultation with the local elected members and key stakeholders for each ‘place’.

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (Job Share)

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: no

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (non-voting – Job Share) informed Members that dockless bikes had been introduced in parts of London from 2017, however there had been no means to regulate their use. Some boroughs had experienced issues with the bikes, including them being dumped, and to facilitate regulation across the capital it was proposed that a byelaw be introduced. The London Council’s Transport & Environment Committee was to be delegated authority by all boroughs to make the byelaw to regulate dockless vehicles in London.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To recommend to Full Council that it resolves to

1.    Agree to delegate authority to London Councils Transport and Environment Committee to make a byelaw to regulate dockless vehicles in Croydon; and

2.    Authorise the Executive Director of Place to sign any necessary documents to give effect to Recommendation 1 above.

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (Job Share)

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: no

Cabinet were informed that the council was constantly reviewing its conservation areas and the Addington Village Conservation Area had recently been reviewed. It was noted that the area had particular historic significance in the borough and that the Plan sought to not only recognise the village, but also the Palace, grounds and service buildings. It was proposed that the buildings be locally listed to protect them.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (voting – Job Share) stated that there had been a large amount of feedback received during the consultation and this had been listened to, including retaining the name of the conservation area.

Members thanked officers for the diligent work in reviewing the Plan and welcomed that feedback from residents had been incorporated within the Plan. It was noted that a great amount of the history of the area was included within the documentation, which had facilitated the development of history walks.

In response to Member questions, the Cabinet Member stated that the marquee was an ongoing planning issue and had remained in place beyond the temporary consent. Officers continued to work to ensure its removal. In terms of infill development within the area, the Cabinet Member stated that it was not the intention to restrict future development, however applications would be considered very carefully to ensure they fitted with the character of the local area.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To recommend that Council

1.    Approve changes to the Addington Village Conservation Area boundary as set out in the report;

2.    Adopt the Addington Village Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan (CAAMP) as a Supplementary Planning Document;

3.    Delegate to the Director of Planning and Strategic Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (Job Share), the making of minor factual, editorial and image changes to the Addington Village CAAMP; and

4.    Include the former Stables (Addington Palace Golf Clubhouse) and Stable Lodge on the Council’s local list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest.

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources

Officer: Jacqueline Harris Baker

Key decision: no

The Leader of the Council congratulated officers for their ongoing work and in particular their work to report the chronic underfunding the council suffered from in terms of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC). Members were informed that the council would seek to reengage with Government Ministers, once known, as the underfunding was unsustainable.

The Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources recognised the hard work of officers to manage the financial pressures daily. It was noted that significant pressures were being experienced in the Health, Wellbeing & Adults department. In terms of services for over 65s, it had been noted that a number of social care self-funders had run out of funds and were now being supported. Furthermore, additional costs had occurred due to the success of the One Croydon Alliance, however officers were in negotiation with the NHS to establish whether the costs could be shared.

The pressures related to UASC were discussed as being significant as Croydon had four and a half times more children than Home Office guidelines suggested each borough should support. This additional pressure of £8.5m had a large knock on effect across the council, particularly for children services.

Lastly the Cabinet Member informed Members that the council was required to provide support to Looked After Children up to the age of 25; however this was not funded and so further increased the financial pressures experienced by the council.

The Leader of the Opposition confirmed the Opposition’s support for the council’s desire to get a fairer settlement in terms of UASC support and stated that they would support conversations with the new Minister, once confirmed. The Leader thanked the Opposition for their support and the support of the three Croydon MPs on the matter and expressed hope that a fairer settlement would be reached.

Members noted that there had been a large shift in the Health, Wellbeing & Adults finances since the Quarter 1 report and queried what plans were in place to mitigate the trend. The Cabinet Member stated that finance were working with officers from that department, however it was a department which was experiencing huge pressures and to mitigate the trend the council had undertaken robust negotiations with the NHS to ensure the Alliance was properly financed. Whilst the CCG had recognised the principle of the council’s argument, an agreement was yet to be reached. Additionally, stringent measures had been put in place and all in-year actions across the council were being reviewed as to whether savings could be accelerated.

In response to Member questions the Cabinet Member for Homes & Gateway Services stated that in-year budgets had been reduced and so not all posts had been filled. Remaining staff had been required to deliver the same service, however it was noted that it was not always possible and, as such, it was not always possible to ensure services such as collecting garage rents was 100%.

Members expressed hope that the new Local Government settlement would be announced before the New Year and that it would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117/19

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources

Officer: Jacqueline Harris Baker

Key decision: no

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To note

1.    The list of delegated award decisions made by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement, between 17/10/2019 – 15/11/2019.

RESOLVED: To approve

2.    That the Leader be recommended to delegate authority to the Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources to:

a.    Approve the establishment of the Adult and Young People Social Care Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) and the award of contracts to providers to be initially appointed to the DPS.

b.    Delegated authority to approve the future appointments to the DPS and award of individual call off contracts to providers for reasons set out in paragraph 4.2 of the report. These awards will be in line with the strategy approved by Cabinet on 10 July 2019 (ref CCB1498/19-20) and any awards made under this delegation will be notified in the standard contracts report at future Cabinet meetings.

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.”

The item was not required.