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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: This meeting is being held remotely; to view the meeting, please click here

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

Note: ITEM 5A HAS BEEN DEFERRED TO THE CABINET MEETING BEING HELD ON 8 MARCH 2021. 

Items
No. Item

29/21

Minutes of previous meetings pdf icon PDF 264 KB

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 25 November 2020 and 14 December 2020 as an accurate record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The part A minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 25 November 2020 and 14 December 2020 were agreed.

30/21

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.

31/21

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:

There were no items of urgent business.

32/21

Budget and Council Tax 2021/22

33/21

Croydon’s General Fund & HRA Budget 2021/22 to 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King

Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance, Councillor Callton Young

Cabinet Member for Homes & Gateway Services, Councillor Jane Avis

Officer: Interim Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell

Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk, Chris Buss

Key decision: Council Tax recommendations are reserved to Council. Housing rents and charges are Key Executive Decisions

Additional documents:

Decision:

This report was deferred to the Cabinet meeting on 8 March 2021.

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) informed Members that this item had been deferred and an updated report would be considered at an additional meeting of Cabinet on Monday 8 March 2021.

34/21

Financial Performance Report - Quarter 3 pdf icon PDF 818 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Memberfor Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King

Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance, Councillor Callton Young

Officer: Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk, Chris Buss

Key decision: No

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Note the current general fund revenue outturn forecast at the end of the quarter 3 of 2020/21 of £64.7m overspend, after the inclusion of both anticipated and received Covid19 funding from the MHCLG of £41.9m;

 

2.    Note that there are a number of risks totalling £31.8m that could materialise which would see the variance increase further. These are within services due to the current pandemic, potential impact from finalisation of the 2019/20 accounts and in relation to groups structures particularly around interest income from Brick by Brick. Should all of these risks crystalise the total forecast overspend would increase to £96.5m by the year end.

 

3.    Note the details of the monthly Covid19 impact submissions being made to the MHCLG and the details of the financial support that is available to the council in light of Covid19 as outlined in section 6 of the report.

 

4.    Note the work being undertaken by the Spending Control Panel and Finance Review Panel to reduce the overspend this financial year.

 

5.    Note the HRA revenue position of a £0.5m forecast overspend against budget.

 

6.    Note the revised capital outturn projection of £187m for the general fund and HRA is forecast to be an underspend of £117m against the revised budget.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) noted that the paper reported that there was a £64.7 million overspend by quarter 3 which was a concerning, but accurate, reflection despite the considerable efforts which had been made to improve management of the council’s finances. In addition to the forecast overspend, the Cabinet Member highlighted that £31.8 million of risks had been identified which could cause the total overspend to increase to £96.5 million.

 

It was noted that the report detailed movement between the quarter 2 and quarter 3 reports which had caused a worsening in position by £38 million as a result of corporate items and £14 million in departmental changes. The Cabinet Member, however, highlighted that £15 million of corporate items did include £15 million contribution to general reserves and that both children’s and adults departmental positions remained effectively unchanged between the two reporting periods.

 

The Cabinet Member stated that the changes within the Place department had arisen principally from over £4 million reduction in parking income associated with the lockdown and £2.7 million from the delay in receiving a decision from the Secretary of State on the council’s Selective Licensing Scheme. The proposed closure of Virgo Fidelis and St Andrews schools, it was highlighted, had also had a combined impact of £5 million on the council.

 

It was noted by the Cabinet Member that considerable work was underway to actively manage the in-year situation; including £27.9 million of savings which were being delivered. Furthermore, the impact of the Spend Control Panel, as a result of the Section 114 Notice, was also highlighted by the Cabinet Member. In addition, it was noted that significant amendments to the capital programme of £86 million had been made which would help reduce in-year costs.

 

The Cabinet Member concluded that there remained a great deal of uncertainty in terms of the in-year position and the following year’s position and the council continued to await the outcome of the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) decision on the council’s request for a capitalisation direction.

 

The Cabinet Member for Homes & Gateway Services (Councillor Jane Avis) noted that the council had applied for the Selective Licensing Scheme in summer 2020 as the council had felt it was important to ensure privately rent accommodation in Croydon met the required standard, but that a decision had not yet been received. In response, the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal reflected that the Scheme was an important tool for the council to protect renters across the borough but that the government had not yet granted permission for the new scheme. It was felt that the government had been focussed on responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and that MHCLG had not been able to direct resources to consider applications. However, due to this delay it was sensible to reflect the financial impact within the report.

 

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Muhammad Ali) noted that council tax collection had dropped by 2% and business rates by 7%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34/21

35/21

Treasury Management Strategy Statement, Capital Strategy, Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy 2021/2022 pdf icon PDF 443 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King

Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance, Councillor Callton Young

Officer: Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk, Chris Buss

Key decision: No

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To recommend to Full Council

 

1.            The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2021/2022 as set out in this report including the recommendations:

 

1.1.That the Council takes up borrowing requirements as set out in paragraph 4.12 of the report.

 

1.2.That for the reasons detailed in paragraph 4.17 of the report, opportunities for debt rescheduling are reviewed throughout the year by the Director of Finance, Investment and Risk (S151 Officer) and that they be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance and Deputy Leader (Statutory) and Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal in conjunction with the Council’s independent treasury advisers, to undertake such rescheduling only if revenue savings or additional cost avoidance can be achieved at minimal risk in line with organisational considerations and with regard to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as set out in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020/2024.

 

1.3.That delegated authority be given to the Director of Finance, Investment and Risk (S151 Officer), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, to make any necessary decisions to protect the Council’s financial position in light of market changes or investment risk exposure.

 

2.            That the Council adopts the Annual Investment Strategy as set out in paragraphs 4.19 and 4.20 of the report.

 

3.            That the Authorised Limit (required by Section 3 of the Local Government Act 2003) as set out in paragraph 4.13 of the report and as detailed in  Appendix C of the report be as follows:

 

  2021/2022              2022/2023                 2023/2024

£2,037.804m          £2,090.958m            £2,134.928m

 

4.            That the Council approve the Prudential Indicators as set out in Appendix C of the report.

 

5.            That the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement (required by the Local Authorities (Capital Financing and Accounting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008SI 2008/414) as set out in Appendix D of the report be approved.

 

6.            That the Council’s authorised counterparty lending list as at 31st December 2020 as set out in Appendix E of the report and the rating criteria set for inclusion onto this list be approved.

 

7.            That the Council adopts the Capital Strategy Statement set out below in section 3 of the report.

 

8.            That in the event of the Council receiving a Capitalisation direction that requires amendments to any part of the statements, strategies or policies contained in this report that the statutory Chief finance officer (Section 151 officer) be authorised to implement those changes and to report them to the next meeting of the Cabinet and council.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) noted that the report set out the council’s treasury management objectives for the forthcoming year and highlighted that the indicative net borrowing requirement of £95.78 million was considerably lower than the equivalent figure considered the previous year. This, it was noted, was as a result of significant changes to the capital programme which would be considered at the following Cabinet meeting as part of the budget report. It was felt by the Cabinet Member that the reduction in borrowing reflected the Administration’s determination to put affordability at the centre of its approach to borrowing.

 

It was noted by the Cabinet Member that the report reflected the actions which had been taken in response to the recommendations contained within the Report in the Public Interest in relation to the treasury management strategy and the minimum revenue provision statements.

 

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Finances & Resources (Councillor Jason Cummings) stated that this report was consistent with reports from previous years with continuous increases in council borrowing. The Shadow Cabinet Member stated that there was once again increases in authorised borrowing limit and queried how much longer the council could continue to carry more debt when its ability to finance the debt was decreasing. In response, the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) stated that when the Labour Administration came into power in 2014 the council’s debt levels were at £720 million and the increase in debt levels were due to the council’s social values. It was stressed that it was understood how the levels had increased, but that what was important was that the Cabinet was committed to control the council’s debt and finances overall.

 

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal further highlighted that the authorised borrowing limit was a limit and not a target. Further reviews of the capital programme was prudent in managing the council’s finances. It was noted that the report did not include potential capital receipts which had not yet been received; including from the asset disposal programme, repayment of Brick by Brick loans and the sale of Brick by Brick sites.

 

It was stressed by the Cabinet Member that the Administration recognised the need to ensure borrowing was affordable and that there was a desire to ensure it was central to the council’s financial management going forward.

 

The Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk (Chris Buss) advised Members that cash flow and future borrowing did include the full cost of borrowing in terms of the capitalisation direction, but that the strategy did not include any provision for capital receipts. Members were advised that should anticipated capital receipts be taken into consideration then the value should meet the costs of the capitalisation direction.

 

Consideration of the overall affordability of any future capital spend would need to be taken into consideration by the council. The Interim Director advised that the budget report due to be considered by Cabinet at the following meeting would include an additional recommendation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35/21

36/21

Investing in our Borough pdf icon PDF 228 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance, Councillor Callton Young

Officer: Executive Director Resources, Jacqueline Harris Baker

Key decision: No

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To approve the Corporate Cleaning and Security procurement strategy which will result in contract awards for a maximum term of 6 years as set out at agenda item 6a, and section 5.1.1 of the report.

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.    The delegated award decisions for contracts over £5,000,000 in value made by the nominated Cabinet Member in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance or, where the nominated Cabinet Member is the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance in consultation with the Leader since the last meeting of Cabinet, as set out in section 5.2.1 of the report.

 

2.    The contracts between £500,000 and £5,000,000 anticipated to be awarded under delegated authority from the Leader by the nominated Cabinet Member, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resources and Financial Governance and with the Leader in certain circumstances, before the next meeting of Cabinet, as set out in section 5.2.2 of the report.

 

3.    The list of delegated award decisions made by theDirector of Commissioning and Procurement, between 18/12/2020 – 25/01/2021, as set out in section 5.2.3 of the report.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) informed Members that the contract listed at 5.2.1 of the report related to young people semi-independent accommodation, which was an area subject to spending pressures. The contract framework had been newly agreed and allowed for the establishment of a pool of safe providers which met the standards of service delivery required and allowed for competition amongst providers which would support reducing the cost of placements.

 

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

 

RESOLVED: To approve the Corporate Cleaning and Security procurement strategy which will result in contract awards for a maximum term of 6 years as set out at agenda item 6a, and section 5.1.1 of the report.

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.     The delegated award decisions for contracts over £5,000,000 in value made by the nominated Cabinet Member in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance or, where the nominated Cabinet Member is the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance in consultation with the Leader since the last meeting of Cabinet, as set out in section 5.2.1 of the report.

 

2.     The contracts between £500,000 and £5,000,000 anticipated to be awarded under delegated authority from the Leader by the nominated Cabinet Member, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resources and Financial Governance and with the Leader in certain circumstances, before the next meeting of Cabinet, as set out in section 5.2.2 of the report.

 

3.     The list of delegated award decisions made by theDirector of Commissioning and Procurement, between 18/12/2020 – 25/01/2021, as set out in section 5.2.3 of the report.

 

37/21

Corporate Cleaning and Security Contracts pdf icon PDF 715 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Homes & Gateway Services, Councillor Jane Avis

Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance, Councillor Callton Young

Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King

Officer: Executive Director Place, Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: No

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To approve the procurement strategy detailed in the report for an open procurement process to be undertaken in order to appoint a single provider in respect of:

 

            Lot 1 cleaning services to a maximum budgeted value of £12,040,817.25

            Lot 2 security services to a maximum budgeted value of £7,043,804.40

 

For a proposed contract term of 4 years with options to extend for two 1 year extension periods (1+1).

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) informed Members that Cabinet were being asked to approve a procurement strategy in order to appoint a single provider in respect to corporate cleaning and security services. It was noted that the current contract expired in July 2021.

 

The Cabinet Member highlighted that the council was under a legal obligation to provide clean safe places for employees and to meet their security needs. The cleaning and security contracts related to a variety of premises including corporate buildings, housing, temporary accommodation and social care related properties.

 

It was noted that a comprehensive commissioning review, pre-market engagement and spend analysis had been carried out by officers to inform the proposed procurement strategy. Whilst engaging with key stakeholders lessons had been learnt and captured to inform the procurement strategy to include flexibility to future proof the contract. The pricing schedule, it was reported, would allow for appropriate demand led management arrangements to be applied and would enable service to be increased and decreased in accordance with the council’s requirements. The Cabinet Member further stated the implementation of a strategic relationship and performance management, in accordance with the council’s contract management framework would be strengthened within the proposed contract.

 

Following the outcome of pre-market engagement it was noted that there was an apparent preference for a lead provider approach to be applied for each lot who would be responsible for the delivery of all respective cleaning and security services as part of the contract for that lot. It was also determined from the findings of the commissioning options review that the adoption of the open procedure of Procurement & Commissioning Regulations would enable small and medium sized enterprises to tender alongside existing providers.

 

To ensure the council achieved competitive pricing submissions with quality standards applied, the Cabinet Member noted that the report proposed to deviate from the council standards of 60% quality and 40% price ratings. Rather, it was proposed to apply a weighting of 50% quality and 50% price in accordance with regulation 19.

 

The Shadow Cabinet Member of Culture, Leisure & Sport (Job Share) (Councillor Vidhi Mohan) queried the figure at paragraph 2 of the report in respect of the value of the cleaning contract. It was noted that estimated annual value was reported to be £1 million, however the maximum value was £12 million. Further queries were raised in relation to the security contract which listed to be £1.1 million at a total cost of £7 million over 6 years. Concerns were raised that over the previous years the contacts had cost £7.8 million and £4 million for the cleaning and security contracts respectively. As such, the Shadow Cabinet Member queried why the value of the contracts had increased and whether this was due to a change in scope.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member had confirmed that there had been significant changes in scope of the contracts. More properties had been acquired by the contract since 2017 and more recently, there had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37/21

38/21

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:

This item was not required.

39/21

Minutes of previous meetings

To approve the Part B minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 2020 as an accurate record.

Minutes:

The part B minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 25 November 2020 were agreed.