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Agenda, decisions and minutes

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

Items
No. Item

55/21

Two Minute Silence in Memory of His Royal Highness, Duke of Edinburgh

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) invited those in attendance to join a two minute silence in memory of His Royal Highness, Duke of Edinburgh.

 

Following the two minute silence the Leader spoke on behalf of the Administration who sent their deepest condolences to Her Majesty, The Queen at such a sad time for her and the Royal Family following the sad loss of their father, grandfather and great grandfather. It was noted that countless residents would recall the Duke of Edinburgh’s visits to Croydon in 1960, 1983 and in 1996 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Whitgift Almhouses.

 

The Leader remarked that it was difficult to articulate a viewpoint or sentiment on the passing of His Royal Highness which had not already been observed over the previous three days, but highlighted two particular tributes; his unfailing and unstinting support for Her Majesty, The Queen as the longest serving consort in history and the contribution he had made through his lifelong public service. The Leader highlighted his passion and early recognition of the importance of conservation; which she felt that Croydon would want to associate itself with to tackle the climate emergency facing the nation. His Royal Highness, Duke of Edinburgh’s commitment to the interests of all young people through the establishment of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award almost 65 years ago was also noted by the Leader.

 

The Leader concluded that the council wished both Her Majesty, The Queen and the Royal Family their most sincere thoughts and prayers during such a difficult time.

 

The Leader of the Opposition (Councillor Jason Perry) noted that they were all saddened to hear of the passing of His Royal Highness, Duke of Edinburgh on the previous Friday and on behalf of the Opposition he also sent their sincere condolences to the Her Majesty, The Queen and the Royal Family. It was also noted by the Leader of the Opposition that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh had been the longest serving consult to a British Monarch and that he had dedicated his life to the service of his Queen and country.

 

It was highlighted that the Duke of Edinburgh had been around for all the lives of those present at the meeting and had been a part of the fabric of the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth for a number of decades with his sense of duty and service being an inspiration for so many generations. However, above all it was stated by the Leader of the Opposition that he had been a husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather and those family bonds were important during such sad times.

56/21

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.

57/21

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.

58/21

Financial Performance Report - Period 10 pdf icon PDF 261 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King and Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance, Councillor Callton Young

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

Key decision: no

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Note the net projected general fund financial overspend of £69.1m for the full year as at the end of Month 10, January 2021 which includes all projected COVID-19 related expenditure and income of £40.9m, a net increase of £4.4m from  Period 9, see section 5 of the report. 

 

2.    Note that a number of risks may materialise which would see the variance increase. These include dividends and interest receivable from Brick By Brick (both historic accrued and in-year expectations) of £20.5m, and pending external audit verification of assumptions around 2019/20 accounting treatment of MRP and Transformation funding that could impact by £6.0m. Should all these risks which total £26.6m materialise, which is unlikely, the impact on the current forecast overspend of £69.1m is an increased overspend to £95.7m, with draft general fund reserves of just £7.4m.

 

3.    Note, the above figures are predicated on forecasts from Month 10 to the year end and therefore could be subject to change. Forecasts are made based on the best available information at the time.

 

4.    Note that the Spending Control Panel which was set up at the beginning of November 2020 continues to meet on a daily basis.  Further details on the outputs of the SCP is provided within section 5 of the report.

 

5.    Note that ELT are to continue to take further immediate action to mitigate spend during the reminder of the financial year, and work with their departments to ensure forecast figures are thoroughly reviewed.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal stated that there had been a recognition across the council that there was a need for much greater rigour in terms of financial management which included the frequency with which Cabinet received and interrogated financial reports. To that end, the Cabinet Member informed Members that the report was the first on the monthly reports which would be taken to Cabinet meetings setting out the council’s financial position. It was noted that the report before Cabinet related to month 10 of 2020/21, which set out the council’s position at the end of January 2021 and followed the Quarter 3 report, which ran to month 9, which was considered in March 2021.

 

The Cabinet Member highlighted that there had been movement in the confirmed overspend to £69.1 million with detail behind the change being detailed within the report. It was further noted that there had been a net improvement of £1.4 million in departmental spend.

 

It was noted that this report set out the positive impact of the Spend Control Panel in managing spending within the council, however the Cabinet Member stated that he felt the Panel should not only ensure spend was authorised and the appropriate budget was in place, but should begin to challenge whether the spend was necessary as it was stressed that whilst a budget exists it did not mean it needed to be spent.

 

The Cabinet Member concluded by highlighting the current costs of Covid-19 to the council which had increased by £4.4 million to overall cost of £40.9 million. As such, the pandemic remained a significant and ongoing financial challenge.

 

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance noted that the reduction in departmental spending of £1.4 million marked the council turning a corner, in a small way, but it was stressed that it was important that the Spend Control Panel continued to deliver. The report outlined over £8.1 million of expenditure had been rejected by the Panel and the Cabinet Member stated that he felt that going forward it would be beneficial if this was given context and that HRA (Housing Revenue Account) expenditure was separated.

 

The Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk (Chris Buss) confirmed that while a budget is given it did not mean it had to be spent and he felt that it was a cultural change which was required within the organisation to support it living within its means going forward. The Interim Director advised that it was taxpayer’s money which was being spent and, as such, should only be spent when necessary. It was felt that the lesson was beginning to be understood and was becoming part of the culture of the council, but it was recognised that it would take some time before it was fully embedded.

 

The Leader stated that she felt that it was positive move that monthly financial reports had started and that there had been some movement in departmental spending.

 

The Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care (Councillor Janet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58/21

59/21

Croydon Renewal and Improvement Plan - Performance Reporting Framework & Measures pdf icon PDF 576 KB

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Assistant Chief Executive, Elaine Jackson

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 work that has taken place to date in order to address areas of performance reporting where weaknesses have been highlighted within the Croydon Renewal and Improvement Plan.

 

2.    Review the set of performance measures in Appendix A of the report which will be used to measure performance against the delivery of actions within the Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan. A finalised set with targets will be presented to Cabinet on 7 June 2021

 

3.    Note the roadmap Appendix B which details future work and delivery of additional reports in order to have a complete suite of reports in place by September 2021.

 

4.    Note that the report be reviewed at Overview and Scrutiny for input and comment on the proposals contained within this report. Any recommndations received, will then be contained in the report update to Cabinet on 7 June 2021.

 

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) informed Cabinet that the report provided an update on the work which had taken place to develop and reform the council’s management systems. This took into account the reviews which had been undertaken, including the Report in the Public Interest (RIPI). It was noted that one of the key recommendations of the RIPI had been to develop a monthly performance and risk reporting regime and the report provided an update on work to develop a suite of reporting mechanisms to strengthen internal controls within the council.

 

The Leader highlighted that Members were due to receive the first of the monthly reports in June 2021 as more work was required to develop full performance report which would cover not only financial data. This report, it was noted, would be underpinned by a tracker which was coordinated by the council’s Programme Management Office which would manage a central source of reliable data for the council. It was highlighted that Appendices A and B of the report set out some of the source data which would form part of the suite of reporting. The Leader stated that she had noticed that there were only two housing related performance indicators at Appendix A and neither related to the quality of the housing service which she felt could be looked at as part of the ongoing work to develop the performance reporting.

 

The Interim Assistant Chief Executive (Elaine Jackson) advised Members that capturing all of the data from across the council was a significant piece of work but was important for Members, residents and staff to understand how the council was delivering. It would enable the council to celebrate what it was doing well and focus on areas which required improvement.

 

The council was moving towards providing one dataset for the whole organisation and the Interim Assistant Chief Executive advised that this would drive change and would ensure there was a consistent means of measuring performance. It was stated that Members could be assured that officers were working on creating the suite of performance indicators and that the report provided an update on that work. The Interim Assistant Chief Executive confirmed that the housing metrics would be looked at in greater detail to ensure that the right areas of housing delivery were being reported on.

 

Members thanked the Interim Assistant Chief Executive and officers who had been working on developing the reporting framework.

 

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) stated that he felt that the report gave an update on the reporting framework which he felt it provided the council with opportunities to improve service delivery and would take into account benchmarking which was important to ensure that the council provided good services. It was noted, however, that when benchmarking had previously been discussed it had been felt that it was difficult to find the right authority to benchmark against and the Cabinet Member stated that he hoped that this challenge could be resolved.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59/21

60/21

Report in the Public Interest Progress Update pdf icon PDF 231 KB

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Executive Director Resources, Asmat Hussain

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 and agree the progress the Council has made in regard to achieving the recommendations set out by external auditor in the Report in the Public Interest (at appendix 1 of the report) with 35 out of 99 actions complete;

 

2.    Note that the recommendations as suggested by General Purposes and Audit Committee and the Scrutiny & Overview Committee that were agreed at Cabinet on January 18th have been added to the action plan (at appendix 2 and 3 of the report);

 

3.    Agree the refreshed action plan for the recommendations including actions marked complete, new actions and amended deadlines;

 

4.    Note the current proposed reporting structure, including dates, as set out in this paper that quarterly reports go to Cabinet, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Scrutiny & Overview Committee and Full Council; and

 

5.    Agree to recommend to Full Council the approval of the refreshed action plan.

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) stated that the report provided an updated on the Report in the Public Interest (RIPI) and specifically the action plan and progress against the action plan which had been agreed by Council in November 2020. It was noted that there were 99 actions in total, some of which had been added as a result of consultation with the General Purposes & Audit Committee (GPAC) and the Scrutiny & Overview Committee (SOC); around a third of which had been completed.

 

The updated action plan the Leader stated included an updated timeline from that which was agreed by Council in November as that initial timeline had been indicative. Following review of the timeline it was noted that half of the actions were due to be completed by June 2021.

 

It was highlighted that the report contained updated on the recommendations from the external auditor which had been deemed to be high priority; seven of which had been completed and progress updates were provided on the remaining two actions. Further updates were provided on key actions which had been completed; including around the budget setting process, the strategic review of the council’s companies, the interim asset disposal strategy, delivery plans for children and adult’s social care, monthly reporting and learning and development for members.

 

The Leader highlighted that the report set out future reporting against the action plan, with the key reporting points being to Cabinet, Council, GPAC and SOC. Reporting, it was proposed, would be incorporated within the quarterly renewal improvement plan reporting.

 

The Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care (Councillor Janet Campbell) noted that it would be beneficial if a log of Members training was recorded. In response the Interim Executive Director of Resources (Asmat Hussain) advised that as part of the Ethics Committee review a register would be development which recorded the training Members had attended. This would provide oversight not only for Members, but for residents also.

 

The Leader of the Opposition (Councillor Jason Perry) raised concerns that over a third of the original actions had slipped by a number of months. It was noted that the RIPI had been issued as a result of the council’s financial situation and corporate blindness and the Leader of the Opposition expressed concern that the council was reverting to form with key milestones being missed and a perceived lack of transparency with an important housing investigation report being withheld.

 

In response the Leader of the Council noted that the agenda signified the grip that the Administration had on addressing the situation the council faced and ensuring progress continued to be made to change that situation. It was noted that the timeline considered and agreed by Council in November 2020 included a timeline of no later than April 2021; however those timelines had been reviewed as a result of a large amount of activity to develop a detailed submission to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) for a capitalisation direction and the Croydon Renewal  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60/21

61/21

Real Letting/Resonance Property Fund Extension pdf icon PDF 612 KB

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

Officer: Interim Director of Homes & Social Investment, Ozay Ali

Key decision: yes

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Agree to a one year extension of the Council’s participation in the Real Lettings Property Fund 1 from February 2022 to February 2023 with a planned sale date of December 2022 for the reasons set out in this report and delegate to the Chief Executive acting in consultation with the section 151 officer and the Council’s Monitoring Officer the authority to agree all necessary documentation to secure that extension; and

 

2.    Agree to the variation of the Limited Partnership Agreement to provide for a winding up period of the fund after the end of its legal term of one year, rather than the current three years, with the effect that the latest possible date for return of capital to Croydon is therefore brought forward from the current position of February 2025 to February 2024. 

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) informed Members that in 2014 the council had invested £29.4 million for the acquisition of 182 properties which were let by St Mungos on a temporary basis to homeless household. 289 secure tenancies had been provided to homeless households during the period of the investment and in addition broader support was provided to the families at no cost to the council.

 

On exiting the funding the Cabinet Member stated the council would benefit from a capital receipt which was anticipated to be in excess of the original capital investment and would be used to offset council borrowing costs and support the council’s financial recovery. Members were informed that the original date for the council to exit the fund had been February 2022, however given the adverse economic impact of the pandemic Resonance had approached the council and other large investors to recommend that the fund be extended to better support the planned exit.

 

It was noted that the report detailed that by exiting in February 2023 it was expected that the anticipated increased capital receipts would be protected and that it would be easier for residents to sell the fund onto an institutional investor, as originally planned. This would avoid disruption to existing tenants whilst providing the council with an annual investment income of just over £1 million. It was further noted that the latest possible date for the capital return would be brought forward from February 2025 to February 2024.

 

The Cabinet Member for Homes (Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice) stated that she was pleased with what had been achieved with the investment, as in addition to the investment 289 tenancy lettings had been secured which had benefited those homeless families. It was noted that 182 homes had been delivered as part of the scheme for the council’s use for temporary accommodation. The proposed extension, it was noted would be positive for tenants as it would mean there were no disruptions to their tenancies and St Mungos would continue to assist those tenants in securing permanent tenancies. The Cabinet Member further confirmed that the council would acquire first bidding rights for those properties for use as temporary accommodation in perpetuity.

 

It was noted by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Simon Hoar) that it was positive that 182 homes had been delivered through the Real Lettings Scheme which gave homes to families at affordable rents. However, it was noted that the scheme had been agreed in 2013 when it was suggested by the Shadow Cabinet Member the council was more interested in providing affordable housing. In light of the anticipated capital receipts from the sale of the fund being returned to the council, the Shadow Cabinet Member queried whether the Administration had lost interest in investing in affordable housing.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance that the capital receipt would be used to reduce the council’s borrowing and there would be a net benefit to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61/21

62/21

Call-In Referral to Cabinet: Crystal Palace and South Norwood Low Traffic Neighbourhood (Deferred)

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon, Councillor Muhammad Ali

Officer: Interim Executive Director Place, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: yes

Decision:

This report was deferred to a Cabinet meeting following the elections on 6 May 2021.

 

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) informed Members that the report had been deferred due to the Pre-Election Period and would be considered at a future meeting of Cabinet following the elections on 6 May 2021.

 

63/21

Investing in our Borough pdf icon PDF 147 KB

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

Officer: Interim Executive Director Resources, Asmat Hussain

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To approve

 

1.   The Care UK – Provision of Care Home Services Variation Extension of Contract which will result in an award for a maximum term of 21 months as set out at agenda item 9a, and section 4.1.1 of the report.

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.    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 4.2.1 of the report; and

 

2.    The list of delegated award decisions made by theDirector of Commissioning and Procurement, between 26/02/2021 – 16/03/2021, as set out in section 4.2.2.

Minutes:

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Simon Hoar) queried how successful the building works contract had been in light of recent lack of success in terms of maintenance of properties. In response the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) noted that the extension to the contract had been agreed under permitted delegation. The extension report stated the contract had been performing well with customer satisfaction being at the expected level; however due to the concerns raised in terms of maintenance the Cabinet Member confirmed that he would look at the contract further.

 

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

 

RESOLVED: To approve

 

1.    The Care UK – Provision of Care Home Services Variation Extension of Contract which will result in an award for a maximum term of 21 months as set out at agenda item 9a, and section 4.1.1 of the report.

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.    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 4.2.1 of the report; and

 

2.    The list of delegated award decisions made by theDirector of Commissioning and Procurement, between 26/02/2021 – 16/03/2021, as set out in section 4.2.2.

64/21

Care UK - Provision of Care Home Services extension of contract pdf icon PDF 508 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care, Councillor Janet Campbell

Officer: Director of Operations – Health, Wellbeing and Adults, Annette McPartland

Key decision: yes

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.   Approve the extension and variation of the contract for the provision of care services with Care UK in accordance with Regulation 30 of the Tenders and Contracts Regulations for an additional period of 21 months until 31 March 2023 for an additional value of £10,700,000.

 

2.    Note that the Contracts and Commissioning Board has endorsed the above recommendation.

 

3.    Note that the total value of the extension (£10,700,000) will take the overall value of the contract to approx. £72m. This figure is £3m below the original estimated award value of £75m.

           

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) informed Cabinet that it was being asked to approve the extension and variation to the existing contract for the provision of care services in accordance with Regulation 30 of the Tenders and Contracts Regulations for a period of 21 months until 31 March 2023. This contract extension would be at a value of £10.7 million.

 

Members were informed that the service related to the outsourcing of care services. Three schemes had been developed as part of the Homes for the Future PFI scheme; Heavers Resource Centre with 60 beds had opened in 2008, Addington Heights with 50 beds had opened in June 2010, and Langley Oaks with 40 beds had opened in July 2010. The Cabinet Member highlighted that the current contract for the provision of care services was due to end on 26 June 2021 and the three homes were rated as Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

 

In addition to the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on the market and levels of demand for services; the report proposes an additional month variation to allow the market to return to pre-Covid-19 levels. This would allow time for analysis to be undertaken to understand future demand. It was highlighted by the Cabinet Member that this analysis was an important part of the council’s cost saving strategy so as to enable evaluation of the full market. A further report would be taken to Cabinet in January 2022 which would set out the option for future delivery.  

 

The Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care noted that the commissioning team had spoken to several other providers prior to going back to Care UK and recommending an extension to the contact. It was highlighted that there were 286 care homes in Croydon with 1396 residential beds and 1376 nursing home beds and that the market was changing. It was stated that it was important that time was taken to enable the council to fully understand the future care market and provision would be required from March 2023.

 

It was noted by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care (Councillor Yvette Hopley) that the contract was an important one as it looked after the borough’s vulnerable elderly residents, however concerns were raised that the previous Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care had announced that the Care UK contract had not been fit for purpose and the service would be brought in house. In light of this, the Shadow Cabinet Member queried why the contract extension was now viewed as the best option.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care stated that the council was doing good business and were ensuring the safety of elderly and vulnerable residents. Furthermore, it was noted that CQC had rated the service as Good. The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance further added that a new approach to commissioning and procurement was being introduced in Croydon as it was recognised that there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64/21

65/21

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.