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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Katharine Street, CR0 1NX. To view the meeting webcast, please click here

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

Items
No. Item

80/21

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.

81/21

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:

The Leader informed Cabinet that there was one item of urgent business, Determination of School Admission Arrangements, which was considered following minute number 87/21 (Autism Strategy).

 

Cabinet were informed that the order of the agenda would be varied with minute number 88/21 (Recommendations from the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission) taken as the first substantive followed by minute number 90/21 (Crystal Palace and South Norwood Low Traffic Neighbourhood).

82/21

Determination of School Admission Arrangements pdf icon PDF 229 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming

Officer: Interim Executive Director of Children, Families & Education, Debbie Jones

Key Decision: no

 

Reason for urgency: The report was not available at the time of the Cabinet publication because the Council were notified by the Department of Education of the changes to the School Admissions Code on 13th May 2021. This new provision in the Code will necessitate variations to determined admission arrangements to take effect from 1 September 2021.

 

Legal advice was received and confirmed that admission arrangements are reserved to Full Council for decision (not only under the constitution but by statute) so any amendments to the existing arrangements will need to go to Full Council on 5 July 2021.

 

Croydon, as an admission authority for community schools will need to vary its admission arrangements which have already been determined by full Council for 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years. Without these variations, the admission arrangements will no longer comply with the School Admissions Code from 1 September 2021.

 

The report cannot wait until the next Cabinet meeting as the change will come into force, subject to Parliamentary procedure, from the next academic year – 1 September 2021 – and there is not another scheduled meeting until 11 October 2021. 

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.     Recommend to full Council that it determine the changes to Croydon’s community schools’ admission arrangements for the 2021/22 (at Appendix 1 of the report) and 2022/23 (at Appendix 2 of the report) academic years.

 

2.     Note that variations will be conditional on the Code passing through its Parliamentary process (i.e. a date on or around 1 July 2021). If any variations are agreed before then, they must be expressed to be conditional on the Code passing through Parliament. All such variations should come into effect on 1 September 2021.

 

 

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Recommend to full Council that it determine the changes to Croydon’s community schools’ admission arrangements for the 2021/22 (at Appendix 1 of the report) and 2022/23 (at Appendix 2 of the report) academic years.

 

2.     Note that variations will be conditional on the Code passing through its Parliamentary process (i.e. a date on or around 1 July 2021). If any variations are agreed before then, they must be expressed to be conditional on the Code passing through Parliament. All such variations should come into effect on 1 September 2021.

 

 

83/21

Financial Performance Report - Month 1 April 2021 pdf icon PDF 334 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

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.    The General Fund is projecting a net nil variance as at Month 1. Service departments are indicating a £3.451m overspend with this being netted of against £3.451m underspend from a one off Covid Grant confirmed to Croydon Council for 21/22 by MHCLG as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

 

2.    That a further number of risks and compensating opportunities may materialise which would see the year-end variance change and these are reported within Section 3 of this report. Should these risks materialise or the mitigations not be effective the Council could overspend by £3.659m. 

 

3.    The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is projecting a £2.117m overspend for 21/22. If no further mitigations are found to reduce this overspend the HRA will need to drawdown funding from the HRA Reserve account.

 

4.    The above figures are predicated on forecasts from Month 1 to the year end and therefore could be subject to change as forecasts are refined and new and updated information is provided on a monthly basis. Forecasts are made based on the best available information at this time.

 

5.    That whilst the Section 114 notice has been lifted a, the internal controls established as part of the S114, such as the Spend Control Panel remain. However, restrictions have been lifted for ring-fenced accounts such as the Pensions Fund, Housing Revenue Account and Coroner’s Costs as these do not impact on the financial position of the General Fund. The Spending Control Panel which was set up at the beginning of November 2020 continues to meet on a daily basis.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) stated the report was the first report for 2021/22 financial year and reflected the outturn for April 2021. It was noted that departments were reporting a variance of £3.4 million on the approved budget, most of which was not Covid-19 related, and that there was no indication of whether the variances were permanent or one offs which the Cabinet Member requested be added to future reports.

 

It was stated by the Cabinet Member that it was important that Members understood the impact of the costs of those variances and that the General Fund was projecting a net variance through the use of ring-fenced Covid-19 grant monies. It was noted that the use of reserves so early in the year could be seen as being premature.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that at paragraph 3.9 of the report that services had been instructed to find mitigations for all savings which could not be met and stated that he felt that this approach should be applied to all budget pressures and overspends rather than services looking to the corporate centre to meet shortfalls, for both the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

 

It was noted by the Cabinet Member that the report spoke of the role of the Spend Control Panel (SCP) and whether it should be applied to the HRA and Coroner Service. It was felt by the Cabinet Member that the SCP had a positive impact on spending within the council and in light of the £2 million overspend in the HRA he felt the rigours of the SCP should be applied to the HRA.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that at table 3 of the report that around £1 million of mitigations related to staffing and vacancies and queried why the amount was not reported as a saving but as a mitigation.

 

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) queried when the savings plan would be presented to Members as it was recognised that the financial year was passing.

 

In response to the query in relation to staffing mitigations, the Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk (Chris Buss) advised Members that the figures within the report were part year effects of when it was thought staff would leave as the figures were for staff who had been made redundant. Those figures would only move from being considered a risk or opportunity to the forecast once the staff members had left the organisation.

 

In terms of the HRA, the Interim Director advised Members that the HRA budget was set before the details of Regina Road were available and since that point a significant amount of work had been undertaken, including enhancing the staffing within Housing. Members were advised to carefully consider the possible implications before reintroducing controls on the HRA. They were further advised to wait a couple of months to understand the full picture of what spending was like as it was felt that the bulk of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83/21

84/21

Croydon Renewal and Improvement Plan - Performance Reporting Framework & Measures pdf icon PDF 382 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 progress that has taken place with regard to the development of a suite of reports in order to improve the corporate offer.

 

2.    Review the corporate performance and finance report (appendix A) as at 30 April 2021 with regard to KPI’s, project milestones and projected savings against target, noting that this report is still in development stage.

 

3.    Note that this report will be reviewed at General Purposes Audit Committee on the 10 June and Scrutiny and Overview Committee on the 15 June.

 

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) reminded Members that one of the key actions from the Report in the Public Interest had been to develop a monthly performance, finance and risk reporting regime. A report had been considered at the April 2021 meeting of Cabinet and the report contained within the agenda provided an update of the work which had been completed since April 2021.

 

Members were informed that the intention was for the final version of the performance report to be received in September 2021; however it was stressed that it would remain an iterative process. Furthermore, Members were advised that the report was due to be considered by the General Purposes & Audit Committee and Scrutiny & Overview Committee to enable those committees to inform the work also.

 

The Leader highlighted that the report included monitoring of the delivery of projects and programmes, delivery against the Croydon Renewal Plan, risk reporting, organisational health dashboard and stress report which was hoped would facilitate discussions via an internal control board.

 

The Leader noted that there was a large amount of data being collected and that the volume was likely to increase as the reporting was developed further. In light of this, the Leader queried how Members and the organisation could review the data effectively. In response, the Director of Policy & Partnership (Gavin Handford) advised that the document was iterative and would continue to be developed. The report would be detailed and would support Members to undertake their roles, however dashboards would be included as introductions to different sections which would highlight specific areas.

 

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed) noted that at the previous Cabinet meeting a decision had been taken to establish a Citizen Panel and queried how this was being progressed. The Director of Policy & Partnership advised that a Key Performance Indicator would be developed to enable Members to see the output of the decision to establish a Citizen Panel.

 

The Leader thanked the Head of Business Intelligence, Performance & Improvement (Caroline Bruce) and her team for all of their work in collating the report.

 

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Note the progress that has taken place with regard to the development of a suite of reports in order to improve the corporate offer.

 

2.    Review the corporate performance and finance report (appendix A) as at 30 April 2021 with regard to KPI’s, project milestones and projected savings against target, noting that this report is still in development stage.

 

3.    Note that this report will be reviewed at General Purposes Audit Committee on the 10 June and Scrutiny and Overview Committee on the 15 June.

85/21

Report in the Public Interest - Quarter 1 Update pdf icon PDF 244 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 (appendix 1) with 55 out of 99 actions complete;

 

2.    Note the beginning of work to properly evidence what has been achieved so far and the intention to carry out an internal audit of actions delivered to provide full assurance to members and residents on the change achieved;

 

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

 

4.    Agree that this updated report and action plan go to Full Council in place of the previously agreed April 12th Cabinet Report as it is more up to date.

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) noted that the report provided an update on work completed six months following the approval of the council’s Report in the Public Interest (RIPI) action plan. It was noted that Cabinet had received an update in April 2021 and due to the report being considered that evening being more up-to-date it was recommended that the June 2021 report go to the Council meeting on 5 July 2021 instead. The previous report had advised that a third of actions had been completed and the Leader noted that this figure had increased to over half. 44 actions had been started but were still being worked through; nonetheless the Leader stated the report showed positive progress had been made within six months.

 

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) stated that he felt that the report evidenced a good degree of progress had been made but queried the progress on recommendation 20. Whilst it was noted that it was a complex and resource intensive piece of work a progress update was requested. The Interim Executive Director Resources (Asmat Hussain) assured Members that the task and finish group had been meeting regularly and were reviewing the full list of companies which were associated with the council. Members were advised that a report was due to be taken to Cabinet in July 2021 on the governance review of the companies and the current situation of those organisations.

 

It was suggested by the Leader of the Opposition (Councillor Jason Perry) that the pace of change within the council was not sufficient as there were a number of recommendations which had remained outstanding. In particular, concerns were raised in relation to recommendation 1.2 as it was queried how actions had been achieved if they had not been evidenced. Furthermore, he queried whether the Cabinet were providing any challenge.

 

In response, the Leader of the Council stated Cabinet Members were engaging with the reports, asking questions and were deliberating in public. Furthermore, it was stated they were challenging information to provide assurance to the public and communities.

 

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 (appendix 1) with 55 out of 99 actions complete;

 

2.    Note the beginning of work to properly evidence what has been achieved so far and the intention to carry out an internal audit of actions delivered to provide full assurance to members and residents on the change achieved;

 

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

 

4.    Agree that this updated report and action plan go to Full Council in place of the previously agreed April 12th Cabinet Report as it is more up to date.

86/21

Addressing the costs of care and support for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people in Croydon pdf icon PDF 492 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming

Officer: Interim Executive Director Children, Families & Education, Debbie Jones

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 actions to secure support from central government and from London boroughs to relieve the disproportionate costs of care and support for unaccompanied children and young people incurred by the residents of Croydon.  

 

2.     Note the significant budget gap of £13.278 million forecast over 2021-24 despite the above actions.

 

3.     Note the additional impact this will have on the council’s borrowing from the government, including additional interest.

 

4.     Recommend this report for review and challenge at the Scrutiny and Overview Committee.

 

5.     Note that the council reserves the right to take further action to address the issues set out in the report.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children Young People & Learning (Councillor Alisa Flemming) informed Members that the report set out the issues facing the council in terms of addressing the cost of care and support for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people (UASC) in Croydon.

 

The Cabinet Member stressed that the borough was proud of the richness in cultural diversity within Croydon. Furthermore the council was proud of the support it provided to UASC; many of whom, it was recognised, had overcome great danger and adversity to come to the country. However, given the location of the Home Office at Lunar House there was a national point of entry for UASC within the borough. It was noted that for many years Croydon had been forced to bear and extremely large proportion of the nation’s costs for caring for those children and young people.

 

Members were advised that there were 458 young people in care and 322 care leavers in the borough and in addition there were the USAC, of which Croydon should have around 65 but the figure stood at 205. This had created substantial financial pressures which were estimated to be worth £7.6 million in 2020/21. It was recognised that the pressures were not new but were growing year on year due to the number of care leavers.

 

The Report in the Public Interest (RIPI) had acknowledged that the council had lobbied the Home Office on the issue of proper financial reimbursement and that whilst financial redress had been provided, it had not been sufficient.

 

The Cabinet Member further highlighted that the impact of the National Transfer Scheme, which was a voluntary scheme, had left Croydon with three times the number of asylum seeking children than the scheme suggested the borough should have. Furthermore, it was highlighted that around 50% of care leavers in the borough were asylum seeking young people.

 

Member’s attention was brought to the budget forecast estimating a gap in excess of £13m from 2021 to 2024, despite the mitigations which had already been put in place. In light of the concerns highlighted in the report the Cabinet Member requested that Scrutiny consider the report.

 

The Cabinet Member highlighted that the report set out that the council reserved the right to take further action, should it be required, and noted that Kent County Council was challenging the Home Office on a similar matter as it was also struggling with the financial burden and to deliver services safely.

 

Thanks were given to the Interim Director of Improvement & Quality (Kerry Crichlow), the Interim Executive Director Children, Families & Education (Debbie Jones), the Interim Chief Executive (Katherine Kerswell) and the Improvement & Assurance Panel for all their work to try to address the budget gap. Additionally, the Cabinet Member thanked the 24 London boroughs who had agreed to relieve some of the pressure facing Croydon for a period of three months whilst a long term solution was formed.

 

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) echoed the thanks to given to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86/21

87/21

Autism Strategy pdf icon PDF 150 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care, Councillor Janet Campbell and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming

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

Key decision: yes

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.     Endorse and approve for publication the Autism Strategy.

 

2.     Note the approvals either received, or pending, from other partner organisations in the strategy.

 

3.     Agree that minor future amendments to the strategy can be made by the Director of Commissioning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Families, Health and Social Care.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Jerry Fitzpatrick noted that most people in attendance at the meeting were neuro-typical but that Croydon had a neuro-divergent community of around 10,000 residents. In development of the Strategy the council had listened to the voice of community in 2019 and undertook consultation in 2020.

 

It was stressed that it was extremely difficult for many within the neuro-divergent community to navigate the world created by neuro-typical people. That often led to neuro-divergent people living unnecessarily frustrated lives, suffering from unnecessary levels of physical and mental ill health and premature death. It was noted that training was an important theme within the Strategy as it was important that every neuro-typical person understood how to interact positively with neuro-divergent people.

 

Whilst Councillor Fitzpatrick stated that the Strategy was not world changing, he did stress that it was significant step in the upward journey of ensuring neuro-diversity in the mainstream agenda. Furthermore, it was noted that the development of the Strategy had been well received by the council’s health partners and all those who had been involved in its development were thanked; including Nicky Selwyn and Kevin Oakhill.

 

It was highlighted that the Strategy was an all-age strategy but it was noted that there was a need for a national strategy also, which incentivised employers to hire and retain neuro-divergent workers and supported the neuro-divergent to set up businesses.

 

The next step, it was stated, was to develop an action plan which ensured the objectives outlined with the Strategy were taken forward by and Councillor Fitzpatrick called for the responsibility for implementing the Strategy be with the Executive Leadership team within the council to ensure change occurred.

 

Nicky Selwyn, Chair of the Autism Partnership Board stated that she felt the Strategy was a game changer as previously the closest Croydon had been to having any strategy had been a draft version in 2012. It was noted that Croydon were fortunate to have an Autism Inclusion Lead (Kevin Oakhill) who had supported the development of the Strategy.

 

It was highlighted that there were active and committed partners from health, mental health and various agencies which it was hoped would be active participants in implementing the objectives set out in the Strategy.

 

It was noted by Nicky Selwyn that it had been really positive that the voice of the neuro-divergent community had been integral to the development of the Strategy, with over 500 responses having been received. Members were advised that a working group had been established with the support of Councillor Fitzpatrick and the Autism Inclusion Lead which it was felt represented the community.

 

Nicky Selwyn stressed that it was important that the Strategy did not just get filled after approval, but was developed into an action plan and a means of monitoring progress would be established.

 

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) highlighted Councillor Fitzpatrick’s personal leadership in this area and welcomed the feedback on the partnership working which had taken place in the development of the Strategy.

 

The Cabinet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87/21

88/21

Recommendations from the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission pdf icon PDF 327 KB

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

Officer: Interim Executive Director Place, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.   Welcome the report and recommendations of Croydon Climate Crisis Commission and record the Council’s thanks to the Commission and the New Economics Foundation for their thorough and committed work in challenging circumstances.

 

2.    Note the actions the Council has already taken to combat climate change.

 

3.    Note that a detailed, costed delivery plan will be developed in autumn 2021 to implement the Commission’s recommendations, provided that this can be done within the Council’s existing budget or utilising external funding resources.

 

4.    Note that a copy of the Climate Crisis Commission report will be shared with the Chairs of relevant Council Committees to consider how their committee work can support the Climate Crisis work undertaken by the Council.

 

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) noted that the Council had declared a Climate Change and Ecological Emergency in July 2019. All involved with the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission; including the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and Commission Members were thanked for their work in developing the report and recommendations.

 

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Muhammad Ali) began by thanking the Chair of the Commission (Miatta Fahnbulleh) and all at the NEF for their work. It was stated that the council was were committed to taking action on climate change and welcomed the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission (CCCC) report, and it was further noted by the Cabinet Member that the council’s commitment to tackling climate change was not new as many initiatives had been in place for some time.

 

It was stated by the Cabinet Member that the council were committed to producing a costed delivery plan and to start working on recommendations within the report through existing funding sources. It was noted that the Commission had been established prior to the start of the pandemic and CCCC had been required to work during challenging to develop its report.

 

The recommendations in the report, the Cabinet Member informed Members would be integrated into all of the work of the council and the council would seek to call upon partners to intensify their work also to deliver tangible mitigations to tackle climate change.

 

The Chair of the CCCC thanked all of the Commissioners for the huge amount of time and effort which was put into developing the report. It was reported that everyone involved understood their task was to develop practical recommendations for delivering a step change transition to net zero which built upon the work which had already been undertaken by the council and borough.

 

It was stated that it was felt that it was clear that simply transitioning to net zero was not enough and that a pathway to a green economy which created jobs an improved living standards was required. To that end, the Chair of the Commission advised Member that the report sought to provide practical steps which were felt to be deliverable, ambitious and tangible.

 

Three core areas had been identified; the first of which was ensuring understanding of the baseline in place so the council could track the trajectory of change. It was noted that this work was not just for the council to undertake but would require large levels of engagement across the borough and with partners to develop a clear picture of the challenge and shared endeavour. Furthermore, it was highlighted that there was the need to ensure there was clear accountability, responsibility and oversight of the work.

 

It was noted that there was clear action is terms of the green recovery as the previous 18 months had a dramatic impact on the local economy. It was reported that the CCCC felt that there was an opportunity to think about a medium term plan to identify green jobs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88/21

89/21

YourCare (Croydon) Options Appraisal pdf icon PDF 433 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for 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:

 

The Cabinet (acting, where relevant, on behalf of the Council exercising its functions as sole shareholder of YourCare (Croydon) Ltd) RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Note the Shareholder review reports of YourCare (Croydon) Limited included in the background documents to the report.

 

2.    Agree to closing down the activities of YourCare (Croydon) Limited. The company will cease trading and all assets to be settled in accordance with the liquidation process.

 

3.    Agree to the appointment of an authorised insolvency practitioner as liquidator to take charge of liquidating the company. 

 

4.    To note as a result of the closing down of YourCare (Croydon) Ltd, the Council, as the company’s only creditor, will write off the accumulated trade debts of £189k and the loan of £81k including interest (total £11k) to the extent that these debts are not recovered as part of the liquidation process (as further explained in paragraph 6 of the report).

 

5.    Delegate authority to the Interim Executive Director of Resources, in consultation with the Interim Director of Finance, Investment and Risk, and Interim Director of Law & Governance, to do all things necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the above recommendations, including acting as shareholder to complete relevant shareholder resolutions and give direction to the company.

 

Minutes:

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

 

The Cabinet (acting, where relevant, on behalf of the Council exercising its functions as sole shareholder of YourCare (Croydon) Ltd) RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Note the Shareholder review reports of YourCare (Croydon) Limited included in the background documents to the report.

 

2.    Agree to closing down the activities of YourCare (Croydon) Limited. The company will cease trading and all assets to be settled in accordance with the liquidation process.

 

3.    Agree to the appointment of an authorised insolvency practitioner as liquidator to take charge of liquidating the company. 

 

4.    To note as a result of the closing down of YourCare (Croydon) Ltd, the Council, as the company’s only creditor, will write off the accumulated trade debts of £189k and the loan of £81k including interest (total £11k) to the extent that these debts are not recovered as part of the liquidation process (as further explained in paragraph 6 of the report).

 

5.    Delegate authority to the Interim Executive Director of Resources, in consultation with the Interim Director of Finance, Investment and Risk, and Interim Director of Law & Governance, to do all things necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the above recommendations, including acting as shareholder to complete relevant shareholder resolutions and give direction to the company.

 

90/21

Crystal Palace and South Norwood Low Traffic Neighbourhood

Minutes:

The Chair of Scrutiny & Overview Committee (SOC) (Councillor Sean Fitzsimons) introduced the call-in referral report at agenda item 11a of the agenda. It was noted that the report set out the original reason for the call-in. Members were informed that the Committee had reviewed all of the information presented to the Cabinet Member when the original decision had been made and had raised a number of concerns in relation to the proposal, but had not objected to the proposal.

 

The Chair of SOC stressed that Members of both political parties had raised concerns during the meeting which had enabled robust discussion of the decision made by the Cabinet Member. It was felt that the Committee had weighed up the evidence, listed to the concerns and evidence of residents who were both for and against the scheme, and considered evidence from councillors and an officer from Bromley Council when reaching its conclusion in referring the concerns to Cabinet.

 

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Muhammad Ali) introduced the report at agenda item 11b and noted that it was complicated and sensitive scheme. Members were informed that the original key decision had been taken in February 20201 following consultation with the Traffic Management Advisory Committee (TMAC) and was then considered by SOC in March 2021 when the decision was called-in. The Cabinet Member reported that the decision of SOC was to refer the matter to Cabinet to decide whether to amend the decision before the final decision was made.

 

Members were advised that all the documentation required to make a final decision was included within the agenda pack, however the Cabinet Member drew Members attention in particular to the report at 11b of the agenda and paragraph 2 which contained additional information which was provided to TMAC in February 2021; which the original decision was based on. It was noted that since then both the Department for Transport and Transport for London (TfL) had updated their guidance, as at paragraph 2.1 and 2.5. Additionally, the Cabinet Member highlighted that research had been published by NHS Digital in May 2021 and University College London on air pollution, which was set out at paragraphs 2.3 and 2.4.

 

The report at 11b of the agenda it was noted contained the concerns raised by SOC and the department’s detailed responses to those concerns which the Cabinet Member felt allayed the concerns raised. It was further stressed by the Cabinet Member that the decision before Cabinet related to an Experimental Traffic Order and not a permanent one which would be a future decision.

 

It was emphasised that the decision before Cabinet was a very contentious matter which was finely balanced. The Cabinet Member noted that there were individuals were in support of the proposals and others who were against. It was stressed that it was important that all views were listened to and Members recognised the far reaching implications for many people. Members were advised that a public consultation had taken place in 2019; the results  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90/21

91/21

Call-in Referral to Cabinet: Crystal Palace & South Norwood Low Traffic Neighbourhood pdf icon PDF 324 KB

Lead Member: Chair of Scrutiny & Overview Committee, Councillor Sean Fitzsimons

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.    Receive the referral made by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee following its consideration of a call-in request made on the key decision on the Crystal Palace and South Norwood Low Traffic Neighbourhood;

 

2.    Reconsider the Original Decision taken by the Cabinet Member Sustainable Croydon (see paragraph 2.2 of the report for details), in light of the concerns raised by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee and other relevant information listed at paragraph 3.2 of the report; and

 

3.    Confirm that the final decision remain unchanged from the decision taken by the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon on 23 February 2021 (decision can be viewed at Appendix 3 of item 11a of the agenda).

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.     Receive the referral made by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee following its consideration of a call-in request made on the key decision on the Crystal Palace and South Norwood Low Traffic Neighbourhood;

 

2.     Reconsider the Original Decision taken by the Cabinet Member Sustainable Croydon (see paragraph 2.2 of the report for details), in light of the concerns raised by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee and other relevant information listed at paragraph 3.2 of the report; and

 

3.     Confirm that the final decision remain unchanged from the decision taken by the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon on 23 February 2021 (decision can be viewed at Appendix 3 of item 11a of the agenda).

92/21

Response to Call-In Report: Crystal Palace & South Norwood Low Traffic Neighbourhood Response to Concerns of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee pdf icon PDF 456 KB

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

Officer: Interim Executive Director Place, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: no     

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To consider the report in light of the decision at minute number 90/21 and the concerns of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee set out within the report at agenda item 11a.

 

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To consider the report in light of the decision at minute number 90/21 and the concerns of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee set out within the report at agenda item 11a.

 

93/21

Investing in our Borough pdf icon PDF 401 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 note

 

1.    The request for approval of the Best Start Suite of Contracts extension period of 4 months as set out at agenda item 12a and section 5.1.1 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 5.2.1 of the report.

 

3.    The list of delegated award decisions made by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement, between 07/04/2021 – 27/05/2021, as set out in section 5.2.2 of the report.

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.    The request for approval of the Best Start Suite of Contracts extension period of 4 months as set out at agenda item 12a and section 5.1.1 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 5.2.1 of the report.

 

3.    The list of delegated award decisions made by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement, between 07/04/2021 – 27/05/2021, as set out in section 5.2.2 of the report.

94/21

Variation to extend Best Start contracts pdf icon PDF 594 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming

Officer: Interim Executive Director Children, Families & Education, Debbie Jones

Key decision: yes

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To approve the variation of the Best Start contracts by up to a further 4 months (1st September to 31st December 2021) in accordance with Regulation 30 of the Council’s Contracts and Tenders Regulations for an overall maximum contracts value of £589,000, made up of:

 

·         Eight, Best Start Children’s Centres with contracts/SLAs to four academies and five maintained schools.  Four month extension value £445,000

·         Five, Community, Parenting Aspirations and Parenting Skills contracts (covering 6 Lots). Four month extension value £123,000

·         One, Parent Infant Partnership contract.  Four month extension value £21,000

 

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To approve the variation of the Best Start contracts by up to a further 4 months (1st September to 31st December 2021) in accordance with Regulation 30 of the Council’s Contracts and Tenders Regulations for an overall maximum contracts value of £589,000, made up of:

 

·         Eight, Best Start Children’s Centres with contracts/SLAs to four academies and five maintained schools.  Four month extension value £445,000

·         Five, Community, Parenting Aspirations and Parenting Skills contracts (covering 6 Lots). Four month extension value £123,000

·         One, Parent Infant Partnership contract.  Four month extension value £21,000

 

95/21

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.