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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

74/20

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 262 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2020 as an accurate record.

Minutes:

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 21 September 2020 were agreed.

75/20

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.

76/20

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.

77/20

Croydon Together: Update on our ongoing response to COVID-19 (verbal update)

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Tony Newman

Officer: Director of Public Health, Rachel Flowers

Key decision: no

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To note the presentation provided by the Director of Public Health.

Minutes:

The Director of Public Health, Rachel Flowers, advised Members that from Saturday 17 October, London and Croydon had moved into a High Alert tier which reflected that COVID-19 was being transmitted across the borough.

 

The Director thanked everyone for their commitment to working to reduce the transmission of the virus and stressed the need to focus on washing hands, wearing a face covering and to maintain social distance to further reduce the transmission of the virus.

 

Whilst it was noted that COVID-19 caused mild symptoms in most it could be devastating for some, and as such the Director of Public Health reiterated the message of Hands, Face, Space.

 

Members were advised that being in a High Alert tier meant people could no long socialise indoors outside their household or social bubbles. However, people could meet up with others outside their household up to the Rule of Six. The need to adhere to these regulations was due to the virus thriving on people socialising and, as such, it was important that people maintained social distancing at all times.

 

The Director of Public Health advised Cabinet that there were 11 patients at Croydon University Hospital as of that morning and there were none in ITU (Intensive Treatment Unit), however two people had sadly passed away the previous week. Those two patients, it was noted, had underlying health conditions.

 

Whilst the incidence rate was low in Croydon, compared to the rest of London, it was rising with the incidence rate at 76 per 100,000, the R rate being over 1 and test positivity at 3.5%. The Director of Public Health stressed the need for everyone to continue supporting the measures to reduce transmission in order to slow the increase that was being experienced.

 

The Chief Executive stated that she fully supported the measures shared by the Director of Public Health and noted her tireless commitment to the residents of Croydon throughout the pandemic.

 

The Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care offered her condolences, on behalf of the council, to those who had lost loved ones during the pandemic. It was noted that the council remained committed to supporting its residents during this period and in response to rising cases, the council’s Gold Group had increased its meetings to twice weekly. The council was also planning ahead to ensure support for shielding residents was available.

 

It was noted by the Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care that BAME residents, and in particular men, had presented late to hospital during the first wave and so issued a plea to all BAME residents to present early in future waves.

 

The Director of Public Health was thanked for her clear and consistent messaging throughout the pandemic. Furthermore, the Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board thanked the Director for her work in liaising with Deloitte in relation to the issues experienced with the testing centre in New Addington. Members were advised that the Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board had attended a community meeting earlier  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77/20

78/20

Sustainable Croydon - a year on update pdf icon PDF 428 KB

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Tony Newman

Officer: Executive Director Place, Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair advised Cabinet that the order of the agenda would be revised to enable an external guest to speak on this item, as such this item was taken as the fourth substantive item at the meeting. The order items were taken in the meeting was:

·       77/20  Croydon Together: Update on our ongoing response to COVID-19

  • 79/20 Developing Croydon's new Community Safety Strategy
  • 80/20 District Centre Prosperity - Purley BID

·       78/20 Sustainable Croydon – a year on update

·       Followed by the order as published in the agenda

 

The Chair noted that a Citizen Assembly had been established in which residents across the borough participated and recommendations from the Assembly had been received by the council. The report outlined the ongoing work to create a sustainable borough.

 

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (voting – Job Share) noted that 15 months had passed since the council had declared a climate crisis and whilst steps had been taken to advance this agenda there had also been dramatic changes with the pandemic and financial circumstances facing the authority. Despite these challenges, the Cabinet Member stated that it was important that this agenda was kept on track to ensure an improved future for the borough.

 

The Cabinet Member noted the activity that had taken place in the previous 15 months and that this reflected cross Cabinet working with the Cabinet Member for Clean Green Croydon working to increase recycling rates in the borough, the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure & Sport’s work on supporting woodlands and the success of being awarded Tree Oscars, and the Cabinet Member for Homes & Gateway Services and her work to improve the energy efficiency of homes across the borough. For his part, the Cabinet Member stated the council had worked to reduce car journeys in the borough and supported the shift to active travel with 26 school streets now introduced.

 

MiattaFahnbulleh, Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation and Chair of the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission, was welcomed to the meeting.

 

The Chair of the Commission informed Members that the original purpose for the Commission was to look at options to rapidly reduce emissions in the borough to achieve the aim of being carbon neutral by 2030 through the use of fair and just changes. It was highlighted that it was important the changes also supported the creation of jobs and protected communities.

 

The impact of the pandemic had highlighted the scale of the crisis facing the country and shone a light on a number of issues including living standards, cuts in the local government funding, and the impact of a natural crisis when there was not action or preparation in place. The challenge now, it was suggested, was how we respond to those structural problems and supported a green recovery but a recovery which escalated the economy and improved living standards.

 

Cabinet was informed that the Commission hoped to have a first draft of the ambitions and recommendations by the end of the month, after which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78/20

79/20

Developing Croydon's new Community Safety Strategy pdf icon PDF 300 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Executive Director Place, Shifa Mustafa

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 that it agree to extend the current community safety strategy until the end of calendar year 2021 for the reasons detailed in the report.

Minutes:

This item was taken as the second substantive item at the meeting.

 

The Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities informed Members that it was proposed to extend the Community Safety Strategy until the end of 2021 to allow work to be undertaken to develop a new Strategy.

 

Whilst work on developing a new Strategy had started earlier in the year, this had been put on pause due to the pandemic. It had been planned that a number of groups would have been engaged in developing the Strategy, however it was concluded that it would have been challenging to effectively engage during the lockdown.

 

It was further noted by the Cabinet Member that the pandemic had an impact on community safety and the types of crimes which were being witnessed and it was important that this was taken into account when developing the new Strategy.

 

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities noted that previous iterations of the Community Safety Strategy had been published in March and that consultation had taken place the previous year. As such, the consultation on the new Strategy would have normally taken place in the latter half of 2019 and so before the pandemic. Concerns were raised that by delaying the publication of a new Strategy to spring 2022, the council would be in the pre-election period for the Local Elections and so there would not be an opportunity to scrutinise the new Strategy

 

In response to Member questions, the Cabinet Member stated that one of the main priorities in the development of the new Strategy was to ensure it was aligned with the council’s public health approach to crime. It had been important to ensure thorough research and engagement with all those impacted had been undertaken prior to the publication of a new Strategy and, as such, it had not been possible to develop a new Strategy by March 2020. The Cabinet Member confirmed that the council sought to engage all who were impacted by crime, partners and the Scrutiny & Overview Committee in the development of the new Strategy.

 

Councillor Ward raised concerns that it had been calculated that violent crime had increased by 64% and crime involving a weapon had increased by 49% and that in light of these increases it was stated the current Strategy was not effective and should be replaced sooner rather than later. In response, the Cabinet Member stated that extending the Strategy did not mean that work to tackle crime had been paused and a new Strategy was to be developed which would be in line with the council’s public health approach to violent crime. It was confirmed that the act of extending the Strategy was to reaffirm the council’s priorities for tackling crime and supporting the victims of crime.

 

Further concerns were raised by the Shadow Cabinet Member that the footer in the appendix refers to 14 to 17 when the report was actually 17-20 and that various parts of the report had been copied and pasted,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79/20

80/20

District Centre Prosperity - Purley BID pdf icon PDF 401 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs, Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed

Officer: Executive Director Place, Shifa Mustafa

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 that the Leader delegated authority (5420LR) to the Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources to:

 

·         Consider on behalf of the council as a billing authority, whether the Purley BID proposal conflicts with any formally adopted policy of the Council and, if it does, give notice of this in accordance with the BID Regulations

·         Determine and agree that the council should approve the BID proposal and vote ‘yes’ on the BID ballot

·         Determine and agree that the council can determine the baseline service provision for key services within the Purley BID area for 2020/21 on behalf of Cabinet

·         Agree that the Council formally make arrangements for conducting a BID ballot in accordance with the BID regulations through the Council’s electoral services team (with the ballot day scheduled for Thursday 10th December 2020)

·         Note that in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote atballot:

 

·         That the Council manage as the relevant local billing authority, the billing and collectionof the additional levy, and its transfer to the BID Company, with all costs incurred by the council to be paid by the the BID Company.

 

·         That the Council meet the Council’s obligations in paying the extra BID levy, as a non–domestic ratepayer in the BID area, in accordance with the BID regulations over the life of the BID

 

·         That the Council enter into the key legal agreements with the BID Company regarding the operation of the BID and delivery of Council baselines and that the Executive Director – Place in discussion with the Cabinet Member for Economy and Jobs be given delegated authority to approve the final terms of thoseagreements

 

2.    Note that the above decisions were taken under delegated authority by the Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources on 7 October 2020 (5420EJ).

 

Minutes:

This item was taken as the third substantive item at the meeting.

 

The Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs informed Members that the report asked Cabinet to note the decisions which had been taken under delegated authority and under Special Urgency.

 

Purley BID had been established in 2015 and following its five year term was seeking to continue. It was noted by the Cabinet Member that the BID had worked tirelessly to support businesses in the local area and as such the council would continue to support its work. The ballot was scheduled to take place on 10 December 2020 and work had already begun with ballots having been posted.

 

Due to the economic impact of COVID-19 it was recognised that the BID was more important than ever in supporting the local economy and to further the council’s understanding of the needs of local businesses the Cabinet Member and Chief Executive of the BID would be undertaking a walk around the Purley BID area in November 2020. The ward councillors of the two Purley wards were welcomed to join the walkabout.

 

Simon Cripps, Purley BID Chief Executive, was welcomed to the meeting and thanked the council for its support for the BID. Since its inception five years ago, the BID had delivered over 200 projects to support the local area.

 

One such project had been the Business Rates campaign. It had been noted in 2017 that Purley was heavily impacted by Business Rates, more so than other areas in the region. A campaign was developed and was supported by councillors and the local MP, and in 2018 the Business Rates were reduced.

 

Recently, the BID had supported local businesses to continue trading by providing PPE, screens, posters, marketing and supporting businesses to apply for grants.

 

With the renewal of the BID, three themes had been identified:

·     Destination Purley – which sought to promote and support Purley as a vibrant high street;

·     Access and safety – which included solutions to parking access issues experienced due to two A roads crossing through the centre of Purley and purchasing the services of a private security firm; and

·     Business support – which included reducing the levy from 2% to 1.5%.

 

The BID Chief Executive stated that businesses needed the support of the BID, and whilst it was one of the smallest in the country it was considered to punch above its size.

 

Members thanked the BID Chief Executive for his work and enthusiasm and it was recognised that the BID had been very important to the area in supporting the local economy.

 

Concerns were raised by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs that the council was responsible for enforcing the payment of the BID levy, however enforcement had taken place during the first term which had impacted upon the BID to the extent of £50,000 in lost income. It was further noted by the Shadow Cabinet Member that a collection system had been introduced in 2019 to support the collection of the levy but  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80/20

81/20

Scrutiny Stage 1: Recommendations arising from Scrutiny pdf icon PDF 214 KB

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

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 receive the recommendations arising from meeting of the Children & Young People Sub-Committee held on 15 September 2020, and to provide a substantive response within two months (i.e. at the next available Cabinet meeting on 14 December 2020.

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To receive the recommendations arising from meeting of the Children & Young People Sub-Committee held on 15 September 2020, and to provide a substantive response within two months (i.e. at the next available Cabinet meeting on 14 December 2020.

82/20

Investing in our Borough pdf icon PDF 265 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, Councillor Simon Hall

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 award of contract variation for Managed Service for Temporary Agency Resources contract in accordance with the recommendations set out in the report at agenda item 10a, as set out in section 4.1.1 of the report.

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.    The contracts between £500,000 and £5,000,000 anticipated to be awarded by the nominated Cabinet Member, in consultation with the nominated Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources or, where the nominated Cabinet Member is the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Leader, as set out in section 4.2.1 of the report.

 

2.    The list of delegated award decisions made by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement, between 18/08/2020 – 24/09/2020, as set out in section 4.2.2 of the report.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources informed Cabinet that pre-procurement for the Temporary Agency Staff contract had been due to start, however the pandemic had delayed this. By extending the contract, officers would have the opportunity to properly re-procure this contract and get best value for money. It was noted that this course of action was not the decision the Cabinet Member wanted to present to Cabinet, however it was recognised that it was essential that the council had access to temporary agency staff. The Cabinet Member further drew Members attention to paragraph 3.4 of the report which stated that the trajectory for the usage of agency staffing was going down.

 

The trajectory of spend on the contract was highlighted by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, as it was stated that when the contract was originally let it was for £80million over four years, however this figure had been exceeded with expenditure peeking at £44million a year. It was noted that at a time when the council was having to make redundancies and cuts that spending £25million per year on agency staff would send a negative message to permanent staff.

 

In response the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources stated that agency staff were often specialists and were temporary, however there were numerous reasons for the use of temporary staff. It was stated by the Cabinet Member that it was important that the council continued on the trajectory of utilising temporary staff less to support the development of a stable workforce. By extending the contract it would enable the council to undertake the necessary work to ensure a stable workforce going forward.

 

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Homes & Gateway Services stated that she had concerns that the council was in breach of public contract regulations. Queries were raised as to how contract end dates had been missed as it would have been necessary to assess service needs, best value for money and consult with service users ahead of the end date of a contract to ensure an appropriate new contract was in place in time. Furthermore concerns were raised in relation to the council’s oversight of the finances of the authority given the number of extensions being recommended.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member stated that public administration had always been challenging for all bodies, however the council was experiencing particularly difficulties with the impact of COVID-19 and the financial situation of the council. It had been recognised that there had been insufficient oversight but that work was under way to fix those issues to ensure contracts were properly procured to get best value for money. The Cabinet Member assured Members that officers did seek to achieve best value for money when procuring contracts.

 

The concerns of residents in relation to Purley pool were raised by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure & Sport and the Cabinet Member was asked to ensure that the necessary funds were allocated to support the investment in the pool. In response the Cabinet Member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82/20

82/20a

Variation to the contract for the provision of a Managed Service for Temporary Agency Resources pdf icon PDF 271 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, Councillor Simon Hall

Officer: Executive Director Resources, Jacqueline Harris Baker

Key decision: yes

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Approve the award of a variation to the term of the temporary agency worker contract with Adecco Ltd in accordance with Regulation 30 of the Council’s Tenders and Contracts Regulations for a contract period of up to 24 months for an additional contract value of £50,000,000 bringing the total contract value to £188,000,000.

 

2.    Note that an internal review of the commissioning options will take place by March 2021 and September 2021 to determine the optimum time for the re-procurement of this service and hence extension period required. Officers will present the results of the internal review to CCB and to the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources at the latest March 2021 and, if action not already taken as a result of March 2021 review, at the latest September 2021.

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Approve the award of a variation to the term of the temporary agency worker contract with Adecco Ltd in accordance with Regulation 30 of the Council’s Tenders and Contracts Regulations for a contract period of up to 24 months for an additional contract value of £50,000,000 bringing the total contract value to £188,000,000.

 

2.    Note that an internal review of the commissioning options will take place by March 2021 and September 2021 to determine the optimum time for the re-procurement of this service and hence extension period required. Officers will present the results of the internal review to CCB and to the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources at the latest March 2021 and, if action not already taken as a result of March 2021 review, at the latest September 2021.

83/20

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.