Home > Agenda, decisions and minutes

Agenda, decisions and minutes

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

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

Note: Residents are able to attend this meeting in person, however we recommend that you watch the meeting remotely via the following link: https://webcasting.croydon.gov.uk/meetings/12135 If you would like to attend in person please note that spaces are extremely limited and are allocated on a first come first served basis. If you would like to attend in person please email democratic.services@croydon.gov.uk by 5pm the day prior to the meeting to register your interest. 

Items
No. Item

66/21

Minutes of previous meetings pdf icon PDF 336 KB

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 1 March 2021, 8 March 2021, 22 March 2021 and 12 April 2021 as accurate records.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 1 March 2021, 8 March 2021, 22 March 2021 and 12 April 2021 were agreed.

67/21

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.

68/21

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.

69/21

Investigation into conditions at 1-87 Regina Road, South Norwood and the Housing Service Improvement Plan pdf icon PDF 482 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Homes, Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice

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.            Fully accept the findings of the report of the independent investigation into the housing conditions at 1-87 Regina Road, a council-owned property in South Norwood - the investigation report is attached at Appendix 1 of the report;

 

2.            Recognise that the housing conditions in the affected flats at Regina Road are completely unacceptable and reiterate the Leader’s full apology to the tenants concerned;

 

3.            Note the Council’s response to the conditions at Regina Road: rehousing the tenants affected and responding to other urgent issues identified in the report;

 

4.            Note the Council’s steps to identify whether there are any issues at other council-owned high-rise blocks of flats, and the  steps to resolve any problems identified;

 

5.            Adopt the Council’s initial action plan for the housing service;

 

6.            Note that a wider review of the Council’s housing services, including delivery of the repairs service, will be conducted and will consider how the Council fully involves its tenants and leaseholders, both in terms of responding to issues raised and in the co-design and co-delivery of services;

 

7.            Note the exercise of delegated authority by the Council’s Chief Executive under Part 4J 3.3 paragraph 2 of the council’s Constitution to appoint an Interim Executive Director of Housing for an initial period of six months to bring additional capacity to provide new leadership and direction for the housing service, conduct a review of the wider housing service, and lead the development and implementation of a longer-term Housing Improvement Plan for the service. This will be reviewed after six months by the Appointments Committee in accordance with the council’s Constitution.

 

8.            Agree to the establishment of an independently-chaired Housing Improvement Board, the membership of which will include council tenants and leaseholders, and independent housing experts, to oversee the development and implementation of the Housing Improvement Plan;

 

9.            Delegate authority to the Interim Executive Director of Place in consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes to agree the final membership and constitution of the Housing Improvement Board together with its Terms of Reference;

 

10.         Note that, in accordance with their delegated authority, the Chief Executive will consider, in consultation with the Director of Human Resources, what, if any, investigation is required to be undertaken in accordance with its agreed staff policies and procedures;

 

11.         Fully welcome the recommendations of the Social Housing White Paper 'The Charter for Social Housing Residents', in particular the focus on the importance of treating residents with respect and ensuring the voices of tenants and leaseholders are heard;

 

12.         Note that the report of the investigation and the Council’s initial action plan will be shared with the Tenants and Leaseholders Panel, Housing Scrutiny Panel, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Croydon’s Improvement and Assurance Panel, the Regulator of Social Housing and the Local Government Association; and

 

13.         Note that a report will be made to  ...  view the full decision text for item 69/21

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) reflected that the investigators report had provided very clear analysis of both the circumstances which had arisen at Regina Road, but also their impression of the Housing service as a whole. It was noted that it was wholly unacceptable that a minor defect had been allowed to grow into a major problem which had risked the health and safety and had significantly impact resident’s quality of life for four years.

 

The investigators, it was noted, had identified a range of issues across operational teams within the council; including repairs, asset management and tenancy management and to some extent the council’s contractor. There was no one reason why the repair work had been left to become a major issue; rather the report listed a number of areas of concern: lack of capacity and competency of staff, poor culture with a lack of care and respect for tenants, systemic problems in how the council communicated and dealt with tenants complaints, weak performance management and poor use of data and intelligence by both the council and contractor.

 

Furthermore, the Leader noted that the investigators report spoke of a service which was reactive, inward looking, demonstrated outmoded culture and attitude towards tenants, stigmatised tenants, was unresponsive to concerns raised by tenants, councillors or MPs and a lack of information. This had led to opportunities to prevent what was happening being missed repeatedly and the failure to deliver a basic housing service effectively.

 

The Leader advised that the council had made self-referrals to both the Health & Safety Executive and the Regulator for Social Housing. Their judgements had been published and it was stated that the council had been found in breach of regulations.

 

In light of the terrible conditions experienced and the investigators findings, the Leader stated that existing practices were to end. It was stressed that the status quo could not be permitted to continue and everyone in the council was focussed on ensuring that change took place.

 

Members were informed that the report provided a number of updates to Cabinet; including the work which had been undertaken in relation to 1-87 Regina Road and similar housing, action taken to provide assurance of the conditions at similar housing blocks, updates on actions which had been taken to respond to the recommendations of the investigators, planned work to review, investigate and improve the Housing service and how the council would involve the most important people, tenants, in its work going forward.

 

The Leader informed Members that the council was undertaking surveys of all the other blocks, filling vacancies in key areas including repairs, gas servicing and resident engagement, a wide review of the Housing service was underway and an externally led board would be established to support the ongoing improvement work within the service and the wider council.

 

Central to all of the work, the Leader stated, was the experience of tenants and she informed Members that the most concerning discovery had been lived experience of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69/21

70/21

Ongoing Review of Brick by Brick Croydon Ltd and associated matters relating to the company pdf icon PDF 269 KB

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell & Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk, Chris Buss

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 that the Council recognises the costs of the Fairfield Halls refurbishment, being a total of £69.261 million (as identified in Appendix 1 of the report), as capital expenditure rather than as a Capital Loan and to:

 

                  i.    Agree, in principle, that the existing Fairfield Halls refurbishment contracts with Brick by Brick be novated to the Council (subject to review of the individual contracts, to be finalised and authorised by the Interim Executive Director of Place under their delegated authority); and

 

                ii.    Agree, in principle, that specialist consultants or contractors, required to identify any additional remedial works to the building, be appointed (in accordance with the Council’s Tenders and Contracts Regulations).

 

2.           Approve that the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) can acquire 104 residential units from Brick by Brick as set out in Appendix 2 of the report and as further detailed in the Part B restricted report.

 

3.           Agree that the consolidated loan agreement shall, if required, be varied to include a further loan draw down amount of up to £10 million to cover additional working capital, in the event that this is required by Brick by Brick due to possible delays with forecast sales receipts (this is in addition to the £9.99m agreed by Cabinet in February 2021) and agree that authority be given to the Interim Chief Executive in consultation with the interim Director of Finance, Insurance and Risk and Section 151 officer and in consultation with the Leader and the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal and Cabinet Member for Resources and Financial Governance; to agree such draw down sums (not exceeding the overall additional £10m) as appropriate to address immediate operational needs. 

 

4.           To note that any recommendation to acquire further units or other assets from Brick by Brick, and that any such acquisition of units to be within existing capital budget provision and meet the affordability criteria, should return to Cabinet for decision.

 

5.           Otherwise note the progress made with regard to the previous February 2021 Cabinet recommendations on Brick by Brick.

 

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) informed Members that the report provided an update following the decisions made by Cabinet in February 2021, but did not include a final decision on the future of the company as that would be considered at a future meeting of Cabinet. It was noted that the report principally sought agreement in terms of how the council accounted for the costs of the Fairfield Halls refurbishment, agreement to acquire 104 homes for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and approve an additional £10 million as working capital for Brick by Brick; should it be necessary.

 

It was further noted that the report sought to address the concerns raised by the external auditor in their Report in the Public Interest (RIPI) in terms of the purchase of homes from Brick by Brick which had initially been discussed by Cabinet in June 2020. Appendix 2 of the report, it was stated, sought to address the concerns; in particular in relation to the circular nature of the funding, and set out why the council felt the purchase of the homes was an appropriate decision.

 

The Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk (Chris Buss) drew Members attention to the appendices; appendix 2 Members were advised focussed on the purchase of 104 units and provided an extensive explanation on the officers view that the acquisition, via the use of the Greater London Authority (GLA) funding and the HRA, was the best option. Members were requested to read and seriously consider the detail provided within the appendix when making a decision on whether to purchase the homes.

 

Members were advised that the figures in relation to the overall spend on Fairfield Halls were incorrect within the report and the Interim Director advised that the breakdown of expenditure was; Fairfield Halls - £61.7 million, car park - £4.2 million, public realm - £3.2 million , and Fairfield homes - £4.2 million. The overall expenditure, it was stated, remained the same at £73.3 million. Members were further advised that the overall loan and interest owed to the council following accounting adjustments was £161,566,688 and that this figure included the £73.3 million spent on Fairfield Halls which was recommended to be reclassified as capital expenditure.

 

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) stated that in principle he supported the recommendations but sought clarification in terms of the loan agreement, which he felt was desirable for both the council and Brick by Brick and would account for all monies loaned to the company. It was noted that the original agreements had assumed a debt/equity ratio of 75/25 which it was known had not been met. The Cabinet Member queried how the total loan for Fairfield Halls and wider Brick by Brick loans had been determined and what due diligence had been undertaken to ensure those values were correct. Further queries related to whether the Brick by Brick Directors accepted the allocations and what monitoring would be put in place to ensure the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70/21

71/21

Libraries Public Consultation Phase Two - Options for cost savings in libraries provision in the borough pdf icon PDF 709 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration, Councillor Oliver Lewis

Officer: Interim Executive Director Place, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: yes

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To commence the second phase of public consultation on proposed changes to the Libraries service from the following options:

·                 Reduce service hours by 21% across the borough

·                 Outsource all libraries

·                 Hybrid – reduction in service hours (two days per week) to eight libraries and five community run libraries

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration (Councillor Oliver Lewis) noted that the last year had been a difficult time for Croydon and its libraries but stated that throughout that time the council had listened to residents and had tried to prevent library closures. To that end, the Cabinet Member was pleased to announce that the option to close libraries had been removed and that the report set out investment of £1.8 million of Community Infrastructure Levy monies in libraries, including a new library in South Norwood and investment in the libraries which were part the focus on the consultation.

 

Phase Two of the consultation included options of 21% reduction in hours across the service, an outsourcing model and a hybrid model. The full details on the options were set out in the report which asked Cabinet for approval to move to the next phase of the consultation.

 

It was highlighted by the Cabinet Member that a resident of Shirley, Andy Bebbington, had raised that the table within the appendix included the population of the ward the library was located but that libraries provided a service to more than one ward. Furthermore clarity was provided by the Cabinet Member that the £500,000 savings were required within 2022/23 financial year and not 2021/22, as set out in the report.

 

The Interim Executive Director Place (Sarah Hayward) highlighted that a huge amount of work had been undertaken by officers and residents to bring forward a report to go to the next phase of consultation.

 

It was noted by the Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed) that the report evidenced that the council had actively engaged with residents despite a period of national lockdown. It was highlighted that outsourcing the service would achieve the required savings, but not during the current financial year and questions were asked as to the implications of the options. Further questions were asked about community run libraries as it was noted that the feedback from residents of Broad Green was that the library was well used by the BAME community.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration stated that should the council proceed with outsourcing the services through a partnership agreement then the full revenue savings would be achieved. In terms of community engagement, the Cabinet Member stressed that he hoped that the council could work closely with the communities in the borough; regardless of the final option agreed upon as it was recognised that there was a great amount of value of involving residents in the library service it was hoped that better outcomes for residents could be achieved.

 

It was noted by the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) that the report set out that the preferred option, in terms of outsourcing, was a social enterprise or charitable organisation but sought clarification that commercial enterprises would be entitled to participate in the procurement process. Furthermore, the Cabinet Member raised concerns that the country was still operating under Covid-19 restrictions and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71/21

72/21

Financial Performance Report - Period 11 pdf icon PDF 258 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 £67.2m for the full year as at the end of Month 11, February 2021 which includes all projected COVID-19 related expenditure and income of £40.9m, a net  decrease of £1.9m from  Period 10, see section 3 of the report. 

 

2.         Note that a number of risks may materialise which have been previously reported which would see the variance increase. These include dividends and interest receivable from Brick By Brick (both historic accrued and in-year expectations) of £20.6m, 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 £67.2m is an increased overspend to £93.8m, 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:

It was noted by the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) that the report was the second monthly financial report to go to Cabinet and formed part of the increased financial rigour within the council to ensure Members were kept abreast of the finances of the authority. The report provided the situation in February 2021 and provided details of a confirmed overspend of £67.2 million which represented an improvement of almost £2 million since the previous report to Cabinet. The Cabinet Member noted that all of the movement was at a departmental budget level which was a positive step.

 

The use of the Spending Control Panel remained important and it was felt that the Panel was having a positive impact but that it was stressed that it was important that the council moved to challenging spend even where budgets exist to ensure where there was spend it was a necessary expenditure.

 

Members were informed that at section 3.1 of the report there was an error as it referred to when the Secretary of State may confirm the capitalisation direction whereas that confirmation had been received and approved and so the Section 114 Notice no longer applied.

 

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) noted that the Spending Control Panel was a good tool to manage spending more effectively but noted that the report did not provide a disaggregate of the figures. In response, the Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk (Chris Buss) confirmed that those figures would be provided in future reports. The Interim Director noted that of the risks identified in the report that the interest on the Brick by Brick loans would materialise, but that he did not envisage the rest coming to fruition and from having had early sight of the outturn he was hopeful that all the risks, including the additional money for Brick by Brick, would be manageable within the £70 million capitalisation direction.

 

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Jason Cummings) stated that this was a rare occasion where overspend had gone down from a previous report and was welcomed, but noted that the overspend remained over £67 million. It was further highlighted by the Shadow Cabinet Member that £400,000 of the almost £2 million improvement had come from over performance of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) and queries whether Cabinet Members were comfortable generating money from residents and businesses.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member confirmed that whilst the overspend had decreased the overall picture remained bleak. The Cabinet Member reflected that over 50% of PCNs were issued to drivers who lived outside the borough and so stressed that it was incorrect to suggest that the charges were impacting mainly residents. Furthermore, it was highlighted that there was an independent appeal process should a driver feel the PCN was not correctly issued, but that for over 80% of the appeals the council’s case was being upheld. The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Muhammad Ali) added that there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72/21

73/21

Fees & Charges 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 677 KB

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

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

Key decision: no

Additional documents:

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.            To approve the fees and charges set out in Appendix 1 of the report;

 

2.            Note that the charging policy for Adult Social Care has been amended with effect from 12 April 2021 under delegated authority as set out in paragraph 3.13 of the report;

 

3.            To note that a report will be brought to Full Council reviewing the process and delegations for setting fees and charges;

 

4.            To note that work is being undertaken to reconfigure the way fees and charges are presented on the council website so that they are presented in a user-friendly way that ensures they are easy to find in relation to each area of business and that enables customers to progress transactions easily;

 

5.            To note that further increases to fees and charges will be brought forward for decision as proposals are developed; and

 

6.            To have due regard to the equalities impact assessment at Appendix 2 of the report in making the decisions set out in these recommendations.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) informed Cabinet that most increases detailed in the report were to cover inflation, with a couple being catch-up increases following a period of no change. It was noted that the last review had taken place in 2018 and good practice was to review fees and charges on an annual basis. In this regard, the Cabinet Member reflected that there were elements of poor practice within the council which had come to light as part of the review and were being addressed; such as ensuring charges covered overheads and not just direct costs. Furthermore, it was suggested that payment in advance should be the default position, where possible, to ensure the fees were collected before a service was delivered.

 

It was further stated by the Cabinet Member that improvements would be made in the residents experience; including the details of the fees and charges being more easily identifiable on the council’s website.

 

It was noted that not all charges were included within the report; such as licensing charges would be considered by the Licensing Committee and that a further review was underway with a subsequent report to Cabinet due later in the municipal year.

 

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Muhammad Ali) queried whether benchmarking had taken place against other London councils. In response, the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal confirmed the council was comparing its fees and charges compared to other councils. It was recognised that more benchmarking was required across the council and was only able to charge a fee which recovered the cost of the service and as such the proposed changes were only to recover costs and were not to generate profits. The Finance Consultant (Ian O’Donnell) confirmed that he had spoken to the responsible officers and that the majority were undertaking benchmarking exercises. Furthermore, he had undertaken a benchmarking review against those charges which were published on council’s websites and following that exercise he was able to confirm that the council was broadly charging what other authorities were charging. It was reiterated that the law restricts the council from making a profit and the council could only charge up to the amount it cost to provide the service.

 

Concerns were raised by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Andy Stranack) that the proposed increases would impact the voluntary sector and noted that the charge to hire sport pitches was proposed to be increased by 15% which may lead to local football clubs suffering from financial difficulties. In response, the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal stated that it was difficult to understand why the Opposition felt that an elderly resident should subsidise activities such as a developer’s street naming costs. It was reiterated that the charges were to recover costs only and suggested that those involved in using the Purley Way football pitch would understand that the charge was meet the full costs of using the pitch. 

 

The Leader of the Council delegated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73/21

74/21

Croydon Renewal Community Engagement pdf icon PDF 245 KB

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell

Key Decision: no

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.         Agree the proposals for a series of resident webinars to provide information on the Croydon Renewal improvement plan, the actions being taken by the Council, and to answer questions and receive feedback from residents;

 

2.         Note that a review is currently underway in relation to the Council’s Get Involved platform, which supports consultation and engagement with residents;

 

3.         Establish a Citizens e-Panel as detailed in paragraphs 5.10 - 5.15 of the report to form a representatives and retained sample of residents to inform Council decision making as part of the Croydon Renewal Plan; and

 

4.         Authorise the Interim Chief Executive to finalise the arrangements for a Citizens e-Panel, including terms of reference and membership, and undertake Equality Impact Assessment and complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment, prior to implementation, as necessary.

 

Minutes:

The Leader (Councillor Hamida Ali) noted that the report updated Members on work undertaken following discussions at the February 2021 Cabinet meeting; in particular in relation to the establishment of a Community Panel to support the delivery of the Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan in addition to the work of the Improvement & Assurance Panel. The Community Panel sought to provide a facility to speak directly with residents to ensure the council was communicating widely on the work it was progressing and to hear residents’ perspectives. It was reported that more outward reaching approaches to engaging with residents were proposed; with webinars which encouraged residents to share their views on the improvement work and to establish an online Citizens Panel to support the development of an ongoing relationship with residents.

 

The Interim Chief Executive (Katherine Kerswell) advised Members that the report should have included a reference to the considerable amount of engagement which takes place with children and young people in the borough and that the work on engaging in the public on the Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan could feed into that engagement as it was recognised they were the future of the borough. The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning (Councillor Alisa Flemming) welcomed the Interim Chief Executive’s comments and noted that the Choose Your Future platform may be a good option.

 

The Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration (Councillor Oliver Lewis) noted that it would be important to ensure the engagement work reached beyond the usual suspects and engaged with residents who did not ordinarily participate in those conversations. In response, the Leader stated that the intention of going beyond the proposals discussed in February was to ensure it was an open discussion with residents and engaged with more than the usual resident groups.

 

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed) further confirmed that the membership of the Citizen Panel would be an open process and that panel members would need to be representative of the whole community of Croydon.

 

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

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.         Agree the proposals for a series of resident webinars to provide information on the Croydon Renewal improvement plan, the actions being taken by the Council, and to answer questions and receive feedback from residents;

 

2.         Note that a review is currently underway in relation to the Council’s Get Involved platform, which supports consultation and engagement with residents;

 

3.         Establish a Citizens e-Panel as detailed in paragraphs 5.10 - 5.15 of the report to form a representatives and retained sample of residents to inform Council decision making as part of the Croydon Renewal Plan; and

 

4.         Authorise the Interim Chief Executive to finalise the arrangements for a Citizens e-Panel, including terms of reference and membership, and undertake Equality Impact Assessment and complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment, prior to implementation, as necessary.

 

75/21

Stage 1: Recommendations arising from Scrutiny pdf icon PDF 212 KB

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

Officers: 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 receive the recommendations arising from meeting of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee held on 30 March 2021 and the Children & Young People Sub-Committee held on 20 April 2021, and to provide a substantive response within two months (i.e. at the next available Cabinet meeting on 5 July 2021).

Minutes:

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 Scrutiny & Overview Committee held on 30 March 2021 and the Children & Young People Sub-Committee held on 20 April 2021, and to provide a substantive response within two months (i.e. at the next available Cabinet meeting on 5 July 2021).

76/21

Stage 2: Response to Recommendations arising from Scrutiny & Overview Committee held on 16 February 2021 pdf icon PDF 209 KB

Cabinet Member: All Cabinet Members

Officers: 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 the response and action plans attached to the report at Appendix A and that these be reported to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee or relevant Sub-Committees.

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To approve the response and action plans attached to the report at Appendix A and that these be reported to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee or relevant Sub-Committees.

77/21

Investing in our Borough pdf icon PDF 176 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:

 

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 5.1.1 of the report; and

 

2.    The list of delegated award decisions made by theDirector of Commissioning and Procurement, between 17/03/2021 – 06/04/2021, as set out in section 5.1.2 of the report.

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED: To note

 

1.    The 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 5.1.1 of the report; and

 

2.    The list of delegated award decisions made by theDirector of Commissioning and Procurement, between 17/03/2021 – 06/04/2021, as set out in section 5.1.2 of the report.

78/21

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.

79/21

Ongoing Review of Brick by Brick Croydon Ltd and associated matters relating to the company

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell & Interim Director of Finance, Investment & Risk, Chris Buss

Key Decision: yes

Minutes:

The discussion of the report and decisions were held in Part A (minute reference 70/21).