Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2021 as an accurate record.

The Part A minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 18 October 2021 were agreed. The Leader of the Council signed the minutes as an accurate record.

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.

There were none.

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.

There were no items of urgent business.

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery, Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To recommend to Full Council the adoption of the Community Safety Strategy, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety and Business Recovery (Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed) introduced the report which would recommend to Council, subject to Cabinet approval, the adoption of the new Community Safety Strategy. She outlined the strategy, praised the coordination of partners and identified the key themes. Lastly, she welcomed the new Director of Culture & Community Safety officer, Kristian Aspinall.

In response to Members questions, the Interim Corporate Director of Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery (Sarah Hayward) firstly stated that local councillors would be part of discussions in concord with the boards and action point plans as part of the planned further engagement. In terms of female safety, there had been ongoing work with the Family Justice Centre who recently completed a survey of 500 young people women in schools to hear their views on safety in preparation for Mayors Office of Policing and Crime(MOPAC) funding. LB Hammersmith & Fulham received similar funding and Croydon was learning from their experience.

In relation to a point raised in relation to a new safety focus in the Thornton Heath area, Superintendent Andy Brittain stated that the borough of Croydon was a large area and there was now an increase from one to two inspectors for the whole borough. Knife Crime remained a priority for Croydon; approaches included community engagement, in addition to enforcement strategies and extending their more focussed work from New Addington to Thornton Heath. They were looking to strengthen the ward panel structures and for those to be more representative of the community.

In response to Member concerns raised around women’s safety and the night time economy, Superintendent Andy Brittain told Cabinet that the Metropolitan Police Service (MET) had just launched the Street Safe app. He explained the app was to log incidents that may not reach the threshold to formally report a crime and allowed users to pin on a map where incidents occurred. To date since the launch there had been 1,500 reports across London. Secondly, he stated that Croydon had a dedicated team who supported issues with cohesion and safety arising from the night time economy and were on-call 24/7. Additionally, they were sharing training around the borough on ‘Ask Angela’, which was a code phrase for women to use in venues to be safely removed from a dangerous situation in a public setting.

Members raised the following points:

·         The council’s licensing powers and conditions for spiking and needle assaults needed to be reviewed.

·         The community was worried about crime, particularly knife crime, and antisocial behaviour. The Labour Administration had made that a priority to address.

·         National government funding for policing had decreased since 2010 which had consequences today.

·         The strategy was positive piece of work and enhanced the focus on the Public Health approach.

·         The council and health services could learn from successful police and community support operations and practices.

·         It was noted this work had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic

The following points were clarified:

·         High priority neighbourhoods, as detailed in the report, would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 154/21

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Resources, Richard Ennis

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To

1.    Approve the establishment of the Brick by Brick Shareholder Cabinet Advisory Board (the “Advisory Board”) for the purposes and with the responsibilities described in the report.

2.    Approve the appointment of the Leader (Chair), Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance and Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal to the Advisory Board, with other invited attendees as described in the report.

3.    Approve the Terms of Reference for the Advisory Board set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

4.    Approve the process for appointment and removal of directors from the Brick By Brick board of Directors in accordance with paragraph 3.14 of the report; and delegate authority to Corporate Director of Resources & Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal and Chief Executive on appointments and removals of Directors of the board of Brick by Brick Croydon Ltd, who shall have authority to exercise shareholder functions on behalf of the Council to approve such appointments and removals (any such appointments or removals shall be notified as part of the next scheduled report to Cabinet).

5.    Delegate to the members of the Advisory Board the authority to exercise limited shareholder functions on behalf of the Council when making recommendations to Brick By Brick relating to risk in accordance with paragraph 3.8 (recognising, however, that Brick By Brick shall make its own independent decisions).

The Leader (Councillor Hamida Ali) introduced the report which made recommendations for more refined strategic oversight, supervision and monitoring to ensure good governance practice in relation to Brick By Brick. She stated that this followed recommendations from the Report in the Public Interest (RIPI) and the approval at 26 July Cabinet to establish the Croydon Companies’ Supervision and Monitoring Panel (CCSMP); a group which would solely monitor Brick by Brick.

Members raised the following points:

·         The formalisation and clarity of these arrangements was positive, including that the Panel would only compromise of elected Members.

·         The establishment of the Panel and its arrangements reflected positively on responding to and delivering the RIPI recommendations.

The Leader of the Opposition (Councillor Jason Perry) raised concern over the CCSMP membership not being cross-party and expressed his view this did not represent the transparency and openness that the Administration professed as the Panel’s considerations would not be exposed to challenge. He additionally stated that this implementation was too little action and taken too late.  In response, the Leader of the Council disagreed and stated that the Panel would ensure the delivery of Brick by Brick; bring genuinely afford housing to Croydon and return value from the company back to taxpayers. She stated that any decisions arising from the Panel would be reported to Cabinet where the Opposition would have the opportunity to share their views.

A Member asked if all the required finance papers, as set out in the terms of reference as a requisite for the Shareholder & Investment Board, which set out the status of the loans, repayments and dividends had always been provided for consideration. The Interim Corporate Director of Resources and Section 115 Officer (Richard Ennis) replied that he would look into this information request outside of the meeting. The Interim Director of Commercial Investment (Peter Mitchell) stated that there had been good cooperation from the Brick by Brick Directors in providing the monthly financial updates and going forward the Panel would be set up with even greater transparency, moving from ad hoc reporting to Cabinet, to a regular planned item in the forward plan. It was confirmed that the Panel held no decision making powers.

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

RESOLVED: To

1.    Approve the establishment of the Brick by Brick Shareholder Cabinet Advisory Board (the “Advisory Board”) for the purposes and with the responsibilities described in the report.

2.    Approve the appointment of the Leader (Chair), Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance and Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal to the Advisory Board, with other invited attendees as described in the report.

3.    Approve the Terms of Reference for the Advisory Board set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

4.    Approve the process for appointment and removal of directors from the Brick By Brick board of Directors in accordance with paragraph 3.14 of the report; and delegate authority to Corporate Director of Resources & Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 155/21

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Resources, Richard Ennis

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To

1.    Note that BBB has not needed to call upon the additional £10m working capital facility that was requested within July 2021 Cabinet Report.

2.    Note that the Council has now shared a draft Protocol with Brick by Brick on the disposal of 5 out of 6 sites that were approved for disposal in the July 2021 Brick by Brick Cabinet report and this is close to being finalised so that the assets can be progressed to be marketed. Details are provided within section 4 of the report.

3.    Note the change in consideration on the Belgrave & Grosvenor site, as detailed in Section 4 of the report in order that a detailed due diligence and assessment of regeneration opportunities for the site can be carried out for the benefit of the Council. Further approval will be sought from Cabinet in the event that the outcome of the assessment favours development rather than disposing the site.

4.    Note the progress being made on repayment of the loan as advised within the confidential Part B, Appendix 1, of the report. As at end of August 2021, it is envisaged that the Company will pay £139m back to the Council against an outstanding loan balance of £161m.

5.    Note that, in accordance with the February and July Cabinet reports, sales receipts have been recycled by Brick by Brick and to total of £17.18m

6.    Note that (if approved) the Governance and Performance monitoring of Brick by Brick will be carried out under Brick by Brick Shareholder Cabinet Advisory Board (the “Advisory Board”) as advised by the Governance of Brick By Brick Croydon Ltd report also being presented at the same Cabinet as this report.

The Leader (Councillor Hamida Ali) introduced the report which outlined the progress update for Brick by Brick, in relation to papers previously considered by Cabinet earlier in the year. These progress updates would also be monitored monthly by the Croydon Companies’ Supervision and Monitoring Panel (CCSMP).

Cabinet Members noted the following:

·         The expertise of recent officer appointments was positive for the organisation.

·         The case for the Belgrave and Grosvenor site would need to be compelling, supported with evidence, for the use if not a disposal. This site would be discussed in detail at the next Advisory Board, as detailed in the report.

·         It was positive that the council did not need to call upon the additional £10m working capital facility that was requested within the July 2021 Cabinet Report.

Shadow Cabinet Members stated the following:

·         The loan figure in the report of £161 million did not include that associated with Fairfield Halls, which the Member claimed would reflect an actual figure of £240 million.

·         Confirmation was asked if any of the Brick by Brick sites in the report were sold to the company for a profit and not given for free or essentially no cost.

The Leader confirmed that any transfer of land was only completed on the basis that the land did not hold positive value. The Interim Director of Commercial Investment added that on previous land transfers to Brick by Brick the sites were aiming to deliver 50% affordable homes, adding that was a packaged approach to transfer value.

In response to Members, the Monitoring Officer (John Jones) stated that commercial sensitivity was determined ahead of report publication and Cabinet could later decide if any information could be openly released.

The Cabinet moved the recommendation to Exclude the Press and Public (minute no. 161/21) to discuss the Part B report. The Cabinet made the decisions below in Part A following the discussion in Part B.

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

RESOLVED: To

1.    Note that BBB has not needed to call upon the additional £10m working capital facility that was requested within July 2021 Cabinet Report.

2.    Note that the Council has now shared a draft Protocol with Brick by Brick on the disposal of 5 out of 6 sites that were approved for disposal in the July 2021 Brick by Brick Cabinet report and this is close to being finalised so that the assets can be progressed to be marketed. Details are provided within section 4 of the report.

3.    Note the change in consideration on the Belgrave & Grosvenor site, as detailed in Section 4 of the report in order that a detailed due diligence and assessment of regeneration opportunities for the site can be carried out for the benefit of the Council. Further approval will be sought from Cabinet in the event that the outcome of the assessment favours development rather than disposing the site.

4.    Note the progress being made on repayment of the loan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 156/21

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

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Resources, Richard Ennis

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To

1.    Note the General Fund is projecting a net adverse movement of £0.685m from Period 5. Service departments are indicating a £4.050m overspend (Month 5 £3.365m) with this being netted of as in the past five months against release of a one off Covid Grant (£3.451m released = 31% of the grant) confirmed to Croydon Council for 21/22 by MHCLG as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement;

2.    Note that a further number of risks and compensating opportunities may materialise which would see the forecast year-end variance change and these are reported within Section 3 of the report. Should these risks materialise or the mitigations not be effective the Council could overspend by £11.063m (Month 5 £7.814m);

3.    Note the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is projecting a £0.733m (Month 5 £0.742m) overspend for 2021/22. If no further mitigations are found to reduce this overspend the HRA will need to drawdown reserves from HRA balances which at the moment there are sufficient balances to cover this;

4.    Note the capital spend to date for the General Fund of £11.402m (against a budget of £138.688m) and for the HRA of £7.633m (against a budget of £183.209m), with a projected forecast variance of £48.758m on the general fund against budget and £86.220m forecast variance against budget for the housing revenue account;

5.    Note, the above figures are predicated on forecasts from Month 7 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.

6.    Note that whilst the Section 114 notice has formally been lifted, 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 directly 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 twice daily basis.

7.    Note that the Council has received a one off financial support of £2.36m from Government to help cover the pressures related to Unaccompanied Asylum seeking Children (UASC) and care leavers, which means the Council still funds £1.615m of pressures post the Grant support.

8.    Note that in addition to the UASC pressures, Croydon Borough has taken on c1000 asylum seekers who have been placed in eight hotels by the Home Office. The hotel costs are funded by the Home Office, however the Council will be responsible for further ancillary services particularly around safeguarding, public health, children & youth provision and broader community support. These additional costs, which are being worked out and have been flagged within unquantified risks, could result in further pressures for the Council.

9.    Note the Council has been advised it will receive £1.517m one off Homelessness Prevention Grant (Covid winter pressures)  ...  view the full decision text for item 157/21

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) introduced the report which signified the year mid-point of the financial year. He highlighted the following:

·         There had been a departmental focus of savings which had resulted in underspends in Adult’s and Children’s.

·         The risk of non-delivery of the savings from the Medium Term financial Strategy Savings (MTFS) for year 2021/22 was at the lowest point to date.

·         He stated that the mid-point of the financial year was an appropriate time to review all of the MTFS savings for 2021/22 and ensure the robustness of assessments set out in the Period 6 report. He stated that Cabinet wrote to the Chief Executive asking for this review, to provide maximum confidence in the council’s ability to deliver the savings programme.

·         Spend against the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital programmes had forecast a £135 million underspend. These underspends represented a positive step to decrease spending across departments.

·         He noted that as the winter approached that pressures would increase resulting in increased service demands and challenges across the organisation.

Headline changes for Period 6 (since Period 5):

·         Period 6 reflected an adverse £3 million, which was not present in Period 5, due to the reforecasting of parking income.

·         The net quantified risks had risen by £ 2 million, now sitting at a total of £10 million. Risk mitigations had been identified and were now at their highest at £12 million, which sufficiently covered that risk.

Cabinet Members commented that these were challenging times and there was clear evidence that the council was trying to live within its means and the culture change was materialising, whilst accepting there was progress still to be made.

In response to the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal raising that £2.5 million of quantified risks had emerged from Adult Social Care, the Acting Corporate Director Adult Social Care & Health (Annette McPartland) stated that the council had recently had confirmation they would receive continued Covid-19 funding. Due to the late notification, the forecasted winter pressures did not account for that financial support. The numbers in the next monthly report, Period 7, would improve to reflect the funding. Additionally, she added that the council was waiting for the outcome from a Judicial Review in December which could potentially bring pressures and would be reflected in the next reporting.

In response to questions from Members, the following was clarified:

·         In relation to Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children (UASC), it was stated that the council was not properly or sustainably funded to match the demand in the borough compared to other authorities, however the Administration welcomed the one-off payment nevertheless.  This sentiment held cross party consensus.

·         In relation to the improved performance since the previous mid-year assessments and claims that it resulted from the additional government lending received in that period, it was stated that the improvement was also based on the savings programme. There was a significant amount of additional Covid-related demand to the council during that time, to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 157/21

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Assistant Chief Executive, Elaine Jackson

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To

1.            Review the Finance, Performance & Risk report (Appendix A of the report) as of 30 September 2021 with regard to overall performance against the Croydon Renewal Plan.  Note areas of good performance and those of concern.

2.            Note the progress made, and areas of concern, against programmes and projects in relation to milestones, deliverables and issues.

3.            Note the progress made against savings and growth targets as identified in the Croydon Renewal Plan. More detail on this area can be found in Table 2a of the Financial Monitoring Report also being presented at this Cabinet meeting.

4.            Identify areas of performance within the FPR report (Appendix A in the report) where they require deeper analysis to be presented at a future Cabinet for discussion and action.

5.            Note the recommendations of the LGA as to the content of future reports.

6.            Agree to the reporting frequency of this report to Cabinet be moved from monthly to bi-monthly.

7.            Review the request for the amendment / deletion of three performance measures within the framework.

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) introduced the report, which demonstrated and outlined the organisation’s health and risk using 149 indicators. These measures were evolving and becoming more refined using the ongoing reporting to Cabinet and review by the Local Government Association (LGA). She noted that since the last report, there had been a 5% reduction in green indicators.

Members welcomed the regular reporting however expressed concern that one-third of measures were marked as red risk. A headline concern was the organisational health in that there was a high number of interim or vacant senior officers, a growing staff turnover, increasing staff sickness and rising agency costs. In response, it was explained that this was transparent and wide ranging reporting which highlighted the pressures of the organisation in the past 12 months and the impact on the workforce. Going forward, it would be investment, redesign of the council and recruitment of permanent teams to join the Chief Executive (Katherine Kerswell) would provide the leadership required.

Members raised that planning application targets were not being met and there was no clear explanation to those shortfalls and secondly asked for an update on Croydon’s plans for being the Borough of Culture 2023. In response, the Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration (Councillor Oliver Lewis) firstly stated that in the past year local authorities had seen an increase in planning applications as a result of people working from home. Croydon had increased their recruitment drive in the department and the Administration was keen to promote development and progress in the borough. Secondly, he replied that there was a significant amount work taking place in preparation for the Borough of Culture 2023. He mentioned that this achievement marked a long journey since the Conservative were holding the Administration and closed theatres and damaged the reputation and relationships with the cultural sector.

Members raised concern over the housing stock conditions statistics and resulting impact on residents. In response, the Cabinet Member for Homes (Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice) stated that any issues should be immediately reported to Housing officers and it was not acceptable for any resident to live in poor conditions. There was new management and other mitigations in place to ensure improvement of the service as a council priority.

In response to Members stating there were no indicators which covered community safety, the Leader of the Council said that following agreement of the Community Safety Strategy at December 2021 Council, they would look to embed some areas of the Strategy within the ongoing reporting.

It was agreed by Cabinet that recommendation 6 would be amended to say that the reporting frequency of this report to Cabinet be moved to bi-monthly, instead of monthly.

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

RESOLVED: To

1.            Review the Finance, Performance & Risk report (Appendix A of the report) as of 30 September 2021 with regard to overall performance against the Croydon Renewal Plan.  Note areas of good performance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 158/21

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Monitoring Officer, John Jones

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To receive the recommendations arising from the meetings of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee held on 17 August and 20 September 2021 and the meetings of the Streets, Environment & Homes Sub-Committee on 16 March and 13 July and to provide a substantive response within two months (i.e. at the next available Cabinet meeting on 24 January 2022).

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

RESOLVED: To receive the recommendations arising from the meetings of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee held on 17 August and 20 September 2021 and the meetings of the Streets, Environment & Homes Sub-Committee on 16 March and 13 July and to provide a substantive response within two months (i.e. at the next available Cabinet meeting on 24 January 2022).

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

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Resources, Richard Ennis

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To note

1.    The request for approval of the contract award for the receipt, bulking, haulage and treatment of food waste and green waste as set out at agenda item 11a and section 5.1.1 of the report.

2.    Revenue and capital consequences of contract award decisions taken by the Leader as set out in section 5.2.1 of the report.

3.    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 5.3.1 of the report.

4.    The list of delegated award decisions made by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement since the last meeting of Cabinet, as set out in section 5.4.1 of the report.

5.    Property lettings, acquisitions and disposals to be agreed by the Cabinet Member for Resources and Financial Governance in consultation with the Leader since the last meeting of Cabinet, as set out in section 5.5.1 of the report.

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) introduced the report which outlined the council’s contract awards for approval and delegated decisions to note since the last meeting of Cabinet.

In relation to the Former CALAT site, as part of the Property Disposal as part of the Interim Asset Disposal Strategy within the background document pack, the Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance outlined the intentions of the site as detailed in the report. He stated that the report set out the benefits and risks associated with the options considered, the chosen being the NHS dialysis centre. The second choice, the community centre, following discussions were happy to stay at their current site on Barry Road and had been offered a 25 year lease extension by the council.

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 contract award for the receipt, bulking, haulage and treatment of food waste and green waste as set out at agenda item 11a and section 5.1.1 of the report.

2.    Revenue and capital consequences of contract award decisions taken by the Leader as set out in section 5.2.1 of the report.

3.    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 5.3.1 of the report.

4.    The list of delegated award decisions made by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement since the last meeting of Cabinet, as set out in section 5.4.1 of the report.

5.    Property lettings, acquisitions and disposals to be agreed by the Cabinet Member for Resources and Financial Governance in consultation with the Leader since the last meeting of Cabinet, as set out in section 5.5.1 of the report.

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

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: yes

RESOLVED: To

1.    Following the procurement process detailed in the report and subject to approvals through the relevant governance processes in LBs Merton, Kingston and Sutton, approve the South London Waste Partnerships (SLWP) recommendations for the RB Kingston (procuring authority on behalf of SLWP) to award the following contracts for the handling and treatment of food and green garden waste for an initial period of 4 years and 7 months commencing on 1 September 2022 with options to extend until 31 March 2030 for a maximum contract value of £16m (which for Croydon represents £1.4m for the initial term, and £4m over the life of the contract)

1.1         award Lot 1 to BioCollectors (Direct Delivery of Food)

1.2         award Lot 3.1 to CountryStyle (Villers Road Green Waste)

1.3         award Lot 3.2 to Olleco (Villers Road Food Waste)

1.4         award Lot 5.1 to SUEZ (Transfer, haul, treat Green)

2.    Approve that the Council enters into an Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) substantially in the form appended to the Part B report on this agenda (which sets out the roles and responsibilities of each of the SLWP boroughs in respect of the procurement, sharing of costs, contract management and other responsibilities in respect of the new food and green garden waste contract) with the agreement and finalisation of terms of the said IAA being delegated to the Corporate Director of Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery. 

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Muhammad Ali) introduced the report and highlighted that the contract extension brought a saving for Croydon, would provide a medium to long term continuation of the service and that the local and regional recycling targets would be achieved.

In response to Members questions, the following was clarified:

·         That the procurement project was high risk due to the complexity and high risks due to the shortage of local waste transportation facilities, therefore there would be a new transfer station located in Mitcham.

·         That there were significant environmental benefits to be gained from the recommendations, in the context raised of COP26 and the Croydon Climate Commission, and that none of the waste processed would go to landfill. He added that even the small amount of containments in the waste collected would be treated to create refuse derived fuel.

In response to queries on how outcomes would be measured using data, the Net Zero Carbon Action Plan would be reporting to Cabinet in the new year. One of the key elements of that report would be to quantify as many indicators as possible and where the council could benefit from and track their interventions, which would follow consultation across the borough.

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

RESOLVED: To

1.    Following the procurement process detailed in the report and subject to approvals through the relevant governance processes in LBs Merton, Kingston and Sutton, approve the South London Waste Partnerships (SLWP) recommendations for the RB Kingston (procuring authority on behalf of SLWP) to award the following contracts for the handling and treatment of food and green garden waste for an initial period of 4 years and 7 months commencing on 1 September 2022 with options to extend until 31 March 2030 for a maximum contract value of £16m (which for Croydon represents £1.4m for the initial term, and £4m over the life of the contract)

1.1         award Lot 1 to BioCollectors (Direct Delivery of Food)

1.2         award Lot 3.1 to CountryStyle (Villers Road Green Waste)

1.3         award Lot 3.2 to Olleco (Villers Road Food Waste)

1.4         award Lot 5.1 to SUEZ (Transfer, haul, treat Green)

2.    Approve that the Council enters into an Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) substantially in the form appended to the Part B report on this agenda (which sets out the roles and responsibilities of each of the SLWP boroughs in respect of the procurement, sharing of costs, contract management and other responsibilities in respect of the new food and green garden waste contract) with the agreement and finalisation of terms of the said IAA being delegated to the Corporate Director of Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery. 

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.”

The following motion was moved by Councillor Callton Young and seconded by Councillor Muhammad Ali to exclude the press and public:

“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.”

The motion was put and it was agreed by the Committee to exclude the press and public for the remainder of the meeting.

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Resources, Richard Ennis

Key decision: no

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

RESOLVED: To

1.    Note that BBB has not needed to call upon the additional £10m working capital facility that was requested within July 2021 Cabinet Report.

2.    Note that the Council has now shared a draft Protocol with Brick by Brick on the disposal of 5 out of 6 sites that were approved for disposal in the July 2021 Brick by Brick Cabinet report and this is close to being finalised so that the assets can be progressed to be marketed. Details are provided within section 4 of the report.

3.    Note the change in consideration on the Belgrave & Grosvenor site, as detailed in Section 4 of the report in order that a detailed due diligence and assessment of regeneration opportunities for the site can be carried out for the benefit of the Council. Further approval will be sought from Cabinet in the event that the outcome of the assessment favours development rather than disposing the site.

4.    Note the progress being made on repayment of the loan as advised within the confidential Part B, Appendix 1, of the report. As at end of August 2021, it is envisaged that the Company will pay £139m back to the Council against an outstanding loan balance of £161m.

5.    Note that, in accordance with the February and July Cabinet reports, sales receipts have been recycled by Brick by Brick and to total of £17.18m

6.    Note that (if approved) the Governance and Performance monitoring of Brick by Brick will be carried out under Brick by Brick Shareholder Cabinet Advisory Board (the “Advisory Board”) as advised by the Governance of Brick By Brick Croydon Ltd report also being presented at the same Cabinet as this report.

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

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: yes

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

1.    Following the procurement process detailed in the report and subject to approvals through the relevant governance processes in LBs Merton, Kingston and Sutton, approve the South London Waste Partnerships (SLWP) recommendations for the RB Kingston (procuring authority on behalf of SLWP) to award the following contracts for the handling and treatment of food and green garden waste for an initial period of 4 years and 7 months commencing on 1 September 2022 with options to extend until 31 March 2030 for a maximum contract value of £16m (which for Croydon represents £1.4m for the initial term, and £4m over the life of the contract)

1.1         award Lot 1 to BioCollectors (Direct Delivery of Food)

1.2         award Lot 3.1 to CountryStyle (Villers Road Green Waste)

1.3         award Lot 3.2 to Olleco (Villers Road Food Waste)

1.4         award Lot 5.1 to SUEZ (Transfer, haul, treat Green)

2.    Approve that the Council enters into an Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) substantially in the form appended to the Part B report on this agenda (which sets out the roles and responsibilities of each of the SLWP boroughs in respect of the procurement, sharing of costs, contract management and other responsibilities in respect of the new food and green garden waste contract) with the agreement and finalisation of terms of the said IAA being delegated to the Corporate Director of Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery.