Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any item(s) of business on today’s agenda.

Executive Mayor Perry declared a personal interest in relation to Agenda Item No.9 (Report on the results of informal public consultation 13 Healthy School Streets) by virtue of the fact he lived near to one of the streets, withdrew from the meeting and took no part in the discussion or decision taken thereon.

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.

Executive Mayor Perry advised that he had received notice of one urgent additional item of business from the Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee, which had been published earlier today and which he would consider as the first substantive item.

To receive any Executive functions appointments.

Executive Mayor Perry announced that this would be astanding item on Cabinet agendas to ensure any appointments to executive external bodies were publicly reported.

In line with this and at the request of the Mitcham Common CONSERVATORS, the Executive Mayor appointed John Cheetham as the fourth non-Councillor appointment.

With reference to Minute No.103/22, Cabinet considered a report, which detailed conclusions and recommendations in respect of updating the Council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and Distribution of the Household Support Fund Grant.

                               Councillor Rowenna Davis, Chair of the Council’s Scrutiny and Overview Committee, addressed Cabinet to which, Councillor Lynne Hale (Deputy (Statutory) Executive Mayor and Cabinet Member for Homes) responded.

                               The Executive Mayor thanked the Scrutiny Committee for its recommendations on the two reports on the agenda tonight.  He said that, as usual, Cabinet would ensure responses were provided to each of the recommendations in due course, but he did not feel that any of the reflections of the Committee would require delay to the decisions before Cabinet tonight.

The attached report invites Cabinet to consider the distribution of £3,013,689.49 Housing Support Fund received by Croydon, which is entirely grant funded by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

RESOLVED: To

1.1  Accept the Department for Work and Pension Household Support Fund (HSF) allocation of £3,013,689.49 as set out in this report and make associated budget adjustments.

1.2  Approve the proposed allocation of the HSF in line with Appendix A to this report and the administration of the fund. This covers a local eligibility framework, an approach to enabling access to grant funding that supports households most in need, and the development of a local delivery approach.

1.3   Approve the proposed phased roll out approach set out in paragraph 7 of the report.

Cabinet considered a report, which concerned the distribution of £3,013,689.49, a sum which was entirely grant funded by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) and therefore had no direct impact on existing Council budgets.

The Executive Mayor said that this new Household Support funding from Government would ensure the Council was able to reach those in most need through the winter months and, on that basis, he was happy to agree the recommendations and welcome that this new money would mean more than £3m going to local people struggling with the rising cost of living this winter.

Accordingly, the Executive Mayor, in Cabinet, RESOLVED that:

1.            The Department for Work and Pension Household Support Fund (HSF) allocation of £3,013,689.49, as set out in this report, be accepted and that associated budget adjustments be made.

2.            The proposed allocation of the HSF in line with Appendix A to this report, and the administration of the fund, be approved (this covered a local eligibility framework, an approach to enabling access to grant funding that supports households most in need, and the development of a local delivery approach.)

3.            The proposed phased roll out approach, as set out in paragraph 7 of the report, be approved.

The attached report provides an update on the development of the Residents’ Charter following engagement sessions held with residents between August and September 2022. It presents an action plan to finalise the Charter and embed the commitments made in the Charter within the housing directorate.

RESOLVED: To

1.     Note and agree the Residents’ Charter (Appendix One)

2.     Note the Council’s plans to embed the Charter’s principles within the Housing directorate

Cabinet considered a report, which provided an update on the development of the Resident’s Charter following engagement sessions held with residents between August and September 2022.  It also presented the Residents’ Charter and detailed the Council’s plans to embed the Charter’s principles within the Housing directorate.

The Executive Mayor said he was pleased to receive this update report. He said the transformation of the Council’s Housing Service would not happen overnight but as the reports on the agenda tonight set out, the Council was committed to making the changes necessary to build back trust and improve the service the Council offered its residents.

The Executive Mayor went on to say that this Residents’ Charter enshrined that commitment and clearly set out what the Borough’s residents should be able to expect from their housing provider and he was happy to agree the recommendations in the Report.

Accordingly, the Executive Mayor, in Cabinet, RESOLVED that:

1.            The Residents’ Charter (Appendix 1 to the report) be agreed.

2.            The Council’s plans to embed the Charter’s principles within the Council’s Housing Directorate, be noted.

The attached report provides an update on the revised Housing Transformation Programme (previously referred to as Housing Improvement Plan).

The Housing Improvement Plan, as presented to Cabinet in March 2022, received criticism for not commanding the confidence of the Housing Improvement Board and tenants.

Several key recommendations were made which the Housing Directorate has sought to address in the new Transformation Programme, having conducted further research into underlying challenges within the directorate.

This report details the development of the Housing Transformation Programme, including the programme’s high-level workstreams, future governance and next steps.

RESOLVED: To

       I.          Note and approve the Housing Transformation Programme including the programme’s high-level workstreams, future governance and next steps.

     II.          Note the Member-led Transformation Steering Board.

Cabinet considered a report, which provided an update on the revised Housing Transformation Programme (previously referred to as Housing Improvement Plan). 

It was reported that the Housing Improvement Plan, as presented to Cabinet in March 2022, had received criticism for not commanding the confidence of the Housing Improvement Board and tenants.  Accordingly, a number of key recommendations were made, which the Housing Directorate had sought to address in the new Transformation Programme, having conducted further research into underlying challenges within the directorate.

This report detailed the development of the Housing Transformation Programme, including the programme’s high-level workstreams, future governance and next steps.

Martin Wheatley (Chair of the Housing Improvement Board) and Yaw Boateng (Housing Improvement Board Member) addressed Cabinet.

The Executive Mayor said that, beyond Croydon’s financial challenges, the improvement of its Housing service had been a core priority for his Administration.

He said that this new Transformation Programme was a major step forward for that work and he was happy to agree the recommendations before Cabinet this evening.

 
The Executive Mayor wanted to recognise the massive amount of work which had gone into shaping this new Transformation Programme and on behalf of the Borough’s residents, he wanted to thank everyone who had a hand in getting it to this stage, including the independent Housing Improvement Board.

Accordingly, the Executive Mayor, in Cabinet RESOLVED that:

1.          The Housing Transformation Programme, including the Programme’s high-level workstreams, future governance and next steps be noted and approved.

2.           The Member-led Transformation Steering Board, be noted.

The attached report is presented to Cabinet since producing a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy is a statutory requirement for local authorities.

The report sets out the Council’s approach in revising the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy for the next four years, as well as providing an update on the key actions that are proposed be taken by the Council and its partners to help prevent and address homelessness in 2023/2024.

RESOLVED: To

       I.          Approve the updated draft 2023/24 Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy Action Plan (Appendix One)

     II.          Note and approve the Housing Directorate’s plan to develop a revised Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy, following a comprehensive review of homelessness in the Borough, which will set out the strategic direction for service delivery for 2024- 2027.

Cabinet considered a report, which was being presented to Cabinet since the production of a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy was a statutory requirement for local authorities.

The report set out the Council’s approach to revising the existing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Plan for 2023/2024, following guidance from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and for undertaking a comprehensive review of homelessness in the Borough in developing a three-year strategy from 2024/2025.

It was reported that the revised action plan strengthened the Council’s approach to rough sleeping and would ensure the Council’s homelessness services were focused on early intervention

and prevention.

The report also provided an update to Cabinet on the key actions that were proposed to be taken by the Council and its partners to help prevent and address homelessness in 2023/2024.

The revised Action Plan built on progress to date and sought to entrench activities already underway in this area, while also seeking to be more ambitious in key areas to further improve outcomes during 2023/24.

The Executive Mayor said that the Council was committed to supporting Croydon families faced with homelessness and that this Strategy update would lay the groundwork for improvements in the Council’s homelessness and rough sleeping service ahead of a more detailed review over the coming months, which would return to Cabinet next year.

He said that this work would result in fewer people losing their homes and better support for those sleeping rough on Croydon’s streets and he was happy to agree the recommendations.

Accordingly, the Executive Mayor, in Cabinet, RESOLVED that:

1.            The updated draft 2023/24 Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy Action Plan (Appendix 1) be noted and approved.

2.            The Housing Directorate’s plan to develop a revised Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, following a comprehensive review of homelessness in the Borough, which would set out the strategic direction for service delivery for 2024-2027, be noted and approved.

The attached report presents to Cabinet, the results of an informal consultation, which sought the public’s view on the possible introduction of 13 new Healthy School Streets under Experimental Traffic Management Orders (ETMOs) for a maximum period of 18 months. 

The table in the report provides a summary of the number of schools, streets and wards affected.

The Executive Mayor delegated to the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Lynne Hale, the power to make the decisions set out in the recommendations contained within this report. The Deputy Mayor is recommended to agree to the following subject to compliance with statutory requirements:

RESOLVED: To

i. That the following 10 Healthy School Street schemes are agreed for implementation under ETMOs, with proposed amendments to HSS 17 and HSS 20 schemes as detailed in this report:

If the above recommended school streets are agreed to proceed, the Deputy Mayor is recommended to agree the following to ensure that the experimental schemes progress smoothly during the 18-month trial period:

       i.          Provide the relevant delegated authority to the Road Space Manager, Sustainable Communities Division to make the required ETMOs which will be valid for a maximum period of 18 months. The first 6 months will serve as the statutory objection period.

      ii.          Authorise officers to implement relevant parking, waiting and/or loading restrictions required to support the successful operation of the experimental school street schemes.

    iii.          Authorise officers to install the relevant equipment that allows the collection of traffic and air quality data for the 10 School Street sites.

With reference to Minute No. 102/22 above, Executive Mayor Perry had declared a personal interest in respect of this matter, left the meeting and took no part in the discussion or decision thereon.

Whilst the Executive Mayor did not have a pecuniary conflict of interest, he had removed himself from any decision-making role in it to avoid the perception of bias and therefore delegated to the Deputy (Statutory) Executive Mayor, authority to take this decision on his behalf as she saw fit.

Deputy (Statutory) Executive Mayor, Councillor Lynne Hale (Vice-Chair, in the Chair)

Cabinet considered a report, which presented the results of the informal consultation, which sought the public’s view on the possible introduction of 13 new Healthy School Streets under Experimental Traffic Management Orders (ETMOs) for a maximum period of 18 months.

It was noted that the consultation had been carried out between 28 September and 19 October 2022 and the report contained a table, which provided a summary of the number of schools, streets and wards affected.

It was reported that the informal consultation had been undertaken across multiple channels, including distribution of 10,645 letters and messaging on the Council’s website and social media channels however, the Council received a low return rate, with only 1,020 responses received from those within the consultation area (representing a 9.6% response rate).

The importance of community feedback was recognised and to ensure the Council was listening to the community, the recommendation was that the proposed schemes be taken forward as experiments to allow the community to assess the “real” impacts of the schemes.

Although, the Council had consulted on 13 Healthy School Street schemes, officers were recommending to the Executive Mayor that only 10 Healthy School Street schemes be taken forward for implementation (with amendments made to two schemes), with three schemes not being taken forward, as listed in the tables in the report.

This recommendation was being made following comprehensive analysis of the consultation responses received, together with the Council’s assessment on the anticipated benefits of the schemes.

The Deputy (Statutory) Executive Mayor said the report set out a clear rationale for progressing with these ten schemes on an experimental basis and that the Council would continue to monitor resident responses during the implementation and amend as needed.

As Deputy Executive Mayor, and on the basis set out in the report, she was happy to agree the recommendations on the Executive Mayor’s behalf.

Accordingly, the Deputy (Statutory) Executive Mayor, in Cabinet, RESOLVED that:

1.            The following 10 Healthy School Street schemes be agreed for implementation under ETMOs, with proposed amendments to HSS 17 and HSS 20 schemes as detailed in this report:

Reference:                Scheme Name

HSS14                        Elmwood Schools (Infant & Junior)

HSS15                        Harris Academy Crystal Palace

HSS16                        Harris Academy Invictus

HSS17                       Harris Academy South Norwood, Beulah Hill Campus (as amended)

HSS18                        Kensington Primary & Norbury High

HSS19                        Minster Schools

HSS20                        Oasis Academy Byron (as amended)

HSS21                        Rockmount Primary

HSS22                        St. James the Great Primary

HSS24                        St. Peter's  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9/22

Cabinet is invited to consider a report on a report in the public interest, published by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) in relation to Croydon Council.

RESOLVED: To

1.1.         Consider the public interest report dated 23 June 2022 and the recommendations made by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) in relation to Croydon Council set out in Appendix 1.

The full list of recommendations can be found in section 6 of this report.

1.2.         Accept the findings and agree the recommendations set out in the public interest report;

1.3.         Endorse the actions taken by the Council and note the steps, progress and timeline to implement the recommendations set out in section 7 of this report.

1.4.         Adopt the report as the Council’s formal response under section 31 of the Local Government Act 1974 to be communicated to the Ombudsman; and

1.5.         Adopt the report as the Executive’s formal response as required by section 5A of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 for distribution to all members and the Monitoring Officer.

Cabinet considered a report, which documented that, on 19 April 2022, the LGSCO had written to the Council’s Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell, to confirm that after consideration of a complaint it had received, it had decided to issue its findings as a public interest report.

It was reported that the LGSCO considered the following six criteria when deciding whether to issue a public interest report:

i)               Recurrent faults (for example, the organisation keeps making similar mistakes)

ii)             Significant fault, injustice or remedy (by scale or the number of people affected)

iii)           Non-compliance with an Ombudsman’s recommendation (it has not agreed or has not carried out their recommendations)

iv)           A high volume of complaints about a subject

v)             A significant topical issue

vi)           Systemic problems and/or wider lessons (for example, problems with how the organisation does things that if not put right are likely to affect others, and this is an opportunity for others to learn).

In the case before Cabinet this evening, the reasons for issuing the report were:

i)               The significance of the fault, injustice or remedy

ii)             A significant topical issue

iii)           Systemic problems and/or wider lessons (for example, problems with how the organisation did things that if not put right were likely to affect others, and that this was an opportunity for others to learn).

It was reported that the complainant, referred to as Miss X, had complained that the Council had failed to provide her with suitable accommodation after it had accepted a duty to house her in 2014 and had not given her the correct priority under its housing allocation scheme.

Miss X said that the Council should have found permanent accommodation for her by now and that the temporary accommodation it had provided was not suitable as she was living in overcrowded housing and this was affecting her mental health.

The report also contained the statutory report of the Council’s Monitoring Officer, which was triggered as a result of the contents of the LGSCO report and outlined the Council’s statutory response required.

The Executive Mayor said that this was yet another example of the challenges facing the Council’s housing service following the maladministration of the previous Administration. He said that, despite many staff doing their best to support families, adequate processes were not in place to prevent this kind of situation developing.

He agreed the recommendations in the report and, in addition, apologised to Miss X on behalf of the Council for the situation she and her children were left in.

Accordingly, having considered the public interest report dated 23 June 2022 and the recommendations made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) in relation to Croydon Council, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report (the full list of recommendations could be found in Section 6 to the report), the Executive Mayor, in Cabinet RESOLVED that:

1.            The findings be accepted, and the recommendations be agreed, as set out in the public interest report.

2.            The actions taken by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10/22

The attached report seeks delegation from the Mayor to the Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer to review the potential gain achieved by the refinancing work that has been conducted on the Council’s Streetlighting PFI contract.

RESOLVED: To

1.     Delegate to Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer in consultation with Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Finance to accept or reject the final outcome of the refinancing offer subject to due diligence.

2.     Subject to outcome of Recommendation 1 Delegate to Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer in consultation with Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Finance to consider taking an upfront gain through a cash receipt or a reduced Unitary Charge payment in future.

3.     Subject to outcome of Recommendation 1 Delegate to Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer in consultation with Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Finance to consider receiving the gain for Department of Transport (DfT) in return for reduced PFI credits over time.

4.     Delegate to Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer in consultation with Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Finance to vary the Project Agreement should the refinancing require commercial adjustment to be made to the agreements.

Cabinet considered a report, which sought delegation from the Executive Mayor to the Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer to review the potential gain achieved by the refinancing work that had been conducted on the Council’s Streetlighting PFI contract (Agreement).

The refinancing gain to be achieved for Croydon was being reviewed but was expected to generate a gain of over £0.500m to the Council and could lead to a potential reduction in annual contractual sum to the contractor.

The new senior lender to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in connection with the Agreement, would be Aviva, which would be the sole lender to the scheme at the time of the refinancing. Aviva replaced a syndicate of lenders (Lloyds Bank (17%), SEB (33%), NIBC (25%) and SEK (25%)) and the refinancing would not result in any changes to operation of the streetlights, or to other terms of the Agreement unconnected with the refinancing.

The refinancing supported the work to seek opportunities to generate income and identify savings to meet the financial challenges faced by the Council. The key risk to the Council, which arose from the refinancing, was an increase in breakage costs should the Agreement be terminated early. These costs could exceed £90m. However, the likelihood of an early voluntary termination of the Agreement was very slim and the Council would require Treasury approval to make a decision to terminate.

The Executive Mayor said that this was a technical adjustment to the financing arrangement, and he wanted to reassure residents that it would not have any impact on the actual operation or maintenance of the Borough’s streetlights but could save the Council almost half a million pounds.

Accordingly, the Executive Mayor, in Cabinet RESOLVED that:

1.            The Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Finance, be authorised to accept or reject the final outcome of the refinancing offer subject to due diligence.

2.            The Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Finance, be authorised to consider taking an upfront gain through a cash receipt or a reduced Unitary Charge payment in future.

3.            The Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Finance, be authorised to consider receiving the gain for Department of Transport (DfT) in return for reduced PFI credits over time.

4.            The Corporate Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Finance, be authorised to vary the Project Agreement should the refinancing require commercial adjustment to be made to the agreements.

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.”

This was not required.