Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell

Key decision: no

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

RESOLVED: To

1.     Agree to recommend to Full Council the approval of the development of the Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan, noting the first high level draft at Appendix A of the report.

2.     Agree to recommend to Full Council the approval for consultation on the terms of reference and membership for the Croydon Renewal Improvement Board at Appendix B of the report.

3.     Agree to recommend to Full Council to delegate to Cabinet in January 2021 approval of the final version of the Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan.

4.     Recommend that the feedback on the terms of reference and membership for the Croydon Renewal Improvement Board following consultation and feedback from Scrutiny & Overview Committee (S&O), General Purposes & Audit Committee (GPAC), Staff, Partners and MHCLG is presented to Full Council in January 2021.

5.     Note the outcome of the recent staff survey and staff focus groups and that their contents are reflected in the high-level draft Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan at Appendix C of the report.

6.     Agree to recommend to Full Council that the Interim Chief Executive is delegated authority to submit to MHCLG the proposal for a capitalisation direction, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Cabinet Member for Resources and Financial Governance, the Director of Finance, Investment and Risk, and that an update be presented to the next relevant Cabinet meeting when this is completed.

7.     Agree to recommend approval to Full Council; the adoption of the new Council Priorities and Ways of Working in Appendix D and that this replaces the Council’s Corporate Plan 2018-2022, which forms part of the Council’s policy framework.

8.     Note that the Interim Chief Executive in her statutory role as Head of Paid Service will, in accordance with her Section 4 duty under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989; commence consultation on a restructure of the Council’s management arrangements. Following formal consultation, the proposals will be brought back to Cabinet and Full Council for final decision.

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Resilience, Councillor David Wood, highlighted the proposed work in regards to the Croydon Communities Board, which would form an important part of the Croydon Renewal Improvement Board. The intended membership of this Board included a proposal to invite representatives from the voluntary sector, different faiths, tenants and residents, associations, businesses and communities. He requested that Councillors recommend anyone within their ward who could be considered as a representative of the Board. He added that it was an important part of the improvement plan delivery, and it was crucial to have resident and community engagement.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery & Skills, Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed, gave an update in regards to the economy and the shaping of the new priories in regards to this, noting that 99% of the businesses were SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), micro-businesses and family run businesses. The first lockdown was the worst recession on record, and businesses were beginning to recover from this, but then the second lockdown in Croydon was announced. She explained that the impact from COVID-19 and the S114 notice was impacting the economy and businesses significantly, and expressed the importance of business partnership during this time. The Croydon Renewal Improvement Board would provide reassurance to Croydon residents and business owners and assist during the implementation of the changes required, specifically, the need for greater transparency and openness. She further noted that the partners she had spoken to had confirmed their support for the Croydon Renewal Plan, and were willing to contribute to the process where possible.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming, expressed the importance of partnerships during the ongoing work around the structural deficit within the council. She noted that this was not just between Members and Officers, but also with community organisations. She thanked everyone involved with this ongoing work, including the Local Strategic Partnership and the Safeguarding Board, in particular the Independent Chair, Di Smith, for her work towards ensuring the lives of the most vulnerable in the borough were safeguarded.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities, Councillor Andy Stranack, raised concern to the Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Resilience regarding the proposed representation on the Croydon Renewal Improvement Board; it was felt the members from the Croydon Communities Board, in particular regard to Voluntary Services, was “tokenistic”.

In response, the Leader explained that the Board had been assembled to provide additional support and give further reassurance and engagement to residents and partners. The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Resilience also clarified that the report stated that the Communities Board could have a representative on the Board; however, this was a draft version of the Terms of Reference, and it could be reviewed.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition & Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, Councillor Jason Cummings, asked when the final submission to MHCLG would be available to the Shadow Cabinet.

In response, the Leader explained that the submission was currently being drafted, but the majority of the information provided in both part A and part B of the Croydon Renewal Plan report would be included within the submission. The Interim Chief Executive added that the council was working closely with MHCLG to complete a final submission by mid-December, with the aim for it to be discussed at Cabinet on 14 December 2020, for submitting on 15 December 2020. She explained that the figures continued to change, so the submission could have some caveats, but MHCLG were aware of this.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure & Sport (Job Share), Councillor Vidhi Mohan, queried whether the Asset Investment Strategy would be discontinued, as it was not clear from the report.

In response, the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King, explained that the Grant Thornton report recommended a review to assess all council assets; this would include Croydon Park Hotel and the Colonnades Leisure and Retail Park.

The Leader confirmed that supplementary questions would not be asked due to time constraints.

The Leader of the Conservative Group thanked all council staff for their continued efforts to support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now through the financial situation. He noted that the Cabinet had been speaking about the change of culture needed for the council, and asked whether the Councillors previously responsible for the impacted areas would be expelled. He further queried how growth was being built into the budget, despite the reports outlining that libraries and recycling centres were to be closed, services cut and ward budgets frozen.

In response, the Leader of the Council explained that the report was setting out the scale of change that was needed to make the required improvements, and included recommendations from a range of review work, which had either been completed or was underway. It was further highlighted that these reviews sought to address the fundamental challenges regarding financial resilience and the governance of decision making. The Improvement Board would compromise of experts in their field, addressing these challenges and would focus on all areas within the council. She explained that in addition to this, along with the Non-Executive Committees, Scrutiny & Overview Committee, Scrutiny Sub-Committees, and the General Purposed & Audit Committee, Members should have received all the relevant information and assurance required.

Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, Councillor Jason Cummings, noted that the council was currently at the maximum potential borrowing limit; however, the capitalisation direction sought to add a borrowing of approximately £130m. He explained that he was presuming that there would be significant transformation money in order to make the additional changes to the council structures that would be required to meet future budgets, in addition to the redundancy costs detailed in the reports, which would also be capitalised. He asked what the consequences of exceeding the borrowing limits would be and how these consequences would be managed.

In response, the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King, clarified that the borrowing limits were set by the council and, where possible, these borrowing limits would be reduced. There was also an ongoing capital review of what was in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The Director of Finance, Investment & Risk and Section 151 Officer, Lisa Taylor, agreed with the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal and added that all borrowing strategies for 2021/22 would be reviewed.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Clean Green Croydon, Councillor Helen Redfern, noted that one of the remaining key priorities was to keep the streets of Croydon clean and safe; she queried why the council had redirected a different grant intended to fund flood alleviation marking Riddlesdown into the general fund, which specific streets would be kept clean and safe with that grant money, and the impact this would have on the council's future ability to bid for grants from government bodies.

In response, The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon, Councillor Muhammad Ali, explained that the money had been received from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for a number of schemes across the borough, and the council did not set the conditions of money dedication. These were still in the pipeline, due to the financial position of the council and due to the complexity of the jobs; he confirmed that these schemes had merely been paused and not stopped. The releasing on funds would be agreed on a scheme-by-scheme basis, and a business case for the work in Riddlesdown had been submitted and was awaiting the outcome from the Spending Control Panel. He further added that, in the meantime, the council would continue to undertake gully cleaning and respond to emergency flooding situations.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care, Councillor Yvette Hopley, noted that the report stated that the Adults Directorate was to be “modernised” and “transformed”; however, she raised concerns that Appendix A stated that the Administration had a poor track record of transforming services, and questioned how this would be achieved by borrowing money in the form of capitalization, in addition to the £15m transformation money already received.

In response, the Leader explained that the objective of the Improvement Plan and the accompanying Improvement Board, in addition to the Non-Executive Committees, was to oversee the ongoing work, and to provide external challenge and scrutiny where needed. She further noted that the challenge was significant, and would take time to resolve, and that was the reason clear objectives had been set, alongside an improvement plan, with strong external challenge.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs, Councillor Simon Hoar, requested that the Leader of the Council apologise on behalf of the Administration, as the Former Leader had not, to the Council staff for the loss of 400 jobs and the further stress endured due to the issuing of the S114 notice. He further requested statistics on how many more jobs would be lost. The Leader of the Council explained that she had apologised to the Council since becoming the Leader, however, she apologised again for the loss of jobs and the position the council was in. She explained that she was a new Leader, with a new Cabinet, and they would be addressing and resolving the difficulties being faced.

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

RESOLVED: To

1. Agree to recommend to Full Council the approval of the development of the Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan, noting the first high level draft at Appendix A of the report.

2. Agree to recommend to Full Council the approval for consultation on the terms of reference and membership for the Croydon Renewal Improvement Board at Appendix B of the report.

3. Agree to recommend to Full Council to delegate to Cabinet in January 2021 approval of the final version of the Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan.

4. Recommend that the feedback on the terms of reference and membership for the Croydon Renewal Improvement Board following consultation and feedback from Scrutiny & Overview Committee (S&O), General Purposes & Audit Committee (GPAC), Staff, Partners and MHCLG is presented to Full Council in January 2021.

5. Note the outcome of the recent staff survey and staff focus groups and that their contents are reflected in the high-level draft Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan at Appendix C of the report.

6. Agree to recommend to Full Council that the Interim Chief Executive is delegated authority to submit to MHCLG the proposal for a capitalisation direction, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Cabinet Member for Resources and Financial Governance, the Director of Finance, Investment and Risk, and that an update be presented to the next relevant Cabinet meeting when this is completed.

7. Agree to recommend approval to Full Council; the adoption of the new Council Priorities and Ways of Working in Appendix D and that this replaces the Council’s Corporate Plan 2018-2022, which forms part of the Council’s policy framework.

8. Note that the Interim Chief Executive in her statutory role as Head of Paid Service will, in accordance with her Section 4 duty under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989; commence consultation on a restructure of the Council’s management arrangements. Following formal consultation, the proposals will be brought back to Cabinet and Full Council for final decision.