Agenda item

a)    Public Questions (30 minutes)

To receive questions from the public gallery and questions submitted by residents in advance of the meeting.

 

b)    Leader and Cabinet Member Questions (105 minutes)

To receive questions from Councillors.

Public Questions

 

Madam Mayor explained that Croydon Question Time would commerce with 30 minutes of public questions to the Leader and Cabinet Members. In accordance with advice from the Government and Public Health England, it was not possible to hold public meetings in the Town Hall. As a result, members of the public were unable to ask questions from the public gallery in the Council Chamber. Questions have been received by email up until 12 noon on Friday 26 March 2021.

 

Madam Mayor read a question from Ria Patel to the meeting:

 

“1. How many homeless people are there in Croydon and how has this changed over 2020?

Is there a ward breakdown on this?

Is there a breakdown on the different types of homelessness eg couch surfers, street homeless etc?

What service does the Council financially contribute to in order to support those that are homeless?”

   

In her response the Cabinet Member for Homes, Councillor Hay-Justice agreed that there are many forms of homelessness. She also confirmed that at the last count in November 2020 there were 15 rough sleepers, in February 2021 there were 1700 people in temporary accommodation, a rise of 200 from last year and 670 people in emergency accommodation, a rise of 70 on last year.

 

Councillor Hay-Justice confirmed that a ward breakdown is not available but she would send on to Ria Patel the breakdown of categories data that she had.

 

Madam Mayor read a question from Joseph Lee to the meeting:

 

“We have seen our council tax bills sky rocket. We have seen the terrible living conditions of the council tenants of Regina Court and we have seen you yet to get a grip of council finances. Considering you were a key member of the Cabinet who was instrumental in getting to where we are now, perhaps you are not the right person to be leading the Council. Will you be handing in your resignation before the next council elections in 2022?”

 

In her response the Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali stated that we she put herself forward for the role she knew that it would not be an easy task. However, in the five months that she had been Leader, the council had secured Government funding and had set a balanced budget. In regards to the situation of the residents in Regina Road, Councillor Ali reiterated will be her earlier statement and that she would ensure that the residents will get the Housing Service they expect.

 

 

 

 Madam Mayor read a question from James Hillham to the meeting:

 

“With the horrific scenes at Regina Court, how bright and fair does the Leader think the future of the two residents featured in the ITV News and the other residents in appalling housing looks having been ignored for months and now put into temporary accommodation?”

 

In her response the Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali stated that she hoped her earlier statement had provided some clarity and that as soon as she was made aware of the situation she took immediate action. Conversations had taken place with all those residents affected to ensure that the temporary accommodation was appropriate. Councillor Ali stated the she will ensure that the council understands what went wrong to ensure that this does not happen again.

 

Madam Mayor read a question from Aisha Chambers to the meeting:

 

“Why do you think it is feasible to give people penalty charge notices on a handful if not more roads in Croydon without informing the Borough of your plans to claw back money in a non-justifiable way?”

 

In his response, the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon, Councillor Muhammad Ali stated that the creation of Healthy Neighbourhoods and Healthy Streets are supported by both the Croydon Council’s Local Implementation Plan and the London Mayor’s Transport Strategy. The aim is to remove through traffic from residential and to encourage active travel choices. Croydon has the potential to reduce car journeys by 400,000 to more sustainable modes such as walking, cycling and public transport.

 

Additionally Council Muhammad Ali stated that this is not intended to be a revenue raising exercise and that the goal is that no penalty notices are raised. Motorists should abide by the clear rules set out on the highway. All schemes are promoted viaTraffic Management Orders which by law are advertised in the press and on the council’s website.

 

Madam Mayor read a question from Mr Howard to the meeting:

 

“Following the shocking news report televised by ITV News on Monday, highlighting the appalling conditions suffered by tenants of Croydon council properties, I would like to ask the Leader the following questions at the next Council meeting.

 

1.     When did the Leader first know about the state of properties in Regina Road?

2.     What action did the Leader take between first hearing about the problem and the ITV News report airing on Monday evening, specifically which members of staff did she meet with and when?

3.     Why did the Leader of the Council believe that an externally led inquiry is necessary to find out what happened? Why is the Leader of the Council unable to find out herself what goes on in the council that she leads?

4.     If the Leader of the Council believes, for whatever reason that she is unable to lead the Council in understanding what happened in this situation, what justification is there for her to continue in her post?”

 

In her response the Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali stated she first saw the photographs used on Friday 19 March and ensured that those residents most effected were moved on the same day.

 

Councillor Ali also stated that she had been in multiple meetings to ensure that the residents were safe and to investigate what went wrong. These meetings have been daily and will continue to be daily. These meetings have included the most senior officers at the council. There are a number other meetings taking place which are ensuring that the work that needs to happen is taking place.

 

In regards to the investigation, the Leader felt that is was important that this was carried out externally as it adds expertise and that it will help to ensure that the council takes the necessary action that it must. It is being led by the former housing lead of the former Audit Commission. It is also important that the report is produced quickly and a verbal report will be available a week on Wednesday.

 

Madam Mayor read a question from John Jenkins to the meeting:

 

“Following the shocking news report televised by ITV News on Monday, highlighting the appalling conditions suffered by tenants of Croydon council properties, I would like to ask the Leader the following questions at the next Council meeting.

 

1.     What has been done to assess the risk in other council blocks?

2.     What has been done to ensure that similar complaints aren’t being ignored by council officials?

3.     Considering the Leader’s accountability should the residents expect another by-election to take place on 6 May?”

 

In her response the Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali stated that the council was in the process of contacting all those residents who live in similar blocks within the borough. Residents are encouraged to highlight any issues and confirmed that these are now properly logged. The investigation will look into how the repair service can meet the residents’ understandable expectations.

 

In conclusion, the Leader stated that she acted as quickly as she could once she was made aware and that the building had now been assessed and that residents had been moved where necessary.

 

 

 

 

Madam Mayor read a question from Ria Patel to the meeting:

 

“1. How many children are on free school meal vouchers and what has changed over 2020?

2. Is there a ward breakdown on this?

3. Does the council have any allocated funding to support children over the Easter and up-coming half-term holidays?”

 

In her response the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming stated that in the number of children in receipt of free school meal vouchers was as follows:

 

·       January 2020  - 13298

·       October 2020  - 13954

·       February 2021 –15874

 

Unfortunately, the information is not available at ward level but Gateway had carried out a mapping exercise and I am happy to share that.

 

In regard to the holiday periods all local authorities were provided with funding from Government through the Winter Grant and the Holiday Activities Food Programme from the Department of Work and Pensions. This funding is ring fenced for supporting those families where children would normally receive free school meal vouchers. This funding covers holiday activities in addition to food.

 

Leader and Cabinet Member Questions

 

Questions to the Leader

 

The Leader firstly informed the meeting of the changes to Cabinet. The Administration had carried out a reform of allowances which led to reductions in Cabinet and Deputy Cabinet level appointments in recognition of the Council’s financial position.

 

There are two changes that related to Cabinet. Councillor Shahul-Hameed is now the Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety and Business Recovery and Councillor Hay-Justice is now the Cabinet Member for Homes.

 

Also as part of the reform the number of Deputy Cabinet Members had been reduced from nine to four and these are as follows:

 

Councillor Patsy Cummings is the Deputy Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon, Culture & Regeneration.

 

Councillor Nina Degrads is the new Deputy Cabinet Member for Homes & Communities and also Community Safety and Business Recovery.

 

Councillor Maddie Henson is the new Deputy Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning.

Councillor Stephen Mann is the new Deputy Cabinet Member for Families, Health and Social Care.

 

Councillor Hale thanked the Leader for her statement earlier regarding the Regina Road residents. She then queried when the Leader had been made aware of the issues and how much were the costs of repair.

 

In her response, the Leader reiterated what she had said earlier, that she was first made aware on Friday 19 March. With regards to the cost of repair, this was not yet available but that she will ask and send the figures through to Councillor Hale.

 

In her supplementary question, Councillor Hale asked what assurances can you give that leaks in future will get the response they deserve.

 

In her response the Leader stated that the fact that these issues were revealed to her by the media was of great concern. The investigation will map what took place and how the council responded to show whether there is a bigger systematic problem.

 

Councillor Kabir queried what steps were being taken to ensure that this does not happen again.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that the independent enquiry is key to understanding what went wrong and how to ensure that the residents are provided with the service they should expect.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Kabir asked the Leader for reassurance that the findings of the investigation would be implemented.

 

The Leader confirmed that the findings of the investigation would be implemented without question.

 

Councillor Jason Cummings queried why no one from the Administration had appeared on the Vanessa programme to talk on record about the Regina Road issues.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that she had undertaken a number of media interviews in the last week and also attended a parliamentary select committee.

 

Councillor Jerry Fitzpatrick queried why the Leader wished the administration to put forward a motion to Council regarding violence against women and girls.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that this was an opportunity to focus on an issue that affects many people in the borough and that national concerns were highlighted following the murder of Sarah Everard.  Croydon has one of the rates of domestic violence in London which has increased nationally in lockdown and it is important to have discussions in public on this issue.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Fitzpatrick asked what steps need to be taken to raise consciousness further.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that she agreed that this is an issue for society. Although domestic violence had been used as an example, this is regarding all forms of violence towards women. The focus has been on support for victims but much less on how to change the behaviour to stop it happening. Croydon has been working with the Mayor’s office for Crime to pilot the Drive Programme which seeks to address the perpetrators

 

Pool 1

 

With the end of the time allocated for questions to the Leader, Madam Mayor moved to questions to the Cabinet Members in the first pool. Councillor Campbell, Councillor Lewis and Councillor Hay-Justice were invited to make their announcements.

 

Councillor Campbell, Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care informed Council that the One Croydon Alliance team received high commendation at the Health Service Journal awards ceremony on 17 March for System Leadership. This is high testament to the hard work of the team. Also April will see Councillor Campbell take over as Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board and she thanked her predecessor Councillor Louisa Woodley. The Cabinet Member also noted that 23 March marked a year of lockdown and sent a message of condolence to all those who have lost loved ones to the virus, 986 in Croydon alone. In addition she thanked the staff for rising to the challenges of increased demand.

 

Councillor Hay-Justice, Cabinet Member for Homes informed Council that she would like to say a very sincere apology to all the council tenants and to the people of Croydon for the shocking situation highlighted last week and confirmed that resident’s concerns will be addressed.  

 

Councillor Kabir in his question, asked how many families were in temporary accommodation and how much was it costing.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice reiterated what she had said earlier, that approximately 1700 people were in temporary accommodation and that the net cost was £4 million and the gross cost £10 million.

 

Councillor Kabir, in his supplementary question, asked how this was going to be reduced.

 

Councillor Hay-Justice stated that ideally there should be enough social housing. In the past long leases had been used but work is currently being done on an Emergency/Temporary Accommodation Strategy which should lead to a reduction in costs. The real answer was to have more social housing but that shortage is not unique to Croydon, but is countrywide.

 

Councillor Hale, in her question, stated that monies paid by tenants should be used for repairs. She asked how much money is currently in the accounts and was all the monies allocated last year. She believed that there had been an underspend of £3 million.

 

Councillor Hay-Justice stated the budget for repairs carried out by the contractor was for £11 million and she offered to meet with Councillor Hale to go through the detail of the budget and the contract.

 

In her supplementary question, Councillor Hale asked what checks have been carried out over the years whilst she was deputy Cabinet Member.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice stated that monitoring the complaints are included within the KPI’s and once again offered to go through the details with Councillor Hale.

 

Councillor King stated that for the last year with complete figures, year 2019 to 2020 the budget for repairs was £11.1 million and the amount spent was £10.7 million.

 

Councillor Stranack, in his question, asked about the proposal for the New Addington Boxing Club to move to the leisure centre. Currently the young people are charged £3 per week bit the leisure centre will be more expensive. Can you give some clarity on the situation.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis, the Cabinet Member for Culture and Regeneration stated that it was important to work with the club to find a suitable building as many are now changing to offering flexible spaces which are not suitable for a boxing club. However he believed that he had now identified a suitable building and looked forward to updating councillors in due course.

 

Councillor Stranack, in his supplementary question asked when the boxing club would be told of this new development.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis confirmed that the boxing club was not being evicted whilst this issue was ongoing and that an offer had been made to store their equipment until a suitable long term location could be provided.

 

In response to Councillor Ben-Hassel, Councillor Hay-Justice stated that the standard was met some years ago and that as the end of life of the kitchens and bathrooms is reached replacements are made. As with other councils this replacement work had to stop during lockdown as they were not classed as emergencies.

 

Councillor Ben-Hassel, in her supplementary question, asked if the Housing Management Team had targets for the number of inspections that they carry out per year.

         

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice confirmed that the officers carry out between 700 and 900 inspections per year. She went on to explain what these inspections entail.

 

In his question, Councillor Neal, asked when the properties in Regina Road were last inspected and how often do inspections take place.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice confirmed that the officers have a programme of inspections and that Regina Road was not on the list of those carried out last year. However, the inspections are only carried out externally and tend to relate to the grounds maintenance, rubbish collections and other external works and services. She also stated that she will wait until the investigation is complete before deciding on the best way forward.

 

Councillor Neal, in his supplementary question asked whether the situation would have arisen if tenant representatives had been part of the inspection process.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice stated that there was a tenants’ panel members of which have spoken to councillors when they have attended inspections and highlighted issues. It was acknowledged that more could be done in sharing information with tenant’s panels.

  

Pool 2

 

With the end of time allocated to questions to the Cabinet Members in the first pool, Madam Mayor signalled she was moving on to questions to Cabinet Members in the second pool. Councillor Flemming, Councillor Shahul-Hameed and Councillor Muhammed Ali were invited to make their announcements.

 

Councillor Shahul-Hameed, Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery informed members that so far 7852 businesses had benefitted from the Business Support grants totally £80 million. In addition, the Night-time Businesses Grant proved very popular and she is aiming to double the amount of grant available to £1 million. In addition the voluntary sector has claimed up to £150,000 in business rates relief.

 

Councillor Gatland, firstly asked, whether in light of the testimony of girls regarding the amount sexual harassment that they face in schools, that the Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care would be raising the issue with the leadership in schools.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming stated that she would be taking this matter up with the council’s Director of Education and with head teachers later on in the week.

 

In her question, Councillor Gatland raised the issue of cuts to some services which could leave some of the most vulnerable children at risk of gangs, county lines and other forms of exploitation.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming reassured members that she received weekly updates particularly in respect to those families where children are at risk of exploitation outside of the home.

 

Councillor Gatland, in her supplementary question, raised the issue of staffing in the Children’s Service team. Staff were leaving and the vacancy rate was 24% and this could be a risk to the oversight of this vulnerable group.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming agreed that this was a risk but that recruitment and retention was being monitored. Some recruitment had taken place for assessments and a recruitment process was underway to appoint a permanent Director of Children’s Services.

 

In his question, Councillor Clark raised the issue of the size and positioning of the signs relating to the Low Traffic Neighbourhood in Broad Green particularly in Parsons Mead.

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammed Ali confirmed that any traffic management schemes on the highway must have signage that abides by the traffic signs regulations. This scheme has met those requirements, but some additional signage had already been put in place.

 

Councillor Stranack, in his question, asked how much Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 money the council holds and how much of that will be used on the voluntary sector in the coming financial year.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed confirmed that due to the issuing of the Section 114 Notice that budget for the voluntary sector had been paused but it was hoped to re-introduce it to support the voluntary sector. There had also been a rent subsidy and a bid has been made to support the subsidy for the future, which if successful will mean support from the CIL.

 

Councillor Stranack, in his supplementary question, asked again for the figures for CIL and Section 106 and how much would be going to voluntary organisations as he had to let them know the situation now.

 

Councillor Shahul-Hameed, in her response, confirmed that there was £2.2 million in the Community Fund and also reiterated the additional £150,000 in business rate support. Also agreed to have a further conversation with Councillor Stranack to supply additional information.

 

Councillor Mann, in his question, stated that the New Economics Foundation and the Greater London Authority (GLA) had been working on a commercial Landlords Charter which recognised the need to work differently following the pandemic and asked about whether the council would work with the New Economics Foundation to see how this could be applied in Croydon.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed acknowledged that this had been a difficult time for landlords and tenants across the borough and that some landlords had also struggled. The Council does support the Landlords Charter along with the Employers Charter where 100 businesses have already signed up, and through the Local Recovery Board.

 

Councillor Mann, in his supplementary question, stated that the council has a number of small and medium sized enterprise tenants such as the park cafes, and asked how will the council support them as a socially driven landlord.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed confirmed that the council is working very closely with the small and medium sized enterprises but that work also needed to be done with the voluntary sector through strengthening the partnerships that are in place and ensuring that new funding comes to the borough.

 

Councillor Chatterjee, in his question asked what types of crimes had increased in the last year.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed stated that she chaired her first Safer Croydon Partnership meeting last week but as the council is currently in the pre-election period it was not possible to publish the strategic assessment at this time. The Partnership will be renewing the Community Safety Strategy with themes around domestic abuse and protecting young people from violence and exploitation.

 

Councillor Chatterjee, in his supplementary question, stated that drugs offences were up 12.3%, violence against the person up 10.5%, public order offences up 8.5% and possession of weapons up 2.5% and asked whether this was due to a lack of a Community Safety Strategy or as there was on one in charge of the Violence Reduction Unit.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed stated that from July 2019 until last week there was a director in charge of the Violence Reduction Network who did a remarkable job as did the officers involved, and expressed her disappointment that Councillor Chatterjee had chosen to quote those figures at a meeting in public during the pre-election period.  

 

Councillor Bernadette Khan, in her question asked whether the Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care agreed with her, 660 schools across England and a groundswell of young people to reform the National Curriculum to reflect the achievements of black and minority ethnic people to address the harmful legacy of colonialism.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming stated that work had already begun in Croydon around the decolonisation of the curriculum and that it was a timely reminder coming so close to the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd on 25 May. This work involved working with a group of head teachers with a programme called Curriculum for Change which was looking in depth at how to decolonise and included training in diversity.

 

At this point Councillor Flemming dropped out of the meeting and Madam Mayor agreed that Councillor Khan would ask her supplementary question once the connection was restored.

 

Councillor Hoar, in his question asked with the Growth Zone and Economic Development Team’s funding being cut in the budget what assurance could be given to businesses, particularly in the town and district centres, that the Growth Zone and economic development would continue.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed stated that although the economic development team had been reduced from 15 members of staff to 5 they had continued to work closely with small and medium sized businesses to ensure their survival. The team are working with partners such as the Croydon Business network and the Covid Taskforce on the delivery of the Additional Restriction Grant. As stated earlier the council is expanding the night-time business grant and the economic development team were working hard to ensure distribution

 

Councillor Hoar, in his supplementary question stated that Croydon Works had been scrapped from the budget even though it provided a route into work for local people. He also mentioned the funding currently available from Government and asked how many businesses have closed in the borough.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed stated that as part of the budget pressures it had been announced that Croydon Works would be decommissioned.

 

With regards to the Restart Grant, the council has redeployed staff to administer this though no additional funding was available for councils to do this. Other initiatives were also taking place with the university including bringing 400 students to the borough to study, particularly around skills gaps in social care. Partnerships are key in the future in bringing funding to the borough, for example the South London Partnership was bringing in £6 million for the south London boroughs.

 

Councillor Audsley, in his question asked, what support will be given to the climate action movement across the borough.

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammed Ali stated that he was looking forward to receiving the recommendations from the Croydon Climate Commission in the next few weeks which he will then bring to Cabinet. The work will involve working with residents and delivery partners. As a council the work has already started to become a sustainable council and he will be asking everyone in Croydon to make small changes to their lifestyle in 2021.

 

Pool 3

 

With the end of time allocated to questions to the Cabinet Members in the second pool, Madam Mayor signalled she was moving on to questions to Cabinet Members in the third pool. Councillor King and Councillor Young were invited to make their announcements.

 

Councillor Young had no announcements but clarified the figures that we discussed earlier. The Council’s annual repair budget in £11.9 million and the Axis? budget was £10.9 million. Axis budget had been overspent every year since year 2015 to 2016. He offered to attend the meeting between Councillor Hale and Councillor Hay-Justice.

 

Councillor Hale apologised for her error and that the current underspend was £300,000.

 

Councillor Jason Cummings in his question asked about the Leader’s apparent refusal to appoint a member of the minority group to the post of Chair of the General purposes and Audit Committee, given that the recommendation had come from the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and what discussions had taken place with them about not implementing that recommendation as they intended it.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that the recommendation from the non-statutory rapid review was very clear in that the council should consider that the Committee is not chaired by a majority party councillor. It was quite an established principle across local government that where the chairing is not undertaken by a member of the majority group then there are two models to be followed. Either it would be chaired by a councillor from another party or chaired by someone independent, bringing professional expertise. Therefore, the review did not state that it should automatically be chaired by someone from the minority party.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Cummings asked again about what discussions had taken place with MHCLG about this in terms of how it will be implemented.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that the he had not had any discussion with MHCLG regarding implementation of the recommendation but that the Committee will no longer be chaired by a member of the majority group and that is what will be proposed for the council AGM.

 

Councillor Jewitt, in her question asked Councillor Young to share his reflections on the Renewing Croydon Conference.

 

Councillor Young, in his response stated that in a report to full council on 30 November 2020 it was acknowledged that the council will not fundamentally improve without staff being fully engaged and listened to. The Renewing Croydon Conference was a first step in staff engagement in the plan’s delivery. In his view the conference was highly successful by creating a shared understanding of both the council’s proposals and the engagement plan that underpins it. It was also successful in sharing longer term ambitions to be achieved over three years to in bed new ways of working including cultural and behavioural change. He also thanked the staff for their commitment, Grace Addy for chairing the conference and to the Interim CEO for making the event a success.

 

Councillor Millson, in his question stated that the last meeting of the General Purposes and Audit Committee (GPAC) heard from the Internal Audit team who outlined their plan for 2021 to 2022. He asked whether it would be possible to add to the plan regarding attempts by the public to contact the council and how those were dealt with. There was general agreement at GPAC but in light of the Leader’s comments earlier could the audit team be asked to add this issue to their priority list.

 

Councillor Young, in his response agreed to take the issue away and speak with the internal audit team. With regards to governance improvements the council want to draw in more information digitally using Power BI which will give greater overview for councillors.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Millson supported the use of Power BI as a way for non-executive councillors to receive information. However, given the cross chamber support at GPAC and with members being contacted by members of the public who had failed to get an answer from the council, did Councillor Young share the Leader’s surprise and that the council could not have responded to concerns.

 

In his response, Councillor Young stated that what had been revealed in the last week was shocking and an investigation is underway. He will not pre-empt the inquiry but once the results are published then he would be happy to comment.

 

Madam Mayor agreed to allow Councillor Jewitt as Chair of GPAC to speak and she stated that she is in discussion with officers in the internal audit team to bring that matter forward.

 

Councillor Canning, in his question asked what income Croydon Council was currently receiving from the Colonnade Centre and how does it compare to the council’s outgoings to cover the borrowing costs incurred to buy the Colonnade’s freehold.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that in the last year for which full figures are available over £2 million in revenue was generated which resulted in nearly £1 million of net contribution to the council’s general fund budget. The centre has seen a fall in income this year to £1.5million to £1.6 million but it continues to generate funds for the council general fund budget.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Canning asked in light of the fact that the centre is very popular with residents and is mainly leisure rather than retail, whether Councillor King agreed that criticism of this particular investment was wide of the mark.

 

In his response, Councillor King agreed that it is a popular and that many people were looking forward to attractions reopening. Also where investments have been made to support the council, such as Vulcan Way and Imperial Way they have been generally successful in the contributions made to the council’s general fund. It has been important that the council explored all the ways available to ensure that it can generate the income needed to fund the budget and live within its means. One way is by maximising the income and these investments have done that.

 

Councillor Hoar, in his question asked whether any discussions had been had with the Justice Department with regards to using the empty Croydon Park Hotel as an Nightingale Court as it would appear that the Jurys Inn was being used.  

 

In his response, Councillor Young stated that he was not aware of any discussion having taken place.

 

In his supplementary, Councillor Hoar stated that this appeared to be a wasted opportunity in maximising the income and requested that Councillor Young made enquiries as to whether this option had been looked at.

 

In his response, Councillor Young stated that the council had just started a mini competition for property agency companies who are experts in their field undertake a valuation and engage the market and for them to provide advice to Cabinet so that a collective decision can be made. Work is underway and the urgency acknowledged to make sure that council balances the budget.

 

In her question, Councillor Ben-Hassel asked the Cabinet Member to set out how the budget passed earlier this month responds to the Report in the Public Interest.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that there were a number of points raised in the Report in the Public Interest that were specially made with the councils budget setting process in mind. There are a number of ways to resolve these. The underlying causes of the overspend in Adults and Children have been identified and are being addressed in the budget. There has been much greater rigor in the budget setting process this year with input from scrutiny committees and opposition members. The Treasury Management Strategy was also part of the budget papers and was fully reviewed and refreshed. Considerable officer time was devoted to challenges brought about by Brick by Brick and there was a request to look at the Revolving Investment Fund which had been addressed by the council with acceptance that no new investment will be made across the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) via the RIF.

 

In her supplementary question, Councillor Ben-Hassel asked how is the council going to monitor unintended consequences of budget reductions to avoid possible cost escalation in some departments which could be caused by budget reductions in other departments.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that it was a really important point and that it is down to everyone to monitor the budget’s deliverability and any challenges and problems are highlighted. Considerable due diligence went into the budget setting process including external challenge. The Section 151 officer had already begun the process of monitoring the budget savings and budget reports will be going to Cabinet on a monthly basis.

 

In his question, Councillor Ward asked for the Cabinet Member’s view on transparency of information.

 

In his response, Councillor King agreed that transparency is good practice.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ward mentioned that he had to Freedom of Information requests which were two weeks overdue, one of which had been requested some time before as a member of scrutiny and he requested whether the response could be received by the end of the week.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that it was not aware of this particular case and there was a process to go through if anyone is unhappy with either the response or the time taken to receive a reply. If Councillor Ward would send through the details then he would take the matter up on his behalf.

 

Councillor Audsley, in his question asked how the Cabinet Member would be using his role to lead change in the council’s contracts and procurement tendering process.

 

In his response, Councillor Young confirmed that with the level of spend involved that this area was a priority. Almost 200 contracts are due for renewal in the coming year and that is an opportunity to secure best value by going back to the market or creating new markets. It is also important to have good project management and a new reporting process proposal will be brought to the Cabinet in May.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Audsley asked whether the housing repair contract in relation to Regina Road had been reviewed.

 

In his response, Councillor Young confirmed that the housing repair contract covered all of Croydon Council’s housing estate. An extension to the contract was agreed in January following a report that went to Cabinet which showed that the contractor had performed above the average benchmark. As part of his role and the ongoing investigation it will be important to know how the benchmarking was carried out so that decisions can be made in the future. Having seen what had happened made him worried.

 

With an end to the time allocated to questions to Cabinet Members in the third pool, Madam Mayor brought Croydon Question Time to a close.