Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

None.

Noted.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting on 29 November 2018 be agreed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reason for decision – as specified in the report.

Other options considered - none.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

2.1     ThatCouncillor Mick O’Sullivan be appointed as the non-Executive
          Member of the LHC (London Housing Consortium)until May 2022, or
          until a successor is appointed be agreed.

2.2     That Councillor Diarmaid Ward remains the Executive Member of the
          LHC (London Housing Consortium) following his appointment by the
          Executive on 14 June 2018 be noted.

Reason for decision – To enable members to represent the Council at LHC meetings.

Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reason for decision – as specified in the report.

Other options considered - none.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

Councillor Webbe introduced the report.  Councillor Burgess expressed support for the policy from a health perspective.  

Councillor Russell and a member of the public asked questions about the proposed decision and other areas of transport policy, which were responded to by Councillor Webbe.

RESOLVED:

2.1     That an increase in the diesel surcharge on paid for parking by £1 per
          hour with effect from 1^st March 2019, as set out in paragraph 3.4
          of the report, be agreed.

2.2     That, from 1^st April 2019, a specific new resident’s parking permit
          banding for electric vehicles will come into effect and that the annual
          permit cost for such vehicles should remain at zero, be agreed.

2.3     That, from 1 April 2019, a fee of £20 per annum for Band A resident
          permits will come into effect and that this band should apply to all
          vehicles with CO2 emissions of 1-100g/km, be agreed.

2.4     That, with effect from 1 April 2019, the fee for Band B permits will be
          increased to £22 per annum in order to align with 2.3 above and to
          maintain the differential charging structure for emissions based
          resident permits, be agreed.

Reason for decision – To continue to reduce harmful emissions within the borough and thereby mitigate their adverse impact on the health of residents.

Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reason for decision – as specified in the report.

Other options considered - none.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

Councillor Hull introduced the report and advised that thanks to all the work and discipline displayed by colleagues in Finance and across the organisation, we are now forecasting a £0.7M underspend. 

RESOLVED:

2.1         That the forecast revenue outturn for the General Fund (Table 1 of the report) of a gross underspend of £0.7m, before taking into account the ongoing corporate contingency budget of £2m (Paragraph 3.1 of the report), be noted. 

2.2         That the breakdown of the forecast General Fund outturn by individual variance at Appendix 1 of the report and by service area at Appendix 2 of the report, be noted.

2.3         That the HRA forecast is a net break-even position (Section 5, Table 1 of the report), be noted.

2.4         That the latest capital position with forecast capital expenditure of £111.1m in 2018-19, be noted.  That the slippage of capital resources between 2018-19 and future financial years be agreed and the allocation of £1.5m of Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding collected from developments in Clerkenwell ward to transport and public realm improvements in Clerkenwell Green (Section 6, Table 2, and Appendix 3 of the report) be agreed.

Reason for decision – to allow Members to monitor the budget.

Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reason for decision – as specified in the report.

Other options considered - none.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

Councillor Hull introduced the Budget Proposals, noting that a three-year budget gives a level of certainty to staff and residents that it has not previously been possible to achieve.  Councillor Hull noted that the report will be submitted to the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Committee for comment.

Councillor Watts requested an additional recommendation is added to the report to be submitted to the next meeting, to note that the government’s proposals to remove deprivation from the funding formula, as part of the Fair Funding Review, will have a detrimental impact on future funding for all urban areas.

RESOLVED:

The General Fund Budget 2019-20 and MTFS (Section 3)

2.1     That the 2019-20 net Council cash limits as set out in Table 1
          (Paragraph 3.8) of the report and the MTFS at Appendix A of the
          report, which include the 2019-22 revenue savings at Appendix B of
          the report, and the 2019-20 revenue growth proposals at paragraph
          3.7 of the report, be agreed.
 

2.2     That the fees and charges policy and agree the 2019-20 fees and
          charges (Paragraphs 3.13-3.14 and Appendices C1-C3 of the report),
          be agreed.
 

2.3     That the estimated use of the Council’s earmarked budget reserves
          (including the creation of a new Transformation Reserve), the Council’s
          policy on the level of General Fund balances, with an increase in
          General Fund balances of £2m in 2019-20, and an increase in the
          ongoing contingency budget of £3m in 2019-20 (Paragraphs 3.15-3.18
          and Table 2 of the report), be agreed.

The HRA Budget and MTFS (Section 4)

2.4     That the balanced HRA 2019-20 budget, including savings and growth
          proposals, within the HRA MTFS at Tables 4-5 and Appendix D1 of the
          report, be agreed.
 

2.5     That the 2019-20 HRA rents, fees and charges (Tables 6-9 and
          Appendix D2 of the report), be agreed.
 

The Capital Programme 2019-22 (Section 5)

2.6     That the 2019-20 capital programme be agreed and the provisional
          programme for 2020-22 (Paragraph 5.1, Table 10 and Appendix E of
          the report), be noted.
 

2.7     That the Section 151 Officer applies capital resources to fund the
          capital programme in the most cost-effective way (Paragraph 5.2 of
          the report), be agreed.
 

Treasury Management and Investment Strategy (Section 6)

2.8     That the Treasury Management and Investment Strategy will initially
          be considered by Audit Committee on 31 January 2019 and then be
          included for agreement within the final budget report to the Executive
          on 7 February 2019 and Council on 28 February 2019, be noted.

Council Tax and Retained Business Rates (Section 7)

2.9     That the detailed, statutory council tax calculations and the
          recommendations for the final 2019-20 council tax level, including the
          Greater London Authority (GLA) precept, will be included in the budget
          report to the Executive on 7 February 2019 and Council on 28 February
          2019 (Paragraph 7.1 of the report), be noted.

2.10   That the following be agreed in relation to the Council’s proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 575.

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reason for decision – as specified in the report.

Other options considered - none.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

Councillor Hull introduce the report which ensures good value for both the Council and residents.  Councillor Russell enquired if using only renewable sources of power had been considered.  Councillor Hull confirmed that suppliers are required to provide an environmental strategy.  Councillor Watts commented that the procurement is weighted on price, to do what we can to protect residents from the rising cost of living.

RESOLVED:

2.1     That the procurement strategy for Gas and Electricity supply 2020-
          2024 – Contract 1819-0150 as outlined in this report be agreed.

2.2     That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Environment
          and Regeneration to award the contract, in consultation with the
          Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Community Safety be
          agreed.

Reason for decision – to ensure continuity of service and security of future supply without incurring additional costs.

Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reason for decision – as specified in the report.

Other options considered - none.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

2.1     That the level of directed surveillance undertaken by the Council be
          noted.

2.2     That recent legal developments be noted.
 

Reason for decision – to allow Members to monitor the Council’s use of surveillance.

Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reason for decision – as specified in the report.

Other options considered - none.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

Councillor Shaikh introduced the report advising that the permitted development rights to allow offices to change to residential not only has a very detrimental impact on jobs, it also means that the landlords of the new residential properties do not have to provide any affordable housing.  It is therefore very important that we withdraw the right where possible and do all we can to protect jobs.

RESOLVED:

2.1     That confirmation of the Article 4 Direction on or after 20 March 2019,
          which will withdraw the permitted development right which allows
          B1(a) office units to change to C3 residential use without planning
          permission, be agreed.  That the Direction covers Islington’s portion of
          the Central Activities Zone (as indicated on the plan at Appendix 1 to
          the report), be agreed.

Reason for decision – to protect jobs, to accommodate expected future growth and to ensure that the CAZ maintains its status as a competitive and internationally important business location.

Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reason for decision – as specified in the report.

Other options considered - none.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

2.1     That the decision taken on 22 November 2018 to approve receipt of
          funding for the Recladding of 251-253 Hungerford Road, London, N7
          9LD and Braithwaite House, Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8NQ be noted.
 

Reason for decision – to comply with the requirement in the Constitution to report decisions taken using urgency procedures to the Executive.
Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report.

Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none