Agenda, decisions and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 4, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD. View directions
Contact: Philippa Green 020 7527 3184
No. | Item |
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Apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Burgess, Gill, Shaikh and O’Halloran, a number of whom were following government guidance to self-isolate. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: None. |
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Minutes of Previous Meetings on 6 February and 27 February 2020 PDF 84 KB Additional documents: Decision: Noted. Minutes:
RESOLVED:
That the minutes of the meetings on 6 February and 27 February 2020 be agreed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.
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Appointment of Directors to Islington Limited (iCo) PDF 164 KB Decision: AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes:
RESOLVED:
2.1 That
Cllr Rowena Champion, Cllr Satnam Gill, Keith Townsend
2.2 That the
Leader of the Council be authorised to sign the
Reason for decision – to allow appointments to the board of Islington Ltd. Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
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Appointments made by the Executive PDF 130 KB Decision: AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes:
RESOLVED:
That Councillor Satnam Gill be appointed as a deputy to
theAssociated Joint Committee – London Councils’
Grants Committee, for the remainder of the municipal year
2019/2020, or until successors are appointed be agreed. Reason for decision – to maintain up to date membership of the London Council’s Grants Committee. Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
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Budget Monitoring Report including allocation of contingency and capital funding PDF 159 KB Additional documents:
Decision: AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes:
RESOLVED:
2.1
That the forecast revenue outturn for the General Fund (Table 1 of
the report) of an overall underspend of (-£3.318m) compared
to a forecast underspend of (-£1.973m) in the previous
reported position (Section 3 of the report) be noted.
2.2
That management action is required over the course
of the financial year to bring forecast overspends back to within
agreed cash limited budgets where possible (paragraph 3.2 of the report) be
noted.
2.3
That, as agreed in the 2020/21 budget report, that
any underspend on the 2019/20 General Fund budget at the end of the
financial year will be transferred to General Fund reserves and
balances in order to improve the financial resilience of the
Council (paragraph
3.4) be noted.
2.4
That the breakdown of the forecast General Fund
outturn by individual variance at Appendix 1 and by service area at
Appendix 2 of the report be noted. 2.5 That the schedule of additional budget risks that are not included in the current forecasts (paragraph 3.3 and Appendix 3 of the report) be noted.
2.6
That the back pay of out of hour premiums to
colleagues in the Cleaning Service that had not been applied since
the service moved back to Islington in October 2010 be agreed and
that this is included in the forecast outturn position be noted
(paragraph 4.12 of the
report).
2.7
That the latest position on the delivery of the
agreed 2019/20 to 2022/23 savings programme and on the earmarked
corporate transformation reserve (Section 5, Table 2 and Appendix 4
of the report) be noted.
2.8
That the now secured savings
classified as ‘Closed’ can be removed from the savings
tracker (paragraph 5.2 and Appendix 4 of the
report) be agreed.
2.9
That the HRA forecast is a net break-even position
(Table 1 and Appendix 2 of the report) be noted.
2.10
That charges for HRA reception centres owned by the
council for the purpose of providing temporary accommodation to
homeless households be amended for the financial year 2020/21 to
include a 5% uplift on the target rent and the introduction of a
service charge which better reflects the cost of the services
provided to residents (paragraphs 6.2-6.5 of
the report) be agreed.
2.11
That the latest capital position and key capital
variances with forecast capital expenditure of £132.394m in
2019/20 against the existing 2019/20 capital budget of
£155.628m (Section 7, Table 3, and Appendix 5 of the report)
be noted. 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.
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Additional documents: Decision: AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes:
RESOLVED: 2.1 That the evidence relating to problems being caused by poorly managed HMOs and privately rented accommodation in Finsbury Park as described in the consultation document in Appendix A of the report be noted.
2.2 That the outcome of the consultation process as detailed in Appendix B and the consideration of the responses to representations given in Appendix C of the report be noted.
2.3 That the
borough of Islington be designated as an area subject to additional
licensing of the following types of HMOs be agreed:
2.4 That the ward of Finsbury Park be designated as an area subject to selective licensing be agreed.
2.5 That the standard licence conditions set out in Appendices E1 and E2 of the report be agreed and that the Corporate Director of Environment and Regeneration be authorised to make variations to the standard conditions be agreed.
2.6 That the revised HMO standards in appendix F of the report be agreed and that the Corporate Director of Environment and Regeneration be authorised to make variations to HMO standards be agreed.
2.7 That the proposed fee structure in Appendix G of the report be agreed and that authority to delegate any changes in the fee structure to the Corporate Director of Environment and Regeneration be agreed.
Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
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Additional documents:
Decision: The amended report circulated in the second despatch was noted.
AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes:
RESOLVED: 2.1 (a) That Retail Relief be awarded to qualifying businesses be agreed. The value of this relief to be set at the value the government will reimburse the Council for in any particular financial year.
(b) That Retail Relief will be applied in accordance with and to the qualifying businesses the government identifies in its guidance be agreed. Such guidance is typically provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) in the “Business Rates Information Letters” they publish. For reference a copy of the guidance in respect of the financial year 2020/2021 is contained in Appendix C of this report.
(c) That the Islington Retail Relief Scheme as set out in Appendix A of the report be agreed.
2.2 (a) That Pub Relief be awarded to qualifying businesses be agreed. The value of this relief to be set at the value the government will reimburse the Council for in any particular financial year.
(b) That Pub Relief will be applied in accordance with and to the qualifying businesses the government identifies in its guidance be agreed. Such guidance is typically provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) in the “Business Rates Information Letters” they publish. For reference a copy of the guidance in respect of the financial year 2020/2021 is contained in Appendix D of this report.
(c) That the Islington Pub Relief Scheme as set out in Appendix B of the report be agreed.
2.3 That the value and qualifying criteria for both Retail Relief and Pub Relief Schemes may vary in future so that the Council’s schemes exactly match the value and criteria set out by and reimbursed by the Government in respect of any financial year be agreed.
2.4 That the Director of Financial Operations and Customer Services be authorised to make any necessary changes to the Islington Retail Relief Scheme and / or the Islington Pub Relief Scheme to give effect to any revised guidance on retail rate and / or pub relief issued by the Government be agreed.
Reason for decision – To allow the Council to apply rate relief as per the agreed schemes and to support local businesses. Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
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Procurement Strategy for small works, projects and building maintenance services PDF 173 KB Additional documents: Decision: AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes:
RESOLVED: 2.1 That the procurement strategy for small works and building maintenance services as outlined in this report be agreed.
2.2 That authority to delegate award of any contract via the YPO Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) be delegated to the Corporate Director Environment and Regeneration in consultation with the appropriate Executive Member be agreed.
Reason for decision – to enable small works and maintenance to be carried out in a cost effective way. Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
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Corporate Asset Strategy PDF 358 KB Decision: AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes:
RESOLVED:
2.1 That the work undertaken in the last six months to identify ways to strengthen the Council’s approach to the management of its non-housing property and asset base be noted.
2.2 That a corporate asset strategy would help ensure a joined-up approach across the Council’s total asset base, and would not impact plans to accelerate the Council’s house building programme be noted.
2.3 That the development of a 10-year corporate asset strategy, to be finalised and published in late 2020 be agreed.
2.4 That the strategy will incorporate the following, be agreed:
a) a core strategy designed to build assets that enable Islington to become a fairer place and provide a key enabler for the Fairer Together & Inclusive Economy programmes, as well as delivering modern workspaces and maximising the return from the Council’s commercial assets
b) the creation of a Council-wide and joined-up asset governance framework, comprising new Corporate Asset Development and Major Projects Delivery Boards, an enhanced New Homes Board, and an aligned and strengthened Borough Investment Panel
c) the creation of a new operating model to deliver a stronger core, comprising a new senior leadership role, consolidation and strengthening of resources into a new Corporate Landlord function, and a joint working approach with housing capital delivery functions
d) an asset management plan to support delivery of a modern, fit for purpose estate, underpinned by investment in a new asset management system, comprehensive condition and land use/lease data, and an initial capital investment to tackle the repairs backlog and complete part-funded schemes
e) the design and implementation of a rolling asset review process, designed to ensure that the Council’s buildings and other physical assets are utilised to deliver effective, value for money services as well as maximising social and commercial value
f) a corporate category management approach in relation to the procurement of property and construction related professional services and contractors, to maximise value for money and social value, and to manage Brexit related risks
g) a comprehensive 10-year capital programme, underpinned by a long term investment strategy and robust treasury management approach.
2.5 That the Transformation Reserve will be used to fund the implementation of the strategy as well as initial funding for the new Chief Officer post, pending the development of a long-term funding solution, at an estimated cost of £750,000 be agreed.
Reason for decision – to improve the management of the council’s property assets and support the new build programme. Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
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Decision: AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes:
RESOLVED:
2.1 That the recent developments relating to Universal Credit as set out in Section 4 of the report be noted. 2.2 That the Council’s proposed response to take forward those recommendations that require a government response, as set out in Section 5 of the report be agreed.
2.3
That the proposed actions we will take to address the
recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee that require a local
response, as set out in Section 6 of the report be
agreed. Reason for decision – to respond to the scrutiny committee’s recommendations. Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none. |
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Replacement of Wet Riser Main system to Michael Cliffe House PDF 153 KB Additional documents:
Decision: The reasons for urgency were noted.
AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS Reason for decision – as specified in the report. Other options considered - none. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
Minutes: RESOLVED:
That a contract be awarded to AJS Ltd for the replacement of the wet riser main and ancillary works to Michael Cliffe House in the sum of £2,176,667.23 be agreed.
Reason for decision – to ensure that urgent fire safety measures can be implemented. Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report. Conflicts of interest/dispensations granted – none.
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Replacement of Wet Riser Main system to Michael Cliffe House - exempt appendices Decision: Noted. Minutes: Noted see Minute 711 for details. |