Agenda, decisions and minutes

Received from Councillor Ngongo.

None.

Confirmed.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2023 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reasons for the decision – as detailed in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

In response to a question from Councillor Russell, Councillor Ward undertook to respond to her on the matter of heat metering regulation and the potential risk to the whole pool system of charging residents once more people were on heat meters and exited the pooled system.

RESOLVED:

(a) To note the breakdown of the forecast General Fund outturn by variance at Appendix 1 and service area at Appendix 2 and detailed in the report of the Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance.

(b) To approve the inter-departmental virements as at month 10.

(c) To note the transformation fund allocations and anticipated drawdowns, including agreement to one-off funding of £0.160m over 2 years, for an Anti-Social Behaviour programme manager and a project manager role.

(d) To note the Collection Fund monitoring position at month 10.

(e) To note the Energy Price Analysis position as at month 10.

(f) To note progress on delivering the 2022/23 savings

(g) To note the HRA forecast in-year surplus of -£3.379m at month 10.

(h) To note that, at the end of month 10, total capital expenditure of £105.632m had been incurred against a 2022/23 forecast of £163.194m and the revised 2022/23 capital budget of £169.762m.

(i) To approve the allocation of interim funding to the Resident Experience Programme, as detailed in Section 7 of the report.

Reasons for the decision – to ensure the financial resilience of the Council

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reasons for the decision – as detailed in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

(a)To approve the procurement strategy for the laptop refresh, to a total estimated value of £4,400,000, for the procurement of hardware, managed deployment and related services and software licensing for four years.

(b) That the Corporate Director of Resources be authorised to award the contract, following consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance.

Reasons for the decision – The Council’s current four-year lease agreement for laptops was due to expire in August 2023. To enable the council to equip its staff with replacement laptops so that they could continue to work, a new leasing agreement needed to be in place with effect from September 2023.

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATION

Reasons for the decision – as detailed in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

That the responses to the recommendations made by the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Committee on Islington staff performance, detailed section four of the report of the Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance, be noted.

Reasons for the decision –  To respond to the recommendations of the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Committee following their report about Islington staff performance development.

Other options considered – a range of options were considered

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATION

Reasons for the decision – as detailed in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

That the responses to the recommendations made by the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Committee to strengthen elements of the Council’s work in responding to the impact of the pandemic on Islington’s local economy and the Council’s finances, as detailed in the report of the Executive Member for Inclusive Economy and Jobs, be noted.

Reasons for the decision –  To respond to the recommendations of the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Committee following their report about strengthening elements of the Council’s work in responding to the impact of the pandemic on Islington’s local economy and the Council’s finances

Other options considered – a range of options were considered

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATION

Reasons for the decision – as detailed in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

To enter into the necessary Grant Agreement with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to access funding and carry out works to improve the energy efficiency of Council properties under the Scheme, should the Council’s bid for funds for energy measures to 371 homes (308 tenanted and 63 leasehold) submitted on 18th November 2022 be successful.

Reasons for the decision – Announcement of successful bids would take place at the end of February/beginning of March and the council would need to be in a position to enter into the Grant Agreement within a month of that announcement.

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATION

Reasons for the decision – as detailed in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

To approve and bring into immediate effect the Local Development Scheme 2023, attached as Appendix 1  to the report of the Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance, noting that in terms of the Local Plan itself, the Council was targeting Summer 2023 for adoption of the Plan.

Reasons for the decision – Local authorities were required by statute to prepare and maintain an up-to-date Local Development Scheme. The current  Local Development Scheme required revision in order to set out the timescale for the final stages of the review and the adoption of the Local Plan and timescales for the preparation of new or revision of existing Supplementary Planning Documents.

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS

Reasons for the decision – as detailed in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

(a) To agree to the Council’s overall recycling ambition to recycle 40% of household waste and 75% of the commercial waste collected, by 2030.

(b) To approve the Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2023-25, attached as Appendix A to the report of the Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality and Transport.

Reasons for the decision –The Council was committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Reducing waste and recycling more was a key part of achieving this and the Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan detailed the Council’s waste strategy through to 2025 and beyond.

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

AGREED RECOMMENDATION

Reasons for the decision – as detailed in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

That the responses to the recommendations made by the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee about its scrutiny of the Net Zero Carbon Programme and Working Group on Waste Management, detailed in the report of the Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality and Transport, be noted.

Reasons for the decision –  To respond to the recommendations of the  Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee on progress and delivery on those recommendations.

Other options considered – a range of options were considered

Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted – none

Noting that this would be Amy Buxton-Jennings’ last Executive meeting before taking up a new post with Lambeth Council, Councillor Comer-Schwartz thanked her for her work with the Council, including steering Fairer Together and leading on the challenging inequality programme.  She had lead exemplary work on the Young Black Men and Mental Health Programme.  On behalf of the Council, Councillor Comer-Schwartz wished Amy Buxton-Jennings success in her new role.