Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Eddie Lavery.

No interests were declared by Members present.

The minutes and decisions of the Cabinet meeting held on 23 May 2024 were agreed as a correct record.

It was confirmed that items of business marked Part 1 would be considered in public and those marked Part 2 in private. The Leader of the Council advised that two additional items were to be tabled under urgency provisions and considered in private relating to the acquisition of land and property.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet welcomes the insights, findings and conclusions of the Committee and notes this review was highlighted in the Select Committee annual scrutiny report. The Cabinet asks Officers, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, to:

1.    Explore the integration of digital devices in libraries, providing users with language preferences for live consultations.

2.    Provide quick survey options during detailed consultations for users who prefer faster responses.

3.    Consider adding a dedicated section within 'My Account' for live consultation documents to enhance user participation.

4.    Foster collaboration with the Youth Council to ensure relevant involvement in consultations, encouraging feedback from the youth demographic.

5.    Consider ways to increase engagement on social media platforms, like Facebook, such as addressing comments about consultations and guiding users to relevant consultations.

6.    Facilitate easier interaction for Councillors by providing shareable links to consultations within their wards or wider related issues.

7.    Establish a 'You said, we did' approach to provide feedback on decisions made and actions taken based on received feedback.

8.    Approve using post-meeting links to Council surveys and consultations on relevant council meeting YouTube broadcasts to further promote them.

9.    Consider introducing an annual evaluation across consultations looking at their effectiveness in achieving geographical and demographical parity to set measurable objectives for improvement.

Reasons for decision

Following a request from the Full Council to review the Council’s consultation arrangements, the former Finance & Corporate Services Select Committee undertook a review and made some practical recommendations to aid the way consultations were devised going forward to increase resident and community interest and take-up.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services expressed gratitude to the Select Committee for their work on the report. The Cabinet Member acknowledged the importance of consultation as part of local government activities, with the challenge being to ensure feedback was obtained from a broad and diverse range of community members, not just those who were particularly informed and vocal. The need to integrate this work more into the organisation’s culture was highlighted, with the aim of gaining more benefits from it. The recent consultation regarding the Uxbridge library was cited as a successful example, as it yielded practical and sensible ideas that were not initially considered but were now being incorporated. The Cabinet Member noted that this would result in significant improvements to the facility, cost reductions, and the continued provision of this important service.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Cabinet could have chosen to not approve or amend the recommendations.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet considers the consultation responses and approves the adoption of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.

Reasons for decision

In the absence of the Cabinet Member, the Leader of the Council introduced the report on the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy. The strategy, a legal requirement under the Flood and Water Management Act 2000, had been subject to consultation from 22 January 2024 to 24 March. Feedback from the consultation was incorporated into the proposed strategy. The Leader noted that the strategy was intended to be a living document, hosted on the website and broken down into accessible chapters for public reference. It was further noted by the Leader that comments continue to be received from residents, with approximately 30,000 properties in the Borough currently at risk of flooding.

Alternative options considered and rejected

None, as a statutory requirement.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet:

1)    Agree the updated Corporate Complaints Policy as set out in Appendix A.

2)    Request Full Council considers updating the Terms of Reference of the Corporate Resources & Infrastructure Select Committee to formally recognise it as the “Member Responsible for Complaints” as per the Ombudsman’s updated Codes.

Reasons for decision

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services introduced a report to update the Council’s complaints policy, driven by changes in guidance issued by the Local Government Social Care Ombudsman and the Housing Ombudsman Service. The Cabinet Member explained that the updates reduced the number of formal complaint stages from three to two, making the process more efficient. It also clarified that informal complaints should be treated as service requests. These amendments, amongst others, were agreed to be incorporated into the revised policy, enabling the Council to operate more efficiently and address complaints requiring further investigation.

Alternative options considered and rejected

None.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet agrees the Draft Youth Justice Service Strategy 2024-2029 for public consultation as a policy framework document.

Reasons for decision

The Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education introduced the draft Youth Justice Strategy 2024-2029 policy framework document for consultation. The report sought approval to commence a six-week formal public consultation from 1 July 2024, including feedback from the select committee. The Cabinet Member noted that the proposed draft Strategy built on the success of youth justice services and set out a clear vision for service delivery to residents. It outlined the key priorities for the next five years to continue being responsive and meet challenging demands and requirements.

The Cabinet Member cited the vision in the draft Strategy and the five priorities set out: prevention and early intervention, addressing overrepresentation and disproportionality, child-centered practice, reducing reoffending, and providing victims with restorative justice, which the Cabinet Member noted gave victims a voice and an active role in the justice process.

Alternative options considered and rejected

None, as this was a statutory requirement.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet:

1)    Note the budget monitoring position and treasury management update as at March 2024 (Month 12), noting the actions proposed by officers as outlined in Part A of this report.

2)    Approve the financial recommendations set out in Part B of the report below:

a)    Approve acceptance of £350k grant funding from National Trading Standards for costs associated with the delivery of additional enforcement work at Heathrow targeting the importation of non-compliant and unsafe vapes and e-cigarettes.

b)   Approve acceptance of Port Health Transition Fund grant of £209,161 to cover the period 1st April to 31st July 2024.

c)    Approve acceptance of the Household Support Scheme grant funding of £2,069k for the period 1st April 2024 to 30 September 2024 inclusive and the proposed scheme as set out in the statement at Annex A.

d)   Approve the acceptance of £107k grant funding from the Lawn Tennis Association Parks Tennis Renovation Grant for the renovation of the tennis courts at Moorhall Recreation Ground.

e)    Agree the request to continue existing operational arrangements with Caterplus and Powerday, whilst new contracts are agreed and formal governance approved.

f)     Note the interim consultants appointed where the value is above £50k in Annex B.

Reasons for decision

The Cabinet Member for Finance presented the Council’s 2023/24 budget outturn report. Despite an underspend of £2000, additional costs and income shortfalls of £9.9 million had been absorbed. Increased demands for social services and reduced planning fee income were also noted. Further pressures of £1.8m, including a reduced rebate from the West London Waste Authority, had been absorbed within the earmarked reserves, which stood at £8.3 million.

The Cabinet Member noted that the surplus on the collection fund had increased to £4.2 million and general balances and earmarked reserves amounted to £35.2 million. It was noted that unutilised capital receipts of £8m had also been retained. The savings programme for 2023/24 had amounted to £22.8 million, with £20.1 million delivered or being delivered, with the remaining savings required representing income shortfalls, with alternative options being investigated. General fund capital expenditure had showed an underspend of £64.8 million, with decisions on rephasing yet to be made. The Cabinet Member highlighted that the Council continued its dialogue with the Department for Education regarding the Dedicated Schools Grant. An updated was also given on the Housing Revenue Account, where on capital expenditure there had been an underspend against the budget of £23.3 million.

Additional recommendations were moved by the Cabinet Member, and agreed by Cabinet, relating to the acceptance of grants, extending two contractual arrangements and noting the use of consultants.

The Leader of the Council thanked Councillor Goddard and the finance team for their work and noted the pressures on Hillingdon Council, which were no different to any other local authority. The Leader stated that the Council was not expecting a bailout and was reviewing their structures and costs to drive out additional savings.

Alternative options considered and rejected

None.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet note the reports to be considered later in private and Part 2 of the Cabinet agenda and comment on them as appropriate for public information purposes.

Reasons for decision

The Leader introduced the report which provided a public summary of the matters to be discussed in the private part of the Cabinet meeting later, increasing the Council’s transparency.

Alternative options considered and rejected

These were set out in the public Cabinet report.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1)    Agrees the extension of the existing contract to ensure the continued delivery of high-quality theatre and cultural offer at the Beck Theatre, Hayes until December 2024 on a reduced subsidy level between July 2024-December 2024;

2)    Agrees to delegate authority on a further extension (maximum of three years) based on a zero-subsidy model to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services;

3)    Agrees to peppercorn rent for this extension period on similar terms as the current arrangement.

Reasons for decision

Cabinet agreed the extension of contractual arrangements with the operator of The Beck Theatre in Hayes, with the move to operate in the future without Council subsidy.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Alternative options considered by Cabinet were set out in the confidential report.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet:

1)    Approve continued use of Microsoft Azure Tenancy for Enterprise Architecture and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for critical line-of-business applications servers for a period of five years at a maximum value of £3,810k.

2)    Approve the continued partnership with Cisilion Ltd as the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) from 1st July 2024 to 30th June 2029 via the UK SBS Digital Workplace Solutions Framework and delegate authority to the Chief Digital & Information Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, to change the Cloud Solution Provider and make any associated decisions, should this be required, during the five-year period.

Reasons for decision

Cabinet agreed to continue contracts for the Council’s enterprise architecture infrastructure to enable the hosting of key business applications and agreed a Cloud Solution Provider to deliver this.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Alternative options considered by the Cabinet were set out in the confidential report.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet agree:

1)    For the hire of fleet vehicles to the Council for the period of 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2028 (4-years), to:

a)    Accept the direct award from Car Hire (Days of Swansea) Ltd (trading as Days Rental) up to a maximum value of £500,000;

b)   Accept the direct award from Dawsongroup Vans Limited up to a maximum value of £200,000;

c)    Accept the direct award from Enterprise Rent a Car Limited up to a maximum value of £200,000;

d)   Accept the direct award from London Hire Limited up to a maximum value of £200,000;

2)    To accept the single tender from Fiveways Municipal Vehicle Hire Limited for the hire of fleet vehicles for a 12 month period from 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025 up to maximum £175,000, pending the completion of a full tender exercise;

3)    To authorise the Council’s Fleet Manager to utilise these contracts based on the operational needs of the Council and also within approved budgets, as set out within the body of the report.

Reasons for decision

Cabinet agreed, where temporary requirements made sense, the necessary contracts for the hire of vehicles within the Council’s fleet, for a 4-year period.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Alternative options considered by the Cabinet were set out in the confidential report.

Two additional reports were considered by the Cabinet, in private, under urgency provisions.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1)    Notes the progress made following the decision by Cabinet on 18 April 2024 to progress the purchase of the residential properties (HPH3) in Hayes to meet local housing needs, including; positive progress to date on due diligence; a negotiated reduction off the purchase price and a successful grant application to the Greater London Authority (GLA) for £19.2m, representing approximately 50% of the purchase price, a grant which Cabinet duly accepts.

2)    Agrees to complete the purchase of the HPH3 development in Hayes, strictly subject to the final outcome of all due diligence to the satisfaction of the Council, for the total purchase price as set out in the report, along with the £19.2m of grant funding towards the purchase, from the GLA.

3)    Delegates authority to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport and Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, to finalise all necessary matters in completing the purchase, again strictly subject to final due diligence activities being completed satisfactorily.

4)    Authorises the release of capital funds, at the value set out in the report, from the HRA Acquisition and Development Budget, to supplement the GLA grant funding, to secure the purchase of the site.

5)    Authorises adoption of the Local Lettings Policy for the property in Hayes, upon successful acquisition (Appendix 1), and to the release of the Policy into the public domain at the relevant time.

Reasons for recommendation

Following Cabinet’s decision in April 2024 to progress the due diligence to support the potential acquisition of a residential development in Hayes, along with noting the successful GLA grant application of £19.2m towards it, Cabinet agreed the necessary decisions to complete the acquisition. Cabinet also agreed a local lettings policy for any future use of the property.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Cabinet considered various options, as set out in the confidential report and the previous report it considered in April 2024.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1)    Ratifies the previous decision taken by the Leader of the Council on 30 May 2024 to agree the exclusivity payment to assist with securing the site as detailed within the report.

2)    Agrees to acquire the development site in Uxbridge as set out in the report and site plan, and release the necessary capital funding to purchase it as set out in the report, in line with the Council’s agreed policy and budget strategy. Furthermore, Cabinet agrees that the acquisition be strictly subject to a satisfactory survey outcome and robust due diligence.

3)    Delegates authority to the Corporate Director, Place, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport, and the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, to negotiate the terms and completion of the purchase, including the purchase price of the site, to explore opportunities for GLA grant funding and to make all necessary decisions in respect of the due diligence work required in support of the site acquisition.

4)    Subject to a successful acquisition, delegates authority to the Corporate Director, Place, to appoint external specialist consultant appointments to support the delivery of development plans for this site post-acquisition.

5)    Requests the waiver of the scrutiny call-in period on these recommendations due to the urgency reasons set out in the report.

Reasons for recommendation

Following an opportunity presenting itself to the Council, Cabinet agreed to progress the acquisition of a residential site in Uxbridge. Cabinet provided the necessary delegated authority to finalise the purchase, subject to due diligence and noting the opportunity of securing grant funding towards it.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Cabinet considered various options, as set out in the confidential report.

Other than the two urgent matters set out in these minutes, no further additional items were considered by the Cabinet.

The meeting closed at 19.22pm