Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received by Cllr Bennett and Cllr Isse.

Any member of the Council who has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting is reminded to disclose the interest to the meeting and to leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

Members are also reminded that if they have any other significant interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting, which they feel should be declared in the public interest, such interests should be declared to the meeting. In such circumstances Members should consider whether their continued participation, in the matter relating to the interest, would be reasonable in the circumstances, particularly if the interest may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests, or whether they should leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

No declarations of interest were made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2024 are submitted for confirmation.

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair invited the Lead Member for Finance, Customer Services, and Net Zero Council, Cllr Johnny Thalassites, supported by the Director of Financial Management, Lisa Taylor, and the Head of Financial Management, Amanada Anerville, to introduce the report to the Committee.

The Committee:

4.1Drew attention to the Legal budget overspend of £330k and questioned why this cost had arisen from an individual case as there was concern about costs escalating further. The Lead Member indicated the level of detail that could be discussed about an individual case at Committee was minimal and suggested more information would be provided to Members.

Action by: Director of Financial Management

4.2Considered what the benefit of incorporating the mainstream schools additional grant (MSAG) into the core budget allocations from 2024/25 was. Officers explained that as the money would appear in the budget at the beginning of the year, it would assist schools with planning moving forward.

4.3Queried how the end of ringfencing the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) would be managed. Officers indicated that the accumulative deficit had been estimated to be £3.3m but this had come down significantly from where it was recently. The question was around how to drive the deficit down quicker and make a provision in the medium-term financial plan to fund that as it would have to be funded from general fund reserves or the budget. The Lead Member indicated there were finite reserves; the gap could be filled with tax rises, reduced spending, or increased borrowing, but borrowing was an approach that would not be recommended.

4.4Discussed how allocation of £13.746m of Section 106 (S106) monies would be spent. The Lead Member highlighted that the report set out where S106 money would be spent, particularly on improvements to Kensington Memorial Park and the New Homes Delivery Programme but noted that there were still restrictions to consider on S106 money.

4.5Explored where funding was coming from once the Home Office grant for Prevent runs out and asked what provision would be if grant from Public Health did not occur. Officers indicated the intention was for it to be funded by Public Health as a one-off to bridge the gap between grants. The Lead Member also explained that if the grant was not allocated, it would have to be built into the base budget.

4.6Noted a funding request for a time-limited Parks Officer to explore income generation opportunities as it seemed to be what the Business Development Team already did as part of an asset portfolio. Officers suggested it was for additional capacity to drive piece of work forward; the intention was for this to become self-funding.

4.7Questioned what revenue was currently being generated from venue hire in parks given £47,000 was to be spent on a new Parks Officer in 2024/25. Officers indicated they would provide more information on this.

Action by: Director of Financial Management

4.8Highlighted the £498k overspend in Digital, Data and Technology (DD&T) and considered why that had happened.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Chair invited the Lead Member for Finance, Customer Services and Net Zero Council, Cllr Johnny Thalassites, supported by the Tri borough Director of Audit, Risk, Fraud and Insurance, David Hughes, to introduce the report to the Committee.

The Committee:

5.1Considered how the project management process around adapting to the new directive would be managed and suggested it may be worth having an update report in three months’ time. Officers confirmed they would be happy to bring an updated report and informed that the necessary groundwork was being done in relation to training officers, particularly with regard to contract management and legal training. Secondary legislation was being awaited.

Action by: Scrutiny Manager & Tri boroughDirector of Audit, Risk, Fraud, and Insurance

 5.2Enquired whether counterparties were expected to be informed. Officers explained that secondary legislation would allow for additional material to be shared with suppliers and this was a key opportunity to improve how the Council engaged with the market to bring about better outcomes.

5.3Asked whether training was paid for by the Government or the Council. Officers confirmed it was paid for by the Government and emphasised the need for directorates to invest time in training.

5.4Questioned whether improved delivery would lead to cheaper costs. Officers indicated that part of their task was how to deliver savings and commission services better learning from best practice and being innovative.

5.5Sought assurance on how the Council would be protected should a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) or small supplier go bust. Officers informed that there was a preference for bidders with insurance cover in place so recovery could be done through their insurance; additional costs could occur to find new suppliers, but business continuity was key.

5.6Discussed how the Council protected itself if contracts had not had premiums paid or had an excess that meant we could not claim on. Officers assured that contract management would ensure due diligence was done to ensure insurance coverage continues and due diligence is done on contractors themselves.

5.7Recommended that a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) be devised to illustrate how many companies have gone bust that have contracted with the Council and how must it has cost.

5.8Inferred that the key risk was whether the required number of personnel were in place. Officers indicated that mitigations were in place, and they were confident that the contract management team could be built up, but acknowledged it was a challenging market. Officers added they had recruited for two Senior Commercial Manager roles.

5.9Considered whether there were equivalents to qualified commercial officers as part of the critical path. Officers responded that the Council had a number of specialists already who were qualified and highlighted that Housing Management had specialists who were already delivering half of the contracts the Council held due to the Capital Programme and repairs contracts.

5.10   Explored the percentage level of confidence Officers had that all contracts had now been recorded. Officers intimated it was around 95  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chair invited the Lead Member for Communities and Community Safety, Cllr Sarah Addenbrooke, supported by the Chief Community Safety Officer, Stuart Priestley, to introduce the report to the Committee.

The Committee:

6.1Considered how St. Giles’ Trust fit into overall picture of tackling youth violence in the Borough and pondered why the RAG rating was amber. Officers indicated it was a commissioned service that recruited individuals with lived experience of crime, from criminal justice backgrounds and previous offenders, working in the community with an older age group of young people to tackle youth violence. Officers noted that the amber RAG rating was due to issues with recruitment and highlighted there was a limited recruitment pool due to sensitivity of the posts. The service was still being delivered but not to the capacity as had been commissioned to deliver. Officers are working with the St Giles Trust to remedy this.  

6.2Deliberated how at-risk individuals were identified to work at the St. Giles Trust. Officers explained that some would be identified through agencies, some through the Community Safety Team which was linked into the wider network of the youth offending service and family services, and others through the wider circle of VCS and community organisations.

6.3Queried the relevance of the baseline figure in relation to St Giles Trust. Officers clarified that it was a figure used to measure individuals who engaged with the service, using the example that 60% of service users were assessed as having a reduced risk of harm, gang affiliation or exploitation, this year it was 82%.

6.4Considered whether any key trends with crime had been identified and why crime had increased more than the London average. Officers indicated crime had increased across Central London and was a particular challenge with areas of high footfall; burglary, robbery and theft had increased while knife crime, sexual offences and drug crime had decreased.

6.5Questioned what provision the Council had regarding tackling the sexual exploitation of young women and girls. Officers noted that Family Services had specific statutory responsibilities and Community Safety commissioned all domestic abuse services, the main providers being the Angelou Partnership. Officers also highlighted the London Rape Crisis Service funded by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Council commissioned organisations to work within schools to promote healthy relationships to young people.

6.6Contemplated whether the aforementioned services could be accessed through self-referrals, including by parents. Officers indicated they could, and Midaye, Somali Development Network, were commissioned to provide youth violence and exploitation parent champions, with these parents raising awareness in the community about how referrals could be made.

6.7Sought assurance on whether there was an officer specifically dedicated to tackling hate crime and asked what personnel would be needed for Community Safety to be fully staffed. Officers highlighted the Community Safety Manager (CSM) was responsible for tackling hate crime and indicated there were three vacancies in Parks Police, a CSM role was also vacant and the advert for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Chair opened the discussion on the item.

The Committee:

7.1 Queried whether KD1008885 Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024/25 to 2027/28 would include an assessment of the impact of budget transformation. Officers indicated that a report on the Transformation Strategy would come to Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) in March which could include examples of transformation in Customer Access and the resident experience. Officers confirmed this would be added to the work programme.

Action by: Scrutiny Manager

7.2Requested a report for KD1008930 Annual Resilience Report – Standards for London self assessment be circulated to OSC members as it could not be scrutinised before the next OSC meeting. Officers agreed to share the Leadership Team report.

Action by: Governance Officer

7.3 Expressed concerns about KD06279 Variation of Tenancy Agreement Conditions for Council Tenants, KD05868 Tenancy Strategy and KD06504 Housing Strategy and requested a briefing note on the status of the three Key Decisions so further scrutiny involvement could be considered.

Action by: Governance Officer

7.4 Highlighted KD1007194 Procurement Strategy and contract awards for Home Care Services. Officers indicated that discussions were being had to bring a paper to the September 2024 meeting of Adult Social Care & Health Select Committee (ASCHSC) and would confirm this with the Chair of ASCHSC.

Action by: Scrutiny Manager

7.5Suggested a note be added to the Key Decision Tracker that KD1009031 Learning Disability Plan 2023-2026 was scrutinised at a meeting of ASCHSC on 1 February 2024.

Action by: Governance Officer

7.6Requested that further information be circulated to ASCHSC members regarding KD1009011 Hestia Mental Health Day Services Direct Award.

Action by: Governance Officer

7.7 Asked for clarification on whether KD06432 Fire Door Set Supply and Installation for Borough-wide Council Housing (Ref: 387) was related to a new phase of fire door installation or the completion of an existing phase. The Committee also requested figures on the number of fire doors and how many door installations had been completed.

Action by: Governance Officer

The Chair concluded the discussion on the item.

The Chair opened the discussion on the item.

8.1The Committee agreed that comments from Housing and Communities Select Committee meeting held on 6 February 2024 regarding the Grenfell Community Programme be taken into account when drafting the update report on the consultation on future Grenfell support.

Action by: Governance Officer

 The Chair concluded the discussion.