Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence (if any).

Apologies were received from Councillor Anjana Patel, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety and John Higgins, Voluntary Sector Representative.

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from all Members present.

RESOLVED: To note that the following interests were declared:

Item 4: Public Questions:

-      Cllr Paul Osborn, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he was the Council’s appointed representative to the West House and Heath Robinson Museum Trust. He remained in the meeting while the item was discussed.

-      Cllr David Ashton, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources,declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he was a Trustee of the Bentley Priory Museum. He remained in the meeting while the item was discussed.

-      Cllr Jean Lammiman, Portfolio Holder for Community and Culture, declared a non-pecuniary interest in that she was Chair of the West House and Heath Robinson Museum Trust. She remained in the meeting while the item was discussed.

-      Cllr Norman Stevenson, Portfolio Holder for Business, Employment and Property, declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he was Chair of Bentley Priory Museum Endowment Fund Trust.

Item 9: 2-year Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 Programme

-      Cllr David Perry, declared a pecuniary interest in that he was employed by one of the potential procurement portal contractors listed on the report. He left the meeting while the item was discussed and agreed upon.

Item 10: Household Support Fund (fourth iteration - April 2023 to March 2024)

-      Cllr Jean Lammiman, Portfolio Holder for Community and Culture, declared a non-pecuniary interest in that she was in receipt of long-term social care support from the Council. She remained in the meeting while the item was discussed.

To receive any petitions submitted by members of the public or Councillors.

The following petitions were received:

1)              Cllr David Perry presented a petition on behalf of Harley Road and Harley Crescent residents, containing 44 signatures, requesting the Council to review of the local parking arrangements.

2)              Mr Anthony Inglese presented a petition on behalf of Village Way residents, containing 39 signatures, requesting the Council to urgently resurface the stretch of Village Way between The Avenue and Central Avenue and eliminate the cause of vibrations to local properties.

RESOLVED:  That the petitions be referred to the Corporate Director of Place and the Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel (TARSAP) for consideration.

To note any public questions received.

Questions will be asked in the order in which they were received.  There will be a time limit of 15 minutes for the asking and answering of public questions.

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm, 22 May 2023.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk

No person may submit more than one question].

RESOLVED:  To note that one public question had been received and responded to and the recording would be available on the website.

To receive any Councillor questions.

Questions will be asked in the order agreed with the relevant Group Leader by the deadline for submission and there be a time limit of 15 minutes.

[The deadline for receipt of Councillor questions is 3.00 pm, 22 May 2023].

RESOLVED:  That the Councillor Questions were responded to and the recording would be available on the Council’s website.

RESOLVED:  To note the contents of the Key Decision Schedule for the period June to July 2023.

For consideration

RESOLVED:  To receive and note the current progress of the scrutiny reports.

Report of the Corporate Director of Place and Divisional Director of Housing.

Having agreed to note the confidential appendices to the officer report, Cabinet

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the procurement processes for the selection of two contractors to deliver Kitchens and Bathrooms refurbishments and Windows and Doors renewals for 2 years on the 2023/24 and  2024/25 Housing Capital Programmes be agreed with the option to extend for a further year for both Lots, noting that the combined value of the Kitchens and Bathrooms Programmes was £2.613M and Windows and Doors Programmes was £1,848M funded from Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital resources in financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25;

(2)            the commencement of procurement processes to identify suitable providers to deliver both programmes via an open tender process be approved;

(3)            the Corporate Director for Place, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, be authorised to make any changes required to the tender documents following approval.

(4)            the tender documents be approved; and

(5)            the Corporate Director of Place, following consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Housing and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Human Resources and the Director of Finance, be authorised to award the contracts, appoint contractors to both procurements and arrange the execution of contracts with the successful tenderers.

Reason for Decision:  To comply with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Regulations, due to the aggregate estimated value of the potential contracts.

Report of the Corporate Director of Place and the Divisional Director of Housing.

Having agreed to note the confidential appendices to the officer report, Cabinet

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero (DESNZ) 2-year spend profile as set out in Appendix 2 to the officer report, which had been submitted to central government together with the Grant Funding Agreement, be approved, noting that the spend profile outlined how the Council would deliver the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) programme to March 2025 across a minimum of 226 homes, incorporating the required approval request to add the £2.147m additional Grant received into the HRA capital programme, specified by DESNZ as £917k in 2023/24 and £1.230m in 2024/25;

(2)            the DESNZ specified procurement requirement for the Harrow SHDF programme which incorporated the required delegated authority for the DESNZ mandatory process approval and identification of the Council’s delivery partner, completing SHDF milestone 1 of the programme, be approved, noting that direct appointment will be made to the highest-ranked contractor on LOT 1 of the pre-evaluated framework on the specialist Fusion 21 decarbonisation framework; and

(3)            the Corporate Director of Place, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Human Resources and the Director of Finance, be authorised to finalise the award of contract.

Reason for Decision:  To enable the Council to:

·                 Meet critical Harrow climate emergency directives and central government energy efficiency targets contributing to the roadmap to Net Zero, by achieving a minimum EPC rating of C using a fabric-first approach across all homes on the SHDF wave 2.1 programme.

·                 Meet all statutory delivery milestones set by DESNZ for the specified delivery window for implementation, as set out in Table 9 of the bid.

·                 Meet the spend profile requirement as set out by DESNZ – in Annex 6 of the Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) which stipulated 42.7% of the Grant Funding it received in the 2023-24 Financial Year and 57.3% in 2024/25. 

[Note:  Councillor David Perry left the room for the discussion and vote on this item].

Report of the Director of Corporate Resources and Transformation.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the allocation of the fourth extension of the Household Support Fund as set out in the officer report, be approved;

(2)            the purchase of select codes vouchers from Blackhawk Network to a value of £578,000 for the low-income proactive awards and £62,000 for the application-based scheme (total £640,000), be approved;

(3)            the transfer of approximately £1,612,000 to schools for the provision of free school meals (FSM) vouchers to approximately 6,500-7,000 households with children during the school holidays, be approved;

(4)            the transfer of approximately £440,000 to Help Harrow to provide food aid across the borough, be approved;

(5)            the policy for the application-based scheme and the proposed administering process by Citizens Advice Harrow, be approved;

(6)            the Council’s Hardship Fund be redirected to the Household Support Fund application-based scheme for 2023/24 and;

(7)            the Director of Corporate Resources and Transformation/Head of Paid Service (Managing Director), following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Performance, Communications and Customer Experience, be authorised to make technical scheme amendments to ensure that the scheme met the criteria set by the Government and the Council and remained within the indicative grant level, including decisions on individual expenditure areas that exceeded the £500,000 threshold, if required; and

(8)            the Director of Corporate Resources and Transformation/ Head of Paid Service (Managing Director), following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Performance, Communications and Customer Experience, be authorised to best determine the expenditure of any underspend, to be repurposed in the following areas:

a.     to top up the application-based scheme; or

b.     to provide winter warmth packs or other resources to Warm Hubs in Harrow; or

c.     to rent arrears, or

d.     to any area of eligible spend where extra resources were needed at that time.

Reason for Decision:  The recommendations in the report met the essential criteria for the grant as set out by the Department for Work and Pensions.  The Council had considered where best to target the funding and the proposals provided a balance of support, mindful that the funding was not spread too thinly.

Report of the Director of Finance and Assurance.

Having agreed to note the confidential appendix to the officer report, Cabinet

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the proposed arrangements for procuring two contracts - Pension Fund Actuarial Advice Services and Pension Fund Investment Consultancy Services - be approved;

(2)            the commencement of the re-procurement of the two contracts via the National Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Frameworks, be approved; and

(3)            the Director of Finance and Assurance (Section151 Officer), following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Human Resources be authorised to approve the tender documents and award the contracts once tenders had been received and evaluated.

Reason for Decision:  To facilitate a compliant procurement and ensure that the Council continued to have contracts in place to enable it to obtain the appropriate expertise and advice so as to meet its statutory obligations as the administering authority for the London Borough of Harrow Pension Fund.

Report of the Director of Corporate Resources and Transformation.

RESOLVED: That

(1)            the new Council logo, as set out in the officer report, be adopted; and

(2)            the Council be formally referred to as “The London Borough of Harrow”.

Reason for Decision:  To enable the adoption and roll out of a new Council logo, supporting the Council’s aim to restore pride in Harrow.

Report of the Interim Director of Legal and Governance.

RESOLVED:  That the membership and terms of reference of the Cabinet Panels and Consultative Forum and the Chairs and Nominated Members of the Panels and Consultative Forum as set out in Appendix A to the officer report be confirmed and agreed.

Reason for Decision:  To confirm the appointments and allow the Panels and Forum to be constituted.

Report of the Interim Director of Legal and Governance.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the appointment of the identified Portfolio Holder Assistants and responsibilities be approved as set out in the table below, noting that these superseded previous appointments; and

(2)            the payment of Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) to the Portfolio Holder Assistants be made with effect from 25 May 2023.

Reason for Decision:   To enable the support to Cabinet Members in terms of information provision and management, to contribute to and ensure an effective decision-making framework as part of the democratic process.

[No conflict of interests were declared or dispensations granted in relation to the above items.]