Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence (if any).

Apologies were received from Councillor Mina Parmar, Portfolio Holder for Housing.

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 Norman Stevenson, Portfolio Holder for Business, Property and Employment, declared a pecuniary interest in that he lived near the Pinner area and had signed the petition presented at item 3.  He left the meeting while the item was discussed and agreed upon.

Item 8: Future High Streets Fund Project Adjustment - Approval from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

-                 During the meeting, Cllr Graham Henson, declared a pecuniary interest in that he was involved in a consultation relating to the Wealdstone Bridge.  He left the meeting while the item was discussed and agreed upon.

Item 9: Leisure Management Contract Extension

-                 Cllr Kanti Rabadia, Non-Executive Cabinet Member, declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he used some of the leisure facilities stated in the report.  He remained in the meeting while the item was discussed and agreed upon.

Item 13: Proposed West Drive and Bellfield Avenue Conservation Area

designation - outcomes of consultation and recommendations

-                 Cllr Pritesh Patel, Portfolio Holder for Adult Services and Public Health, declared a pecuniary interest in that he was a Bellfield Avenue resident.  He left the meeting while the item was discussed and agreed upon.

Item 14: Adult Social Care Provider Inflationary Up-lifts

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

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

The following petitions were received:

1)              Dr Harmeet Chana presented a petition on behalf of Pinner Road residents, containing 23 signatures, requesting the Council to review parking restrictions and include Pinner Road in a Controlled Parking Zone.

2)              Mr Robert Bruce presented a petition on behalf of Lyncroft Avenue residents, containing 284 signatures, requesting the Council to improve the safety at the Lyncroft Avenue/Cannon Lane junction by introducing safety and traffic calming measures.

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, 26 June 2023.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk

No person may submit more than one question].

RESOLVED:  To note that the public question was 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, 26 June 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 July to August 2023.

For consideration

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

Report of the Interim Assistant Director of Strategy and Partnerships.

Resolved to RECOMMEND:  (to Council)

That the new Community Safety Strategy be considered and recommended to Council for approval.

[Call-in does not apply to the decision above as it is reserved to full Council.]

RESOLVED:  That the Interim Assistant Director of Strategy and Partnerships, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety, be authorised to make any minor amendments to the strategy as necessary prior to the matter going to Council.

Reason for Recommendation:  The Strategy was a statutory requirement of the Safer Harrow Partnership.

Report of the Corporate Director of Place and the Director of Inclusive Economy Leisure and Culture.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            entry into a revised Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the London Borough of Harrow to use the grant from the Future High Street Fund to invest in the projects identified in Table 1 of the officer report, be agreed;

(2)            authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Place to agree minor amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Business, Employment and Property, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety and Portfolio Holder Finance and Human Resources;

(3)            authority be delegated for the Corporate Director of Place, following consultation with the Director of Finance and the respective Portfolio Holder for Business, Employment and Property, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety, Portfolio Holder Finance and Human Resources to approve the tender packs at a future date;

(4)            authority be delegated for the Corporate Director of Place, following consultation with the Director of Finance and the respective Portfolio Holder for Business, Employment and Property, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety, Portfolio Holder Finance and Human Resources to award the contracts following a compliant procurement process;

(5)            consultation on future designs for capital programmes in Harrow Town Centre, be agreed.

Reason for Decision:  Cabinet agreed in January 2023 a further report be submitted to Cabinet to seek approval for the adjusted Future High Street project.  The recommendations would enable investment in Harrow Town Centre to proceed.

Report of the Corporate Director of Place.

Having agreed to note the confidential appendices and background papers to the officer report, Cabinet

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the extension of the Council’s current Tri-Borough leisure contract (with the London Boroughs of Brent and Ealing) with Everyone Active (Sports and Leisure Management) (SLM) Ltd (EA) for 1 year commencing 1 September 2024 until 31 August 2025, be approved;

(2)            authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Place, following consultation with the Director of Finance and Assurance, and the Portfolio Holders for Community and Culture and Finance and Human Resources, to complete all the required actions to extend the Council’s current Tri-Borough leisure contract (with the London Boroughs of Brent and Ealing) with Everyone Active (SLM) Ltd (EA) for 1 year until 31 August 2025, including entering into the contract extension.

Reason for Decision:  The tri-borough contract was due to end 31^st August 2024. Across the sector leisure centres are still experiencing a slow and stagnating rate of recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis.  The impact of the latter is particularly affecting older leisure sites.  Due to the financial impact of the above, leisure operators are currently more risk adverse in terms of their own investment into facilities, and there is likely to be limited interest from non-incumbent operators.  An extension of the contract would allow the leisure market to recover further from the pandemic and enable a leisure investment strategy to be completed.  Without a plan for investment in the Council’s leisure facilities it is likely that interest from the market was likely to be limited and the financial returns for the Council would be worse.

Report of the Corporate Director of Place.

RESOLVED:  That the Council’s Economic Strategy 2023 – 2026 as set out in Appendix 1 to the officer report, be approved.

Reason for Decision:  To support a strategy that aligned with the corporate vision and priorities of the Council.

Report of the Corporate Director of Place and the Director of Environment.

RESOLVED:  That approval be granted to an increase to the value of the CCTV contract with DSSL Group Ltd, by up to £100,000 per annum to a maximum of £1,000,000 over the life of the contract.

Reason for Decision:  To ensure the Council fulfilled its responsibilities for enforcement and community safety activities and to ensure there was sufficient contract value to pay for the contractor services over the contract term.

Report of the Corporate Director of Place and the Director of Environment.

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

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the commencement of a procurement processfor the provision of Fencing Installation, Maintenance, Security and Groundworks, be approved, noting that the  term of any future contract award following a competitive and compliant procurement exercise would be for an initial term of 3 years with up to 3 extension options of 2 years and a final extension option of 1 year;

(2)            the tender documents set out in the confidential Appendix 1 to the officer report be approved;

(3)            authoritybe delegatedto theCorporate DirectorofPlace, followingconsultation with the Director of Finance, Portfolio Holders for Environment and Community Safety and Finance and Human Resources to make any changes required to the tender documents following approval;

(4)            authoritybe delegatedto theCorporate Directorof Place,following consultation with the Director of Finance and the Portfolio Holders for Environment and Community Safety and Finance and Human Resources to award the contract following a compliant procurement process.

Reason for Decision:  The recommendations in the report are made based on a robust specification andin linewith thecurrent resourcesavailable tothe Council.Implementation of the new contract would deliver:

·                 Cost-effectiveprojects delivery and completionof worksfor Fencing Installations, Maintenance, Security and Groundworks;

·                 A contract that is compliantwith theCouncils ContractProcedure Rules and the Public Contract Regulations 2015;

·                 Abilityto allocateprojects worksquickly andefficiently;

·                 A performance managed contract with guaranteed minimum levels ofservice and warranty including emergency call outs.

Report of the Corporate Director of Place and the Chief Planning Officer.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)             1-41 (consecutive) West Drive, 1-29, 31, and 33-47 (consecutive) Bellfield Avenue, all of West Drive Gardens and 128, 130 and 132 Uxbridge Road be designated as a conservation area (named the West Drive and Bellfield Avenue Conservation Area), as shown in Appendix 3 to the officer report; ;

(2)            authority be delegated to the Chief Planning Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration to undertake the necessary statutory processes to formally designate the conservation area.

Reason for Decision:  Consideration of the proposed area as a possible conservation area fulfils the Council’s obligations under section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) to determine whether any parts of their area should be designated as conservation areas and if so, designate these as conservation areas.  Whilst not a statutory requirement, the consultation undertaken represents best practice.

The Planning Policy Advisory Panel is an Advisory Panel to the Cabinet and this report / recommendation responds to the Panel’s conclusion and recommendation that the West Drive and Bellfield Avenue area should be designated as a new Conservation Area.

Report of the Corporate Director of People.

The Portfolio Holder for Adult Services and Public Health introduced the report, noting that a correction in paragraph 39 of the officer report was required as set out below to ensure consistency with the percentage uplift referenced elsewhere in the report and bring it in line with the available budget.  

“The WLA DPS 2023-24 rates used to determine uplifts for standard older people’s bedded care placements are capped at £746 for residential; £803 for residential dementia; £782 for nursing and £804 for nursing dementia placements in Brent and Ealing. Harrow has aligned its uplift standard prices with these two LAs for several years, but this year will limit its increase to 2.5% 2.7% which will equate to £667 £668 for residential; £725 £726 for residential dementia; £726 £727 for nursing and £746 £747 for nursing dementia placements.”

Having noted the change to the percentage uplift, Cabinet

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the three-year inflationary up-lift approach 2023-24 – 2025-26, be agreed;

(2)            the increased funding for Providers for 2023-24 as a one-off additional payment be agreed.

Reason for Decision:  To implement the adult social care inflationary up-lift for 2023-24.

Report of the Head of Customer Service and Business Support.

RESOLVED:  That the Corporate Complaints Policy be approved.

Reason for Decision:  On 18 July 2022 Cabinet agreed the vision and principles to improve the customer experience of residents interacting with the Council. 

The Complaints Policy explains how residents could make a complaint regarding the quality of the Council’s services, what standards to expect and what to do if still dissatisfied.

Report of the Head of Customer Service and Business Support.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the corporate performance indicators and targets for 2023 to 2026 as set out in Appendix 1 to the officer report, be approved;

(2)            authority be delegated to the Head of Customer Service and Business Support, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Performance, Communications and Customer Experience, to amend the indicators and targets throughout the period of the Corporate Plan 2023-26.  Any such changes be clearly identified as part of quarterly reporting to Cabinet.

Reason for Decision:  To provide a transparent and robust performance management framework in line with the Corporate Plan.

Report of the Head of Customer Service and Business Support.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)            the Customer Service commitments within Appendix A to the officer report, be approved;

(2)            the progress to date be noted.

Reason for Decision:  On 18 July 2022 Cabinet agreed the vision and principles to improve the customer experience of residents interacting with the Council. This is the next step to ensure delivery against that vision.

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