Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Dr Antonio Weiss.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interest was declared:

Agenda Item 14 School Organisation Update

Councillor Jean Lammiman declared a non-pecuniary interest in that she was Chair of  Governors at Chairman Shaftesbury High School for Special Needs and was interviewed by the Ofsted inspector for Harrow SEND Review. She would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions had been received.

To receive any public questions received in accordance with paragraph 16 of the Executive Procedure Rules.

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, Monday 8 July 2019.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk  

No person may submit more than one question].

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions had been received.

To receive any Councillor questions received in accordance with paragraph 17 of the Executive Procedure Rules.

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, Monday 8 July 2019].

The Councillor Questions were responded to and the audio recording placed on the Council’s website.

RESOLVED:  To note the contents of the Key Decision Schedule for the period July to September 2019.

Report of the Divisional Director of Children and Young People Services

Resolved to RECOMMEND:  (to Council)

That Youth Justice Plan 2019-2020 be endorsed and adopted.

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

RESOLVED: That the Portfolio Holder for Young People and Schools be authorised to make minor amendments to the draft reports, in conjunction with advice from the Youth Offending Partnership Board, for presentation to Harrow Full Council meeting in July 2019.

Reason for Recommendation:  To endorse the Harrow Youth Justice Plan 2019-2020 and adopt it as Harrow Council’s Youth Justice Plan. 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Director of Strategy

Resolved to RECOMMEND:  (to Council)

That the Community Safety Violence, Vulnerability and Exploitation Strategy 2019-2020 be endorsed and adopted.

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

RESOLVED:  That the Portfolio Holder for Community Cohesion and Crime be authorised to make minor amendments to the draft report, in conjunction with Harrow Community Safety Partnership, Safer Harrow, for presentation to Harrow Full Council meeting in July 2019.

Reason for Decision:  To endorse the Safer Harrow Partnership’s Community Safety Violence, Vulnerability and Exploitation Strategy 2019-2020 and adopt it as Harrow Council’s Community Safety Plan. 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Chief Executive and Director of Finance

Resolved to RECOMMEND:  (to Council)

That the addition of £100m to the Capital Programme, for long term commercial investment, be approved.

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

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          the actions and options in Stage 1 and Stage 2 to reduce the 2020/21 to 2021/22 budget gap (paragraph 1.3.3 to the officer report refers), be noted;

(2)          the key themes being explored to support the 2 year Budget Strategy 2020/21 to 2021/22 (paragraph 1.3.3 to the officer report refers), be noted;and

(3)          the action to refresh the Investment Property Strategy and engage external professional advice to support the commercial investment (paragraph 5.6 to the officer report refers) be noted.

Reason for Decision:  To ensure the Council managed within the challenging financial environment it faced and achieved financial sustainability over the medium term.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Corporate Director, Community

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          the Parking Management and Enforcement Strategy set out at Appendix A to the officer report be approved, subject to formal approval of the LIP3 by the full Council;

(2)          a consultation on the proposed structural changes to parking control measures, including the proposed charging regime, be undertaken; and

(3)          the Corporate Director, Community, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment:

a)     authorise the consultation documentation,

b)     consider the responses to public consultation and approve the parking control measures and charging regime to be taken forward,

c)      authorise the statutory consultation on amendments to traffic regulation orders required to implement the changes agreed,

d)     consider representations received from the statutory consultation and to agree the parking control measures and the charging regime to be implemented.

Reason for Decision:  The parking and enforcement management strategy sets out the Council’s approach to parking control and enforcement in the borough and would ensure that the parking policies in the approved third Transport Local Implementation Plan were effectively taken forward to address the significant environmental and economic challenges faced by Harrow residents and businesses.  This was required to facilitate Highways Authority functions under the Highways Act 1980.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Interim Chief Planning Officer

RESOLVED:  That officers undertake a public consultation on the addition of the following to the list of locally listed parks and gardens in Harrow:

1.            St John the Evangelist and  Old Stanmore Church churchyard, Stanmore

2.            Waxwell Close and the gardens to Waxwell Farmhouse, Pinner

3.            The Cedars Open Space, Uxbridge Road, Harrow Weald

4.            Byron Recreation Ground, Wealdstone

5.            Stanmore Recreation Ground, Stanmore

6.            St Mary’s Churchyard and Churchyard Extension, Harrow on the Hill

7.            St John the Evangelist and Old Stanmore Church churchyard, Stanmore

8.            St John the Baptist Church, Pinner

9.            Small green in front of Church Farm, Pinner

10.         Pinner Hill golf course, Pinner

11.         Little Common, Stanmore

12.         Headstone Manor Recreation Ground, Pinner View

13.         Harrow Cemetery, Pinner View, Harrow

14.         Grovefields, Harrow on the Hill

15.         Eastcote Lane cemetery, South Harrow

Reason for Decision:  To comply with the National Planning Policy Framework requirement that planning authorities ensure that they make information about the significance of the historic environment gathered as part of plan-making or development management publicly accessible.

Providing locally listed status to those heritage assets that had local merit would help protect Harrow’s local historic and architectural interest and assist the Council to meet its Council priorities to Build a Batter Harrow and Delivering a Strong local Economy for All.

To comply with the Harrow Core Strategy (adopted 12^th February 2012) Strategic Objective 1 for ‘heritage assets – parks and gardens’ for an ‘up to date list of locally important historic parks and gardens’.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Corporate Director, Community

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          subject to Council approval on 18 July 2019 to increase the Capital Programme, the proposed property purchase on the Head of Terms set out at Appendix 1 to the officer report be approved;

(2)          a variation from the Investment Property Strategy be approved in respect  of the single purchase limit of £5m on this occasion only (paragraph 3 to the officer report refers); and

(3)          the Corporate Director, Community, following consultation  with the Director of Finance, Portfolio Holder of Regeneration, Planning and Employment and the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, approve of the purchase, including any variation to the Heads of Terms, subject to satisfactory survey reports, valuation, due diligence and financial viability.

Reason for Decision:  This proposed property acquisition would be an addition to the Council’s commercial investment portfolio. 

[Call-in did not apply as a waiver of Call-in had been obtained from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the decision proposed was reasonable and should be treated as a matter of urgency as any delay likely to be caused by the Call-in process would seriously prejudice the Council’s interests.

Reason for Urgency - that the matter cannot be delayed to a later Cabinet Meeting as, under the Heads of Terms, the Council is required to simultaneously exchange contracts and complete the purchase within 20 working days of receiving legal papers from the Vendor.  If the Council cannot comply the Vendor may re-market the site and the Council may lose this opportunity].

Report of Corporate Director, Community

This report had been withdrawn from the agenda.

Report of the Corporate Director, People

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted; and

(2)          the actions undertaken in response to the recommendations as set out in the officer report, be noted.

Reason for Decision:  The recommendations and responses were based on the outcome of the Preventing Youth Violence Scrutiny Review process.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of Corporate Director, People

RESOLVED:  To note

(1)          the update on the implementation of the school expansion programme and the School Roll Projections 2019-2032 Report;and

(2)          the changes in the overall school organisation landscape.

Reason for Decision:  To enable the Local Authority to fulfil its statutory duties to provide sufficient school places in its area.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Corporate Director, Resources

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          the Corporate Director of Resources, following consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder, be authorised to:

·                     consult with the Greater London Authority on proposed changes to the scheme;

·                     finalise the details and publish a draft scheme;

·                     and consult with interested parties.

(2)          a report be submitted to Cabinet in the Autumn with the outcome of consultation and a recommendation to full Council in relation to any alternative scheme.

Reason for Decision:  The localised Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme was determined by Full Council and implemented on the 1/4/2013 after extensive consultation designed to ensure that residents within Harrow were given the opportunity to comment and help shape the final scheme provisions. 

Universal Credit (UC) was now being rolled out in Harrow and this would be fully implemented locally for all working age claimants by 2023.  Due to the roll out of UC, it was proposed to consult on revising the scheme in relation to working age claimants.  If the Council Tax Support scheme was not changed as Universal Credit rolls out, there was a risk that it would reduce the number of people claiming Council Tax Support in the borough, become more complex for claimants to understand their entitlement due to the impact of frequent changes to their Universal Credit award, affect the council’s ability to collect council tax and cost the council more to administer.  Proposals were therefore being made to address these risks.

Leaving the scheme unchanged therefore increased the risk of detrimental impact to working age claimants and the Council from the rollout of Universal Credit.  Universal Credit also brought opportunities to improve the Council Tax Support scheme to make it more accessible to residents, easier to claim and less complex to understand.

Pensioners were legislated for by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government under a prescribed national Council Tax Support scheme.  The council was therefore not making any changes to the pensioner scheme.  This report referred to working age claimants only.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Director of Finance

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          the progress on achieving the 2019/20 savings as at Period 2 (end of May 2019) be noted;

(2)          the proposed amendments to the Capital Programme, as set out at paragraphs 3.1 to 3.7 of the officer report, be approved;

(3)          the proposed virement that was within the 2019/20 HRA Capital Programme, as set out in paragraphs 3.8 to 3.10 of the officer report, be approved;

(4)          the alteration of the shareholder agreement to allow just one director, the ‘finance director’, of Concilium Business Services Ltd (paragraph 5.2 of the officer report refers), be approved;

(5)          the Director of Finance be authorised to make arrangements for a loan, at a commercial rate, to the LLP capped at £250k and governed by a loan agreement (paragraph 5.3 of the officer report refers.

Reason for Decision:  To update Cabinet members on the progress in achieving the savings built into 2019/20 budget and for Cabinet to agree amendments to the 2019/20 Capital Programme.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Director of Strategy

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          Portfolio Holders continue working with officers to achieve improvement against identified key challenges (Appendix 1 to the report refers); and

(2)          the report be noted.

Reason for Decision:  To enable Cabinet to be informed of performance against key measures and to identify and assign corrective action where necessary.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.