Apologies had been received from Councillor Steve Curran.

There were no declarations of interest and no communications from members.

The Chair opened the meeting at 7.05 p.m., welcoming all present.

Apologies had been received from Councillor Steve Curran.

There were no declarations of interest and no communications from members.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2012.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2012 were confirmed. There were no matters arising.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2012 were confirmed. There were no matters arising.

Resolved:

That the Cabinet:

1. Noted the request made in the petition and the information provided in the briefing note to Cabinet.
2. Directed the officers to provide a response to the petitioners, reflecting the information provided in the briefing note.
3. In moving the report, Councillor Mayne expressed the belief that at some stage when funding was available the design of the bus stand area should be reviewed to seek an improved solution. He also moved that there should be a briefing to the Area Committee so residents might comment on the situation. This was agreed.  

See the report by Councillor Ed Mayne, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services – Agenda Item 3.

Councillor Ed Mayne, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, moved the report, which he hoped would be satisfactory to the petitioners. He noted that the original petition had been sent to the Mayor of London and felt a little frustrated in that it seemed somewhat disingenuous for the Mayor to send the petition back to the Council. Paragraph 3.4 of the report noted the contention by London Buses that Stand C was not currently utilised but was required to be kept as a bus stand. Paragraph 3.8 of the report identified an adequate solution to allow use for pick up and set down outside operational hours but the layout of the stands remained unsatisfactory.

Councillor Mayne moved the report and also moved that the Area Committee should receive a briefing on the matter so that residents could have their say on the issue.

This motion was seconded by Councillor Colin Ellar. Councillor Ellar expressed sympathy for the petitioners and considered their view made sense. There was a good interface between bus and trains at the station and this was an improvement on the original arrangements. However, he considered that the car had been forgotten in this scheme, so that motorists could only drop off passengers on the other side of the road, which caused a range of problems. He suggested that if both the Area Committee and Cabinet members looked at alternatives for the future there might be a better solution to meet the needs of local people. Councillor Ellar sought to clarify whether this was a Transport for London design and whether the authority to change rested with Transport for London or the local authority.

Councillor Mayne clarified that Transport for London and the Council worked in partnership. London Buses had certain requirements to be met but the Council enforced the bus stands. This was the main bone of contention. However, as a number of routes did use the bus stands, it was important that the Council did work in partnership with London Buses. Councillor Mayne noted Councillor Ellar’s point that the motorist had been forgotten in the design but he pointed out that buses were not well catered for either. So at some stage, when funds were available, it would be appropriate to look again at the design.

John Howliston, one of the petitioners, asked for the opportunity to comment at this stage but the Chair refused the request as there was no protocol allowing speakers at Cabinet meetings.

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations as moved by Councillor Mayne and seconded by Councillor Ellar.

Resolved:

That the Cabinet:

1. Noted the request made in the petition and the information provided in the briefing note to Cabinet.
2. Directed the officers to provide a response to the petitioners, reflecting the information provided in the briefing note.
3. In moving the report, Councillor Mayne expressed the belief that at some stage when  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Report by Councillor Sue Sampson, Cabinet Member for Performance and Customer Care.

Cabinet Members are asked to give advanced notice to CPP & S (by the

Thursday before the Tuesday’s meeting) of the Programmes & Projects and / or Performance Indicators that they would like further information on at the meeting; these will be circulated to the Corporate Performance Team in order for them to come prepared with any additional information.

Please forward the reference numbers and any related questions to Harjit Sabarwal in CPP&S (email:harjit.sabarwal@hounslow.gov.uk) by Thursday, 7 June 2012.

This colour pack will be circulated to members as a separate attachment to the main agenda. It has been published electronically as a supplement to the main agenda pack.

Resolved:

The Cabinet noted and discussed the report on performance for 2011/12, including the fourth quarter performance data.

See the report by Councillor Sue Sampson, Cabinet Member for Performance and Customer Care – Agenda Item 4.

In Councillor Sampson’s absence at that point in the meeting, Ian Carter, Assistant Director, Corporate Policy and Performance, introduced the report. He explained that there were some amendments to the format, providing an overall narrative and clarifying how the indicators worked. There had been no prior notice of questions from members.

Ian Carter drew members’ attention to the indicators showing as ‘red’. In respect of Victim Based Crime (BPI 11), despite a decrease in violent crime, there was a London wide trend for this category of crime to increase. There were limits to how the authority could influence this trend.

Indicators BPI 23 and BPI 22 reflected the wider state of the economy and benefit take up. There were flaws in the way the indicators were designed so this was the last time they would be reported.

Mr Carter turned to the indicators for a Cleaner, Greener Borough. Although the average was two ambers, red and green for Indicators 51 (a), (b), (c) and (d) and three of the four indicators had improved over the course of the year, the average was less than ‘green’. The litter indicator had also got worse, which was a surprise.

Councillor Sampson joined the meeting at this point.

Michael Jordan, Director of Environment, echoed the point that the third survey of the unannounced surveys had shown disappointing results. The commentary speculated on why this might be. However, they were confident that this was not the picture on other streets and times and work was ongoing with the new Lead Member to bring improvement.

From his perspective as a resident, Councillor Gupta noted that the Council’s partner, Sita, could be part of the cause as well. When Sita collected rubbish, no effort was made to pick up any which fell off the truck, so if the litter pickers picked it up three days later, it had lain on the streets for three days.

Ian Carter reported that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had looked at this issue the previous evening and had decided to invite Sita to a future meeting to look at the issues.

Resolved:

The Cabinet noted and discussed the report on performance for 2011/12, including the fourth quarter performance data.

Report by Councillor Steve Curran, Cabinet Member for Education, Housing and HR. 

Resolved:

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the report as follows:

1. The Cabinet approved the overall objectives, key work strands and targets in the action plan laid out in Appendix B of the report.
2. The Cabinet required the submission of a further update to Cabinet in December 2012.
3. The Cabinet approved the new policy on the use of fixed-term contracts laid out in Appendix E of the report.

See the report by Councillor Steve Curran, Cabinet Member for Education, Housing and HR – Agenda Item 5.

Councillor Colin Ellar declared an interest in this item, in that his partner worked for the Council through an agency.

Mary Harpley, Chief Executive, presented the report in Councillor Curran’s absence. She advised that this was a long standing issue and members had taken a strong view about both the use of non contract staff (outside the Commensura contract) and the overall use of non permanent staff, noting the high spend and use as a percentage of the workforce when compared with other Councils.

The update showed that the use had declined and the spending was less but a number of issues continued to be of concern to members and the Corporate Leadership Team. This report sought to address these issues.

The first issue related to off contract staff and how they were used. The rules about taking on non permanent staff had been reviewed and the new rules were set out in the Appendix to the report. There were now only three ways to take on non-permanent staff. There was a mechanism for the Lead Member to approve contracts for services and a commitment to reduce the overall number of non permanent staff to 7% of the overall establishment (in line with other Councils). Important in achieving this was to avoid keeping on agency staff for many weeks and to move staff much more quickly to Fixed Term Contracts. So there was a new policy to approve for Fixed Term Contracts.

There had been issues nationally about staff paid through limited companies and a duty to be clear. The authority had looked into this matter and would continue to do so. Internal Audit was looking at the details of this issue and there were also discussions with Commensura for situations where they might take on staff and pay them through a limited company.

It was intended to report back to Cabinet in December. The Corporate Leadership Team was focused on progressing this with an action plan to achieve a 7% cap on non permanent staff.

The Chair invited questions.

Councillor Gupta welcomed the report. He noted that the chain of previous reports had shown a change in the figures year on year. He would be delighted to see a report in December showing the authority was down to 7% of total workforce as in the action plan.

The Chair drew attention to the three recommendations in the report and these were approved.

Resolved:

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the report as follows:

1. The Cabinet approved the overall objectives, key work strands and targets in the action plan laid out in Appendix B of the report.
2. The Cabinet required the submission of a further update to Cabinet in December 2012.
3. The Cabinet approved the new policy on the use of fixed-term contracts laid out in Appendix E of the report.

Report by Councillor Jagdish Sharma, Leader of the Council.

Resolved:

1) The Cabinet noted one amendment to the report to correct an error. In Appendix A – page 39: School Effectiveness, item 4 ‘Why the growth is needed’, it was stated that one school in Hounslow had been placed in Special Measures by Ofsted. This was erroneous. The school had not been placed in Special Measures but in a category for improvement. 

2) The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the report as follows, noting the amendment above:

1. The Cabinet gave approval to committing a sum of £935k permanent growth funding within the 2012/13 budget to support the activities outlined in paragraph 2.4 of the report.
2. The Cabinet gave approval to committing a sum of £1,283k inflation funding from the inflation funding budget of £2,900k to support the inflation pressures outlined in paragraph 3.7 of the report.
3. The Cabinet gave approval to committing a sum of £2,058k external pressures funding to support the external pressures outline in paragraph 3.7 of the report.
4. The Cabinet gave approval to re-committing a one-off sum of £501k transitional funding to fund Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning (CSLL) activities previously funded by specific grants as outlined in paragraph 4.00 of the report.

See the report by Councillor Jagdish Sharma, Leader of the Council – Agenda Item 6.

Councillor Jagdish Sharma, Leader of the Council, introduced the report. He noted that the Medium Term Financial Strategy made provision for inflation and uncontrollable external pressures but in addition this time the authority had been able to make provision for growth. The agreed Council budget included up to £2m provision for growth in areas of priority and the current report sought approval to allocate from this provision and also to make provision for inflation and external pressures.

In particular, the report sought allocation for transitional funding for Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning to manage the impact of the withdrawal of central government grants. Provision was proposed to ensure that services were not reduced to a marked extent and that good projects could continue.

The Chair drew attention to the proposed growth items at paragraph 2.4 of the report. He spoke of the assumptions made in setting the budget. The provisional allocations for inflation and external pressures were shown in paragraph 3.7, together with the total expenditure and balance. The Chair moved the recommendations of the report.

Councillor Gupta seconded the recommendations. He calculated that around £1m was being put into the budget to tackle crime and support vulnerable young people. This reflected the Council’s pledges and made it clear what the administration would do to enhance those priorities. He noted that at a time when central government was making cuts, the borough was putting money into areas close to residents’ hearts. He welcomed the report.

Councillor Mayne associated himself with the Leader’s words and with Councillor Gupta’s. He acknowledged the wisdom of spending on community safety as opposed to the unwise arrangement of previous funding via time limited money. He believed the work on community safety with the police should be core work, not dependent on time limited grants, so the report proposed a better solution which was long overdue.

Councillor Lily Bath also supported the report and the general comment about growth bids. She noted that the proposals for some growth bids were the direct result of government cuts, for example, in youth offending which left the authority in a situation where it was not able to fulfil its statutory duty. She was grateful for the transitional funding. There was a drastic cut at short notice to grants and Councillor Bath thanked Judith Pettersen and her team for their prudent spending.

Councillor Bath also noted an error at page 39 of the report in respect of information on School Effectiveness. It stated that one school was in special measures but this was not the case. The school had been placed in a category for improvement.

Councillor Cadbury agreed that the growth proposals were the right thing to do. The Budget work they had done in February had allowed some headroom. Her regret was that the authority was not growing the service but rather maintaining the existing provision and finding funding for essential services which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Report by Councillor Gurmail Lal, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Services.

Resolved:

Cabinet members agreed to cease the current practice of funding transport for 6 of the Borough’s Community Groups from 31 March 2013 and that officers support the organisations to make a smooth transition to alternative arrangements.

See the report by Councillor Gurmail Lal, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Services – Agenda Item 7.

In introducing the report, Councillor Lal, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Services, pointed out that nearly all clubs encouraged the use of own transport, paid for Hounslow Community Transport’s services and some hired transport or used an accredited driver to allow attendance at the clubs.

It had been agreed to consult with the six community groups who were receiving more favourable treatment in respect of transport and a consultation had taken place between 20 December 2011 and 31 January 2012. Those consulted understood the point about equity of treatment but were concerned about the impact on those attending the clubs. The outcome of the consultation was summarised as Appendix 2 of the report.

The Equalities Impact Assessment attached as Appendix 1 of the report considered the issue and made proposals for mitigation. There would be a transition period to allow the Council and the clubs time to take account of disability and age related needs. Alternative transport options would be considered with time allowed to prepare for the impact of the loss of free transport so that alternative arrangements could be made to ensure the viability of the clubs. It was proposed to cease the free transport provision in March 2013. Councillor Lal moved the recommendations of the report.

Councillor Gupta seconded the recommendations, noting that these sought a better way of providing a service and allowed for smooth transition. The authority needed to make savings but had a duty to enable alternative arrangements to be made. He believed that the proposal to continue the service until next year was a good thing as by then other arrangements could be in place so residents did not suffer.

The recommendations were agreed.

Resolved:

Cabinet members agreed to cease the current practice of funding transport for 6 of the Borough’s Community Groups from 31 March 2013 and that officers support the organisations to make a smooth transition to alternative arrangements.

Report by Councillor Jagdish Sharma, Leader of the Council.

Please note that there is a confidential appendix to this report at Item 14 of the agenda.

Resolved:

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the consolidated report as follows:

Recommendations relating to Chapter 1: Revenue 2011/12 outturn report.

1.      Cabinet members noted the latest projected revenue budget outturn for 2011/12.

2.      Cabinet members approved the recommended Reserve and Grant transfers for 2011-12.

Recommendations relating to Chapter 2: Capital Programme 2011/12 outturn report

3.      The Cabinet noted the results of the Capital programme outturn for 2011-12.

Recommendations relating to Chapter 3: Treasury Management 4^th Quarter monitoring- March 2012

4.      The Cabinet noted the results of Treasury Management 4^th Quarter monitoring as at March 2012.

See the report by Councillor Jagdish Sharma, Leader of the Council – Agenda Item 8.

Councillor Jagdish Sharma, Leader of the Council, introduced the report, which was in three parts covering the Revenue Outturn, the Capital Programme and Treasury Management, with recommendations for each part.

Considering the first sub report on Revenue Outturn, the Chair noted that accounts were being prepared. They would be agreed by the end of June and there might be some minimal change.

The Chair commented that good systems of monitoring were in place. The year ended with under-spend, proving that the monitoring was very effective. A revised figure for variance and details of the reasons for under-spends by the departments were given in the report. The Chair moved the recommendations of the report to note the figures and approve the recommended Reserve and Grant transfer. This was seconded by Councillor Ellar.

Councillor Lal commented on the Community Services figures. He noted that exceptional budgetary pressures had led to over-spend. The budget had been balanced using reserves but there was work ongoing to understand what the pressures related to and to realign the budget by the summer of 2012. So Councillor Lal pointed out that all outturn figures were provisional.

Councillor Gupta echoed the point about monitoring. He paid tribute to Stephen Fitzgerald, the previous Assistant Director, Corporate Finance, for his vigorous efforts to balance the budget and also wished to thank the Directors of Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning and of Environment for achieving an under-spend of £2.6m and £2.3m respectively, which were significant amounts.

The recommendations relating to the Revenue outturn were agreed.

The Chair then moved to the report of the Capital programme, the projected outturn and slippage of £4.1m Paragraph 3 of the report gave details of projects by department, the resources and their application.

The Chair moved the recommendations of the report, which were seconded by Councillor Ellar.

Councillor Gupta questioned the risk around the Primary Capital grant mentioned in paragraph 5.1 and whether the risk had gone now that the grant had been clawed back. It was confirmed the risk had gone.

The recommendations were approved.

The final sub report concerned Treasury Management. The Chair confirmed that the strategy adopted followed the CIPFA Code of Practice. Details were set out of investment and borrowing. Prudential indicators showed the authority to be within the limits set for borrowing and that the interest target had been exceeded. There were no issues of concern and the Chair moved the recommendations, which were seconded by Councillor Ellar and approved.

Resolved:

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the consolidated report as follows:

Recommendations relating to Chapter 1: Revenue 2011/12 outturn report.

1.      Cabinet members noted the latest projected revenue budget outturn for 2011/12.

2.      Cabinet members approved the recommended Reserve and Grant transfers for 2011-12.

Recommendations relating to Chapter 2: Capital Programme 2011/12 outturn report

3.      The Cabinet noted the results of the Capital programme outturn for 2011-12.

Recommendations relating to Chapter 3: Treasury  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report by Councillor Jagdish Sharma, Leader of the Council.

Resolved:

The Cabinet:

• Noted the projected outturn.
• Noted the position statement of the 2012/13 savings.

See the report by Councillor Jagdish Sharma, Leader of the Council – Agenda Item 9.

The Chair introduced the report which was in a new format, which showed target and forecast against the key financial indicators. The report showed total revenue variances and projected outturn for all departments in the first month of the new financial year. Appendix A provided further detail. The Chair moved the recommendations of the report, which were seconded by Councillor Ellar.

Councillor Gupta questioned why a previous report showed under-spend for the last financial year but these figures showed overspend in the same department. It was clarified that overspend predicted in April included inflation. This pressure had been addressed in the growth provision discussed earlier in the agenda.

Resolved:

The Cabinet:

• Noted the projected outturn.
• Noted the position statement of the 2012/13 savings.

Any business which the Chair agrees to accept on grounds of urgency.

There was no urgent business.

There was no urgent business.

To resolve that the public and press be asked to leave the meeting during discussion of the remaining items of business because exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 is likely to be made known.

Please note that members of the public and press must leave the meeting at this point.

Resolved:

That the public and press be asked to leave the meeting during discussion of the remaining items of business because exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 is likely to be made known.

Resolved:

That the public and press be asked to leave the meeting during discussion of the remaining items of business because exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 is likely to be made known.

Report by Councillor Steve Curran, Cabinet Member for Education, Housing and HR.

Resolved:

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the confidential report as follows:

1. The Cabinet agreed to approve in principle the externalisation of DS Catering from Hounslow Council.
2. The Cabinet agreed the recommendation at paragraph 1.2 of the report that two options are further developed to ensure the best option is identified and adds the best value to the council with long terms benefits. These options are:

·        Externalised as a wholly owned Company.

·        Externalised as a joint venture (JV) company with a partner identified via a tender process.

     3. The Cabinet agreed that the proposals contained in paragraph 1.2 of the report be developed into a full business case in a report setting out the two options to be considered by the Lead Member, and a decision made on which of the options to be taken forward.

Reference the confidential report by Councillor Steve Curran, Cabinet Member for Education, Housing and HR – Agenda Item 12.

Councillor Lily Bath, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, introduced the report in Councillor Curran’s absence. She drew attention to and moved the recommendations, which sought approval in principle and requested a detailed feasibility study to explore two options from which a business case would be developed to bring back to Cabinet.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Sampson.

Councillor Gupta asked the background to the proposal as the reason for externalisation was not clear. Judith Pettersen, Director of Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning, explained that with the pressures on management time, it was not considered a good use of management capacity to manage a catering business, hence the consideration of externalisation. It also had the advantage of enabling the enterprise to operate more flexibly to compete in the market place.

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the report.

Resolved:

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the confidential report as follows:

1. The Cabinet agreed to approve in principle the externalisation of DS Catering from Hounslow Council.
2. The Cabinet agreed the recommendation at paragraph 1.2 of the report that two options are further developed to ensure the best option is identified and adds the best value to the council with long terms benefits. These options are:

·        Externalised as a wholly owned Company.

·        Externalised as a joint venture (JV) company with a partner identified via a tender process.

     3. The Cabinet agreed that the proposals contained in paragraph 1.2 of the report be developed into a full business case in a report setting out the two options to be considered by the Lead Member, and a decision made on which of the options to be taken forward.

Report by Councillor Ruth Cadbury, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration.

Resolved:

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the confidential report as follows:

1. The Cabinet authorised the surrender of the existing leases held by the Council of land adjoining Bridge Road Depot and the taking of a new long term lease of the same sites for 25-30 years at rental levels per annum as specified in the confidential report and the grant of sub-leases of the sites to the newly appointed PFI contractor, Vinci-Ringway, to facilitate the Highways Maintenance PFI contract, whose appointment was agreed by Cabinet on 6 March 2012.
2. The Cabinet authorised that delegated authority be given to the Director of Environment, in consultation with the Assistant Director, Corporate Governance, to negotiate and agree the terms of the new leases (to be taken or granted), licence and the sub-leases to be granted to the PFI Service provider at Bridge Road and Ashmead Road Depots.  

Reference the confidential report by Councillor Ruth Cadbury, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration – Agenda Item 13.

Councillor Cadbury, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration, introduced the report and moved the recommendations, which sought permission to surrender existing leases and establish new leases to facilitate use by Vinci-Ringway for the PFI.

Councillor Colin Ellar seconded the report. He sought one clarification concerning the payment of rent to the Council once a new lease agreement had been reached and Vinci-Ringway occupied the site. Michael Jordan, Director of Environment, clarified that Vinci-Ringway would be the Council’s tenant. The rent was included as part of the unitary charge so the value of the asset was contained in the unitary charge.

Resolved:

The Cabinet agreed the recommendations of the confidential report as follows:

1. The Cabinet authorised the surrender of the existing leases held by the Council of land adjoining Bridge Road Depot and the taking of a new long term lease of the same sites for 25-30 years at rental levels per annum as specified in the confidential report and the grant of sub-leases of the sites to the newly appointed PFI contractor, Vinci-Ringway, to facilitate the Highways Maintenance PFI contract, whose appointment was agreed by Cabinet on 6 March 2012.
2. The Cabinet authorised that delegated authority be given to the Director of Environment, in consultation with the Assistant Director, Corporate Governance, to negotiate and agree the terms of the new leases (to be taken or granted), licence and the sub-leases to be granted to the PFI Service provider at Bridge Road and Ashmead Road Depots. 

Please note this is a confidential appendix to the Consolidated Financial outturn report at Item 8 of the agenda.

The Cabinet noted the confidential appendix.

Reference the confidential appendix B to the Consolidated Outturn – Treasury Management – report at Item 8 of the agenda – Agenda Item 14.

Resolved:

The Cabinet noted the confidential appendix.

There was no urgent business exempt from publication.

There was no urgent business exempt from publication.