Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor S. Boulton (Deputy Leader and Executive Member, Resources and Planning), and Councillor S. Kasumu (Executive Member, Environment and Climate Change).

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 10 January 2023 and 24 January 2023 (previously circulated).

The minutes of the meetings held on 10 January 2023 and 24 January 2023 were approved as a correct record and noted by the Chair.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) on the status of actions agreed at the last Cabinet meeting.

The status of actions agreed at the Cabinet meeting on 10 January 2022 and for decisions taken by Cabinet Members exercising their individual delegated powers between 23 December 2022 to 27 January 2023 in the report of the Assistant Director (Finance and Transformation) were noted.

To note declarations of Members’ disclosable pecuniary interests, non-disclosable pecuniary interests and non-pecuniary interests in respect of items on the Agenda.

Councillors T. Kingsbury and F. Thomson each declared a non-pecuniary interest in items on the Agenda as Members of Hertfordshire County Council.

To consider the following items for decision in the current Forward Plan:-

To consider the following items for decision in the current Forward Plan:

Report of the Service Director (Property Maintenance and Climate Change) providing details of the procurement process to appoint two new contractors to support delivery of the property refurbishment programme.

Cabinet agreed to award Planned Maintenance contracts to the following contractors for a 5-year period, commencing 1 April 2023:

•           Equans Regeneration Limited

•           Novus Property Solutions

Report of the Service Director (Property Maintenance and Climate Change) sets out a recommendation to award planned maintenance contracts for a 5-year period to Equans Regeneration Limited and Novus Property Solutions.

The Council requires additional contractor resource to deliver the enhanced capital programme for property refurbishment to its social housing stock. The works will include but not limited to: Kitchens, Bathrooms and associated works, Windows and Doors Installations and Electrical Works.

A proportion of the work will be delivered by Morgan Sindall Property Services Limited under their Housing Maintenance contract. The value of the works requires additional delivery resource as the estimated value of the Morgan Sindall contract does not have the ability to deliver the entire programme.

It is considered that the two extra contractors are required to deliver the works and to manage the risk of contractor failure. The contracts will include the provision to increase or decrease work dependant on delivery performance between the three contractors.

The project has been procured in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and Public Contracts Regulations 2015. There were seven bids received with Equans and Novus receiving the highest scores.

(1)   The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

Cabinet agreed to award Planned Maintenance contracts to the following contractors for a 5-year period, commencing 1April 2023:

·       Equans Regeneration Limited

·        Novus Property Solutions

(2)   Reasons for the Decision

The Council has increased the capital programme for property refurbishment to its social housing stock, allocating approximately £150m over the next 5 years.

The Council requires additional contractor resource to deliver the enhanced capital programme for property refurbishment to its social housing stock.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) regarding new government schemes for Council Tax Support Funding and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief.

(1)    Cabinet agreed to give delegated authority to the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation), in consultation with the Executive Member for Resources and Planning, to agree the process and any subsequent amendments for distribution of Council Tax Support Fund Payments in 2023/24.

(2)    Cabinet agreed to give delegated authority to the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation), in consultation with the Executive Member for Resources and Planning, to agree a discretionary rate relief policy and any subsequent amendments for awarding retail, hospitality and leisure relief, for the 2023/24 year.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) seeking delegated authority to design and implement two government announced schemes aimed at supporting businesses and residents with the cost-of-living crisis.

The Council Tax Support Fund is a further reduction to council tax of up to £25 per annum to those receiving Council Tax Support. This fund is capped at just over £162,000 and will be closed once this cap is reached.

The Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme is aimed at providing businesses with additional relief against their business rates bill and is capped at £110,000 per business. This scheme is fully funded by the government. Guidance has been reviewed by officers and we are aiming to have the scheme policies completed by mid-February to enable reductions to be made before bills are issued. Cabinet was asked to agree the recommendations and delegate authority for approval of these schemes.

(1)   The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

Cabinet agreed to give delegated authority to the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation), in consultation with the Executive Member for Resources and Planning, to agree the process and any subsequent amendments for distribution of Council Tax Support Fund Payments in 2023/24.

Cabinet agreed to give delegated authority to the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation), in consultation with the Executive Member for Resources and Planning, to agree a discretionary rate relief policy and any subsequent amendments for awarding retail, hospitality and leisure relief, for the 2023/24 year.

(2)   Reasons for the Decision

The Government is introducing a Council Tax Support Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme for 2023/24. Both these schemes need to be launched and included with 2023/24 council tax and business rate bills, which will be produced towards the end of February 2023.

The Council Tax Support Fund will allow this Council to deliver additional support to households already receiving council tax support. This could include potentially vulnerable residents.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) considering the commencement of a community lottery scheme to replace the Council’s community grants scheme.

(1)    Cabinet noted the outcome of the procurement exercise, and that Gatherwell Limited will be appointed under officer decision.

(2)    Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Executive Director (Place) to name the scheme, in consultation with the Leader and Executive Member for Leisure and Community.

(3)    Cabinet delegated authority to agree the scheme design to the Grants Board (including determining eligibility criteria for good causes) and that the terms of reference for the Grants Board be updated accordingly.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) setting out proposals to introduce a community lottery scheme aimed at supporting good causes throughout the borough.

A procurement process was completed to select a provider of the scheme and Gatherwell was selected as the preferred provider. Community lotteries are assessed by the Gambling Commission as low risk as there is no instant gratification and Gatherwell has strong controls in place for responsible and ethical gambling. More details of those gambling controls are set out in section 4 of the report.

Community lotteries are becoming more common in local authorities, and all of the bordering authorities in Hertfordshire have, or are in the process of setting up, a lottery scheme with Gatherwell. The Grants Panel will determine the detailed design of the scheme, including eligibility criteria, and distribution of central funds where players have not chosen a particular charity to support.

These proposals will help reduce reliance on the council in future for the direct funding of worthy causes.

Councillor L. Chesterman stated the following:

“As many of you know, I've been on Grants Board since the year dot, and I also worked in the charity sector for 30 years, so I can honestly say that I've seen both sides of applying for lottery money and applying for other funding, and also agreeing other funding coming out.

There are a few things I’m really quite concerned about. I was interested to see in the report, because I have raised elsewhere about this being gambling that we are going to push out to the community, and it was good to see that that's been dealt with in the report. I was disappointed to find that this was in the budget, and I think it would be more transparent had this report come first and we could have seen it before there was anything voted on within the budget, as this would have answered the questions that I was asking about being wary with gambling. 

I noticed there were a hundred and something lotteries locally since 2016. It's a different world today than it was a couple of years ago and I don't think any of us can deny that we're going through a real cost of living crisis. Have we done any research to see how much money has been lost for those doing lotteries during that time? Are people cutting back? If you turn the television on during the afternoon or early evening, every charity is now pushing a lottery. We are only looking at a set amount of money that people have got and that amount of money is shrinking.

And finally, people will tend to say that they want the money to go to the big charities. The smaller charities are really the losers in a lot of these lotteries. The strength of our council grants funding is that even the smallest club or the smallest group can apply for a grant, and we've been able to give it, I'm  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82c

Report of the Service Director (Property Maintenance and Climate Change) on the award of Contract for the Stock Condition Survey.

Cabinet agreed to award the Stock Condition Survey to Savills (UK) Limited as a call off from the Procurement Hub Framework for an initial period of one year.

Report of the Service Director (Property Maintenance and Climate Change) setting out a recommendation to award the Stock Condition Survey to Savills (UK) Limited, as a call off from the Procurement Hub Framework for an initial period of one year.

The Council is intending to review its social housing stock condition data to assist investment planning, building safety compliance and developing energy improvement plans to meet Government targets.

The intention is to survey all major components on condition and age within the external and internal areas of all dwellings, communal areas and blocks, together with completing energy performance certificates (EPC’s) where necessary. The survey will also provide an assessment against the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) including the Housing Health and Rating System (HHSRS). This will provide a rich source of data to assist in taking a proactive approach to damp and mould, refine investment planning and a valuable compliance component check to provide a further level of assurance that the council is meeting its building safety obligations.

There are two routes to market. One option is to run a tender process or to appoint a consultant via a direct call off framework, both would be in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules. Due to the Council’s commitment to a £150m, 5-year investment programme and the current risks within the sector around damp and mould and holding quality data, it would be prudent to complete this project as soon as possible.

Savills are well regarded for providing this service in the social housing sector and have confirmed that they would mobilise a team into the Borough within a few weeks of being appointed and complete the project during the course of this summer.

(1)   The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

Cabinet agreed to award the Stock Condition Survey to Savills (UK) Limited as a call off from the Procurement Hub Framework for an initial period of one year.

(2)   Reasons for the Decision

The Council will be undertaking a Stock Condition Survey of its rented homes, blocks and communal areas and requires an independent surveying consultant to undertake these services.

Report of the Executive Director (Place) on the Award of Contract for Ludwick Green.

Cabinet agreed to delegate the award of the contract for Ludwick Green to the Executive Member for Housing in consultation with the Executive Director (Place) and the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation).

Report of the Assistant Director (Regeneration and Economic Development) on the upcoming project at Ludwick Green, which will see the redevelopment of an existing disused residential block, to deliver fourteen new homes for social rent.

The site has been in disrepair and was identified for redevelopment as the previous building was no longer fit for purpose. The scheme that is proposed will deliver vital social rented accommodation for people on our housing register and will transform a site which is currently in very poor condition.

The site has previously had a resolution to grant planning permission by Development Management Committee, and due to the condition of the site, officers are keen to progress the project at the earliest opportunity. It is therefore proposed that delegated authority be granted for the award of the contract, so that when the current procurement process has been concluded, the contract can be awarded in a timely manner, and the scheme can be progressed, ensuring that the benefits are delivered at the earliest opportunity.

(1)   The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

Cabinet agreed to delegate the award of the contract for Ludwick Green to the Executive Member for Housing in consultation with the Executive Director (Place) and the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation).

(2)   Reasons for the Decision

The Council is delivering an affordable housing programme to provide new social housing throughout the Borough. The scheme is an important part of the Affordable Housing Programme, and delegated

authority is sought to appoint a contractor and move forward with the site as a priority.

Recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel on 19 January 2023 and from the meeting of the Cabinet Housing Panel on 26 January 2023:-

Recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel on 19 January 2023 and from the meeting of the Cabinet Housing Panel on 26 January 2023:

Recommendation from the meeting of Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel on the 19 January 2023 on the Introduction of Parking Restrictions in Campus West Car Park, Welwyn Garden City.

(1)    “The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield (Campus West, Welwyn Garden City) (Off-Street Parking Places) Order 2022”.

(2)    Cabinet considered the objections received in Section 5 in addition to the issues raised in Section 16 around equalities and diversity and agreed to proceed with the creation of the traffic regulation order as set out in the report.

This report sets out the recommendations of the Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel (CPPP) on 24 January to introduce parking restrictions in the new Campus West Car Park, Welwyn Garden City. 

The car park has been temporarily closed, whilst significant redevelopment and improvement to the car park has been carried out, including the construction of a new parking deck, and the installation of electric vehicle charging points.

In order to introduce parking restrictions at the car park, it was necessary to create a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).  The TRO relates to the parking restrictions being proposed including pay and display parking and disabled bays, rather than the actual car park charge.

A total of three objections were received as part of the TRO consultation and officers’ comments to those objections are shown in section 5 of the CPPP report. Most of these objections are not within the scope of the TRO as they relate to matters already considered under planning regulations.

Given a majority of CPPP members were in support to proceed with the TRO, Cabinet was asked to agree with their recommendation.

Concerns were raised at CPPP about possible anti-social behaviour (ASB) at the car park, although this sits outside of this TRO. It will be important to monitor the car park as the council would elsewhere. It was noted that an ASB plan is hoped to be in place before the car park opens, and there will be 30+ CCTV cameras installed. Members were pleased to see that two disabled EV charging points will be installed.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1)     “The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield (Campus West, Welwyn Garden City) (Off-Street Parking Places) Order 2022”.

(2) Cabinet considered the objections received in Section 5 in addition to the issues raised in Section 16 around equalities and diversity and agreed to proceed with the creation of the traffic regulation order as set out in the report.

(1)     “The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield (Campus West, Welwyn Garden City) (Off-Street Parking Places) Order 2022”.

(2)     Cabinet considered the objections received in Section 5 in addition to the issues raised in Section 16 around equalities and diversity and agreed to proceed with the creation of the traffic regulation order as set out in the report.

Recommendation from the meeting of Cabinet Housing Panel on 26 January 2023 on the Empty Homes Policy.

(1)   That members recommend approving the draft Empty Homes Policy to go out to public consultation.

(2)   That the draft Empty Homes Policy will be presented again to Cabinet Housing Panel for consideration following the public consultation.

Recommendation from the meeting of Cabinet Housing Panel on 26 January 2023 on the Empty Homes Policy.

The report proposes the introduction of a policy to outline how the council will deal with empty homes and has been presented to the Cabinet Housing Panel on 26 January 2023. It recommends the draft policy with a view to a undertaking a public consultation on the draft policy. Although not a legal requirement to do so, it would be good practice.

The Empty Homes Policy only relates to privately owned or privately rented homes and not social or council housing

There has not been a particular need in the past for an Empty Homes Policy as it was not considered necessary, but the council are seeing an increase in the number of empty properties and should have a policy in place if we need to utilise certain enforcement powers; such as Empty Dwelling Management Orders.

As detailed in the report, as of December 2022 there were 961 empty properties in the borough; one third of which are second homes. Over 100 of these have been empty for two years or more, and this is an increase of 20 properties since July.

Empty properties are considered nationally as a wasted housing resource and can lead to issues with antisocial behaviour and detriment to the visual amenity of the neighbourhood. In the vast majority of cases, we work with owners to try to bring empty homes back into use by negotiation and may only need to resort to formal action in a small number of cases where the properties are of concern.

If approved by cabinet, a public consultation will be undertaken for one month. The consultation will be advertised via the council’s website, using social media and through the Partnership Accreditation Scheme (PAL) scheme. The consultation responses will be online, but officers will ensure that residents can request a hard copy of the consultation to complete and return if needed.

Once the consultation is concluded, officers will bring a report back to the Cabinet Housing Panel on the consultation feedback, with any recommendations.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1)  That members recommend approving the draft Empty Homes Policy to go out to public consultation.

(2)  That the draft Empty Homes Policy will be presented again to Cabinet Housing Panel for consideration following the public consultation.

Recommendation from the Cabinet Housing Panel from the meeting on 26 January 2023 on an update on Now Housing.

(1)   That Cabinet note the update and approve the Exit Strategy for the company.

(2)   That Cabinet delegate authority to the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation), in consultation with the Executive Member (Planning and Resources) to agree the asset transfer price, finalisation of accounts and any write on/off position.

Recommendation from the Cabinet Housing Panel from the meeting on 26 January 2023.

The report provides an update to Cabinet on Now Housing, and proposals for an exit strategy from the company.

The company charges up to the local housing allowance for rentals and cannot support new schemes through the use of right to buy receipts. With the increasing costs of construction, and broader cost of living crisis, it is becoming increasingly harder to deliver viable schemes for the company, as the gap between costs and income for schemes becomes wider.

The government is also proposing changes to the way the council would need to account for loans to companies, which would add further challenges to delivering viable schemes.

The company is currently in a loss-making position, which was expected at this stage. It was not envisaged the company would be in a break-even position until it held between 40 and 50 units. As the company only owns 12 units and is now seeing increasing challenges in delivering more units, it is recommended that an exit strategy is put into place before losses accumulate further.

The proposed route of exit is for the council to purchase the Chequersfield block back from the company. Existing tenants would transfer to the council, and new tenancy agreements converting tenants to social rent would be signed.

Tenants have been consulted and all have confirmed that they support the proposals for the units to be purchased by the council and for them to more to bring council tenants.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1)  That Cabinet note the update and approve the Exit Strategy for the company.

(2)  That Cabinet delegate authority to the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation), in consultation with the Executive Member (Planning and Resources) to agree the asset transfer price, finalisation of accounts and any write on/off position.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) on the capital expenditure and associated capital funding as at the end of Quarter 3.

(1)    Cabinet noted the capital forecast outturn position as shown in Table 1 of the report.

(2)    Cabinet noted the forecast position as at 31 December 2022 for funding of the capital programme and reserve balances as reflected in Table 2 of the report.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) on the capital expenditure and associated capital funding as at the end of Quarter 3.

This report presents the capital expenditure and associated capital funding as at the end of Quarter 3 (December 2022). The report and appendices detail the changes to the original capital programme and funding plans, as a result of programme commitments and project delivery.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1) Cabinet noted the capital forecast outturn position as shown in Table 1 of the report.

(2) Cabinet noted the forecast position as at 31 December 2022 for funding of the capital programme and reserve balances as reflected in Table 2 of the report.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) on the forecast revenue outturn position as at 31 December 2022 for the financial year 2022-23 outlining the main variances from the original budget for both the General Fund (GF) and Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

(1)    Cabinet noted the revenue forecast outturn position as at Quarter 3.

(2)    Cabinet noted the position on debts set out in Section 5 of the report.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) on the forecast revenue outturn position as at 31 December 2022 for the financial year 2022-23 outlining the main variances from the original budget for both the General Fund (GF) and Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

There is a forecast adverse variance on the General Fund net cost of services of £1.711m (see Section 3 for further detail). A summary showing the General Fund position is contained in Appendix A1.

After additional reserve drawdowns of £0.732m (see Appendix A2) this leaves a net additional drawdown from the General Fund Reserve of £1.200m.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1) Cabinet noted the revenue forecast outturn position as at Quarter 3.

(2) Cabinet noted the position on debts set out in Section 5 of the report.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) summarising strategic performance data for Quarter 3 for 2022/23.

Cabinet noted the contents of the report and approved the proposed actions highlighted in the appendices.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) summarising

the performance data for the third quarter of 2022/23 on an exception basis following the monitoring and review of performance reports. Members were asked to note that 59% of projects are completed or on schedule with no risks, and 66% of KPIs have been met or exceeded. 20 KPIs have not met the Q3 target and explanatory notes from officers have been provided in the report.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

Cabinet noted the contents of the report and approved the proposed actions highlighted in the appendices.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) summarising the Council’s key achievements and service improvements for Quarter 3 of 2022-23.

Cabinet noted the report and contents of the Achievements List.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) summarising the Council’s key achievements and service improvements for Quarter 3 of 2022-23.

The report includes significant milestones relating to businesses being welcomed at the new High View development; upgrades to Hatfield Leisure Centre and Swim Centre; the delivery of successful events, including the White Ribbon football tournament; Christmas fayre at Mill Green Museum; and the council’s celebration of Black History Month.

The Council has been recognised as top of the leader board for its growth of EV charging points across the UK. The Council also won several awards at the regional 2022 Anglia in Bloom competition.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

Cabinet noted the report and contents of the Achievements List.

The Cabinet is asked to resolve:

That under Section 100(A)(2) and (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be now excluded from the meeting for Items 15 and 16 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of confidential or exempt information as defined in Section 100(A)(3) and Paragraph 3 (private financial or business information) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

In resolving to exclude the public in respect of the exempt information, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED:

That under Section 100(A)(2) and (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be now excluded from the meeting for agenda item 15 (Minutes 89 refer) on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of confidential or exempt information as defined in Section 100A(3) and paragraph 3 (private financial or business information) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

In resolving to exclude the public in respect of the exempt information, it was considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

To consider the following items of an exempt nature:-

The following item of an exempt nature for decision was considered:

Exempt report of the Service Director (Property Maintenance and Climate Change) on the Award of Planned Maintenance Contracts.

Cabinet noted the details as set out in the exempt report.

Exempt report of the Service Director (Property Maintenance and Climate Change) on the award of planned maintenance contracts.

(1)   The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

Cabinet noted the details as set out in the exempt report.

(2)   Reasons for the Decision

The Council has increased the capital programme for property refurbishment to its social housing stock, allocating approximately £150m over the next 5 years.

The Council requires additional contractor resource to deliver the enhanced capital programme for property refurbishment to its social housing stock.