Agenda, decisions and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor N. Pace (Executive Member, Governance and Public Health).

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 4 January and 18 January (special) 2022 (previously circulated).

The Minutes of the meetings held on 4 January and 18 January 2022 were approved as a correct record and noted by the Chairman.

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) on the status of actions agreed at the last Cabinet meeting.

The status of actions agreed at the Cabinet meeting on 4 January 2022 and for decisions taken by Cabinet Members exercising their individual delegated powers between 22 December 2021 to 24 January 2022 in the report of the Head of Law and Administration was 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 S.Boulton, T.Kingsbury and F.Thomson each declared a non-pecuniary interest in items on the Agenda as Members of Hertfordshire County Council.

Councillor F.Thomson declared an interest in item 13b of the agenda and stated she would not take part in the discussion nor vote on the item.

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

The following item for decision in the current Forward Plan was considered:-

Report of the Chief Executive on the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge.

(1)   Cabinet noted the Corporate Peer Challenge feedback report and recommendations at Appendix 1.

(2)   Cabinet agreed the Corporate Peer Challenge action plan at Appendix 2.

Report of the Chief Executive on the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge.

(1)        The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1)  Cabinet noted the Corporate Peer Challenge feedback report and recommendations at Appendix 1.

(2)  Cabinet agreed the Corporate Peer Challenge action plan at Appendix 2.

(2)       Reasons for the Decision

Members recalled that the Council had the first LGA Corporate Peer Challenge back in January 2019.  A follow up visit was due to take place in 2020, but this was delayed by the global pandemic.  The Council has changed substantially since the last review, including a new Chief Executive and politically it has transitioned from no overall control Conservative control to a Conservative majority.  It was more appropriate to undertake a second peer challenge.

The Peer Challenge took place back in October 2021 and initial feedback was given to all the Group Leaders, Cabinet and senior officers.  The full Peer Challenge feedback report was shown in Appendix one.  As members would have seen, overall the report was very positive and it recognised that Welwyn Hatfield is a good Council with committed officer and political leadership. It also praised the Council for continuing to deliver on its modernisation programme, corporate peer challenge action plan and capital projects throughout the pandemic. The peer team was also impressed with the progress made given the other competing priorities during that time.

The Peer team made six recommendations and an action plan was developed (shown in appendix 2) to take forward and implement these recommendations.  The Leader stated that while he did not disagree with recommendation four that the Council needed a Local Plan, the housing targets set out by the Inspector of 15,200 were far too excessive. He believed it was only right that the Council adopt a Local Plan that protects the valuable green belt.

Cabinet thanked the Peer Review Team for the work that they had done.

Recommendations from the meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the 6 January 2022.

The following recommendation from the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny committee on 6 January 2022 was considered:-

Recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the 6 January 2022 on the Revision of the Council’s Window repairs and replacement policy.

(1)   Cabinet agreed the proposed amendments to the Window Repairs and Replacement Policy recommended by OSC (as set out in Appendix A).

(2)   That once agreed, the proposed amendments were circulated to the Cabinet Housing Panel for their review.

(3)   Should the Cabinet Housing Panel agree the amendments, that the policy be revised via an Executive Member Decision Notice.

Recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) on the 6 January 2022 on the Revision of the Council’s Window Repairs and Replacement Policy.

At Council in November 2021, the Housing Maintenance Task and Finish Group was asked to review the Window Repairs and Replacement Policy with specific regard to the replacement of ‘priority’ windows.

Currently the policy advises that in instances where there is a pool of water or misting between the panes of glass, the Council would consider replacement of the glazed sealed unit, but only in the lounge, kitchen or dining room as these rooms were considered priority for viewing. The Task and Finish Panel and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had agreed that the glazed seals unit should be replaced regardless of what room had been affected. The revised policy was shown in Appendix A of the report.

Cabinet thanked the Housing Maintenance Task and Finish Group for their work on the policy.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1)   Cabinet agreed the proposed amendments to the Window Repairs and Replacement Policy recommended by OSC (as set out in Appendix A).

(2)   That once agreed, the proposed amendments were circulated to the Cabinet Housing Panel for their review.

(3)   Should the Cabinet Housing Panel agree the amendments, that the policy be agreed by the Executive Member under delegated powers.

Report of the Chief Executive on the capital expenditure and associated capital funding as at the end of Quarter 3 (December 2021).

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

(2)   Cabinet noted the forecast position as at 31 December 2021 for funding of the capital programme and reserve balances as reflected in Table 2.

Report of the Chief Executive on the capital expenditure and associated capital funding as at the end of Quarter 3 (December 2021) for 2021/22.

Variances to the original budget were summarised in Table 3.2, and detailed in Section 3.5.  Progress on key schemes was set out in Section 3.6 of the report.

All General Fund capital variances were due to the re-phasing of projects.  Cabinet noted the re-phasing into 2022/23 of £11.5M of loans to Now Housing.  This may imply that the £60.5M of budgeted loans to Now Housing for 2022/23 was unlikely to be required in full.   However the 2022/23 capital budget would remain at present, as over a 5 year horizon the total Now Housing capital budget was reasonable, even if the trajectory ended up being flattened. There were Housing Revenue Account (HRA) changes in the forecast that were mainly due to re-phasing.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

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

(2)   Cabinet noted the forecast position as at 31 December 2021 for funding of the capital programme and reserve balances as reflected in Table 2.

Report of the Chief Executive on the forecast revenue outturn position as at 31 December 2021 for the financial year 2021-22 and outlines 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 (31 December 2021).

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

Report of the Chief Executive on the forecast revenue outturn position as at 31 December 2021 for the financial year 2021-22 and outlines the main variances from the original budget for both the General Fund (GF) and Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

General Fund

At the end of the second quarter, as reported to Cabinet in November 2021, the Council were forecasting a drawdown of non-ring-fenced General Fund reserves of £997,000.  The forecast drawdown had now been adjusted downwards to £617,000.

Variances for the year to date were explained in Sections 3.2 and 3.3 of the report.  The key additional variances that had arisen in the 3rd quarter were set out in table 3.2.2.  The most significant of these was positive staffing variances of £299,000.

The third quarter outcome gave the Council good visibility for the full year, and therefore provided stability going into the 2022/23 proposed budget which was to be discussed at Full Council on the 2 February 2022.

Appendix F set out the progress being made on savings originally identified for 2021/22.  The realization of savings for garage income, parking, and Campus West had been undermined by the continuing impact of Covid.  These trends had been allowed for the Council’s proposed 2022/23 budget.

Risks still existed for commercial rental income, although collections were holding up, and the bad debt provision was currently felt to be adequate. 

The trends observed in the General Fund revenue account in Quarter 3 supported the predictions the Council had for the 2022/23 budget proposals.

Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

The forecast drawdown from HRA reserves was £96,000 greater than budgeted, as set out in Appendix C1 of the report.

At the net cost of service level, the forecast adverse variance for 2021/22 was approximately £3.4M, almost entirely due to additional maintenance costs, as explained in Appendix D3.  There had been an increased volume of repairs, partly due to post-Covid catch up, and also higher material prices.

Part of the variance was due to a catch up process, and it was felt that the 2022/23 budget was consistent with experience to date.

To maintain the HRA reserves at the desired level, the Revenue Contribution to Capital had been reduced. 

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1)   Cabinet noted the revenue forecast outturn position as at Quarter 3 (31 December 2021).

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

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 13, 14 and 15 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 items 13 and 14 (Minute 88 and 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 item of an exempt nature:-

The following items of an exempt nature for decision were considered:-

Report of the Chief Executive on an update on the Housing Maintenance Procurement.

Cabinet agreed with the unanimous views of the Procurement Board recommendation to:

(1)   Award the housing maintenance contract to Morgan Sindall Property Services Limited, subject to conclusion of the 30 day leaseholder engagement period under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (and regard being had of any representations) and subject to the expiry of the mandatory standstill period.

(2)   Let the contract for an initial 5 years starting from Wednesday 5 October 2022, with an option to extend the contract for up to a further 5 years, based on mutual agreement. 

Exempt report of the Chief Executive on an update on the Housing Maintenance Procurement.

(Note: a more detailed record of the Cabinet discussion is contained in exempt item 88a).

Exempt report of the Chief Executive on the Award of Minor Building Works Contract.

As agreed unanimously by the General Procurement Board:

(1)   Subject to expiry of the mandatory standstill period, Wates Property Services Limited was awarded preferred contractor status and supply the two full times operatives.

(2)   Subject to expiry of the mandatory standstill period, RCP Contractors Limited be appointed as the backup Contractor who may be offered some of the specialist work.

(3)   That the contracts were for an initial three year period, commencing on 1 April 2022 with a further optional one year extension.

Exempt report of the Chief Executive on the Award of Minor Building Works Contract.

(Note: a more detailed record of the Cabinet discussion is contained in exempt item 88b).

Exempt report of the Chief Executive on the proposal to consult with the tenants at Green Vale, Welwyn Garden City.

(1)   Cabinet agrees to the commencement of a consultation with the tenants at the property referred to in the report, regarding the proposed redevelopment, which will include a proposal/offer to decant and associated entitlement of Homeloss and disturbance payments.

(2)   Cabinet agrees to cease letting vacancies that arise in the above scheme under the current housing allocations policy, whilst the council undertakes this consultation and until such time as a decision around the future proposals for the scheme have been agreed.

(3)   Cabinet note that the proposal is to work collaboratively with Eastern New Energy, to potentially access grant funding for the delivery of net zero carbon homes.

(4)   Subject to agreement of the recommendations in the report, a more detailed report, setting out the costs and budgetary implications, to be brought to Cabinet once the consultation is completed.

Exempt report of the Chief Executive on the proposal to consult with the tenants at the site in Welwyn Garden City.

(Note: a more detailed record of the Cabinet discussion is contained in exempt item 89).