This is the time for Members to declare any interest they may have in any matter being considered at this meeting.  Advice is attached.

Interests were declared as follows:

·  Item 6 – Advice and Assistance for Council Leaseholders

Councillor Mirza declared a personal and prejudicial interest by virtue of being a leaseholder.

Decisions of the Mayor in consultation with the Cabinet made on 12 and 19 February 2009.

The minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 12 and 19 February were agreed as a correct record.

Report of the Head of Crime and Anti Social Behaviour

Jackie Belton, Interim Executive Director for Environment, presented a report outlining the need and seeking approval for a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) for Stratford Town Centre and the Woodgrange Road area to tackle alcohol related nuisance and annoyance, or disorder, to members of the public in the proposed designated area.

Members felt that the majority of problems were not associated with pubs and bars but through the sale of alcohol from shops.  Members noted that the DPPO would not act as a ‘zero tolerance’ zone but would give the Police more powers in respect of tackling anti social behaviour associated with alcohol consumption.

Decision

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed:

1.  to recommend to full Council the Designation of Stratford Town Centre and the Woodgrange Road area, as set out in Appendix A, for the purposes of addressing nuisance and annoyance associated with the consumption of alcohol in public places under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, as amended; and

2.  to ask the Primary Care Trust to review existing services available to those with drinking problems within the proposed designated area.

Reasons for the Decision

The making of a DPPO is a matter reserved to full Council under the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000, as amended.

The DPPO will address issues of anti social behaviour such as disorderly behaviour, aggressive begging, public urination, public drunkenness related to the consumption of alcohol in public places

The Borough Commander for Newham borough police supports the introduction of the DPPO, which will allow greater flexibility for the police in terms of the range of enforcement tools at their disposal. The police state that the police service can adequately resource enforcement of the DPPO.

Statutory consultation has been completed with local residents and businesses to determine their opinions about a DPPO and the boundary of the designated area.

The report and decision have complied with Part 4.5, paragraph 16 of the Constitution.

The decision is not subject to the Call-In process and may be implemented immediately.

Report of the Interim Head of Housing and Public Protection

Jackie Belton, Interim Executive Director for Environment, presented a report reviewing the current level of support available for Council leaseholders and identified and sought agreement to options for increasing the range and depth of support offered to leaseholders who are required to pay large service charges for major works.  The report made specific recommendations in relation to the adoption of both these support mechanisms and of revised repayment arrangements.

Members discussed the need to keep Leaseholder Associations aware of future proposals for works and to provide details of support available.  Members also noted that advice on the implications of purchasing leasehold properties was fully explained to potential purchasers.

Decisions

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed:

1.  to continue with the provision of a welfare advice service for leaseholders funded from the annual service charge;

2.  that the resources of Newham’s Home Improvement Agency and the sub-regionally funded independent financial advocacy service are made available to support the welfare advice service in relation to major works and home improvements;

3.  to note the arrangements for targeting vulnerable leaseholders in relation to energy efficiency and fuel poverty;

4.  not to resurrect any form of Advance Payment Scheme;

5.  the proposed step by step framework for supporting leaseholders as set out in Appendix B 

6.  the proposals for leaseholder payment plans as set out in the report and in Appendix C;

7.  to use the existing full buy-back powers only on an exceptional basis in accordance with the Schemes of Delegation; and

8.  that officers review the provisions relating to discretionary loans and partial buy-back powers contained in the forthcoming regulations when they are made; however pending any further report and recommendation:

a)  agree not to make provision for discretionary loans by the Council;

b)  agree to use the new partial buy-back powers only on an exceptional basis in accordance with the Schemes of Delegation; and

c)  agree to retain the use of discretionary capping in line with the limited set of circumstances agreed by Cabinet in April 2004.

Reasons for the Decisions

The recommendations reflect the need to set out in more detail the arrangements for supporting leaseholders in the light of the current high level of capital investment and consequent increases in the level of recharges which are being imposed.  They also need to address changes in legislation which affect the Council’s powers, and also enable the provision of a coherent and up to date framework in relation to leaseholder support.

The report and decision have complied with Part 4.5, paragraph 16 of the Constitution.

The decision is not subject to the Call-In process and may be implemented immediately.

Report of the Interim Executive Director of Environment

Jackie Belton, Interim Executive Director for Environment, presented a report setting out programme allocations from Housing Capital investment resources for 2009-10 and seeking endorsement for the proposed arrangements.  The report was an update on the Housing Capital Programme report approved by the Mayor in consultation with Cabinet in July 2008 and sets out a proposed revised allocation of Housing Capital investment resources between Newham Homes and the Housing Service in 2008-09.

The report also provided an update on a number of bids for external grant funding to support the Housing Capital Programme.

Decisions

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed:

1.  the funding for Newham Homes' investment proposals for 2009-10;

2.  the proposed Housing and Public Protection estate regeneration programme for 2009-10;

3.  to note and comment on Housing and Public Protection indicative estate regeneration programme proposals for 2010-12;

4.  the proposed revised allocation of Supported Capital Expenditure between the Housing Service and Newham Homes for the Capital Programme for 2008-09;

5.  that a corresponding sum equal to the increase in revised allocation to Newham Homes in 2008-09 be allocated back to the Housing Service in the 2010-11 Housing Capital Programme Report. This is to have the effect of re-balancing the funding between the two financial years;

6.  to note and comment on the General Fund capital funding streams available for 2009-10;

7.  Newham’s funding towards discretionary Disabled Facilities Grants (£100k) and contribution to Home Improvement Agency (£50k);

8.  to receive updates on applications for funding made during 2008-09; and

9.  that this report be recommended to Council for noting.

Reasons for the Decisions

The report has been provided to the Mayor and Cabinet for their decision in line with the requirements of the Council’s constitution.

The recommendations have been made to ensure best use of resources for the people of Newham and to achieve the most beneficial impact from the level of resources being deployed. They also ensure maximum take-up of external funding that is available to Newham to support our programme.

The report and decision have complied with Part 4.5, paragraph 16 of the Constitution.

The decision is not subject to the Call-In process and may be implemented immediately.

Report of the Head of Public Realm

Jackie Belton, Interim Executive Director for Environment, presented a report seeking approval for the Design Guide for Borough Roads.  The highway maintenance renewal programme for 2009 to 2014 was approved at Mayoral Proceedings on 31 July 2008, subject to the approval of a design guidance document.  The Design Guide is intended to show Members and other stakeholders what schemes will look like rather than being a purely technical document. 

Members noted that additional and replacement pages to the Design guide were circulated the day before the meeting and that further consultation on the Guide was required.

Members commented that the Design Guide needed to ensure that materials used were of the highest quality, that future maintenance costs were taken into account when choosing materials and that the Guide was compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act.  Councillor McAuley also commented that there were several other planning bodies within Newham, including the Olympic Delivery Authority, and that these bodies should be consulted on the Design Guide in order to ensure a consistent approach across the Borough.

Decisions

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed:

1.  to authorise the Interim Divisional Director for Highways, Transport and Parking, in consultation with the Mayor and the Executive Member for Public Realm, to approve and make any necessary revisions to the Design Guide;

2.  that other planning bodies with responsibilities within Newham be consulted on the Design Guide to ensure a consistent approach across the Borough;

3.  that officers address the following issues within the Design Guide:

·  The quality of materials to be used

·  The potential ongoing maintenance costs

·  The justification of the use of bollards

·  CCTV columns

·  Mobile phone masts

·  Ensuring that items used, such as tactile paving, comply with the Disability Discrimination Act

·  Fonts to be used on street signage

4.  that schemes within the highways maintenance renewal programme 2009-2014, which are unaffected by the remaining areas for discussion in the Design Guide, may proceed.

Reasons for the Decisions

The approval of a Design Guide will provide direction as to the high standards required in the Borough which will incorporate a palette of materials that can be used for main roads, residential roads and shopping areas.

The report and decision have complied with Part 4.5, paragraph 16 of the Constitution.

The decision is not subject to the Call-In process and may be implemented immediately.

Report of the Head of Highways, Transport and Parking

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet received a report outlining proposed improvements to future operational arrangements for the control and co-ordination of street works in Newham including proposals for the introduction of fixed penalty notices and the adoption of the Common Permit Scheme for London.

The report outlined the overall proposals and sought approval in principle to the introduction of fixed penalty notices and related new charges and the intention to apply to the Secretary of State to operate a permit scheme as outlined in Part 3 of the Act for the London Borough of Newham.

The Mayor expressed his concerns with statutory undertakers and stated that officers should work with local ward councillors on the first couple of occasions in order to ensure that the process are correct.

Decisions

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed to:

1.  Note the proposals for the improvement of the management and control of street works;

2.  Approve in principle proposals for the operation of the Common Permit Scheme for London within the Borough;

3.  Agree to proceed to statutory consultation regarding proposals for the introduction of fixed penalty charges and note the indicative level of permit charges that the Council proposes to introduce; and

4.  Delegate to the Interim Divisional Director of  Highways, Transport and Parking, in consultation with the Executive Adviser for Public Realm, approval to a finalised schedule of charges for permits, the required statutory consultation, and the application to the Secretary of State in order for the scheme to be implemented

Reasons for the Decisions

Authority is sought to utilise additional powers available through the Traffic Management Act (TMA) to improve the management and coordination of street works in the Borough.

The report and decision have complied with Part 4.5, paragraph 16 of the Constitution.

The decision is not subject to the Call-In process and may be implemented immediately.

Report of the Head of Children, Young People and Families

Exempt appendices are attached as agenda item 14

Brendan Loughran, Acting Head of Children and Schools, presented a report seeking to clarify the points raised at the Mayoral Proceedings meeting held on 6 November 2008 where approval was sought to put out to tender the Youth Inclusion Programme Contract to be let in Spring 2009. 

The Youth Inclusion Programme is an early intervention project which identifies and works intensively with 200 young people living in the Newham area who are most disaffected and offending or at greatest risk of offending.  The Programme will provide a locally based integrated package of activities and support for each of the 200 young people, specifically tailored to their individual needs to develop their potential, address the key risk factors and tackle offending behaviour, and diversionary activities for a wider group of young people to promote social inclusion

The purpose of these services is to support the young person to:

·  Prevent/reduce offending

·  Prevent/reduce victimisation

·  Reduction in truancy and school exclusions

·  Improve the life chances of young people through facilitating educational achievement and the promotion of healthy lifestyles

·  Increase community involvement by and civic responsibility of young people.

Decision

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed to the tender for the provision of the Youth Inclusion Programme, subject to receiving a further report at a future meeting of Mayoral Proceedings setting out details for a new Performance Indicator (PI) showing the number of arrests before, during and after involvement in the Youth Inclusion Programme.

Reason for Decision

Outsourced provision is recommended for the following reasons:

There are providers with experience of delivery to this client group who will be able to manage a service and deliver to fulfil the needs of the young person. Most successful Youth Inclusion Programmes (YIP) in Newham have thus far been delivered by a third sector provider and the Youth Offending Team run YIPs have closed.  It is appropriate therefore for this provision to remain outsourced.

This decision is subject to the call-in process as the decision was based on part exempt information.  The call-in period will expire at 5pm on 24 April 2009.

Report of the Head of Adults’ Services

Report not available at the time of despatch

Alan Adams, Interim Executive Director for Adults and Community Services, and Jana Burton, Adult Social Care Manager, introduced a presentation based on the outcomes of the Government White Paper ‘Our health, Our Care, Our Say’ and ‘Putting People First, and the implications of these for Newham.

The presentation explained the background behind Self Directed Support which would enable a range of support services to be tailored to meet an individual’s needs based on personal budgets.  Newham’s Local Area Agreement has a target of 50% of all service users (approximately 700 people) to be in receipt of an Individual Budget by March 2012.  This would build on the success of the National ‘In Control’ pilot which has resulted in 10% of services users who are currently in receipt of various forms of Self Directed Support.

The presentation highlighted the fact that Newham is one of two authorities who do not currently have a client contribution policy and that the additional cost to Newham for those not claiming Independent Living Fund was in excess of £1m.

Members discussed the proposals and raised concerns about seeking contributions from some of the most vulnerable people in the Borough for services provided by the Council and the potential impact this could have on other services such as Day Centres.  Members also raised concern over the need to carry out consultation with service users and were advised that officers would look at consultation models used by other Councils in order to replicate best practice.

Decision

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed to receive a further report at a future meeting of Cabinet setting out the cost implications of implementing Self Directed Support.

Report of the Interim Head of Crime and Anti Social Behaviour

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet received a report seeking the Mayor’s agreement to extend the existing Section 92 (S.92) agreement, under which the Council is funding the purchase of 14 PCSOs, for a further 2 years.  The report also sought approval for the Council to enter into a new Section 92 agreement for an additional 6 police officers and an additional PCSO.  Approval is also sought to issue a letter of intent to the Metropolitan Police confirming the details of the Section 92 agreements.

Members noted that the proposal would result in a total of 31 officers who will be deployed across 5 police teams within the Crime and Anti Social Behaviour Service.  The teams would commence operations as soon as contractually possible.  Police staff were already in place (10 PCs previously agreed and funded and the existing 14 PCSOs) who would provide continuity of service until the Metropolitan Police Service can conclude its selection and team deployment plans for the additional 7 staff.

Members were informed that the Trade Unions have registered a failure to agree to the proposed changes to the Crime and Anti Social Behaviour service and have raised the matter with the Head of Legal Services nominee and the Assistant Head of Human Resources for their consideration.  The letter of intent will only be sent if and once the appeal process has been concluded  and would be subject to any changes required as a result of the determination of the failure to agree.

The report was urgent in order to provide continuity of service in parks and open spaces following the implementation of the Crime and ASB review.  The Metropolitan Police also require a lead-in period to enable them to recruit the extra officers for these duties.  Formal consultation for the Crime and ASB restructure proposals ended on 27 March 2009.

Decisions

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed to:

1.  the extension of the existing S.92 agreement (which expired the end of March 2009) for the purchase of 14 PCSOs for a further period of 2 years at a cost of £308,000 from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2011;

2.  that the Council enters into a new S.92 agreement with the Metropolitan Police Authority for the funding of 7 additional police personnel under S.92 of the Police Act 1996 for a period of 2 years at a cost of £332,000, the terms of which are to be finalised by the Head of Legal Services; and

3.  to authorise the Executive Director of Environment to send a letter of intent to the Metropolitan Police in respect of matters set out in recommendations 1 and 2 above.

Reasons for the Decisions

The extension of the Section 92 agreement for the fourteen PSCOs and a new Section 92 agreement for the additional 7 Police staff will complement the existing PCs funded by the council and will provide a total of 31 police personal.

If the recommendations are agreed the complement of 31 police personnel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of the Head of Housing and Public Protection

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet at its meeting in February 2009 agreed an average rent increase of 6.1%.  On 6 March 2009, Ministers announced that revised arrangements would be put in place to enable Councils to reduce the average rent increase to 3.1%.  Under the Council’s scheme of delegation, the level of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) rent increase is a matter for the Mayor in consultation with Cabinet to determine.  Any rent increase is subject to a 28-day notification period with tenants. 

Jackie Belton, Interim Executive Director for Environment, presented a report requesting that the Council confirms its intention to reduce rents in line with the Ministerial announcement, subject to the detail of the HRA subsidy determination leading to no material variation from the level of resources necessary to support the HRA Budget for 2009/10.

The report was late following the Ministerial announcement made on 6 March, which contained insufficient detail to assess the Subsidy impact.  The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) wrote to the Council setting out a timetable to implement the change.  A draft HRA subsidy determination will be issued in the week commencing 23 March to set out the mechanism by which Housing Subsidy will be allocated to meet the shortfall arising from reduced rental income.  At present the DCLG have indicated that the Determination will be subject to 28 days consultation, and a final determination will be issued in late April or early May.

The correspondence from the DCLG did not suggest a change in the requirement for a 28-day notification period with tenants.  By agreeing to reduce the rents, subject to the details of the Subsidy Determination having no material impact on the HRA budget for 2009/10, consultations can be undertaken concurrently, ensuring that the rents can be reduced to the lower level sooner.

Decisions

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet agreed that:

1.  the Council confirms that, subject to the detail of the HRA Subsidy Determination leading to no material loss of income, it wishes to reduce the rent increase from an average of 6.1% to 3.1% as requested in the DCLG’s letter of 11 March 2009;

2.  the lower rent increase is implemented as soon as possible;

3.  decisions necessary to implement the change in rents are delegated to the Executive Director for Environment in consultation with the Executive Director for Resources, the Head of Legal Services and the Executive Member for Housing, Process and Business Efficiency.

Reasons for the Decisions

The report is necessary to ensure administrative arrangements to introduce the revised rent increase are in place to enable earlier implementation.

The decision is not subject to the Call-In process and may be implemented immediately as the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed under the terms of paragraph 16 of Part 4.5. of the Constitution that the decision was not subject to Call-In as the decision was urgent and any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the Council’s or public’s interest.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Set out in the attached report is a list of those items scheduled for this meeting which have not been submitted and a list of those items scheduled to be considered at the next meeting.

The Mayor noted:

1.  the items originally scheduled for this meeting of Cabinet but which were not submitted, together with the reason for the delay and the rescheduled date; and

2.  those items listed on the Forward Plan scheduled to be considered at the next meeting of Cabinet.

In accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Committee is asked to resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for specific items of business on the grounds that they may involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraph of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act, as amended.

Agreed to exclude the press and the public from the remainder of the meeting during consideration of the following exempt information:

·  Exempt Appendices for Agenda Item 10 - Youth Inclusion Programme.

·  Exempt Appendix for Agenda Item 16 - HRA Rent Increase.