Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Peter Gadsdon (Strategic Director Customer & Digital Services), Shazia Hussain (Assitant Chief Executive who was represented by Lorna Hughes) & Phil Porter (Strategic Director, Community & Wellbeing who was represented by Hakeem Osinaike).

Apologies for absence were received from Peter Gadsdon (Strategic Director Customer & Digital Services), Shazia Hussain (Assitant Chief Executive who was represented by Lorna Hughes) & Phil Porter (Strategic Director, Community & Wellbeing who was represented by Hakeem Osinaike).

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, the nature and existence of any relevant disclosable pecuniary or personal interests in the items on this agenda and to specify the item(s) to which they relate.

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None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 19 July 2021 as a correct record.

Cabinet RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 19 July 2021 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous Cabinet meeting held on Monday 19 July 2021 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

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None.

To discuss any petitions from members of the public, in accordance with Standing Order 66.

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There were no petitions submitted for consideration at the meeting.

To consider any reference reports from any of the Council’s two Scrutiny Committees.

Councillor Mashari, Chair of the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee, provided an update on the discussions held at the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee meeting on 16 July 2021 regarding the scenes witnessed around Wembley Stadium in advance of the UEFA 2020 European Championship Final.  She advised that as well as focussing on the impact upon local residents, the Committee had also been particularly concerned at reports of injuries along with issues identified relating to public safety and public health and how this may affect arrangements for the hosting of future events at the Stadium.  Cabinet were advised that the Committee had taken evidence from relevant officers and stakeholders during their meeting and had welcomed the information provided.  As a result of the concerns expressed, however, the Committee had recommended that Cabinet hold a public review into the Council’s actions taken before, during and after the Final to establish the lessons learnt.

Councillor M Butt, as Leader of the Council, thanked Councillor Mashari for her contribution and in response began by highlighting the need for care to be taken in terms of the accuracy of any statements made relating to the events witnessed, given the current external independent review being led by Baroness Casey and nature of ongoing police prosecutions.  The Council were fully cooperating and supporting the independent review and in order to avoid prejudicing the outcome of this and ongoing criminal prosecutions he advised it would not therefore be possible to comment in any more detail at this stage on the issues identified.  Councillor M.Butt ended by highlighting the level of support provided by staff from across the Council in the staging of the tournament at Wembley Stadium and thanked all those involved on behalf of the Council for their efforts.

As a result of a technical issue experienced with the hybrid meeting technology at the start of the meeting, the Chair agreed to a change in the order of business with this item being dealt with immediately following on from agenda item 8.  The minutes reflect the order in which the items were listed on the agenda.

Councillor Mashari, Chair of the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee, provided an update on the discussions held at the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee meeting on 16 July 2021 regarding the scenes witnessed around Wembley Stadium in advance of the UEFA 2020 European Championship Final.  She advised that as well as focussing on the impact upon local residents, the Committee had also been particularly concerned at reports of injuries along with issues identified relating to public safety and public health and how this may affect arrangements for the hosting of future events at the Stadium.  Cabinet were advised that the Committee had taken evidence from relevant officers and stakeholders during their meeting and had welcomed the information provided.  As a result of the concerns expressed, however, the Committee had recommended that Cabinet hold a public review into the Council’s actions taken before, during and after the Final to establish the lessons learnt.

Councillor M Butt, as Leader of the Council, thanked Councillor Mashari for her contribution and in response began by highlighting the need for care to be taken in terms of the accuracy of any statements made relating to the events witnessed, given the current external independent review being led by Baroness Casey and nature of ongoing police prosecutions.  The Council were fully cooperating and supporting the independent review and in order to avoid prejudicing the outcome of this and ongoing criminal prosecutions he advised it would not be possible to comment in any more detail at this stage on the issues identified.  Councillor M.Butt ended by highlighting the level of support provided by staff from across the Council in the staging of the tournament at Wembley Stadium and thanked all those involved on behalf of the Council for their efforts.

Cabinet RESOLVED:

(1)      To note the results of statutory consultation on the RLS Delivery Model Options as detailed within section 4 and Appendix 1 of the report.

(2)      To agree the “Specialist contracts delivery model with low to moderate levels of insourcing” as detailed within section 5 of the report, with a decision on the final level of insourcing deferred until January 2022, to both allow time for the evaluation of the in house highways reactive maintenance trial and in time to inform the scope of the Invitation to Tender for the next Highways Services contract.

(3)     To approve inviting tenders for the Integrated Street Cleansing & Waste Contract set out in section 6 of the report on the basis of the pre - tender considerations detailed within paragraph 6.7 of the report.

(4)     To delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Regeneration & Environment in consultation with the Lead Member for Environment to decide the price/quality ratio for the Integrated Street Cleansing & Waste Contract and the evaluation criteria and approve officers evaluating tenders.

(5)     To approve the allocation from prudential borrowing of £15m to finance both the fleet required to deliver the Integrated Street Cleansing & Waste Contractand, provisionally, the fleet required to deliver the next grounds maintenance, the latter subject to market testing and development of the GM procurement strategy this autumn.

(6)     To note that the decision on the final format and content of public consultation on future street cleansing & waste collection services would be made in September by the Lead Member for Environment in consultation with the Leader of the Council.

Councillor Krupa Sheth, as Lead Member for Environment, introduced the report presenting a summary of the response from the statutory best value consultation undertaken on delivery model options for the services included within the scope of the Redefining Local Services (RLS) programme.

In addition to the proposed final RLS Delivery Model the report also set out the high level procurement strategy and timetable for the programme, including the Integrated Street Cleansing, Waste Collection and Maintenance contract which would be the first to be undertaken under the RLS programme.  In considering the options identified, members noted the overall aims, objectives and scope of the RLS programme in terms of the potential service improvements and benefits identified and level of funding available.

In considering the recommendations, Cabinet noted the information provided within the exempt appendix accompanying the report and RESOLVED:

(1)      To note the results of statutory consultation on the RLS Delivery Model Options as detailed within section 4 and Appendix 1 of the report.

(2)      To agree the “Specialist contracts delivery model with low to moderate levels of insourcing” as detailed within section 5 of the report, with a decision on the final level of insourcing deferred until January 2022, to both allow time for the evaluation of the in house highways reactive maintenance trial and in time to inform the scope of the Invitation to Tender for the next Highways Services contract.

(3)     To approve inviting tenders for the Integrated Street Cleansing & Waste Contract set out in section 6 of the report on the basis of the pre - tender considerations detailed within paragraph 6.7 of the report.

(4)     To delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Regeneration & Environment in consultation with the Lead Member for Environment to decide the price/quality ratio for the Integrated Street Cleansing & Waste Contract and the evaluation criteria and approve officers evaluating tenders.

(5)     To approve the allocation from prudential borrowing of £15m to finance both the fleet required to deliver the Integrated Street Cleansing & Waste Contractand, provisionally, the fleet required to deliver the next grounds maintenance, the latter subject to market testing and development of the GM procurement strategy this autumn.

(6)     To note that the decision on the final format and content of public consultation on future street cleansing & waste collection services would be made in September by the Lead Member for Environment in consultation with the Leader of the Council.

Cabinet RESOLVED:

(1)     To note the progress made to date in the Wembley Housing Zone programme.

(2)     To approve the preferred delivery option for the regeneration of the sites known as land to the east of Cecil Avenue and Ujima House (‘the Sites’) as detailed in paragraph 3.5.1 of the report.

(3)     To note the financial viability of the scheme and approve the budget requirement to deliver the preferred option as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report.

(4)     To approve the procurement of a delivery partner for the Sites, through inviting tenders using a Competitive Procedure with Negotiation under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

(5)     To delegate to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, the decision on alternative development scheme proposals and procurement routes, if procurement of the preferred option was unsuccessful in relation to the Sites.

(6)     To delegate to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, approval of pre-tender considerations set out in Standing Order 89 in respect of the procurement of a delivery partner for the Sites.

(7)     To delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, to award the contract to the preferred bidder to progress delivery of the Sites.

(8)     To note there will be appointment of professional consultants to support delivery of the Sites, using powers delegated under the Constitution.

(9)     To delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning to consult with those affected by the appropriation of the Sites and to consider the responses of the consultation and thereafter, and where relevant, to appropriate the Sites for planning purposes in order to facilitate the redevelopment of the site for which Planning Permission has been provided.

(10)   To delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning to appropriate the Sites for planning purposes pursuant to section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972 and to override third party rights and interests in the Sites pursuant to section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016; and

(11)   To agree to apply section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act to override third party rights and to pay affected third parties compensation where required by statute.

(12)   To delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, to make amendments to the Wembley Housing Zone funding contract or enter a new agreement with the Greater London Authority to receive grant to deliver the Sites for the reasons detailed in paragraph 3.3.2 of the report.

Councillor Tatler, Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, introduced the report updating Cabinet on progress with the Council-led mixed use regeneration of the eastern end of Wembley High Road located within the Wembley Housing Zone and seeking approval to procure a delivery partner and associated matters to redevelop both the land to the east of Cecil Avenue and Ujima House.

Members noted the summary of progress to date in relation to delivery of the Wembley Housing Zone programme in partnership with the Greater London Assembly (GLA), with the next phase designed to unlock redevelopment of the eastern stretch of Wembley High Road.  As a result of the relevant planning approvals having been obtained, GLA funding being refocussed and the Department for Education (DfE) having confirmed Secretary of State conditional consent to dispose of the Cecil Avenue land the intention was now to bring both the Cecil Avenue and Ujima House sites to the market together in order to build out the schemes.  Members were supportive of the proposals to provide a high quality housing-led development on both sites, which it was noted would include a significant proportion of affordable larger sized family units aimed at not only increasing housing supply but also supporting town centre regeneration, economic growth and job creation alongside securing community space, highway and public realm improvements.

In commending the inclusion of London Affordable Rents as part of the offer the discussion concluded with members keen to recognise, maximise and support the benefits identified in relation to local residents, communities and businesses.

In considering the recommendations, Cabinet noted the information provided within the exempt appendices accompanying the report and RESOLVED:

(1)     To note the progress made to date in the Wembley Housing Zone programme.

(2)     To approve the preferred delivery option for the regeneration of the sites known as land to the east of Cecil Avenue and Ujima House (‘the Sites’) as detailed in paragraph 3.5.1 of the report.

(3)     To note the financial viability of the scheme and approve the budget requirement to deliver the preferred option as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report.

(4)     To approve the procurement of a delivery partner for the Sites, through inviting tenders using a Competitive Procedure with Negotiation under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

(5)     To delegate to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, the decision on alternative development scheme proposals and procurement routes, if procurement of the preferred option was unsuccessful in relation to the Sites.

(6)     To delegate to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, approval of pre-tender considerations set out in Standing Order 89 in respect of the procurement of a delivery partner for the Sites.

(7)     To delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment, in consultation with the Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, to award the contract to the preferred bidder to progress delivery of the Sites.

(8)     To  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Cabinet RESOLVED:

(1)      To agree the proposed schedule of incentive payments for households currently under-occupying their Council homes, to move to a smaller Council home, as set out in table 4 in paragraph 4.21 of the report.

(2)     To agree that all households who were under-occupying and transfer to a smaller Council property pursuant to the proposed financial incentive scheme would only pay a social rent or rent not higher than their current property.

(3)     To agree to alter the proportion of lettings to homeless households from 70% to 60%, as set out in paragraphs 4.35 – 4.46 of the report.

(4)     To agree that the Council would offer financial support to Council tenants who wished to either rent or buy in the private sector, as set out in paragraphs 4.42 and 4.43 of the report.

Councillor Southwood, Lead member for Housing & Welfare Reform, introduced the report which set out a number of key initiatives designed to increase the availability of housing stock across the borough as well as tackling overcrowding.  In considering the report, Members commended the significant progress made in addressing housing demand within the borough and reducing the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation but also noted the ongoing demand for housing and need to therefore make best use of all available Council housing stock.

Cabinet also noted the work undertaken to forecast future housing demand, as detailed within section 4 of the report.  As a result, a number of targeted options had been identified to assist the Council in making the most effective use of its affordable housing stock in an effort to address the demand identified based on the principles identified within section 4.5 of the report.  Alongside the Council’s ambitious house building programme the report set out a range of targeted additional tools and incentives designed to increase supply and maximise use of existing housing stock.  Whilst supportive of the approach outlined, members noted that these options and incentives would be voluntary in nature and a matter of individual choice.

Members also noted the link to a range of other initiatives also being pursued working with partner Registered Providers and the private housing sector to increase the supply of available housing stock as part of the wider context in which the approach was being developed.

In recognising the innovative nature of the approach outlined, members also highlighted the need to maintain pressure on Central Government to support the provision of affordable social housing as part of the overall package of measures being developed to maximise supply and provide targeted support.

Having considered the report, Cabinet RESOLVED:

(1)      To agree the proposed schedule of incentive payments for households currently under-occupying their Council homes, to move to a smaller Council home, as set out in table 4 in paragraph 4.21 of the report.

(2)     To agree that all households who were under-occupying and transfer to a smaller Council property pursuant to the proposed financial incentive scheme would only pay a social rent or rent not higher than their current property.

(3)     To agree to alter the proportion of lettings to homeless households from 70% to 60%, as set out in paragraphs 4.35 – 4.46 of the report.

(4)     To agree that the Council would offer financial support to Council tenants who wished to either rent or buy in the private sector, as set out in paragraphs 4.42 and 4.43 of the report.

The following items are not for publication as they relate to the following category of exempt information as specified under Part 1, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, namely: “Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)”.

Item 7: Wembley Housing Zone – Approval of Procurement for Development of Council Sites and Associated Matters – Appendices 1-6

Item 8. Redefining Local Services: Final Delivery Model & Integrated Street Cleansing & Waste Contract Procurement Strategy – Appendix 6

There were no items that required the exclusion of the press or public.

There were no items that required the exclusion of the press or public.

Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Head of Executive and Member Services or his representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 60.

None.

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