Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Mayor declared a prejudicial interest in Item 9 as his wife is a Director of

Downham Nutrition Partnership and he withdrew from the meeting during

consideration of that item.

Councillor Kevin Bonavia declared a prejudicial interest in Item 11 as Chair of

the Blackheath Joint Working Party and he withdrew from the meeting during

consideration of that item.

Councillor Janet Daby declared a personal interest in Item 12 as a Board

Member of Phoenix Community Housing.

The Mayor declared a prejudicial interest in Item 9 as his wife is a Director of

Downham Nutrition Partnership and he withdrew from the meeting during

consideration of that item.

Councillor Kevin Bonavia declared a prejudicial interest in Item 11 as Chair of

the Blackheath Joint Working Party and he withdrew from the meeting during

consideration of that item.

Councillor Janet Daby declared a personal interest in Item 12 as a Board

Member of Phoenix Community Housing.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on January 14 2015 be

confirmed and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on January 14 2015 be

confirmed and signed as a correct record.

None additional to those pertaining Items 7 & 8

None additional to those pertaining to the Budget and Revenue Savings

reports elsewhere on the agenda.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Chief

Executive, the Mayor agreed that:

(i) the LGA Peer Challenge report be received;

(ii) the attached areas for action be noted and the suggested action

plan at Appendix B be approved;

(iii) the role of the Lewisham Future Board in taking forward actions be noted;

and

(iv) the report be referred to Overview & Scrutiny for their observations and

comments

The Mayor acknowledged the management issues identified in the Peer

Review and said he thought the entire process had been of use to the

Council. He asked that the report be referred to Overview & Scrutiny and

accepted a suggestion from Councillor Millbank that it be shared with partner

agencies.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Chief

Executive, the Mayor, for the reasons set out in the report:

RESOLVED that:

(i) the LGA Peer Challenge report be received;

(ii) the attached areas for action be noted and the suggested action plan at

Appendix B be approved;

(iii) the role of the Lewisham Future Board in taking forward actions be noted;

and

(iv) the report be referred to Overview & Scrutiny for their observations and

Comments.

Having considered an officer report, and presentations by the Cabinet

Member for Health, Well-Being & Older People, Councillor Chris Best, Mr Nick

O’Shea, a patron of Lewisham Mencap and Helen Bashford, the mother of a

service user, the Mayor agreed that:

(i) officers proceed to a formal three month consultation with service users

and their families on the following proposals for the future modelling for day

services and transport, and their associated savings as follows;

(ii) the Intensive Support (ISR) service for people with profound learning

disabilities and complex needs currently at Leemore moves to the Ladywell

Centre;

(iii) a drop in service be commissioned for those adults with a learning

disability who need only ‘light touch’ support.

(iv) the Council’s directly provided day service offer be consolidated and the

Council be the direct service providers only for those people with the most

complex needs, specifically the specialist Dementia Service, the

Challenging Needs Service (CNS) and the Intensive Support Service (ISR)

and additionally the in-house service retains management of its sheltered

employment schemes;

(v) the older adults service users (i.e. the non-Dementia service) offer be

consolidated with the existing providers of older adult day services in the

borough; Housing 21 at Cinnamon Court, Cedar Court and Hestia at the

Calabash Centre;

(vi) all other service users, primarily adults with a learning disability and

adults with physical disability/ long term conditions be allocated a

personal budget/ direct payment and supported to plan their own service

using those budgets either individually or through pooling the budgets with

others;

(vii) the Ladywell Centre be identified as the core complex needs centre

for adults with disabilities and be the recognised as the main office base

for the in-house provision;

(viii) the buildings known as Mulberry, Leemore and Naborhood remain

open but are developed as community hubs rather than specific day

centres. The buildings will thus become multi use centres for service

delivery with an established presence for disability services, but will also

be used by third sector providers who help deliver the Council’s

community inclusion and neighbourhood agendas and this proposal be

developed in partnership with the Culture and Community Development

Team’s as part of the review of grant aided organisations and assets;

(ix) the buildings be considered as part of the Community Services

Asset portfolio and rental and running costs are not recovered as

income but be offset by savings or capital receipts currently

related to other assets which can be rationalised;

(x) the use of in-house Door2Door transport be reviewed, with some

routes for the most complex service users being retained, but otherwise,

where an individual meets the eligibility threshold for Council funded

transport, they are offered a direct payment to arrange their own transport

separately or with others;

(xi) the discretionary transport service to the evening clubs be withdrawn, with

some discretionary transitional support put in place where there may be

significant detriment for current passengers who live on their own or at home

with their families and Officers  ...  view the full decision text for item 136.

The proposals were presented by the Cabinet Member for Health, Well-Being

& Older People, Councillor Chris Best, who stressed that all the proposals

were for consultation in the forthcoming three month period.

The Mayor was addressed by Nick O’Shea who described himself as a patron

of Lewisham Mencap and a Volunteer at the Tuesday Club. Mr O’Shea

strongly opposed the proposals which he believed would have an adverse

impact on service users.

Helen Bashford, a mother with a daughter who was a Day Centre user, next

addressed the Mayor. She praised the current provision and said she believed

the current proposals were not realistic and implementation should be delayed

pending further consideration.

In response, Councillor Best advised the Mayor that the anxieties which had

been expressed were understandable but that the three month consultation

period which was being proposed would allow ample time for the Council to

engage service users and their representatives in meaningful conversations

and meetings about the way forward.

In concluding, the Mayor explained the budget context and the necessity to

look at remodelling service provision. He feared that doing nothing would only

lead to future changes taking place anyway but in a much less considered

fashion given the financial pressures facing the authority. He promised the

three month consultation would allow for genuine dialogue and no changes

would be made without a further report being considered at Mayor & Cabinet.

Having considered an officer report, and presentations by the Cabinet

Member for Health, Well-Being & Older People, Councillor Chris Best, Mr Nick

O’Shea, a patron of Lewisham Mencap and Helen Bashford, the mother of a

service user, the Mayor, for the reasons set out in the report:

RESOLVED that:

(i) officers proceed to a formal three month consultation with service users

and their families on the following proposals for the future modelling for day

services and transport, and their associated savings as follows;

(ii) the Intensive Support (ISR) service for people with profound learning

disabilities and complex needs currently at Leemore moves to the Ladywell

Centre;

(iii) a drop in service be commissioned for those adults with a learning

disability who need only ‘light touch’ support.

(iv) the Council’s directly provided day service offer be consolidated and the

Council be the direct service providers only for those people with the most

complex needs, specifically the specialist Dementia Service, the

Challenging Needs Service (CNS) and the Intensive Support Service (ISR)

and additionally the in-house service retains management of its sheltered

employment schemes;

(v) the older adults service users (i.e. the non-Dementia service) offer be

consolidated with the existing providers of older adult day services in the

borough; Housing 21 at Cinnamon Court, Cedar Court and Hestia at the

Calabash Centre;

(vi) all other service users, primarily adults with a learning disability and

adults with physical disability/ long term conditions be allocated a

personal budget/ direct payment and supported to plan their own service

using those budgets either individually or through pooling the budgets with

others;

(vii)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 136.

Having considered an officer report, and presentations by the Chair of

Overview & Scrutiny, Councillor Alan Hall, the Cabinet Member for

Resources, Councillor Kevin Bonavia, Councillor Barnham in respect of

saving Q1, Mr John Collins of Unison in respect of saving H1 and Ms Toyin

Adeyinka in respect of saving A8, the Mayor agreed that:

subject to proper process and consultation where appropriate and if required:

(i) the decision made on 12 November 2014 to endorse previously agreed

savings of £1.480m for 2015/16 be noted

;

(ii) the decision made on the 12 November 2014 to delegate to officers,

subject to proper and consultation where appropriate, the implementation of

£11.833m of savings, of which £8.558m are for 2015/16 be noted;

(iii) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of the 5

February 2015, which incorporates the views of the respective select

Committees be received;

(iv) the following savings be approved:

• A1: Adult Care cost effective care packages £2,480k – App 2

• A2: Learning Disability care packages £1,500k – App 3

• A3: Reconfiguring sensory services provision £150k – App 4

• A6: Public Health part I £1,500k – App 6

• A8: Public Health part II £1,154k – App 6

• B1: Reduction and remodelling of supporting people support £2,523k –

App 8

• E1: Reorganisation of Regeneration and Asset Management £600k –

App 9

• K2: YOS reorganisation, intervention changes, contract reduction £200k

– App12

• L1: Review of main voluntary & community grants programme £1,500k –

App 13

• L3: Community Services development £240k – App 14

• L4: Broadway theatre £180k – App 15

• N1: Reduction in maintenance of some parks, highways enclosures &

management – management element only to be taken £108k –App 16

• N2: Reduction in street cleansing frequency & mngt. Costs £400k – App

17

• Q1: Improve triage for Childrens’ social care services and re-design

Children Centre early intervention offer £5,515k (£3,208 CYP budget

and £2,307 LFP saving) – App 19 – but there will be consultation on individual

Children Centres which will be reported back to Mayor & Cabinet.

• Q2: Reduction in Youth Service provision option 1 £1,406k – App 20 –

agreed in principle and officers asked to bring a report back dealing with

options for the future of youth service provision to include a detailed appraisal

of the establishment of an employee led mutual.

(v) the following saving be rejected:

• O1: End of discretionary freedom pass scheme £200k – App 18

(vi) the following saving be reconsidered at the meeting to be held on

February 18 2015:

• H1: Restructuring of enforcement and regulatory services £800k – App

11

(vii) the following savings return to Mayor & Cabinet for decision following

consultation:

• A1: Meals on Wheels Contract £200k – App 2

• A4: Remodelling building based day services £1,300k – App 5 (NB see

Decision 2 above: Remodelling Lewisham Council’s Day Service Offer and

Associated Transport including Evening Club Provision)

• A9: Review of  ...  view the full decision text for item 137.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor

Kevin Bonavia, who lamented the downward spiral of public finances since

2010, saying Local Government had been hardest hit by the Coalition

Government’s austerity approach to the global financial crisis.

Councillor Alan Hall, Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, added he

believed this was a sad day and as a lifelong borough resident he particularly

noticed the impact of the Coalition’s continued cuts programme. He presented

to the Mayor the written submissions of the Select Committees, as co-

ordinated by Public Accounts Select Committee, and the full findings of two

scrutiny task and finish groups on the Youth Service and Public Health. He

also welcomed compilation of a briefing note on the Blue Badge scheme

which had been requested by the Public Accounts Select Committee for

consideration at Mayor & Cabinet.

The Mayor was addressed by Ms Toyin Adeyinka regarding Saving A8. She

said she was a volunteer in a baby café and was part of a group that had

collected 800 signatures in an effort to save their breast feeding programme

and peer support group. The Mayor sought clarification on the proposed

saving from the Director of Public Health and the Executive Director for

Children and Young People who explained the reduction from £77,000pa to

£49,000pa would still allow the programme to achieve UNICEF accreditation.

The Mayor said he believed this was a fantastic project only made possible by

wonderful volunteers and he felt reassured that it would still be a success

story after remodelling. He asked Councillors Best and Millbank to oversee

the project and report back to him only if something went wrong.

Councillor Barnham submitted a written paper and spoke on saving Q1.

He acknowledged that the new structure of 4 area based children centres

rather than 17 centres did not involve widespread closures, as all but one of

the existing centres would still be operational and offering services, albeit to a

reduced target audience. The Mayor pointed out the process was ongoing

and gave a commitment to consultation on all the individual centres.

With regard to saving H1, the Mayor received advice from the Cabinet

member for the Public Realm, Councillor Rachel Onikosi and he listened to a

presentation from Mr John Collins of UNISON. Mr Collins explained he had

been asked to speak by officers affected by the reorganisation who believed

the proposals were flawed and represented a clear risk as the authority ran

the risk of not meeting numerous statutory responsibilities. The Mayor

responded by agreeing to defer the saving for one week to allow further

discussion to take place with the trade unions.

The Mayor considered each saving individually, taking advice from

the relevant Cabinet Member as appropriate and reached the conclusions

shown in the recommendations below.

Having considered an officer report, and presentations by the Chair of

Overview & Scrutiny, Councillor Alan Hall, the Cabinet Member for

Resources, Councillor Kevin Bonavia, Councillor Barnham in respect of

saving Q1, Mr John Collins of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 137.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for Resources, Councillor Kevin Bonavia, the Mayor agreed that:

(i) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of 5 February

2015, which incorporate the views of the respective select committees on the

revenue budget savings proposals for 2015/16 be received;

(ii) having considered the views of those consulted on the budget, and having

been informed of the outcome of consultation with business ratepayers, and

subject to proper process and consultation, as required, the Mayor agreed

that:

Capital Programme

(iii) the 2014/15 Quarter 3 Capital Programme monitoring position set out be

noted;

(iv) Council be recommended to approve the 2015/16 to 2018/19 Capital

Programme of £424.3m, there are two new proposed major capital projects

for 2015/16 and it includes an allocation of £90,000 of capital to Phoenix

Housing in respect of their proposals for developing the Fellowship Inn, as set

out in section 5 of this report and attached at Appendices W1 and W2;

Housing Revenue Account

(v) Council be asked to note the consultation report on service charges to

tenants’ and leaseholders in the Brockley area, presented to area panel

members on 11th December 2014,

(vi) Council be asked to note the consultation report on service charges to

tenants’ and leaseholders and the Lewisham Homes budget strategy

presented to area panel members on 15th December 2014;

(vii) Council be recommended to set an increase in dwelling rents of 2.61%

(an average of £2.51 per week) – option B as presented in section 6 of the

report, in accordance with current Housing Revenue Account financial

strategy;

(viii) Council be recommended to set an increase in the hostels

accommodation charge by 2.20% (or £1.50 per week), in accordance with the

Rent Restructuring formula;

(ix) Council be recommended to approve the following average weekly

increases for dwellings for:

service charges to non-Lewisham Homes managed dwellings (Brockley);

• caretaking 2.20% (£0.07)

• grounds 2.20% (£0.04)

• communal lighting 2.20% (£0.01)

• bulk waste collection 2.20% (£0.02)

• window cleaning 0.00% (£0.00)

• tenants’ levy No increase

service charges to Lewisham Homes managed dwellings:

• caretaking No increase

• grounds No increase

• window cleaning No increase

• communal lighting 40.70% (£0.35)

• block pest control 5.16% (£0.08)

• waste collection No change

• heating & hot water -18.93% (-£1.87) decrease

• tenants’ levy No increase

(x) Council be recommended to approve the following average weekly

percentage increases for hostels and shared temporary units for;

• service charges (hostels) – caretaking etc.; 4.08% (£2.77)

• no energy cost increases for heat, light & power; 0.0% (£0.00)

• water charges increase; 5.88% (£0.01)

(xi) Council be recommended to approve an increase in garage rents by

Retail Price Inflation (RPI) of 2.3% (£0.20 per week) for Brockley residents

and 2.3% (£0.27 per week) for Lewisham Homes residents;

(xii) Council be asked to note that the budgeted expenditure for the Housing

Revenue Account (HRA) for 2015/16 is £130.9m;

(xiii) Council be asked to endorse the  ...  view the full decision text for item 138.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for Resources, Councillor Kevin Bonavia, the Mayor, for the reasons

set out in the report:

RESOLVED that:

(i) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of 5 February

2015, which incorporate the views of the respective select committees on the

revenue budget savings proposals for 2015/16 be received;

(ii) having considered the views of those consulted on the budget, and having

been informed of the outcome of consultation with business ratepayers, and

subject to proper process and consultation, as required, the Mayor agreed

that:

Capital Programme

(iii) the 2014/15 Quarter 3 Capital Programme monitoring position set out be

noted;

(iv) Council be recommended to approve the 2015/16 to 2018/19 Capital

Programme of £424.3m, there are two new proposed major capital projects

for 2015/16 and it includes an allocation of £90,000 of capital to Phoenix

Housing in respect of their proposals for developing the Fellowship Inn, as set

out in section 5 of this report and attached at Appendices W1 and W2;

Housing Revenue Account

(v) Council be asked to note the consultation report on service charges to

tenants’ and leaseholders in the Brockley area, presented to area panel

members on 11th December 2014,

(vi) Council be asked to note the consultation report on service charges to

tenants’ and leaseholders and the Lewisham Homes budget strategy

presented to area panel members on 15th December 2014;

(vii) Council be recommended to set an increase in dwelling rents of 2.61%

(an average of £2.51 per week) – option B as presented in section 6 of the

report, in accordance with current Housing Revenue Account financial

strategy;

(viii) Council be recommended to set an increase in the hostels

accommodation charge by 2.20% (or £1.50 per week), in accordance with the

Rent Restructuring formula;

(ix) Council be recommended to approve the following average weekly

increases for dwellings for:

service charges to non-Lewisham Homes managed dwellings (Brockley);

• caretaking 2.20% (£0.07)

• grounds 2.20% (£0.04)

• communal lighting 2.20% (£0.01)

• bulk waste collection 2.20% (£0.02)

• window cleaning 0.00% (£0.00)

• tenants’ levy No increase

service charges to Lewisham Homes managed dwellings:

• caretaking No increase

• grounds No increase

• window cleaning No increase

• communal lighting 40.70% (£0.35)

• block pest control 5.16% (£0.08)

• waste collection No change

• heating & hot water -18.93% (-£1.87) decrease

• tenants’ levy No increase

(x) Council be recommended to approve the following average weekly

percentage increases for hostels and shared temporary units for;

• service charges (hostels) – caretaking etc.; 4.08% (£2.77)

• no energy cost increases for heat, light & power; 0.0% (£0.00)

• water charges increase; 5.88% (£0.01)

(xi) Council be recommended to approve an increase in garage rents by

Retail Price Inflation (RPI) of 2.3% (£0.20 per week) for Brockley residents

and 2.3% (£0.27 per week) for Lewisham Homes residents;

(xii) Council be asked to note that the budgeted expenditure for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for Health, Well-Being & Older People, Councillor Chris Best, the

Cabinet, in the absence of the Mayor agreed that

(i) the plan to reconfigure the delivery of community based healthy

eating and physical activity initiatives be approved; and

(ii) the proposal to tender the delivery of borough-wide healthy eating and

physical activity initiatives to a suitable provider be approved.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for Health, Well-Being & Older People, Councillor Chris Best, the

Cabinet, in the absence of the Mayor, for the reasons set out in the report:

RESOLVED that

(i) the plan to reconfigure the delivery of community based healthy eating and

physical activity initiatives be approved; and

(ii) the proposal to tender the delivery of borough-wide healthy eating and

physical activity initiatives to a suitable provider be approved.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Deputy Mayor,

Councillor Alan Smith the Mayor agreed that the report be noted and that a

further report be prepared by the end of March 2015 to update progress.

The report was presented by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Alan Smith, who

was pleased to report progress was being made. Ward Councillors, Chris

Best and Rachel Onikosi both thanked him for his update and looked forward

to seeing a rebuilt pub.

The Mayor was also addressed by Mr Barry Milton who acknowledged slow

progress was being made and urged the Council to continue to put pressure

on the developer. In response the Mayor said he expected another report at

an early date detailing progress.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Deputy Mayor,

Councillor Alan Smith the Mayor:

RESOLVED that the report be noted and that a further report be prepared by

the end of March 2015 to update progress.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for the Public Realm, Councillor Rachel Onikosi, the Mayor agreed

that the amended Blackheath Events Policy be adopted.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for the Public Realm, Councillor Rachel Onikosi, the Mayor, for the reasons set out in the report:

RESOLVED that the amended Blackheath Events Policy be adopted.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for Housing, Councillor Damien Egan, the Mayor agreed that:

(i) the background and proposed changes to the Board of Phoenix

Community Housing, be noted; and

(ii) the proposed changes as set out be approved.

Having considered an officer report, and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for Housing, Councillor Damien Egan, the Mayor, for the reasons set

out in the report:

RESOLVED that:

(i) the background and proposed changes to the Board of PhoenixCommunity

Housing, be noted; and

(ii) the proposed changes as set out be approved.

This was agreed.

RESOLVED that in accordance with Regulation 4(2)(b) of the Local

Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to

Information)(England) Regulations 2012 and under Section 100(A)(4) of the

Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the

meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve

the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs [3, 4 and

5] of Part 1 of Schedule 12(A) of the Act,  and the public interest in

maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the

information

13.       Housing Property Acquisition Lee Green

Having considered a confidential officer report, and a presentation by the

Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Damien Egan, the Mayor agreed

that:

(i) the proposed purchase by the Council of the freehold interest in the subject

property for a stipulated total purchase price together with the other costs

referred to be approved; and

(ii) authority be delegated to the Executive Director for Resources and

Regeneration, in consultation with the Head of Law, to negotiate and agree

the final terms of the purchase of the subject property.

Having considered a confidential officer report, and a presentation by the

Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Damien Egan, the Mayor, for the

reasons set out in the report:

RESOLVED that:

(i) the proposed purchase by the Council of the freehold interest in the subject

property for a stipulated total purchase price together with the other costs

referred to be approved; and

(ii) authority be delegated to the Executive Director for Resources and

Regeneration, in consultation with the Head of Law, to negotiate and agree

the final terms of the purchase of the subject property.

The meeting ended at 9.19pm.