Agenda, decisions and minutes

None.

None were made.

Approved.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on January 10 2018 be

confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Noted.

The Mayor was advised there were now no outstanding scrutiny matters.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Working in the Rented Private Sector

The Mayor accepted the recommendation of the Overview & Scrutiny

Business Panel.

Working in the Rented Private Sector

The report was presented by Councillor Alan Hall, the Chair of the Overview

and Scrutiny Business Panel and was accepted in full by the Mayor.

RESOLVED that the recommendation of the Overview & Scrutiny

Business Panel be accepted.

Having considered an officer report and a presentation by the Cabinet

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

(1) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of 6 February

2018 be received;

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

to consideration of the outcome of consultation with business ratepayers and

subject to proper process, as required, the Mayor:

Capital Programme

(3) the 2017/18 Quarter 3 Capital Programme monitoring position and the

Capital Programme potential future schemes and resources as set out in

section 5 be noted;

(4) Council be recommended to approve the 2018/19 to 2020/21 Capital

Programme of £271.5m, as set out in section 5 and attached at Appendices

W1 and W2;

Housing Revenue Account

(5) the consultation report on service charges to tenants’ and leaseholders in

the Brockley area, presented to area panel members on 12 December 2017,

be noted as attached at Appendix X2;

(6) the consultation report on service charges to tenants’ and leaseholders

and the Lewisham Homes budget strategy presented to area panel members

on 14 December 2017, be noted as attached at Appendix X3;

(7) a decrease in dwelling rents be set of 1.0% (an average of £0.97 per

week) – as per the requirements from government as presented in section 6;

(8) a decrease in the hostels accommodation charge be set by 1.0% (or £0.35

per week), in accordance with Government requirements;

(9) the following average weekly increases/decreases be approved for

dwellings for:

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

•           caretaking                 4.90% (£0.24)

•           grounds                     4.90% (£0.12)

•           communal lighting   4.90% (£0.06)

•           bulk waste collection           4.90% (£0.02)

•           window cleaning     4.90% (£0.01)

•           tenants’ levy             30.0% (£0.03)

(11) service charges to Lewisham Homes managed dwellings:

•           caretaking                 -1.17%  (-£0.12)

•           grounds                     16.27% (£0.27)

•           window cleaning     51.41% (£0.03)

•           communal lighting   0.38% (£0.01)

•           block pest control     1.87% (£0.03)

•           waste collection       1.93% (£0.01)

•           heating & hot waterno change

•           tenants’ levy             30.0% (£0.03)

•           bulk waste disposal2.96% (£0.02)

•           sheltered housing   1.00% (£0.24)

(12) the following average weekly percentage changes be approved for

hostels and shared temporary units for;

•           service charges (hostels) – caretaking etc.; no change

•           energy cost increases for heat, light & power; no change

•           water charges increase; no change

(13) an increase in garage rents be approved by Retail Price Inflation (RPI) of

3.9% (£0.46 per week) for Brockley residents and 3.9% (£0.46 per week) for

Lewisham Homes residents;

(14) the budgeted expenditure for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for

2018/19 be £156.8m, split £84.1m revenue and £72.7m capital, which

includes the decent homes and new build programmes;

(15) the HRA budget strategy savings proposals be approved in order to

achieve a balanced budget in 2018/19, as attached at Appendix X1;

Dedicated Schools Grant and Pupil Premium

(16) recommends Council be recommended to agree, subject to final

confirmation of the allocation, that the provisional Dedicated Schools Grant

allocation of £292.3m be  ...  view the full decision text for item 151.

The Budget was presented by Councillor Kevin Bonavia, the Cabinet Member

for Resources who said a balanced budget was being recommended,

constructed in spite of the Government’s failed policy of austerity and the

extreme emphasis on Brexit. He predicted a 4.2% increase in Council tax for

local residents.

The Executive Director for Resources and Regeneration’s representative

added that details of the Final Settlement had only been received from

Government the day before and would be reported to Mayor & Cabinet in a

Budget Update report on February 14. Among the changes was a new

national allocation of £150million for Adult Social Care which would equate to

about £855,000 for Lewisham.

Councillor Alan Hall spoke on the broader pressures facing local government

highlighted by the need for a Section 114 notice to be served on Conservative

controlled Northamptonshire County Council. He said the Council was only

able to fulfil statutory duties by dipping into reserves and that extreme

pressure on core budgets remained.

Councillor Chris Best highlighted the outcome of the consultation on the

Linkline Community Alarm Service and advised that the proposed revised

charges should be accepted.

The Mayor said he recalled seeing a Government announcement on

Children’s Mental Health on the LGA website. The Executive Director for

Resources & Regeneration said she would investigate further.

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:

(1) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of 6 February

2018 be received;

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

to consideration of the outcome of consultation with business ratepayers and

subject to proper process, as required, the Mayor:

Capital Programme

(3) the 2017/18 Quarter 3 Capital Programme monitoring position and the

Capital Programme potential future schemes and resources as set out in

section 5 be noted;

(4) Council be recommended to approve the 2018/19 to 2020/21 Capital

Programme of £271.5m, as set out in section 5 and attached at Appendices

W1 and W2;

Housing Revenue Account

(5) the consultation report on service charges to tenants’ and leaseholders in

the Brockley area, presented to area panel members on 12 December 2017,

be noted as attached at Appendix X2;

(6) the consultation report on service charges to tenants’ and leaseholders

and the Lewisham Homes budget strategy presented to area panel members

on 14 December 2017, be noted as attached at Appendix X3;

(7) a decrease in dwelling rents be set of 1.0% (an average of £0.97 per

week) – as per the requirements from government as presented in section 6;

(8) a decrease in the hostels accommodation charge be set by 1.0% (or £0.35

per week), in accordance with Government requirements;

(9) the following average weekly increases/decreases be approved for

dwellings for:

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

•           caretaking                 4.90% (£0.24)

•           grounds                     4.90% (£0.12)

•           communal lighting   4.90% (£0.06)

•           bulk waste collection           4.90%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 151.

Having considered an officer report and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for Children & Young People, Councillor Paul Maslin, the Mayor

agreed that:

(1) the admissions arrangements for mainstream community nursery, primary,

secondary schools and sixth forms as set out in Appendix A to H be

approved; and

(2) the pan London Admissions Schemes for reception and secondary

transfer and a local scheme for in year admissions as detailed in Appendix I

be approved.

Having considered an officer report and a presentation by the Cabinet

Member for Children & Young People, Councillor Paul Maslin, the Mayor, for

the reasons set out in the report:

RESOLVED that:

(1) the admissions arrangements for mainstream community nursery, primary,

secondary schools and sixth forms as set out in Appendix A to H be

approved; and

(2) the pan London Admissions Schemes for reception and secondary

transfer and a local scheme for in year admissions as detailed in Appendix I

be approved.

Having considered an officer report and a presentation by the Cabinet

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

Pay Policy Statement be received and reported to Council.

The Cabinet Member for Resources confirmed the proposed

recommendations should be reported to the Council.

The Mayor said the positive announcement on gender pay should be a source

of pride for the entire Council and he recalled Lewisham’s lengthy record on

promoting women’s rights.

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 the Pay Policy Statement be received and reported to

Council.

Having considered an officer report and a presentation by the Cabinet

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

that:

(1) the submission of a funding bid of up to £500k to the Green Capital Grants

fund be approved; and

(2) if the funding bid is successful, authority be delegated to the Executive

Director for Resources & Regeneration, in consultation with the Head of Law,

to agree the terms of the funding agreement and to enter into it.

Councillor Rachel Onikosi said this would be one of the last reports she would

be presenting on Beckenham Place Park as she would not be a candidate in

the forthcoming local elections. She praised the ongoing work being

undertaken to ensure the transformation of the park.

Having considered an officer report and a presentation by the Cabinet

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

that:

(1) the submission of a funding bid of up to £500k to the Green Capital Grants

fund be approved; and

(2) if the funding bid is successful, authority be delegated to the Executive

Director for Resources & Regeneration, in consultation with the Head of Law,

to agree the terms of the funding agreement and to enter into it.

The meeting closed at 6.24pm