Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest in Item 5 as the

mother of a child who had been in receipt of a number of Social Care

packages.

Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest in Item 5 as the

mother of a child who had been in receipt of a number of Social Care

packages.

Approved.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on January 13 2021 be

confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Referral from the Sustainable Development Select Committee on Climate

Change

RESOLVED that a response be considered at the March 10 meeting of Mayor

& Cabinet.

Referral from the Public Accounts Select Committee on Budget Cuts

RESOLVED that a response be considered as part of Item 4 on the agenda

Referral from the Public Accounts Select Committee on the Budget 2021-22

RESOLVED that a response announced at the meeting be minuted and

reported to the Select Committee.

Referral from the Sustainable Development Select Committee on Climate

Change

The referral was presented by Councillor Liam Curran, the Chair of the

Sustainable Development Select Committee.

RESOLVED that a response be considered at the March 10 meeting of Mayor

& Cabinet.

Referral from the Public Accounts Select Committee on Budget Cuts

The Cabinet accepted a suggestion from the Mayor that this be considered in

conjunction with Item 4.

RESOLVED that a response be considered as part of Item 4 on the agenda

Referral from the Public Accounts Select Committee on the Budget 2021-22

The Cabinet accepted a suggestion from the Mayor that this be considered in

conjunction with Item 5 and a response be given then for reporting to the

Select Committee.

RESOLVED that a response announced at the meeting be minuted and

reported to the Select Committee.

Having considered an officer report, and presentations by the Cabinet

Member for Finance and Resources, Councillor Amanda De Ryk, the Chair of

the Public Accounts Select Committee, Councillor Pat Codd and by Dr Tony

O’Sullivan of the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign, the Mayor and Cabinet

agreed in a recorded vote that:

(1)  following a review the cuts proposals presented in Section 7 and

Appendices 2 to 7, totalling £12.965m, the following proposals be

approved;

(2)  Authorise officers to carry out consultations where staff consultation

is necessary in relation to proposals: A-09, A-11, A-13, C-10, C-11,

C-30, and F-15A and delegate the decision to the relevant

Executive Director for the service concerned.

(3)  Authorise officers to carry out consultations where public

consultation is necessary in relation to proposals:, B-11, C-12, C-

13, C-15, C-22, C-26, C-28, F-20, F-22 and F-24, and ask officers

to report back to the Mayor with the outcome, for a decision to be

made. This includes the proposal on NHS CAMHS with work to be

done on a contingency arrangement alongside the consultation, and

brought forward in a future report to Mayor and Cabinet.

(4)  Agree that where no consultation is required, agree the following

proposals: A-01A, A-10, A-12, A-14, A-16, A-17, A-18, B-12, B-13,

C-09, C-14, C-16, C-17, C-21, C-23, C-24, C-29, D-09, E-01A, E-

08A, E-11, F-19, F-21, and F-23

(2) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of the 2 February

2021 incorporating the views of the respective select committees be received

and the tabled response be endorsed for reporting to the Select Committee;

The Mayor began by recounting that in every year since 2010 when he joined

the Council cuts in services had been imposed. He observed thebudget was

about half of what it was ten years ago with 1000 fewer members of staff

compared to 2010. In real terms, the budget had gone from just over £400

million to just over £240 million.

He said COVID-19 had only made the situation worse for local authorities.

The Government’s failure to provide Lewisham with the funding required,

combined with the financial impact of COVID-19 forced further cuts. £40m

worth of cuts were being imposed on Lewisham over the next three years.

£28m of those cuts were required for the next year. As 71% of the budget was

spent on social care and public health, the rest of our council’s services were

under severe financial strain.

The Mayor reminded the Cabinet that setting a legal budget was the first duty

for public representatives. The alternative would be a budget set by Robert

Jenrick and Boris Johnson in Westminster. Setting a balanced budget was

seen as the only way to protect the Council’s finances in the long-term.

The Mayor made a commitment to continue campaigning for an end to

austerity and lobbying the Government to deliver the funding Lewisham

needed, working with local MPs, other Labour local authorities, and the

Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

The Budget Cuts was then presented by Councillor Amanda De Ryk. She

acknowledged framing a legal budget had been challenging given the level of

cuts required. She confirmed the impact of austerity and the levels of cuts

already made and still required.

The Chair of the Public Accounts Select Committee, Councillor Pat Codd next

addressed the Cabinet. He outlined the considerations offered by all six

Select Committees and concluded that he accepted the need for cuts in order

to pass a balanced budget.

A response to the written comments of the Select Committees on Budget Cuts

was tabled at the meeting. A proposal to report the response to the Select

Committee was carried by 10 – 0 in a recorded vote under the provisions of

the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations

2014, with the following result:

In favour of reporting the response to the Select Committee – 10

Mayor Egan, Councillors Barnham, Bell, Best, Bonavia, Dacres, McGeevor,

Reid, De Ryk, & Slater.

Against reporting the response to the Select Committee – nil

Abstaining in reporting the response to the Select Committee – nil

The Mayor next invited Dr Tony O’Sullivan, the Chair of the Save Lewisham

Hospital Campaign, to address the Cabinet. Dr O’Sullivan made an

impassioned plea for any cuts affecting CAMHS to be reconsidered. In

response Councillor Barnham acknowledged good quality mental health

services were vital and he pointed out funding had risen over the previous

three years albeit from a historically low base. He reported a ring fenced

£250,000 under Council control has been earmarked to underpin the SLAM

contract should demand rise. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 431.

Having considered an officer report, and presentations by the Cabinet

Member for Finance and Resources, Councillor Amanda De Ryk, the Chair of

the Public Accounts Select Committee, Councillor Pat Codd and by Councillor

Jacq Paschoud, the Mayor and Cabinet agreed in a recorded vote that:

(1) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of 2 February

2021 be received and a minuted response be provided to the Select

Committee and notes that Mayor and Cabinet decisions on the budget report

will then be taken formally with the budget update report on the 10 February,

(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 and Cabinet approved the

following budgetary decisions:

General Fund Revenue Budget

2.3 notes and asks Council to note the projected overall variance of £3.2m (or

1.3%) against the agreed 2020/21 revenue budget of £248.714m as set out in

section 6 of this report and that any year-end overspend will be met from

corporate reserves and provisions;

2.4 endorses and asks Council to endorse the budget cut proposals of

£28.016m as per the Mayor and Cabinet meetings of the 9 December 2020

and 3 February 2020, as set out in section 6 of the report and summarised in

Appendix Y1 and Y2;

2.5 agrees and asks Council to agree the allocation of £6.500m in 2021/22 be

set aside and use of £1.500m reduced contribution for concessionary fares for

corporate risks and pressures; 

2.6 agrees and asks Council to agree the allocation of £19.685m of corporate

risks and pressures, social care precept, new homes bonus, social care grant,

lower tier grant and legacy s31 monies in 2021/22 to be invested in funding

quantified budget pressures and opportunities, both recurring and once-off as

set out in section 6;

2.7 agrees to recommend to Council that a General Fund Budget

Requirement of £243.100m for 2021/22 be approved;

2.8 asks Council to agree to a 4.99% increase in Lewisham’s Council Tax

element. This will result in a Band D equivalent Council Tax level of £1,379.96

for Lewisham’s services and £1,743.62 overall. This represents an overall

increase in Council Tax for 2021/22 of 5.91% and is subject to the GLA

precept for 2021/22 being increased by £31.59 (i.e. 9.5%) from £332.07 to

£363.66, in line with the GLA’s draft budget proposals;

2.9 notes and asks Council to note the Council Tax Ready Reckoner which for

illustrative purposes sets out the Band D equivalent Council Tax at various

levels of increase. This is explained in section 6 of the report and is set out in

more detail in Appendix Y4;

2.10 asks that the Executive Director for Corporate Resources issues cash

limits to all Directorates once the 2021/22 Revenue Budget is agreed;

2.11 notes that the Executive Director for Corporate Resources Section 25

Statement will be presented in the Budget Update Report on the 10 February

2021 for approval;  ...  view the full decision text for item 432.

Councillor Amanda De Ryk presented the report and confirmed earlier 

discussion that this would be a cuts budget. She pointed out the Local

Government Financial Settlement did not meet the known needs of Lewisham

residents. The cuts she described would help set a balanced budget without

any call being made on reserves. She praised Finance Officers for their efforts

in constructing a workable budget.

Councillor Pat Codd, Chair of the Public Accounts Select Committee

presented written comments prepared after the previous evening’s meeting of

his Committee. Councillor Codd explained his Committee acknowledged the

difficult circumstances facing the Council and it commended the work of

officers in responding to the pandemic while also managing critical services

and identifying additional cuts to budgets. The Committee believed that the

hard work and dedication of Council officersrs in developing the 2021-22

budget should be recognised and praised.

Councillor De Ryk responded formally be endorsing fully the comments made

by the Select Committee. She praised the thematic approach taken in

formulating cuts which reflected a one Council approach. She moved that her

response be reported to the Select Committee. The A proposal to report the

response to the Select Committee was carried by 10 – 0 in a recorded vote

under the provisions of the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England)

(Amendment) Regulations 2014, with the following result:

In favour of reporting the response to the Select Committee – 10

Mayor Egan, Councillors Barnham, Bell, Best, Bonavia, Dacres, McGeevor,

Reid, De Ryk, & Slater.

Against reporting the response to the Select Committee – nil

Abstaining in reporting the response to the Select Committee – nil

RESOLVED that the response laid out in the minutes be reported to the Select Committee

The Cabinet was next addressed by Councillor Jacq Paschoud who  

highlighted the work of the People’s Parliament. The actions she described

were echoed by the Mayor who encouraged support for the ongoing activities

of the People’s Parliament. The Executive Director for Community Services

welcomed the feedback given as he believed the People’s Parliament created

an opportunity for vulnerable people to be heard.

The Mayor concluded by moving the recommendations stating that in difficult  

times a balanced budget was being presented which fully reflected Labour

values.

Having considered an officer report, and presentations by the Cabinet

Member for Finance and Resources, Councillor Amanda De Ryk, the Chair of

the Public Accounts Select Committee, Councillor Pat Codd and by Councillor

Jacq Paschoud, the Mayor and Cabinet agreed in a recorded vote carried by

10-0 under the provisions of the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England)

(Amendment) Regulations 2014, with the following resul

In favour of the recommendations – 10

Mayor Egan, Councillors Barnham, Bell, Best, Bonavia, Dacres, McGeevor,

Reid, De Ryk, & Slater.

Against the recommendations  – nil

Abstaining on recommendations - nil

RESOLVED that

(1) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of 2 February

2021 be received and a minuted response be provided to the Select

Committee and notes that Mayor and Cabinet decisions on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 432.