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Declaration of Interests PDF 208 KB Decision: 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. 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. |
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Additional documents: Decision: Approved. Minutes: RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on January 13 2021 be confirmed and signed as a correct record. |
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Matters Raised by Scrutiny and other Constitutional Bodies PDF 27 KB Additional documents:
Decision: 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.
Minutes: 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. |
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Additional documents:
Decision: 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;
Minutes: 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. |
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Additional documents: Decision: 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. Minutes: 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. |