Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received.

In accordance with paragraph 2.6(a) of the Council’s Constitution, the following speakers addressed the Cabinet with regard to the following items:

Cessation of use of Marston Court

·       Cllr Malcolm

·       Cllr Gallant

Cycle Network Plan

·       Cllr Gallant

Final Report of Scrutiny Panel 3 - 2022/2023: Regrow, Rewild and Recycle

·       Cllr Malcolm

The meeting was held in a hybrid format with members and officers able to join the meeting remotely. However, regulations did not allow for members attending virtually to be counted as present in the attendance section of the minutes, and their attendance would not count as attendance in relation to section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1972. Members attending virtually would be able to speak but would not be able to vote. Cllr Blacker attended virtually.

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To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 8 November 2023.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday 8 November 2023 be agreed and signed as a true and correct record.

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RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      I.          Authorised the Strategic Director Housing and Environment to:

     II.          Cease the use of the units at Marston Court as temporary accommodation.

   III.          Continue decanting residents out of Marston Court.

  IV.          Negotiate and finalise with QED a solution for the future of Marston Court that better meets the council’s developing temporary accommodation strategy, including (should it be possible to reachagreement in that regard) the early surrender of the lease of MarstonCourt.

    V.          Utilisethe units for an alternative purpose other than accommodation until theend of the lease If the negotiations to surrender the lease are not successful.

  VI.          Investigate alternative housing options for the current residents of

VII.          Marston Court.

VIII.          Identify funding options to meet the additional financial burden of

  IX.          closing Marston Court, where other funding options cannot be identified,

    X.          these one-off costs would be met from reserves.

REASONS FOR DECISION AND OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

The report sought approval from Cabinet to end the current lease agreement, subject to QED agreement. The lease for Marston Court ends in April 2027 and the proposal was to seek to end the lease early following the decommissioning of the service being completed. The options that had been considered included:

1.     Continue as is

This option had been discounted because Marston Court does not meet the standard of the temporary accommodation that the Council wishes to provide.

2.     Vacate the accommodation and leave empty

Although Marston Court could be left empty until the end of the lease, the Council would continue to incur costs for securing the units in addition to the rental payments. For this reason, this option has been discounted.

3.     Re-purpose for different use

Opportunities are being considered for re-using the units for a different purpose, including accommodation at a different location through local charities or supporting local businesses and ventures. Where this is possible, this may help to reduce the cost of the units.

4.     Exit the lease agreement early and return the units

The recommended option is for the Council to try to exit the lease agreement and decommission the site. This could be implemented at the same time as pursuing the alternative use of the site with local partners as outlined in (3). However, if it is not possible to negotiate acceptable terms then one or more of the above options would need to be explored.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

     I.        Approved the draft borough-wide Cycle Network Plan, based on resident consultation, as shown in 3.5 and detailed in Appendix 2.

    II.        Approved the action plan for improving cycle routes, arising from the resident consultation, which was undertaken in line with our Travel in Ealing Charter (TIE).

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

     I.        Agreed the list of proposed High Priority Condition Works as set out in Confidential Appendix A, and that further work would take place to finalise detailed schemes.

    II.        Authorised the Assistant Director Planning, Resources and Service Development to invite and evaluate tenders or make call offs from appropriate frameworks or dynamic purchasing systems, including where these exceed £0.500m, in accordance with their rules for the works contracts for the schemes set out in Confidential Appendix A.

  III.        Delegated to the Assistant Director Planning, Resources and Service

  IV.        Development authority to award contracts for the schemes, where these exceed £0.500m, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder and the Strategic Director Resources, set out in Confidential Appendix A.

   V.        Delegated authority to the Assistant Director Planning Resources and Service Development, to procure the appointment of a delivery agent in compliance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs) to manage and deliver Phase 3c, and to approve the inception of up to £2.235m into the capital programme; this will be funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) grant if the bid for PSDS 3c Grant funding of up to £2.235m is successful. Also, in addition, agreed match funding of approximately £0.525m to be funded from the existing approved High Priority Condition programme.

  VI.        Approved the inclusion of Grant funding for High Priority Condition Works and

VII.        associated spend into the capital programme in 2024/25 from the Schools

VIII.        Condition Allocation Grant once the 2024/25 final allocation has been announced.

  IX.        Authorised the Assistant Director Planning, Resources and Service Development to seek all necessary Planning and Statutory Approvals for the schemes described in this report.

REASON FOR DECISION AND OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

1.    The decisions are required to enable the Council to progress with capital works to schools.

2.    Under the Council’s Constitution, Cabinet approval is required to proceed with schemes over £5m per annum in value, Portfolio Holder approval is required in order to proceed with schemes between £0.500m and £5m per annum, and the schemes up to £0.500m per annum fall within Director delegated powers. As all of the schemes are to be undertaken during the same time period, authority is being sought from Cabinet for all of the projects in this report rather than submitting separate reports for smaller numbers of projects to Cabinet, the Portfolio Holder or Director.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      I.          Subject to receipt of planning approval for the scheme, awarded a contract in the sum of £25,298,501.00 to Geoffrey Osborne Construction Limited for construction of the new building at Villiers High School to be funded from the Villiers High School budget as set out in the Capital Programme 2021/22 to 2025/26.

     II.          Approved the inception of £2.058m Section 106 money into the existing approved Villiers High School budget.

   III.          Approved the inception of £11.048m Basic Need grant money into the existing approved Villiers High School budget.

  IV.          Authorised the Strategic Director for Children’s Services to finalise the terms of the works contract.

    V.          Delegated authority to the Strategic Director for Children’s Services, to take any other necessary steps to secure the implementation of the works.

The Leader, on behalf of Cabinet members, put on record, their thanks to Aruna Sharma, the outgoing Head Teacher of Villiers High School.

REASON FOR DECISION AND OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

1.     The Council has a statutory duty to secure sufficient school places and to promote high educational standards, ensure fair access to educational opportunity and promote the fulfilment of every child’s educational potential. The Council must also promote choice and diversity.

2.     Cabinet authorised the Executive Director for Children, Adults and Public Health, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, to invite and evaluate tenders for the Villiers High School Places project, on 15October 2019.

3.     The Cabinet Member for a Fairer Start, in April 2022, authorised the award of a contract in the sum of £543,803.00 to Geoffrey Osborne Construction Limited for Pre- Construction Services for the new building at Villiers High School.

4.     Cabinet, in September 2022, authorised the inclusion of accommodation for an additional form of entry, and to progress an Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP).

5.     As reported to Cabinet in October 2021 and April 2022, despite the increase in capacity and projected reduction in demand elsewhere in the borough, the Council continues to experience significant pressure on places in Southall. This is due to a combination of the increased popularity of high schools in the area, and primary cohort sizes reducing later than elsewhere in the borough. This pressure is expected to increase as the major planned residential developments in the area progress, with a need for further secondary capacity likely in Southall over the next 10 years. The Council continues to keep the timings and potential child yield from these developments under close review and work closely with schools in the area to look at potential options to meet this demand. Villiers High School continues to fill at 8 forms of entry, plus bulge classes. The school had 1,501 students on roll at October 2023 census. This has risen from 1,459 students at January 2022 census, and 1,370 at the October 2019 schools census prior to the October 2019 Cabinet report. The school’s roll was 1,140 at the summer 2014 schools’ census.

6.     Awarding the main works contract for the new building at Villiers High School will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      I.          Noted the final report of Scrutiny Panel 2 – 2022/2023: Recovery from the Pandemic, which was attached as Appendix 1.

     II.          Accepted the Panel’s recommendations in Section 7.0 of the final report.

REASON FOR DECISION AND OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

Scrutiny panels have a role in improving decision-making and service delivery through effective scrutiny. Recommendations from scrutiny panels need to be taken forward in a timely manner and in accordance with the Council’s constitution if the scrutiny function is to be effective. The Scrutiny and Executive Protocol identifies the timescale for Cabinet to respond to scrutiny panel recommendations. This decision will mean that the response is made in a timely manner and that services can implement the accepted recommendations.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      I.          Noted the final report of Scrutiny Panel 3 – 2022/2023: Regrow, Rewild and Recycle, which was attached as Appendix 1.

     II.          Accepted the Panel’s recommendations in Section 7.0 of the final report.

REASON FOR DECISION AND OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

Scrutiny panels have a role in improving decision-making and service delivery through effective scrutiny. Recommendations from scrutiny panels need to be taken forward in a timely manner and in accordance with the Council’s constitution if the scrutiny function is to be effective. The Scrutiny and Executive Protocol identifies the timescale for Cabinet to respond to scrutiny panel recommendations. This decision will mean that the response is made in a timely manner and that services can implement the accepted recommendations.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      I.          Noted the final report of Scrutiny Panel 4 – 2022/2023: Genuinely Affordable Homes, which is attached as Appendix 1.

     II.          Accepted the Panel’s recommendations in Section 7.0 of the final report with the exception of recommendations 3 and 4 of which were rejected.

REASON FOR DECISION AND OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

Scrutiny panels have a role in improving decision-making and service delivery through effective scrutiny. Recommendations from scrutiny panels need to be taken forward in a timely manner and in accordance with the Council’s constitution if the scrutiny function is to be effective. The Scrutiny and Executive Protocol identifies the timescale for Cabinet to respond to scrutiny panel recommendations. This decision will mean that the response is made in a timely manner and that services can implement the accepted recommendations.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 17 January 2024.

The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 17 January 2024.

The Leader extended his best wishes to everyone for Christmas and the New Year.