Merton Council Cabinet 18 February 2019

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor Martin Whelton.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2019 were agreed as an accurate record.

• View the background to item 4.
• View the decision for item 4.

Decision:

1. That Cabinet, in taking decisions relating to the Business Plan 2019-23,

takes into account the recommendations made by the Overview and

Scrutiny Commission (set out in paragraph 2.4 of the report) and the outcomes of consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Panels (set out in Appendix 1 of the report)

Minutes:

At the invitation of the Chair, Councillor Peter Southgate addressed the Cabinet, giving an overview of the recommendations, including the specific concerns raised by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and thanking Councillors and Officers for their involvement and hard work.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance in response echoed the thanks to officers and all members who had been involved throughout the Scrutiny process. The Cabinet Member noted that savings were required of up to £20 million and £10 million had been identified.

In relation to the specific suggestions from the Scrutiny process, the Cabinet Member advised as follows:

1)    Capital Programme – this was under constant review however when discussed, agreement had not been reached on which item(s) to remove.

2)    Contribution for funding premises occupied by MVSC and CAB – there should be detailed discussions with charities over the coming year regarding this.

3)    Morden Park House – the issue had been recognised and it was a loss making service. It would need to be looked at whether the revenue could be increased or whether there were alternative uses for the site. The next twelve months would be used to look at how the premises could operate and provide better value.

The Cabinet Member thanked all involved for their constructive work.

The Chair echoed the thanks to all involved with the Scrutiny process and also to Councillor Southgate.

The Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Engagement and Equalities noted that the rates paid by the MVSC had not been reviewed for a number of years, and that the Council should aim for equality across the voluntary sector where possible.

The Cabinet Member for Community and Culture commended point 2 of the Commission’s recommendations to lobby the government for more sustainable basis for the funding of local government and welcomed the cross-party agreement on that point.

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet, in taking decisions relating to the Business Plan 2019-23, takes into account the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission (set out in paragraph 2.4 of the report) and the outcomes of consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Panels (set out in Appendix 1 of the report)

• View the background to item 5.
• View the decision for item 5.

Additional documents:

• budget and business plan – index pages Dec 2018 , item 5. PDF 71 KB
• Summary of progress against savings targets , item 5. PDF 25 KB
• Savings consolidated – OCTOBER + DECEMBER MASTER , item 5. PDF 361 KB
• Equality Impact Assessments , item 5. PDF 2 MB
• Second Draft Service Plans , item 5. PDF 3 MB
• There are a further 2 documents.View the full list of documents for item 5.

Decision:

1. That Cabinet considered and agreed the response to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission;

2. That the Cabinet resolved that, having considered all of the information in this report and noted the positive assurance statement given by the Director of Corporate Services based on the proposed Council Tax strategy, the maximum Council Tax in 2019/20, equating to a Band D Council Tax of £1,227.82, which is an increase of below 5% be approved and recommended to Council for approval.

3. That the Cabinet considered all of the latest information and the comments from the scrutiny process, and makes recommendations to Council as appropriate

4. That Cabinet resolved that the Business Plan 2019-23 including the General Fund Budget and Council Tax Strategy for 2019/20, and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2019-2023 as submitted, along with the draft Equality Assessments (EAs), be approved and recommended to Council for approval subject to any proposed amendments agreed at this meeting;

5. That the Cabinet resolved that, having considered all of the latest information and the comments from the scrutiny process, the Capital Investment Programme (as detailed in Annex 1 to the Capital Strategy); the Treasury Management Strategy (Section 5), including the detailed recommendations in that Section, incorporating the Prudential Indicators and the Capital Strategy (Section 4) as submitted and reported upon be approved and recommended to Council for approval, subject to any proposed amendments agreed at this meeting;

6. That Cabinet noted that the GLA precept will not be agreed by the London Assembly until the 25 February 2019, but the provisional figure has been incorporated into the draft MTFS

7. That Cabinet requested officers to review the savings proposals agreed and where possible bring them forward to the earliest possible implementation date

8. That Cabinet noted that there may be minor amendments to figures in this report as a result of new information being received after the deadline for dispatch and that this will be amended for the report to Council in March.

9. That Cabinet considered and approved the Risk Management Strategy

Minutes:

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report and thanked all involved noting a great deal of work and consideration had gone into the Business Plan.

The Director for Corporate Services highlighted several parts of the Plan to members and advised of a number of amendments which would be made prior to the Budget Council meeting.

The Chair echoed the thanks to all involved and to the Cabinet Member for Finance.

The Director for Corporate Services confirmed that the Business Plan had been amended to action the savings changes/removals recommended by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission.

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet considered and agreed the response to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission;

2. That the Cabinet resolved that, having considered all of the information in this report and noted the positive assurance statement given by the Director of Corporate Services based on the proposed Council Tax strategy, the maximum Council Tax in 2019/20, equating to a Band D Council Tax of £1,227.82, which is an increase of below 5% be approved and recommended to Council for approval.

3. That the Cabinet considered all of the latest information and the comments from the scrutiny process, and makes recommendations to Council as appropriate

4. That Cabinet resolved that the Business Plan 2019-23 including the General Fund Budget and Council Tax Strategy for 2019/20, and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2019-2023 as submitted, along with the draft Equality Assessments (EAs), be approved and recommended to Council for approval subject to any proposed amendments agreed at this meeting;

5. That the Cabinet resolved that, having considered all of the latest information and the comments from the scrutiny process, the Capital Investment Programme (as detailed in Annex 1 to the Capital Strategy); the Treasury Management Strategy (Section 5), including the detailed recommendations in that Section, incorporating the Prudential Indicators and the Capital Strategy (Section 4) as submitted and reported upon be approved and recommended to Council for approval, subject to any proposed amendments agreed at this meeting;

6. That Cabinet noted that the GLA precept will not be agreed by the London Assembly until the 25 February 2019, but the provisional figure has been incorporated into the draft MTFS

7. That Cabinet requested officers to review the savings proposals agreed and where possible bring them forward to the earliest possible implementation date

8. That Cabinet noted that there may be minor amendments to figures in this report as a result of new information being received after the deadline for dispatch and that this will be amended for the report to Council in March.

9. That Cabinet considered and approved the Risk Management Strategy

• View the background to item 6.
• View the decision for item 6.

Decision:

A. That Cabinet noted the financial reporting data relating to revenue budgetary control, showing a forecast net underspend at year-end of £1.49m million, 0.28% of gross budget.

B. That Cabinet noted the adjustments to the Capital Programme contained in Appendix 5b and approve the items in the Table below:

Minutes:

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report, thanking all involved and advising that the purpose of the report was to compare current spending in comparison to the budget. The Cabinet Member advised that there was a forecast net underspend of £1.49 million but noted that there were some areas of pressure and some areas would not continue to have an underspend.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that the report would go to the Financial Monitoring Task Group on 25 February to be looked at further.

RESOLVED:

A. That Cabinet noted the financial reporting data relating to revenue budgetary control, showing a forecast net underspend at year-end of £1.49m million, 0.28% of gross budget.

B. That Cabinet noted the adjustments to the Capital Programme contained in Appendix 5b and approve the items in the Table below:

• View the background to item 7.
• View the decision for item 7.

Decision:

A. That Cabinet awarded the contracts for the provision of Extra Care Services on the basis of three years with the option to extend for a further 2 years in 1 year increments and as outlined in the confidential Part B paper.

B. That Cabinet Delegated to the Director of Community and Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, the authority to extend the contract by the further increment of up to 24 months (as above).

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health presented the report and gave an overview of the recommendations. The Cabinet Member thanked officers for their hard work and advised that the intention was this was similar to the current contract and noted that the Council would only pay for the hours used.

RESOLVED:

A. That Cabinet awarded the contracts for the provision of Extra Care Services on the basis of three years with the option to extend for a further 2 years in 1 year increments and as outlined in the confidential Part B paper.

B. That Cabinet Delegated to the Director of Community and Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, the authority to extend the contract by the further increment of up to 24 months (as above).