Agenda item

Members of the Committee are requested to bring their copy of the agenda for the Executive meeting on 2^nd April 2014.

 

Report CSD14052

 

The Committee considered the following reports on the part 1 agenda for the meeting of the Executive on 2^nd April 2014.

 

(5)  Budget Monitoring

Report FSD14026

 

The Committee considered the fifth budget monitoring report for 2013/14 based on expenditure and activity levels to January 2014. The report also highlighted significant variations and early warnings and sought a number of approvals.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(6)  Update on New National Adult Social Care Data Funding

Report CS14034

 

In July 2013 the Department of Health had announced new burden funding to support the development and implementation of new adult social care and statutory financial reporting during 2014/15. The Executive had requested regular updates and, five months into the project, this was the first update. The Executive was asked to carry forward £33k of the non-ring fenced grant to 2014/15 and return the estimated underspend of £16k back to general balances. 

 

The report had also been considered by the Care Services PDS Committee on 11^th March 2014.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(7)  Appointments to the Framework for Various Public Health Services – Addendum to Category K

Report CS14038

 

At its meeting on 12^th February 2014 the Executive had agreed a Framework of Providers for various Public Health Services categories. During the mandatory standstill period the Council had received an appeal from ToHealth Ltd whose tender submission for Category K: NHS Health Check Community Outreach Service had failed based on an evaluation of their finances. ToHealth Ltd had now provided satisfactory assurance that they had sufficient financial backing to support the service over the lifetime of any contract, and it was recommended that they be appointed to Category K.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(8)  Drawdown of Government Funding for Delivering Special Educational Needs Statutory Reforms Arising from the Family and Children Act 2014 (Bromley SEN and Disability Services)

Report ED14043

 

The Executive was asked to approve the drawdown of £381,937 of funding from the central contingency fund for 2014/15 to deliver the reforms set out in the Children and Families Bill about to be finalised in April 2014 and enacted in September 2014.

 

The report had also been considered by the Education PDS Committee on 18^th March 2014.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(9)  Gateway Review of Tenancy Support Services for Young People

Report CS14024

 

The current contracts for Tenancy Support Services for Young People were due to end on 30^th August 2014. The report reviewed outcomes achieved by the current service and the on-going demand, and made recommendations for the future commissioning of these services. It was proposed to agree a new contract by negotiation with the current provider, One Support, for a period of three years with the potential to extend for a further two years. If this could not be secured authority was sought to extend the current contract for three months to 30^th November 2014 to enable a competitive tendering exercise to take place and to manage the transfer in an orderly way.

 

The report had also been considered by the Care Services PDS Committee on 11^th March 2014. The Committee had raised some concerns, but these issues were being addressed.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(10) Gateway Review 0, 1 and 2: Approval of 2014/15 Education Building Maintenance Budgets, Education Planned Maintenance programme and Preferred Procurement Options

Report DRR14/026

 

The report set out the maintenance budget for education buildings and the criteria used to assemble the planned maintenance programme. The proposed Programme was available in the Members Room and once agreed this would be circulated to all Bromley maintained schools and education premises.

 

It was confirmed that where the authority agreed to carry out a project this would be honoured if the school subsequently converted to academy status. It was suggested that future reports should clarify the status of the schools involved.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(11) Approval of Procurement Strategy for Basic Need Projects and the Glebe School Expansion and allocation of Section 106 Funding to Education Schemes

Report ED14044

 

The report covered details of individual capital schemes from the Council’s Basic Need Programme and associated procurement strategy, asked the Executive to approve that the Glebe School Expansion Project be added to the Capital Programme, requested that funding to devolved to the Harris Federation (subject to consultation) to allow the expansion of Harris Crystal Palace Primary School and sought agreement for the allocation of Section 106 funding to education schemes. 

 

The Chairman noted that some of the detailed figures in the report needed to be checked and tidied up.

 

It was noted that the Programme included both academy and free schools.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(12)  Draft Further Alteration to the London Plan Consultation Response

Report DRR14/025

 

The GLA had issued draft Further Alterations to the London Plan (2011) for consultation, inviting responses by 10^th April 2014. The report outlined the main proposed changes impacting on the borough and set out a proposed response at Appendix 1. The main issues had been considered by the Local Development Framework Advisory Panel at its meeting on 5^th March 2014.

 

In policy 3.3, Increasing the Housing Supply, Bromley’s annual target for new housing supply had been increased to 641 from the 500 in the 2011 Plan. Members suggested that the response needed to be stronger, indicating the benefits of providing community facilities on-site rather than through payments in lieu and, in view of the long lead-in time, the need to provide improved transport infrastructure at an early stage.  The Leader indicated that this target was too high and that there would be further negotiation. 

 

The Committee discussed revised policy 5.16 waste self-sufficiency, which brought the deadline for zero waste going to landfill forward from 2031 to 2026, as part of the strategy of making London self-sufficient in waste. Some Members were sceptical that this could be achieved, and suggested that it would require greater reliance on incineration which was not necessarily very clean, but it was also stated that research showed that incineration was extremely clean.

 

RESOLVED that, subject to the comments above, the recommendations be supported. 

 

(13) Adoption of the Second Revision of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plan

Report DRR14/041

 

The Executive was asked to approve a second revision to the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which provided more active guidance, and delegate powers to the Portfolio Holder for Renewal and Recreation to deal with any matters raised during the adoption process. 

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(14)  Household Waste Recycling Centres: Grant funding from London Waste and Recycling Board

Report ES14031

 

The Council had been awarded £145k from the London Waste Regulation Board’s Driving up Performance Fund for enhancements to the Household Waste Recycling Centres at Waldo Road and Churchfields. At Waldo Road the money would fund the removal of the redundant Vertical Composting Unit enabling the relocation and expansion of storage facilities for the Community Payback Scheme. 

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(15) Maintenance of Green Spaces Transferred to LB Bromley

Report ES14028

 

The report provided details of the maintenance responsibilities of two areas of land that had been transferred to the Council – the Cyphers Gate open space in Kings Hall Road, Beckenham and Cheyne Woods in Wood Lodge Road, West Wickham.

 

The report had also been considered by the Environment PDS Committee on 25^th March 2014 – Councillor Huntington-Thresher urged that the arrangements for drawing down the money should be simplified and it was confirmed that the funding would be included in the revenue budget each year. 

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(16)  Grant Funding from the Forestry Commission to Support the Woodland Improvements Programme

Report ES 14035

 

The Council had received an award of £126,420 from the Forestry Commission under its Woodland Improvement Grant Scheme which would be used to fund improvements at thirty of the Council’s woodland sites.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported. 

 

(17)  Approved Supplier Lists – Proposed New Arrangements

Report CSD14057

 

It was recommended that the Council change its service provider for its “Approved List” requirements from Exor to Constructionline.

 

RESOLVED that the recommendations be supported.