Agenda and minutes

None.

Following an introduction of all Cabinet Members, Councillor Barry Rawlings, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Resources and Effective Council welcomed all attendees to the meeting.

None.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Daniel Thomas, Councillor Rohit Grover and Councillor Peter Zinkin to join the meeting.

Questions were raised in relation to agenda items 9 and 10 which were responded to verbally at the meeting by the Portfolio Holders Councillor Ross Houston, Councillor Alan Schneiderman and Councillor Barry Rawlings.

None.

None.

Responses to the Public Questions were provided by Councillor Rawlings and there were no further supplementary questions.

None.

None.

Councillor Alan Schneiderman, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change presented and summarised the report. Members of the Committee thanked citizens for their presentations of the recommendations from both assemblies which took place prior to the start of the Cabinet meeting.

In response to a query about encouraging participation, Councillor Schneiderman spoke about the communication and promotional to encourage further participation and uptake. 

Following discussion, the Chair moved to the recommendations.

It was RESOLVED that:

1.    Cabinet noted the recommendations from both assemblies (Citizens’ Assembly and Young People’s Assembly) as set out under section 1.7 of the report.

2.    Cabinet asked the Deputy Chief Executive to consider the recommendations (as per section 1.7 of the report) and bring back to cabinet or other committees as appropriate, reports outlining next steps regarding these recommendations for approval.

Councillor Ross Houston, Portfolio Holder for Homes & Regeneration presented and summarised the report.

Following discussion, the Chair thanked Officers for the item and moved to the recommendations.

It was RESOLVED that:

1.    Cabinet approved the business case for the acquisition of 249 residential properties at Colindale Gardens into the HRA, funded through HRA borrowing and grant, as outlined in Appendix A of the report, subject to further legal and financial due diligence.

2.    Cabinet delegated authority to the Portfolio Holder for Homes and Regeneration, to have regard to further legal and financial due diligence and to approve and enter into the final transaction and related documents.

 *This item was exempt from call-in as per notice issued here

Councillor Barry Rawlings Portfolio Holder for Resources & Effective Council presented and summarised the report.

In response to a comment about adult social care pressures, Councillor Paul Edwards Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care highlighted the importance of funding and raising the profile of adult social care as well as acknowledging the contribution from the voluntary sector.

Following discussion, the Chair moved to the recommendations:

It was RESOLVED that:

Cabinet noted:

1.    The final outturn for 2022/23 against the Council’s revenue budget;.

2.    The current use of reserves, and the outlook;

3.    The expenditure against capital budgets in the year;

4.    The current debt position and related actions.

In respect of routine financial matters for 2023/24 Cabinet:

1.   Noted the contingency budget and allocations from it in section 4.4 of the report;

2.   Delegated to the Chief Finance Officer (S151 Officer) the authority to allocate the non-pay inflation contingency budget for 23/24 to departments. This approval is subject to the final virement being contained within the contingency budget and being no more than 10% above the £13.284m set aside when the budget was set.

3.   Approved the writes-offs for Business Rates debt, Council Tax Debt, Sundry and other debt as detailed in section 6.26 – 6.38 of the report.

4.   Approved the changes to the existing Capital Programme in relation to additions as set out in section 5.12-5.37 of the report, in accordance with the virement rules.

Councillor Barry Rawlings Portfolio Holder for Resources & Effective Council presented the item.

The Chair welcomed Stephan Revert Performance and Risk Manager to provide an overview of the information within the report.

Following discussion, the Chair moved to the recommendations.

It was RESOLVED that:

Cabinet noted the Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022/23 performance, together with a review of annual performance for the contracted services delivered by the Customer and Support Group (CSG) (Capita), Regional Enterprise (Re) (Capita) and Barnet Homes (The Barnet Group) (TBG).

Councillor Barry Rawlings Portfolio Holder for Resources & Effective Council presented the item.

Following discussion, the Chair moved to the recommendations.

It was RESOLVED that:

Cabinet noted the contents of the End of Year 2022-23 Corporate Performance report.

Councillor Ross Houston, Portfolio Holder for Homes & Regeneration presented and summarised the report.

Councillor Houston also spoke about the proactive action plan to address any mould and damp issues including the range of measures and monitoring of KPIs as well as the training programme for Barnet Homes staff.

Following discussion, the Chair moved to the recommendations.

It was RESOLVED that:

Cabinet noted and approved the Barnet Homes 2023/24 Delivery Plan.

Councillor Alan Schneiderman, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change presented and summarised the report.

It was RESOLVED that:

1.   Cabinet approved the award of the contract for the supply, installation and future maintenance and operation of 793 non-lamp column electric vehicle charge points to Trojan Energy Ltd under a 15-year contract term in accordance with the details set out in the tender invitation and this report.

2.   Cabinet delegated authority for the decision on which financial arrangement to be included within the contract to the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Strategy and Resources in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change.

Councillor Barry Rawlings Portfolio Holder for Resources & Effective Council presented the item.

Following discussion, the Chair moved to the recommendations.

It was RESOLVED that:

1.    Cabinet noted the Payroll Services full business case in Appendix A and approved the preferred option to do a phased insource with the processes and systems coming in house using the Oracle Fusion platform and to contract a new managed service provider to provide the people and expertise to operate the payroll for 2-3 years, with a go live date at the end of August 2024;

2.   Cabinet delegated authority to the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Effective Council in consultation with the Executive Director of Strategy and Resources (S151 Officer) to take all actions to implement the recommendation inclusive of procurement on the preferred Payroll Services option;

3.   Cabinet delegated authority to the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Effective Council in consultation with the Executive Director of Strategy and Resources (S151 Officer) to take all actions to implement the return of Accounts Payable Services inclusive of procurement;

4.   Cabinet delegated authority to the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Effective Council in consultation with the Executive Director of Strategy and Resources (S151 Officer) to negotiate the extension of the current payroll contract for a period of 6-12 months, if necessary, to safeguard the implementation.

Cabinet noted the Cabinet Forward Plan.

None.

Cabinet moved a motion to exclude the press and public on the basis that the exempt items will involve discussion of confidential information. The public gallery was cleared.

It was RESOLVED that:

Cabinet agreed the draft Heads of Terms as set out in Appendix C of the exempt report and delegated authority to the Deputy Chief Executive to further negotiate and finalise the Heads of Terms so far as required.