Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Daniel Thomas; Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Dean Cohen, the Head of Programmes and Resources, Tom Pike; Deputy Chief Operating Officer, John Hooton; Street Scene Director, Lynn Bishop; and, the Director for Finance (Capita), Paul Thorogood, presented the Quarter Three Financial and Corporate Performance report.

The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance, in response to a question on recyclates income, confirmed that the original income target of £1.1m was based on an original projection which had assumed a higher rate of payment for recyclates.

A Member questioned how the target for CPI 8001(a) – Reduce the number of households placed in emergency accommodation to 500 (P46) – would be met. The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance advised that the Barnet Group were working to identify need early in order to help prevent the need for emergency accommodation and were reviewing the offer to landlords to make it more attractive to rent to Barnet Homes. Committee heard that, as with many London boroughs, housing supply was limited; a situation which the Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance expected to improve once the regeneration programme was in full swing.

A Member pointed to welfare benefits reforms, the rise in the cost of living and rents as being key factors to the pressures of meeting housing demands and asked how the Council would lobby the Government. The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance directed Members to representations made in 2010-11 which led to a discretionary fund of around £800,000 being awarded to the Council to support the borough’s most vulnerable residents.

Members enquired as to how children from challenging backgrounds we being supported to progress in Barnet’s schools and whether the pupil premium was being spent in the way it was intended. The Head of Programmes and Resources advised Committee that the approach being taken was to seek best practice from those schools where the pupil premium was being spent most effectively. Members heard that progress in schools in Inner London was better than schools in Outer London at this time and work was being undertaken to understand and learn why this was the case.

Some Members advised that school governors should give particular focus to this area of responsibility and should be offered support and training to achieve this.

In response to a question on the importance of meeting the target set by CPI 1001 – Increase the percentage of eligible adult social care customers receiving self-directed support (P43) – the Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance confirmed that this was an aspirational target which was intended to support choice and as such, was up to the individual to decide for themselves whether to take this option.

Referring to missed targets for Health Checks and Childhood Obesity (CPIs 2003 and 2002(a) – P46), Committee agreed that this should be referred to the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee in order that public health funding expenditure in these areas be reviewed and spent in the best way.

On a question relating to the missed target of CPI 4001 – Make Safe within 48 hours all intervention level potholes reported by members of the public (P47) – the Cabinet Member for Environment confirmed that this was due to a change in methodology for recording data but this was now on track to meet the target. Committee heard that resources were utilised to fix such potholes as required.

RESOLVED that the Quarter Three 2013/14 Finance and Corporate Performance report be noted.