Council decisions

A list of delegated decisions taken in November and December 2017.

This report sets out the Council Tax Base for 2018-19 which must be notified to major precepting authorities by 31 January of the preceding financial year.

Publication of Summary DPR List for May 2017 by the Governance Service

That having considered the objections received to the statutory consultation on the proposals outlined in this report, that Officers should implement the Zebra Crossing on East End Road, N2 and the School Keep Clear Marking as per Drawings number BC/000663-02_100-02- Rev 4, BC/000663-02_100-03 Rev 4 and BC/000663-02_1200-02 Rev 0, reducing timing of the School Keep Clear Markings to 17:45pm from the original proposal (18:15pm).

Transport for London (TfL), as part of the London Bus Stop Accessibility programme, aim to improve accessibility at bus stops and to implement Bus Stop Clearways to allow buses to pull in adjacent to the kerb and bus shelters.

Following consultation with residents objections to the implementation of the bus stop clearway markings have been received regarding No. 16 bus stops.  This report outlines the details of the individual objections and the proposed action to be taken in each bus stop location.

The Commissioning Director for Environment introduced the report.  He detailed the outcome of the review of footway parking undertaken in the 71 roads and requested that further consultation be carried out with all Members of the Council.  He stated that this these roads had not been formally exempted from the London Wide footway parking ban and this report outlined the review undertaken together with the necessary measures and recommendations to formally exempt these roads to meet the requirements of the Council’s agreed Parking Policy.

Councillor Peter Zinkin proposed an amendment to recommendation 3 to ensure that there was not automatic enforcement on roads other than the 71 and that enforcement on any other road should be subject to judgement to be exercised by an officer of the Council.  He added that this would provide necessary flexibility.  The amendment was seconded by Councillor John Hart.

This was agreed by the Committee.

Having considered the report the Committee:

RESOLVED that:

1.         The Committee note the contents of this report and appendices.

2.      That subject to the 5 roads listed below the Committee resolved to authorise the parking of vehicles completely on or part of the footway in Barnet in accordance with Section 15(4) and 15(5) of the GLC General Powers Act 1974, beginning with the 71 roads listed in Appendix B of this report where identified.

3.         That subject to the above agreed amendment the Committee resolves to authorise the enforcement of illegal footway parking by the Parking Enforcement Contractor in roads where footway parking is not permitted in line with the Council’s Parking Policy following the actions set out in Paragraph 3.

4.         That subject to the 5 roads listed below the Committee approved the recommended options listed in Appendix A of this report in relation to the proposed measures to regulate footway parking in the 71 prioritised roads, subject to Ward Members / residents consultation and Equality Impact Assessments (EQIA) at an estimated total one off cost of £244,417.11 to be met from the Service Development Reserves.

5.         That the Commissioning Director is authorised to resolve any objections received from residents and businesses during the consultation process and proceed with implementation in consultation with Ward Members.

6.         That the Environment Committee approves the process for considering new requests for footway parking as detailed in Paragraph 4 of this report.

7.         The Committee agreed resolution 1 – 6 above subject to the 5 roads listed below and the deletion on paragraph 4.2 as follows:

If a new request is made for footway parking, until the investigation is completed and a decision made whether to permit footway parking in a given road, footway parking will not be permitted and the applicant will be informed accordingly.

Policy and Resources Committee agreed on 16 December 2015 in the 2016/17 forward plan to authorise procurement of Accommodation and Support Services.  The Services were put out to tender on 16 September 2016 and invited applications to apply to join an approved list of providers.  Following the procurement process, it is recommended that the providers listed in this report are awarded contracts under accommodation and support

Lot 1 (Support at Home). The services under Lot 1 are due to commence on 1July 2017. The contract term is three years with the option to extend for a further two years if deemed suitable.

Policy and Resources Committee agreed on 16 December 2015 in the 2016/17 forward plan to authorise procurement of Accommodation and Support Services. The Services were put out to tender on 16 September 2016 and invited applications to apply to join an approved list of providers. Following the procurement process, it is recommended that the providers listed in this report and at appendix A are awarded contracts under accommodation and support lots 2 to 8 inclusive. (Services under lot 1 are due to commence on 1 June 2017 and will be subject to a separate report). The contract term is three years with the option to extend for  a further two years if deemed suitable.

This report awards a framework agreement for the provision of specialist 1:1 mentoring support services for a period of an initial one year term with the option to extend for a further two separate years, commencing from 1^st April 2017 to the value of up to £140,000 per annum, with a total extension value of up to £420,000.

This report seeks approval for the following changes to the Council’s Fairer Contributions Policy:

1)    Raising the maximum charge rate for home care services from £13.84 per hour to the lowest hourly rate the Council pays to its strategic home care providers (currently £15.28 per hour). This will start on 3 April 2017 and be reviewed annually.

2)    Raising the maximum charge for day care to reflect the actual amounts the Council pays to its day care providers for an individual’s day care. This will start on 3 April 2017 and be reviewed annually.

3)    Including the full amount of higher rate care component of the Disability Living Allowance and higher rate of Attendance Allowance as income when determining how much someone can afford to contribute towards the cost of their care. This would start on 3 April 2017.

4)    Treating Personal Independence Payments daily living component (standard and enhanced rate) in full as income. This would start on 3 April 2017.

Aligning the Council’s guaranteed minimum income within our Fairer Contributions Policy to the Department of Health’s guaranteed minimum income or the current level as set out in the Fairer Contributions Policy (2016/17) whichever is the highest.

This report seeks authorisation to award a three year contract to Democracy Counts Ltd for the supply, maintenance, training and support of an Electoral Registration and Elections Management software system (‘Elector8’). The contract will commence on 1 April 2017, with the option to extend the contract for one additional year subject to performance and budget.

The report describes the detailed assumptions underpinning the proposals for allocating budgets to schools and early years providers in 2017/18.  These assumptions are reflected in the completed Authority Proforma Tool (the APT) which was submitted to the Department for Education by the deadline of 20th January 2017. The report seeks approval for the revised submission dated 13 February 2017.

1.            This report seeks approval by Adults and Health Commissioning Director for extension to the Integrated Community Equipment Service call-off agreement with Medequip Assistive Technology Limited for three months from 1st April 2017 to 30th June 2017, at an estimated value of c£751,724 (combined CCG/LA value) through emergency waiver of Contract Procedure Rule (CPRs), under the Council’s Constitution (Contract Procedure Rules, Section 15) stating that Directors, Assistant Directors, Commissioning Directors and Heads of Service may take decisions on emergency matters in consultation with the Chairman of Policy and Resources Committee, providing they report to the next available Policy and Resources Committee. This report will set out the reasons for the emergency waiver.

2.            The continuity of current provision for three months from 1^st April 2017 is critical to enable the safe transfer from the existing provider, Medequip, to the newly procured Barnet Integrated Community Equipment Framework to Millbrook Healthcare Ltd, due to unforeseen delays in awarding the new contract by the 1^st of April.  

3.            On the 16th December 2016, a contract award DPR (appended) authorised the approval to award the new Single Supplier Integrated Community Equipment Framework, following end of standstill period, to Millbrook Healthcare Ltd from the 1st April 2017. This report also seeks authorisation to amend the commencement and end date for the contract as stated in the award DPR from the 1st April 2017 – 30th March 2020 to the 1st July 2017 - 30th June 2020. The period of the agreement is the same namely for a period of three years, with the option to extend for an additional year (+1) to 30th June 2021.

4.            There is a statutory duty on Local Authorities to meet eligible social care needs and community equipment is an important way of meeting those needs and maintaining the person’s independence. It should be noted that community equipment is increasingly important in terms of facilitating a range of local authority and health objectives and strategies, as well as in making whole systems savings. For example, community equipment is important to keep service users independent and safe in the community, thus reducing demand for hospital-based services (through avoiding admissions or more timely discharge), helping avoid expensive residential care and avoiding or reducing the cost of residential care packages.

This report agrees the following:

That the Commissioning Director-Growth and Development agrees to procuring the services of a Surveyor for work on housing enforcement related cases including properties purchased through CPO for a period of two years, with an option to extend for a further year subject to performance and budget. The contract value will not exceed £164,000.

This report proposes the write off of individual debts for Council Tax and Business Rates of less than £5000, which are uncollectable for reasons provided in this report, with a total write off sum of £955,091.16 for Council Tax and £531,388.86 for Business Rates.

On the 4^th April 2016, the Council approved Barnet’s Future Library Strategy and within this strategy, four libraries (East Barnet, South Friern, Mill Hill and Childs Hill) will become community run Partnership Libraries from the 1^st April 2017.  These libraries will continue to form part of the Barnet library network and agreements with partner organisations will last for 10 years. The successful partners will receive an annual enabling grant to support the operation of the service, alongside volunteers which they will recruit from the local community. The council has now concluded the process to identify partner organisations and has identified partner organisations for each of the four Partnership Libraries. A period of transition will now commence during which the preferred partner organisations will be supported to refine and develop their business plans and prepare to operate the library.

Oak Lodge Special  School, a Community School, has been approved by the Secretary of State to convert to an Academy as part of a multi-academy trust (Barnet Special Education Trust). As part of the conversion process, the Council is required to grant a lease of the land and buildings used by Oak Lodge Special School to the Academy Trust in the terms of the model long term Department for Education Academy Lease and this report sets out the main terms.

The Council, the Governing Body of the School, and the Academy Trust are also required to execute a Commercial Transfer Agreement, which includes information relating to: (i) any employees of the Council or the Governing Body who are assigned to the School and who will transfer from the employment of the Governing Body or the Local Authority to the new Academy Trust; and (ii) assets and contracts which will transfer from the Local Authority or the Governing Body to the new Academy Trust, together with other rights and obligations of the Council or the Governing Body.

Authority to commission workforce learning and development based on systemic principles, up to the value of £150,000 in 2016-17 and over the contract lifetime, for the children’s social care workforce and relevant practitioners.

This report authorises the Head of Electoral Services (working with the London Borough of Barnet’s Corporate Procurement) to seek quotations for the supply, maintenance and support of a software system to manage Electoral Registration and Elections within Electoral Services for a period of three years, with the option to extend for one additional year.  This is required to enable continuity of service when the existing contract expires on 31 March 2017.

A modern, robust and fully supported Electoral Registration and Elections Management Software system is essential to Barnet’s Electoral Services in order to ensure that they can effectively deliver the essential functions of the Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer of the Council in full compliance with all statutory requirements.

This authorisation is sought in accordance with Barnet’s Contract Procedure Rules.

This is a list of decisions taken under delegated powers in the month of November 2016.

In June 2016, Adults and Safeguarding Committee approved a procurement exercise to appoint a new telecare provider, in order to reach more people and achieve savings through the reduction and avoidance of care costs.

Following a procurement process with three compliant bids, Argenti Partnership / PA Consulting scored highest on both quality and pricing evaluation, which were weighted at 60% and 40% respectively.

The telecare contract is due to commence in April 2017 with an initial term of three years and the option to extend for up to two more years. 

The aim of the telecare service is to firmly embed the use of technology as part of mainstream care provision, mobilise innovation for the benefit of Barnet residents, and more clearly understand, measure and realise the financial and non-financial benefits of telecare.

The telecare service will support our commitment to prevent, reduce and delay social care needs, to support people to live independently for longer, and to provide greater assurance for family members and informal carers.

DECISION:

To award the Telecare contract to Argenti Partnership / PA Consulting for a period of three years with the option to extend by up to two further years subject to satisfactory performance and budget.

Following the termination of one of the Enablement contracts for service in October the Council needs to award a new Enablement contract. Following an options appraisal it was agreed that the best option was to award the new contract to Your Choice Barnet, part of the Barnet Group.

The enablement contract is to commence in November 2016 with an initial term of one year with the option to extend on one or more occasions for up to a maximum of four further years.

The provision of the Enablement service is part of a preventative and early intervention service that promotes independence, reduces dependency and reduces or delays the need for longer term care and support. Enablement homecare provides intensive time limited care to adults with assessed needs to help them gain or regain a higher level of independence and improved quality of life

This report seeks approval to award a single contract to Middlesex University to undertake a research project about different levels of take up of services for children, young people and families from different communities in Barnet.

This is a summary of decisions taken under delegated officer powers for the month of October 2016.

Authorisation to award the contract for Strategic Construction Partner (SCP) contract ref 701462. This requirement covers the provision of construction and related technical services for major projects over a period of five years, with option to extend for a further two years subject to budget and performance. The Strategic Construction Partner contract will support an estimated £150m of construction activity, subject to specific project pricing over the full seven year contract period.

This Strategic Procurement was authorised by the Council’s P&R Committee 2^nd September 2015.

Committee to receive a paper on school performance in Barnet, 2016 (provisional).

The Director of Education and Skills was invited by the Chairman to introduce the item to the committee, which related to provisional school performance in Barnet 2016.

Following discussion of the report, the Chairman moved to the recommendations as laid out in the cover report, which were agreed by the committee.

The following was therefore RESOLVED:

1.    That the Children, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committee noted the provisional school performance in Barnet for the academic year 2015-16;

2.    That the Children, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committee noted the proposed commissioning priorities for school improvement for the academic year 2016/17 (based on data available so far) set out in section 1.5 of the report.

Giving authority for Instrument of Government of school governing bodies to be submitted for signing and sealing.

This report highlights the requirement to make the Instrument of Government for the following maintained school:

·         Gold Star Federation

This report authorises the Head of Electoral Services to seek quotations for the provision of mobile tablet devices to be used when conducting future statutory ‘Household Enquiry Form’ (HEF) canvasses. Legislation requires that a canvass is conducted of every residential property in Barnet each year between July and November, ahead of the publication of the annual revised Register of Electors on 1 December. Legislation further requires that all households that do not respond to the HEFs that are posted to them must receive a personal visit by a canvasser in order to elicit a response. Making use of modern, mobile tablet technology offers the potential for more secure, accurate and efficient household visits to take place, leading to an increase in the response rate from households and savings to the service in future years.

This report gives authority for Instrument of Government of school governing bodies to be submitted for signing and sealing.

This report highlights the requirement to make the Instrument of Government for the following maintained schools:

·         Brookland Nursery & Infant and Junior Schools

·         Sunnyfields Primary School

·         Garden Suburb Infant and Garden Suburb Junior Schools