Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations.

Webcasting of the Meeting

The Chair to announce the following: “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record and film public meetings, I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and will be capable of repeated viewing and copies of the recording could be made available to those that request them.

If you are seated in the chamber it is likely that the Council’s cameras will capture your image and you are deemed to be consenting to being filmed and to the use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes.  If you are addressing the Committee your contribution will be recorded and broadcast unless you have already indicated that you do not wish this to happen.

If you wish to avoid appearing on the Council’s webcast you should move to one of the galleries.”

Any Other Announcements

Broadcasting of the meeting

The Chair reminded those present that the meeting was being broadcast live by the Council to the internet and could be viewed for twelve months thereafter and then archived and made available on request. Anyone who had asked to address the meeting was deemed to be consenting to having their contribution recorded and broadcast and to the use of the sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.

Requests to address the Cabinet on a matter on its agenda must be made in writing to the clerk named on the front of this agenda by 5pm two working days before the meeting.

There were no deputations.

There was no notification of urgent business.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th December 2023.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th December 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting items referred from a Council Scrutiny Committee requiring urgent consideration will be taken.

There were no matters referred from a scrutiny committee.

Please note that there were no alternative options considered or rejected by the Cabinet for the following items, unless indicated, although Cabinet Members duly considered, where applicable, options listed within the reports.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Better Homes

This report sets out how the Council intends to continue to invest in its housing stock and services despite the increasingly challenging financial climate that the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is operating in. It sets out a balanced budget and proposed levels of rent and service charges for 2024/25, which includes savings as part of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) approved at Cabinet in January 2023.

The report is coming to the Cabinet because the Council is required to set a balanced HRA budget for each year and set levels of rent and charges for the HRA.

Consideration was given to a report of the Cabinet Member for Better Homes.

Members remarked on the challenging financial climate and the difficult decisions that had to be made as a result, as well as the need to continue lobbing government for better financial support to local authorities.

In response to a question, the Cabinet Member remarked that the support available to those who were struggling with the cost of living was being communicated to tenants.  Work was also ongoing on the transformation agenda in housing and a detailed action plan would be presented to Cabinet in due course.

RESOLVED –

THAT, having considered the views of the District Management Committees (Appendix D), the Housing Scrutiny Committee and the results of the Equalities Impact Assessment (Appendix C), and having had due regard to the obligations set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010:

(i)           The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget for 2024/25 (Appendix A) be approved to ensure a balanced HRA budget for 2024/25;

(ii)          Social housing rents be increased by 7.7% (CPI + 1%) from April 2024 (paragraph 3.4).

(iii)         The revised tenant service charges for Caretaking, CCTV, Communal Lighting, Communal Mechanical and Electrical Maintenance, Grounds Maintenance and Responsive Housing Patrol (paragraph 3.15) be agreed.

(iv)         The revised service charges in the HRA hostels and supported housing of 7.7% increase (paragraph 3.17) be agreed.

(v)          The approach to the Heating Pool set out in paragraph 3.22 and Appendix B, including to keep scales at same level being paid in 23/24, be agreed.

(vi)         It be agreed to keep Temporary accommodation purchase programme 2 and 3 schemes (TAPP2 and TAPP3) rents at 23/24 levels so that they remain affordable to homeless households (paragraph 3.8).

(vii)       It be agreed to increase shared ownership rents by CPI + 1% (7.7%) (paragraph 3.9).

(viii)      It be agreed to set rents at Agar Grove at an affordable level for refugee housing and for temporary accommodation as set out in paragraph 3.12.

(ix)         It be agreed to increase resident garage rents from £14/week to £16/week from 2024/25 and to increase £2/week each year for the following 1 year in line with the Medium Term Financial Strategy savings strategy (paragraph 3.26).

(x)          In relation to the proposals (with associated budget reductions) set out in section 3.27 to 3.30:

·                     Authority be delegated to the relevant Director(s) to immediately implement proposals listed as Decision Category A.

·                     Proposals listed as Decision Category B be agreed in principle, and authority be delegated to the relevant Director(s), in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member, to decide whether and how to implement the savings identified within each proposal, having had due regard to the Council’s general equality duties, any other applicable legal duties and the results of any consultation undertaken in respect of the proposal; undertake any necessary consultation; and make any necessary redundancies, including for any proposals involving more than 20 redundancies.

(xi)         The decisions (i) to (ix) above be exempted from call in, subject to the agreement of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living

This report seeks approval of the resource bases for both Council Tax and Business Rates. The Council Tax base shows the number of dwellings in the borough, and any discounts, exemptions or premiums that have been granted. This data is primarily used to establish the amount of Council Tax that can be raised locally to fund services, as well as a wide range of other purposes, including grant allocations and policy development.  It is also used by the Greater London Authority and the Garden Square Committees to work out their precept on the Council Tax.

The Business Rates Base shows how much in Business Rates is likely to raised when rates are charged at the levels set by Central Government. The Council is required to submit a certified NNDR1 return, containing a more detailed analysis of the Business Rates forecast, to both DLUHC and GLA by the 31 January 2024.

The report is coming to the Cabinet and then to Council because the Constitution requires the Council to approve the Council Tax base every year and because the Business Rates yield forms an important part of the 2024-25 Budget and Council Tax setting report which is due to come to Cabinet in February.

Consideration was given to a report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living.

In response to a question, the Cabinet Member commented that it was not yet clear how much of the emergency funding that the government had just announced would be allocated to Camden, but in any event the Local Government Association estimated that the total amount was less than half that needed by councils in order to bridge the funding gap.  He also remarked that the comments of the Secretary of State on ‘discredited equalities schemes’ did not reflect the view in Camden and amongst its communities.

RESOLVED –

THAT Council be recommended:

(i)            That the calculation of the Council Tax Base for the year 2024/2025 as set out in appendix 1 be approved.

(ii)          That in accordance with Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by the London Borough of Camden as its Council Tax Base for the year 2024/2025 shall be 91,675 as shown in appendix 1.

(iii)         That the tax base for the three Garden Squares as shown in appendix 2 shall be as follows:

Gordon Square                                23.93

Fitzroy Square                                 53.84   

Mecklenburgh Square                     94.52

(iv)         That the approach and assumptions for the calculation of the Council’s business rates yield as set out in appendix 3 be approved.

(v)          That, in accordance with the Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention) Regulations 2013, the amount calculated by the London Borough of Camden as its business rates yield for the year 2024-2025 shall be c£676.2 million as shown in line 17 of Appendix 3.

(vi)         That authority be delegated to the Executive Director Corporate Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living, to make any adjustments to the calculation of the estimated business rates yield for year 2024-2025. This is to reflect any technical amendments to the calculations or late regulatory changes made by the Treasury or in respect of the former London Pilot Pool.

(vii)        That authority be delegated to the Executive Director Corporate Services to submit the notification of the calculation of the estimated Non-Domestic Rates income to the Secretary of State and the Greater London Authority.

Reasons

For the reasons set out in the report.

Report of the Borough Solicitor

This is the London Borough of Camden’s annual complaints report for the period 1^st April 2022 to 31^st March 2023.

It is a single report that includes information on complaints across all directorates. The report also provides information for decisions issued by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and the Housing Ombudsman (HO) in the same period.

The report, how it is presented and what it contains, continues to develop and evolve and as in previous years suggestions for improvements are sought from Members. Members are an important source of insight and intelligence on concerns raised by residents and communities.

The report also includes information on other types of formal enquiries which are often linked to complaints:

-       Member Enquiries and MP Enquiries.

-       Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests.

-       Judicial Reviews

The Council’s Constitution states that the Ombudsman decisions on cases where there have been mistakes or failings (called “maladministration”) should be presented to Cabinet on an annual basis for their information only. Therefore, the report provides the decisions issued by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and the Housing Ombudsman (HO) in the same period and this report will be presented to Cabinet.

Consideration was given to a report of the Borough Solicitor, which was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living.

In response to a question regarding the large number of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests received, the Borough Solicitor remarked that this was fairly common for a borough like Camden and many came from students and academics.  The FoI team had introduced two initiatives to deal with these requests more effectively, one being the ‘business as usual’ approach where with the agreement of the enquirer their request was simply answered as a business as usual question, and the other being the provision of a suite of frequently asked questions.  Responses to FoI requests were retained and could be a valuable source of information.

Members commented on the amount of effort that went in to learning and improving as a result of complaints, and noted that there was a great deal of positive work going on.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Reasons

For the reasons set out in the report.

There was no urgent business.