146. Apologies for absence, declarations of interest or any other communications from Members

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1 At a meeting of the Cabinet held on Tuesday, 26 April 2016 at 7:00 pm in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Lampton Road, Hounslow. Present: Councillor Steve Curran (Chair) Councillors Tom Bruce, Theo Dennison, Katherine Dunne, Richard Foote, Kamaljit Kaur, Amritpal Mann, Ed Mayne, Sue Sampson and Corinna Smart Councillor John Chatt 146. Apologies for absence, declarations of interest or any other communications from Members All members were present. Councillor Steve Curran conveyed his best wishes for a speedy recovery to Carol Stiles, the regular clerk for Cabinet who was currently unwell. All members added their best wishes Minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2016 The minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2016 were confirmed as an accurate record and signed CAS Childcare Sufficiency Annual Report 2015 See the report by Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children s Services Agenda Item 3. Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children s Services, introduced the report and appendices, which concerned the requirement of the Children and Families Act 2014 that a report be prepared for elected council members on how the statutory duty to secure sufficient childcare was being met, which should then be made available and accessible to parents. He moved the recommendations. The Chair seconded the recommendations. Cabinet considered the 2015 Childcare Sufficiency Annual Report and agreed to its publication on the Council s website CAS Response to the informal consultation exercise on the amalgamation of Strand on the Green Infant & Nursery and Strand on the Green Junior School

2 See the report by Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children s Services Agenda Item 4. Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children s Services, introduced the report and appendices, which presented the outcomes of the recent informal consultation exercise relating to the proposal to establish a new primary school through the amalgamation of the existing Strand on the Green Infant and Nursery School and Strand on the Green Junior School. Councillor Bruce moved the recommendations. Councillor Theo Dennison seconded the recommendations. Cabinet noted: 1. The results of the public consultation which took place between the periods 8 January 26 February 2016; and Cabinet agreed: 2. To not progress with the proposal of amalgamating Strand on the Green Infant & Nursery and Strand on the Green Junior Schools, the details of which are provided in this report; and 3. To review and update the 2007 Policy of Linked Infant and Junior Schools Amalgamation and present to a future Cabinet meeting CAS Response to the informal consultation exercise on the amalgamation of Sparrow Farm Infant & Nursery and Sparrow Farm Junior School See the report by Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children s Services Agenda Item 5. Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children s Services, introduced the report and appendices, which presented the outcomes of the recent informal consultation exercise relating to the proposal to establish a new primary school through the amalgamation of the existing Sparrow Farm Infant & Nursery and Sparrow Farm Junior School. Councillor Bruce moved the recommendations. Councillor Theo Dennison seconded the recommendations.

3 Cabinet noted: 1. The results of the public consultation which took place between the periods 8 January 26 February 2016; and Cabinet agreed: 2. To discontinue with the proposal to amalgamate Sparrow Farm Infant & Nursery and Sparrow Farm Junior Schools, the details of which are provided in the report. 3. To review and update the 2007 policy of Linked Infant and Junior Schools Amalgamation and present to a future Cabinet meeting CAS Housing Estate Roads and Grounds See the report by Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Housing, Equalities and Inclusion Agenda Item 6. Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Housing, Equalities and Inclusion, introduced the report, which sets out the proposal for entering into a long-term agreement with Hounslow Highways (with whom the Council has a Private Finance Initiative agreement to maintain the Borough s highways and associated land for a 25 year period) to maintain the roadways, footways and communal grounds on our housing estates (the Housing network). Councillor Dunne moved the recommendations. Councillor Ed Mayne seconded the recommendations. That all Hounslow Council tenants and leaseholders on be consulted on draft plans for: I). incorporating the management and maintenance of all Housing Revenue Account (HRA) estate roadways, footways, and communal grounds (the Housing network) into the existing Hounslow Highways PFI contract from April 2017 to December 2037, subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence on the detailed proposals and consultation with tenants and leaseholders; II). developing and designing parking management and control arrangements across the entire Housing network; III). the appointment of specialist consultancy advice and HRA funding of up to 200,000 to provide legal advice, and undertake due diligence and value for money assessments of the Hounslow Highways proposals;

4 IV). carrying out a full tenant and leaseholder consultation on the proposals to transfer the management and maintenance of the Housing Networks into the PFI contract, and for introducing parking management arrangements; and V). to delegate to the Director of Housing authority to negotiate the details of the proposals with Hounslow Highways, design proposals for parking management, commission a survey of tenants and leaseholders, seek advice on how best to meet leaseholder consultation obligations, and to submit a further report to Cabinet for final approval and to award the contract CAS Review of Hounslow Council's Housing Allocations Policy See the report by Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Housing, Equalities and Inclusion Agenda Item 7. Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Housing, Equalities and Inclusion, introduced the report and appendices, which concerned the changes required to the current Allocations Policy to ensure the council makes best use of all available properties and meets priority demands on its Housing Register. It also sets out the consultation programme and timetable where the council will consult on these changes.(in October 2015, Cabinet approved reviewing and revising the Allocations Policy as one of a package of measures contained in Hounslow s Homelessness Action Plan 2015.) Councillor Dunne moved the recommendations. Councillor Steve Curran seconded the recommendations. That a 12 weeks public consultation be carried out on the: (i) Draft revised Allocations Policy (Appendix A) which has been amended to: update and incorporate changes in legislation, case law, current guidance and practice; fully introduce a preference based direct offer as the principal approach to allocating housing (subject to exceptions) for Housing Register applicants; provide greater clarity and transparency as to how, and the likelihood that, the Council will use available powers to place and discharge housing register and homeless households into private rented accommodation which may be located within the borough of Hounslow, in London and outside London; and clarify the priority attached to certain groups including life threatening cases of domestic violence, hate and gang violence, essential staffing and those affected by severe disrepair. (ii) Draft revised Homeless Placements Protocol which has been amended to give greater

5 clarity and flexibility as to the circumstances in which, households would be considered for placements out of the borough. Cabinet also agreed to the consequential withdrawal from the West London Choice Based Lettings Scheme, Locata, and its replacement with a bespoke council system CEX Governance arrangements for Lampton 360 See the report by Councillor Theo Dennison, Cabinet Member for Finance and Citizen Engagement Agenda Item 8. Councillor Theo Dennison, Cabinet Member for Finance and Citizen Engagement, introduced the report and appendices, which concerned Lampton 360, a wholly-owned local authority trading company, established to allow the Council to trade council services. It was now proposed to create the first subsidiary companies in Lampton 360. The proposed objectives of these companies and therefore of the holding company, were different in scale and scope to the objectives originally envisaged and as a result the governance arrangements of these companies needed rethinking. Councillor Dennison moved the recommendations. Councillor Steve Curran seconded the recommendations. That Cabinet agreed: 1. to adopt the proposed governance framework for Lampton 360 laid out in Section 5 of this paper; 2. that the Head of Governance should now draft: a) the Shareholder Agreement which will enshrine the detailed governance arrangements in accordance with that framework in a legally-binding contract and b) revised Articles of Association for Lampton 360 as the holding company in a group structure; and 3. that the Shareholder Agreement and Articles of Association should come to Cabinet for approval in June CAS Homelessness/ Temporary Accommodation Update See the report by Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Housing, Equalities and Inclusion Agenda Item 9. Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Housing, Equalities and Inclusion,

6 introduced the report, which concerned the management of homelessness and temporary accommodation (TA) within the Borough. She moved the recommendations. Councillor Steve Curran seconded the recommendations. 1. Cabinet considered the: additional pressures on homeless demand, continued scarcity of suitable private rented accommodation and available social and affordable homes; actions recommended by the Local Government Ombudsman to improve the ways in which housing officers manage aspects of homeless casework; performance in managing temporary accommodation (TA) and the containment of the TA 2015/16 budget deficit at 3.7m; and measures for maintaining our focus on preventative actions to avoid households becoming homeless. 2: Cabinet approved the revision to overall approach to managing homelessness and TA set out from paragraphs 3.14 in the report, noting its potential for reversing the total numbers of households in, and overall costs of TA as summarised in paragraph The approach includes proposals for: i). Commissioning Lampton 360 to purchase up to 175 properties for direct lets and temporary accommodation, including the preparation of detailed financial appraisal and funding options to support the scheme, and requesting up to 54m of investment required over the period 2016/18. Cabinet delegated authority to the Director of Finance to determine the appropriate mechanisms for funding in accordance with the Treasury Management Strategy. ii). Increasing the supply of new affordable homes, and the availability of existing council homes. Cabinet agreed to delegate to the Director of Housing authority to take forward the proposals for optimising the use of the HRA stock, and for the temporary conversion of vacant council buildings for TA as set out in paragraphs 3.37 and 3.38 of the report REG Non-Housing Revenue Account Housing Development Programme See the report by Councillor Steve Curran, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Corporate Strategy, Planning and Regeneration Agenda Item 10. Councillor Steve Curran, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Corporate Strategy, Planning and Regeneration, introduced the report, which proposed that Lampton 360 be commissioned to prepare a business plan for a Non-HRA Housing Programme which could comprise in excess of 825 new homes by 2021, including detail plans for developing, financing and delivering a first tranche of schemes. Cllr Curran moved the recommendations.

7 Councillor Sue Sampson seconded the recommendations. Cabinet approved the: i). release of the 10 General Fund sites identified at Table 1 of the report, which had been identified as surplus to current use and requirements, for the purpose of redevelopment for housing; and the provisional release of the Bridge Road site subject to agreement in due course that all the services currently delivered from this site can be appropriately accommodated elsewhere; ii). commissioning of Lampton 360 Ltd to prepare a Non-HRA Housing Programme for developing the sites identified for housing, and detailed proposals for taking forward individual sites having regard to the Council s housing needs and supply requirements as explained in CAS500; iii). undertaking of work by Corporate Property to facilitate the acquisition, variation or release of covenants related to the identified sites; and the transfer of land ownership as appropriate from the Council at best value; and iv). preparation of detailed delivery arrangements, financial appraisals, and options for financing the proposed Programme, where up to 152m is required over 2016/22 for identified sites. Cabinet agreed to delegate to the Director of Finance authority to consider and agree those financial arrangements in accordance with the Council s Treasury Management Strategy CAS Future Delivery of Housing Planned Maintenance and Major Works Services See the report by Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Housing, Equalities and Inclusion Agenda Item 11. Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Housing, Equalities and Inclusion, introduced the report and appendices, which concerned the October 2015 Cabinet agreement for the preparation of plans for contracting, implementing and managing the delivery of the main housing planned maintenance and major works services through the Council s wholly owned trading company, Lampton 360 Ltd, and for carrying out consultations with staff, tenants and leaseholders. The report set out the detailed plans for the delivery of the planned maintenance and major works services through a contractual agreement with Lampton 360. Councillor Dunne moved the recommendations. Councillor Steve Curran seconded the recommendations.

8 Cabinet noted the: a. results of the tenant and leaseholder consultation survey showing that 44% of respondents supported the proposal to contract the planned maintenance and major works services via Lampton 360, with 6% expressly against; and b. improvements carried out to date in getting the planned maintenance and major works ready for the anticipated delivery via Lampton 360. Cabinet agreed the approach in the report for contracting and managing the delivery of the planned maintenance and major works services through Lampton 360 and, in particular, approved the: i). 5-year draft agreement, with an additional 5 years subject to satisfying a performance review. This sets out the heads of terms and mobilisation arrangements which includes a transition period leading up to the start of the first full year of the agreement at 1 April 2017 see Appendix A and B. This agreement also refers to the detail service specification; client, compliance and performance arrangements; and ii). expectations of at least 1.25m in on-going efficiency savings to the HRA from March 2017, with future savings expectations beyond Cabinet agreed to delegate to the Director of Housing, in consultation with the Lead Member for Housing, authority to: i). enter into formal discussion with Lampton 360 over the preparation and agreement of its governance arrangements, strategic operating principles, and of Business Plan for receiving and delivering the services; ii). to amend the agreement and finalise Hounslow Housing s specification of services and related documents, if necessary, depending on Lampton 360 s final governance, operating arrangements and Business Plans; and iii). subject to satisfactory agreement of Lampton 360 governance, strategic operating principles, and Business Plan, to submit a further report to Cabinet as soon as practicable for approval to commence the transition period REG Proposed Delivery of Waste and Recycling Service by Lampton 360 See the report by Councillor Amrit Mann, Cabinet Member Environment Agenda Item 12. Councillor Amrit Mann, Cabinet Member Environment, introduced the report and appendices, which concerned the December 2015 Cabinet agreement to invite Lampton 360, the Council s wholly-owned local authority trading company to prepare a Business Plan for the delivery of the Council s waste and recycling service from October The report presented the key documents which inform the Business Plan which was currently being prepared and against which it will be judged. The documents included the proposed specification for the future service which aimed not only to ensure that residents receive a higher standard service in the future, but also that the Council is better able to reach their agreed target of 50% recycled waste by The financial implications laid out and agreed in December 2015 for the cost of running the service in the future had changed in one respect. It was now intended to provide each household with two free biodegradable bags a week for the collection of food waste. This was intended to encourage participation and improve the cleanliness of the collection system, but at an additional full year cost of 200K.

9 Councillor Mann moved the recommendations. Councillor Ed Mayne seconded the recommendations. 1. Cabinet approved the suite of documents attached in the Appendices which laid out the specification of the waste and recycling services the Council intended to commission from Lampton 360 and the approach the Council intended to take to manage, measure and monitor delivery and compliance; and 2. Cabinet noted that it was expected that the Lampton 360 Business Plan for the delivery of these services will be presented to Cabinet for approval at its June meeting CEX Quarterly Performance Report (Q3 2015/16) See the report by Councillor Corinna Smart, Cabinet Member for Corporate Performance and Customer Care Agenda Item 13. Councillor Corinna Smart, Cabinet Member for Corporate Performance and Customer Care,introduced the report, which dealt with quarter three performance data, covering the period October to December It covered performance for all of the Business Plan performance indicators (BPIs) and milestones (BPMs), under the seven themes of the 2014/16 Business Plan. The report also included Action Plans setting out how performance will be improved where indicators are currently rated amber or red. In addition, it included the London Councils retrospective dashboard showing Hounslow s performance compared to the London average for the previous quarter (2015/16 quarter two). Councillor Smart moved the recommendations. Councillor Amrit Mann seconded the recommendations. Cabinet noted and discussed the report on quarter /16 performance data and noted the London-wide LAPS performance data for Q2 2015/16 (retrospective) CEX Annual Procurement Plan (APP)

10 See the report by Councillor Corinna Smart, Cabinet Member for Corporate Performance and Customer Care Agenda Item 13. Councillor Corinna Smart, Cabinet Member for Corporate Performance and Customer Care, introduced the report, which asked Cabinet to approve the additions to the Annual Procurement Plan (APP) which would create one plan for 2016/17. The Plan provided sight of contracting activity at an early stage in the process and identified where the decision to either commence a Procurement and/or award a contract should reside. An additional point to note was the approved exemptions to the regulations (Waivers). Councillor Smart moved the recommendations. Councillor Steve Curran seconded the recommendations. Cabinet: Approved the additions to the Annual Procurement Plan as detailed in Appendix 1; Noted the number of Waivers granted to the Authorities Tender and Contract Regulations as detailed in Appendix 2; and Noted Waiver Comparison for 2015/16 in Appendix Urgent Business The Chair reminded members that the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 17 May had been cancelled. The next meeting would be held on 14 June 2016 and an additional meeting had been scheduled for 28 June Date of next meeting: Tuesday 14 June 2016 The meeting finished at 8:00 pm. The minute taker at this meeting was Bill Lee