The Cabinet approved a proposal to consult on the potential closure of four primary schools, the adoption of a new Home to School Travel Policy, the renewal of the existing Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) relating to the consumption of alcohol in public spaces, and the allocation of the Council’s latest tranche of funding from the Household Support Fund.

Kings Hall Leisure Centre Refurbishment

Cabinet approved a financial business case for the complete refurbishment of Kings Hall Leisure Centre. The estimated total project cost is £71.4m, which includes the £3.5m that will already have been spent on the project by the end of September 2024. The project, which is scheduled to commence in Autumn 2025, will see Kings Hall closed to the public for circa 2.5 years whilst refurbishment takes place.

The Council has secured £3.3m from the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Grant (PSDS), which will be used to install air source heat pumps, saving 495 tCO2e per annum. The refurbished Leisure Centre will also include the flexibility to be connected to a District Heat Network in the future. The existing GLL contract is due to expire in March 2029, and the Council is projecting that the re-tendering of the contract will be able to generate additional revenue to help offset the refurbishment cost, which will be funded by borrowing. The Council will seek to reduce the projected £66.9m of borrowing by reallocating existing capital budgets, identifying new funding sources, and generating capital receipts from a review of non-core assets.

The business case considers three options, and rejects the ‘Do Nothing (Mothball)’ option and the ‘Do Minimum (Refurbishment)’ option, both of which are described as being unsustainable in the long term. In addition, both of these options were considered to present significant reputational and commercial risk to the Council. The ‘Do Nothing (Mothball)’ option is also considered likely to result in increased costs in the future as it would fail to address the asset’s current deteriorating condition, noting a requirement to continue to carry out structural surveys and remediation works as required, together with an annual revenue budget burden of around £1.0m.

School Estate Strategy Review

The Council approved a proposal to consult on the closure (discontinue) of St Dominics RC Primary School and St Mary's C of E Primary School on 31 August 2025. It also approved a proposal to consult on a range of options for determining the future of Sir Thomas Abney Primary School and Oldhill Community Primary School. For Sir Thomas Abney, the Council will consult on the following options:

1. Closure and amalgamation (merger) with nearby Holmleigh Primary School. This option would see Sir Thomas Abney Primary School close and Holmleigh Primary School expand from one form entry (1FE) to two form entry (2FE), operating from the existing Sir Thomas Abney Primary School site.
2. Closure on 31 August 2025

For Oldhill, the Council will consult on the following options:

1. Closure and amalgamation (merger) with nearby Harrington Hill Primary School. This option would see Oldhill Community Primary School close and Harrington Hill Primary School expand from 1FE to 2FE, continuing to operate from its existing site. If this option were implemented, Oldhill Children's Centre would remain open on the same site, under the management of either Harrington Hill, another school, or the Council.
2. Closure on 31 August 2025. If this option were implemented, Oldhill Children's Centre would remain open on the same site, under the management of another school or the Council.

The decisions are driven by the Council’s responsibility to ensure there is a sufficient number of school places to meet the needs of Hackney residents. The Council considers that allowing surplus places to remain above 18% through inaction would directly and negatively impact the financial viability of many Hackney schools. This is because schools with less income have less money for staff salaries, extra-curricular activities, equipment, bills, and maintenance work. It was noted that Hackney’s primary schools are currently seeing over £28.5m less funding compared to what they would be entitled to if their classrooms were full. This financial pressure has a cumulative impact on our schools, and threatens the stability and quality of our education system.

It was also noted that the four schools in scope are already operating at a combined deficit of £1.5m and that without action this deficit will continue to rise, further deteriorating their financial health. This would likely result in schools having to make short-term decisions to balance their budget each year, having an inevitable impact on the quality of the education offered. The cost of redundancies for the four schools is estimated at £3m and the total cost of the proposals, including the potential write-off of the schools’ deficits, redundancy costs, programme management costs and site security and maintenance costs is in the region of £7.3m.

Use of Hackney’s Household Support Fund Allocation October 2024 – March 2025

The Council approved a proposal to allocate its £2.8m share of the Government’s Household Support Fund. In September 2024, the Government announced a further tranche of funding to local authorities to provide crisis support to those they deemed most in need of support. The funding, which has been allocated to local authorities on the basis of the Barnett Formula, must be spent in full before 31st March 2025. The Council is proposing to spend the money on the following areas:

1. Children and families 0-19: £1.5m. The funding will provide holiday food support to families claiming free school meals in state maintained colleges, schools and children's centres and food support to children in the Orthodox Jewish community via 11 community organisations.
2. Vulnerable people known to the Council: £221,000. This funding will enable the council to make one-off crisis payments to residents known to Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care and the Temporary and Supported Accommodation service.
3. Breaking down the barriers to reach a wider group of vulnerable residents who are at risk of poverty: £760,500. This will provide funding for crisis payments via Money Hub, Trusted referral partners, and Hackney Giving; support with food, fuel and other essentials via the community infrastructure organisations, Citizens Advice, and food banks and low-cost shops; the purchase and distribution of energy saving packs, and provision of lunch vouchers via Libraries events.
4. Advice-based initiatives: £151,250. This funding will be used to fund the provision of welfare benefits and financial advice in a range of settings across the borough.
5. Programme management and administration: £167,687.

Home to School Travel – Consultation Outcome

The Council approved a new Home to School Travel policy. The new policy brings together existing Council policies for pre-school, compulsory school age, and post-16 travel. It also seeks to promote more independent and sustainable forms of travel through the introduction of an Independent Travel Training programme and the use of Personal Travel Budgets where it is considered appropriate.

The consultation, which took place between 26th February and 17th May 2024, sought to provide residents with an opportunity to shape the policy. In total, 91 people completed the consultation survey. A number of respondents expressed concerns that the proposals were about cutting the service, but the Council confirmed that they were not. Concerns were also expressed about the appropriateness of independent travel training, and the low level of funding within the Personal Travel Budgets scheme. It was noted that the budget for home to school travel in the last financial year (2023/24) was £5.8m, and that an overspend of £1.3m had been reported. It was also noted that the number of children using home-to-school transport had risen by 18% in the last three years to 720.

Public Spaces Protection Order (Alcohol)

Cabinet approved a proposal to renew the existing PSPO relating to the consumption of alcohol in public places. The current PSPO was approved by Cabinet in October 2021, and is due to expire on 18 October 2024. The renewed PSPO will be effective for a period of three years.

A consultation, which took place between 5th July and 16th August 2024, sought the views of residents on the PSPO. 91 people completed the consultation questionnaire, and 90% of respondents said they supported the renewal of the PSPO.

Several respondents requested stricter enforcement of the existing PSPO, but the Council confirmed that its enforcement of the PSPO takes a graduated approach, stating that enforcement is undertaken “without fear or favour and without any discrimination of any persons involved based on race, ethnic background, religion, social status, colour, sex, or sexual orientation.”

Urgent Unrestricted Business

There were no urgent items for consideration.

Questions/Deputations

A deputation from Sarah Finer was received requesting the implementation of the previously approved LTN schemes for Dalston, Chatsworth Road and Hoxton East. The Council confirmed that it was committed to the schemes, and that consultations will take place in early 2025, with implementation by summer 2025 for Chatsworth Road, and the end of 2025 for Dalston and Hoxton.

Capital Update and Property Disposals and Acquisitions Report

The Cabinet approved a range of proposals relating to the Council’s capital programme, including resource and spend approval of £665,761k to deliver new childcare places across the borough, approval of expenditure to develop children’s homes in Hackney, and the granting of a new 15-year lease to Sainsbury’s for its store at 245 Old Street. It was noted that the total spend on capital expenditure in the first four months of the 2024/25 financial year was £23.8m.

2024/25 Overall Financial Position Report – July 2024

The Cabinet noted the Council’s financial position as at July 2024, highlighting that the authority is projecting an overspend of £36m. Difficult decisions would need to be taken, and an updated medium term financial plan was being prepared for November’s Cabinet meeting.

Urgent Exempt Business

There were no urgent exempt items for consideration.