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Cabinet - Monday 25 November 2024 6.00 pm

November 25, 2024 View on council website  Watch video of meeting or read trancript  Watch video of meeting
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Summary

The Cabinet noted the minutes of the previous meetings and approved two new capital schemes totalling £659k to improve the Council's IT systems. The Cabinet also approved a new lease for Zer Cafe in Goodchild Road, and approved the sale of the vacant office building at 17 Sylvester Road.

Hackney's Finances

The meeting received a report on Hackney's finances, which forecast an overspend of £38.2m in the current financial year. The report, known as an Overall Financial Position Report, describes the scale of the financial challenge facing Hackney as considerable, and forecasts a budget gap of £35.8m in 2025-26, rising to £67.2m in 2027-28.

The main areas of overspend in the current year are:

  • Homelessness Prevention: Driven by a combination of the increasing numbers of families becoming homeless, and the cost of accommodating those families in nightly paid accommodation, the service is forecasting a £19.5m overspend in the current year.
  • Adult Social Care: The service is forecasting an £18.5m overspend, largely driven by demographic change leading to an increase in the number of people needing care, and the rising cost of care.
  • Children's Social Care: The service is forecasting a £9m overspend largely driven by the increasing cost of placements for children in care, especially during holiday periods, and the increasing cost of providing services for disabled children.

In particular, the Council is expecting to spend £28m on nightly paid temporary accommodation in the current year, compared to just £8m last year.

The report states that the recent Autumn budget cannot solve all of the Council's financial problems, but is welcome. It notes that the budget included a 3.2% increase in core spending power for local authorities, £1.3bn of new grant funding for local authorities, an increase of £1bn for SEND and alternative provision, and an extension of the household support fund and discretionary housing payments. The report details the Council's activities in supporting residents facing hardship through these schemes.

Councillor Chapman confirmed that the Council was making difficult decisions in order to mitigate the overspend, including a non-essential spend freeze and a freeze on recruitment. He acknowledged the pressure these decisions were placing on Council staff, and reminded them of the support channels that were available.

Localised Business Rates Pool

The Cabinet considered the continuation of Hackney's involvement in a business rates pool with other London authorities. The scheme combines the business rates income of Hackney, the City of London Corporation, Tower Hamlets, Brent, Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest, allowing those authorities to keep a greater proportion of the income generated locally. The Cabinet approved a proposal to continue participating in the scheme, which is expected to deliver an additional £2.5m for Hackney in 2025-26.

Capital Programme

The Cabinet considered a report on the Council's Capital Programme which included an update on the programme's progress and proposals for new schemes and property disposals. The Cabinet approved two new schemes, totalling £659,000, to improve the Council's IT systems.

Automation of Council Tax Handling Requests

This scheme will introduce new online forms that will allow residents to update their details and make other changes to their Council Tax accounts without the need for manual intervention from Council staff. The Council expects the new scheme to deliver savings of around £300k per year, either by releasing staff or redeploying them to generate additional income.

Mosaic ICT System Development Strategy

This scheme will extend the development work on the Council's Mosaic ICT System, which is used to manage social care services for both adults and children. The Cabinet heard that the work on the Mosaic system was far more complex than initially predicted. The additional funding for the development team will allow the team to support the directorates in putting a sustainable and effective long-term plan in place for managing the system.

Property Disposals

17 Sylvester Road

The Cabinet approved the sale of the vacant office building at 17 Sylvester Road, which has been empty since April 2023. The Cabinet heard that the Council had explored other options for the building, including leasing it to managed workspace operators and hotel operators, but concluded that all options would require substantial capital investment and presented significant financial risks for the Council. The Council therefore concluded that the sale of the property, which could be achieved relatively quickly, was the best course of action.

The report notes that capital receipts from the sale of Council assets can be used, with the appropriate permissions, to fund invest to save and transformational revenue spend. The report states that the receipt generated from the sale of 17 Sylvester Road would be used for this purpose.

Zer Cafe, Goodchild Road

The Cabinet approved a proposal to grant a new 10-year lease to the tenant of the Zer Cafe on Goodchild Road. The current lease on the property expires in 2028, but the Council heard that a potential new tenant was seeking to purchase the business and needed the security of a 10-year lease term in order to proceed. The Cabinet heard that the cafe had a positive reputation in the Woodberry Grove community and agreed to the proposal.

Attendees

Documents