Transcript

your microphone and when invited to speak and remember to turn off your microphone when you finish speaking. Please note that this is a council meeting held in public, not a public meeting. All remarks will be addressed through me as chair. Also please note we are not expecting a fire alarm test this evening so if the alarm is sounded please follow my instructions and evacuate the building. As usual each item will be introduced by the exact member followed by an opportunity for members to ask questions and then an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions. Questions must be related to the agenda item being deliberated. When questions on each item are completed I will then move the agenda item to a vote. Once the vote has been taken there will be no more further discussions of the item. I would like to reassure everyone that the executive members have read all the reports and appendix to apply to them for this meeting. Please note there is one of the agenda items this evening that has accompanied an exempt appendix. However this appendix is for information only and has been read by the executive members. I would ask members to ensure they do not make reference to or ask any questions about any of the information on the exempt appendix. There are a few formal matters on the agenda to consider first. Apologies for absence. I have received one apologies for Councillor Sheila Chapman. Any other apologies? Declaration of interest. Do any members have any interest to declare? Item 3. Non-exempt minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 February 2025. Pages 1 to 8 of the Agenda Pack. Can we agree with the non-exempt minutes of the last meeting as a correct record, please? Thank you. The first item, B4, Quarterly Budget Monitoring, Quarter 3. Councillor Ward, could you introduce the report? Thank you very much, Chair. Chair, it is incredibly important that we set a balanced budget because that is the only way we continue to provide vital services for the most vulnerable people in this borough. But it is just as important that we have a constant check-in, a constant scrutiny of our in-year position, making sure that we are making our savings, making sure that we are monitoring slippages. In summary, Chair, there is still a worrying overspend on temporary accommodation. We know that the national picture is very, very difficult around temporary accommodation. A lot of landlords are leaving the market. Parking income continues to be somewhat volatile. Street services are forecasting an overspend and that is in part due to a delay of savings delivery. There is also a shortfall in some commercial property income. So, we are in a good place, Chair, particularly given everything that has been thrown at us over the last 14 years. We are still managing to maintain a balanced budget, but we do have to have a constant monitor of this. Thank you. Any questions? Any questions? Thank you. Can we please agree recommendations 1.1 to 1.13 on page 9 of the agenda pack? Thank you. We will now move to item B5, the DWP Central London Forward Connect to Work Employment Programme. Councillor Bell Bradford. Thank you. This is a really exciting item. It kind of outlines the Connect to Work Programme, which is a programme, well funded programme, about £3.5 million, which will help us, the Council, get about 950 of our local residents into work, and often targeting those who are more assistance from the workplace, those living with global learning disabilities or persistent health problems. I think it also shows the best example of Islington, which is that when it comes to programmes like this, we always go forward delivering these services in-house first, which lots of other London boroughs are doing. I think it also proves how effective local government can be when it comes to devolving powers like this, and I think hopefully when we see more devolution of employment powers, Islington will be used as an example of what is possible. The final thing I'd say is this is also proof of what happens when the Labour Government and the Labour Council work together. I think that this programme would only exist under a Labour Government, and I think our ability to deliver it in-house into this quality would only happen through a Labour Council. I'm happy to move this motion. Thank you. Any questions? I'd just like to make a comment. I think this is such a brilliant thing, because I know the work that your team and that do, and I really feel that this is the drive we want to do, is try and help as many people back into work. Any other questions? Can we agree recommendations 1.1 to 1.3 on page 75 of the agenda pack, please? Item B6, purchasing of 193 extra rights to buy properties to accommodate homeless households in Islington. I'm a bit jealous of this, that John's given this report, and I am so proud. So over to you, John. Thanks so much, Lida. Yeah, as we know, we've got an acute housing crisis here in Islington and nationally. But despite that, we are robustly responding to this challenge, as the paper outlines. And I would like to just put on record my thanks to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government and the GLA for the funding. It does go to show the power of a Labour Government, a Labour Mayor and a Labour Council buying back property. I would also, while I'm on the thanks and celebratory tone, I want to thank the leader for really driving this forward, when she was an Executive Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods, and also the gentlemen behind me and officers at Islington Council, who have worked tirelessly to buy back properties for our families in need. So I want to put on record my thanks to Ian Swift and others in particular. Thank you. And please approve the report. Any questions? It's just bye, bye, bye. Can we agree recommendations 1.1 to 1.5 on page 108 of the Agenda Pack, please? Agreed. Agreed. Thank you. Item B7, delivery strategy for new homes programme, including procurement strategy for new build and major construction contracts. Thanks, LeWolf. Thank you, leader. Yeah, despite the huge housing crisis, despite the difficult economic climate, we're doing all that we can to maximise affordable housing in Islington, leaving no stone unturned. So I'd ask the committee to approve this paper. Any questions? Can we agree recommendations 1.1 to 1.6 on pages 139 to 140 of the Agenda Pack, please? Agreed. Agreed. Item B8, review of the Local Development Scheme. Councillor Bradford Bell. Thank you very much. We're required to have an up-to-date Local Development Scheme, which kind of highlights the current planning policies we have, and then what we want to do to ensure which ones need to be reviewed, which ones are likely to be brought into the meeting at some point in the future, and then also which ones we no longer leave because of changes to legislation or the new Local Plan, which has made some of our policies update, and this just lists those kind of documents and what happens. Any questions? Can we agree recommendations 1.1 to 1.2 on page 165 of the Agenda Pack, please? Agreed. Item B9, procurement pipeline notices. Councillor Bradford Bell. All councils are required under the new Procurement Act to produce a pipeline notice of contracts of over £2 million for 18 months based on that pipeline notice. Any questions? Can we please agree recommendations 1.1 to 1.3 on page 185 of the Agenda Pack, please? Agreed. Item B10, the S75 agreement with NCLICB for Islington Survivors Trauma Services, page 193 to 198 of the Agenda Pack. And this is me, and I would just like to say the purpose of this report is to set out the context for entering into an S75 agreement with NCLICB to make arrangements to maintain funding for the ongoing provision of the Islington Survivors Trauma Services and seek approval to instruct legal colleagues accordingly. Any questions? Can we please agree recommendations 1.1 on page 193 of the Agenda Pack? Thank you. Items B11, procurement strategy and awarded report for North Central London Integrated Sexual Health Services. Councillor Williamson? Yeah, thanks very much. So this is a contract to award the Integrated Sexual Health Services. It's a joint procurement across four of our North Central London Councils, so that's with Barnet, Camden, Haringey and Islington. The award contract is to Central and Northwest London NHS Trust, who currently run the service, and they are already delivering a high-quality service which has been rated outstanding by CQC and gets very high, good feedback from users who currently use the service. Any questions? Can we please agree recommendations on 1.1 on page 193 of the Agenda Pack? And note the exempted appendix. Now the last item on the Agenda is B12 approval of S75 for social care support at Penterville Prison, pages 225 to 254 of the Agenda Pack. Councillor Williamson? Yeah, I'm just going to suggest a very minor amendment to the papers, which is not significant to the Sanchez saying, but just for clarity. On the front page of the paper it said wards affected are Bunhill. Penterville Prison is actually a lay court ward, but this is for prisoners in Penterville Prison, so in reality it doesn't directly impact any one specific ward. To move to what this item actually is, this is a Section 75 agreement between Islington Council and NHS England and to provide personal care to men who are in Penterville Prison and who need personal care, and it's part of our Care Act duties. Any questions? Please can we agree recommendations 1.1 and 1.2 on page 225 of the Agenda Pack? Please. Quite short. Thank you very much. No other items to consider and that concludes our meeting this evening. The next meeting of the Executive will be on the 24th of April, 2025.