Transcript

Good morning, colleagues, and just about, and welcome to members, officers, press, and members of the public joining this formal meeting of Cabinet today on Tuesday, the 1st of April, 2025, and may I kindly advise or encourage colleagues not to do any gags or jokes. The meeting is also being live-streamed on YouTube, and welcome to everyone viewing on YouTube. This is genuinely a special formal meeting of Cabinet, because we'll be marking a spacious and historic occasion, which is reflected in the celebrations that we'll be having over the course of this year, because today, some six years ago, the birth of the London Borough of Newham happened. And we will be celebrating with joy, and I will be making a few remarks in that regard in a short while. Let me just go through some practicalities and formalities in the first instance, though. So, those councillors unable to join the meeting in person are able to join remotely. However, they will not be able to present an item, move, or second devotion or vote. Their attendance will not be officially recorded. With regards to the meeting etiquette, please, can I ask that you indicate, if you wish to speak, by raising your hand in real time, but if you're online, by raising your hand symbol. And Joy, who is clerk to the committee, will kindly advise me, and I will come to that colleague in due course. May I also remind members and officers to introduce themselves when speaking, and for members, you may wish to set out your portfolio positions, as they are, or the wards that you represent. Members are also asked to note that there is a supplementary agenda item, which was published yesterday, and that's item six. The executive response to the overview and scrutiny committee calling for popular living, 2025-2026 business plan. So, we're going to be taking that at the end. So, we... No, we won't be taking that at the end. We'll be taking that as agenda item six. And you'll note other agenda items that we'll be going through. So, without further ado, I'm going to take the first few items, and then I'm going to pause the agenda, and do a bit of a detour, and say some things, nice things, about Newham at 60. Okay, so, apologies for absence. Can I have formal apologies for absence received, please, Joy? Thank you very much. Are there any other apologies for absence that we need to note that any colleagues have received? Nope? Okay, super. Thank you very much. And just moving on to agenda item two, declarations of interest, as set out on pages nine to ten, in accordance with the Member's Code of Conduct, this is the time for members to declare any disclosable pecuniary and disclosable pecuniary interests or non-pecuniary interests they may have in any matter being considered at this meeting, having regard to the guidance attached to the agenda. So, noting the guidance attached as part of the agenda pack, pages nine and ten, Cabinet members and executive members, are there any disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests that you need to declare? Okay, that's a no from everyone. Thank you very much. Right, so, before I jump on to agenda item three and four, I wanted to just say something about today's significant date. Today, as mentioned, we're marking 60 years of the London Borough of Newham. It's a moment both to reflect, not just on where we've been, but what we're doing and where we're going. 60 years ago, East Ham and West Ham came together to form something new, a borough with ambition, resilience and a deep sense of community. This new borough didn't just become another name on the map. It became a powerhouse of diversity, culture and opportunity. And today, we're more than just a borough. We're pretty much a city in our own right. We are Newham. Newham has always and will always be shaped by its people. We're one of the youngest, most diverse boroughs in the country. We are a tapestry woven with threats from around the world. Our streets resonate with languages, traditions and cultures that enrich our community. Our residents are bold, creative and full of ideas. And it's our job here at the council, through this administration, to make sure they have opportunities to thrive. We've come a long way from the docks, Olympic Park, from industry to innovation. But what makes Newham special isn't just its transformation. It's the people who call it home. And we will never stop fighting for them and creating a fairer Newham. So, colleagues, as we all sit here today to take these important decisions, the questions we must ask ourselves are, what will Newham look like in the coming decades and the coming 60 years? How do we ensure that every child growing up feels well supported and that they have a future in this borough? How do we support businesses, invest in communities and continue to make Newham a place where people are proud of? How do we deepen connections? How do we strengthen bonds? How do we create a community that is resilient to the stormy times that we experience here and in the past and no doubt in the future? How do we remain inventive? How do we remain passionate? How do we commit to hope over hate? This anniversary is a reminder that we are just getting started. We have the privilege of shaping a borough that leads the way in education, opportunity, sustainability and fairness. And we never and must never stop fighting for it. So, on behalf of everyone at Newham Council, happy birthday to Newham. Happy 60 years to everyone that has shaped it and here's to the next 60 years ahead. Thank you, colleagues. We're now going to be moving on to minutes. Discussion of the formal Cabinet meeting and decisions that were made on the 18th of February 2025 and the additional meeting of Cabinet held on the 24th of February 2025 and the meeting held on the 4th of March 2025. So, colleagues, there are three sets of minutes covering three different Cabinet meetings and I am going to be presuming that the minutes have all been read. So, I am just going to be requesting that we approve the minutes as set out across pages 11 to 38 for the decisions of Cabinet made on the 18th and 24th of February and at its meeting held on the 4th of March. Do we agree those are an accurate record of decisions made? Agreed, Jay. Thank you very much. Now, moving on to appointments to outside bodies. Colleagues, there are no appointments to outside bodies to be announced today. And we are now going to be moving on to the substantive meeting, meeting even, agenda items. So, the first one is Highway and Maintenance Plan report. Over to you, Sarah. Thank you very much, Mayor, Councillor Sarah Rears. And for the purpose of this report, the Cabinet Member for Environment Sustainable Transport and also the Statutory Deputy Mayor of the Ascombe Houseward. This report seeks approval for the Planned Highway Maintenance Programme for this year, 2526. So, since its launch in 2016, as the Keeping New and Moving Programme, we have invested around £77.85 million in resurfacing roads and pavements throughout the borough. To date, 119 kilometres of roads have been resurfaced under the programme, representing over a quarter of the highway network maintained by the Council. This report outlines the final allocation of £3.6 million from the existing Keeping New and Moving Budget, which will fund the resurfacing of a further 21 roads in the upcoming financial year. This will mark, this will mark, this is the 10th and final year of that initial programme. And in addition, we have received £692,000 in grant funding, which will be allocated primarily to the borough's classified road network to support critical infrastructure improvements, including potholes. This report also sets out plans to bring forward year 11 as a proposed Keeping New and Moving extension, with a total investment of £5,253,000. This funding will be used for a footway and carriageway reconstruction programme, addressing an increasing number of areas affected by subsidence due to adverse ground conditions and further environmental factors. That's particularly relevant in Becton, and I'm sure colleagues who know Becton well will know that subsidence there is actually quite appalling, not just on our roads, but in our housing estates as well. This extension includes essential and critical maintenance work on several structures, ensuring their continued functionality for at least the next 25 years. This work is delivered alongside other key infrastructure programmes, including investment in signage and road safety features, expansion of cycling infrastructure, upgrades to street lighting, and major improvement projects such as the Romford Road and Westfield Avenue. Well-maintained roads and pavements are essential for our residents on the basis that actually the majority of people use our roads and pavements. This programme continues to address the borough's oldest and most deteriorated roads, ensuring their long-term sustainability. And Paul Gannon is with us, who is the Head of Highways, should he wish to add anything further or take the number of questions that I'm sure will be asked. Thank you. Thank you very much. Paul, would you like to say anything in regards to this paper? Yes, thank you, Chair. Paul Gannon, Head of Engineering for one of us as an example. Do you want to show you what kind of votes, perhaps this is the end of the 10-year programme, keeping it moving? We would like to present something with the Cabinet in a year's time and actually look at maybe the next point of the six-year programme, how we deal with our ageing assets, or form something that's in and myself, we'll be working on one for next year. Thank you very much. May I commend you for that very important work? And as a nerd, I'm really interested in the experience of road maintenance, because it's very expensive. She's very expensive and vital when it comes to subsidence, because it's not just you have to go down and rebuild. I would like to come out with you. You are, Paul? I think if I were just resourcing, we'll get you some way to stay with us, but I think we've got that. Brilliant. Do you have that? The asset that we were intending, not with two billion, it would be over two billion as a unit to the Council. So it's very rare that we can stop the Council at all. Don't tell everyone, because they'll start chipping away at it and selling it. That's what you mean. I don't know what it is. Thank you, Chair. Councilor Neil Wilson, Plastow Southboard and Cabinet Member. Welcome, the report. And there is a reference before about trees. I'm sure my colleagues and other frontline councils, indeed, have numerous trees. It's where the tree has not been, we've been there for years, but it's growing roots and the pavement is dangerous for people. I get up in terms of the health of people who are falling over or they're struggling. I welcome that arboricultural is the removal of trees in Appendix A, but so often people are complaining, the trees are moving and nothing's planted right back there or it doesn't even work. So I guess, seeking reassurance, because the majority of people still do walk and, you know, sometimes signs are on the pavement, which is very dangerous. But I just wondered, Paul, if there was any way that we can highlight that in terms of what we're doing. I think that's a constant thing that we could counter with some... Well, if they're complaining about the roots, they're complaining because the trees have got leaves that fall on the ground. Exactly. No, it's more the roots and the way that we're facing. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. I think we don't... It covers all of our roads and roads, if you could be honest, and I think it's probably more of a mission for us in future years on a toiling side of the street today. But the aim of this, and if this is, I think we followed on next year by a six-year problem, which we've got to present, would be to look at those wars that we can see what we can do, that will inform our next year's cabin table, or we'll be looking to plant trees in our locations. As soon as we say trio, we will be looking at the plant tree, and they're out of the tree, but we wouldn't even come out, or we wouldn't want to get both into a path of the medicines and stuff from later on. I think we just, sorry, if I can come back here, I think we just need to publicise that a bit tomorrow, so that we definitely, just to pre-end some of the case work we're getting, but it can be quite convoluted. I think to that point, I think there's something quite interesting that we can be doing here in order to amplify, actually, the scale and significance of what the Council invests in over significant periods, and this in part will help offset some of the ongoing possible concerns around financial robustness. But I think genuinely people will be interested in this, and the importance of maintenance cycles and programmes that are respectful and alert to the sensitivities of nature, and need to be done at different seasons, and how different policies interface, interplay. I'm going to pass that over to comm colleagues, in the hope that we'll be able to do something quite interesting. Right, okay. Charlene. Thank you, Chair, Councillor Charlene Clean, cabinet member for resident engagement, resident experience and West Ham ward. I just wanted to just to highlight that West Ham lane in my ward is going to be resurfaced with the money that you've got from government. So thank you so much for that, because it's very much needed. But I just wanted to build upon what Councillor Ruse said about her technical explanation about how they're going to be rebuilding the roads in Becton. How long is it expected to last for them? And could you just build upon Councillor Ruse's explanation about what's actually going to be happening in that space? Yes, sir. It's part about what we would hope to have a six-year programme, so that six-year would be the course of the operation. We obviously aren't going to work on sewing all the time, we're doing small patches of work. But I think, they don't stick a stick, you can't sit on all the time before you have to reconstruct it, and I think that's really important. If you have them a lot of work, you can keep it in with me falling off the last 10 years to restore themselves, and reconstruct in Paris. If there are some roads where there's three issues, sort of service issues, and other issues in there that we need to tackle as one as a major project. And so there's not a new panel at this point of this year, but that we would expect to tackle two or three roads in that year. Then if that would be the case for the next six years, you would be looking at three to four of them. With regards to reconstruction, it is actually that we have involved down in the base of one thing, so you're back on the barrier. And there are some needs where we get to project, and we say that I need to grow into the ground effectively to stabilize the ground, then there's a little bit. But it's some of the work that we have to do around some of the photograph that is well really damaged. But there had been some damage in speaking with the highway and relief in the photograph that we really need to think about that. Thank you. But I'd be quite happy to do a session, and I'll effectively bring to my office to the farm to explain some of the second calendar, because it's always going to be interesting. Well, you've obviously got a fan in the mayor. And just my last question about how long it was expected to last for reconstruction. And if you can come up with that, then it's a security problem. No, the actual loan, once we've done the reconstruction. Thank you. Yes. A typical loan of farmers, and we can't research it in a couple of days or a couple of months. We can't research it in a couple of weeks. No, how long will, so when will you need to do it again? Oh, so typically you wouldn't be shot to roll for 30 years. 30 years. 30 years. 30 years. 30 years. That's it. 30 years. Thank you. We're not half star sale by day. Every life expectancy. Okay. Right. One more question, and then I would suggest we... Yeah, please. Councillor Blossom Young, Cabinet Lead for Housing and Landlord Tenant Experience Improvements. I think Councillor in Becton, and I particularly welcome this report and the focus on Becton with all of the subsidence issues that that has. And I think that it really builds on the very impressive work that's been happening around the bus station area, particularly, and the road surfacing, but also segregated cycle and walkways in that area. You mentioned that we were 10 years into this program and the kind of last year before we focus on a new round, and I wonder if you could reflect on that 10 years, really, in terms of what's been achieved so far through the Keeping New on Meetings program. Yeah. I think the number of... the linear leakage that you've formed that year changed, finished itself. Over a quarter of the world has been in some of this. Now, look, we're all going to find it on our line goals. We've reached out to our line, it's probably only 10 years, because we've got any votes in the HGBA channel. But there are solid roles in the present industry. Some of them have been reconstructed in public for about 50, 60 years, so we've reached out to them to see it. So the fact that we're doing the same, it has a massive benefit in terms of that. And it's been a good pleasure for us to have no options to walk on it, for the council to make it out of their sense. I would be doing that. Thank you. The clerk. Thank you very much. Right, colleagues, I'm going to suggest that let's move on to noting and then making a decision on the recommendation. So on big page number 41, if you can look at the paragraph on the top of the page, for the reasons set out in the report and its appendices, Cabinet is recommended to approve the proposed list of schemes planned for 2025-26, as set out in Appendix A, making use of funding approved at Cabinet on the 18th of February 2025, accept the Department of Transport DFT funding of £692,000, making use of it on the renewal of sections of the principal and classified road network, as outlined in Appendix A, in line with the guidance set out by the DFT on its use. 2.3 grant delegated authority to the Corporate Director of Environment and Sustainable Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways and Sustainable Transport, to make alterations to the programme set out in Appendix A to facilitate other works, as required to maintain highways to an acceptable standard. Do we agree those recommendations? Those are all agreed. Thank you very much. Colleagues, we're now going to be moving on to the agenda item 6. Now, colleagues, this is an executive response to a calling process that was initiated following the decision that we made at a formal meeting of Cabinet on the 4th of March last month, as it pertains to the Popular Living Business Plan. We subsequently, in line with the Constitution and the procedural rules as it relates to call-ins, followed that process. And there was a meeting of Overview and Spruceney that was held on the 25th of March, at which I attended alongside Councillor Zulfika Ali, Councillor Blossom Young, and two principal corporate directors, Comrades Hall and Paul Kitson, and a raft of officers, including Darren Mackin. And there's also James, who has been key in a lot of the detail in the original report that came to formal Cabinet on the 4th of March. And since working hard and diligently with Darren in supporting myself, Sulfika, on the executive response to the calling recommendations that subsequently were circulated following consideration by Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the night of the 25th of March. I will be inviting the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny to speak briefly on the call-in, I guess. But I'd be interested in more than a rehash of a formal call-in meeting as initiated by Overview and Scrutiny. I would very much welcome the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny to give a considered response to the executive response as set out in Agenda Item 6. In summary, we, as an executive, are very welcoming of all manner of scrutiny as it relates to the sound decisions we intentionally make in our decision-making roles, leaning in on the competency and technical expertise and brilliance of our officers, and through a process that is a culmination of diligent interrogation of what's being presented to us as a policy position is being developed or a Cabinet report is being drafted. And in this instance, we made a sound rational and logical decision at the formal meeting of Cabinet on the 4th of March as it related to the Poplar Live and Business Plan. I appreciate that colleagues that are not living and breathing strategic housing delivery day in, day out will rightly want to ask further questions. And I think that's an area of learning for us as an executive and as senior officers working together as we advance our mission on genuinely affordable homes that our people can afford. But we become better and improve effectively our ability to tell our housing delivery story in a way that allows people to feel assured. And I feel on a fundamental level that's happened in this instance over anything that presents a major jeopardy to the council and to the council's finances and to the trajectory of housing delivery that we all applaud. I also noted during the call in process that there is a difference of opinion as to what model of housing delivery a council ought to pursue and that difference of opinion is welcomed. We just happen to believe that opinion is a sound one in the context of the scale of the housing challenge facing Newham and our efforts and contributions, including the ability to draw down on grant, has been sound over the seven years that we've been pursuing our affordable homes for Newham programme, including leveraging the council's housing delivery company, Poplar Living. It was muted. The purported risks that are being proclaimed by some colleagues wouldn't exist. We disagree and there are evidence reasons as to why we believe that that logic is illogical because it doesn't ring true. Had the previous iteration or incarnation of Poplar Living continued on the course that it had been set, I believe that we would be in a more financially precarious situation, standing the drivers of the financial challenges we presently face are down to a broken housing market, if you consider temporary accommodation. And similarly, in regards to social care costs, some fundamental inefficiencies in the way in which the private sector operates in social care. So on that note, I am going to be inviting the chair of overview scrutiny to provide some considered response to the executive response to the recommendations of overview scrutiny. There were primarily five principle, actually six principle recommendations. And we've set out across pages for five and six and seven of the supplementary pack. our detailed response so we can go through those so I think it will be important because no doubt there'll be a lot of people watching this part of the tablet. But I'll invite Councillor Anthony McCormand, would you like to say a few words in light of the supplementary report that's been published, the executive response to the Poplar Living and Business Plan calling recommendations. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Cabinet. In terms of context, overview scrutiny committee called in on 25th of March, the cabinet decision in respect of the Poplar Living, that is a 2025-26 business plan. The overview and scrutiny committee decided to refer the decision back to cabinet for reconsideration. And you won't be surprised to note that we are very disappointed that the executive has rejected our strategic recommendations. The context for the reasons for this referral include members concerned for the long term financial viability and the governance arrangement. of POPLU. We are concerned that Newham Council is of spending in all things housing, especially POPLU. We can see from our recent past budget that while Section 114 notice may have been avoided this year, it remains a possibility. A single factor or combination of any of the following are most likely to tip us over into a 114 notice. And those are, for the record, temporary accommodation, which we know is projecting a 106 million over the MTFS period. For the homes from Newham, which is not too distant past, overspent in the region of 28 million. The Carpenters Estate Program, which grew from 845 million to 1.6 billion, including the James Riley Point Project, which has overall increased by 44% to 98 million. And that's the James Riley, in terms of the Carpenter Project as a whole, that has increased by 330 million pounds. And then the Victoria Street, which we caught in some time ago. So... Yeah, with respect, sorry, Councillor McCollman, with respect, are you able to just narrow in your comments to the specificities of the call-in as it relates to the Popolo Living Business Plan? And could you please provide some response as it relates to our response to the recommendations that emerged following overview and scrutiny members' consideration at the end of the call-in meeting, please? Yeah, I... I think it's unhelpful to be proceeding with a throw everything in the kitchen sink in your introduction as it relates to all housing delivery aspects, which each scheme has a detailed explanation and we can have a set of separate conversations if you so wish. And we can go through the formal process. I just think it will be helpful in the interests of being clear and clarifying to us as members of the executive, but also to members of the public and journalists who may be watching, because you're conflating a number of things which is inappropriate and outside of the scope of this call-in agenda item. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I hear you, but also for the journalists and the viewing public, I do need to set the context and to just have gone in without setting the context, they wouldn't know why we came up with the recommendation. Sorry, Councillor McCollman, you're going to need to pause because we've got the monitoring officer wanting to intervene and interject. Sorry, Councillor McCollman, I mean, if you could just address the actual, what the response is, the effective response from over the industry to me, because I do think that one of the preamble is kind of going into other spaces for the Mayor's outline, do you think that that is correct? So it does need to be on what the calling was based on. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Advice noted. Just to highlight a couple of the recommendations. We recommended writing a five years strategic business plan, which capture all the risk and the reasonable assumption within one document, because a 20 years business plan is too long when dealing with the immediate financial risk and the crisis that we are currently facing. Secondly, a moratorium on all new developments, and that's developments that hasn't started yet, where we are not incurring costs by POPLU until the five years business plan is written. This is a sensible approach, especially as the audit committee in November 2023 had investigated POPLU and found it to be unsatisfactory. That's resulted in a further probing by the audit of POPLU in January 2024. There are still outstanding actions. We remain concerned that a tight grip on the financial reins and governance is still needed. So it is disappointed that our recommendations formulated with a tight grip in mind and reassurance for the next 60 years has not been accepted. Then if we move on to our recommendation that audit committee annually review the business plan. This is done so, especially in terms of governance, because when we look back in the not too distant past, there have been projects that governance was called into question. During our call in, we have called governance into question. So it is only fitting that audit who has a governance oversight is able to look at the business plan in terms of finance, but especially in terms of the governance arrangement. We asked also for a forensic report of the business plan model. And this is so in terms of everything that is going on in the industry, in terms of the huge overspending that we're incurring. $330 million in the last two, three years is a lot of money from $845 million to $1.4 billion. That is not chicken feed. So perhaps the time has come for us to have a forensic audit by experts into what we are really doing. No disrespect to members and officers, but it's like marking our own homework. We are looking at it and we are not going to see the stuff that is obvious. Maybe a forensic audit with external expertise to come in and look at what we are doing is the right approach. And we believe that is the right approach. And we stand by that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay. I'm going to open up to some questions. Not necessarily on the questions to the chair of overview and scrutiny, because we've noted the overview and scrutiny report and their recommendations. I mean, I will want to just kick off with a response to what we've heard as the principal portfolio lead, but I will be inviting Councillor Zulfika Ali also to talk to the recommendations as presented by overview and scrutiny and the executive response. And then I will also invite corporate director to talk to some aspects as appropriate based on what he has heard and also reflecting on the recommendations that were submitted. I would say that in the context of a raging housing crisis against the backdrop of 37,000 people and growing on our housing waiting list, the crippling costs of temporary accommodation. A national government that has set an ambition of 1.5 million homes in a five year period to be delivered as part of a mixed economy of different delivery routes. Most recently, we've heard the Prime Minister of Canada announced today that he's going to get Canada building with a government-backed housing delivery company and evoked the post-war era of rebuilding communities, neighbourhoods and countries, nation states of the state. State I finduffning, wind- satisfying, savour crescent and government in the stone's past, Great Minister. Besides I mean, a great place to park is being delivered for строando land. 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You might name our own social life temporary issues which are aware of the crime and that I can be treated whether cer 연�, as I appreciate it. officers that operate in this space at newham council for whom we pay and we pay well as we ought to our committed civically driven public servants that are our white hall in essence for us to be spending more on an additional layer of bureaucracy and experts doesn't make sense um i think that the questions raised by overview and scrutiny are all legitimate and valid and for me point to as mentioned and referenced earlier the further work that we've got to do in order to help support the knowledge insight and housing delivery literacy as it relates to members and our residents because construction economics development economics is a complex field and it's very interesting and i can understand and appreciate why it could given its complexity lead to concerns uh suffice to say um whilst it's the right of overview and scrutiny to call in any executive decision uh and we go through that process with courtesy and respect and we engage fully and openly in line with our good governance and transparency agenda we also have a right and entitlement to reject the recommendations and we believe that the recommendations are set out in the overview and scrutiny report are fundamentally incorrect or got the wrong end of the stick or are flawed for the reasons we've set out by way of our response but we've really enjoyed the process councillor zulfika ali thank you chair um councillor zulfika ali cabinet for finance and resources and thank you councillor michelman for your uh introduction post the scrutiny process as mayor said we do treat scrutiny process as very serious important and democratic part of the the governance process here and we respect that and as you saw we took active interest we attended the call in you provided us with recommendation we gave a detailed response and i believe that i was hoping that you will look at those responses and actually consider those plausible and justification clearly delivering you know key challenges such as housing is is important for us and i think that was also recognized by the calling too but the process we go through you know does have different models and this administration has chosen popular and i think you ought to be judging it by track record and outcomes and achievements not simply because this is something that this administration has chosen and the fact that you brought in vital issues to some extent gives me an impression that actually you were probably happy with what the recommendations are so you decided to choose other avenues to to bring about this this this afternoon or morning so i think we've the administration i mean offices have worked very hard i mean we've within a very short time scale we had the call-in we put you provided us kindly with the recommendations and i think scrutiny officers too for their hard work in doing that doing so and then the executive our officers the cabinet members have worked extremely hard to come back with a response and i think if you look at the recommendations and our response you will see that you know we're accepting you know by large what you're saying but we're giving you responsible and plausible responses i mean putting a moratorium on the spend is is simply in intelligent in my view to be honest because you know the business plan is business plan it sets a direction yes for 20 years but it doesn't commit the council to any financial plans at this stage every scheme that comes through the process is is scrutinized by our building offices financially legally to make sure that it complies with all the requirements it delivers value for money it's efficient and it's meeting our core needs and objectives and only then it comes to cabinet and i showed you even at cabinet stage we have cabinet accountability forum where my colleagues you know go into each scheme with with you know seriousness and due diligence and we go through that process before it comes to the cabinet so even though it's a business plan yes we accept it would have been probably better in hindsight if it came before the budget but as you will know that this does not commit the council to any financial um commitments in the next financial year everything that we agreed as part of the budget 25 26 was already in the capital program and that capital program went through extensive scrutiny and due diligence as part of the process and before it was agreed as part of the budget so i think the recommendations uh that you made yes their opinions and uh their feelings of colleagues that you have on the scrutiny and i mean it's not you as a chair obviously i mean our duty bound to present those but they we need to recognize that there are reasonable responses to those moratorium what is that going to achieve we want to build house we made the crisis we got 37 000 people on the waiting list 7 000 on temporary accommodation costs is to have a duty to make sure that we bring that down and building homes is is an answer and we're not building them at high cost we're building them competitively you know in and we've demonstrated that process through through the due diligence and our offices do that and i think it's very important that scrutiny recognize the fact and simply criticizing the word popular doesn't mean that it's not delivering a subjective you know independent scrutiny one of the questions points you read we have extensive you know scrutiny internally you know we have finance officers who work regularly with with the popular team we have governance and you know we are we are hoping to strengthen that even further clearly that you know we always strive to do better and do more and we will try to do that but bringing in independent scrutiny the financial situation that we face is it a value for money to do that we have internal audits should we need to and you refer to order commission committee i mean that is a matter for them they decide their work program you know if they choose to to look into you know more in terms of what we do then we've got no problem with that there's nothing to be hidden here it's all transparency and that's what we believe in as administration so i really think that the responses that this i know the the report has provided are quite plausible responsible considerate addressing also and acknowledging areas where we think we can do better and i can assure you that collectively we're doing everything we can to improve those but ultimately we should not lose sight that we are trying to help our residents to give them integrity give them a roof over their head so that we build houses in the long run yes you said 20 is a long time it is a long time as an organization you need to plan ahead if you're going to put the man on the moon you're going to be thinking of years many years not months so you know please i i i just i was hoping that your response today is going to be uh based on the responses that we provided and if there's any further work to be done we'll be happy to do that we work with you we are part of the democratic process we acknowledge and respect the role of scrutiny and we will continue to do so thank you jira thank you very much um are there any technical points that officers wish to raise out or anything that you wanted to say in terms of bringing to our attention thank you mrs you've invited me uh pockets of corporate economy housing and culture uh not very much to add mayor other than the process of scrutiny i think has strengthened our thinking uh and the development of the business plan and our thinking around the executive response councillor ali has already made the point but it's worth noting that the council approved three schemes for months of recs here are in the cycles which are development schemes through popular around 700 homes for new and will be interested in affordable housing as well so uh given the pressures we have on temporary accommodation given the avenue generally it's quite policy given our general having has been pressures really important from an officer perspective that will be carrying our discussion about future schemes um thanks very much um okay so colleagues i need to now um go through a formality may i have my hands raised um can i come back um no actually i i just i need to provide some qualifications um um yes um i'm following procedure as it relates to calling and your invitation to come and present and you had up to three minutes and you utilize those up to three minutes and then i've got to follow in line with procedure at cabinet a particular process i and does that not allow for one to come back and how it's in a comment it doesn't and you're not hearing me and you're now beginning to disrespect former leaders of cabinet and it's unnecessary so colleagues we've heard previously from the chair of voting scrutiny and you've heard from myself and councillor zulfika ali and you'll note in the supplementary agenda the executive response to the areas of scrutiny recommendation they're calling and i am now needing to to go through the formality to go through the formality as to whether we will proceed with the decision as made on the foot watch um or we will um do something in the alternative so i'm going to read out on the recommendations of the supplementary agenda item pack um as follows for the reasons detailed in this report and its appendices the mayor and cabinet is recommended to 2.1 note the recommendations referred for reconsideration from overview and scrutiny committee's calling the cabinet decision of the 4th of march 2025 relating to popular living business plan 2025 26 2.2 consider and agree the executive response to the calling resolutions set out at sections 3.5 and 3.10.3 below 2.3 confirm the cabinet decision of the 4th of march 2 2.3.1 approve the popular group business plan for 2025 26 as set out in appendix one of the popular living business plan 2025 26 cabinet report 4th of march 2025 so those are the recommendations you've noted the report from overview and scrutiny their recommendations the executive response you've heard from the chair of overview and scrutiny you've heard from the principal portfolio lead that's myself and also from solfica and the corporate director on the basis of that can we move to agree the recommendations in this um supplementary agenda report executive response to the popular living business plan calling set out on pages three and the top of page four is that agreed that's agreed joy thank you very much right now thank you very very much councillor mccormont thank you now we're moving on to agenda item seven and this is financing the 2025-2026 capital program and i'm going to be inviting councillor sophika ali to speak to this thank you chair councils of carly cabinet for finance and resources and uh i'm just to say in the start today the castle hall had to leave uh sorry our finance director connor hall had to leave for another emergency out of the borough so andrew gorton is here to join me to answer any questions so chair as we know that uh we go through a quite extensive internal scrutiny and due diligence process before the capital program is agreed and i'm pleased to say as you know that we agreed the council's capital program for 25 26 as part of the budget which was approved by the council on 27th of february and the capital program is is uh has been under scrutiny for for last few years and we want to make sure that we uh go through the the and every project that is put forward i can assure you that so many projects are put forward by officers don't actually go through the process because they don't meet this requirement the key priorities for us are to making sure that they meet the manifesto commitments to deliver our proper properties and the base on what to save and that we make sure that we continue to invest in business critical areas of the crisis function having agreed the capital program clearly this needs to be funded and this is what this report is seeking approval for i would like to stress at this point here that we uh as you would expect we only borrow for the projects which having gone through the process and we only borrow when there is a need so our borrowing strategy in my view is very responsible considerate strategic and timely we only borrow on the need basis when the project is ready to go and we look at market conditions so making sure that they are favorable for us so in our overall approach this is to make sure that we minimize the interest payments and also we minimize the impact on revenue and this approach ensures that there is good financial sustainability for the council what's been shown our key projects uh iron manifesto commitments are delivered so this report seeks authority uh for borrowing of 454 million pounds of which 357 is to provide funding for 25 26 a year and the additional 276 allocated to provide housing we just had a discussion earlier on this in this regard to make sure that we maintain improve our existing housing stock and i would like to say today that we made policy choices and it's these choices that we base our manifesto our priority needs and in terms of capital program housing is the biggest challenge you know we all recognize that and i think it will be irresponsible of this administration if we chose not to prioritize that and not to invest in that area because we want to reduce the homelessness we want to reduce the temporary accommodation therefore we want to provide you know much needed homes and roof over people you know deserve dignity respect in this borough so we all welcome also the government's uh you know approach of delivering 1.5 million homes over its you know the term of the office that is clearly recognizing a national crisis that we all face and we hope that that will help us also to support through the process and uh as you will note colleague part of the the capital program is to include a few major projects such as acquisition acquisition is having a very positive impact on the temporary accommodation cost and indeed the investment popular payroll as we mentioned earlier and the rex all these directly address the housing and homelessness crisis we've about faced in addition their process of projects of business critical nature and service improvements like you just heard earlier about keep new moving you know we've been investing for last 10 years 57 million has been already been invested but we want to maintain and improve the quality of our roads and improve safety for our residents our leisure service projects you know they're the capital program for young people and elderly so the the acquisition program as i referred earlier 150 million is going towards that and this will bring rental income and savings against the temporary accommodation costs so this is how we need to look at the wider picture to not just see this as in you know we're investing money we do capital but actually we should be looking at what dividend we're getting back and similarly 121 million you know is going into hra housing revenue count to improve the quality of our homes we've seen the housing regulators report we need to make sure that we continue to invest to improve the quality of our population and then 157 million is going into regeneration schemes and this is uh largely part of the revenue interest cost of regeneration scheme which can be capitalized so there's a lot in in the report chair and i would also like to say that i said earlier that our borrowing approach is very responsible we borrow through public works loan board and that is currently the the cheapest form of borrowing we can access and and we do that you know we do have excuse me we do have some existing lovers you know the notorious lovers that we still having to pay the cost up but i'm pleased to say that we are paying those back as and when the bank approaches to take to do that our interest is completely to make sure that we get rid of those but we don't want to incur any penalties so in that case is we continue to to to build on that and may i say at the end chair that this report has already been to the audit committee and their views have been taken into into the report so without uh saying any more chair i would like to um ask andrew ward before any questions andrew if there's anything you wish to add thank thank you councillor ali uh yes andrew ward deputy director of finance um you've given a fairly comprehensive uh introduction to the report there councillor um i probably would just like to like to stress that you know these are clearly some significant numbers but it's linked to significant investment uh addressing the housing crisis as you've as you've set out there um the report itself uh we we've strived for accessibility and transparency uh and as you say it has been to audit committee uh and we've taken on board some of the feedback there which we're very grateful for um and the report it gives explicit permission for the corporate director and his team of which i'm a part um to go and go out and borrow up to uh the amount quoted 454 million there to support the capital program which is the capital program already approved in the budget so just to be really clear about what the report is doing there i'm very happy to take any questions thank you okay are there any questions colleagues okay i've got councillor nil walson yeah thank you very much um and just to highlight on the appendix because if the existing capital budget has approved as part of the budget report don't want to take anything away from the fact that there is tremendous investment needed in housing um but also i think uh would you agree if i can put it in the form of a question councillor ali and andrew the appendix three does show the commitment of this administration to improving our buildings particularly in the provision of new pleasure spaces and and uh community engagement strategies in life so i didn't want to deflect from that chair about housing leave but to show that we are taking where possible with this capital program investment in buildings rather than that it's not an either or and any well i'd like to say jerry that clearly as i said in my early introduction we are focusing precisely on ensuring that our manifesto commitment delivered and buildings are our assets and those assets need to be in good shape and good condition in order to provide the youth services and facilities that you you you mentioned therefore everything is being done to make sure we bring them up to scratch up to standards so that people can utilize the services that we provide in those and their benefit of people because ultimately these are public buildings people the building we need we have a duty to maintain those and if you don't maintain them in good time the clearly the long-term investment will even greater so therefore we try we're making sure that we have timely improvements in order to minimize the long-term costs and you know at the same time continue to deliver the services that people deserve thank you andrew anything else sorry go on andrew so i would i'd certainly agree that you know these uh this borrowing to support the capital program the capital program uh reflects the power all the priorities of of the uh of the administration so we may have highlighted the focus on on measures to address the housing crisis but clearly in appendix three uh there are a number of other uh investments that are necessary and needed and worthwhile uh so i would certainly agree with that sentiment uh councillor wilson okay thank you very much yeah very briefly uh and also in the context of the uh the very uh real reassurance that we gave up in response to uh overview and scrutiny all the i think the uh covenant lead in finance resources agree that whatever's listed under each of our portfolios is also by newly dissected in our portfolio meetings and indeed we are looking um i think we've agreed to more um constructive um sorry innovative and constructive relationships in order to not just get funding for projects but also the funding where available particularly at regional level which is already mentioned okay all right do you want to comment on that i'll say like i mean this is the teamwork chair as our counselor wilson has said this is not just uh cabinet finance resources but actually the whole project go through the extensive process of engagement consultation and innovative approach in order to make sure we deliver the best projects at a cost which is minimum and it delivers the best outcome okay fine thank you very much for all of that um right recommendations for the reasons set out in the report and its cabinet is recommended to agree 2.1 to authorize the corporate director of resources to enter into new long-term borrowing of up to 500 or sorry not 500 454 million pounds that will fund the estimated borrowing requirement in 2025 2026 is that agreed that's all agreed thank you joy right now we're moving on to um um something that's going to be doing a bit of cha-ching cha-ching um right close letting of the whole fourth floor eastern building 1000 e16 q 2q u for um the benefit of those that are watching on youtube if there is anyone there and thinking is building 1000 and east wing it's basically the council's back office which is huge on the royal docks and it's called building 1000 over to you zulfiqa thank you chair as you know that we approved a capital um sorry asset management strategy of a couple of months back and this is to make sure that we get the best use of the assets we have minimize operating costs and we maximize income uh particularly from the vacant building this proposal is in line with those objectives and as you said right the chair the dock side is is our hq headquarters and we operate our business from there but as we occupy the west wing largely and then the east wing side we have london ambulance services we currently occupy most of that area and they have a lease for the ground floor and part of the first floor and they currently occupy fourth floor on a short-term tenancy at will the proposal here is our that we we grant them a longer lease for the fourth floor and this will enable london ambulance services to consolidate their training facilities and enable them to be having a strategic operational site at dockside and this will indeed result in additional sustained income for the council and uh the reason for urgency here was that the london ambulance services won't complete this by april which has started today and the proposals are that will provide the lease for a period of five years and this will also include the payment of service charges as well as uh the the the the business rates uh that they currently the council has to pay so having lease in place with london ambulance services will also positively impact on the value of dockside if the council choose to to deal with or dispose of the building in due cost and clearly it's uh uh the the the commercial value will be greater because the the premises will be occupied at the same time too we are also uh working in line with the government's one public estate objectives and we are working with public sector and i think that's a positive thing for us to do and i reassure the cabinet and that the proposals contain this report are aligned with the council's ongoing plans for commercializing underutilized accommodations uh uh particularly in this in this building and others with those words here i commend the report and okay thank you very much i've got sam folding sam is there anything you you would like to add no nothing but thank you can't for ali all right fine so this is a pretty straightforward um piece arrangement um i mean it's good to know that it's london ambulance service and we're supporting uh the wider public sector and our health system um so i guess what i've only got one question actually i'm not going to ask that question um i am going to just go to the recommendations um sorry i am going to ask the question the interests of um transparency and demonstrating that we do actually use our grain brain cells and ask questions here and elsewhere and i just wanted to ask sam this is directed at um is this the best leasehold arrangement that we can get at this present moment in time because of the state of the market and is this income um level uh the best we can get because of market conditions or because of market conditions or because of the party that we're engaging with because i'm conscious that it's the london ambulance service and not a private company that might have oodles of um millions of month pounds thank you uh sam folding assistant director of asset strategy so it it reflects market rates so it's not just because it's the london ambulance service um it demonstrates the best value the council can get um the fourth floor has been vacant for a number of years post covid um that i think just demonstrates the difficulty um in the commercial market at the moment but the rate that we've achieved at 25 pounds per square foot for this very much demonstrates a good commercial rate um uh if that will be a private tenant or for london ambulance service okay thank you very much right we're going to be now moving on to recommendations for the reason set out the report and its appendices cabinet is recommended to agree 3.1 for new lease to be granted the london ambulance service for the fourth floor east wing at building 1000 oxide road on the terms in exempt appendix one 3.2 to delegate authority to the corporate director of resources in consultation with the lead member for finance and resources to negotiate and finalize terms and legal documentation required to complete the loose is that agreed that's agreed joy right now final we've got um agenda item nine one source ict split uh and just in the interests of time and just for clarity one source for those members of the public or media watching and also for officers who may not be aware one source is a shared service uh entity that the council um stepped into circa 2014 it may have been 2013 um at the time with three other local authorities including um london borough of haven the third local authorities stepped out um in the year 2021 and we presently are in a process of disaggregating the um some of the functionality and services in one source which remains a shared service entity between the london borough of newham and the london borough of havering and this is specific to the information um and communication technology piece and it follows a previous cabinet decision that was made in march in march last year that we would be um splitting the ict well basically stepping away from the ict service arrangements and this is an update um so over to you zorfika thank you james you've partly done my job already so colleagues as you know that um good information and communication technology and strategies and system are fundamental in terms of underpinning the delivery of services whether in private sector or public sector and as far as newham concerned we are not exception at all in fact what uh in light of our situation we are facing we are embarking upon a major transformational program and this is a great opportunity for us to make sure that we change the organization to deliver best quality service in a very cost-effective manner and to improve the quality of service the structures cultures and processes the systems that we use in order to deliver those services and as we all know technology is moving at a very fast pace and we need to not only catch up but uh pace with a rapidly changing technological environment our transformation plan focuses on delivering these objectives but we need to adopt more modern technology and systems and be equipped to make best use of them new means a well-run authority and we manage our resources to the best we can on behalf of our residents despite there being many challenges and wide external factors behind our control which are impacting on us we are managing things far better than many others as said by the mayor we are transforming our organization and as part of the process we're looking at substantial savings uh in the summer 23 million pounds and this is critical uh in terms of response to our current financial situation that we are facing so i said ensuring that we have the right ict and services to enable transformation program and unlock this saving is key as mayor said already we've been part of this uh one source shared service since 2014 and uh the one of the previous partners back slay left us and then there is havering and ourselves currently in it but we wanted to change the situation and back in march 2024 cabinet agreed that we should split uh from the shared service and develop our own it infrastructure and delivers a new service delivery model and that service delivery model was based on procuring a managed service provider to deliver the disaggregation and establish our new arrangements since then we have been making good progress in agreeing the details of the disaggregation uh the disaggregation uh process uh with havering and as part of this further work has been undertaken on the new operating model for a sovereign ict service and this has concluded that the plane outsourcing model is no longer the best option to give us the agility and financial insurance that we currently need particularly in light of the critical transformation program that has been developed since the previous arrangements were agreed so we have therefore reviewed our existing plans are proposing a different model to implement the principle decision to split our service from the shared area revised proposal is to bring service back in house specialist it partners cured to provide discrete support as needed this will enable us to retain current staff and the decades of experience and expertise that they've developed and their knowledge and we avoid the risk of or reliance on a single external provider and this revised plan will need to be achieved within previous degree time scale that is december 24 and within the budget and with those virtue i recommend the the report to the cabinet i have lauren white who is the originator of this report so if there's anything else lauren who you would like to add thank you councillor ali so lauren white is the director of information assurance and it contracts i'm happy to answer questions on this but to reiterate what councillor ali has always um already said the the revised approach is the the right thing to do for lara in terms of its transformation aspirations this report specifically noted that it is requesting authority to go out and procure the services required to help deliver the sovereign it service for the borough okay yeah cool thank you very much right so are there any questions colleagues no all right fine can we just note the recommendations on big page number 137 for the reasons set out in the report and its appendices cabinet is recommended to 2.1 note the ongoing management of the new it hybrid model has been iterated to best fit the council's priorities and agreed transformation agenda this will see more existing it services return back to the borough however specific services such as cyber security arrangements will still remain with an outsourced provider 2.2 agree a revised procurement approach involving individual procurements listed in the table contains in paragraph 6.4 of this report with its associated costs for various elements of the split of shared technology and delivery of the agreed new technology roadmap 2.3 delegate the award and entering contracts to support the delivery of the agreed new technology roadmap to the corporate director of resources in consultation with the lead member for finance and resources note that the overall costs of the delivery for the new technology roadmap will remain within the existing budget allocated previously agreed for the ict split program 2.5 note that the program to deliver a new sovereign sovereign it service will be delivered by the previously agreed time scholar of december 2025 i'm really sorry but i'm just going to add one other addition to 2.3 um where it's got in consultation with the lead member finance and resources could we add um the following and the new council representatives on the joint committee i do think it's important for the representatives on the joint committee to be updated on any one source related matters you'll be the principal cabinet member great yes right did you capture that all right thank you very much is that agreed everyone all right super thank you right colleagues we're done we're done and we're just after one o'clock and i just wanted to say um thank you for you oh hang on no before we go there's agenda item 10 exclusion of the present public can we just note that yeah noted and then on agenda item 11 exempt appendix for agenda item 8 proposed lesson of the whole fourth floor east wing building 1000 e16 2q u property that's an exempt appendix which we just have to note did we note that noted all right great so that is the conclusion formally of the cabinet meeting held this day tuesday the first of april 2025 the first day of the london royal is uh