The report pack for this meeting of Camden Council's Cabinet contains a report on improving leaseholder services, a plan to commission a new service supporting people who provide unpaid care for others, a procurement strategy for mechanical and electrical services for the council’s properties and an annual report on how Camden has been managing its money.

Improving Services to Leaseholders

The report pack included a response to the report by Councillor James Slater, the Cabinet Adviser for Improving Services to Camden Leaseholders and Advocating for Leaseholders. The Adviser’s report, which was considered by the Housing Scrutiny Committee on 13 March 2024, focuses on how leaseholders’ views are heard, whether council communications are accessible and whether leaseholders are being supported to live in good quality homes.

The response to Councillor Slater’s report, from Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, the Cabinet Member for Better Homes, and officers notes his eight recommendations. Some of the actions that are described in the response include updated communication templates, monthly meetings between Leaseholder Services and Capital Works to improve communications with leaseholders, and the appointment of an Associate Cabinet Member for Leaseholders.

Commissioning Strategy for Carers’ Support Services

The report pack included a plan to commission a new service supporting Camden's Carers. The current contracts expire on 31 March 2025, and the report pack proposes to replace them with a new service beginning on 1 April 2025, that will run for 4 years with an option to extend for a further 3 years at a total cost of £6,314,798.

The new Carers service will support Carers to remain connected to their community by helping to identify Carers, increasing access to advice and information, increasing access to statutory Carer assessments, and providing peer support. The plan includes working with Carers to co-produce a Camden Carers Action Plan, which the report says will be implemented from 1 April 2025.

Procurement Strategy for Mechanical and Electrical Services

The report pack contains a proposal to launch the procurement of 6 new contracts covering Camden’s Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) services requirements for council housing. The council is required to maintain the mechanical and electrical systems in its properties, and this includes the communal heating systems, bulk gas networks, electrical installations, lifts, and door entry systems.

The report pack says that because the total estimated value of the six contracts is £117,642,000, a decision is needed from the Cabinet. It recommends that the Cabinet agrees to the procurement strategy and starts consulting with leaseholders about the plans. It also recommends that the Cabinet delegates to the Executive Director Supporting Communities the decision about who is awarded each of the contracts.

It proposes to procure 6 contracts with staggered start dates:

• Contract 1a - Communal Heating North for a maximum of 10 years, with an estimated value of £32,220,000
• Contract 1b - Communal Heating South for a maximum of 10 years, with an estimated value of £32,220,000
• Contract 2 - Bulk Gas Heating – Servicing and Maintenance for a maximum of 7 years with an estimated value of £4,746,000
• Contract 3 - Electrical Services for a maximum of 5 years with an estimated value of £18,384,000
• Contract 4 – Lift Maintenance for a maximum of 10 years with an estimated value of £16,668,000
• Contract 5 - Ancillary Services for a maximum of 10 years with an estimated value of £13,404,000

The report pack says that these services are currently provided by GEM, Openview, Apex Lifts and SCCI Alphatrack, and that it will begin procuring the new contracts in the 16 months leading up to the expiry of these contracts in April 2026.

The document says that the council is evaluating a proposal to deliver individual heating services itself and that if this is deemed feasible, a separate report will be prepared for the appropriate governance processes.

Treasury Management Annual Report and Mid-Year Strategy

The report pack contains the Treasury Management Annual Report 2023-24 and Mid-Year Strategy 2024-25, which reports on the previous year’s treasury management activities and provides a mid-year update on the current year’s strategy. Camden’s treasury management strategy covers how the council manages its debt and investments. The report says that Camden has a low risk appetite, prioritising the security of its investments.

The report notes that the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is constructing a new Energy Recovery Facility (ERF), borrowing money from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) to fund its construction, which is then invested alongside the council’s own investments. It says that the NLWA borrowed £280m in December 2021, a further £250m in February 2022, £200m in January 2023, and £140m in July 2024 to cover the costs of its procurement for the ERF.

It describes the council’s ‘internal borrowing’ strategy, whereby it uses reserves and working balances to finance its capital expenditure rather than taking on new debt. It says that the total external debt held by the council at the end of 2023/24 was £314m, but the total borrowing requirement at the same date (known as the Capital Financing Requirement or CFR) was £636m, meaning that Camden was under-borrowed by £322m.

The report says that if the council were to borrow externally, it would incur a ‘cost of carry’ of £533,000 (the difference between the cost of new borrowing and the returns it would receive on its investments). It says that the CFR at the end of 2024/25 is forecast to be £734m and that it will peak in 2025/26 at £743m. The average rate of return on Camden’s investments during 2023/24 was 4.95%. At the end of March 2024 the council held £413m of investments, and this had increased to £684m as of 19 August 2024.

The report describes how the council has been investing in three low volatility net asset value Money Market Funds (MMFs), run by Aberdeen, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs, and says that Camden is considering whether to widen the number of MMFs it uses to diversify risk. The report says that the council may also invest in bonds and commercial paper issued by the European Investment Bank.

It describes how the council has invested £1m in a local climate bond, called a Community Municipal Investment (CMI), which it launched on 29 June 2022 at a rate of 1.75%. It says that this is an innovative way for the council to finance its 2030 net zero targets.