Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1  No apologies for absence were received.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Unrestricted Business which will be considered under the agenda item where they appear.

2.1  There was no urgent business for consideration.

Members are invited to consider the guidance which accompanies this agenda and make declarations of interest as appropriate.

3.1  In relation to agenda item 10, Hackney a Place for Everyone – Voluntary and Community Sector Grants Programme, the Mayor, along with Cllr Fajana-Thomas and Cllr Kennedy, confirmed their membership of the London Community Credit Union.  Deputy Mayor Bramble confirmed her membership of the Board of Trustees of Hackney Playbus.

3.2  The Director of Legal, Democratic and Electoral Services advised that after declaring their interest members could remain during the vote.

On occasions part of the Cabinet meeting will be held in private and will not be open to the public if an item is being considered that is likely to lead to the disclosure of exempt or confidential information. In accordance with the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 (the “Regulations”), members of the public can make representations about why that part of the meeting should be open to the public.

This agenda contains exempt items as set out at the Exclusion of the Press and Public agenda item.  No representations with regard to these have been received.

This is the formal 5 clear day notice under the Regulations to confirm that this Cabinet meeting will be partly held in private for the reasons set out in this Agenda.

4.1  No representations were received. 

At the  time of the agenda publication, no questions or deputations have been received.

5.1  No questions were received.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting of Cabinet held on 26 June 2023.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Cabinet held on 26 June 2023 be agreed as a true and accurate record of proceedings.

To receive the minutes of the Cabinet Procurement Committee (CPIC) held on 5 June 2023 - for noting.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Cabinet Procurement Insourcing Committee held on 5 June 2023 be noted.

RESOLVED:

1.  To agree to the  purchase of the property detailed in Exempt Appendix 1 - Temporary Accommodation.

2.  To delegate authority to the Group Director of Finance and Corporate Resources to settle all the commercial terms of the transaction.

3.  To pay the stamp duty (SDLT) due on the purchase.

4.  To authorise the Director of Legal, Democratic and Electoral Services  to prepare, agree, settle and sign the necessary legal documentation to effect the proposals contained in this report and to enter into any other ancillary legal documentation as required.

5.  To agree the Estate Management savings proposal at 2.11 above.

6.  To agree the Parking Income proposal at 2.11 above.

7.  To approve the granting of an Agreement for Lease to SBSK to allow for the works to be completed at Springfield Hydrotherapy Pool  leading to the grant of a 15 year lease, at an initial rent of £2,500.00 p.a. subject to an RPI rent review on the 1st April each year.

8.  To delegate to the Group Director of Finance and Corporate Resources  and the Director of Strategic Property Services authority to determine the most cost effective options in terms of disposing of the lease in ways that represent best value on the part of the Council.

9.  To delegate authority to the Director of Legal, Democratic and Electoral Services to negotiate, sign, settle and complete the contracts and all other relevant and ancillary legal documents arising thereto on behalf of the Council.

10.To approve the granting of an Agreement for Lease in respect of 2 Hillman Street, to DWP with the proposed rent free and break clauses to allow continuity of occupation of the building from January 2024.

11.To approve the grant of a 10 year lease, at an initial rent of £711,000pa subject to a rent review on the 5th anniversary of the term. 

12.To delegate to the Group Director of Finance and Corporate Resources and the Director of Strategic Property Services authority to agree to the lease and ensure that it represents best consideration.

13.To delegate authority to the Director of Legal, Democratic and Electoral Services to complete the lease and all other relevant and ancillary legal documents arising thereto on behalf of the Council.

14.To note the overall financial position of the Council as at May 2023 as set out in this report.

REASONS FOR DECISION

To facilitate financial management and control of the Council's finances.

As outlined within the report, there is a significant need to expand the stock of social housing in Hackney and retain as well as increase the provision of temporary accommodation. The Council has a statutory duty to provide interim temporary accommodation to homeless households and it is currently meeting this statutory duty in part by using expensive nightly let and/or spot purchased accommodation. The acquisition of the property detailed in Exempt Appendix 1 increases the provision of this vital accommodation thereby reducing the need to use these more expensive forms of alternative  ...  view the full decision text for item 8.

8.1  The Cabinet Member for Finance, Insourcing and Customer Service, Cllr Chapman, introduced the report and confirmed the continued difficult financial pressures that the Council faced, but highlighted two early proposals for savings relating to increased parking income and efficiency measures in Estates Management.

8.2  The Mayor thanked Officers for their work on the proposals and confirmed that any income from parking would be spent on transport related work. 

RESOLVED:

1.  To agree to the  purchase of the property detailed in Exempt Appendix 1 - Temporary Accommodation.

2.  To delegate authority to the Group Director of Finance and Corporate Resources to settle all the commercial terms of the transaction.

3.  To pay the stamp duty (SDLT) due on the purchase.

4.  To authorise the Director of Legal, Democratic and Electoral Services  to prepare, agree, settle and sign the necessary legal documentation to effect the proposals contained in this report and to enter into any other ancillary legal documentation as required.

5.  To agree the Estate Management savings proposal at 2.11 above.

6.  To agree the Parking Income proposal at 2.11 above.

7.  To approve the granting of an Agreement for Lease to SBSK to allow for the works to be completed at Springfield Hydrotherapy Pool  leading to the grant of a 15 year lease, at an initial rent of £2,500.00 p.a. subject to an RPI rent review on the 1st April each year.

8.  To delegate to the Group Director of Finance and Corporate Resources and the Director of Strategic Property Services authority to determine the most cost effective options in terms of disposing of the lease in ways that represent best value on the part of the Council.

9.  To delegate authority to the Director of Legal, Democratic and Electoral Services to negotiate, sign, settle and complete the contracts and all other relevant and ancillary legal documents arising thereto on behalf of the Council.

10.To approve the granting of an Agreement for Lease in respect of 2 Hillman Street, to DWP with the proposed rent free and break clauses to allow continuity of occupation of the building from January 2024.

11.To approve the grant of a 10 year lease, at an initial rent of £711,000pa subject to a rent review on the 5th anniversary of the term. 

12.To delegate to the Group Director of Finance and Corporate Resources and the Director of Strategic Property Services authority to agree to the lease and ensure that it represents best consideration.

13.To delegate authority to the Director of Legal, Democratic and Electoral Services to complete the lease and all other relevant and ancillary legal documents arising thereto on behalf of the Council.

14.To note the overall financial position of the Council as at May 2023 as set out in this report.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The reasons for the decision were included in the printed decisions, published on the 25 July 2023, and can be found here.

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

This budget monitoring  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

RESOLVED:

To approve:

·  Appendix 1: an initial set of equality objectives at summary level, describing the objectives, why they are being proposed and an outline of key actions (a designed version will be used in consultation and engagement)

·  Appendix 2: the anti-racism action plan

·  Appendix 3: the LGBTQIA framework

REASONS FOR DECISION

In November 2022 Hackney adopted a new Strategic Plan at Cabinet and Council. An equality plan is needed to support the ambitions of the strategic plan and political priorities and consider these ambitions through an equality prism.  The new Equality Plan will replace the existing Single Equality Scheme 2018-2022 and so we are at a key point of change in policy which requires consultation and engagement.  It is, furthermore, a statutory duty to publish equality objectives, and consult on them.  The new Plan includes a set of new issues that have, to date, generated a lot of community interest. Further engagement will help ensure our responses meet community aspiration and need. Consultation and engagement on the Equality Plan is therefore in part a legal requirement but also responds to community interest and builds on past practice.

The aim is to consult and engage residents on the Draft Equality Plan during August, September and October and to take back a final plan for agreement by Council on 29th November.

Before this begins, the Draft Equality Plan, the anti-racism action plan  and the LGBTQIA framework are being presented here for approval by Cabinet as a consultation and engagement draft.

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

Option 1 - only do what is statutorily required and develop draft objectives and consult on these  without  developing the more detailed plans that flow from these objectives. This has been rejected because tackling inequality is a complex process that needs to be underpinned by a  broad cross cutting plan which has been developed by a range of stakeholders. 

Option 2- develop a full equality plan and consult rather than undertaking a more detailed engagement exercise This has been rejected because:

·  We are unlikely to reach beyond those most likely to respond to consultation documents and to reach the residents most impacted by inequality, if we only consult

·  The Council is committed to putting residents first and co-designing solutions with residents because we want to develop the right responses; to tackle inequality effectively, we need to engage residents with lived experience who can share their insight into what is driving inequality and what needs to change.

·  As outlined in paragraph 1.4, trust and confidence in the Council is low for some groups including black and global majority residents and social housing tenants. These are groups who face greater inequality and can be poorly served by statutory services. We need to adopt an engaging approach that builds trust and confidence.

·  Tackling inequality is an issue that attracts public interest and scrutiny from a wide range of stakeholders and we want to create the right engagement to respond to this interest and invite ideas

9.1  The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Employment, Human Resources and Equalities, Cllr Williams, who noted the challenging times and that the proposed plan would help achieve the best possible outcomes for residents most affected by the cost of living crisis, Hackney’s Black and Global Majority residents, and LGBTQI residents.

9.3  Cllr Williams thanked Officers for their work on the Equality Plan, which had given Hackney a solid foundation on equalities and anti-racism work.  Mayor Glanville and Cllr Williams also both thanked Officers and members of the community for their work on Pride and the Trans motion considered by Council earlier in the year.

RESOLVED:

To approve:

·  Appendix 1: an initial set of equality objectives at summary level, describing the objectives, why they are being proposed and an outline of key actions (a designed version will be used in consultation and engagement)

·  Appendix 2: the anti-racism action plan

·  Appendix 3: the LGBTQIA framework

REASONS FOR DECISION

The reasons for the decision were included in the printed decisions, published on the 25 July 2023, and can be found here.

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

Option 1 - only do what is statutorily required and develop draft objectives and consult on these  without  developing the more detailed plans that flow from these objectives. This has been rejected because tackling inequality is a complex process that needs to be underpinned by a  broad cross cutting plan which has been developed by a range of stakeholders. 

Option 2- develop a full equality plan and consult rather than undertaking a more detailed engagement exercise This has been rejected because:

·  We are unlikely to reach beyond those most likely to respond to consultation documents and to reach the residents most impacted by inequality, if we only consult

·  The Council is committed to putting residents first and co-designing solutions with residents because we want to develop the right responses; to tackle inequality effectively, we need to engage residents with lived experience who can share their insight into what is driving inequality and what needs to change.

·  As outlined in paragraph 1.4, trust and confidence in the Council is low for some groups including black and global majority residents and social housing tenants. These are groups who face greater inequality and can be poorly served by statutory services. We need to adopt an engaging approach that builds trust and confidence.

·  Tackling inequality is an issue that attracts public interest and scrutiny from a wide range of stakeholders and we want to create the right engagement to respond to this interest and invite ideas

RESOLVED:

Cabinet to :

1.  Approve the allocation of Community Infrastructure Grant £79,200 across the four organisations as outlined in Appendix 1.

2.  Delegate to the Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery decisions in regards to £25,000 carried over development funding for capacity building and training for Community Infrastructure organisations.

3.  Note the awards of project-based grants to organisations, including those funded through a budget that in previous years has been deployed for one-off commissioning of youth activity by the Children and Families Service and Healthier Hackney grants in Appendix 2. Approval of these grants was delegated by Cabinet in January 2023 to the Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery.

4.  Delegate to the Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery decisions in regards £20,000 to the development of advice services in the north of the borough and £25,000 for advice services to develop a convening role for the advice system as set out in 4.5 below

5.  Approve a grant of £40,000 to London Community Credit Union in addition to the £40,000 set aside from last year’s grant budget, as part of the package of support established with partner Councils Newham and Tower Hamlets

REASONS FOR DECISION

The recommendation to launch a VCS grants programme was agreed by Cabinet on 23 January 2023 based on the budget for 2023/234. Cabinet is asked to agree the recommended awards for the Community Infrastructure Grants and delegated authority for £20,000 of grant budget for the development of advice provision in the north of the borough. This is a key decision of the Council as it affects two or more wards and is related to Council spend.

From our learning so far we know that there are much more effective and impactful ways to invest in the voluntary and community sector than the traditional approaches to grant making and to commissioning. This traditional approach is transactional and arms-length and assumes complex challenges can be addressed through short term, separate projects and measurable outputs.

The future of the grants programme is being shaped by the Council’s experience of working with the sector during the pandemic and Cost of Living Crisis, the knowledge we have gained from working with our advice providers, and the change and transformation we are trying to achieve as a Council. We do not intend to change the objectives of the grant programme and the two main aims are still relevant, if not more so given the Council’s new Strategic Plan:

·  promoting prosperity and wellbeing with targeted, positive action when needed

·  building strong, cohesive communities that are part of the solution

Community Infrastructure Grants

Although we stepped down our response to the pandemic our residents and their families continue to face instability in the context of the cost of living crisis, the continued rising inequalities, complexity of need and limited access to preventive help due to scarce resources. The Community Infrastructure grants will enable the continued collaboration and facilitation of relationships between partners across the system in Hackney. This continues to be  ...  view the full decision text for item 10.

10.1  Introducing the report, the Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care, Voluntary Sector and Culture, Cllr Kennedy, confirmed that this followed on from previous Cabinet decisions that had approved the basic structure of the grants programme and then approved £1m worth of advice grants and £750k worth of strategy grants to core organisations. 

10.2  Cllr Kennedy highlighted some of the organisations that would receive the proposed grants and the process that was undertaken to allocate the proposed grants.  Deputy Mayor Bramble, Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care, spoke in support of the grants programme.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet to :

1.  Approve the allocation of Community Infrastructure Grant £79,200 across the four organisations as outlined in Appendix 1.

2.  Delegate to the Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery decisions in regards to £25,000 carried over development funding for capacity building and training for Community Infrastructure organisations.

3.  Note the awards of project-based grants to organisations, including those funded through a budget that in previous years has been deployed for one-off commissioning of youth activity by the Children and Families Service and Healthier Hackney grants in Appendix 2. Approval of these grants was delegated by Cabinet in January 2023 to the Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery.

4.  Delegate to the Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery decisions in regards £20,000 to the development of advice services in the north of the borough and £25,000 for advice services to develop a convening role for the advice system as set out in 4.5 below

5.  Approve a grant of £40,000 to London Community Credit Union in addition to the £40,000 set aside from last year’s grant budget, as part of the package of support established with partner Councils Newham and Tower Hamlets

REASONS FOR DECISION

The reasons for the decision were included in the printed decisions, published on the 25 July 2023, and can be found here.

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

Given the budgetary pressures facing the Council the future of the VCS Grants Programme is regularly reviewed. However consideration has been given to the reductions in public spending through welfare cuts and reduced grants to local government which can lead to increased demands upon the VCS. The unique position of the VCS to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged residents as well as its ability to deliver added value e.g. through inward investment and volunteering necessitates a grant programme that ensures that the sector can continue to thrive and build resilience to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic and in the face of further budget reductions.

Whilst commissioning helps to support the VCS, the investment through the Council’s grants programme helps to maintain a thriving third sector and a wide range of suppliers. Funding the sector through grants ensures that it can identify new needs and new ideas and innovate and test new solutions. It enables added value activity that complements direct or procured service delivery and can fund open  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.  Accept the Department of Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) grant of c. £4.5 million (together with all of the associated conditions)

2.  Approve expenditure of associated match funding for the above grant and add to the Housing Capital Programme.

3.  Approve the business case for these works and the procurement strategy to undertake a Direct Award of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) works contract to a supplier from an external framework, namely South East Consortium (SEC) or National Housing Maintenance Frameworks.

4.  Delegate the contract award for the works for up to £20m to the Group Director, Climate Homes and Economy, following consultation with the Group Director, Finance and Corporate Resources, and the relevant Cabinet Members, Housing Services & Resident Participation, and Insourcing & Customer Services.

5.  To note that the report on the contract award for these works will be reported to the Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee (CPIC).

6.  To approve that the recharge of cost of these works to leaseholders are waived (a maximum of nine).

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

In order to consider options for this procurement exercise, officers considered some key decisions relating to contract types in the context of the wider housing strategy; this report considers these, and explores the various available options.

The grant funding has been provisionally secured against 556 homes.  These may require work to up to 721 homes to be carried out because of the inclusion of blocks of flats where not all homes are eligible under the bid.  While properties have been identified for the fund, this is based on desktop information and the process requires specific surveys to be undertaken to confirm eligibility.  It is expected that within this number there are homes which prove to be ineligible.  It is also expected that there are homes where it is not readily technically possible to achieve the required standard.  Hackney Council have maximised the numbers in the bid to ensure that even after these aspects are taken into account the council can still deliver a meaningful programme of work.

The grant fund makes a number of requirements about how the work is delivered.  Key to these is the use of a new PAS2035 standard, which is a process for how retrofit works should be delivered to existing homes.  This ensures that proper consideration is given to selecting measures which are suitable to the construction, are complimentary with one another, and which achieve the desired energy efficiency standard.  There are also rules around monthly reporting to the department, rules on the selection of homes and funding levels, and requirements for risk assessments and other project management procedures to be in place.  These are outlined in more detail in a presentation in Appendix 1.

Contractor as Retrofit Coodinator:  Under PAS2035 it is possible to assign the role of Retrofit Assessor and Coordinator to the contractor.  There are some advantages to this approach; it can be faster as the programme is almost entirely  ...  view the full decision text for item 11.

11.1  Cllr McKenzie, Cabinet Member for Housing Services and Resident Participation thanked Officers for the work they undertook to submit the bid to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and confirmed that the award would make a huge difference to several hundred households across the Borough allowing residents to live in warm, sustainable housing, that also reduced Hackney’s carbon emissions.

11.2  Cllr Coban, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, shared his support for the report and the contribution it would make to Hackney’s climate action work.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.  Accept the Department of Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) grant of c. £4.5 million (together with all of the associated conditions)

2.  Approve expenditure of associated match funding for the above grant and add to the Housing Capital Programme.

3.  Approve the business case for these works and the procurement strategy to undertake a Direct Award of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) works contract to a supplier from an external framework, namely South East Consortium (SEC) or National Housing Maintenance Frameworks.

4.  Delegate the contract award for the works for up to £20m to the Group Director, Climate Homes and Economy, following consultation with the Group Director, Finance and Corporate Resources, and the relevant Cabinet Members, Housing Services & Resident Participation, and Insourcing & Customer Services.

5.  To note that the report on the contract award for these works will be reported to the Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee (CPIC).

6.  To approve that the recharge of cost of these works to leaseholders are waived (a maximum of nine).

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

In order to consider options for this procurement exercise, officers considered some key decisions relating to contract types in the context of the wider housing strategy; this report considers these, and explores the various available options.

The grant funding has been provisionally secured against 556 homes.  These may require work to up to 721 homes to be carried out because of the inclusion of blocks of flats where not all homes are eligible under the bid.  While properties have been identified for the fund, this is based on desktop information and the process requires specific surveys to be undertaken to confirm eligibility.  It is expected that within this number there are homes which prove to be ineligible.  It is also expected that there are homes where it is not readily technically possible to achieve the required standard.  Hackney Council have maximised the numbers in the bid to ensure that even after these aspects are taken into account the council can still deliver a meaningful programme of work.

The grant fund makes a number of requirements about how the work is delivered.  Key to these is the use of a new PAS2035 standard, which is a process for how retrofit works should be delivered to existing homes.  This ensures that proper consideration is given to selecting measures which are suitable to the construction, are complimentary with one another, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approve the proposal put forward by the Governing Body of Our Lady’s Catholic Girls’ School to change from a single sex girls’ school to a co-educational (mixed) school, from September 2024. The proposal is subject to formal approval from the Archbishop of the RC Diocese of Westminster, Hackney Local Authority and the Schools’ Adjudicator.

REASONS FOR DECISION

Summary from the Governing Body of Our Lady’s Catholic Girls’ School

his proposal has been brought forward by the Governing Body of Our Lady’s Catholic High School and endorsed in principle by Hackney Education.

The Governing Body has been aware of the impact of changing demographics on the school’s population over several years. A new Headteacher (Mr English) has been appointed and through his strong leadership, is seeking to strengthen the school’s sustainability and ensure excellent teaching and learning throughout the school.

Governors are aware that there is insufficient opportunity for boys in the area to access quality Catholic education, including the brothers of some of the existing students. In addition, there are boys in the area who have to travel further than they would like because there are limited numbers of boys’ places in the area.

The school has a PAN (Published Admission Number) of 120 but is not currently filling those places. The number of applications from girls has reduced to well below this level. The school will have 54 vacancies in Year 7 this year. This pattern is expected to continue. Admitting boys from the area would easily be accommodated within the existing PAN without displacing girls. The school will maintain the same PAN of 120.

Governors believe that transition to a co-educational school will help maximise resources that support children’s learning, will increase the school's popularity and that, with careful planning, the transition should address concerns but move forward smoothly, with no loss to the school’s values or Catholic purpose and that the amalgamation will support the school improvement journey, leading to higher outcomes for both boys and girls.

The change would be implemented over time, with boys joining the school in Year 7 as they move from primary education. Sixth form provision at Our Lady’s High School is already mixed gender provision.

School performance and outcomes

Leaders have designed an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum. At GCSE, most pupils study the full range of English Baccalaureate subjects. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities complete the same work as other pupils. 

Overall effectiveness is good; the quality of education and all other areas of the inspection framework are good. Outcomes at GCSE in 2022 fell when compared with pre-pandemic levels, particularly at strong pass. Students are currently making good progress towards their targets in the core subjects. Progress scores are positive in maths and English, and the data suggests that this is likely to improve as students approach final exams.

Outcomes at A level in 2022 improved overall but remain below average. The percentage of students who achieved A*-B has increased. BTEC results continue to  ...  view the full decision text for item 12.

12.1  Deputy Mayor Bramble celebrated the transformation of Hackney’s schools, which were some of the best in the country, and which provided opportunities that Hackney’s children deserved.  Deputy Mayor Bramble also highlighted that the report recommended an approach that would allow the school to proactively mitigate against the possibility of future falling rolls.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approve the proposal put forward by the Governing Body of Our Lady’s Catholic Girls’ School to change from a single sex girls’ school to a co-educational (mixed) school, from September 2024. The proposal is subject to formal approval from the Archbishop of the RC Diocese of Westminster, Hackney Local Authority and the Schools’ Adjudicator.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The reasons for the decision were included in the printed decisions, published on the 25 July 2023, and can be found here.

To Follow

RESOLVED:

1.  That Cabinet is asked to approve the Executive response, found in Appendix 1, to the Scrutiny Panel Task and Finish Group Review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

2.  That Cabinet notes that the Council will be shortly undertaking a consultation exercise with Hackney Residents on the proposal to reduce the maximum contribution to 10% for 2024/2025.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Council has recognised the continued impact of the cost of living crisis and welfare reform on some of our poorest communities. Some households with the least financial resources have been hardest hit by government cuts, changes to benefits, and increases in everyday living costs such as food, rent, and utilities. As a result some of our poorest residents are facing financial hardship and have found it difficult to pay contributions towards their Council Tax.

Whilst seeking to provide additional financial support to low income households the scope for amending the scheme is constrained by the need to manage ongoing cuts in Central Government funding.

The Council's task and finish group have recognised this pressure on the Council and the intention to decrease the minimum contributions from 15% to 10% balances both the increasing financial pressures that our low income households face, against the ongoing cuts in government funding. The change will affect working age households only as the Council is legally prevented from making any changes to the scheme for pension age households.

13.1  Cllr Chapman thanked all the Councillors and Officers involved in the original Scrutiny Commission that produced a thorough report with recommendations focused on support, simplification, and consultation.

13.2  The Cabinet response highlighted the work the Council was undertaking, including the successful results from the Money Hub and the upcoming consultation on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. 

RESOLVED:

1.  That Cabinet is asked to approve the Executive response, found in Appendix 1, to the Scrutiny Panel Task and Finish Group Review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

2.  That Cabinet notes that the Council will be shortly undertaking a consultation exercise with Hackney Residents on the proposal to reduce the maximum contribution to 10% for 2024/2025.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The reasons for the decision were included in the printed decisions, published on the 25 July 2023, and can be found here.

Note from the Governance Team Leader:

Items 14 - 16 allow for the consideration of exempt information.

Proposed resolution:

That the press and public be excluded during discussion of the remaining items on the agenda, on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED: THAT the press and public be excluded from the proceedings of the Cabinet during consideration of Exempt items 15 - 16 on the agenda on the grounds that it is likely, in the view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that were members of the public to be present, there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as amended.

15.1  The Cabinet agreed that no further consideration of the exempt appendices in relation to agenda item 8 was required.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Exempt Business

16.1  There were no new exempt items for consideration.