Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members were advised of the Fire Safety procedure in the Chamber.

There were no apologies for absence.

Members are invited to disclose any interests in any of the items on the agenda at this point of the meeting. Members may still disclose an interest in an item at any time prior to the consideration of the matter.

There were no disclosures of interest.

To approve as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 8^th February 2023, and to authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 8^th February 2023, were agreed as a correct  record and the Chair signed them.

Cabinet:

1.     Agreed the commencement of phase one of the CCTV Upgrade programme, which includes the creation of a new CCTV Control Room and Server Room environment

2.     Agreed the relocation from Mercury House to the second floor of Romford Library as part of this upgrade

3.     Agreed to replace the old existing Public Town Centre Space CCTV cameras in Romford and the other Town Centres where applicable.

4.     Noted that this upgrade is expected to take between 12-18 months.

5.     To link this upgrade to Romford Town Centre SIP project where possible.

6.     Noted that the subsequent two phases will be subject to future Cabinet Consideration and costings and consider the options raised above.

7.     Agreed the £5m Capital monies are available for the three phases.

Cabinet was presented with the CCTV Options for the Borough

Report was introduced by Councillor Barry Mugglestone

The current CCTV infrastructure has been in place since the 1990’s. This has resulted in the aging infrastructure becoming prone to breakdowns and reliant on old analogue technology, not all cameras are connected  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

Cabinet agreed to the recommendations

1.     We will review and bring together all relevant policies into one easy to understand document, this will include statutory complaints, corporate complaints, data complaints and housing.

2.     We will have a clear and concise policy (up to 6 pages) that identifies the legislation covered, the objectives of the policy and the difference between a statutory and corporate complaint.

3.     We will have appendices for the definition and procedure for each area (statutory complaints, corporate complaints (including housing complaints), data complaints and Member enquiries.

4.     We will provide clear and consistent definitions for complaints, general enquiries and service requests within this policy.

5.     We will consider an informal complaint stage for those who would like to raise concerns without lodging a formal complaint.

6.     We will review and reduce the current 3 stage process, striving for a right first time, 1 stage policy where applicable (noting some statutory processes will not allow this).

7.     We will review and adjust the response timeframe to support a right first time approach, likely to be 20 working days. This gives the officers enough time to conduct a full investigation, with a view that this will then mean they will not develop into an ombudsman complaint.

8.     We will ensure that data is used and analysed more effectively. A performance report is produced on a bi-monthly basis and that a quarterly report is taken to Overview and Scrutiny sub-committee.

9.     Senior Officers will be accountable for complaints with Assistant Directors/ Heads of Service conducting spot checks which will enable them to make changes to improve services.

10. Service improvements, lessons learnt and trends in activity will be provided to Senior Leaders in order to feed in to strategic improvement plans. This will be further supported by lead members who will be able to consider repeat service issues and whether changes to current polices are required.

Cabinet was presented with the Review of the Complaints Process

Report was introduced by the Leader of the Council – Councillor Ray Morgon

The Leader confirmed two agreed amendments.

All recommendations will now be fully reviewed and ratified through consultation with residents and authorising bodies.

A full and final set  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

Cabinet:

1. Approved the draft Children & Young People Education Place Planning Plan (C&YPEPPP) in Havering 2023-27;

2. Approved the circulation of the draft C&YPEPPP for consultation to all stake holders in early years and school place planning;

3. Delegated the determination of the final C&YPEPPP, to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services in consultation with the Director of Children’s services;

4. Approved for the LA to launch a competition to select a proposer for the new special free school if the application is successful.

5. Noted that a further report will be going to Cabinet, that will set out the details of each proposal, the consultation process and indicative costs and funding for each scheme.

Cabinet was presented with the Children and Young People Education Place Planning Plan 2023-27

Report was introduced by Councillor Oscar Ford.

This plan is intended to update the Cabinet on the latest school places data and set out the proposed approach to meet that growing demand for the next five  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

1.     Cabinet decided, with immediate effect, to adopt the policy banning the release of sky lanterns and the release of helium balloons on Council owned or managed land.

2. That officers, in consultation with the Lead Member, develop a Communications Strategy to educate, influence and support alternative options in order to protect Havering’s green heritage and wildlife, in line with the Havering Climate Change Action Plan (HCCAP) and the Council’s Local Plan environmental ambitions.

3. Cabinet also agreed to include within the policy a ban on the unauthorised use of fireworks on Council owned or managed land.

Cabinet was presented with the Ban on releasing Sky Lanterns and introduce a new Policy

Report introduced by Councillor Keith Darvill

This report gave details on a proposal to ban the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons and the unauthorised use of fireworks on Council owned or managed land  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

Cabinet:

1. APPROVED the publication of the Local Development Scheme as set out in Annex 1

2. DELEGATED authority to the Assistant Director of Planning and Public Protection following consultation with the Leader of the Council to approve changes to the wording and content of the Local Development Scheme as required.

Cabinet was presented with the Havering Local Development Scheme 2023-2025

Report introduced by Councillor Graham Williamson

The principal policy document is the Local Plan.  The current Local Plan was adopted in 2021 following examination by an independent planning inspector.  The Inspector found the Local Plan sound and allowed the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

Cabinet:

1. APPROVED the publication of the AMR 2021-22

2. DELEGATED authority to the Assistant Director of Planning and Public Protection following consultation with the Lead member for Planning and Regeneration to publish future Authority Monitoring Reports on an annual basis.

Cabinet was presented with the Authority Monitoring Report

Report introduced by Councillor Graham Williamson

The Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) is a monitoring report based on indicators set out in the Havering Local Plan 2016-2031. The requirement for Local Authorities to produce an AMR is set out in section 113 of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

Cabinet noted the revenue and Capital financial positions at Period 9 and the action plans being taken by services to reduce the overspend.

Cabinet was presented with the Finance Monitoring Report – Period 9

Report introduced by Councillor Christopher Wilkins

This Report sets out the monitoring position for the Council for 2022/23 based on figures to period nine (31st December). The section also sets out the mitigations and action plans the services are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71.