There were no apologies for absence

There were no disclosures of interest.                   

To sign the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2013

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2013 were submitted and signed.

The Cabinet may wish to consider whether there are any items on which there is general agreement which could be considered now, to enable discussion to focus on those items where the Cabinet sees a need for further debate.

Councillor Bell represented the Labour Group at this meeting.

Report of the Head of Regeneration and Development

A petition in the following terms has also been received:

‘We, the undersigned, being residents of Kelmscott Crescent and Kelmscott Close, Watford, Hertfordshire, where the majority of the houses have their own driveways, do not consider the need for permit parking.

Having read the recent proposed permit parking policy, we wish to state that we are against the introduction of Parking permits.'

At the time of publication of the agenda, the petition contained 59 signatures.

The Council introduced its first Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in 1997. In 2007 a review of the key operating parameters was carried out to determine whether residents and businesses were content with the way in which the scheme operated. The results, which were intended to set the direction for the operation of the CPZs and the Parking Service for the subsequent 10 years, were reported to Cabinet. A small number of changes were made to the design of the scheme but generally residents indicated satisfaction with the operating parameters current at the time.

In 2012 following representations from a number of Members representing Wards containing CPZ zones, it was decided to repeat the high level review carried out in 2007 to see if the attitudes of residents towards the way in which the CPZs operated had changed and to see if there was support for any amendments to the key operating parameters.

Consultation was carried out with residents and businesses across the CPZ areas during summer 2013. The content of the questionnaires was agreed with the Elected Mayor and Portfolio Holder and were distributed in July. The consultation exercise closed in September and the results of the responses received collated into a report by JMP who had been engaged by the Council to assist in delivering this project.

In addition to the outputs from the questionnaire, the views of the Parking Service had been sought to identify any operational issues it believed required amendment to improve the operation of the scheme or give clarity in relation to the day to day running of the service.

Mr Mallett, a local resident, attended the meeting and presented a petition in the following terms on behalf of the residents of Kelmscott Crescent and Kelmscott Close:

‘We, the undersigned, being residents of Kelmscott Crescent and Kelmscott

Close, Watford, Hertfordshire, where the majority of the houses have their own

driveways, do not consider the need for permit parking.

Having read the recent proposed permit parking policy, we wish to state that we

are against the introduction of Parking permits.'

At the time of publication of the agenda, the petition contained 59 signatures.

Mr Mallet also advised Cabinet that not all residents in the area had been consulted and this had caused confusion. He added that the only time there were any parking issues in the area was on match days and even then this mainly involved pick ups so any obstruction only lasted a few minutes.

The Mayor apologised to Mr Mallet regarding the consultation exercise. She commented that, whilst it was generally felt that it was the Council who actively sought to introduce CPZ, this was not the case and schemes were only introduced in direct response to residents’ requests. Views also tended to change over time. Kelmscott Crescent and Kelmscott Close residents had made it clear that they did not wish to be included in a scheme and this had been recognised in the recommendation to exclude Kelmscott Crescent, Kelmscott  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Report of the Head of Community and Customer Services

In 2003 Mayor Dorothy Thornhill signed the Nottingham Declaration and made a public commitment to tackle climate change. Since then Watford Borough Council had adopted  the Climate Change Policy, Strategy and Action Plan. Mitigating the extent of climate change had taken place through various schemes and the Council had led on the mitigation by signing up to and delivering a Local Authority Carbon Management Plan which aimed to reduce carbon emissions by 30% over 5 years.

Climate Local was an overarching declaration to deliver on local plans. It succeeded the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change and offered a framework that could reflect local priorities and opportunities for action. It supported councils' efforts both to reduce carbon emissions and to improve their resilience to the anticipated changes in the climate. 

Climate Local was designed to help councils across the country to capture the opportunities and benefits of action on a changing climate, through saving on their energy bills, generating income from renewable energy, attracting new jobs and investment in ‘green' industries, reducing flood risks and managing the impacts of extreme weather.

It could be used as tool to enable the Council to share its successes and learn from other LA’s.

As Watford Borough Council was a proactive council in terms of sustainability it would not be required to do more than it had already committed to do. Access to the shared learning, however, might provide ideas for future projects. WBC would be one of the leading districts in Herts by signing the declaration as Broxbourne had already signed up and other Herts districts were also considering doing so.

Councillor Scudder introduced the report. He referred Members to the list of authorities who had already signed up (Appendix A to the report) and the specific commitments the Council would be making under Climate Local. 

Councillor Crout referred to the benefits of the initiative to the people of Watford. He also commented on the amount of work already done, specifically around reducing levels of fuel poverty.

The Head of Customer and Community Services commented on the additional benefits such as sharing good practice and establishing a framework around the work the Council was already doing in respect of climate change.

RESOLVED

1. that WBC sign up to Climate Local, and create an action plan consisting of work plans the Council is already committed to doing. The Council will be able to use Climate Local to promote its progress as well as use the network to learn from other authorities. (For Climate Local declaration see Appendix 3 of the report)

2. that the Portfolio Holder for Community and Customer Services be delegated to approve the action plan for publication.

Report of the Committee and Scrutiny Officer and Task Group

Cabinet received the final report of the Watford Community Housing Trust Task Group and the Trust’s initial response to the recommendations.

The Mayor opened the discussion by commenting on the improvements made in scrutiny generally and the fact that it was finally beginning to make a difference. She invited Councillor Khan, Chair of the Task Group, to introduce the report.

Councillor Khan explained that the task group had operated on a non political basis and all councillors had taken an active part. The review had been resident led using different methods of interaction and resulting in good levels of feedback.

Whilst it was accepted that the Trust did very good work across Watford, residents considered that there were some areas needing improvement including communication, service charges, repairs and performance. Some responses to the recommendations had already been received from the Trust and some changes made. The Chair and Chief Executive of the Trust would also be attending the meeting of the Task Group in January.

In response to a question from Councillor Crout regarding the type and level of consultation, Councillor Khan said they had emailed chairs of residents’ associations, knocked on doors and carried out surveys. They had then identified emerging patterns in the results. 

Councillor Crout commented that the feedback had not been included in the report and the Mayor asked whether they had taken account of the Trust’s own consultation. Councillor Khan explained that they had looked at the Trust’s Key Performance Indicators and priorities. The Trust had, in fact, thanked the Task Group for some of the additional issues it had identified.  In response to a further comment by Councillor Crout regarding the Trust’s community involvement, Councillor Khan said that the Task Group’s view was that the Trust should be giving greater priority to the management of buildings, including quality of repairs and satisfaction levels and also to Landlord elements.

Councillor Crout asked how the Trust saw its relationship with councillors. Councillor Khan responded that there was currently a working relationship but it needed to be developed into more of a partnership. His view was that it was sometimes seen as adversarial. Councillor Crout endorsed this view and said that it would be interesting to hear the views of the Chief Executive and Chairman when they attended the meeting in January.

The Mayor added that residents should only come to councillors as a last resort; councillors would then act as advocates and champions on their behalf. She advised Councillor Crout to pick up residual issues with Councillor Khan and that the situation be kept under regular review. She added that more use should also be made of the Council’s Members on the Trust Board.

Councillor Crout asked Councillor Khan to convey his thanks to the Task Group for a carrying out a thorough review.

RESOLVED

1. that Cabinet’s comments be noted and conveyed back to Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

2. that the recommendations in the report be endorsed.

Report of the Head of Democracy and Governance

Cabinet received a report detailing the new strategic vision for the provision of Statutory Compliance & Maintenance tests and inspections to the Authority’s operational portfolio in

recognition of the recent changes to the structure of the Council as a whole.

The Head of Facilities Management was currently engaged in a partnership

procurement process with five other neighbouring authorities to procure a sole

service provider under a framework contract. The intention of this process was to

rationalise the numerous contracts the authority had with individual suppliers into

one contract with a single supplier. By entering into a partnership framework the

secondary objective was to provide financial savings through economies of scale.

Announcement of the successful Tender would be made on 23rd December 2013 and the  Framework Commencement Date would be 1st April 2014, although as a framework the actual commencement date for Watford was flexible to meet the requirements of the current service. The contract period would run for a maximum of four years with an option to extend by a further four years subject to satisfactory performance.

The contract allowed Watford Borough Council to increase or decrease the number of

properties and or services required with adequate notice. This allowed for flexibility

and recognised the period of change that the Council was currently experiencing within the

Authority, structurally and financially.

There were no indicated TUPE implications from existing suppliers to WBC and no TUPE implications for WBC staff. It was possible that savings through economies of scale could be made. The scope of the service being required was, however, in excess of that currently provided so this may offset against otherwise realisable financial benefits.

Councillor Watkin introduced the report and thanked officers for the work done. He stressed the importance of compliance and was pleased to see that the report referred to “up-skilling”

The Facilities Management Section Head explained the rationale behind the framework and how the Council did not have the critical mass necessary to go it alone. It had therefore been decided to enter into a much larger framework.

A separate Part B report outlined the evaluation of the bids (minute number 48)

RESOLVED

that, subject to consideration of the Part B report on the evaluation of the bids (Minute number 48):

1. Cabinet approves the continued participation of the Authority in this Partnership to its conclusion

2. the Head of Democracy & Governance be awarded delegated authority to

            approve the appointment of a successful contractor to provide this       service subject to      the best value criteria as laid out in the Tender.

THE CHAIR TO MOVE: that, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during consideration of the item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Section 100(1) of the Act for the reasons stated below in terms of Schedule 12A.

NOTE: if approved, the Chair will ask members of the press and public to leave the meeting at this point.

RESOLVED

That, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business as it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public were present during consideration of the items there would have been disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Section 100(1) of the Act in terms of Schedule 12A for the reasons stated in the reports

Report of the Head of Democracy and Governance

Paragraph 3 Schedule 12 A

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of the Council.

Cabinet received a report which accompanied the Part A report on the procurement of a single service provider for the statutory testing and inspection and repairs and

maintenance package for the Council’s Operational Portfolio. The report included high level evaluation of the bids which, due to commercial sensitivity, were required to be kept confidential at this point of the procurement process.

The Part A report sought Cabinet approval to proceed with the contract and to delegate to the Head of Democracy and Governance the appointment of the successful bidder as work was still on going with partner councils to complete the evaluations.

The Head of Democracy & Governance responded to questions from Councillor Bell.

RESOLVED

that the resolution passed at minute no 46 be endorsed.

Report of the Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services

Paragraph 3, Schedule 12 A

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of the Council.

Cabinet received a report providing information on the outcome of the Hertfordshire wide procurement process for the disposal of co-mingled recycling material undertaken through the Herts Waste Partnership. In the light of the tender outcome the report recommended that the Council should not participate in the county-wide contract and sought authority to pursue alternative options that needed to be implemented by the 31^st January 2014 when the current arrangements came to an end.

Councillor Scudder introduced the report and the Head of Corporate Strategy & Client Services responded to questions from Councillor Bell.

RESOLVED

1. that Watford Borough Council withdraws from the award of contract through the HWP, as it has reserved the right to do.

2. that delegated authority be granted to the Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Strategy & Client Services, to secure alternative provision and to agree an exemption to the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules to allow the Council to secure suitable provision until a further procurement exercise can be satisfactorily concluded.