No apologies were received.

No pecuniary declarations were made.

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2015 were agreed as a correct record.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet

1.     agrees that the existing lease of Donald Hope Library be surrendered and the Council take a new lease to develop the Cavendish House site to provide improved and efficient library facilities in the Colliers Wood area subject to final terms being agreed by the Director of Environment and Regeneration under his delegated authority.

2.     replaces the existing capital scheme of £550,000 for Colliers Wood Library provision with a new scheme of £200,000.

3.     agrees, subject to the authority of the Director of Environment and Regeneration, that a lease of temporary library facilities is taken on the main terms identified within the body of this report whilst the library site is developed.

The Cabinet Member for Community and Culture presented the report that sought Cabinet’s approval for the arrangements for the development of a new library in Colliers Wood. It was noted that planning permission had already been received for the proposed new library site in Cavendish House. The Cabinet Member emphasised that the new library will be much improved on its predecessor and would also include a community space. It was confirmed that during the build the library will be hosted in the Guardian Centre for the blind.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet

1.     agrees that the existing lease of Donald Hope Library be surrendered and the Council take a new lease to develop the Cavendish House site to provide improved and efficient library facilities in the Colliers Wood area subject to final terms being agreed by the Director of Environment and Regeneration under his delegated authority.

2.     replaces the existing capital scheme of £550,000 for Colliers Wood Library provision with a new scheme of £200,000.

3.     agrees, subject to the authority of the Director of Environment and Regeneration, that a lease of temporary library facilities is taken on the main terms identified within the body of this report whilst the library site is developed.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1.     ensures that Joseph Hood Primary School is kept fully informed of the decision process regarding any plans for the future use of the Whatley Avenue site

2.     takes account of the views of staff working for the adult education service, as set out in the consultation results and expressed at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 10 March 2015, and works with staff in a positive and constructive manner, in accordance with the HR procedures of the council.

Cabinet considered the reference from the Overview and Scrutiny Commission. The Cabinet Member for Education in response to the recommendations, confirmed that he had met with the school since the scrutiny meeting and would be keeping them updated on that matter. On the second recommendations he also confirmed that views of staff working for the adult education service had been taken into account and they were following the HR procedures of the council.

Cabinet thanked the Commission for their comments and their constructive discussion held at their meeting on 10 March 2015.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1.     confirms that Joseph Hood Primary School would be kept fully informed of the decision process regarding any plans for the future use of the Whatley Avenue site

2.     confirms that views of staff working for the adult education service had been taken into account of the, as set out in the consultation results and expressed at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 10 March 2015, and works with staff in a positive and constructive manner, in accordance with the HR procedures of the council.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1.     notes the significant increase in demand for secondary school places flowing from primary schools, with an immediate need for at least an addition 300 year 7 places (10 forms of entry) required by September 2018.

2.     notes the limited options available for expansion of existing schools, and the need for a new secondary school in the Wimbledon area to complement deliverable expansions to the east of the borough. Following Secretary of State approval this would be delivered through the Harris Wimbledon School and so responsibility for identifying a site rests with the Department for Education under the Free School programme, but the council can facilitate this process.

3.     agrees that the council enters into a pre-construction agreement with Willmott Dixon for the expansion of Harris Morden, Harris Merton and St. Mark’s Academy under the SCAPE framework with clearly costed break-clauses at key stages to allow for the fact that:

(a)    It is not clear all projects will progress to construction so any scheme may stop after design Stage C

(b)    The timescales for implementing is not clear and the council may choose, after stage E, to instead follow a competitive tender route for construction if it is better value for money, especially if schemes are not implemented to similar timescales

The Cabinet Member for Education presented the report which reminded Members that the Council has provided an additional 2000 primary school spaces with a commitment of a further 2000 places, through the successful primary school expansion programme.

However by 2018 the Borough will require an extra 300 year 7 places in our secondary schools. It was noted that part of those additional places should be covered by the planned new secondary in Wimbledon which has been given permission by the Government.

However there is also a need to expand the current schools across the borough and as a result, the recommendation was that the Council enter into a pre-construction agreement with Willmott Dixon for the expansion of Harris Morden, Harris Merton and St. Mark’s Academy under the SCAPE framework. It was confirmed that the proposal does not commit the council to the expansion of those schools, just to start the investigations of how such expansion could occur.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1.     notes the significant increase in demand for secondary school places flowing from primary schools, with an immediate need for at least an addition 300 year 7 places (10 forms of entry) required by September 2018.

2.     notes the limited options available for expansion of existing schools, and the need for a new secondary school in the Wimbledon area to complement deliverable expansions to the east of the borough. Following Secretary of State approval this would be delivered through the Harris Wimbledon School and so responsibility for identifying a site rests with the Department for Education under the Free School programme, but the council can facilitate this process.

3.     agrees that the council enters into a pre-construction agreement with Willmott Dixon for the expansion of Harris Morden, Harris Merton and St. Mark’s Academy under the SCAPE framework with clearly costed break-clauses at key stages to allow for the fact that:

(a)    It is not clear all projects will progress to construction so any scheme may stop after design Stage C

(b)    The timescales for implementing is not clear and the council may choose, after stage E, to instead follow a competitive tender route for construction if it is better value for money, especially if schemes are not implemented to similar timescales

RESOLVED

That Cabinet approves the refreshed of the Merton Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2015-18

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health presented the report which included a copy of the refreshed Merton Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2015-18. The strategy had been developed with our partners and it had already been endorsed by the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The key focus of the strategy was on reducing health inequalities, also to halt the rise in the gap in life expectancy across the Borough. It was noted that the five key priorities were:

·       Best start in life – early years development and strong educational achievement.

·       Good health – focus on prevention, early detection of long-term conditions and access to good quality health and social care

·       Life skills, lifelong learning and good work

·       Community participation and feeling safe

·       A good natural and built environment

The Cabinet in considering the report, collectively expressed their support for the strategy, especially how the five key priorities intertwined through their portfolios. They emphasised that the health and wellbeing of our residents needs to be at the forefront of the work of the Council, through all its various services.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet approves the refreshed of the Merton Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2015-18

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1.     notes the draft provisional revenue outturn for 2014/15

2.     approves the proposed net slippage into 2015/16 of £7,203k

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report, which provided the provisional out-turn position for 2014/15 financial year. It was highlighted that for the first time in recent years the Council had an overspend at the end of a financial year, and as such it has had a knock on impact on the use and levels of the council reserves. It was noted that the report broke down the Council expenditure by service departments and provided details of the capital outturn.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1.     notes the draft provisional revenue outturn for 2014/15

2.     approves the proposed net slippage into 2015/16 of £7,203k