No apologies were received.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2017 are agreed as an accurate record.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the proposed amendments to savings set out in Appendix 1 be agreed; and the financial implications be incorporated into the draft MTFS 2018-22; and

2.         That the latest draft Capital Programme 2018-22 detailed in Appendix 3 be agreed for consideration by scrutiny in November; and the indicative programme for 2022-27 be noted.

The Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report which set out the financial challenges facing the Council, partly as a result of Government austerity, and a proposed framework for addressing those challenges.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that at this stage it was difficult to predict the figures and therefore they would be subject to change.  All proposals would be subject to consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and Panels.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the proposed amendments to savings set out in Appendix 1 be agreed; and the financial implications be incorporated into the draft MTFS 2018-22; and

2.         That the latest draft Capital Programme 2018-22 detailed in Appendix 3 be agreed for consideration by scrutiny in November; and the indicative programme for 2022-27 be noted.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the financial reporting data relating to revenue budgetary control, showing a forecast net overspend at year end of £1.9million, 0.4% of the gross budget be noted.

2.    That the adjustments to the Capital Programme contained in Appendix 5b to the Cabinet report be noted.

3.    That the following adjustments to the Capital Programme be recommended to Council for approval:

4.    That the following adjustments to the Capital Programme be approved:

The Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report, setting out the proposed adjustments.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that a further £1.4m would need to be identified to address the current overspend.  Work was being carried out in Adult Social Care on a number of management actions to address their overspend.

The Leader welcomed the investments made in both Adult Social Care and Children, Schools and Families to address the challenging times, as both were important areas for the Council.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the financial reporting data relating to revenue budgetary control, showing a forecast net overspend at year end of £1.9million, 0.4% of the gross budget be noted.

2.    That the adjustments to the Capital Programme contained in Appendix 5b to the Cabinet report be noted.

3.    That the following adjustments to the Capital Programme be recommended to Council for approval:

4.    That the following adjustments to the Capital Programme be approved:

RESOLVED:

1.    That the first six week consultation on the new borough-wide Local Plan, to run for six weeks between October and December 2017 be approved.

2.    That approval for the short consultation leaflet be delegated to the Director of Environment and Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Regeneration and Housing presented the report, outlining the background to the development of the strategy and the process for the 6 week consultation which would be publicised widely around the Borough.  He looked forward to receiving the submissions and hoped that there would be a wide range of consultation responses from the community.

The Director of Environment and Regeneration advised that the proposed consultation was timely, due to the expected publication of the Mayor’s draft London Plan consultation in Autumn 2017, which would set out housing targets for Merton.  The consultation had also been considered by the Scrutiny Panel.

The Cabinet Member for Finance welcomed the opportunity to bring the new regeneration projects in the Borough together under the Plan, and stressed the need for new homes in the Borough.

The Leader welcomed the involvement of the Scrutiny members in the process.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the first six week consultation on the new borough-wide Local Plan, to run for six weeks between October and December 2017 be approved.

2.    That approval for the short consultation leaflet be delegated to the Director of Environment and Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the award of a contract for the provision of the Adult Integrated Substance Misuse Service to Organisation A in the exempt appendix to the Cabinet report be approved.

The value of the contract over three years is £3,785,219.

The contract will commence on 1 April 2018 and be for a period of three years with the option to extend for a further period of up to 24 months, subject to satisfactory performance, availability of budget and continued need at the sole discretion of the Council.  The maximum possible contract period would be no more than five years.

2.    That the Cabinet delegatesto theDirector of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health,  theauthorityto extendthecontractby thefurther incrementof up to 24 months (as above).

The Leader asked members to note that although item 7 contained an exempt appendix, Cabinet would not discuss the content of this appendix and could therefore stay in public session.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health presented the report, outlining the background to the service.

The Director of Public Health advised that a rigorous process had been followed and that the proposed provider would build on existing links to address the Community Plan priority of Bridging the Gap between the east and west of the Borough in terms of health inequalities.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the award of a contract for the provision of the Adult Integrated Substance Misuse Service to Organisation A in the exempt appendix to the Cabinet report be approved.

The value of the contract over three years is £3,785,219.

The contract will commence on 1 April 2018 and be for a period of three years with the option to extend for a further period of up to 24 months, subject to satisfactory performance, availability of budget and continued need at the sole discretion of the Council.  The maximum possible contract period would be no more than five years.

2.    That the Cabinet delegatesto theDirector of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health,  theauthorityto extendthecontractby thefurther incrementof up to 24 months (as above).

RESOLVED:

1.                    That the report and recommendations (attached in Appendix A to the Cabinet report) arising from the scrutiny review of Tackling Loneliness in Merton be noted.

2.                    That the implementation of the recommendations through an action plan being drawn up by officers working with relevant local partner organisations and Cabinet Member(s) to be designated by Cabinet be agreed.

3.                    That the action plan be submitted to the Healthier Communities and Older People Overview and Scrutiny Panel for consideration, with no prior approval by Cabinet.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health introduced the report, stressing the importance of the topic and its implications for vulnerable residents.  He welcomed the contribution made by the Task Group.

The Director of Community and Health advised that this presented a unique opportunity to work with the Borough’s vibrant Third Sector.  The Director of Public Health welcomed the initiative of the Task Group and advised that the recommendations were framed around a positive outcome of increasing the feeling of connectedness through social prescribing.

Councillor Sally Kenny, Chair of the Task Group, presented the report, highlighting the role of Councillors in tackling loneliness in Merton and the current action being taken to address the issue.

RESOLVED:

1.                    That the report and recommendations (attached in Appendix A to the Cabinet report) arising from the scrutiny review of Tackling Loneliness in Merton be noted.

2.                    That the implementation of the recommendations through an action plan being drawn up by officers working with relevant local partner organisations and Cabinet Member(s) to be designated by Cabinet be agreed.

3.                    That the action plan be submitted to the Healthier Communities and Older People Overview and Scrutiny Panel for consideration, with no prior approval by Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

That the comments and recommendations made by the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel (set out in paragraph 2.3 of the Cabinet report) be noted and endorsed.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services introduced the report and welcomed the work of the Task Group.

Councillor Abigail Jones, Chair of the Task Group presented the report and thanked all those involved in the collaborative effort.

Cabinet welcomed the recommendations and thanked the Task Group.

RESOLVED:

That the comments and recommendations made by the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel (set out in paragraph 2.3 of the Cabinet report) be noted and endorsed.

To RESOLVE that the public are excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following report(s) on the grounds that it is (they are) exempt from disclosure for the reasons stated in the report(s).

Cabinet noted that the content of the exempt appendix contained in Item 11 would not be discussed and therefore the meeting remained in public session.

The Cabinet noted that the content of the exempt appendix would not be discussed; and the decision is set out under Item 7.