Apologies were received from the Chief Executive and the Director of Corporate Services.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2018 are agreed as an accurate record.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the report and recommendations (attached in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report) arising from the scrutiny review of the implementation of the Prevent duty in Merton’s schools undertaken by the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel be noted.

2.         That the implementation of the recommendations through an action plan being drawn up by officers in consultation with the lead Cabinet Member be agreed.

3.         That this action plan be submitted to the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel for consideration.

Councillor Kelly Braund, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, introduced the report, thanking all officers and teachers of the schools involved in the Task Group and welcomed how they had embedded the values of Prevent into the heart of their curriculum, and this was echoed by the Director of Children, Schools and Families who expressed her pride in the way Merton’s schools had taken on their Prevent duty.

At the invitation of the Chair, Councillor Joan Henry, Chair of the Task Group presented the report thanking all those involved, particularly the contributions of the schools.

Councillor Edith Macauley, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Engagement and Equalities advised that the Joint Consultative Committee with for Ethnic Minority Organisations had also contributed to the Task Group and had welcomed the recommendations and positive contributions of those involved.

Councillor Caroline Cooper-Marbiah, Cabinet Member for Education welcomed the recommendations, stressing that there was a collective responsibility to protect Merton’s young people from becoming radicalised, and thanked all those involved.

The Chair thanked the Scrutiny Task Group for their valuable work and welcomed the report.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the report and recommendations (attached in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report) arising from the scrutiny review of the implementation of the Prevent duty in Merton’s schools undertaken by the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel be noted.

2.         That the implementation of the recommendations through an action plan being drawn up by officers in consultation with the lead Cabinet Member be agreed.

3.         That this action plan be submitted to the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel for consideration.

RESOLVED

1.         That the report and recommendations (attached in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report) arising from the scrutiny review of the recruitment and retention of teachers in Merton undertaken by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission be noted;

2.         That the recommendations of the task group be responded to through an action plan to be drawn up by officers in consultation with the lead Cabinet Member.

3.         That this action plan prior be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission for consideration.

Councillor Caroline Cooper-Marbiah, Cabinet Member for Education, introduced the report, thanking the Scrutiny Task Group for their efforts.

The Director of Children, Schools and Families added that the review had been initiated at the request of teachers in the Borough, and who had asked it to be recorded that a factor affecting their retention was their workloads, which the Council did not have the ability to influence, however there were some bold recommendations contained in the report and this was welcomed.

Councillor Peter Southgate, Chair of the Scrutiny Task Group, presented the report, thanking all those involved and outlining the recommendations.  Whilst the review had been at the request of teachers in the borough, it was recognised that there were many other groups whose work and contribution to the borough was vital who had similar housing needs.

Councillor Martin Whelton, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport thanked the Task Group for their work.  He stressed the challenges which the Council faced in retention of key workers and the cost of living in the borough.  There were no easy solutions, however with approximately 9000 people on the waiting list for housing, the Council had a duty to address the most acute housing need first and had to take care not to discriminate against other groups and address a number of needs across the borough.

Councillor Edith Macauley, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Engagement and Equalities advised that school governors discuss the issue regularly when setting budgets for the year; and was grateful for the work which has been carried out. 

Councillor Mark Allison, Cabinet Member for Finance advised that the issue of teachers’ workloads should be recognised as one of the biggest factors in teacher retention.  Cost of housing is important in a wide range of jobs and it was difficult to determine what a key worker is, as without many essential workers London would grind to a halt.  The significant problems with the UK housing market was a national issue and one which needed to be addressed by central Government.

The Chair highlighted that the report did flag up the other sectors which were also in need of housing.  He thanked Councillor Southgate and all those involved in the Scrutiny Review.

RESOLVED

1.         That the report and recommendations (attached in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report) arising from the scrutiny review of the recruitment and retention of teachers in Merton undertaken by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission be noted;

2.         That the recommendations of the task group be responded to through an action plan to be drawn up by officers in consultation with the lead Cabinet Member.

3.         That this action plan prior be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission for consideration.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Willow Lane Business Improvement District (BID) proposal for the renewal of the BID ballot be supported and that any future decision on the BID renewal be delegated to the Director of Environment and Regeneration after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport.

2.    That the Council will charge the Willow Lane BID Board for the costs of business rates staff in collecting and administrating the levy.

3.    That the Council will recover the cost of the BID renewal ballot from the proposers if the renewal ballot is unsuccessful.

4.    That the Council will vote in support of the BID renewal for its own rated properties in the BID area and the voter will be the Director of Environment and Regeneration.      

Councillor Martin Whelton, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport presented the report, highlighting the timetable and the proposals for allocating the monies which would be received. 

In response to Members, officers clarified that the occupants of Connect House in Willow Lane would not be liable for business rates due to the building being converted to residential use.

The Chair welcomed the report and noted that Merton was one of the few local authorities in London which had Business Improvement Districts in industrial estates.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Willow Lane Business Improvement District (BID) proposal for the renewal of the BID ballot be supported and that any future decision on the BID renewal be delegated to the Director of Environment and Regeneration after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport.

2.    That the Council will charge the Willow Lane BID Board for the costs of business rates staff in collecting and administrating the levy.

3.    That the Council will recover the cost of the BID renewal ballot from the proposers if the renewal ballot is unsuccessful.

4.    That the Council will vote in support of the BID renewal for its own rated properties in the BID area and the voter will be the Director of Environment and Regeneration.     

RESOLVED

That a six week consultation on the Sustainable Drainage Design and Evaluation Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) be approved.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport presented the report and highlighted the proposed public consultation period.

The Chair welcomed the report and the importance of the proposed Supplementary Planning Document.

RESOLVED

That a six week consultation on the Sustainable Drainage Design and Evaluation Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) be approved.

RESOLVED

1.         That the renewal of the shared Enforcement Agent (bailiff) service with Sutton council from August 2018 be agreed.

2.         That authority be delegated to the Director of Corporate Services to approve and negotiate any new contract and surplus allocation for additional parking debt income collected.

Councillor Mark Allison, Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report, which was an example of the Council working with other boroughs in a collaborative way.

The Chair advised that the Council had reduced the use of bailiffs, but still do need to ensure that people pay their debts when appropriate.

RESOLVED

1.         That the renewal of the shared Enforcement Agent (bailiff) service with Sutton council from August 2018 be agreed.

2.         That authority be delegated to the Director of Corporate Services to approve and negotiate any new contract and surplus allocation for additional parking debt income collected.

RESOLVED

1.    That the provisional revenue outturn for 2017/18 be noted.

2.    That the outturn position on capital be noted and the slippage into 2018/19 and other adjustments detailed in Appendix 3C and section 7 of the Cabinet report be agreed.

3.    That the £60,000 S106 funding for the Beddington Lane Cycle Route be approved.

Councillor Mark Allison, the Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report which provided a good example of the work of the Council.  There was a need to recognise the pressures the Council was under from central government, however locally the Council had done a good job which had resulted in a modest overall underspend of approximately 1%.

The Assistant Director of Resources advised that pressures were increasing on front line services and officers would update Members on a quarterly basis.

The Chair thanked officers for guiding the Council through difficult times with cuts of up to 40%, and stressed that Members would continue to protect the most vulnerable in society.

RESOLVED

1.    That the provisional revenue outturn for 2017/18 be noted.

2.    That the outturn position on capital be noted and the slippage into 2018/19 and other adjustments detailed in Appendix 3C and section 7 of the Cabinet report be agreed.

3.    That the £60,000 S106 funding for the Beddington Lane Cycle Route be approved.

To RESOLVE that the public are excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following reports on the grounds that they are exempt from disclosure for the reasons stated in the reports.

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.

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 8.

The Cabinet noted that the content of the exempt appendix would not be discussed; and the decision is set out under Item 8.