No apologies for absence were received.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 October 2019 are agreed as an accurate record.

RESOLVED

1.         That the report and recommendations (attached in Appendix A to the Cabinet report) arising from the scrutiny review of Children’s Mental Health 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 Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

At the invitation of the Chair, Councillor Natasha Irons, the Chair of the Task Group, presented the report and outlined the recommendations particularly around piloting social prescribing and the proposal to bring a report on post-natal attachment policy, to a future scrutiny panel meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services thanked all those involved in the Task Group for their work and contributions.  She also thanked the CCG, who were critical partners in this area.  She welcomed and endorsed recommendations which would help strengthen provision in this important area.

The Director of Children Schools and Families welcomed the report and reassured Cabinet that the focus on both children and mental health was a priority for health partners in the borough.

The Cabinet welcomed the report and the recommendations and it was

RESOLVED

1.         That the report and recommendations (attached in Appendix A to the Cabinet report) arising from the scrutiny review of Children’s Mental Health 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 Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

RESOLVED

1.            That the area identified for the regeneration of Morden Town Centre as shown at Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report, which has also been published as draft Site Allocation Mo4 Morden Town Centre Regeneration Zone in the council’s Local Plan Stage 2 consultation be noted.

2.            That Council be recommended to accept the Greater London Authority Land Fund grant of £54.5m on behalf of the LLP; and that authority be delegated to the Director for Environment and Regeneration to finalise the terms and conditions with the GLA.

3.            That it be noted that a requirement of the GLA Land Fund grant, either by the Council or as part of a LLP, is subject to the outcome of a residential ballot.

4.            That authority be delegated to the Director for Environment and Regeneration in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport to enter into and establish a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) with Transport for London (TfL) to procure a third party development partner to jointly deliver the regeneration scheme.

5.            That authority be delegated to the Director for Environment and Regeneration to:

a.            appoint officer representatives to the LLP Board and any other related body; and

b.            review and approve LLP Business Plans.

6.            That the steps outlined in the Cabinet report for the procurement process and eventual appointment of a third party development partner under a development or joint venture agreement be noted.

7.            That the Director for Environment and Regeneration be authorised, in line with the council’s Contract Standing Orders, to prepare and issue invitations to tender through TfL’s Procurement Team for the appointment of a joint venture third party development partner to develop out the scheme.

8.            That the increase of the following funds as Merton’s equity in the LLP to enable the delivery of the regeneration, subject to scrutiny and final Cabinet approval in the budget be noted:

a.            £1m capital bid for Morden regeneration.

9.            That authority be delegated to the Director for Environment and Regeneration and the Director of Corporate Services, in collaboration with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport to approve a resource plan from next year for the project, to be utilised until the terms and conditions of the GLA Land Fund are finalised.

10.          That authority be delegated to the Director for Environment and Regeneration in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport to approve the inclusion of  additional sites or properties required to assist in the delivery of the scheme.

11.          That a further report will be brought to Cabinet prior to the appointment of the preferred third party development partner.

The Chair asked the Cabinet to not refer to the exempt paper as part of the discussion so that the public did not have to be excluded from any part of the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport presented the report which set out progress to date and proposals for the next steps in the delivery of the Morden Town Centre regeneration.  The regeneration was a priority for the Council and would be delivered over a 10 year period to make Morden a more attractive place to live by providing more affordable housing; improving the public realm and retail offer; and harnessing the 12million people a year who used Morden tube station.  It was also hoped to increase footfall by providing a better link to Morden Hall Park, which was the only National Trust Park in London.  The Council had been granted £54million from the GLA Land Fund to assist with the regeneration, and this was conditional on a successful ballot of the homes with the regeneration zone and therefore extensive resident engagement would be carried out.

The Chair welcomed the report and the opportunity to set an exemplar for suburban design and linking a National Trust park with Morden Town Centre.

RESOLVED

1.            That the area identified for the regeneration of Morden Town Centre as shown at Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report, which has also been published as draft Site Allocation Mo4 Morden Town Centre Regeneration Zone in the council’s Local Plan Stage 2 consultation be noted.

2.            That Council be recommended to accept the Greater London Authority Land Fund grant of £54.5m on behalf of the LLP; and that authority be delegated to the Director for Environment and Regeneration to finalise the terms and conditions with the GLA.

3.            That it be noted that a requirement of the GLA Land Fund grant, either by the Council or as part of a LLP, is subject to the outcome of a residential ballot.

4.            That authority be delegated to the Director for Environment and Regeneration in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport to enter into and establish a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) with Transport for London (TfL) to procure a third party development partner to jointly deliver the regeneration scheme.

5.            That authority be delegated to the Director for Environment and Regeneration to:

a.            appoint officer representatives to the LLP Board and any other related body; and

b.            review and approve LLP Business Plans.

6.            That the steps outlined in the Cabinet report for the procurement process and eventual appointment of a third party development partner under a development or joint venture agreement be noted.

7.            That the Director for Environment and Regeneration be authorised, in line with the council’s Contract Standing Orders, to prepare and issue invitations to tender through TfL’s Procurement Team for the appointment of a joint venture third party development partner to develop out the scheme.

8.            That the increase of the following funds as Merton’s equity in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

RESOLVED

1.    That the contract be awarded to the highest bidder, as outlined in the confidential Appendix 1 for an initial term of 10 years, commencing on 1^st January 2020, with the option to extend for a further 5 years at the Council’s discretion.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Director of Environment and Regeneration after consultation with the Cabinet member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport to approve the additional 5 year extension.

The Chair asked the Cabinet to not refer to the exempt paper as part of the discussion so that the public did not have to be excluded from any part of the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport presented the report which set out a proposal to award a contract for a media provider who would deliver an enhanced provision of the bus shelters improving amenity benefit to residents, at the same time as maximising the income to the Council from advertising.

RESOLVED

1.    That the contract be awarded to the highest bidder, as outlined in the confidential Appendix 1 for an initial term of 10 years, commencing on 1^st January 2020, with the option to extend for a further 5 years at the Council’s discretion.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Director of Environment and Regeneration after consultation with the Cabinet member for Regeneration, Housing and Transport to approve the additional 5 year extension.

RESOLVED

1.    That the uprating changes for the 2020/21 council tax support scheme detailed in the report be agreed, in order to maintain low council tax charges for those on lower incomes and other vulnerable residents

2.    That Council be recommended to adopt the new 2020/21 scheme.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report and thanked the officers for their work.  He advised that the Cabinet wanted to protect the vulnerable and less well off in the community and it was felt that the proposals in the report would help with this aim.

The Chair welcomed the report which would support those on low incomes.

RESOLVED

1.    That the uprating changes for the 2020/21 council tax support scheme detailed in the report be agreed, in order to maintain low council tax charges for those on lower incomes and other vulnerable residents

2.    That Council be recommended to adopt the new 2020/21 scheme.

RESOLVED

1.    That consultation will not be progressed with band H council tax residents to establish if a council tax voluntary scheme should be implemented.

2.    That any benefits to introducing the scheme would not outweigh the likely financial losses of implementation, as concluded in paragraph 2.23 of the Cabinet report.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report, which had been brought to Cabinet for consideration following a resolution at a previous Council meeting.  He thanked the officers involved for their research into the feasibility of the Council introducing a similar voluntary community contribution scheme to that in place in Westminster, which was a way for residents in higher value properties to make a voluntary payment in addition to their council tax.  Following assessment of the data, it was not felt that this would be feasible in Merton.  Westminster had many more band H properties than Merton, and of those properties only approximately 3% made additional voluntary payments.  If a similar percentage of the Band H properties made additional voluntary payments, it was felt that would cost more to set up and administer the scheme than it would bring additional income in to the Council.  He thanked the Council for raising the matter and instead encouraged residents to support the voluntary sector organisations in the borough by making charitable donations.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that officers would continue to monitor similar schemes in other boroughs, for example Kensington and Chelsea who were in the process of implementing a scheme, however it was not financially viable for Merton to implement at this stage.

RESOLVED

1.    That consultation will not be progressed with band H council tax residents to establish if a council tax voluntary scheme should be implemented.

2.    That any benefits to introducing the scheme would not outweigh the likely financial losses of implementation, as concluded in paragraph 2.23 of the Cabinet report.

RESOLVED

1.         That the corporate cleaning services contract be awarded to Tenderer A for a 3 year period from 1st April 2020 to 31^st March 2023 with the option to extend for 2 x 1 additional years (in increments) for a maximum of 5 years to 31^st March 2025, subject to satisfactory performance at a cost of £1,829,000 for 3 years, or £3,048,336 for 5 years.

2.         That authority be delegated to the Director of Corporate Services after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance to approve the additional 2 x 1 year extensions.

The Chair asked the Cabinet to not refer to the exempt paper as part of the discussion so that the public did not have to be excluded from any part of the meeting.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report and thanked officers for their work on the procurement of a contract for the provision of cleaning services to the Council.  The quality of the work and commitment to paying the Living Wage separated the bidder with the highest score from the other bidders.

RESOLVED

1.         That the corporate cleaning services contract be awarded to Tenderer A for a 3 year period from 1st April 2020 to 31^st March 2023 with the option to extend for 2 x 1 additional years (in increments) for a maximum of 5 years to 31^st March 2025, subject to satisfactory performance at a cost of £1,829,000 for 3 years, or £3,048,336 for 5 years.

2.         That authority be delegated to the Director of Corporate Services after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance to approve the additional 2 x 1 year extensions.

RESOLVED

1.    That the financial reporting data for Quarter 2, month 6, relating to revenue budgetary control, showing a forecast net positive variance at year-end of £1,478k, -0.3% of gross budget be noted.

2.    That the contents of Section 4 and the amendments to the Capital Programme contained in Appendix 5b of the Cabinet report be noted and the amendments in the Table below be approved:

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report and thanked all involved for their work, welcoming the level of detail.  He highlighted the proposed changes to the Capital programme set out in the report and impressed on colleagues the importance of careful financial planning.

The Director of Corporate Services drew Members’ attention to paragraph 1.2 of the report and advised that the Cabinet would normally consider the draft Business Plan at this meeting but this had been deferred due to the uncertainty around the timing of the funding announcements from central government.  Therefore the report would be considered at the rescheduled Cabinet meeting in December.

The Chair thanked all those involved in producing the report.

RESOLVED

1.    That the financial reporting data for Quarter 2, month 6, relating to revenue budgetary control, showing a forecast net positive variance at year-end of £1,478k, -0.3% of gross budget be noted.

2.    That the contents of Section 4 and the amendments to the Capital Programme contained in Appendix 5b of the Cabinet report be noted and the amendments in the Table below 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 information contained in the exempt appendices would not be referred to as part of the discussion and therefore the meeting remained in public session.

Cabinet noted that the information contained in the exempt appendices would not be referred to as part of the discussion and therefore the meeting remained in public session.

Cabinet noted that the information contained in the exempt appendices would not be referred to as part of the discussion and therefore the decision was taken in public.  The text of the decision is set out under item 6 above.

Cabinet noted that the information contained in the exempt appendices would not be referred to as part of the discussion and therefore the decision was taken in public.  The text of the decision is set out under item 6 above.

Cabinet noted that the information contained in the exempt appendices would not be referred to as part of the discussion and therefore the decision was taken in public.  The text of the decision is set out under item 9 above.

Cabinet noted that the information contained in the exempt appendices would not be referred to as part of the discussion and therefore the decision was taken in public.  The text of the decision is set out under item 9 above.

Cabinet noted that the information contained in the exempt appendices would not be referred to as part of the discussion and therefore the decision was taken in public.  The text of the decision is set out under item 4 above.

Cabinet noted that the information contained in the exempt appendices would not be referred to as part of the discussion and therefore the decision was taken in public.  The text of the decision is set out under item 4 above.