Agenda and decisions

The Chair will read out the following statement:

“This meeting is being webcast live to our website (https://harlow.public-i.tv/core/portal/home) and will be available for repeated viewing after the meeting has ended.

By continuing to attend this meeting, you are consenting to being filmed and to appearing in the webcast.

I would like to remind all those participating in the meeting to use their microphones when they speak, and to turn them off once they have finished talking.”

Councillors’ declarations of interest (if any) in relation to any items on the agenda.

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 5 and 12 June.

Any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

To receive any questions from members of the public in accordance with Rule 10 of the Council Procedure Rules.

To receive any questions from Councillors in accordance with Rule 10 of the Council Procedure Rules.

To consider any petitions that have been referred to the Cabinet under the Council’s Petition Scheme.

There have not been any decisions taken by Portfolio Holders under delegated powers since the last meeting of the Cabinet.

RESOLVED that Cabinet noted:

A     The progress of projects that are delivering the Building Harlow’s Future plan.

B     The performance of key performance indicators for each Mission for May 2025 which demonstrate strong performance on majority of indicators.

C     The financial position as of May (period 2) of 2025/26 financial year.

D     The position of the strategic risk register to align with Building Harlow’s Future.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Noted the update on Local Government Reorganisation for Greater Essex.

B     Endorsed Harlow Council’s continued participation with the production of the Five Unitary Business Case (formerly Business Case A) and the Business Case for Greater Essex (formerly Business Case B) recognising that a formal decision on the council’s position will be taken in September.

RESOLVED that Cabinet noted the progress being made and actions agreed with the Regulator of Social Housing to manage our ongoing social housing compliance responsibilities and the wider elements of the Safety and Quality standard, and to improve our performance in this area.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approved:

A     The framework ‘Rebuild: Reimagine - establishing Harlow as a cultural capital’, attached as Appendix A to the report.

B     The use of £55,000 from discretionary services fund to create a heritage and culture grant scheme.

RESOLVED that the revised and updated Child and Adult Safeguarding Policy covering the period 2025/26 – 2027/28, attached as Appendix A to the report, be approved.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Endorsed the outturn position for 2024/25 of £0.261 million surplus, as set out within the report in respect for General Fund year ending 31 March 2025.

B     Endorsed the outturn position for 2024/25 of £4.136 million surplus as set out within the report in respect for Housing Revenue Account year ending 31 March 2025.

C     Endorsed the Non-Housing Capital Programme (NHCP) outturn for 2024/25 is £26.789 million and the Housing Capital Programme (HCP) outturn for 2024/25 is £44.444 million as set out in the report.

D     Endorsed the Earmarked Reserves summary in Appendix E to the report.

E     Endorsed that the £0.261 million from the General Fund surplus was contributed to the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund reserve for identified projects within the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund programme.

F     Noted the Period 12 reprofiling into 2025/26 within the Non-Housing and Housing Capital Programmes included within Appendices C and D to the report.

G     Noted the carry forward of resources from 2024/25 to 2025/26 as set out in Appendix F to the report.

RESOLVED that:

A    Cabinet delegated authority to the Director for Facilities and Assets to agree terms and thereafter procure the legal completion of new commercial leases, subject to the Executive Director (Regeneration and Community Focus) being satisfied that:

             i)        the subject property isn’t required by the council over the duration of the proposed lease for operational purposes;

            ii)        the terms of the proposed lease are at or better then open market value;

           iii)        entering into the proposed lease would not reduce the retained capital value of the subject property; and

           iv)        entering into the proposed lease would not impede the council in delivering its policy objectives (for example its programme of town centre regeneration).

B      Cabinet agreed the following financial limits for the grant of commercial leases:

             i)          Up to £150,000 total lease value – Approval by the Executive Director (Regeneration and Community Focus);

            ii)          From £150,000 - £500,000 - Approval by the Executive Director (Regeneration and Community Focus) in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder; and

           iii)          Above £500,000 – Approval by Cabinet.

RESOLVED that Cabinet agreed:

A     To extend the current contract with Inspired Energy for the procurement of gas and electricity via the Procurement for Housing framework from April 2026 to March 2028.

B     That the contract extension also includes additional services for pre-payment bill validation and annual budget production.

RESOLVED that Cabinet noted the report and progress achieved in delivering the Council House Building Programme (CHBP) in the previous 12 months.

To note the following draft minutes of Cabinet appointed bodies. Minutes remain draft until approved by the relevant body.

Such other business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be received as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the minutes.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

A     Approved an increase in the repairs and maintenance budget of £1,456,964 which reflects the increased demand for day-to-day repairs and the numbers of empty homes that require works before being relet.

B     Noted that the deferred 2025/26 increase sum of 3%, is now being made available to HTS.