London Councils Minutes of the London Councils Leaders' Committee held on 10 December 2013 
Mayor Jules Pipe chaired the meeting Present: BARKING AND DAGENHAM  
 
Cllr Rocky Gill 

| BARNET               |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Richard Cornelius    |
|----------------------|-----|---------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|---------------------------|
| BEXLEY               |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Teresa O'Neill       |
| BRENT                |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Mohammed Butt        |
| BROMLEY              |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Stephen Carr         |
| CAMDEN               |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Sarah Hayward        |
| CROYDON              |     |                           |                   |                        | -                         |
| EALING               |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Julian Bell          |
| ENFIELD              |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Doug Taylor          |
| GREENWICH            |     |                           |                   | Cllr Chris Roberts     |                           |
| HACKNEY              |     |                           |                   |                        | Mayor Jules Pipe          |
| HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM |     | Cllr Nicholas Botterill   |                   |                        |                           |
| HARINGEY             |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Claire Kober         |
| HARROW               |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Susan Hall           |
| HAVERING             |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Michael White        |
| HILLINGDON           |     |                           |                   | Cllr David Simmonds    |                           |
| HOUNSLOW             |     |                           |                   | Cllr Jagdish Sharma    |                           |
| ISLINGTON            |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Richard Watts        |
| KENSINGTON & CHELSEA |     | Cllr Nicholas Paget-Brown |                   |                        |                           |
| KINGSTON             |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Liz Green            |
| LAMBETH              |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Paul McGlone*        |
| LEWISHAM             |     |                           |                   |                        | Mayor Sir Steve Bullock   |
| MERTON               |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Stephen Alambritis   |
| NEWHAM               |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Lester Hudson        |
| REDBRIDGE            |     |                           |                   | Cllr Keith Prince      |                           |
| RICHMOND UPON THAMES |     | Cllr Lord True            |                   |                        |                           |
| SOUTHWARK            |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Peter John           |
| SUTTON               |     |                           |                   |                        | Cllr Ruth Dombey          |
| TOWER HAMLETS        |     |                           |                   | Mayor Lutfur Rahman    |                           |
| WALTHAM FOREST       |     |                           | Cllr Clyde Loakes |                        |                           |
| WANDSWORTH           |     |                           |                   | Cllr Guy Senior        |                           |
| WESTMINSTER          |     |                           |                   | Cllr Philippa Roe      |                           |
| CITY OF LONDON       |     |                           |                   | Ms Catherine McGuiness |                           |
| LFEPA                |     |                           |                   |                        |                           |
| *   Also GRANTS      |     |                           |                   |                        |                           |

 Ex officio (under the provisions of Standing Order 2.2) CAPITAL AMBITION  
 
 
Mr Edward Lord JP OBE CC 

 Ex officio (under the provisions of Standing Order 2.4) EQUALITIES  


Cllr Marie Pye  

 Apologies: BARKING AND DAGENHAM  
 
Cllr Liam Smith CROYDON 


Cllr Mike Fisher LAMBETH 


Cllr Lib Peck NEWHAM 


Mayor Sir Robin Wales WALTHAM FOREST  
 
 
Cllr Chris Robbins WANDSWORTH 


Cllr Ravi Govindia CITY OF LONDON 


Mr Mark Boleat London Councils officers and Mr Chris Bilsland ( 
Chamberlain, City of London) and Mr Bob Claxton (LB Wandsworth),were in attendance for item 4 Pensions Working Group: Progress report and proposed next steps towards a London LGPS CIV. The Chair began the meeting by apologizing to Cllr Richard Watts, Islington's new leader, for neglecting to welcome him at the previous meeting of Leaders' Committee. He also welcomed Ms Catherine McGuiness substituting from the City of London and attending Leaders' Committee for the first time. 

## 1. Declarations Of Interest

No interests were declared. 

 

## 2. Minutes Of Leaders' Committee  Held On The 12 November 2013

Leaders' Committee agreed the minutes of Leaders' Committee held on the 12 November 2013 

## 3. Grants Programme 2013/15: Quarter Two Update Report

Cllr Paul McGlone (Labour, Grants Committee) introduced the report saying that:  
 

- 
it set out achievements during the six months of the programme for the 35 
commissions agreed at Grants Committee 20 February 2013 
- 
it had originally been provided to Grants Committee on 6 November and was being 
brought to Leaders' Committee as requested 
- 
the Grants programme was on track and largely delivering on targets 
- 
there was a tough monitoring regime in place based on a triangulation of input from 
o the recipient group 
o Grants officers and 
o the boroughs themselves all underpinned by member and officer visits to the commissions 
 

- 
the focus of the scheme was to deliver pan-London provision that did not duplicate 
borough services and also provided value-for-money 
 
- 
the process leading to the review of the Grants programme was already mapped out and would start with an analysis of the performance of commissions. 
 
- 
a more coherent business plan was being sought from London Funders to justify the 
£60,000 grant made to it 
 Leaders' Committee agreed to note: 

- 
the results of the Red Amber Green (RAG) risk rating, and approved actions 
suggested by officers in this regard. 
- 
provider progress against profile and approved actions proposed by officers and that the number of red ratings had decreased from three (9%) in Q1 to zero in Q2. 
- 
the following areas highlighted by the Chair of the Grants Committee: 
o No interventions regarding reductions in funding to organisations were 
recommended at this six month review stage; 
o Twenty-five monitoring visits had been conducted by the end of Q2, with three 
organisations to receive priority visits in Q3 (Hopscotch Asian Women's 
Centre - 25 November, Inclusion London - 13 November, Age Concern - 29 
November) 
 The Chair concluded by proposing that the Grants section of item 9 The London Councils Business Plan: Portfolio Holder Progress Reports should be taken at this point in the meeting and invited questions or comments on it but received none. 

## 4. Pensions Working Group: Progress Report And Proposed Next Steps Towards A London Lgps Civ

The Chair welcomed Mr Chris Bilsland ( 
Chamberlain, City of London) and Mr Bob Claxton( 
LB Wandsworth), who he informed the committee had been working with London Councils' Director, Fair Funding, Performance and Procurement on the set of proposals that had come out of previous discussions, in particular at Leaders' Committee in March 2012, November 2012, December 2012, and May 2013, and more lately at the Executive in September and November 2013. The Chair introduced the report saying: 

 
- 
participation in any fund that may be established would be voluntary 
 
- 
that significant financial benefits could accrue from establishing a CIV from reduced costs and, for many, improved investment returns 
- 
a collaborative approach provided opportunities to potentially invest in types of assets that smaller individual funds may not have been able to easily access, for instance direct investment in appropriate infrastructure projects. 
The Chair invited the guest speakers to contribute and Mr Bilsland expressed his view that 'no change' was not likely to be an option at the end of the Government consultation. He went on to say that the work described in the report pre-dated the Government's decision to release an invitation to tender seeking professional advice and evidence looking at three potential, fully-costed, collaborative models: 

- 
A common investment vehicle at England and Wales level, with asset allocation strategies still determined by the local pension funds 
- 
5-10 common investment vehicles across England and Wales, for example based on aggregate fund size or geographical areas, again with asset allocation strategies decided by local governance structures 
- 
5-10 merged funds across England and Wales, grouped on the same basis as the common investment vehicles above, but with decision-making taken by new governance arrangements at the merged fund level.  
The third option, he felt sure, had been included because of the work initiated by London Councils. Leaders' Committee agreed to indicate its support for the establishment of a London LGPS CIV and that London Councils should: 
 

- 
continue to facilitate further work, under the oversight of the PWG, with the next step 
being the engagement of expert legal and financial services advisers and the formulation of a robust business case and formal proposal to proceed with implementation 
- 
explore, as part of this work, how London Councils could best support collective borough interests where those boroughs agreed to participate in the ASC and invest 
in the CIV 
- 
recruit a suitably qualified Project Manager and any other staff required 
- 
establish a designated fund with contributions from those boroughs interested in exploring these proposals  
- 
maintain on-going dialogue with HM Government relating to the Government's review of local authority pensions schemes which may directly impact upon these proposals and their implementation. 

## 5. Growth Deal For London

 
The Chair introduced the report saying: 

- 
Leaders' Committee on 12 November 2013 had endorsed the agreement made with the Mayor of London to advance opportunities for devolution to London through a Growth Deal. The specific proposals covered: 
 
o Welfare to Work including Skills 
o Housing Investment and Supply  
 
- 
Subsequently, the London Enterprise Panel (LEP) had also given its support to the 
draft Growth Deal submission which was currently being finalised in collaboration with the GLA, in preparation for the deadline on 19 December 2013.  
 
- 
It was anticipated that informal feedback from Government on the proposals would begin to emerge early in the New Year, and the focus would move quickly towards preparation of a more detailed final submission for March 2014.  
 
- 
London was likely to be challenged to calibrate the scale of its ambitions more precisely in relation to delivering better outcomes, and to demonstrate a readiness to deliver on the proposals through borough groupings. 
 
Cllr Philippa Roe (Conservative, Westminster) expressed her support for the proposals and said that there was a need to demonstrate that different boroughs and different political parties could work together. She went on to suggest that a sub-group could be a vehicle to take the work forward and the Chair undertook to explore the idea and bring back a proposal. Leaders Committee agreed: 

- 
to note the 'in principle' endorsement of the LEP for the headline Growth Deal 
proposals, as agreed between London Councils and the Mayor of London 
 
- 
to note that the initial response from Government was likely to lead to the need for finer calibration of the scale of our ambitions in relation to delivering better outcomes and a need to demonstrate a readiness to deliver on the proposals through borough 
groupings.  
 
- 
that the Chair and leading members work with officers to develop a more detailed 
and costed case early in 2014, drawing on the expertise of senior officers in member authorities. 

## 6. Local Government Finance - Key Issues

 
The Chair introduced the report saying that London local government could see a potential funding gap of £3.4bn by 2020 - a shortfall of 31 per cent. One major issue that needed consideration was how London Councils should respond to the Government's approach to top slicing of the New Homes Bonus in London.  
 
Cllr Richard Watts (Labour, Islington) pointed out that his borough and Tower Hamlets were the biggest losers and he could not see any reasoning why local authorities outside London were able to retain New Homes Bonus but not in London. He argued that the impact was not just in the headline losses but the further losses that came under it and that a line in the sand needed to be drawn. He called for the consideration of Judicial Review (JR) of the decision on the New Homes Bonus. Cllr Peter John (Labour, Southwark) pointed out that if the New Homes Bonus went into the LEP, boroughs would be the largest funder of it, a matter that was not reflected in its constitution. He supported the idea of exploring a judicial review. Cllr Sarah Hayward (Labour, Camden) argued that there was not the influence over the LEP that the level of funding would imply if the New Homes Bonus went into it and even if legal action was not eventually taken, advice on it should be sought. The Chair suggested that Government thinking behind the reason why London was being treated differently could be sought via an FoI while Cllr Teresa O'Neill (Conservative, Bexley) suggested a letter may achieve the same goal.The Chair proposed a letter in the first instance and if it did not elicit the required response, it should be followed by an FoI application. Cllr Richard Cornelius (Conservative, Barnet) pointed out that JR was costly and normally ineffective and should be something to explore only after all other alternatives had failed. 

 
The Chair summed up by saying that:  
 

- 
he noted the reservations expressed about a JR but that all options remained in play 
- 
a letter would be written to Government to establish why London was being treated 
so differently in relation to the New Homes Bonus  and if this did not elicit the 
information required an FoI application would be made 
- 
that legal advice would be sought on the potential JR and this would be considered 
by the three party group leaders 
 Leaders' Committee agreed to support the approach summarised by the Chair above and to note the report. 

## 7. Beyond 2011: Future Census

The Chair introduced the item saying that the purpose of the paper was to seek approval for London Councils' response to the ONS consultation on Beyond 2011: The census and future provision of population statistics in England and Wales.   
 
Cllr Roe pointed out that her borough was something of an outlier. She saw the proposals as merely tinkering at the edges when she would have been happier seeing a more radical approach. 

Leaders' Committee agreed 

- 
to note the report 
- 
the consultation response included in an appendix to the report 
 

## 8. Proposed Revenue Budget And Borough Subscriptions And Charges 2014/15

The Chair introduced the report saying that it had received members' approval on previous occasions. Leaders' Committee agreed the following borough subscription and charges for 2014/15: 

- 
The Joint Committee subscription for boroughs of £172,427 per borough for 2014/15, the same level as for 2013/14. The City of London will continue to pay £168,664, in recognition of the fact the City is historically not part of the regional Local Government Employers (LGE) arrangements  
- 
The Joint Committee subscription for the MOPAC and the LFEPA of £16,700 for 2014/15, the same level as for 2013/14  
- 
An overall level of expenditure of £10 million for the Grants Scheme in 2014/15 (inclusive of £2 million gross ESF programme) that taking into account the application of £1 million ESF grant,  net borough contributions for 2014/15 should be £9 million, the same level as for 2013/14 
- 
The Parking Core Administration Charge of £1,500 per borough and for TfL (2013/14 - £1,500)  
- 
The total Parking Enforcement Service Charge of £0.4519 per PCN, which will be 
distributed to boroughs and TfL in accordance with the number of PCNs issued in 2012/13 (2013/14 - £0.4519 per PCN) 
- 
The Freedom Pass Administration Charge of £8,674 per borough (2013/14 - £8,674)  
- 
The Taxicard Administration Charge of £4.00 per permit (2013/14 - £4.00)  
- 
The Lorry Ban Administration Charge of £98,612 in total, net of estimated PCN income, to be apportionment by population figures, with TfL paying the average 
borough charge of £3,287 (2013/14 - £103,172; TfL charge £3,439)  
- 
The Parking and Traffic Appeals Charge of £38.54 per appeal or £36.92 per appeal where electronic evidence is provided by the enforcing authority (2013/14 - 
£41.38/£39.81 per appeal)  
- 
Congestion Charging Appeals - to be recovered on a full cost recovery basis, as for 2013/14, subject to the continuing agreement of the GLA under existing contractual arrangements  
- 
The TRACE (Electronic) Charge of £10.40 per transaction (2013/14 - £10.40)  
- 
The TRACE (Fax) Charge of £12.83 per transaction (2013/14 -   £12.83) and 
- 
The PEC, PED and PIE Charges of £0.20 per transaction (2013/14 - £0.20). 
On the basis of the above subscriptions and charges, the Leaders' Committee agreed to approve: 

- 
The consolidated revenue expenditure budget for 2014/15 for London Councils of 
£392.755 million 
- 
The consolidated revenue income budget for 2014/15 for London Councils of £392.755 million 
- 
Within the total income requirement, the use of London Council reserves of £1.902 million in 2014/15, inclusive of the £1.309 million repatriation to boroughs in 2014/15 
The Leaders' Committee also agreed to note: 

- 
The position in respect of forecast uncommitted London Council reserves as at 31 March 2014 and 
- 
The positive statement on the adequacy of the residual London Councils reserves issued by the Director of Corporate Resources. 

## 9. London Councils Business Plan: Portfolio Holder Progress Reports

The Chair introduced the report by saying that the Chair of the Transport and Environment Committee (TEC), Cllr Catherine West was representing London Councils at another event and was, therefore, absent and unable to introduce her part of the report. He asked if there were any questions or comments, they should be supplied to him to be dealt with at the next meeting. The second part of the report on Grants had been disposed of under item 3. 

## 10. Minutes And Summaries

Leaders' Committee agreed to note the minutes and summaries  

- 
Capital Ambition - 7 October 
- 
Transport & Environment Committee - 24 October 
- 
Transport & Environment Executive Sub Committee - 14 November. 

 

## Action Points

 
Progress 
Item 
 
Action PAPA Fair Funding 
4. 
Pensions Working Group: Progress report and proposed next steps towards a London LGPS CIV 
Work toward the establishment of a London LGPS CIV and that London Councils to: 
 
- 
continue to facilitate further work, under the 
oversight of the PWG, with the next step being the engagement of expert legal and financial services advisers and the formulation of a robust business case and formal proposal to proceed with implementation 
- 
explore, as part of this work, how London 
Councils could best support collective borough interests where those boroughs agreed to participate in the ASC and invest in the CIV 
Advisers engaged. Engagement of Project Management resource under review. Invoices being raised to committed boroughs for the designated fund. Dialogue with 
- 
recruit a suitably qualified Project Manager 
| and any other staff required                        | Government                                     |
|-----------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| continuing.                                         |                                                |
| -                                                   |                                                |
|                                                     | establish a designated fund with contributions |
| from those boroughs interested in exploring         |                                                |
| these proposals                                     |                                                |
| -                                                   |                                                |
|                                                     | maintain on-going dialogue with HM             |
| Government relating to the Government's             |                                                |
| review of local authority pensions schemes          |                                                |
| which may directly impact upon these                |                                                |
| proposals and their implementation.                 |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
| 5.                                                  | Growth Deal for London                         |
|                                                     |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
| -                                                   |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
| The Chair and leading members                       |                                                |
| officers to develop a more detailed and costed      |                                                |
| case early in 2014, drawing on the expertise of     |                                                |
| senior officers in member authorities.              |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
| Discussions                                         |                                                |
| are in train                                        |                                                |
| with a view to                                      |                                                |
| agreeing the                                        |                                                |
| scope of a                                          |                                                |
| detailed                                            |                                                |
| submission                                          |                                                |
| PAPA Fair                                           |                                                |
| Funding                                             |                                                |
| Letter sent.                                        |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
| Seeking legal                                       |                                                |
| advice.                                             |                                                |
| 6.                                                  | Local Government Finance - Key Issues          |
|                                                     |                                                |
| -                                                   |                                                |
|                                                     | A letter would be written to Government to     |
| establish why the New Homes Bonus would not         |                                                |
| be going to boroughs and if this did not elicit the |                                                |
| information required an FoI application would be    |                                                |
| made                                                |                                                |
| -                                                   |                                                |
|                                                     | Legal advice to be sought on a JR and          |
| proceeding with one would require the agreement     |                                                |
| of the three party group leaders                    |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |
| 7.                                                  | Beyond 2011: future census                     |
|                                                     |                                                |
| PAPA Fair                                           |                                                |
| Funding                                             |                                                |
| -                                                   |                                                |
|                                                     | Submit the response.                           |
|                                                     |                                                |
|                                                     |                                                |