Decision Maker:

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: February 24, 2025

Purpose:

Content: RESOLVED:   1.  The Savings summarised in 2.6 and set out in detail in Appendix 4 were approved.   2.  £880k of capital expenditure (£460k in 2025/26, £290k in 2026/27 and £130k in 2027/28) to enable the commencement of the first phase of the programme to upgrade and replace the network and cameras sites for the Town Centre element of the wider Public Space Surveillance (PSS) system and supporting technologies, was approved.   3.  The acceptance of the grant from the London Estate Regeneration Fund of up to £5 million for Marian Court and up to £5m for Kings Crescent Phases 3 & 4, and agree to enter into a Grant Funding Agreement with the applicable parties in respect of such funding, was approved.   4.  The overall financial position of the Council and in particular the overspend and the impact of the initiatives set out to mitigate this, as at December 2024, was noted.   REASONS FOR DECISION   To facilitate financial management and control of the Council's finances and to approve the capital and grant approvals   DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED   This budget monitoring report is primarily an update on the Council’s financial position.   The PSS capital expenditure proposal is essential to allow Council officers to commence the first phase of the programme to upgrade and replace the network and cameras sites for the Town Centre element of the wider Public Space Surveillance system and supporting technologies. The phase cannot go ahead without this expenditure.   Further to the LERF £10m grant approval, as part of programme-wide efforts to address the unprecedented economic challenges facing the Council’s housing regeneration pipeline and the wider sector, the Council has taken a ‘no stone unturned’ approach to improving viability on regeneration projects. Part of this strategy has been to explore all options for accessing external grant funding. Without this external funding through LERF, the estate regeneration schemes would not be able to be delivered within the agreed financial parameters of the Estate Regeneration Programme (ERP), nor with the tenure mix that the Council has committed to. The Council would also face a reputational risk for not accepting external funding to deliver the project.