Items
No. |
Item |
81. |
Minutes PDF 356 KB
To approve as a correct record
the minutes of Cabinet held on 12 February 2020.
Minutes:
The minutes of the Cabinet
meeting held on 12 February 2020 were approved as a correct
record.
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82. |
Items of Urgent Business
To receive additional items
that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter
of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local
Government Act 1972.
Minutes:
There were no items of urgent
business.
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83. |
Declaration of Interests
Minutes:
There were no interests
declared.
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84. |
Statements by the Leader
Minutes:
The Leader began his statement
by welcoming Councillor Halden to the Cabinet in his new role as
Portfolio Holder for Children and Adults Social Care. He also
welcomed Ian Hunt, and the new Assistant Director Law and
Governance and Monitoring Officer, and Sheila Murphy, the new
Corporate Director Children’s Services. He wished them all
luck in their new roles and hoped to see a continuation of the good
work that the previous post-holders had achieved.
The Leader then moved on to discussing the new anti-social
behaviour initiatives that had taken place across Tilbury, in
liaison with Essex Police, to tackle problems such as parking and
graffiti. He stated that Operation Banjo had occurred on 2 March
2020 after concerns from residents and local Councillors had been
raised, which tackled nuisance parking along Lansdowne Road. He
highlighted that 19 parking warnings had been issued for
anti-social parking, 14 Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued, and
one driver had been found to have an uninsured vehicle. The Leader
then described the success that had been had with Operation
Bellina, which had been tasked with
tackling graffiti, and stated that in the first 36 hours, 85 tags
had been removed, 1 Fixed Penalty Notice had been issued for
fly-tipping, and a Duty of Care Waste Notice had been issued.
The Leader updated Cabinet on the latest developments with the
Tilbury Board and Grays Board, and stated that the committees for
these groups had now been set up, and both contained members of the
local community, MPs, Councillors and business leaders. He felt
this was a good opportunity to increase the economy, culture,
transport, and connectivity across the borough, and looked forward
to seeing bids and improvements.
The Leader moved onto describing the Clean It, Cut It, Fill It
Update, and stated that since April 2019: 2042 potholes had been
filled (99% within target time); 117 fly-tips had been cleared;
3087 tonnes of waste removed; 3737 Fixed Penalty Notices issues;
208 £400 fly-tipping Fixed Penalty Notices issued; and 268
people had been prosecuted for failure to pay on the spot
fines.
The Leader summarised and stated that he wanted to reassure
residents regarding the recent outbreaks of Coronavirus, and the
preparations that the Council had in place to deal with this. He
stated that officers were in contact with Public Health England and
were following national advice and updates, with a daily briefing
being sent to all Group Leaders. He urged residents to follow the
facts and national advice, as there were currently only 32 cases in
the East of England, and none confirmed in Thurrock, with most not
requiring medical intervention. He reassured residents that the
Council had robust business continuity plans in place that would
ensure services could continue to operate. He restated the national
advice and encouraged residents to follow the NHS and Public Health
England’s advice of maintaining personal hygiene, regularly
washing hands for 20 seconds, and carrying tissues to catch a
sneeze or cough. He stated that if ...
view the full minutes text for item 84.
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85. |
Briefings on Policy, Budget and Other Issues
Minutes:
Councillor Mayes added to the
Leader’s statement regarding Coronavirus and highlighted that
new cases around the UK were not unexpected, and plans to tackle
the pandemic were already in place and ready. He clarified that the
risk remained low, but he was in contact with Public Health England
to ensure residents were protected. He stated that most cases of
the virus could be treated by self-isolating, but was most
dangerous to older people and people with underlying conditions and
respiratory problems. He reiterated the Leader’s advice to
follow good personal hygiene and hand-washing procedures, and if
you had any symptoms to contact 111 and the Public Health England
website.
Councillor Halden stated that this virus disproportionately
affected the elderly population, and stated he was working with the
Corporate Director Adults, Housing and Health, as well as Basildon
Hospital, to ensure that staff in the council and residents were
supported. He added that business continuity and contingency plans
were in place to ensure the necessary support was available for
vulnerable residents, those in care, and those on the verge of
care. He asked residents to consider their elderly neighbours and
offer help and advice where necessary. He summarised and stated
that the team were currently sending leaflets and notes to schools,
churches, libraries, and care homes, and schools were being
contacted so they could spread the message to parents and
teachers.
Councillor Huelin added that the Council had agile working in
place, so many staff members could work from home if necessary. She
explained that the IT team were currently checking the system to
ensure it could handle increased numbers of people working from
home, but felt confident this would be ready. She added that as
there was a policy of hot-desking, staff already had a sanitising
routine in place, so used antibacterial wipes on their desks and
telephones at the end of every working day. She stated that
vulnerable staff members who were more at risk from Coronavirus
would be allocated a fixed desk to reduce the likelihood of them
catching the virus.
Councillor Watkins moved on and stated that the team were in the
final stages of procurement for the new Household Waste and
Recycling Centre, which would improve access and recycling across
the borough, and he would announce the new contractor within the
next two weeks. He also welcomed the news from central government
that 30,000 hectares of trees would be planted across the UK, and
stated that the team would be lobbying government to ensure some of
these additional trees would be planted in Thurrock. Councillor
Watkins highlighted that the first phase of the Tree Planting
Strategy would commence soon, and work would begin planting trees
in streets and avenues across the borough, beginning with Lodge
Lane. He stated that the next stage would also begin soon to work
with the transport team to heat-map trees and improve air quality
through tree planting.
Councillor Watkins added that a new waste consultation was also
being sent to residents ...
view the full minutes text for item 85.
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86. |
Petitions submitted by Members of the Public
Minutes:
There had been no petitions
submitted by members of the public.
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87. |
Questions from Non-Executive Members
Minutes:
There had been no questions
submitted by Non-Executive Members.
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88. |
Matters Referred to the Cabinet for Consideration by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Minutes:
There had been no items
referred to the Cabinet for consideration by an Overview and
Scrutiny Committee.
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89. |
Purfleet Centre Regeneration (Decision: 110525) PDF 254 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Leader stated that due to
attendance of members of the public, this item would be moved
forward on the agenda. Councillor Coxshall introduced the report
and stated that it gave agreement for the first stage of
development, which was 61 new houses, as part of the 2000 new
houses agreed for Purfleet Centre
Regeneration. He added that the rest of the houses and
infrastructure would be brought forward for Cabinet approval at a
later date.
Councillor Maney felt that this report was focussed and started a
conversation with the community in Purfleet, and local businesses. He stated that he
had received some concerns from local businesses in Botany Way, and
sought reassurance that the Portfolio Holder would be mindful of
local businesses, and let them know when the next stage of
development would start. Councillor Coxshall replied that he was
aware of business concerns, but clarified that this report was only
for the development of 61 houses, and no concrete plans had been
brought forward for further development by Purfleet Regeneration at this stage. He stated that
there were currently no plans for Compulsory Purchase Orders near
the Botany Way area, and this report was simply asking for
agreement to change the land usage, as agreed by the Planning
Committee and the last Labour administration.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Approved the appropriation of the areas of land referred to in
this report, and shown edged in read and on the plan at Appendix 1A
to this report, for planning purposes in order to facilitate the
development of ‘Phase 1A’ of the Purfleet Centre Regeneration Limited
masterplan.
2. In respect to the areas of land shown edged in red on the plans
at Appendix 1A of the report:
(i) Noted that the consequence of
taking the decision in (a) above is to enable easements and other
rights to be overridden in accordance with the provisions of
section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016; and
(ii) Authorised officers to take such necessary administrative and
accounting steps to give effect to the appropriation.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to
call-in
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90. |
Quarter 3 Financial Report PDF 506 KB
Minutes:
Councillor Hebb introduced the
report and stated that this was a look back at the financial
position in the previous quarter. He stated that although there
were overspends and pressures in some areas, he reassured Cabinet
Members and residents that the budget would be balanced by the end
of the year. He highlighted the pressure currently being felt in
Adult Social Care, which had seen a £1million overspend, due
to some high-need and complex cases, but that the service had
always broken even in previous years, and would do so again this
year. He added that nationally, the majority of local authorities
had overspent on Adult Social Care, and this was usually due to
high-need, high-cost placements. He clarified that the recent
increase in council tax had included ring-fencing for adult social
care, and to ensure investment in early intervention care to reduce
demand, and increase people’s ability to live an independent
lifestyle. He stated that there was also an overspend in
Children’s Services, but in 2016 the service had been
£6million overspent and had received an OFSTED rating of
‘requires improvement’, but now the service was only
overspending by £0.6million and had an OFSTED rating of
‘good’. He felt this was a marked improvement, but the
service would continue to try to improve, as well as providing high
quality care and balancing the budget.
Councillor Hebb then highlighted that the environment team had
broken even, whilst improving the borough and ensuring it looked
good for residents and visitors. He also highlighted that there was
pressure within the Dedicated Schools Grant high-needs block, as
this had a high-needs requirement, but he would work with
Councillor Jefferies to ensure this was balanced by the end of the
financial year.
Councillor Hebb drew Cabinet’s attention to the Housing
Revenue Account, which had also broken even, and highlighted the
pressures that had been put on the service in regard to increased
numbers of people presenting as homeless. He stated that an extra
£0.3million had been invested into homelessness to ensure all
residents could receive the support they needed. He also felt it
was good to see services coming in under budget, as these could
help with other overspent services and corporate costs, such as the
Belmont Road programme, which had been taken into account within
the budget. He summarised and stated that the budget would be
balanced by the end of the municipal year, and services would
continue to improve and be well-managed.
Councillor Halden commented that even though Adult Social Care had
overspent, the current administration had taken on a
£30million overspend in 2016, which they had changed to a
£30million surplus, whilst also increasing reserves to 40%.
He felt this was good as the Council could be buffeted against any
future problems, whilst also continuing with programmes such as
Head Start Housing, improving technology access for elderly people,
installing pendant alarms for those that needed them free of
charge, and improving the care leavers offer. The Leader added that
the Council ...
view the full minutes text for item 90.
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91. |
Procurement of Housing Capital Programme Delivery PDF 552 KB
Minutes:
Councillor Johnson introduced
the report and stated that the Transforming Homes programme had
been improving the internal and external decoration of council
housing for seven years, which had improved living conditions, and
the economy. He highlighted that 45% of the Transforming Homes team
were Thurrock residents, 50% of the supply chain was based in
Thurrock, and 51% of construction costs were spent within the local
economy. He stated that this report continued the programme until
2025/26, after a procurement exercise through mini competition from
a list of providers. He stated that the report had been to Housing
Overview and Scrutiny Committee in February 2020, and they had
agreed all recommendations, particularly the external refurbishment
of the nine tower blocks within the borough.
Councillor Maney welcomed the report, and stated that some of the
tower blocks were situated within his ward. He felt that some of
the tower blocks had come to the end of their life, and asked if
other options had been considered, such as using the refurbishment
money to bring some of them down, to be able to build new council
housing. Councillor Johnson understood the point raised, and stated
that this option would be discussed with the housing team and would
be considered. The Leader echoed Councillor Maney’s comments and welcomed comments from
the housing team on this issue. Councillor Coxshall highlighted
that all site surveys on the cladding for tower blocks would be
brought back to Cabinet, who then vote could further on the
refurbishment. The Leader then asked when the procurement process
would no longer have to include EU legislation, and the Monitoring
Officer replied that as the UK were currently in the transition
phase, EU legislation would continue to be used. He stated that
once the UK had left the EU and agreed its equivalent procurement
legislation, the UK would then switch to a national procurement
portal.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Approved the procurement of two major
works contract packages for the delivery of the Housing Capital
work programme as set out in the report.
2. Approved the procurement of two contract packages to provide
strategic support and cost management of the Housing Capital
Programme as set out in the report.
3. Approved authority being delegated for the awarding of the above
contracts to the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health,
in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to
call-in
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92. |
Housing Planned and Reactive Repair Programme Procurement PDF 572 KB
Minutes:
Councillor Johnson introduced
the report and stated that it was to agree to the re-procurement of
the lift and entry door maintenance system for the next five years,
with an option to extend for a further five years. He stated that
this report had received input from the Tenants Excellence Panel,
and the current contractors had delivered good outcomes for
residents, including a consistent service. He commented that there
would be one contractor for each maintenance area, and robust Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) would be put in place to monitor the
performance of the contract.
The Leader highlighted the work of the current contract, and felt
pleased to see that 96% of urgent repairs were carried out within 6
hours, and 100% were carried out the next calendar day. He added
that 86% of lift repairs were also carried out the next day, 100%
of emergency repairs to entry systems were carried out within 6
hours, and 100% of routine repairs were carried out within 28 days.
He stated that Cabinet had introduced charges for lift and entry
systems, but felt it was good to see residents getting value for
money in these services and 100% of KPIs being met.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Approved the re-procurement of Passenger Lift Maintenance and
Door Entry Maintenance contracts for a period of up to five years
with an option to extend for a further five years.
2. Approved delegated authority for award of the above contracts to
the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health, in
consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to
call-in
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93. |
Contract for Short Term Temporary Accommodation PDF 307 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Johnson introduced
the report and stated that there was currently a range of temporary
accommodation across the borough, but there had recently been
additional pressures on this system due to the lack of affordable
accommodation and no formal contract between the Council and
private agents. He explained that this report would establish a
contract to provide short term accommodation for single people,
former Looked After Children, and
families at risk of homelessness.
Councillor Halden felt pleased to see the report and highlighted
that housing provided young people leaving care with increased life
chances and social mobility. He felt it was important for
previously Looked After Children to be
included in this report as it supported the Head Start Housing
Scheme, as well as other Council services. He felt it was good to
see linked up working between the housing department and other
teams such as social workers and council tax. Councillor Johnson
replied that the housing team continued to look for ways to work
with other services, and commented that tackling homelessness was
one of their priorities. He mentioned that the first meeting of the
Homelessness Reduction Panel had recently met whose aim was to
tackle homelessness across the borough.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Approved to proceed to tender for a contract for Letting Agents
and Landlords for short term accommodation, and agreed to delegate
authority for award of the contract to the Director of Adults,
Housing and Health, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for
Housing.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to
call-in
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94. |
Post 18 Autism Support Service PDF 382 KB
Minutes:
Councillor Halden introduced
the report had stated that it was asking Cabinet to go out to
procurement to formalise a pilot scheme that supported young adults
on the autism spectrum. He commented that a wide variety of
partners had been working in coalition on the pilot scheme, which
had proven successful, and now needed to be embedded within the
Council. Councillor Halden highlighted that at the recent OFSTED
inspection, Thurrock had received a ‘good’ rating, but
one of the areas for improvement had been the level of support for
people transitioning from childhood to adulthood. He stated that he
was working with the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and
Health to ensure that this project would have a long lead-in time,
so people aged 16-17 would be familiar with the autism support
services, before they were able to benefit at aged 18.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Agreed the proposed process to
commence procurement to establish a Framework for a Post 18 Autism
Support Service, for Thurrock young people aged 18 to 25 with a
diagnosis of autism and disabilities that challenge service
responses.
2. Agreed to delegate authority to award the contract to the
Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health, in agreement with
the Cabinet Member for Children’s and Adults Social
Care.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to
call-in
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95. |
Tuition Support Services PDF 243 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Jefferies introduced
the report and stated that it sought Cabinet approval to go to
tender on tuition support services, and needed Cabinet approval due
to the size of the contract. He clarified that currently tuition
services were purchased on an ad-hoc basis when necessary, but this
contract would commission one-to-one support for those children
that were better suited to external learning, such as those with
illness or those that had been excluded. He stated that this
service would ensure a formal process for purchasing and receiving
specialist tuition support for those that needed it.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Agreed that a tender process be initiated to procure Tuition
Support services.
2. Agreed that delegated authority to award the contract is given
to the Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with
the Portfolio Holder for Education.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to
call-in
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96. |
Integrated Transport Block Capital Programme 2020/21, DfT Block Maintenance Capital Programme 2020/21 & A126 Safer Roads Programme (Decision 110526) PDF 300 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Maney introduced the
report and stated that as the Council moved into a new financial
year, central government allocated money to the Council for
highways development. He stated that the Integrated Transport Block
(ITB) programme would receive £971,000 from central
government, and the DfT Block
Maintenance programme would receive £1,938,000. He commented
that the money would be spent in line with the Council’s
highways strategies and priorities, and these were outlined at 3.3
and Table 1 of the report. He stated that these included improved
road safety, public rights of way access, traffic and freight
management, as well as the A126 Safer Roads programme, which would
last for three years.
Councillor Watkins felt it was good to see the continuation of the
Safer Routes to School programme, and congratulated Woodside
Academy for their poster campaign relating to idling engines
outside of schools. He stated that air pollution had already
reduced outside the school due to this campaign, and asked if it
could be rolled out across schools in the borough, as part of the
continued Safer Routes to School Programme. Councillor Hebb added
that a Stanford-le-Hope resident had pitched that idea of a poster
campaign, and Arthur Bugler Primary School had reached out to him
to ask if they could follow a similar poster competition.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Approved the Integrated Transport
Block Capital Programme for 2020/21 (as detailed in Appendix 1) and
noted the process by which the Safer Routes to School and Road
Safety Engineering programme are assessed and prioritised for
implementation.
2. Approved the A126 Safer Roads fund
programme for the next 3 years (as detailed in Appendix 2).
3. Delegated authority to the Director of Place, in consultation
with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, to review and
make local changes to the ITB and Safer Roads programmes, taking
into account local views and priorities.
4. Approved the DfT Maintenance Block Allocation Programme for
2020/21 (as detailed in Appendix 2).
5. Delegated authority to the Director of Environment and Highways,
in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport,
to review and make local changes to the DfT Maintenance Block Allocation programme.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to
call-in
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97. |
Quarter 3 (Month 9) Corporate Performance Report 2019/20 PDF 706 KB
Minutes:
Councillor Huelin introduced
the report and stated that 85% of KPIs had met their target, and
thanked Members and officers for their hard work on this. She
stated that today was the first day of the ‘One View of
Debt’ portal, which allowed residents to see all of their
debt across the Council in one place, and highlighted that Thurrock
had been nominated for an award because of this innovative idea.
She stated that Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee had
commented on the report and had congratulated officers and Members
on the achievement, particularly relating to the apprenticeship
KPI, which had already met its end of year target. She added that
the Committee had welcomed the new ‘route to green’ for
each KPI that had not met its target, but she highlighted that 60%
of KPIs were better than they had been in 2018/19.
Councillor Watkins congratulated officers and Members on this
achievement, and felt that the bin collection KPI, which had
previously been a problem, was now regularly meeting its target and
was seeing a positive direction of travel. He added that although
the KPI relating to graffiti was still an issue, actions were in
place to tackle this and the budget surplus had provided more
investment to ensure graffiti was regularly cleaned up. He also
highlighted that the percentage of waste being recycled, reused or
composted had not met its target, and encouraged residents to fill
out the waste consultation that was being delivered to their
houses, and put the new stickers on their blue bins. He felt that
the roll out of the new recycling policies in flats and communal
areas would also improve the KPI.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Noted and commented upon the performance of the key corporate
performance indicators, in particular those areas which are off
target.
2. Identified any areas which require additional
consideration.
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