Items
No. |
Item |
50. |
Minutes PDF 226 KB
To approve as a correct record
the minutes of Cabinet held on 14 October 2020.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The minutes of the Cabinet
meeting held on 14 October 2020 were approved as a true and correct
record.
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51. |
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.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
There were no items of urgent
business.
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52. |
Declaration of Interests
Additional documents:
Minutes:
There were no interests
declared.
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53. |
Statements by the Leader
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Leader began his statement
by giving thanks on Armistice Day and remembering those who
sacrificed, which was particularly significant as this year marked
the 75th Armistice Day since the end of the Second World
War. He stated that remembrance had been different this year due to
COVID-19, but that the Royal British Legion had ensured safe
remembrance services across the UK. He explained that Reverend
Cannon Darren Barlow of St Peter and St Pauls Church in Grays had
made an excellent virtual service available online, which had
already been viewed by nearly 200 people.
The Leader moved onto discussing the second lockdown, which had
been implemented to bring the infection rate down, protect the NHS,
and save lives. He stated that people should stay at home and only
go out for specific reasons such as shopping for necessities like
food and medicine; going to work where it is not possible to work
from home; for students going to college or school, or for anyone
to exercise. He urged residents to follow the month long lockdown
and stick to the rules, after which he hoped the country would go
into a new tiered system. The Leader asked people to work together
to make sure that Thurrock comes out in the lowest tier, so that
residents could visit family and friends again; open businesses;
and play their part in getting the national economy back on track.
He stated that since the start of the pandemic Thurrock Council had
received more than £102millon from government to support
residents, businesses and the Council through this period, which
included £79million for local businesses in grants and
business rates relief. He stated that this week Thurrock would also
receive £523,004 from the government to provide support to
help families with children, and other vulnerable households with
food, energy and water bills.
The Leader then moved on and described how the Council were taking
tough action on people who broke the rules. He gave the example of
landowners on Buckles Lane who had been forced to pay tens of
thousands in costs and return the greenbelt to its original state.
He stated that due to the injunctions which had been granted to the
land north and south of Buckles Lane, the Council were able to stop
unapproved work, force the landowners to re-seed the greenbelt and
pay tens of thousands in costs to cover the council’s legal
bill. He explained that the Council would take action to tackle
decades of unchecked development on the site, and stated he would
take similar action if necessary to resolve the issue. The Leader
also gave the example of a rogue landlord who had been forced to
pay £18,000 in fines and costs after their company let
undersized rooms to tenants. He stated that the Council had
previously issued Civil Penalty Notices to the company, but the
Council had seen no action and therefore took them to court to
ensure the rights of residents to live in a decent ...
view the full minutes text for item 53.
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54. |
Briefings on Policy, Budget and Other Issues
Additional documents:
Minutes:
There were no briefings on
policy, budget or other issues.
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55. |
Petitions submitted by Members of the Public
Additional documents:
Minutes:
No petitions had been submitted
by members of the public.
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56. |
Questions from Non-Executive Members
Additional documents:
Minutes:
No questions had been submitted
from non-Executive Members.
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57. |
Matters Referred to the Cabinet for Consideration by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Other than those items already
contained within the agenda, no matters had been referred to
Cabinet for consideration by an overview and scrutiny
committee.
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58. |
Lower Thames Crossing Task Force Update Report (Decision: 110534) PDF 471 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Massey introduced
the report in his role as Chair of the LTC Task Force and stated
that it had been some time since the Chair of the Task Force had
reported to Cabinet and referenced the Terms of Reference,
outlining the reasons for the Task Force. He stated that in
February Highways England (HE) had released a supplementary
consultation, which they had presented to the Task Force in March.
He explained that the Task Force had considered the consultation,
before approving the Council’s response. He then described
that HE had also attended the July Task Force meeting during which
they had presented their design consultation, and attended again in
September to talk through more detailed design elements of the
scheme, such as noise barriers. He stated that the Task Force were
pleased to welcome this information from HE, but felt it could have
come earlier in the process. He described how the Task Force had
received reports in October’s meeting regarding the Health
Impact Assessment and Economic Impact Statement, although the Task
Force had been lacking some HE data, which was not published until
Development Consent Order (DCO) submission at the end of October.
He stated that November’s meeting of the Task Force had been
cancelled due to the DCO submission, but a briefing had been held
where the Task Force had agreed to move to a position of
constructive opposition. Councillor Massey thanked the Cabinet for
listening to his presentation and welcomed feedback on the move to
constructive opposition.
The Leader thanked Councillor Massey for his attendance and felt it
was good to hear directly from the Chair regarding updates. He
stated that as the DCO submission process continued, he wished to
see the meetings of the Task Force continue too.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Noted the work of the Task Force and
thanked the Task Force for their work.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to
call-in
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59. |
Waste Strategy Update (Decision: 110535) PDF 568 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Watkins introduced
the report and stated that the strategy had been developed by the
cross-party Waste Management Working Group (WMWG) which included
Councillor Fletcher as Chair; Councillor Byrne as Vice-Chair;
Councillor Muldowney; Councillor Ralph; Councillor Smith and
Councillor Van Day. He thanked those Members for their eighteen
months of hard work and delivery of the strategy. He stated that
the Waste Strategy had seen continued focus from opposition groups,
but the report had been through the cross-party Cleaner, Greener,
Safer Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the WMWG.
Councillor Watkins explained that since 2014 recycling rates across
the borough had been decreasing, and had decreased further since
the start of the pandemic. He felt that the proposed Waste Strategy
would help to increase recycling rates across the borough, and had
been through a period of consultation, as well as communications
via leaflet drops and a social housing pilot. He stated that the
consultation had already helped to promote recycling across the
borough, and this would be supported by the new waste contracts as
the Council worked with the waste team to improve recycling, and
reach the government target of 50% recycled waste by 2025. He
stated that the WMWG had undertaken lots of detailed work including
regular meetings, site visits, and had spent £30,000 on
consultation. He explained that the WMWG had chosen option 2A,
which Cabinet were being asked to endorse, and this involved a move
to weekly recycling collections; bi-weekly refuse collections; and
weekly food waste collections. He stated that the current recycling
rate in Thurrock was only 33.86%, but this could rise to 54% with
the introduction of the new measures. Councillor Watkins explained
that as the recycling bin should be the fullest every week,
accounting for roughly 64% of all rubbish; this would continue to
be emptied on a weekly basis. He added that if any further
collection changes were proposed then they would go through the
WMWG, and the Cleaner, Greener and Safer Overview and Scrutiny
Committee, before coming before Cabinet for approval.
Councillor Watkins then moved onto explain the affect the proposals
would have on the workforce and explained that if there were any
decreases in the number of waste staff, this would go through a
process of rigorous consultation, but that the current plan was to
freeze recruitment on the thirteen vacant posts. He stated that the
proposed Waste Strategy had no immediate effect on the number of
waste staff, and described how more staff might be needed in future
due to housing development across the borough potentially leading
to the introduction of new waste routes. He explained the changes
that had been undertaken since the October Cabinet meeting, and
stated that the Waste Strategy remained the same, but questions had
been answered in more detail and had been shared with Cabinet
Members.
Councillor Watkins explained that the Waste Strategy, if agreed,
would begin an eighteen month implementation period, and research
undertaken by the WMWG showed that the implementation stage was
very important ...
view the full minutes text for item 59.
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60. |
Council Tax Exemption for Foster Carers (Decision: 110536) PDF 402 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Halden introduced
the report and stated that he felt proud of this report as it was
important for Thurrock based foster carers, as they would not have
to pay council tax starting in April 2021. He stated that the
average cost of council tax in a Band D property was £1600
per year, but foster carers would be exempt from paying this.
Councillor Halden stated that this was the biggest single
investment in Thurrock foster carers in many years, and felt it
would help improve the number of Thurrock based foster carers, and
this would allow foster children to remain in their own
communities. He stated that this exemption would be funded through
the premium currently being paid for external foster agencies,
which cost roughly £2million. He felt this council tax
exemption would encourage more local people to become foster carers
and therefore reduce the Council’s reliance on expensive
external foster care agencies. He stated that the criteria and
process to become a foster carer would remain high, and foster
carers would still need to commit to the ‘Stay Put’
policy, which ensured foster carers gave pastoral support for
foster children up until the age of 21.
Councillor Halden explained that Thurrock would still need to use
foster carers outside the borough in some situations, for example
if a child required specialist support or had specific medical
needs that could only be treated outside Thurrock, but that the
exemption would apply to current foster carers in Thurrock and
current Thurrock foster carers living outside the borough. He added
that officers would also be able to use their discretion regarding
the exemption if they felt it was necessary. He thanked the team
for their hard work, as well as the Leader and Councillor Hebb for
their support on the project.
Councillor Hebb added that he felt this policy was the right thing
to do for Thurrock, and hoped it would encourage more people to
apply to become foster carers. He stated that although independent
foster care agencies were caring and reliable, by increasing the
number of internal Thurrock foster carers, more children could stay
within their local neighbourhoods and receive continued support. He
thanked the social care team and Councillor Halden for their hard
work on the project. Councillor Mayes added that his parents had
been Thurrock foster carers for forty years, and felt he understood
the challenges that foster carers faced. He commented that any
additional money or savings received by foster carers went on
caring their foster children, and felt that this council tax
exemption would really be of benefit.
The Leader summarised and stated that as a former council tax
enforcement officer, he understood the benefit this council tax
exemption would have on local foster families. He stated that by
increasing the number of home-grown foster parents, this would
increase savings for the tax base, and the Council were investing
to save. He stated that this report was not designed around those
savings, and the main focus ...
view the full minutes text for item 60.
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61. |
Mid-Year/Quarter 2 (April-September 2020) Corporate Performance Report 2020/21 PDF 625 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Huelin introduced
the report and stated that this was the mid-year corporate
performance report, which ran from April-September 2020. She stated
that during this time period 76.7% of key performance indicators
(KPIs) had been achieved despite the ongoing pandemic. She thanked
all staff members for their hard work throughout the pandemic, and
understood that many people were now working differently at home,
or had changed their services completely. Councillor Huelin gave
the example of the library service who were now running a
‘click and collect’ service whereby people could order
books online or over the phone and collect them from the library.
She felt this was an excellent resource for people who may be
self-isolating or who lived on their own. She stated that some KPIs
had missed their target, but this was due to the impact of COVID,
for example the Council had not been able to hold any physical
recruitment days, so the number of new apprentices started had
missed its target. She added that some KPIs could no longer be
measured either, for example the face-to-face wait times in the
Civic Offices. Councillor Huelin summarised and stated that the
report had been through Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee,
who had no additional recommendations to add.
Councillor Johnson stated that he felt pleased to see the KPI
regarding percentage of repairs carried out had maintained its high
level, and thanked the repairs team for their hard work even during
the pandemic. The Leader thanked all teams for their hard work in
meeting KPIs, and added that if residents were unhappy with the
service they were receiving they could email or phone the Council.
He stated that some KPIs had not reached target due to COVID, such
as the payment of Fixed Penalty Notices, which had dropped to 50%,
and added that the Council would chase any non-paid fines, and
encouraged residents to pay fines early rather than risk going to
court. The Leader was also pleased to see the continuation of the
red/green KPI system, rather than the traffic light system, as he
felt this clearly showed when KPIs were meeting, or not meeting,
their targets.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Noted and commented upon the performance of the key corporate
performance indicators, in particular those areas which are off
target and the impact of COVID-19.
2. Identified any areas which require additional
consideration.
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