Items
No. |
Item |
33. |
Minutes PDF 444 KB
To approve as a correct record
the minutes of Cabinet held on 7 July 2021.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The minutes of the Cabinet
meeting held on 7 July 2021 were approved as a correct
record.
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34. |
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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35. |
Declaration of Interests
Additional documents:
Minutes:
There were no interests
declared.
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36. |
Statements by the Leader
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Leader began his statement
by stating that the UK had now completed the final step of the
roadmap out of COVID lockdown, with the return of schools, colleges
and universities; as well as the reopening of shops, pubs and
restaurants. He thanked all Thurrock residents for their
determination and sacrifice during lockdown which now allowed the
reopening of the economy. He stated that although Thurrock was now
beginning to return to normality, COVID still remained present and
rates were increasing, although not as dramatically as previously
seen. He urged residents to be cautious by washing their hands more
regularly, considering wearing a face mask where appropriate, and
by respecting people’s wishes to socially distance. He also
urged residents over the age of 16 to get the COVID vaccine either
by booking an appointment over the phone or online, or by attending
a walk-in centre. He explained that even though people who were
double jabbed could still catch the virus, they were less likely to
become seriously ill and be hospitalised. He summarised and stated
that Thurrock had now delivered 198,614 doses of the vaccine:
106,551 of which were first doses, and 92,063 of which were second
doses. He explained that the current rate of infection in Thurrock
was 248 per 100,000 which was lower than the national average of
370 cases per 100,000.
The Leader moved on and described a new initiative recently
launched in Grays to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. He
stated that this was because £625,000 of funding that had
been received, £432,500 of which had been from to a joint bid
with the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. He stated that
this scheme would provide additional lighting, additional CCTV, a
Shop Safe communications system and two new Grays Community
Engagement Officers, who would work in conjunction with the Grays
Town Police. He commented that Grays would be seeing lots of
regeneration projects, due to the £20m Towns Fund investment
from central government and additional private investment.
The Leader then described how he had recently attended the removal
of vehicle involved in fly-tipping with the Environmental
Enforcement team. He stated that the offender had driven further to
fly-tip than they would have done if they had used the waste and
recycling centre, and had had to pay a large fine. He mentioned
that fly-tipping was not a victimless crime, as the landowner or
Council had to pay for the fly-tip to be removed, but the Council
would continue to work to catch fly-tipping offenders. He stated
that so far the Council had caught 136 offenders by utilising the
new fly-tipping cameras that had been installed. He added that the
team had also recently found six motorbikes, two cars, and six
quadbikes that had been illegally stored in Council owned garages.
He explained that the vehicles had been disposed of and the
offenders fined. He thanked the residents who had made the reports,
and urged residents to continue to report offenders either online,
or via 101, ...
view the full minutes text for item 36.
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37. |
Briefings on Policy, Budget and Other Issues
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Coxshall stated that
the LTC consultation was drawing to a close and urged all residents
to complete the consultation. He explained that Thurrock Council
were currently completing their consultation response, but had been
granted an extension to ensure it could go through the necessary
internal governance processes.
Councillor Spillman stated that the housing team were working on a
new initiative to replace private out of borough temporary
accommodation with new temporary accommodation within Thurrock. He
stated that this had previously been agreed by the Housing Overview
and Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet, and would be funded through:
purchasing stock through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA); using
the Phi lease scheme; and repurposing a decommissioned sheltered
housing building. He stated that currently providing temporary
accommodation had to use £1.2million of general fund top-up,
and also £100,000 per month out of the HRA to cover the
difference between rent costs and housing benefit. He explained
that by introducing new temporary accommodation within Thurrock
this would reduce dependency on expensive nightly let accommodation
and increase savings. He stated that this would allow the service
to become cost neutral by 2022/23 and would ensure local residents
remained in the borough. He mentioned that if people needed to be
moved out of the borough for safeguarding reasons there would still
remain a process in place for this to be achieved. He stated that
he had set the housing team an ambitious target of ending out of
borough temporary accommodation by the end of 2022, although this
would be difficult due to the end of COVID support systems, such as
furlough and the end of the ban on evictions, which could lead to
an increase in homelessness. He summarised and thanked officers,
Cabinet and the former Portfolio Holder for their hard work and
commitment to this initiative and stated that there would be
additional announcements and investments related to housing in the
near future.
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38. |
Petitions submitted by Members of the Public
Additional documents:
Minutes:
No petitions had been submitted
by members of the public.
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39. |
Questions from Non-Executive Members
Additional documents:
Minutes:
There were no questions
submitted by non-Executive Members.
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40. |
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 items had been referred to the
Cabinet for consideration by an overview and scrutiny
committee.
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41. |
Financial Update - Quarter 1 2021/22 and Revised Medium Term Financial Strategy (Decision: 110580) PDF 524 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Hebb introduced the
report and stated that it provided a rear view mirror look at the
Council’s finances during the first quarter of 2021/22. He
stated that it projected a balanced budget for the 2021/22
financial year, but highlighted that some in-year budget pressures
would need to be managed. He explained that a Medium Term Financial
Strategy (MTFS) report presented to Cabinet in July 2021 outlined a
pressure of £3.7million over two years, but this had been
reduced to a pressure of £1.8million in 2022/23, therefore
improving the financial position by £1.75million since July.
He stated that he had attended the meeting of the Corporate
Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 7 September and explained that
the Council had seen an increase in the collection of council tax
and business rates, which had helped to offset some financial
pressures. He added that numerous directorates had also been able
to save money, such as public realm; and HR, OD and
transformation.
Councillor Hebb explained that the Children’s Services
directorate were currently experiencing pressure of £1million
due to an increase in the number of high need, high complexity, and
large sibling group placements, which would lead to an overspend of
£2.87million. He added that this would be offset using non
general fund reserves and reduced expenditure elsewhere in the
directorate. He stated that the team were also continuing with the
internal foster care recruitment campaign, and were undertaking an
ongoing review of high cost annual placements. He added that there
would also be budgetary pressures in the Adult Social Care
directorate due to delayed referrals and reduced income because of
COVID. He stated that although there was some way to go, the
Council was currently in a fiscally sound position.
Councillor Hebb then explained that the service review was
currently ongoing, and budget consultation reports were scheduled
for Planning, Transport and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny;
Cleaner, Greener and Safer Overview and Scrutiny; and
Children’s Overview and Scrutiny in October. He added that
budget and asset reports were also scheduled for Corporate Overview
and Scrutiny Committee in November, ahead of the Cabinet meeting in
February which would discuss the budget. He added that Thurrock
were also supporting the resettlement of Afghan refugees, and
properties had been offered by the Thurrock community to support
this process. He summarised and stated that Thurrock Council had
recently met with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government to discuss how the Council could support this process,
and although there were currently no costs associated with this,
reports would be brought back to Cabinet if this were to
change.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Commented on the forecast outturn position for 2021/22 and the
revised MTFS.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to call-in
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42. |
Communications Strategy 2021-24 (Decision: 110581) PDF 292 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Duffin introduced
the report and stated that it outlined Thurrock’s
Communications Strategy for 2021-24, and although it headed in the
right direction there was still some way to go until it was
complete. He explained that Thurrock needed to improve the
partnerships it had with some external bodies, and he had asked
officers to engage more with local and national media before the
agreement of the strategy by Cabinet. He stated that once this work
had been completed, the strategy would be brought back before
Cabinet for their sign-off.
Councillor Hebb explained that he had attended the Corporate
Overview and Scrutiny Committee where this strategy had been
discussed, and felt there had been good debate about how Thurrock
should market itself and be more aspirational. He added that a
conversation had also taken place regarding how the communications
team should use digital channels and how engagement should be
monitored. He stated that Members had also discussed how the team
engaged with local media partners and felt that it would be
worthwhile to take a pause before moving forward with the strategy.
The Leader added that Thurrock needed to sell itself to the wider
community and work with media colleagues on a local, national and
international scale.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Would engage with media partners to finalise the Communications
Strategy 2021-24, before returning to Cabinet for
approval.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to call-in
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43. |
Parking Enforcement Vehicle Removal (Decision: 110582) PDF 257 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Maney introduced the
report and stated that it would help bolster the powers of the
enforcement team by giving them the power to: removing vehicles
when parked in contravention of parking rules and caused an
obstruction; and removing vehicles of persistent evaders who were
classified as drivers that had three or more unpaid or unchallenged
Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs). He explained that these groups of
motorists often did not register their vehicles with the DVLA,
which made it difficult for the Council to chase the FPNs and
recoup costs. He stated that not paying FPNs was not a victimless
crime as it reduced the money available to the Council and
therefore reduced the Council’s ability to enforce against
other anti-social behaviour. He added that those motorists who were
persistent evaders were also usually engaged in other low level
vehicle crime, such as unpaid tax or no insurance, which could also
have an indirect impact on other road users. He stated that the
enforcement team had estimated there were hundreds of persistent
evaders currently in Thurrock and this report would help broaden
their powers of enforcement and act as a deterrent.
The Leader questioned if the scheme would also be applied to HGV
drivers and international drivers who were persistent evaders.
Councillor Maney replied that it would cover all vehicle users who
met the criteria for the new enforcement powers. He explained that
those vehicle owners whose car was impounded under the new scheme
would either have to pay the cost of the FPN and vehicle recovery,
or would have their car sold to recover costs. Councillor Johnson
asked if those persistent evaders who were Thurrock residents would
have this vehicle debt linked to other debt within the borough,
such as non-payment of council tax. Councillor Maney felt that this
was a good point and would look into the issue of linking the debt
with other outstanding council debt owed.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Approved Thurrock Council’s Parking Team to execute
enforcement action against vehicles parked in contravention with
priority vehicle removal of persistent evaders, as suggested by the
Department of Transport within its statutory guidance.
2. Adopted the policy to remove vehicles which are parked in
contravention of restrictions where a PCN may be issued if the
vehicle is also parked in a manner that is obstructive or dangerous
to other road users.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to call-in
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44. |
Quarter 1 (April-September) Corporate Performance Report 2021/22 and Corporate Performance Framework PDF 564 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Duffin introduced
the report and stated that it was a positive report as 77% of Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) had achieved their target, which was
an improvement from 65% of achieved targets in the same quarter
last year. He stated that there was also a positive direction of
travel as 50% of targets had improved and 18% had remained static.
Councillor Duffin felt there was still room for improvement and the
team were striving for 100% of KPIs meeting target. He explained
that those KPIs which were currently red included a ‘route to
green’ which provided transparent commentary on the work
being undertaken to ensure the target was met. He added that he was
pleased to see the KPI on apprenticeships had met target as 30 new
candidates had been interviewed as part of a webinar in July. He
felt that apprenticeships provided people with the opportunity to
upskill and change their skillset.
The Leader highlighted page 85 of the report and the KPI related to
the payment of FPNs, and stated that this fell under his remit
rather than Councillor Jefferies. He stated that some KPIs had been
affected by COVID, such as the payment of FPNs, but the collections
team were working to ensure collections were compassionate and all
residents could receive the help they needed to pay their debts.
Councillor Jefferies echoed comments made by Councillor Duffin
related to the apprenticeships KPI, and felt it was good to see
people of all ages undertaking apprenticeships.
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 required additional
consideration.
3. Commented on the areas of focus for 2021/22 that will support
delivery of the overall vision and priorities.
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45. |
SEND Education and Residential Placements (Decision: 110583) PDF 249 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Johnson introduced
the report and stated that it would provide high quality education
and residential placements for young people across the borough, in
line with the Council’s statutory duty. He explained that a
recent needs analysis had indicated that within the next five
years, the number of young people presenting with speech problems,
communications problems, and Autism would increase, partly due to
the lack of socialisation for young people during the pandemic. He
stated that therefore the Council needed to provide additional
specialist provision to meet the future need in Thurrock, and this
report outlined the procurement plan to ensure the right places
were available at the right times. He summarised and stated that
this report would increase local capacity and make best use of
resources as part of the overall SEND plan, which had been
supported by the SEND Improvement Board.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Agreed to commence the procurement of SEND education and
residential contract(s).
2. Agreed the option to block purchase places through the
contract(s) where this represents best value for the Council to
meet demand.
3. Agreed to delegate authority to the Corporate Director of
Children’s Services, in conjunction with the Portfolio
Holder, to award contracts following completion of the procurement
process.
4. In line with Rule 13 of the Contract Procedure Rules, agreed
that the Corporate Director of Children’s Services can seek
to invoke the waiver provisions of the Contract Procedure Rules due
to the nature of the services being purchased.
5. Agreed to delegate authority to the Corporate Director of
Children’s Services and the Portfolio Holder where:
a. the placement cannot be made on the contract to be awarded under
the procurement exercise;
b. the purchase is required in order that the Council may meet its
statutory obligations.
6. As requested by the Children’s Overview and Scrutiny
Committee, reviewed their decision to declare Grangewaters as a
surplus to SEND provision and looked at further use of Grangewaters
to meeting the objectives for SEND provision.
7. Noted the completion of the SEND Sufficiency Assessment and
agreed the publication of the document.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to call-in
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46. |
Supported Accommodation for 18-24 Year Olds (Decision: 110584) PDF 633 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Johnson introduced
the report and stated that Thurrock saw an increased number of
Looked After Children compared to the national average due to the
boroughs geographical location and the number of unaccompanied
child asylum seekers, who were often 10-15 years old. He stated
that this was a proactive report to ensure that all young care
leavers could achieve, and were housed through the Head Start
Housing project. He explained that this report would move away from
spot purchasing housing options to block purchasing, which would
reduce the high cost of emergency accommodation and support young
people to live independently. He added that it would also reduce
the numbers of young homeless people in Thurrock, and feedback from
care leavers had been included in the report.
Councillor Spillman thanked Councillor Johnson and the team for
their hard work on the report. He felt that it was good to see an
integrated approach between Children’s Services and Housing
as this would ensure good outcomes for young people.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Agreed to commence the procurement of contract(s) for supported
accommodation for 18-24 year olds.
2. Agreed the option to block purchase places through the
contract(s) where this represents best value for the Council to
meet demand.
3. Agreed to delegate authority to the Corporate Director of
Children’s Services, in conjunction with the Portfolio
Holder, to award contracts following completion of the procurement
process.
4. In line with Rule 13 of the Contract Procedure Rules, agreed
that the Corporate Director of Children’s Services can seek
to invoke the waiver provisions of the Contract Procedure Rules due
to the nature of the services being purchased.
5. Agreed to delegate authority to the Corporate Director of
Children’s Services and the Portfolio Holder where:
A. the placement cannot be made on the contract to be awarded under
this procurement exercise.
B. the purchase is required in order that the Council may meet its
statutory obligations.
6. As recommended by the Children’s Overview and Scrutiny
Committee, investigated opportunities to invest in housing to help
meet the provision that Children’s Services need to meet the
supported accommodation requirements for care leavers.
7. Noted the joint work already in place and the statutory duties
on the local authority, including to develop a jointly commissioned
support offer for those aged 18+ who need additional support to be
able to develop independence as an adult, and where possible this
is extended to provide support for the 16-18 year olds.
Reason for decision:
as outlined in the report
This decision is subject to call-in
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