Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Cabinet is asked to note any apologies for absence received from Members.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors J A Broderick (Leader of the Holland Residents’ Group), A Pemberton (Deputy Leader of the Non-Aligned Group), N R Stock OBE (Leader of the Council) and G G I Scott (Leader of the Tendring First / Liberal Democrats Group).

To confirm and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on Friday 19 January 2018.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet, held on Friday 19 January 2018, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, or other interests, and the nature of them, in relation to any item on the agenda.   

Councillor G V Guglielmi indicated that he would declare an interest in relation to Agenda Item 9 - Matters referred to the Cabinet by a Committee - Reference from the Service Development and Delivery Committee - A.3 – Honeycroft and Spendells Sheltered Housing Schemes Review.

The Cabinet is asked to note any announcements made by the Leader of the Council.

The Deputy Leader of the Council (Councillor G V Guglielmi) was pleased to announce that Sue Honeywood had been re-elected to the Council in the St Pauls Ward by-election held the previous day. He asked Councillor Paul Honeywood to pass on his congratulations to Sue.

The Cabinet is asked to note any announcements made by Members of the Cabinet.

Waste, Recycling and Street Cleaning Contracts

The Portfolio Holder for the Environment (Councillor Talbot) read out the following statement:-

“The waste contract with Veolia which commenced in 2012, provided for an extension to the contract, if mutually agreed, at the end of the contract’s seven year duration. Discussions have taken place between Veolia and our Officers and I will be recommending this option to extend the contract subject to considering the outcome from the consultation process.

I am pleased to say that talks with Veolia have produced a package of waste, recycling and street cleaning options, with minor variations, that we requested and at a price that we in Tendring can afford.

I have asked that these proposals are put out for a full public consultation exercise beginning this morning and lasting one month until 16 March 2018. This will be carried out to obtain the views of the residents of the District on the proposed minor variations and the outcome will be reported back to Cabinet and fully considered before any final decision is made.

Most importantly this consultation will include the all Members’ briefing and consultation on the subject that I promised would be put to elected Members when we had something worth considering. This particularly important meeting is next Wednesday 21 February 2018.

This Member meeting on kerbside waste and recycling and street cleansing contract will be led by Paul Price, Corporate Director and Jonathan Hamlet our Street Scene Officer.

It is my express wish that all elected Members respond to the consultation and that collectively do all we can to encourage the public to let us know their views on the current proposals.

The consultation document will set out what is offered, which I think is a good deal, but we must await the public’s verdict.”

There are none on this occasion.

There were no items referred to the Cabinet by the Council on this occasion.

To enable Cabinet to give consideration to a comment and a recommendation made to it by the Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that

(a)     contact be made with Essex County Council in order to request that full funding is provided to enable further Well-Being Hubs across the District; and that

(b)     Cabinet endorses the congratulations of the Committee on the success of the Wellbeing Hub and also fully supports the work that the Hub is doing.

Cabinet was made aware that, at the meeting of the Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee held on 8 January 2018, the Council’s Executive Projects Manager (Rebecca Morton) had attended and had provided that Committee with information on the Great Bentley Primary School Well-Being Hub, which had included the following:

(1)        An overview of the Well-Being Hub;

(2)        Training provided for staff;

(3)        Recognising and expressing emotions;

(4)        Skills, tools and techniques;

(5)        Removing barriers to enable children to learn;

(6)        Dealing with challenges faced in the future;

(7)        Themed groups as part of the pilot – Play, Art, Construction and Science; and

(8)        Evaluation of the first full term.

A presentation which had been provided by Tracey Caffull (Executive Head Teacher – Great Bentley and Frinton Primary Schools) was also circulated to the Committee and the Executive Projects Manager provided information on each section. That presentation covered the following:

(1)        The pressure to be perfect;

(2)        Action;

(3)        Results;

(4)        Summary;

(5)        What is needed next; and

(6)        Moving forward.

The Council’s Health and Education Portfolio Holder (Councillor McWilliams) had informed the Committee that she had visited the Well-Being Hub on a few occasions and that she thought that it was very interesting and had encouraged Members to visit to take a look.The Health and Education Portfolio Holder had further informed the Committee that she had visited during one of the first sessions and again to one of the later sessions and had been amazed at the positive changes.

The Committee had then given the opportunity to ask questions which were responded to by the Executive Projects Manager. The Committee had then thanked the Executive Projects Manager for all the information that she had provided.

Following discussion, it had been agreed by the Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee that it be recommended and commented to Cabinet that -

(a)       contact should be made with Essex County Council in order to request that full funding is provided to enable further Well-Being Hubs across the District; and that

(b)       the Committee would like to congratulate those involved in introducing the Well-Being Hub and the success that had been achieved so far and that the Committee fully supports it.

Having considered the Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee’s recommendation and comment:

It was moved by Councillor McWilliams, seconded by Councillor Fairley and –

RESOLVED that

(a)       contact be made with Essex County Council in order to request that full funding is provided to enable further Well-Being Hubs across the District; and that

(b)          Cabinet endorses the congratulations of the Committee on the success of the Wellbeing Hub and also fully supports the work that the Hub is doing.

To enable Cabinet to give consideration to recommendations made to it by the Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that the comments of the Portfolio Holder be noted and the actions identified be undertaken.

Cabinet was made aware that, at the meeting of the Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee held on 8 January 2018, that Committee had received a presentation on the Mental Health Hub from Chris Bird (Treasurer - Citizens Advice Tendring), Melanie Hammond (Operations Director - Citizens Advice Tendring) and Clare Munday (Manager - Tendring Mental Health Hub). The presentation had included information on the following:

(1) Clients with mental health problems;

(2) Help provided and interventions;

(3) Benefit sanctions;

(4) Mental Health Hub functions;

(5) Client journeys;

(6) Case study;

(7) Statistics;

(8) Solving practical problems saves money;

(9) Achievements 2017/18; and

(10) Next steps.

Following on from that presentation Members had been given the opportunity to ask questions. The Chairman of the Committee had then thanked Chris Bird, Melanie Hammond and Clare Munday for the information that they had provided and also for all of their hard work.

Following discussion, it had been agreed by the Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee that it be recommended to Cabinet that Cabinet should -

(a)     make contact with the Mental Health Trust in order to establish if they would consider being partners in this successful scheme;

(b)     investigate whether as a partnership, access to Leisure Centres could be offered to those suffering from mental health problems in the District; and

(c)     investigate if any help or intervention for those with mental health issues is offered by the Council’s Housing Section to those who are affected by benefit sanctions and are threatened with homelessness. 

Cabinet had before it the following comments made in response thereto by the Health and Education Portfolio Holder –

“In response to a) Officers have recently met with representatives from the Essex Partnership University Trust which provides the over 18 mental health service in Essex. Following on from that meeting, representatives from the Trust will be attending a future Community Safety Partnership Networking Meeting and this will provide an opportunity to consider how the Trust can further engage in partner activities being provided across Tendring including the Mental health Hub.

In response to b) some people with mental health issues are already referred to our Leisure facilities by their GPs though the Exercise Referral Scheme. Officers can explore with other agencies whether it would be possible to expand the routes by which such users are referred.

In response to c) a person who is vulnerable as a consequence of mental illness could be owed a duty of care with accommodation if they are homeless. Vulnerable in a homelessness context refers to the person’s ability to cope with a homelessness situation. Not everyone with a mental illness will meet the vulnerability criteria as set out in legislation and case-law. In deciding if someone is vulnerable as a result of mental illness, the Council seeks independent medical advice from a psychiatrist before making a decision. Mental illness is a “protected characteristic” under the Equality Act 2010 so the Council must have regard to this legislation when making decisions.  If a person has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 146.

To enable Cabinet to give consideration to comments made to it by the Service Development and Delivery Committee in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that Cabinet notes and welcomes the support of the Service Development and Delivery Committee in this matter.

Councillor G V Guglielmi declared an interest in the subject matter of this item and took no part in the discussion thereof or the voting thereon.

The Cabinet was made aware that, at the Service Development and Delivery Committee meeting held on 15 January 2018, the Committee had been requested to formally respond to the consultation on the principle of closing the Spendells and Honeycroft Sheltered Housing Schemes. Members of that Committee had had before them for their reference and information the related report of the Portfolio Holder for Housing which had been submitted to the meeting of the Cabinet held on 10 November 2017.

The Head of Housing (Tim R Clarke) had given a presentation to the Committee on the review of the Spendells and Honeycroft Sheltered Housing Schemes. That presentation had covered the following matters:-

a)      the statutory consultation with the tenants at both Spendells and Honeycroft schemes had commenced;

b)      Cabinet had concluded that it was no longer financially viable to continue with the schemes at both Honeycroft and Spendells for the reasons set out in the report;

c) water testing at Honeycroft had identified unsatisfactory results and subsequently, as part of the consultation process all residents had relocated to alternative properties with secure tenancies, and an option to move again should they wish to do so; and

d)      the tenants at Spendells had all requested to move out of the scheme and be relocated, with suitable properties being found for all 10 residents on secure tenancies with moves due to be completed over the next 3-4 weeks. During the consultation, 2 responses were received, one being positive and the Town Council had expressed a concern to the scheme closing.

Members of the Committee had then expressed a concern that the schemes would remain vacant for some time pending a decision from Cabinet on the future options for redevelopment.

Following discussion, it had been agreed by the Service Development and Delivery Committee that Cabinet be informed that the Committee supports the recommendations to Cabinet in its report of 10 November 2017 in that:

(i)         the Spendells and Honeycroft Sheltered Housing schemes had proven to be unpopular for several years due to their shared facilities and dated design and that it was economically unviable for the Housing Revenue Account to continually subsidise the on-going and increasing revenue loss of rental income at the schemes;

(ii)        the commencement of formal consultation on the principle of closing both the schemes with residents in accordance with Section 105 of the Housing Act 1985;

(iii)       the Portfolio Holder for Housing had attended to present the outcome of the viability work for each scheme to the Committee, during the consultation period;

(iv)      the outcome of formal consultation along with more detail on the costs associated with closure will be reported back to Cabinet to inform the final decisions on the future of these schemes;

(v)       an associated budget of £200,000 within the HRA in 2017/18, to support residents throughout the whole process, funded  ...  view the full minutes text for item 147.

To enable Cabinet to give consideration to a comment made to it by the Service Development and Delivery Committee in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that Cabinet notes and welcomes the support of the Service Development and Delivery Committee in this matter.

Cabinet was made aware that, at the Service Development and Delivery Committee meeting held on 15 January 2018, that Committee had received an update from the Head of Public Realm (Ian Taylor) on the Council’s Public Convenience Strategy and the progress being made towards meeting its key aims and objectives.

The Committee had been informed that since Cabinet had identified ten public conveniences for closure, across the District, the following nine had been actioned:

·           Ipswich Road, Holland-on-Sea

·           Westcliff Gents, Clacton-on-Sea

·           Magdelen Green, Clacton-on-Sea

·           Garden Road, Clacton-on-Sea

·           Old Way, Frinton-on-Sea

·           Mill Lane, Walton-on-the-Naze

·           The Naze, Walton-on-the-Naze

·           Cemetery, Dovercourt; and

·           The Cliff, Dovercourt.

The Committee had then been further informed that the facilities in High Street Car Park, Clacton-on-Sea would remain open whilst the refurbishment of those in Rosemary Road, Clacton-on-Sea were completed where provision for charging was also under consideration. Refurbishment at The Quay, Harwich was ongoing. Refurbishment at Promenade Way Brightlingsea was also underway with design work being sought and refurbishment planned for completion before summer 2018 as well as other new schemes such as a further Changing Place facility in Walton.

The Head of Public Realm had then confirmed that the closure and refurbishment programmes had been delivered during the same period the cleaning and repair and maintenance services contracts for public toilets had been returned to being provided in-house.

The Committee had also been informed that the target for savings would be met and that discussions were ongoing around the varied future uses of the buildings in accordance with the Council’s adopted Property Dealing Procedure.

The Committee had then expressed their thanks and appreciation to the Officers for their hard work.

Following discussion, it had been agreed by the Service Development and Delivery Committee that Cabinet be informed that the Committee supports Cabinet’s approach and its Public Convenience Strategy including the continuation of exploring charging at further facilities where appropriate to do so.

The Leisure and Tourism Portfolio Holder thanked the Service Development and Delivery Committee for its support of the Cabinet’s approach in this matter.

Having considered the submission of the Service Development and Delivery Committee:

It was moved by Councillor Skeels Snr., seconded by Councillor McWilliams and –

RESOLVED that Cabinet notes and welcomes the support of the Service Development and Delivery Committee in this matter.

There are none on this occasion.

There were no items submitted by the Leader of the Council on this occasion.

To present the Performance Report for the period October to December 2017 (Q3).

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Resources (A.5), which presented the Performance Report for the period October to December 2017 (Quarter Three).

Cabinet was aware that the Performance Report 2017/18 set out the detailed actions and targets for the delivery of the Council’s priorities throughout the year.

It was reported that three of the indicators and projects highlighted in the report were deemed ‘non measurable’ as the Council’s role was that of ‘influence’ only. Of the 16 indicators and projects where performance was measured, 14 (88%) were on, or above, their expected target and 2 (12%) were not currently in line with the expected performance. Explanations of the performance and the supporting data were included under each topic in the report.

Cabinet was informed that the report would be presented to the Corporate Management Committee at its meeting scheduled for 12 March 2018.

Having considered the information provided, it was moved by Councillor G V Guglielmi, seconded by Councillor Honeywood and -

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted.

To provide an overview of the Council’s actual financial position against the budget as at the end of December 2017.

RESOLVED that:

(a)     the financial position, as at the end of December 2017, be noted; and

(b)   Business Investment and Growth revenue and capital budgets be merged in 2017/18, as set out in this report, which would remain subject to further decisions once potential uses of the funding are identified / proposed.

There was submitted a detailed report and appendices by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Resources (A.6), which provided Cabinet with an overview of the Council’s actual financial position against the budget as at the end of December 2017 (Quarter Three).

Cabinet was informed that the position to the end of December 2017, as set out in more detail in the Executive Summary to the aforementioned report, showed that overall the actual General Fund Revenue position was behind the profiled budget by £2.027m.  After allowing for significant one-off budgets (such as the Fit for Purpose Budget), where commitments or decisions had still to be made, the position could be revised down to £0.245m behind the profiled budget.

It was reported that for other areas of the budget such as the Housing Revenue Account, capital programme, collection performance and treasury activity, apart from additional details set out in Portfolio Holder’s report, there were no further issues to highlight to date.

Cabinet recognised that, as in previous years, a number of smaller variances within services had emerged over the course of the year that would not necessarily be specifically highlighted or discussed within the Corporate Budget Monitoring reports. Although a significant number of budgets had been revised as part of the financial strategy process, it was still possible that a range of smaller variances might remain at the end of the year and contribute to the overall position. In addition, a number of budgets that related to schemes / initiatives or earmarked for specific purposes that might not be fully spent by the end of the year and could be subject to end of year processes such as carry forward requests remained committed. However, at this stage and after taking into account the current position and information available it was anticipated by the Portfolio Holder that any adverse issues would be offset by favourable variances elsewhere within the overall budget at the end of the year.

Cabinet was made aware that the opportunity had been taken to bring together a number of business investment and growth budgets within both the revenue account and capital programme. Further details were before Members in the Portfolio Holder’s report along with an associated recommendation.

The overview before Cabinet covered the following areas of the budget:-

(1)       General Fund Revenue;

              i.       Expenditure Budgets;

             ii.       Income Budgets;

            iii.       Delivery of Savings 2017/18;

           iv.       2017/2018 Budget Adjustments and Other Issues;

(2)       Housing Revenue Account – Revenue;

(3)       Capital Programme – General Fund;

(4)       Capital Programme – Housing Revenue Account;

(5)       Collection Performance; and

(6)       Treasury Activity.

Having considered the report and appendices, it was moved by Councillor G V Guglielmi, seconded by Councillor Skeels Snr., and

RESOLVED that:

(a)       the financial position, as at the end of December 2017, be noted; and

(b)     Business Investment and Growth revenue and capital budgets be merged in 2017/18, as set out in this report, which would remain subject to further decisions once potential uses of the funding are identified / proposed.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 151.

To agree the Annual Treasury Strategy for 2018/19 (including the Prudential and Treasury Indicators) for submission to Council and to seek approval of the updated Treasury Management Practices.

RESOLVED that

(a)       the comments of the Corporate Management Committee be noted; and that

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the Annual Treasury Strategy for 2018/2019 (including Prudential and Treasury Indicators), be approved and implemented.

There was submitted a report by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Resources (Report A.7), which sought Cabinet’s agreement for the Annual Treasury Strategy for 2018/2019 to be submitted to Council.

To seek approval, in principle, for a new lease of the Kiosk 6 building on the Lower Promenade, Marine Parade East, Clacton-on-Sea.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approves, in principle, the granting of a new lease of the site to the successful tenderer.

There was submitted a report by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Resources (Report A.8), which sought Cabinet’s agreement in principle for a new lease of the Kiosk 6 building, Marine Parade East, Clacton-on-Sea.

It was reported that the premises were currently vacant, the previous tenant having moved out in 2017. The site had been fully marketed including on site and press publicity. The kiosk had been placed with a local agent and had benefitted from a full month marketing campaign. Tender packs had been requested and sent out to interested parties.

Cabinet was informed that the usual formal tender process taking account of the proposed uses of the site, the visual impact of any changes to the site and the regeneration of the area as well as the proposed rental had been carried out. Subsequently, a full tender evaluation process had been conducted by a panel which included officers from both Corporate Services and Operational Services. This process had resulted in one tenderer being identified as the strongest in terms of use of the site, jobs creation, regeneration and financial gain. It was therefore proposed to grant a lease of the site to this party. Further details of the tenders and process were set out in item B.1 of the Report of the Finance and Corporate Services Portfolio Holder.

Having considered the contents of the report:-

It was moved by Councillor G V Guglielmi, seconded by Councillor Skeels Snr. and:

RESOLVED that Cabinet approves, in principle, the granting of a new lease of the site to the successful tenderer.

To seek Cabinet’s support and approval to three proposed digital transformation investment strands to provide opportunities to increase efficiency, reduce operating costs and potentially generate income.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approves -

(a)     each of the Digital Transformation programme investment proposals outlined, specifically;

                             i.    A ‘front office’ product suite and specialist consultant resourcing to achieve integration to ‘back office’ databases over an eighteen month period with one-off investment costs of £519,200 with £71,500 re-occurring costs per annum.

                            ii.    An IT migration strategy and specialist consultant resourcing to host the majority of the Council’s IT systems on the Microsoft Azure ‘Public Cloud’ platform over a two year period with one-off investment costs of £226,000 and with Microsoft re-occurring monthly costs thereafter.

                          iii.    Development of a Tendring Tourism and Events smartphone App over a six month period through specialist consultancy resources and with one-off investment costs of £120,000.

(b)     that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Corporate Resources and Leisure and Tourism, to agree continuation within existing budgets or termination of the App development after a further feasibility study.

(c)     that Digital Transformation Investment works totalling £865,200 be funded in part from £440,000 funds already set aside for existing/ related capital IT improvement budgets with the remaining funding by a transfer of £414,000 from the 2017/18 New Homes Bonus and £11,200 from the Building for the Future Reserve.

(d)     that Officers be requested to finalise the associated procurement activities in accordance with the Council’s Procurement Procedure rules.

(e)     that authority be delegated to the Corporate Director (Corporate Services) to make the necessary on-going budget adjustments to reflect the financial impact of the investment proposed, as set out in Appendix A to item A.9 of the Report of the Finance and Corporate Services Portfolio Holder.

There was submitted a comprehensive report by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Resources (Report A.9), which sought Cabinet’s support and approval to three proposed Digital Transformation investment strands to provide opportunities to increase efficiency, reduce operating costs and potentially generate income.

Cabinet was aware that the Council’s IT systems played a fundamental enabling role in its day to day service provision and access to information. The projects and investment set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report in particular formed a key building block in several of the Council’s key strategies and plans to transform and modernise the way the Council worked, delivered services and interacted with residents. More specifically -

ü   The investment proposed demonstrated a strong rate of return and the savings generated would contribute significantly to the newly adopted long term Financial Strategy;

ü   The proposed integration of information held on the Council’s major databases into a single view for staff and the opportunity to develop a Tendring Portal would deliver a step change in the delivery of the Customer Service Strategy;

ü   Significant improvements to the web site and the development of an “Events App” would be a major step forward in improving access to information digitally – helping to deliver Channel Shift; and

ü   The integration of back office systems and the move to host systems and store data remotely in “the cloud” would deliver increased flexibility and the ability to deliver services better using digital means and to support face to face delivery of services by staff – all in accordance with the IT Strategy.

It was reported that for the past six months Officers had been working alongside Amido and Intergence consultants to understand Tendring District Council’s state of digital maturity i.e. how each department currently used IT to deliver statutory and non-statutory services to residents. The recommendations resulting from this work comprised three strands of IT and specialist resource investment proposals, as follows:-

1.         Investment in ‘front office’ IT products and specialist consultant resources to integrate these systems with existing ‘back office’ databases and systems requiring £519,200 one off investment with £71,500 ongoing costs per year and returning an overall ongoing saving of £35,266 per year. (6.8% ROI). The project would enable ‘step change’ improvements in customer service delivery, and Officers mobile working out in the community.  

2.         Investment to migrate IT systems data storage from Council-owned/ maintained hardware that would soon require investment or replacement to that of rented Microsoft Azure platform resources – ‘The Public Cloud’. This project required a one off investment of £226,000 and had ongoing estimated costs of £149,000 which represented a small overall cost increase of £8,337 per year. However, this project represented a shift from periodic and increasingly large capital investment and ownership of IT hardware, to that of monthly ‘pay as you go’ hardware rental costs. There were additional operational benefits in terms of flexibility and business continuity/ resilience.    

3.         Investment to develop a Council Smartphone ‘Tourism and Events App’ to promote tourism  ...  view the full minutes text for item 154.

There are none on this occasion.

There were none on this occasion.

The Cabinet is asked to consider the following resolution:

“That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 19 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A, as amended, of the Act.”

RESOLVED that, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 19 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A, as amended, of the Act.