In the absence of the Leader of the Council (Councillor M E Stephenson), the Chair was occupied by the Deputy Leader (Councillor I J Henderson).

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

Apologies for non-attendance were submitted on behalf of the Leader of the Council & Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance (Councillor M E Stephenson) and the Chief Executive (Ian Davidson) who were both absent attending a meeting of the Essex Leaders and Chief Executives.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on Friday 20 December 2024.

It was moved by Councillor I J Henderson, seconded by Councillor Smith and:-

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet, held on Friday 20 December 2024, be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registerable Interests of Non-Registerable Interests, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

In relation to Agenda 11, Report of the Housing & Planning Portfolio Holder - A.4 - Adoption of Six Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans, and specifically with regards to the Brightlingsea Hall and All Saints Church Conservation Area,Councillor Chapman BEM declared for the public record that she was a member of Brightlingsea Town Council and a District Ward Member for Brightlingsea.

In relation to Agenda 11, Report of the Housing & Planning Portfolio Holder - A.4 - Adoption of Six Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans,and specifically with regards to the Clacton Sea Front Conservation Area, Councillor P B Honeywood declared for the public record that he was the District Ward Member for the Pier Ward.

Councillor Bray declared an Interest in Agenda Item 13, Joint Report of the Housing & Planning Portfolio Holder and the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder - A.6 - Updated Housing Revenue Account Business Plan and Budget Proposals 2025/26, insofar as he was a Housing Tenant of the Council. Councillor Bray further stated that he would withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

Councillor I J Henderson read out the following personal statement:-

“I have sought the Monitoring Officer’s advice in relation to the reference in the General Fund Budget Report at A3, in particular, Appendix C page 57 of the Agenda, to the set aside of funding of to a PSCO in Harwich.

This matter has been subject to previous decisions and has been in place for a number of years but historically has been funded as a cost pressure in year.  Page 57 is clear that to allocate the money, a separate report will be required and it is as this point, my interest as a Town Councillor would be relevant and when any decision is being considered I will withdraw, as I have done so previously.

Consequently, there is no need to make a declaration of interest, but I would like this recorded as a point of information in the minutes.”

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

There were no such announcements on this occasion.

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

The Portfolio Holder for Partnerships (Councillor Placey) referred to the recent announcement by Essex Police about proposed cuts to Police staff and PCSOs and informed Cabinet that she would write to the Police, Crime & Fire Commissioner for Essex to support efforts to ensure adequate funding and resourcing for community safety in Tendring.

The Portfolio Holder for Partnerships and the Deputy Leader of the Council then both responded to a question from the Leader of the Reform UK Group in relation to the future of those PCSOs that were funded by town and parish councils.

There are no matters referred to the Cabinet by the Council on this occasion.

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

To enable the Cabinet to consider the recommendations submitted to it by the Resources and Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee following that Committee’s scrutiny of the Cabinet’s initial budget proposals at its meeting held on 13 January 2025.

RESOLVED that the recommendations made by the Resources and Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee be noted and that the response of the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance & Governance thereto be endorsed.

Cabinet was awarethat, in accordance with the requirements of the Budget & Policy Framework Procedure Rules, the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee (“the Committee”) had undertaken its scrutiny of the budget for the Council.  Prior to its meeting on 13 January 2025, the Members of the Committee, had met informally on 6 January 2025 with the Section 151 Officer and the Head of Democratic Services & Elections in attendance. That informal meeting had aided the Members of the Committee in developing key lines of inquiry for its formal scrutiny meeting that had been held on 13 January 2025.

At the Committee’s formal meeting on 13 January, it had been aware that the initial General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget proposals for 2025/26 had been considered by Cabinet on 20 December 2024. 

The Committee had been provided, as part of the material for them to consider, the following:

1)       Updated General Fund Financial Forecast / Budget 2025/26 – the report considered by Cabinet on 20 December 2024.

2)       Updated Housing Revenue Account Business Plan and Budget Proposals 2025/26 – the report considered by Cabinet on 20 December 2024.

Following the informal meeting of the Committee held on 6 January 2025 a series of written questions had been circulated to Portfolio Holders and their responses had been circulated to the Committee prior to its formal meeting on 13 January 2025.  The Minutes of that formal meeting recorded those questions and responses in an Appendix.

At the 13 January meeting further, supplementary questions had been asked of Cabinet Members and responses provided. Those further responses had been also recorded in the Appendix to the Minutes.

The Committee had resolved to RECOMMEND to Cabinet that –

“(a)  That the Committee has recorded that it felt that it was not in a position to comment on the robustness of the budget plans for 2025/26 and beyond and, in this regard, it noted that:

(i)    in respect of the General Fund, the Forecast Risk Fund (used to smooth deficits in particular years) would be exhausted within 2028/29 and (as at the day of the meeting) there were no specific plans to address the full savings/income generation necessary up to that point to support a balanced budget from that point; 

(ii)   in respect of the Housing Revenue Account, there were not the written plans to move it to a sustainable position;

(iii)  through the papers submitted and statements made to the Committee, it was understood that plans to address (i) and (ii) were being worked upon; and

(b)   That Cabinet be informed of the above and requested to address the issues raised.”

Cabinet had before it the following written response of the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance & Governance:-

“In respect of the GF / HRA budget proposals, I do not recognise the point made by the Committee relating to them not feeling that they were in the position to comment on the robustness of the budget plans for 2025/26 and beyond.

The various  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113.

To enable Cabinet to consider recommendations made by the Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny Committee following its scrutiny of grant funding by the Council and others at its meeting held on 14 January 2025.

RESOLVED that the recommendations made by the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted and be given consideration for inclusion in the forthcoming Grant Policy which is currently being developed.

Cabinet was aware that, as a part of the Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme, that Committee had considered the topic of grant funding by the Council and others and its appropriateness given the needs of the District. Prior to its meeting on 14 January 2025, the Members of the Committee had met informally on 9 January 2025. That informal scrutiny meeting had aided the Members of the Committee in developing key lines of inquiry for its formal scrutiny meeting that had been held on 14 January 2025.

At the Committee’s formal meeting on 14 January, it had considered the report presented by the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships and had asked the Portfolio Holder a number of a questions in relation to this report that had been formulated as a part of the informal scrutiny meeting referenced earlier. At the formal meeting several supplementary questions had also been put to the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships. The Committee had heard from several external persons that had provided their comments/experience on the Grant Funding process. The representatives of the organisations that spoke at the Committee were from Clacton Arts Centre, Jaywick Sands Community Forum and Ketchup Clothes. 

The Committee had been provided, as part of the material for them to consider, the following:

-        Report of the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships – A.7 External Funding Review – Submitted to Cabinet on 20 September 2024

-        Commentary submitted by Headway Essex on their experience/thoughts on the Grant funding process

-        Commentary submitted by Inclusion Ventures on their experience/thoughts on the Grant funding process

The submission from the range of external organisations into this enquiry had greatly assisted the Committee to assess the extent to which there was corporate oversight of the diverse range of grant schemes provided by through the Council, the issues for many small organisations locally to access information on grant schemes and then accessing those schemes and the extent to which very important gaps existed in supporting organisations to pursue the Council’s Corporate Plan themes and improve health and wellbeing across the District       

The Committee had resolved to RECOMMEND to Cabinet that –

1)    Welcomes the report on Grant Funding from/through the Council and the statements and responses from the Portfolio Holder and Officers to the Committee and further welcomes the flowchart and checklist adopted internally to identify when matters can follow an ‘open call’ grant arrangement and when a ‘procurement;

2)    Records its thanks to all those who contributed to the enquiry into Grant Funding by/through the Council including written submissions from Headway Essex and Inclusion Ventures and the attendance by representatives from Jaywick Sands Community Forum, Ketchup Clothes and from Clacton Art Centre and their insight into the processes and value of grant opportunities for community activities;

3)    urges Cabinet to seriously consider the following actions:

a)    the establishment of an Oversight Group of Members for grant schemes across the Council;

b)    some form of gap analysis – even is full analysis is too large  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.

There are no matters referred to the Cabinet by the Leader of the Council on this occasion.

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

To seek Cabinet’s approval of:

(i)       the latest financial forecast / budget proposals and council tax amount for 2025/26 for recommending to Full Council;

(ii)      a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance to agree the detailed budget proposals and formal draft resolutions / ‘technical’ appendices required for Full Council on 11 February 2025; and

(iii)    a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance, to agree / adopt a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure mandatory business rate relief scheme for 2025/26 along with any other changes to reliefs that may be announced by the Government.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)     approves the updated financial forecast, as set out in Appendix A to the Report of the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder (A.3), along with the savings and cost pressures set out in Appendices B and C respectively that form the firm proposals for the 2025/26 budget and recommends to Full Council:-

a Band D Council Tax for district services of £199.52 for 2025/26 (a 2.99% increase), along with the associated council tax requirement of £10.674m.

b)     authorises the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, to agree the ‘technical’ appendices and resolutions for the budget proposals for recommending to Full Council on 11 February 2025;

c)   authorises the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder, to report directly to Council in respect of the formal resolutions necessary to implement the Executive’s budget proposals including any further amendments emerging from additional information becoming available and/or notifications received from the Government; and

d)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, to agree / adopt a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure mandatory business rate relief scheme for 2025/26 along with any other changes to reliefs that may be announced by the Government.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder (A.3) which sought its approval of:

1)       the latest financial forecast / budget proposals and council tax amount for 2025/26 for recommending to Full Council;

2)       a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance to agree the detailed budget proposals and formal draft resolutions / ‘technical’ appendices required for Full Council on 11 February 2025; and

3)       a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, to agree / adopt a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure mandatory business rate relief scheme for 2025/26 along with any other changes to reliefs that may be announced by the Government.

Cabinet recalled that, at its meeting held on 20 December 2024, it had considered the updated financial forecast / budget 2025/26. That updated financial forecast had been subsequently subject to consultation with the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which had met on 13 January 2025, and their comments had been considered earlier on in the meeting under Minute 113 above.

It was reported that, since the Cabinet’s meeting on 20 December 2024, additional changes had been required, primarily because of new or revised information becoming available, which included the impact of the Government’s Provisional Local Government Financial Settlement announcements.

Cabinet was informed that the changes required had resulted in a reduced deficit for 2025/26 of £0.056m(0.3% of the Council’s current net budget), a change of £1.452m compared to the £1.508m deficit presented to Cabinet in December. Appendix A,along with comments set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report, provided further details across the various lines of the forecast, with the most significant change being the favourable and potentially one-off income from Business Rates via the estimated Collection Fund position at the end of this financial year. The most up to date savings schedule and cost pressure summary were set out in Appendices B and C respectively.

Members were advised that, to enable the detailed estimates along with the various resolutions / ‘technical’ appendices required for Full Council in February to be finalised, a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance was included within the report’s recommendations. A further delegation was also included therein to enable a business rate relief policy, associated with the continuation of a mandatory Government relief scheme in 2025/26, to be finalised in advance of bills being printed and sent out before the start of the financial year, along with reflecting any further changes that could be announced by the Government.

It was pointed out that the budget position set out in this report would change as further adjustments were required as part of finalising the budget for presenting to Full Council on 11 February 2025, with a further delegation included in the report’s recommendations to reflect this.

Cabinet was made aware that based on the final proposed budget for 2025/26, the Council’s own council tax requirement was £10.674m,which was based on a 2.99% (£5.79)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

To inform Cabinet on the progress of updating the District’s Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans.

To seek agreement from Cabinet that the final versions of six Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans be adopted by the Council. The six Conservation Area Appraisals for adoption are:-

Clacton Seafront;

Brightlingsea Hall and All Saints Church;

Great Clacton;

Lawford;

Kirby-le-Soken; and

Great Oakley.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)    notes the outcome of the consultation, as summarised within the report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.4); and

(b)    approves the formal adoption, of the final Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plan for the following areas (as found at Appendices A – F to report A.4):-

·      Clacton Seafront;

·      Brightlingsea Hall and All Saints Church;

·      Great Clacton;

·      Lawford;

·      Kirby-le-Soken; and

·      Great Oakley.

Earlier on in the meeting, as detailed under Minute 109 above, and in relation to this item:-

(i)       with regards to the Brightlingsea Hall and All Saints Church Conservation Area,Councillor Chapman BEM had declared for the public record that she was a member of Brightlingsea Town Council and a District Ward Member for Brightlingsea; and

(ii)     with regards to the Clacton Sea Front Conservation Area,Councillor P B Honeywood had declared for the public record that he was the District Ward Member for the Pier Ward.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.4), which informed it about progress updating the District’s Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans and which sought its agreement from Cabinet to adopt the final versions of six Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans.

Members recalled that one of the aims of the Council’s adopted Heritage Strategy was for the Council to reassess each of the District’s twenty Conservation Area Appraisals.

It was reported that fifteen of those had now been the subject of public consultations, with the last five being consulted upon in early 2025. Seven Appraisals had been adopted by Cabinet in the summer of 2024. A further six Appraisals were now ready for adoption, which would enable them to be referred to as a material consideration in planning matters.

Cabinet was informed that the six Conservation Area Appraisals now recommended for adoption were:-

-        Clacton Seafront;

-        Brightlingsea Hall and All Saints Church;

-        Great Clacton;

-        Lawford;

-        Kirby-le-Soken; and

-        Great Oakley.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning read out the following statement:-

“Chairman, I am delighted to introduce this report requesting that Cabinet adopt a further six Conservation Area Appraisals, for the six areas of Clacton Seafront,  Brightlingsea Hall and All Saints Church, Great Clacton, Lawford, Kirby le Soken and, Great Oakley. The appraisals themselves are shown from Page 73 to 442 of the Agenda, quite a long read but very interesting nevertheless.

One of the aims of the Council’s Heritage Strategy, adopted in April 2020, was to update the Council’s Area Appraisals, and much work has been done since then to bring these updated appraisals forward.

As you will recall Cabinet adopted the first seven appraisals in summer last year, therefore these further six will take the total adopted to 13.

The final areas, have either been consulted upon, or are currently out for consultation and I hope to bring further reports to Cabinet hopefully, by the summer.

As you can see yet again, Chairman, a lot of work has gone into producing these appraisals, and I would like to thank all those who have undertaken that work, as well as those who responded to the consultations. Having these Appraisals in place will help in the preparation of our new revised Local Plan and also assist in attracting external funding for heritage related activity in the District.

I do not intend to say anything further as it is all outlined  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

To seek approval from Cabinet to provide an information and advice service to local residents with revised requirements via an associated specification and procurement process, with the new arrangements commencing on 1 October 2025.

To approve the allocation of £0.072m to Citizen’s Advice Tendring to continue to contribute to the existing information and advice guidance service through direct funding for the interim period up to 30 September 2025 in accordance with a subsidy scheme.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)     approves the provision of an information and advice service to local residents;

b)     agrees to the procurement of such services for a contract period of three years commencing 1 October 2025, and agrees to a modular procurement approach to determine what a provider could offer for various levels of potential funding e.g. £50,000, £100,000, or £150,000 per year;

c)      authorises the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships, in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive, to approve the specification for the provision of an information and advice service based on the broad principles set out within the report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder (A.5);

d)     approves for an interim period of six months from 1 April 2025, the continuation of the existing agreement with CAT at a cost of £0.072m, supported by the existing budget for information and advice services to local residents;

e)     in respect of the contribution of £0.072m to CAT, agrees to extend the current Addressing Health Inequality – Advice, Support and Mental Health Support Subsidy Scheme for 2025/26;

f)       authorises the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships and the Monitoring Officer, to finalise the administrative requirements for the production of the Subsidy Scheme in accordance with the Subsidy Control Act 2023 and Statutory Guidance and to publish it on the Government website prior to any awards; and

g)     agrees to extend the current Service Level Agreement with Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) from 1st April 2025 until 30^th September 2025 on the terms and conditions as set out in the updated agreement shown in Appendix B to the report (A.5).

Cabinet considered a report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder (A.5), which sought its approval to provide an information and advice service to local residents with revised requirements via an associated specification and procurement process, with the new arrangements commencing on 1 October 2025. The report further sought Cabinet’s approval for the allocation of £0.072m to Citizen’s Advice Tendring to continue to contribute to the existing information and advice guidance service through direct funding for the interim period up to 30 September 2025 in accordance with a subsidy scheme.

Members were aware that, to date, the Council had contributed to the funding of an information and advice service available to local residents across the District. This was currently provided through Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) via a Service Level Agreement. The current payment made to CAT for the above service was £0.144m per annum. This arrangement had been in place for 13 years, which had recently been facilitated via the adoption of a local Subsidy Control Scheme.

It was reported that in line with the high-level external funding framework agreed by Cabinet at its meeting held on 20 September 2024 and in demonstrating value for money that reflected the Council’s wider best value responsibilities, a procurement process was proposed to be undertaken for the future provision of information and advice services to local residents.

Cabinet was advised that in terms of the procurement process, it was important that the Council set out a clear specification of what it wished to procure, which included understanding the ‘market’ and what similar services were already available to local residents. This approach ensured a joined-up approach across the various sectors within the area with the underlying aim of maximising the use of the Council’s resources.

In terms of the principles underlying the provision of an information and advice service to local residents, it was important to highlight the following:

·      the challenges some parts of the community faced in relation to housing, welfare and debt;

·      almost 30% of our local neighbourhoods were in the 20% most deprived nationally;

·      there had been a 20% increase in those claiming out of work benefits between 2020 and 2022;

·      in addressing deprivation, residents needed to improve their income which could be achieved by employment, accessing higher levels of benefits and adequately managing and reducing debt;

·      the provision of information and advice was a cost-effective way of helping to support people in relation to employment, benefits and debt;

·      providers were highlighting the increasing demand, for example, CVST reported a 103% increase in demand around social prescribing and the DWP had highlighted the need around 4000 new cases formerly on Employment Support Allowance migrating to Universal Credit; and

·      Partners had also identified the greater complexity of those in need both in terms of the multiple issues they now presented with, but also that they now more frequently appeared ‘in crisis’.

Members noted that the demand for information and advice services to local residents was therefore demonstrable based on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

To seek Cabinet’s approval of the updated HRA Business Plan for 2023/24 along with final HRA budget proposals 2025/26 (including fees and charges, capital programme and movement in HRA Balances) for recommendation to Council on 11 February 2025.

1.      RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)  approves the updated HRA Business Plan, which includes the proposed position for 2024/25 and 2025/26 as set out in Appendix A to the Portfolio Holders’ joint report (A.6); and

(b)  authorises the Director (Finance & IT) to adjust the forecast / budget, including the use of reserves, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning and the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance if the financial position changes prior to Full Council considering the HRA budget on 11 February 2025.

2.      RECOMMENDS TO COUNCIL that a 2.7% increase in dwelling rents in 2025/26 along with the detailed HRA Budget proposals for 2025/26, as set out in Appendices B to E of the Portfolio Holders’ joint report (A.6), be approved.

Earlier on in the meeting, as detailed under Minute 109 above, Councillor Bray had declared an Interest in this item insofar as he was a Housing Tenant of the Council. Councillor Bray therefore withdrew from the meeting at this juncture.

Cabinet considered a detailed joint report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder and the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder (A.6), which sought its approval of an updated Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan for 2024/25 and 2025/26, 26 along with the final HRA budget proposals for 2025/26 (including fees and charges, capital programme and movement in HRA Balances) for recommending to Full Council on 11 February 2025.

Cabinet recalled that at its meeting held on 20 December 2024, it had considered the HRA Business Plan and Budget Proposals for 2025/26. The updated HRA Business plan / budget proposals at that time had provided for a surplus of £0.418m in 2024/25 and a deficit of £1.170m in 2025/26. Those initial budget proposals had been subject to consultation with the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which had met on 13 January 2025 to consider them, and their comments had been considered earlier on in the meeting under Minute 113 above.

It was reported that since Cabinet’s meeting on 20 December 2024, only one amendment to the proposed budget for 2025/26 had been required with 2024/25 remaining unchanged. The change required in 2025/26 had resulted in the overall deficit decreasing to £1.131m a change of £0.039m compared to the position reported to Cabinet in December as highlighted above. Appendix A to the Portfolio Holders’ joint report (A.6) set out the updated Business Plan, in terms of 2024/25 and 2025/26, with Appendix B setting out the proposed detailed budgets that reflected this latest position.

Members were made aware that it was proposed to fund the estimated deficit for 2025/26 by calling down money from HRA balances as an alternative to reducing expenditure. As had been the case in previous years, the use of reserves struck a necessary balance of ‘protecting’ the investment in tenants’ homes whilst recognising the need to use reserves to respond to the on-going financial challenges that the Council continued to face. It was however recognised that this was not a sustainable long-term solution, but it enabled the Council to meet its key priorities in the immediate term, which could be revisited as part of the HRA Business Plan in future years. This challenge had been recognised within Cabinet’s current initial highlight priorities for 2025/26.

Cabinet was informed that the proposed average weekly rent remained unchanged to the figure reported in December at £103.49, an increase of 2.7% over the comparable figure of £100.89 for 2024/25. Appendix C set out the proposed fees and charges for 2025/26, which broadly reflected inflationary uplifts of 2.7% where relevant or other inflationary changes to better reflect the cost of providing the associated service.

Members noted that the proposed HRA Capital Programme for 2025/26 was set out in Appendix D, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

There are no matters referred to the Cabinet by the Council’s Management Team on this occasion.

There were no matters referred to the Cabinet by the Council’s Management Team on this occasion.