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

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors J D Bray (Leader of the Reform UK Group) and J B Chapman BEM (Leader of the Independent Group).

To confirm and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on Friday 31 January 2025.

It was moved by Councillor M E Stephenson, seconded by Councillor I J Henderson and:-

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet, held on Friday 31 January 2025, 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 Item 15 (Report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder – A.8 – Tendring Careline: Decision on the Future of the Service), Councillor P B Honeywood declared an Interest insofar as a close member of his family was a customer of Careline.

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

There were no such announcements on this occasion. However, the Leader of the Council facilitated the following:-

Deferral of Agenda Item 13 – Report of the Assets & Community Safety Portfolio Holder- A.6 – Adoption of a Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy

The Monitoring Officer informed Cabinet that, with the agreement of the Leader of the Council, report A.6 would stand deferred from this meeting. This was due to the fact that this report referred to the Strategic Assessment (Appendix 2) which had been restricted to Members’ access only and not therefore published in the public domain. This restriction needed to be reconsidered and therefore it was necessary to defer this item until a future meeting of the Cabinet.

LGR Initial Proposals

The Chief Executive reminded Members that the initial LGR proposals were required to be submitted to the Government by 21 March 2025 and that the fully detailed proposals would be due to be submitted to Government in September 2025. To that end, the Essex Leaders and Chief Executives would be meeting on 28 February 2025 to discuss and reach a consensus on those Initial Proposals. It was then intended to hold an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council on 11 March 2025 to enable this Council’s Members to be informed of those proposals and to discuss them.

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

Older Persons Crucial Crew Event

The Partnerships Portfolio Holder (Councillor Placey) reported that this event had been a great success and had been centred around giving advice to persons aged 55+ around crime prevention and personal safety. Such had been its success that it was now intended to hold another such event in October 2025 and there were already 60 people on the waiting list for it.

Visit to Colchester Hospital

Councillor Placey informed Cabinet that she had recently visited the new Orthopaedic Unit at Colchester Hospital which was an excellent addition to the medical facilities available to residents. Though the waiting list for appointments was still long, the Unit had only been open for 12 weeks and had succeeded in reducing the waiting time by 7 weeks.

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.

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

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

To provide the Cabinet with an update to the Quarter 3 position (October-December 2024) on the positive progress with the Highlight Priority Actions adopted for 2024/25 towards the Council’s Corporate Plan Themes for 2024-2028.

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted together with the approval of the highlighted realignment of particular milestones for particular highlight priority actions, as set out in the Leader of the Council’s report (A.1).

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Leader of the Council (A.1) which provided it with an update to the Quarter 3 position (October-December 2024) on the positive progress with the Highlight Priority Actions adopted for 2024/25 towards the Council’s Corporate Plan Themes for 2024-2028.

In considering this report, Cabinet also reflected on the range of significant matters that the Council had delivered in the first nine months of 2024/25 which included:-

(1)     Tendring Junior Ambassadors Embrace Global Cultures with Vibrant Celebration;

(2)     Families celebrate Dovercourt Bay Lifestyles' 40th anniversary;

(3)     Top reviews for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs panto at Clacton’s Princes Theatre;

(4)     Tendring District Council named IED Social Value Champion of the Year for The Sunspot;

(5)     13 further car parks across Tendring receive top safety awards;

(6)     Tendring Awards Ceremony Honours Business Achievements; and

(7)     Polling Districts and Places Review.

Having considered, as part of the project management by Cabinet, the position in respect of the major projects which were the subject of the adopted highlight priorities of Cabinet for 2024/25:-

It was moved by Councillor M E Stephenson, seconded by Councillor I J Hendersonand:-

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted together with the approval of the highlighted realignment of particular milestones for particular highlight priority actions, as set out in the Leader of the Council’s report (A.1).

To update Cabinet on the progress of the collaboration procurement service, known as Essex Procurement Partnership and to seek approval for the Collaboration Agreement to be entered into, replacing the arrangement directly with Essex County Council and endorsing the proposed Procurement Strategy for Essex Procurement Partnership, as the interim strategy for the Council.

(REPORT IS “TO FOLLOW”)

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)    agrees to enter into a Collaboration Agreement for the delivery of joint procurement services for a three-year period on substantially the same terms as set out in Appendix A of the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.2) with:

·           Braintree District Council

·           Castle Point Borough Council

·           Epping Forest District Council

·           Essex County Council

(b)    authorises the Director for Governance, being responsible for the Council’s corporate procurement function, to sign the final Collaboration Agreement on behalf of the Council;

(c)    agrees that Essex County Council should be the Accountable Body under the Collaboration Agreement acting as Lead Party, which includes responsibility for the day-to-day management of the service and its financial administration and managing seconded staff;

(d)    notes that the Collaboration Agreement provides for annual contributions from the Council, which can be met from within existing budgets, although subject to review as part of the annual budget setting cycle to respond to changes such as inflationary increases;

(e)    notes that further secondment or employment of staff to Essex County Council to support Essex Procurement Partnership, is fully and jointly funded by its Member Authorities;

(f)     supports exploration of additional resource to support the legal support to the Essex Procurement Partnership, in particular for procurement and contract legal advice;

(g)    endorses the continuous improvement approach as identified seeking views on the existing partnership and joint working through an internal questionnaire to feed into the arrangement for the next three years;

(h)    approves the Procurement Strategy for recommendation onto Full Council for adoption as required by the Council’s Policy Framework; and.

(i)     instructs Officers to regularly update the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Community Safety, as being responsible for procurement on the content and quality of the Council’s Contract Register and Procurement Project Pipeline ensuring it is kept up to date, enabling Council projects and business as usual can be delivered through the approved Essex Procurement Partnership Prioritisation Approach.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Assets and Community Safety Portfolio Holder (A.2) which update it on the progress of the collaboration procurement service, known as Essex Procurement Partnership and which sought its approval for the Collaboration Agreement to be entered into, replacing the arrangement directly with Essex County Council and endorsing the proposed Procurement Strategy for Essex Procurement Partnership, as the interim strategy for the Council.

Members were reminded that the collaborative partnership initially between Tendring District Council and Essex County Council for the delivery of procurement functions had begun on 1st October 2021 and continued until March 2025. 

Cabinet recalled that, in March 2023, it had approved Tendring District Council forming part of a wider partnership of Councils to explore the Shared Procurement Service for parts of Essex, now known as the Essex Procurement Partnership (EPP). 

Since 2023, the Council had worked in collaboration with Braintree District Council, Castle Point Borough Council, Epping Forest District Council and Essex County Council (the EPP Member Authorities) with the purpose to enable effective and efficient procurement, maximising the value for every pound spent by those local authorities across Essex for the benefit of local residents.

The collaboration would achieve this through a shared procurement team, with:

•    Pooled resource enabling a resilient procurement service.

•    The combination of expertise enabling well informed procurement activity to maximise value from the market and better value for Essex residents.

•    Shared procurement activity enabling savings through economies of scale and efficiencies in the use of the procurement team.

•    Standardisation of processes and documentation to support local businesses and SMEs in bidding for Essex opportunities.

Members were aware that this Council’s Portfolio Holder for Assets and Community Safety being the Executive Member responsible for procurement represented the Council at the Member Advisory Group (MAG) with elected Members from each local authority. The MAG had been established in September 2023 and provided executive member oversight of the EPP reviewing the performance of EPP in delivering against its objectives and acting as both critical friends and champions of the partnership. 

It was reported that, currently, the EPP Member Authorities were taking the Collaboration Agreement, Procurement Strategy and Social Value Policy through their respective Cabinets.  The concept of the collaborative procurement partnership and shared working approach had already been introduced and adopted through Cabinet.  Whilst existing delegations were already in place to complete a partnership agreement, it was felt that in the light of the substantial progress made through the collaboration, it was appropriate to seek full Cabinet’s approval and present the proposed Procurement Strategy for consideration.

Cabinet was advised that the core objectives of EPP, endorsed by the MAG were set out in Schedule 1 of the Collaboration Agreement provided at Appendix A to the portfolio Holder’s report (A.2), and transferred to Service Plan objectives, as follows:

“•  Contract Liquidity – To develop a clear contract register and forward plan to enable members to understand third party commitments and proactive procurement.

•    RFQ Process  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

To recommend for approval the acceptance of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) transition year 2025/26 allocation to Tendring District Council (TDC) which totals £563,028, and recommend an approach to its spend, building on the successes of the previous UKSPF programme (past 3 financial years) and which aligns with TDC’s external Grant making policy.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

(a)    following the review of the External Funding High Level Framework Grants Checklist, as attached in Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.3), accepts £563,028 from UK Shared Prosperity Fund;

(b)    approves the allocation of: £40,000 to commission business support; £26,500 to the continuation of the Local Cultural Education Partnership (LCEP) Officer role; £19,506 to the continuation of the Council’s Town Centre Manager Role; £15,000 for Extend the Season Events Grants; and £25,000 for the Widening Participation Sports Grants scheme, as set out in Appendix B to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.3);

(c)    allocates the remainder of the UKSPF funding via an open call for projects in quarter one 2025/6 under the themes set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report;

(d)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism to approve the criteria for assessment of grants under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund;

(e)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism to approve the award of grants to organisations under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and

(f)     authorises the Council’s Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism, to sign the grant agreement and memorandum of understanding for the funding, when they are received from Government.

Cabinet considered a report of the Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.3) which recommended acceptance of the 2025/26 UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which totalled £563,028, and the Council’s approach to its allocation and alignment with the adopted External Grant Making Policy.

Members were reminded that the UKSPF programme, established in 2022 by Central Government, was part of a wider programme which had allocated funding nationwide to Councils for locally led delivery. Funding had been delivered via Multiply, the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), and Shared Prosperity Fund Programmes.

As the current programme would draw to a close at the end of 2024/25, a transition year had been announced by MHCLG for 2025/26, for UKSPF only. DEFRA was yet to make a formal announcement regarding any continuation of REPF and therefore this would be brought forward separately if any amount was to be allocated to Tendring. All money had to be spent and fully delivered by 31 March 2026.

It had been announced in December 2024 that Tendring had been allocated £563,028 (made up of £71,771 capital and £491,257 revenue), via an updated funding formula, to be allocated to projects across three themes in 2025/26. The themes were unchanged from the previous programme, and supported by sub-themes as follows:

•    Communities and Place

o   Healthy, Safe, and Inclusive Communities

o   Thriving Places

•    Supporting Local Business

•    People and Skills

o   Employability

o   Skills

As set out in Appendix A, the External Funding High Level Framework Checklist had been considered and completed.

It was proposed that the bulk of the funding allocated for 25/26 be made available via an open call for projects under each of the main three themes, and projects assessed for their value for money and fit into the sub-themes by Officers, continuing business as usual from the previous three-year programme, with one key difference. Rather than allocating specific amounts to each theme and sub theme, it was proposed to instead make the total amount available known and respond to need/demand as evidenced by the applications received, rather than allocating a specific amount per theme then finding that some were over or under-subscribed, or otherwise unable to deliver by the 31 March 2026.

It was reported that applications would be welcomed from external organisations via the open call, as well as Council projects, and all would be subject to the same assessment process. Projects would be reviewed by Officers, to include due diligence on the applicant organisation itself as well as the veracity of the claims made about the project applied for, and in cases where match-funding was applied for, to check other funding sources were in place to ensure delivery of the project to meet the March 2026 UKSPF deadline. Decisions on whether to reject, award, or part-award funding would be made by the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism, and subject to call-in by other Members.

As part of the open call for projects, it was proposed to continue specifically two grant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 130.

To present a post project review of Orwell Place Car Park and Event Space for consideration by Cabinet, and to provide an update on the regenerated site in Dovercourt Town Centre since opening in September 2023.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)     notes this post project review of Orwell Place and endorses the learning points as set out in Appendix A of the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.4), to inform future capital projects;

b)     requests the Leader of the Council to ensure that key messages from the aforementioned Appendix A, are clearly documented within the Council’s Annual Governance Statement, as expected by the Best Value Duty Statutory Guidance; and

c)      invites the Overview and Scrutiny Committees to consider including the outcome of this review on their work programmes to provide additional scrutiny of the performance and lessons learnt.

Cabinet considered a report of the Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.4) which presented a post project review of Orwell Place Car Park and Event Space for consideration by Cabinet, and which provided an update on the regenerated site in Dovercourt Town Centre since opening in September 2023.

Cabinet was aware that Orwell Place Car Park was the first phase of the ‘Dovercourt Revisited’ plan, supporting the town to grow to its full potential and would support future projects in the process of being developed which included:-

“1.   Kingsway improvements: A major investment into the appearance of Dovercourt Town Centre.

2.    Library project: The Adult Community Learning skills centre will return to the area within a refurbished library.

3.    Milton Road: Demolish the out-of-date multi-storey car park at Milton Road and provide an attractive and safe ground level car park to compliment Orwell Place.

4.    Victoria Street: Demolish a dangerous structure and redevelop 8 new social homes.”

Members recalled that further opportunities were currently being delivered through the High Street Accelerator Pilot Scheme (HSA) which had provided seed funding of £237,000 and green space funding of £500,000. Dovercourt High Street had been chosen as one of ten high streets receiving funding from the HSA Pilot Programme which had been announced in March 2023 as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Action Plan.

Schemes within the HSA included shop front grants, a pop-up shop, improved wayfinding, shop wrapping, a new website and events.  The green spaces proposal currently being designed by a team of award-winning urban designers, would link the high street, beach and the Kingsway Improvements Projects enhancing the public realm offer to the community.

The ‘Starlings’ site redevelopment had been advocated in Dovercourt Revisited, approved by Cabinet in July 2019.  Dovercourt Revisited had proposed a redevelopment with a new animated public space, public toilets, and a surface car park with the capacity to accommodate 59 car parking spaces, with six designated for disabled use. 

It was reported that on 13 September 2019, Cabinet had allocated £1.599m from existing Council resources to the redevelopment of the Starlings site in Dovercourt Town Centre and the demolition of the Milton Road Car Park and 15 parking spaces in Bagshaw Road. The delivery proposed redevelopment of the Starlings site first, to create new parking and then demolish Milton Road Car Park.

Members were reminded that, following provisional completion of the project, Orwell Place Car Park had been opened in September 2023 on the site of the former derelict Starlings Site in Dovercourt High Street with a revised 53 parking spaces in total; eight with electric vehicle charging, and eight disabled bays which hosted two of the electric chargers. Essex County Highways were still to sign off the entranceway and so completion of the final account with contractors remained outstanding, which would determine the final cost of the project. The Council had allocated a total of £2,541,050 to the project and there was currently a forecast underspend.

Cabinet was cognisant that the project  ...  view the full minutes text for item 131.

To consider the following draft policies prepared in relation to the maintenance and operation of the Council’s retained housing stock:

• Housing Asset Management Plan

• Asbestos Management Policy (Housing Stock)

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)    adopts the Housing Asset Management Plan and the Asbestos Management Policy for its housing stock and authorises their direct and immediate implementation, subject to call in; and

(b)    authorises the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery) to make future updates or amendments to the Policies, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder responsible for Housing.

Cabinet considered a report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.5), which submitted the following draft policies prepared in relation to the maintenance and operation of the Council’s retained housing stock:

·      Housing Asset Management Plan

·      Asbestos Management Policy (Housing Stock)

Members recalled that in response to the Regulator for Social Housing having its powers enhanced under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, new Consumer Standards and Tenant Satisfaction Measures had been introduced and which had taken effect on 1 April 2024. 

It was felt that the adoption of this Management Plan and Policy would therefore assist the compliance with the legal and regulatory standards for performance.

Cabinet was informed that the Housing Asset Management Plan had been developed to provide a framework to enable the safe, efficient, and effective management of Council owned homes and related buildings and facilities. 

To assist the Council to better understand its housing stock, the Development and Building Team had access to various software.  Lifespan (asset management) and Oneserve were housing specific data management platforms that held all of the Council’s compliance and stock data including the issuing of, and monitoring of, workflows.  The use of Safety Culture (iAuditor), as an inspection tool, enabled the creation of templates to assist with the recording of the relevant information required when all types of site inspections were undertaken.  This captured information also fed into responsive and planned maintenance works including the management of disrepair complaints.     

This plan also strongly supported one of the six themes contained in the Council’s Corporate Plan and Vision 2024-2028 namely ‘Pride in our Area and Services to Residents’, with a continuing commitment to providing decent Council housing that everyone deserved.

Members were made aware that the Asbestos Management Policy set out the actions taken within the housing stock to manage Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) in accordance with The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR), and best practice guidance.

In order to set in place clear plans and policies to inform future maintenance and management activities and such policy framework to evidence compliance with regulatory standards:-

It was moved by Councillor Baker, seconded by Councillor Smith and:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)     adopts the Housing Asset Management Plan and the Asbestos Management Policy for its housing stock and authorises their direct and immediate implementation, subject to call in; and

(b)     authorises the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery) to make future updates or amendments to the Policies, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder responsible for Housing.

To present to Cabinet the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy 2025 - 2028 for its approval and recommendation to Full Council for its formal adoption.

This item had been deferred for the reasons stated under Minute 124 above.

To present a five-year Health and Wellbeing Draft Strategy for Cabinet approval to then be consulted on through a stakeholder and public consultation process.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)    approves the Health and Wellbeing Draft Strategy for public consultation;

(b)    agrees that Officers, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships, initiate a minimum eight-week consultation process and seek stakeholder comment on the Health and Wellbeing Draft Strategy; and

(c)    agrees that following that consultation the final Health and Wellbeing Strategy be presented to Cabinet for its approval and adoption.

Cabinet considered a report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder (A.7), which presented a draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Cabinet’s approval to then be consulted on through a stakeholder and public consultation process.

Cabinet was presented with a new evidence-based Health and Wellbeing Draft Strategy, to support delivery of the Council’s priorities as set out in the Corporate Plan.  This draft Strategy would set the direction for the Council’s focus on supporting residents to live a healthier, independent and fulfilling life. Evidence from data showed that although there were some improving figures, when compared to other areas in Essex, Tendring District still had higher than average levels of certain preventable long-term conditions, poorer mental health, overweight/obesity and lower physical activity levels.

It was believed that adoption of this Strategy and the action plan within it, would help support partnership working to deliver improvements around the wider determinants of health in the District which would have a direct impact on health and wellbeing outcomes.

Taking into account the data and partner feedback as detailed in the draft Strategy, the following strategic objectives were considered key to improving the health and wellbeing of residents:

1.   The Wider Determinants of Health

2.   Improving Wellbeing & Resilience

3.   Encouraging a healthier lifestyle

4.   Improve Long Term Condition Prevention and Management

5.   Suicide Prevention

Members were informed that the draft Strategy was presented with an action plan, to impact on all of the objectives set out above.  Although it would not be possible for the Council to fund all the actions listed, adopting an action plan would allow the Council to proactively look for external funding opportunities.

A key focus of this work was to ensure that all residents felt represented by the draft Strategy and were supported in living a healthier, independent and fulfilling life.

It was felt that this could be achieved by working closely with health partners to deliver initiatives that helped to tackle some of this District’s health needs. Understanding how the wider determinants of health could have a real impact on health outcomes was critical to improving the quality of life for many residents.

Cabinet was informed that the draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy aligned with the Sport and Physical Activity Strategy. The feedback from the consultation had shown that the majority of participants took part in 150+ minutes of exercise a week, using cycle paths, footpaths and recreation grounds. The main barriers to exercise were shown to be access to facilities close to where the participants lived. The Council would continue to work in partnership across the organisation to connect the health and physical activity agendas.

Members were made aware that the draft strategy set out a plan for funding some projects through the public health grant which was allocated by Essex County Council (ECC). Working within the agreed priorities within the grant, projects could be funded that delivered health improvements. The Council would share significant projects with our partners at the Community Safety Partnership and Health and Wellbeing Board  ...  view the full minutes text for item 134.

To seek the Cabinet’s decision on the future of the Council’s Careline service having regard to:-

·      updated financial analysis for different options;

·      the exploration of proposals from third parties who, through last year’s consultation exercise, expressed an interest in taking on all or part of the service;

·      the likely strategic and practical implications of emerging proposals for Devolution and local government reorganisation;

·      the aims and objectives of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance for an integrated ‘place-based’ health system approach; and

·      the need to ensure best value and quality of service for residents and service-users in the context of an expanding and increasingly competitive private market for telecare, response and lifting services.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)     notes the content of the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.8), including the updated financial information relating to alternative options for the future of Tendring Careline, updated information on numbers of service-users and staff, the latest position in relation to third-party contracts and the consideration of third-party proposals for taking on all or part of the Careline service; 

b)     notes also the latest position in respect of proposals for local government reorganisation across Essex, including the likely replacement of County and District Councils with unitary authorities, and the potential practical implications for services such as Careline in the future;

c)      in light of the information noted as per resolutions a) and b), supports the proposal from Colchester City Council and its Helpline Service (provided through its arms-length company Amphora), based on the outcome of the evaluation set out within the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.8);

d)     agrees to the creation of a combined and expanded telecare, response and lifting service for North East Essex that aligns with the aims and of objectives of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance for an integrated health-system approach; and agrees heads of terms on the following principle conditions:

i)       it is achieved through the automatic transfer of all remaining Tendring Careline service-users to the service provided by Colchester Helpline on their existing terms of conditions and with no ongoing financial liability to Tendring District Council following that transfer;

ii)      that Colchester Helpline undertakes to guarantee service coverage to residents across all parts of the Tendring District so as to ensure that no part of the District is left without access for residents to a paid-for telecare, response and lifting service;

iii)     that Colchester Helpline’s existing average response times are maintained and where possible improved upon in providing coverage to residents in all parts of Tendring – with measures put in place, as necessary, for one or more outposts in locations providing accessibility for all parts of Tendring – and at no ongoing cost or liability to Tendring District Council; and

iv)     that Tendring Careline’s existing staff will transfer to employment within the expanded Colchester Helpline, respecting existing terms and conditions and with no ongoing financial liability to Tendring District Council resulting from that transfer.

e)     agrees in principle that the Council’s Out-of-Hours, CCTV services and monitoring for the Council’s own sheltered housing schemes will also transfer to Colchester Helpline under an outsourcing arrangement within the same timescales for achieving the proposal under resolution d), which will be considered as part of the associated negotiation and subject to separate decision(s) as necessary;

f)       that the transfer be facilitated, as early and as smoothly as possible within the 2025/26 financial year;

g)     agrees that, from the date of this decision, any new prospective Careline customers are to be signposted to Colchester Helpline as the Council’s preferred alternative trusted provider, in light of the proposal under d) above;

h)     agrees an extension to the exemption of Procurement Procedure Rules to allow the  ...  view the full decision text for item 135.

Earlier on in the meeting, as detailed under Minute 123 above, Councillor P B Honeywood had declared an Interest in this item.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder (A.8), which sought the Cabinet’s decision on the future of the Council’s Careline service having regard to:-

·      an updated financial analysis for different options;

·      the exploration of proposals from third parties who, through last year’s consultation exercise, had expressed an interest in taking on all or part of the service;

·      the likely strategic and practical implications of emerging proposals for Devolution and local government reorganisation;

·      the aims and objectives of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance for an integrated ‘place-based’ health system approach; and

·      the need to ensure best value and quality of service for residents and service-users in the context of an expanding and increasingly competitive private market for telecare, response and lifting services. 

Cabinet was informed that the main recommendation within the Portfolio Holder’s report was that the Council proceeded, broadly in line with the Cabinet’s previously stated preferred option, to withdraw itself from the market for providing telecare, response and lifting services. However, this was proposed to be achieved in a managed way through an arrangement with Colchester City Council’s ‘Helpline’ service (provided through its arms-length company Amphora) to transfer service users and staff on existing or similar contractual terms and conditions to Colchester Helpline and for it to expand its team, resources and reach to serve the whole of the North East Essex area.

It was reported that this recommendation had been reached following the consideration of revised financial analysis that considered updated assumptions that reflected the significant net reduction in projected cost pressure in continuing to run the Careline service resulting mainly from the termination of the YourStride contract and other unviable third-party contracts. Whilst the updated figures showed a reduction in the projected cost pressure compared to earlier estimates, they still demonstrated the need for significant subsidy from Tendring taxpayers to continue with the Careline service in its current form with a reduced number of staff and against the backdrop of staff recruitment and retention challenges in a widening and increasingly competitive private market for similar telecare services.

Members were made aware that consideration of third-party proposals that had emerged from the consultation process showed that Helpline was best placed amongst others to offer a long-term solution, through an approach that aligned with the aims and objectives of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance, to which Tendring District Council was a partner, for an integrated ‘place-based’ health system approach that supported people to live independently within their homes and reduced pressure on the wider system. This approach also enabled the Council, through its partnership with the Alliance, to retain influence and scrutiny over the way the service was provided in the future, with the benefit of no ongoing financial liabilities and with Helpline being able to operate in a viable manner over a wider geography by achieving economies  ...  view the full minutes text for item 135.

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.