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

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

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.

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

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

There are 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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 15.

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