In the absence of the Chairman of the Committee (Councillor Skeels), the Chair was occupied by the Vice-Chairman (Councillor Chittock).

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

Apologies were received from Councillor Skeels, there was no substitute.

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the last two meetings of the Committee, held on Monday the 8 February 2021 and the Monday the 1 March 2021.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on Monday 1 March 2021 were approved as a correct record and were then signed by the Chairman.

Consideration of the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on Monday 8 February 2021 was deferred to enable the live stream recording of the meeting to be checked as to whether the minutes were accurate in respect of the recommendations for the Mitigation Measures for Impact of Public Firework Displays item (minute 17 refers).

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were none on this occasion.

Subject to providing two working days’ notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.

On this occasion no Councillor had submitted notice of a question.

To purpose of the following Items are to enable the Committee to look at the impact of annual rail fare increases and how that affects the residents of Tendring.

As part of this enquiry the following has been arranged:

Rail fares policy for the UK rail network is set by the government of the day – a situation that has been the case for many decades, both during the British Rail era and in the revised industry structure in place from the mid-1990s onwards. Central government specifies the contracts for train operators and the policy framework within which they operate, including the premiums they pay back to government.

So in looking at how rail fares work for the citizens of Tendring, we need to start from the way the system is set up and then look at how we best make it work for the area. At Greater Anglia, we’re happy to talk about how we can collectively ensure customers can make best use of the good value fares that are already in place and look at what other opportunities there may be for providing the best deals for rail travellers.

The Committee recieved an oral report from Jonathan Denby (Head of Corporate Affairs at Greater Anglia). He explained how rail fare pricing was guided by policy set by Central Government and how each year, usually in July, there was a fair increase and that since 2005 the rate of rise varied between the standard Retail Price Index rate and the Retail Price Index plus 1.

The Committee also heard that while some rail fares were set solely by Greater Anglia, due to the fact that the rest were set by Central Government, meant they had to adjust their fares accordingly or the discretionary pricing would be off kilter, with the regulated fares.

In response to the question, Mr Denby advised that “emergency” buttons, by which passengers could call for assistance were built into ticket machines at unstaffed railway stations. Mr Denby agreed that perhaps more could be done to support apprentices to access greater Anglia’s railway services. He agreed to look at this issue further with his colleagues in order to improve Railway Stations in the area. The level of Government funding for access to Railways provided to greater Anglia would need to increase. Lobbying to achieve this could be something for the Council to consider.

After an informative discussion across a varied set of matters including but not limited to, passenger safety, disabled access, value for money and environmental factors the Committee thanked Mr Denby for his time.

The National fares System is very complex and certain parts of it like the railcards. Family Railcard, Seniors, Disabled, Young persons) are enshrined in the Transport Acts but the network south east card , two together card and some  others are commercial initiatives outside of that statutory framework. There are national fares and local Operator set fares.  The former apply to longer distance journeys across the whole rail network and the latter apply to local journeys.

The Committee heard an introduction from Councillor Nicolas Turner as Chairman of the Tendring Transport Liaison Board as he explained how they have been working to “make the railways work better for Tendring Transport Liaison Board”.

John Smock (secretary for the TTLB and the Chairman of Ontrack the Rail Users Association) gave an oral report and explained the history of rail fares until modern day pricing and how for the last 2 years there had been a consultation, sponsored by the Department of Transport, for a rail fares review.

It was reported to the Committee that there had been a steady decline in the purchase of annual, season, monthly and weekly train tickets and he questioned how the rail companies would change to suit to new working patterns of people only travelling to work a few days a week.

It was also reported to the Committee that the December 2021 time table consultation submitted to the TTLB and Ontrack from Greater Anglia, was insufficient in its ability to have met the need for economic growth in the district as well as the transport needs for a growing population due to housing developments and the new Free Port status in Harwich.

The Committee heard that the TTLB, Ontrack, Essex County Council, Essex Railways Federation and Rail Future were just some of the groups who wanted a rail service that ran trains every half an hour at every station in Essex and also had a service that started earlier and finished later. 

After an informative discussion across a varied set of matters including but not limited to, passenger safety, disabled access, value for money and environmental factors, the Committee thanked Mr Smock for his time.

To enable the Committee to consider the Tendring4Growth underpinning theme in the new Corporate Plan.

To assist the Committee with its enquiry of this matter the report to the Cabinet on 24^th of January 2020 is attached.

The Committee received an oral update from Michael Carran (Assistant Director of Economic Growth and Leisure) surrounding “Tendring4Growth” which was approved by Cabinet on the 24 January 2020 (Minute 102 refers).

Cabinet had approved that:

“Tendring4Growth will be a catalyst to create growth through partnership and investment across the District. T4G in action will bring together partners, local businesses and communities to ensure growth in the district is sustained and that it benefits all who live and work in Tendring.”

The report submitted to the mentioned meeting of Cabinet was circulated to members of this Committee for background information.

It was reported that the key outcomes of Tendring4 Growth that were desired would be as followed:

•       Develop and attract new businesses

•       Support existing businesses

•       More and better jobs

•       Promote Tendring’s tourism, cultural and heritage offers

•       Maximise our coastal and seafront opportunities

The Committee heard how through the initiative it was planned to help new and existing business with the following:

• Generic business support (Information, Advice and Guidance);
• Proactive outreach services, embracing new and established businesses;
• Sector specific support linked to the district’s growth sectors (Clean Energy, Blue Tech, Assisted Living, Tourism & Leisure, Creative and Cultural);
• Business planning;
• Cash-flow management;
• Marketing and communications;
• Assisting businesses with funding applications;
• B2B networking;
• Events and conferencing;
• COVID safe working and COVID recovery support;
• New ways of working; and
• Sign-posting businesses to IAG provided by other local, regional and national agencies (e.g. BEST Growth Hub, South East Local Enterprise Agency, Government).

The Committee also heard that a new website was being built so business could access the service and a public outreach campaign was to start shortly.

After a short question and answer session the Committee thanked Michael Carran for the presentation and noted the contents of the report.

To present to the Committee the updated Recommendations Monitoring Report, outlining any recommendations the Committee have sent to Cabinet. The Committee is requested to consider the report and determine whether any further action is required on the recommendations submitted.

The Committee NOTED the contents of the report.

Pursuant to the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 13, the Committee will review any new and/or amended published forthcoming decisions relevant to its terms of reference and decide whether it wishes to enquire into any such decision before it is taken.

Matters may only be raised on those forthcoming decisions at Committee meetings where the Member has notified the Committee Services Manager in writing (or by personal email) of the question they wish to ask, no later than Midday, two working days before the day of the meeting.

There were no forth coming decision at this time.

There were no forth coming decision at this time.

Within this item the Committee will be invited to consider the arrangements for the development of the Committee’s work programme for 2021/22 and the ‘Annual’ Report for the Committee (which in this case will span 2019/20 and 2020/21).

The Committee discussed the forthcoming Overview and Scrutiny Annual report to Council and Members were asked to look over the Committees work for the last two years and note any pieces of work that resonated with them. That piece of work could then be added to the Annual Report.

The Committee decided to arrange an informal meeting in early April to discuss what can be put onto the work programme for 2020/21.

It was also noted in this record of the issue of levels of suicide in the District. Also that the services to those more prone to attempt suicide and preventative measures had been agreed by the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee to be added to the work programme.

Other suggestions for the future work programme were:

• Recycling initiatives in partnership with local councils.
• Opportunities to support sports clubs to open up/extend the use of leisure facilities.
• Effectiveness of remote learning at school during pandemic.
• Social Housings waiting list-demand and supply for families of different sizes, preferences/location etc.