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 11 April 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 Leader of the Council will read out the statement attached to this agenda in relation to an urgent decision that the Leader of the Council recently took on behalf of the Cabinet.

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.

There are no Leader of the Council’s items on this occasion.

To recommend for approval the acceptance of the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) transition year 2025/26 allocation to the Council which totals £197,761.00, and recommends an approach to its spend, building on the successes of the previous REPF programme over the past two financial years, which aligns with Tendring District Council’s (TDC) External Funding Framework.

To provide an update to Cabinet following receipt of detailed submissions from bidders at the Invitation to Submit Detailed Solutions (“ISDS”) stage of the procurement process, to set out options for the way forward and seek agreement to a revised set of Core Specification Principles based upon the following circumstances:

·      Greater Essex is now part of the Government’s Priority Programme for Devolution which includes responding to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), which has been announced since the commencement of the procurement process and the risk and uncertainty that this brings; and

·      the detailed solutions received from the bidders indicate a contract price that is not affordable to the Council.

The Constitution (Article 12.03(a)) requires the Monitoring Officer to report to Cabinet (or to Council for non-executive functions) if any decision or omission has given rise to maladministration.  This report concerns actions that the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman has determined were maladministration/service failings. 

This report is also required under section 5A of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in view of the aforementioned decision in this matter by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.

Cabinet is asked to consider passing 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 13 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 and 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A, as amended, of the Act.”

To provide the legal advice referred to in Part A, on the options available for the procurement process, that must be considered in Part B due to maintaining legal professional privilege.