The Cabinet is asked to note any announcements made by the Leader of the Council.
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council (Councillor Stock OBE) made the following announcement:
“I briefly introduced a number of potential activities at Full Council on Tuesday night that would directly respond to the cost of living challenges we are all facing.
The first related to utilising an existing resource – the Tendring Community Fund. I am exploring ways that this can provide more targeted support across the District.
Although subject to further development, I am keen to see if we can put extra money into this existing fund and invite local organisations to bid for funding where they may be better placed to provide effective and targeted support across the whole District.
The second item I raised was around the potential for a Tendring Lottery. Although there remains a touch of caution, there are a number of Local Authorities that operate lotteries across the country and it appears some are much more successful at it than others.
What therefore springs to mind is the following question - can we distil elements of the successful ones and launch one here in Tendring? For example, are there opportunities to operate in such a way that people can effectively donate to their chosen good cause, which in turn gives them a chance to enter a district wide lottery rather than the other way round?
I am really interested to explore the opportunities and I would also be interested in Members’ views. It would also be a great legacy if were able to use some of the COVID funding we received from the Government.
As I mentioned on Tuesday, it has always been my intention to use this money to support the District recover from the pandemic wherever possible and finding a way to increase the funds of local groups and charities would certainly be a great cause.
The last idea that I mentioned was about exploring solar panel installations – this may not be limited to just our own tenant’s properties but could also include private homes across the District. I am keen to explore a number of opportunities such as working with private sector partners to see if we can lever in some additional funding into the district on behalf of our residents.
In anticipation of what Carlo is going to say shortly when he introduces the outturn report, any investments we make have to be set against an increasingly challenging financial environment. I will therefore be providing updates on the development of the three ideas I have just mentioned alongside the financial forecast and Corporate Investment Plan over the coming weeks.”
The Leader of the Council also informed Cabinet that he had written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer requesting him to take remedial action in relation to the fact that businesses were not subject to the cap on electricity price rises and further in relation to the situation whereby many small businesses in rural areas were inadvertently penalised by VAT on gas and electricity costs when there was no alternative gas supply available and the business was forced to rely solely on electricity for its energy needs.