Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Leader of Council made a short address to remind everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the internet, and would be capable of repeated viewing, which could infringe their human and data protection rights.

(Director of Governance) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on 1 February 2018.

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet, held on 1 February 2018, be taken as read and signed by the Leader as a correct record.

Decision:

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet, held on 1 February 2018, be taken as read and signed by the Leader as a correct record.

There were no verbal reports made by Members of the Cabinet on current issues affecting their areas of responsibility.

(Director of Governance) To receive any questions submitted by members of the public and any requests to address the Cabinet.

(a)        Public Questions

To answer questions asked by members of the public after notice in accordance with the provisions contained within Part 4 of the Constitution (Council Rules, rule Q3 refers) on any matter in relation to which the Cabinet has powers or duties or which affects the District.

(b)       Requests to Address the Cabinet

Any member of the public or a representative of another organisation may address the Cabinet on any agenda item (except those dealt with in private session as exempt or confidential business) due to be considered at the meeting, in accordance with the provisions contained within Article 7 of the Constitution (The Executive, paragraphs 27 & 28 refers).

The Cabinet noted that no public questions or requests to address the Cabinet had been received for consideration at the meeting.

In response to a question from Cllr M Sartin, the Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Community Services stated that an appeal had been launched to fund the purchase of the medieval ring found within the District by the Museum. The Acting Chief Executive undertook to clarify whether donations to the fund could be gift aided.

(a)        To consider any matters of concern to the Cabinet arising from the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny function; and

(b)        To consider any matters that the Cabinet would like the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to examine as part of its work programme.

The Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee reported that the following items of business had been considered at its meeting held on 27 February 2018:

(a)        a presentation from the Principal of Epping Forest College on the steps being taken to address the issues raised by the OFSTED inspection in 2017;

(b)        an update of the progress made by the Council’s Customer Service Programme; and

(c)        preparation for the visit of the Chief Executive of the East of England Ambulance Service at the next meeting of the Committee in April 2018.

The Cabinet’s agenda was reviewed but there were no specific issues identified on any of the items being considered.

(Housing Portfolio Holder) To consider the minutes from the recent meeting of the Council Housebuilding Cabinet Committee, held on 29 January 2018, and any recommendations therein.

New Development Sites

(1)        That authority be delegated to the Director of Communities to identify new Council Housebuilding development sites and to undertake feasibility studies and viability studies, in consultation with the Housing Portfolio Holder, which would then be presented to the Cabinet Committee for consideration; and

(2)        That the terms of reference for the Cabinet Committee be amended to allow the Cabinet Committee to agree any new development sites that might be added to the Council Housebuilding programme.

In the absence of the Housing Portfolio Holder, the Leader of Council presented the minutes of the meeting from the Council Housebuilding Cabinet Committee, held on 29 January 2018.

The Cabinet Committee had made recommendations to the Cabinet concerning New Development Sites. Other issues considered by the Cabinet Committee included: Delivery of Future Phases of the Housebuilding Programme; Progress Report for Phases 1 – 6; Financial Position; Change of Name at Queens Road, North Weald Development; and Request to Purchase Potential Development Site at Whitehills Road, Loughton. The Acting Chief Executive added that East Thames had decided to focus on their core business activities, hence they had requested a termination of their contract to act as Development Agents on behalf of the Council.

Decision:

New Development Sites

(1)        That authority be delegated to the Director of Communities to identify new Council Housebuilding development sites and to undertake feasibility studies and viability studies, in consultation with the Housing Portfolio Holder, which would then be presented to the Cabinet Committee for consideration; and

(2)        That the terms of reference for the Cabinet Committee be amended to allow the Cabinet Committee to agree any new development sites that might be added to the Council Housebuilding programme.

Reasons for Decision:

The Cabinet was satisfied that the Cabinet Committee had fully addressed all of the relevant issues.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

The Cabinet was content that the Cabinet Committee had considered all of the relevant options and that there were no further options to consider.

(Environment Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-048-2017/18)

(1)        That the amended Waste Management Policies 7, Exception Policy, and 10, Supply of Waste & Recycling Services Policy, be adopted.

In the absence of the Environment Portfolio Holder, the Leader of Council presented a report on the update of some of the Council’s Waste Management Policies.

The Leader reported that the Council had in place a number of waste management policies, previously introduced at the time of implementation of the original wheeled bin service and substantively updated in September 2009 and February 2017. Amendments were necessary from time to time to provide clarity to both residents and the Council’s contractor and two policies had been revised: Policy 7 – Exception Policy; and Policy 10 – Supply of Waste & Recycling Services.

The Leader stated that Policy 7 dealt with the various exceptions, for example residents who were unable to present a bin at the boundary of the property would get their bin collected from their premises. The amendments to the policy were to allow a reassessment after three years, to ensure that if the circumstances causing the grant of the exception were to change then the exception could be withdrawn. Using the example of an assisted collection, if the residents moved then the exception would not be applicable and the property would benefit from normal services.

The Leader explained that Policy 10 had been agreed last year, and the intention was to enable the provision of waste and recycling collection services at a dwelling that was paying Council Tax. The amendments proposed were to clarify the operational arrangements, for example the onus was on the home owner to contact the Council and ask for the provision of waste and recycling services.

Both Cllr G Mohindra (Finance) and Cllr R Brookes questioned the automatic removal of the larger wheeled bin for families when their children reached 3 years of age, as some children required the use of nappies until they were 5 or 6 years of age and this should be a decision for the parents not the Council. Both Councillors felt that the Policy could seem draconian. The Leader responded that the old Policy was to automatically remove the larger wheeled bin when all of the children in the household had reached the age of 3, whereas the revised Policy would assess whether there was still a need when the children reached the age of 3. The Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods (Technical Services) confirmed that if any of the children in the household still required nappies then the larger wheeled bin would be kept, regardless of their age.

Cllr M Sartin enquired about a potential charge for the collection of clinical waste, as the Council could see such waste in the residual waste stream if this happened. The Assistant Director reassured the Cabinet that the Council would collect such waste free of charge initially until some idea of the scale of the issue was known, but the Council might have to charge for the collection of clinical waste in the future. The Assistant Director also undertook to correct the typographical and grammatical errors within the Policies.

Decision:

(1)        That the amended  ...  view the full minutes text for item 125.

(Leader of Council) To consider the attached report (C-049-2017/18).

(1)        That the progress of Projects and Programmes within the Transformation Programme for December 2017 be noted, alongside the planned actions for January 2018.

The Leader of Council presented a report outlining the progress made by the Transformation Programme during December 2017, alongside the planned actions for January 2018.

The Leader reminded the Cabinet that regular highlight reports on the progress of the Transformation Programme were presented to the Cabinet. This was the monitoring report for December 2017 and covered the progress made for all chartered projects of Medium and High Risk Potential, as well as key aspects of the Transformation Programme. The Cabinet noted that, overall, the progress indicators for ‘cost’ and ‘benefits’ were Green for this period. The status indicator for ‘time’ was reported as Amber to highlight that 9 actions (from a total of 75) were overdue on their deadline, when compared with planned timelines. Project and Programme Managers had actions in place to deal with any potential negative effects. Progress would be kept under review and it was anticipated that the status of the majority of these items would return to Green in the next report.

The Leader added that good progress was being made with the Transformation Programme.

Decision:

(1)        That the progress of Projects and Programmes within the Transformation Programme for December 2017 be noted, alongside the planned actions for January 2018.

Reasons for Decision:

To inform the Cabinet of the progress with the Transformation Programme, including work streams, programmes and projects.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

No other options were available as failure to monitor and review the progress of the Transformation Programme and to consider corrective action where necessary, could have negative implications for the Council’s reputation, and might mean that opportunities for improvement were lost.

(Leader of Council) To consider the attached report (C-050-2017/18).

(1)        That, as part of the Council’s Corporate Plan for the period 2015/16 – 2019/20, the progress made with the achievement of the Council’s Key Action Plan for 2017/18 at the end of Quarter 3 be noted.

The Leader of Council presented a report on the progress in Quarter 3 with the Corporate Plan Key Action Plan for 2017/18.

The Leader reminded the Cabinet that the Corporate Plan was the Council’s key strategic planning document, setting out its priorities over the five-year period from 2015/16 to 2019/20. The priorities or Corporate Aims were supported by Key Objectives, which provided a clear statement of the Council’s overall intentions for these five years. The Key Objectives were delivered by an annual Action Plan, with each year building upon the progress against the achievement of the Key Objectives for previous years. The annual Action Plans contained a range of actions designed to achieve specific outcomes and were working documents and therefore were subject to change and development to ensure the actions remained relevant and appropriate, and opportunities to secure further progress or improvement were identified.

The Leader reported that, at the end of the third quarter of 2017/18: 40 Key Actions (80%) had been achieved or were on target; 5 Key Actions (10%) were under control; 4 Key Actions (8%) were behind schedule; and 1 Key Action (2%) was pending. The Key Action Plan for 2017/18 had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 27 September 2016, and progress in relation to individual actions and deliverables was reviewedby the Cabinet, and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on a quarterly and outturn basis.

Cllr J Philip (Planning & Governance) reminded Members of the Local Plan Briefing scheduled for 15 March 2018. There had been announcements from the Government regarding the generation of Local Plans, but it did not affect the aim of the Council to submit the draft Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate by the end of this month.

Decision:

(1)        That, as part of the Council’s Corporate Plan for the period 2015/16 – 2019/20, the progress made with the achievement of the Council’s Key Action Plan for 2017/18 at the end of Quarter 3 be noted.

Reasons for Decision:

It was important that relevant performance management processes were in place to review progress against the key objectives, to ensure their continued achievability and relevance, and to identify proposals for appropriate corrective action in areas of slippage or under-performance. The Council had previously agreed arrangements for the review of progress against the key objectives.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

No other options were appropriate in this respect. Failure to monitor and review performance against the key objectivesand to consider corrective action where necessary, could have negative implications for the Council’s reputation, and might mean that opportunities for improvement were lost.

Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, together with paragraphs 6 and 24 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution requires that the permission of the Chairman be obtained, after prior notice to the Chief Executive, before urgent business not specified in the agenda (including a supplementary agenda of which the statutory period of notice has been given) may be transacted.

In accordance with Operational Standing Order 6 (non-executive bodies), any item raised by a non-member shall require the support of a member of the Committee concerned and the Chairman of that Committee.  Two weeks' notice of non-urgent items is required.

It was noted that there was no other urgent business for consideration by the Cabinet.

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Background Papers

Article 17 of the Constitution (Access to Information) define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

The Council will make available for public inspection one copy of each of the documents on the list of background papers for four years after the date of the meeting. Inspection of background papers can be arranged by contacting either the Responsible Officer or the Democratic Services Officer for the particular item.

The Cabinet noted that there was no business which necessitated the exclusion of the public and press from the meeting.