Decision details

(1)           That the Cabinet agreed to the creation of a Reserve of up to £3 million for the purposes of investing in the Council’s Fit for the Future Portfolio. The Reserve was to be created using part of the initial windfall of interest income created from the sale of part of the employment land at North Weald. Funding would be taken from the Revenue Budget over a period of two years, as far as delivering a balanced budget allowed.

(2)           That the Cabinet agreed that funding in 2024/25 of up to £40,000 would be considered as part of the 2024/25 budget process, for the purposes of establishing a post to collectively represent North Essex Councils (appendix A) and to establish a detailed terms of reference for NEC and develop a clear programme of work.

(3)           That the Cabinet agreed the Council should work with Braintree District Council and Colchester City Council to develop a full business case and proposed approach to delivery for a single shared back office for the corporate services referenced in this report and to approve the release of £180K from the Transformation Reserve to support development of the business case.

(4)           That the Cabinet noted that a full governance proposal for the Fit for the Future transformation reserve would be presented to the Cabinet for agreement in March 2024.