Agenda item

To receive reports and any announcements from the Leader and members of the Cabinet on matters falling within their area of responsibility:

(a)        Report of the Leader (verbal);

(b)        Report of the Commercial and Regulatory Services Portfolio Holder (attached);

(c)        Report of the Customer and Corporate Support ServicesPortfolio Holder (attached);

(d)        Report of the Environmental and Technical Services Portfolio Holder (attached);

(e)        Report of the Finance and Economic Development Portfolio Holder (attached);

(f)         Report of the Housing and Community ServicesPortfolio Holder (attached); and     

(g)        Report of the Planning and Sustainability Portfolio Holder (attached).

The Council received written reports from Portfolio Holders. The Chairman invited the Leader of Council to provide an oral report and the opportunity for other members of the Cabinet to give updates on matters concerning their relevant portfolios.

(a)        Leader of Council

Councillor C Whitbread stated that it had been a busy time since the Council last met and a lot of the Council’s efforts had revolved around the Covid-19 situation. Members were aware that the Covid figures have been rising and the UK were in the top ten for infection rates.

Resources had been received from Essex County Council and the Government as businesses in the district had been hit very hard and he thanked the Officers for all their hard work and effort to help in getting the grants out to businesses across the district. There was also help for the residents who were self-isolating and encouraging those that should be. The message to all residents was about personal responsibility and hope that over the Christmas period people keep their travelling down to a minimum and to keep themselves as much as they can to stay within their own homes, so enjoy Christmas make the best of it but keep in mind all the people around us and lets try and get this virus beaten. It was encouraging to know that a vaccination has been found and the roll out of that had now started and we can all look forward to a better 2021.

The Council have signed and completed on a lease with HMRC for a customs facility at North Weald Airfield, which had been achieved within Government timescales and will become effective on the 1 January 2021 when Great Britain leaves the European Union and Members will be kept updated at this progresses.

Good progress was being made on the refurbishment of the Civic Offices and would be finished on schedule, by the fourth quarter of this municipal year and it will be good to get back to face to face meetings. It was encouraging to see that the apprenticeship scheme was continuing with a new intake of apprentices.

The recovery was high on the Councils agenda and there has been some brilliant work done by Members and Officers and a number of reports that have come forward to Cabinet and then onto Council in recent times and again my thanks go out to Officers for all that they were doing to help and aid that recovery. This will be really important when we come through the post-Covid period that we have an economic strategy that works as we move forward.

(b)        Housing and Community Services Portfolio Holder

Apprentices

Councillor H Whitbread advised that she had recently met six of the new housing apprentices and that she was really impressed how they had all gotten involved so quickly within the few months they had been working particularly during the pandemic.

Stay Well this Winter

Councillor H Whitbread stated that senior residents in the district were being encouraged to ‘Stay Well this Winter’, an even more important message this year given the challenges of the pandemic. I recently gave out a pack to one of my elderly neighbours. The packs contain useful information on how to stay well for the winter, hand sanitiser and a torch. These packs have been given out to all elderly residents across the Epping Forest district and was a very useful resource particularly at this time.

MiLife C19 Project – The Youth Council

Councillor H Whitbread advised Members that Cabinet had agreed funding for the Youth Council who continued to do brilliant work and had been working on a MiLife C19 project. This project was an online virtual programme with information about Covid-19 and resources, tips and coping mechanisms to encourage and support young people who were struggling with mental health issues.

(c)        Environmental and Technical Services Portfolio Holder

Councillor N Avey advised in his report he had mentioned the new Highways Ranger service, which was a good news story for 2020. This service was working very well and we should thank the Officers involved for getting this service up and running so successfully.