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 of Council (verbal);

(b)        Report of the Place Portfolio Holder (attached);

(c)        Report of the Finance Portfolio Holder (attached);

(d)        Report of the Housing & Community Portfolio Holder (attached);

(e)        Report of the Wellbeing & Community Partnerships Portfolio Holder (attached);

(f)         Report of the Customer Portfolio Holder (attached);

(g)        Report of the Contracts & Commissioning Portfolio Holder (attached);

(h)        Report of the Technical Services Portfolio Holder (attached);

(i)         Report of the Internal Resources 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 advised that he had been busy attending meetings covering a range of issues. He advised he had attended a meeting in Westminster regarding East of England Leaders followed by an all-party group meeting looking at levelling up and thereby making sure that the Epping Forest District was being heard in all the right places.

He stated that he had also been actively engaged in discussions around devolution. This decision was mainly for the upper tier authorities who had to agree any devolution ask of government, he believed it was a way of getting more for the County and the Districts and was keeping Epping Forest actively engaged in the discussions.

It was now known that the Inspectior had found the Epping Forest District Local Plan to be sound and an important part of the Local Plan was the Harlow and Gilston Garden town communities, to which he advised that he had also been attending regular meetings on behalf of the Council, making sure that he was looking after the interests of Epping Forest first and foremost.

He stated that there were a lot of meetings going on at this time which would shape the future and it was important that Epping Forest District Council was heard at every level.