Decisions

(1)        That the Cabinet noted and agreed that the Council no longer continues with its current Off-Street Parking Programme on Housing Estates, realising a saving of £848,000 to the General Capital Fund and £485,000 to the Housing Capital Account, the depreciation not incurred is in the order of £21,000 and £19,000 per annum respectively;

(2)        The Cabinet agreed that Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) made under Parts I, II and IV of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, as amended to control parking on its estates, be used instead to manage its roads on housing estates;

(3)     The Cabinet agreed an initial budget of £50,000 (Pro-rata between the GF & the HRA) be included in 2020/21 budget, jointly funded from the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account on a pro-rata basis and reviewed annually thereafter;

(4)       The Cabinet noted and agreed that a list of sites be identified and prioritised for TRO’s in the same way as the current Off-street Parking Programme and agreed by the Cabinet each year; and

(5)     The Cabinet agreed that consideration be given in forming the budget for 2020/21 for TROs, which was to be jointly funded from the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account.

1.            The Cabinet noted the assumptions being used in formulating the core budget for 2020/21 as indicated, with detailed budgets being formulated for Cabinet consideration on the 06^th January 2020.

2.            The Cabinet noted that only 2% inflation would be added to operational budgets (other than waste and leisure contracts). They noted that having raised income and charges by 3% in line with the Office of National Statistics estimate of inflation, that the Authority would hold around 1% for specific in-year inflation and economic pressures.

3.            The Cabinet commented on the proposed list of developments as shown in Section 3 of the report and further detailed in the appendices, noting that this list included revenue, capital and loan items.

4.            The Cabinet considered whether any additional or substitute development proposals needed to be considered, particularly those that would address economic uncertainty or issues of economic and social exclusion.

5.            The Cabinet noted that the companies set up and wholly owned by the Authority were due to generate income and to repay loans from 2020/21 and the significant financial benefit that resulted from this. They noted that from 2021/22 the options available to the Cabinet in terms of their development and fiscal (taxation) policies would significantly increase.

6.            The Cabinet noted and commented on the intent to further review existing District Development Fund and Capital commitments for final verification of these items by the Cabinet on the 06^th January 2020.

7.            The Cabinet commented on the intent, to stimulate continuous service improvement and the release of funds for developments, that an efficiency savings target of between 0.25% and 0.5% should be set. The figure was comparatively low (compared to other Authorities) and a full list of schemes would be put before Cabinet on 06^th January 2020.

8.            Having taken account of views on the developments and how these could be funded, the Cabinet commented on the overall preferences to forming a final budget with or without a council tax increase as summarised in Section 5 of the report.

9.            The Cabinet noted the outline workplan and issues outlined in Section 6 of the report.

10.          The Cabinet noted and approved the opportunity that existed to drive forward with several schemes and incur expenditure this year, covering this expenditure by the use of District Development Funds. These projects were:

·         The North Weald Masterplan £140,000 (proposal 42);

·         Customer Service Notification System £25,000 (proposal 17);

·         Planning Approval backlog £40,000 (proposal 28); and

·         Additional working Capital for Devco with a maximum value of £975,650.

Background paper, not a report.

(1)        Cabinet noted and approved the progression of the refurbishment of the Civic Offices as the main office for EFDC staff and partners; and

(2)        That the Cabinet approved the decision not to pursue the construction of a new build office on the North Weald Airfield.

1)            That the Cabinet agreed that the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2019/20 continue unchanged for 2020/21; and

2)            The Cabinet recommended that Full Council note that the Local Council Tax Support scheme for 2019/20 continues unchanged for 2020/21.

1)    That the Cabinet noted that strong progress had been made to improve private water supplies in the district to protect human health and vulnerable communities. The initial risk assessment, sampling and enforcement of majority of high-risk supplies in the district was now completed or improvements were in progress;

2)    The Cabinet agreed that the Council begin charging for risk assessment and sampling of private supplies now that most immediate health risks are mitigated for the majority of supplies and that on-going sampling and risk assessment costs could be recovered;

3)    The Cabinet agreed that the Council begin charging for officer time and mileage as permitted in legislation; and

4)    The Cabinet decided that an additional CSB budget allocation of £10,000 per annum be agreed to meet the sampling costs, to be subsequently recovered from property owners, with the Council looking to recover at least that same amount per annum.

That the Cabinet agreed the revised CCTV Strategy 2019-2025 and related capital programme expenditure which was contained within respective Directorate budgets.

The Cabinet noted and agreed the minutes of the Finance and Performance Cabinet Committee’s meeting of 26 September 2019 and agreed the updated Corporate Risk Register.

The Chairman of the Cabinet noted that he would be taking agenda item 18, the Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy in public session at this meeting and would not be treating it as a private document.

The Business Services Director, P Maginnis advised the Committee that as part of the wider people strategy, the Council offered a two-year Level 2 apprenticeship scheme in customer service and multi-trade construction. The scheme was open to applicants who lived in the Epping Forest District, aged 16-18 years old and were expected to gain a standard pass level 4 or above in GCSE English, Maths and ICT.

Following the successful completion of the apprenticeship scheme, some of the 2017 cohort  had been accepted onto Higher Apprenticeships within the Council.

The new apprentices introduced themselves to the Committee and the four Higher Level Apprentices each made a short presentation on their experience of the scheme, the four rotational work placements they had completed, their own personal development and future career paths. A former apprentice, R Moreton expanded on the benefits of working in the different departments across the Council and how this had led to her studying for a Chartered Management Degree.

The Committee asked a number of questions regarding the scheme and acknowledged the success and value to the Council.

That, in accordance with paragraphs 5.2(c) and 5.5(c), the Procurement Rules be waived to appoint consultants to assist the Council with the Proposed Main Modifications Consultation required as part of the Epping Forest District Local Plan Independent Examination.