To approve as a correct record the minutes of Cabinet held on 14 December 2016.

The Minutes of Cabinet, held on 14 December 2016, were approved as a correct record.

To receive additional items that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Leader addressed Cabinet Members informing them that in relation to Clean it, Cut it, Fill it, 418 Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued for littering and funding for Pot Holes would be increasing from April 2017 from £110,000 to £153,000.

He continued that the Council were aware of fly tipping and were working across boundaries and with Essex Police. It was explained that in October and November the Council cleared 212 tons of fly tipping.

The Leader notified Members that the election consultation was now open and would be running until 31 March. He further informed Cabinet the Council had issued fines totalling £14,000 to letting agents who were not complying with legal regulations after being warned.  A new temporary area in Stanford le Hope had been agreed for HGV parking in an attempt to reduce illegal parking within residential areas and the 14 bus service operating in Corringham, Fobbing and Basildon would run all week, he thanked Councillor Huelin for her hard work in getting the service running. 

Council Gledhill stated that 13 year old Emily Summers was still missing. He further stated that her photo was being shared on social media and was on the council’s web homepage. A picture had also been placed in the large notice board at the front of the building. The Leader wished for a safe return.

It was commented upon that the recent event at the East Tilbury Library was very disappointing and the Leader explained that Councillor MacPherson had been on site all day. Members were further informed that the Council were awaiting the report from the structural engineer and hoped for a quick response to the matter.

Councillor Gledhill advised that two resident information sessions in relation to transforming homes were held this week. He explained all feedback was included within the housing review.

Finally the Leader notified all Members that the Holocaust Memorial day was to be held on Friday 27th January, commencing at 11am at HighView Gardens and this year’s theme was “How can life go on?”

There was no update on Policy or other issues. The budget was discussed in later in the meeting.

There were no petitions submitted.

The Leader of the Council advised that no questions had been submitted from Non-Executive Members.

The Leader of the Council informed Members that no matters had been referred to the Cabinet by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Halden introduced the report on behalf of the Cabinet Member for Adults and Children’s Social Care by explaining the new service model for domiciliary care in Thurrock and the procurement of the new service.

He continued to inform Members that the population was not only increasing it was getting older and care needs were getting more complex and the Council had done well at keeping people out of hospitals, as well as getting them home from hospital quickly. 

The Cabinet Member stated this created different challenges, in that residents would then require further support in their own homes, which put pressure on the domiciliary care service, which currently had a basic rate for a carer provider set at £13 per hour.

Councillor Halden further explained to his fellow Cabinet Members, there were 3 main differences in the way the service would be offered in the future:

·         To split the borough up into geographical areas, this would assist with cutting down traveling time because providers would not have to travel across the borough to reach their service users. It would also enable different providers to tender for a particular area. This would  enable healthy competition between providers as they would not be entitled to secure more than 2 areas;

·         Secondly, it would support micro enterprises, this would mean finding local businesses which the Council could nurture and this would assist with developing the market; and

·         Finally offering basic solutions to residents for what they really want. This was often to stay in their own homes and stay within their local communities.

The Leader of the Council congratulated Councillor S.Little and Officers for the hard work they had completed. He further welcomed the nurture of local businesses to help local residents.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

1.    Agree the future redesign of the service model to support people to live well at home.

2.    Agree to commence the procurement for domiciliary care services and delegate the award of the contract to the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health in consultation with the relevant portfolio holder.

3.    Agree a 6 month extension to the current domiciliary care contract from the 1st April 2017 until the 30th September 2017.

Reason for Decision – as stated in the report

This decision is subject to call-in

The Leader of the Council introduced the report to Members informing them since April 2013, the Council had maintained a local Council Tax Reduction scheme. It was now up to each individual Council to set their own criteria each financial year.

He continued that changes were proposed to bring the scheme in line with the Housing Benefit or Universal Credit Rules, which would result in a decrease of Local Council Tax being awarded.  He further stated that the funding came from the Council Tax scheme across the borough and Officers had estimated there would be an extra £100,000 coming into the Council.

Councillor Gledhill mentioned that a resident consultation had been run on the scheme, however was disappointed that only 40 people responded.

It was discussed they were 6 recommendations for Cabinet to agree and once decided the report would be presented to Full Council at the end of January 2017 for the final decision.

The Leader stated that he wished to include an additional recommendation, in that should all recommendations be agreed then £50,000 be funded to the Citizen Advice Bureau (CAB) subject to an agreed business case.

Councillor B.Little enquired if the money funded to the Citizen Advice Bureau would be permanent or a one off payment. The Leader explained that the Officers would be looking at business cases provided by the CAB, however it was likely that there would be a limit.

RESOLVED that:

1.    Cabinet are asked to consider if they support proposed change 1;

2.    Cabinet are asked to consider if they support proposed change 2;

3.    Cabinet are asked to consider if they support proposed change 3;

4.    Cabinet are asked to consider if they support proposed change 4;

5.    Cabinet are asked to consider if they support proposed change 5;

6.    Cabinet are asked to consider if they support proposed change 6;

7.    Dependant on approval of a business case provided, that £50,000 raised from the above changes to the LCTS as outlined be used to find the Citizen Advice Bureau.

Reason for Decision – as stated in the report

This decision is subject to call-in

Councillor Gledhill, Leader of the Council, presented the report on behalf of the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services, and in doing so, congratulated the Director of Finance and IT, along with his team for all of their hard work to create a balanced budget.

He continued by informing Members, the Council had the pressure of around £10 million from the base budget and had not included an investment of £1million to extend the Clean It, Cut It, Fill It initiative until the end of the financial year.

The Leader explained that it was not only Directors and Heads of Services who met to find new ways to operate services differently and more efficiently and that 7 boards had also been created to look into finding savings and new ways of working.  He further explained that the Council had previously and were continuing to secure Grants from Government which were available to be bided on.

It was discussed that the Adult Social Care precept could be set at 2.99% as an option to the 2% currently planned. Corporate Overview and Scrutiny had been asked to look at the various options and justifications that could be put in place together with the one off Adult Social Care support grant.

Councillor Halden addressed the Cabinet commenting that in 7 months within the Education department, £7million had been put into Capital Plans, the Children’s Centre reform would reach even more vulnerable families in the borough and with the £1 million investment into Clean it Cut it Fill it, would allow the Council to maintain the scheme. He further commented that he felt the administration had produced a balance budget to be proud of.

The Leader of the Council commented that it was not only Officers and the Cabinet who had produced the budget but also the larger Opposition Group. He thanked Councillor Snell and his party for their attendance and input at the Council Spending Review meetings.

RESOLVED that:

1.    Cabinet agree to a further £1m investment to include Clean It, Cut It, Fill It into the Base Budget;

2.    Cabinet agree to a 1.98% increase to the Council Tax to support the General Fund budget;

3.    Corporate Overview and Scrutiny be asked to comment on the Adult Social Care precept options as set out in 3.6 of this report; and

4.    Cabinet agree to the proposals set out in this report to achieve a balanced budget

Reason for Decision – as stated in the report

This decision is subject to call-in

Councillor Halden, Cabinet Member for Education and Health addressed Members reminding them of a serious situation which arose in October last year which could have resulted in the closure of the East Tilbury Medical Centre.

He continued to notify Members that should that have happened, it would have had a massive impact on under doctored areas such as East Tilbury, Corringham and Stanford-le-Hope. Following pressure from the Council, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Healthwatch and the Patients Participation Group at the surgery, NHS England (NHSE) withdrew its decision to disperse the list to allow for further time to consider the future of the practice and in particular ownership of the building.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Health commented that the Council had played a leading role in trying to resolve the situation and after discussions with NHS England over the future of the practice it was proposed that the Council entered into discussions with a view to buy the property to secure essential primary care services in this part of Thurrock.

Councillor MacPherson thanked the Cabinet Member for his report and for fighting for local residents in East Tilbury.

Councillor Gledhill, Leader of the Council commented that this was the right action to take and asked residents not to speculate on social media as to the terms of the contract, as it might affect the negotiations over the purchase of the property.

The Leader further commented that the lack of General Practitioners in Tilbury and East Tilbury were so significant and this action would go to assist local residents.

Councillor Halden mentioned that it was raised in the press as to whether the Council would confirm that the current health provider, College Health would stay in place. He continued to advise that College Health would have to tender for the position and no-one could predict the outcome.

He commented that he felt College Health was a strong contender and he was keen to support them moving forward. Finally Councillor Halden thanked all Officers  for their hard work during this difficult situation.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approves:

1.    The purchase of the freehold interest of the East Tilbury Medical Centre at 85, Coronation Avenue, East Tilbury on the terms and conditions as outlined in the confidential report and with the final terms and conditions being delegated for agreement by the Corporate Director of Environment and Place and the Section 151 officer in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder.

2.    That the Director of Law and Governance be authorised to complete any legal documentation to give effect thereto.

3.    That the property be leased to an appropriate primary care provider on terms to be agreed.

Reason for Decision – as stated in the report

This decision is subject to call-in