Council and democracy

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Rooms 2 & 3, Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 6SL. View directions

Contact: Lucy Tricker, Democratic Services Officer  Email: Direct.Democracy@thurrock.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

29.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 97 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of Cabinet held on 13 June 2018 and the minutes of Cabinet held on 11 July 2018.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 13 June 2018 and 11 July 2018 were approved as a correct record.

30.

Items of Urgent Business

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.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

31.

Declaration of Interests

Minutes:

There were no declaration of interests.

32.

Statements by the Leader

Minutes:

Councillor Hebb began by stating that as Cllr Gledhill was unable to attend the Cabinet meeting, as Deputy Chair he would assume the position of Chair for this meeting. He began by discussing the success of the new ‘Stop It Strategy’ which tackles a number of enforcement issues across the borough. The strategy had already seen £1000 in rent paid from rogue landlords; and a halt in construction along Maldon Road due to a breach in planning control. He continued by stressing that there had been the continued use of traffic wardens along Manor Way to prevent HGV’s parking overnight, and that the Working Group were currently looking at ways to create permanent physical enforcement barriers. He continued by praising the work of the waste disposal team as fly-tips had been removed in as little as two days. He also discussed the Tesco store in Chadwell St Mary which had been fined £160,000 for failure to follow health and safety regulations in the petrol station.

The Chair continued by discussing the problems faced when dealing with anti-social tenants, and how the council were taking a strong stance in dealing with the issue, including writing warning letters and ultimately eviction. He felt that by doing this, issues such as gangs were being tackled, and the housing stock was opened up to people that needed it. He also noted that high visibility patrols were now being undertaken by the anti-social behaviour team, as well as increasing security by providing new front doors to those that needed them. The Chair then commented on the collaboration between the police and the council to tackle the issues of motorbikes and quad-bikes becoming nuisances down residential roads.

Speaking on behalf of the Leader, Councillor Hebb then moved on to discuss the positive activities that happened across the borough during the summer months. He informed Members that the Purfleet Fun Day, which took place on the Garrison Estate in August, highlighted how the community could come together effectively, and also mentioned the success of the Orsett Show, during which the main stage was sponsored by the council, and how 1000’s of people attended.

The Chair then updated Members on the Clean It, Cut It, Fill It Scheme. In doing so, Members heard that since April 1,314 potholes had been filled across the borough, which was 99% of all potholes. He continued by stating that 630 acres of grass had been cut; 703 fly-tips had been cleared; 737 tonnes of waste had been cleared; and over 1000 fixed penalty notices had been issued for anti-social behaviour such as littering. He developed this by stating that 77 prosecutions had been occurred after residents had not paid their fixed penalty notices. He emphasised that the council would always pursue people that did not pay their fines.

 

Briefings on Policy, Budget and Other Issues

Councillor Halden began by congratulating students on the excellent A-Level and GCSE results across the borough, and how he had personally seen the pupil’s excitement opening their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

Petitions submitted by Members of the Public

Minutes:

There were no petitions submitted by members of the public.

34.

Questions from Non-Executive Members

Minutes:

There were no questions received.

35.

Matters Referred to the Cabinet for Consideration by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Minutes:

No matters had been referred to the Cabinet for consideration by and Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

36.

Young Person's Substance Misuse Treatment Service Re-Procurement (Decision 110478) pdf icon PDF 113 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Halden presented the report and started by explaining how this was a vital service for the most vulnerable young people with addictions. He believed it was a key, frontline tool in dealing with issues such as drug culture in a compassionate and reactive way. He pointed out that a 30% increase is expected in the 10-17 year old population across the borough and that a robust service was needed to deal with the expected increases, as well as being fit for purpose. He continued by describing the way the service will be better embedded with programmes such as ‘Better Futures’ and mental health treatment, and how the appropriate links will be in place which integrates wider enforcement, such as the expanding Youth Offending Service.

Councillor Little welcomed the report as her Portfolio includes the wellbeing of Looked After children. She mentioned how all foster carers now received extra training on recognising drug and alcohol issues, as well the fact that the numbers for a variety of helplines were now included in the children’s passports. She also noted that as Members had a lot of contact with residents, it was their responsibility to look out for signs of drug and alcohol issues and report these accordingly.

Councillor Halden added that recommendation 1.3 be struck off as this was only a recommendation for the Overview & Scrutiny Committees.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

Delegated authority to the Director of Public Health in consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Education and Health to award a new Young Person’s Substance Misuse Treatment Service following market testing and a procurement process

That the new contract has a duty built in to work with our own schools and expanded Youth Offending Service to tackle any drug or gang culture in Thurrock, and becomes a signatory to the new Compact to be written by the Corporate Director of Children’s Services outlining how YOS and the wider Council will work with schools to tackle drug and gang issues


Reason for decision – as stated in the report
This decision is subject to call-in

37.

Thurrock Integrated Medical Centres (Decision 110479) pdf icon PDF 105 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Halden presented the report, but stated this was a joint enterprise between himself and Councillor Coxshall. He outlined the report which included the development of four Integrated Medical Centres (IMCs) which would decentralise care into local communities. He discussed how this project had started several years ago as a plan for limited primary care hubs, but had since expanded greatly. He went on to emphasize the point that Orsett Hospital would not close until the new medical centres were up and running, and noted that the new medical centres would provide excellent primary and pharmaceutical care in local communities. He commented that this report released money for the Tilbury Integrated Medical Centre, which was important as Tilbury had long since been underfunded in regards to medical care. Issues such as parking for the medical centres were discussed, and the development of Phase 2 of the project.

Councillor Coxshall added that Thurrock was one of the most under staffed areas in terms of GP’s, with 2,700 patients per GP. He felt that the new medical centres would attract GP’s as they would have better facilities and could deliver high quality services and learning. He also felt very pleased that the Tilbury IMC was happening first as the town had been underfunded for GP’s for tens of years, and that the council had committed money to seeing this project being delivered. He also emphasised the point to Members that although Orsett Hospital would be closing once the IMCs were opened, Thurrock still had a community hospital in central Grays that could be used.

Councillor Watkins commented that he felt this was an excellent report as it delivered high quality services for the residents within the borough, particularly in Tilbury. It offered a vital new service, and was forward-looking as it developed plans for Phase 2. He discussed how a report on the re-procurement of bus routes was coming to the next Cabinet meeting, and that opening public transport links to the IMCs was of vital importance, so new and improved routes were currently being looked into. Councillor Johnson echoed the comments made by other Members and re-emphasised the point that the IMCs must be open before Orsett Hospital shuts, but that he was pleased to read that the money saved by closing Orsett Hospital would be reinvested in the local NHS.

Councillor Hebb then discussed the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding which had been sent to the NHS and CCG and put in writing the fact that Orsett Hospital would remain open until the IMCs were up and running. He went on to recognise the work of Councillor Halden in securing the Memorandum of Understanding and thanked him for his efforts.

 

Councillor Halden added to this that the Council had worked well with the NHS to reorganise acute care and mental health care. He felt this had been proven when the Secretary of State had visited Tilbury and had not seen anything like the IMC plans anywhere across the UK.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

38.

Revenue Budget Monitoring - Quarter 1 June 2018 (Decision 110480) pdf icon PDF 116 KB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced the report and began by saying that the council’s budget had been agreed on 28 February 2018 and predicted a surplus of £2.49 million. He stated that there were always pressures, but legally a Local Authority has to mitigate these to produce a balanced budget. He drew Member’s attention to page 106 of the agenda which gave a breakdown of the general fund, and the fact that the Directorate of Finance, IT and Legal; HROD; Strategy, Communications and Customer Services; and Adults, Housing and Health were all predicted to underspend. He went on to describe that the Housing General Fund and Children’s Services were predicted to overspend but that these services were always under pressure. He also drew Members attention to the fact that Children’s Services only had a £370,000 variance from budget which was better than previous years. He then discussed the variance in the Environment and Highways Directorate and stated that this was due to the fact waste disposal fees were market driven and could be variable. A discussion then began on the variance in corporate costs and how this was due to the fact that the council takes in children, and how historically this had been covered in the Children’s Services budget, but had now been moved as it was seen to be a corporate responsibility.

Councillor Johnson commented that the pressure on the Housing Fund was due to the legal duty introduced in April 2018 to prevent homelessness and help people who had been made homeless. He stated that the council had always done everything it could to reduce homelessness, and was a labour intensive process. He noted that the service had reduced expensive temporary staff and temporary housing, so should balance the budget. Councillor Little then commented that Adult, Housing and Health Directorate work very hard to remain under budget, and felt that the new IMCs would help the Adult Social Care budget even more as better quality care could be provided to vulnerable people such as the elderly. She continued by stating that the Children’s Services overspend was less than normal and this was due to an increase in the number of foster carer’s within the borough, which meant that Thurrock children could stay in Thurrock. Councillor Halden commented that within Children’s Services the pressure reduced each year as the process in demand management becomes better and issues are tackled at the detection stage, for example the replacement of Pupil Referral Units with Inclusion Units. He then said that this was not simply a balance budgeting exercise, and the care of children should be the first priority.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

1. Noted the forecast outturn position for 2018/19 and that further mitigation is required to outturn within the agreed budget envelope

Reason for decision – as stated in the report
This decision is subject to call-in

39.

2018/19 Capital Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 114 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair introduced the report and stated that on 28 February 2018 the Council had agreed the 2018/19 capital monitoring programme, and since 1 April 2018 additional funding had been added to the programme. He drew Member’s attention to page 121, table 2 and the different requirements and re-profiling of a number of things, including the Aveley Community Hub and North Stifford Interchange which may go back to planning to be re-profiled. This was due to the fact that funding streams often came from external agencies and changes in these could lead to re-profiling. He also commented that previous indicators had been refreshed and some arbitrary indicators, such as the capital indicator which had taken a long time to collate for little data, had been removed.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

Noted the General Fund capital programme is projected to have available resources of £5.855m as at 31 March 2019 with this funding carried forward to 2019/20 to fund schemes currently in progress

Noted there is a further £47.666m in the approved programme that is under development and/or dependent on third party actions as set out in paragraph 3.5 of the report

Noted the Housing Revenue Account capital programme is projected to overspend by £0.102m, which will be funded from the Housing capital receipts.