Decisions

Risk Management – Corporate Risk Register

(1)        That the Vulnerability, Controls and Management Actions for Risk 1, Local Plan, be updated;

(2)        That the Effectiveness of Controls/Actions for Risk 2, Strategic Sites, be updated;

(3)        That the revised Key Date for Risk 4, Finance Income, be updated;

(4)        That the Vulnerability for Risk 7, Business Continuity, be updated;

(5)        That the revised Key Date for Risk 9, Safeguarding, be updated;

(6)        That a new risk, Transformation Programme, be agreed as Risk 11 with the Vulnerability, Triggers and Consequence along with supporting controls as set out, and a score of B1 (High Likelihood/Major Impact); and

(7)        That the amended Corporate Risk Register be approved.

Detailed Directorate Budgets 2018/19

(8)        That the detailed Directorate budget for the Office of the Chief Executive be approved;

(9)        That the detailed Directorate budget for Communities be approved;

(10)      That the detailed Directorate budget for Governance be approved;

(11)      That the detailed Directorate budget for Neighbourhoods be approved;

(12)      That the detailed Directorate budget for Resources be approved; and

(13)      That the detailed budget for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) be approved; and

Council Budgets 2018/19

(14)      That the following guidelines for the Council’s General Fund Budgets in 2018/19 be recommended to the Council for adoption:

            (a)        the revised revenue estimates for 2017/18, and the anticipated        increase in the General Fund balance by £0.76million;

            (b)        a decrease in the target for the 2018/19 Continuing Services Budget             (CSB) from £12.92million to £11.71million (including growth items);

            (c)        an increase in the target for the 2018/19 District Development Fund             (DDF) net spend from £0.93milion to £3.87milion;

            (d)        no change in the District Council Tax for a Band ‘D’ property to retain          the charge at £148.77;

            (e)        the estimated increase in General Fund balances in 2018/19 of             £1.10million;

(f)         the five year capital programme 2017/18 – 21/22;

(g)        the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017/18 – 21/22; and

(h)        the Council’s policy on General Fund Revenue Balances to remain that they be allowed to fall no lower than 25% of the Net Budget Requirement.

(15)      That the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget for 2018/19, including the revised revenue estimates for 2017/18, be recommended to the Council for approval;

(16)      That the rent reductions proposed for 2018/19, with an average overall fall of 1%, be noted;

(17)      That the Chief Financial Officer’s report to the Council on the robustness of the estimates for the purposes of the Council’s 2018/19 budgets and the adequacy of the reserves be noted; and

(18)      That the Director of Resources be authorised to make minor amendments and corrections to the figures above.

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting of the Asset Management & Economic Development Cabinet Committee, held on 11 January 2018, be noted.

(1)        That the following be recommended to the Council for approval:

            (a)        Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2018/19;

            (b)        Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Strategy;

            (c)        Treasury Management Prudential Indicators for 2018/19 to 2020/21;

            (d)        The rate of interest to be applied to any inter-fund balances; and

            (e)        Treasury Management Policy Statement.

To agree a new Housing Allocations Scheme.

(1)        That the recommendations of the Communities Select Committee be accepted, as per Appendix A of the report;

(2)        That one change to the draft Scheme be agreed in response to comments made by Nazeing Parish Council following the outcome of the consultation exercise with the Tenants and Leaseholders Panel, local residents, partner agencies, Parish and Town Councils and Housing Association partners, as set out at Appendix B of the report;

(3)        That the four changes made to the Housing Allocations Scheme (subsequent to consideration by the Communities Select Committee) be agreed in accordance with the advice received from the external legal advisor, as set out at Appendix C of the report;  

(4)        That under the penalties for refusals of offers of accommodation (Paragraph 18.9 of the Scheme refers) the numbers of offers within any period before any penalty was applied be increased from three to four for existing tenants of the Council who were under-occupying accommodation and wished to move to smaller Council accommodation with their application being deferred for a period of twelve months; and 

(5)        That the Communities Select Committee be requested to review the Housing Allocations Scheme again after 3 years of operation.

For the Place Select Committee to consider the recommendations arising from the review of Older People’s housing provision and agree resulting action to ensure appropriate future provision that meets the needs of the District’s ageing population.

(1)        That further consideration be given to reducing the amount of low-demand sheltered housing in the Council’s ownership and developing the resultant vacant land or buildings to provide either general needs housing, temporary homelessness accommodation and/or more appropriate accommodation for older people in order to help meet the housing needs of local people registered on the Housing Register in the future;

(2)        That the “Sheltered Housing Standard”, attached at Appendix 1 of the report, be adopted - with an objective of all sheltered housing schemes retained in the long term meeting the Standard over a reasonable period of time;

(3)        That a further report be submitted to a future meeting of the Communities Select Committee with:

            (a)        recommendations about which sheltered housing schemes should be             decommissioned over a period of time and their site(s) redeveloped;

            (b)        an initial proposed approach to decanting the existing residents;

            (c)        a Communication Strategy for the Project;

            (d)        initial redevelopment proposals for each of the identified sites;

            (e)        indicative budget costs; and

            (f)         an Equalities Analysis; 

(4)        That the following criteria be used for the assessment of sheltered housing schemes considered most suitable for redevelopment:

            (a)        the number of bedsits;

            (b)        the lettability, demand and location of the scheme;

            (c)        the long term costs of improvements/repairs;

            (d)        the amount of sheltered housing within the locality;  

            (e)        the number of lettings to local residents compared to applicants on the

            Supplementary Waiting List; and          

            (f)         the demand for general needs housing in the locality; and

(5)        That a further report from the Select Committee be submitted to the Cabinet with its recommendations, after it had considered the further report in decision (3) above from Officers.

(1)        That, as attached at Appendix 1 of the report, the draft Calendar of Council Meetings for 2018/19 be recommended to the Council for adoption.

Options to consider for the Council providing a Police or uniformed presence for the District.

A further report on a proposed SLA with Essex Police, to fund 3 additional Police Officers within the District by the Council.

(1)        That £215,000 per annum budget provision be made in the District Development Fund (DDF) for 3 years, to fund the following provision, for a pilot period of three years from April 2018 to March 2021:

            (a)        the employment of three full-time Police Officers by Essex Police,    including a Sergeant and two Police Constables, to be tasked and directed by   the Council;

            (b)        the commissioning of Parkguard security company to undertake       targeted patrolling and youth engagement work; and

            (c)        the delivery of additional, targeted sessions at Crucial Crew and      Reality Roadshow;

(2)        That a Service Level Agreement (SLA) be drawn up with Essex Police to set out the detailed requirements and arrangements relating to decision 1(a) above, in line with the Heads of Terms for the SLA set out in the report;

(3)        That the cost of £215,000 per annum be funded by increasing the Council Tax by £3.69 (2.5%) per annum for a band ‘D’ property; and

(4)        That regular monitoring reports be submitted to the Communities Select Committee every six months by the Community Safety Team throughout the life of this initiative.

To monitor the progress of the Transformation Programme, including the definition of the People Strategy.

To monitor the progress of the Transformation Programme.

(1)        That the progress of Projects and Programmes within the Transformation Programme for November 2017 be noted, alongside the planned actions for December 2017.

(1)        That, in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below as they would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12(A) of the Act indicated, and the exemption was considered to outweigh the potential public interest in disclosing the information:

(1)        That the Pay Policy Statement for 2018/19, attached at Appendix 1 of the report, be recommended to the Council for approval.

(1)     That the Director of Neighbourhoods (and Deputy Chief Executive) be given retrospective approval to sign a funding agreement dated 4 January 2018 with Homes England relating to the Garden Town Project under Section 19 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.

(2)     That, similarly, the Director of Neighbourhoods (and Deputy Chief Executive) and the Chief Executive (or person acting in that capacity) be given ongoing approval under Section 19 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 to sign such future funding agreements.

1)         That the tender from Kift Consulting Ltd in the Estimated Sum of £45,925.00 for the first year of appointment be accepted for the provision of a range of affordable housing viability services - being the lowest Estimated Tender Sum received based on their submitted Fee Schedule and pre-determined estimated numbers and types of affordable housing validations, appraisals, negotiations and appeals that may arise during a year; and

2)         That Kift Consulting Ltd be required to enter into the Council’s Standard Consultant’s Agreement to provide the services, for an initial contract term of 1 year, with the option to extend the term for up to two further one year periods (subject to satisfactory performance), with their fees, expenses and disbursements increased by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) each year, if requested.

1. That the bid from Buckhurst Hill Village Forum for £4300.00 to the Epping Forest District Economic Opportunities Fund be approved in respect of a project to deliver a website and professional social media plan for Buckhurst Hill Parish.

(1)     That, following a request by North Weald Parish Council, the new development to the rear of 9 - 19 Queens Road, North Weald, previously named Elizabeth Court, be renamed Cyril Hawkins Close; and

(2)     That formal application be submitted to the Director of Neighbourhoods for the above name and numbering change, in accordance with the Council’s Street Naming and Numbering Policy.

That the contents of this Progress Report on Phases 1 - 6 of the Council House-building Programme be noted, and presented to the Cabinet in line with the Terms of Reference.

(1)     That, following the decision made by East Thames to terminate its contract after 4-years as the Council’s Development Agent, the Cabinet Committee noted the approach now being taken to deliver the future phases of the house-building programme; and

(2)     That the contract with Pellings LLP, who were currently in contract with East Thames and (for which the Council has a Collateral Warranty in place) be novated to Epping Forest District Council and the existing building contracts with the Contractors for Phases 1, 2 and 3 be amended to remove reference to East Thames.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2016 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.