Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

Minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2021 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Moved by Councillor A Farrell and seconded by Councillor R Pritchard)

There were no Declarations of Interest.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NO. 1 Under Schedule 4, 13, Mr H Loxton asked the Leader of the Council Councillor J Oates, the following question:-

What was the full financial cost to Tamworth Borough Council of hosting the annual fireworks display on Saturday 6th November 2021?

Councillor Jeremy Oates gave the following reply:-

Thank you Mr Loxton.

The total direct cost of the event was £37,153 less income.  That was the expenditure for the event. I would like to say I consider that money well spent.

You will be aware that last year families missed out on this annual event as we had to cancel it along with many other things due to the Covid restrictions.  So I am really pleased to see that 2021 saw the largest crowd we have ever seen at this free community event. It is estimated 24,000 people in the castle grounds and estimates suggest there were 10,000 people elsewhere in the town centre watching the fireworks, so per head the cost was a little over £1.

With many firework displays cancelled this year, we expected numbers to be high and reports have been received that people travelled across the region from Leicester, Derby, Nuneaton, Lichfield, Coventry, Warwickshire, Birmingham and even London. Which is a phenomenal feat.

Many of the spectators arrived earlier in the day by road, rail and bus, and they enjoyed shopping at our market within the town centre as well as Ventura Park. Local pubs and restaurants reported a very busy day trading beforehand and some after the event in the castle grounds.  We also had over 200 visitors to the castle on Saturday which is a significant increase on the average Saturday.

Boosting the economy is paramount and all our community arts events are held in the town and castle grounds, including the annual fireworks display are our contribution to helping the local economy.   Tamworth is one of the few places that still has a free fireworks display and it is one of the largest ones in the Midlands.  I am proud that we are doing this, we have been doing this for over a decade and our contribution, I think, really is well received.

With every event we learn as we go on, we are constantly evaluating ourselves and our event management. We are currently undertaking a full debrief as we do with all events and that will happen in the next couple of weeks.

I have seen some negative comments on social media. I don’t recognise these as problems, I see larger problems on the motorway network every time the NEC has a large event, every time there is a large football game or there’s a large sporting event, let’s not even start to discuss V fest or Glastonbury and the mess that leaves the M6 or A5 in, or in the case of Glastonbury the M5 too.

I would like to congratulate the organisers and staff who were involved in pulling off this event.  My  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

None.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

The Report of the Leader of the Council updated Cabinet on progress made with regards to facilitating on-line meetings and informed members of the increase required in Democratic resources to continue to deliver on-line meetings.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

1. Endorsed the findings within the report and progress to date in relation to work already delivered.
2. Continued to commit to livestreaming of Council meetings. 
3. Continued to ensure all committee meetings were recorded and published in order to maximise transparency of decision making and electoral accountability.
4. Supported the policy change to increase the current establishment within Democratic Services.
5. Requested that the Appointments and Staffing Committee consider the staffing resource implications associated with this report.
6. Receive a further report once final costs for ICT investment were received.

(Moved by Councillor J Oates and seconded by Councillor A Farrell)

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Customer Services)

The Report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Customer Services requested approval for replacement of our current network backup system including the release of £15,000 from capital contingency to part fund the replacement of our current backup system and the re-purposing of existing capital scheme for Mobile Phones of £20,000, which was no longer required to fund the Mobile Phone contract, to part fund the replacement of our current backup system and the addition of a new scheme to the capital programme - Replacement Backup System with a total capital budget of £51k, funded by the two elements above and a contribution from existing ICT capital budgets.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approved the release of £15,000 from the General Fund capital contingency budget to part fund the replacement Backup System.

(Moved by Councillor M Bailey and seconded by Councillor R Pritchard)

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Regulatory & Community Safety)

The Report of the Portfolio Holder for Regulatory and Community Safety to approve a revised and updated Corporate Enforcement Policy.

RESOLVED that:

1. The revised Corporate Enforcement Policy attached as Appendix 1 be approved
2. The Assistant Director Partnerships, in conjunction with appropriate Heads of Service, be authorised to make minor editorial changes to the Policy as required that do not materially change the scope or meaning of it
3. A full review of the Policy be undertaken every three years with update to the Audit and Governance Committee.

(Moved by Councillor S Doyle and seconded by Councillor D Cook)

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Social Housing and Homelessness Prevention)

The Report of the Portfolio Holder for Social Housing and Homelessness Prevention set out the arrangements for the Tenancy Management Policy for council housing, specifically to deal with fixed term tenancies, following fundamental changes to case law as detailed in the report (shown at Appendix B).

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

1. Approved the revised `Flexible Fixed Term Tenancy Agreement 2021` (Appendix A) which included the required forfeiture clause needed for all new and renewable flexible fixed term tenancies and delegated authority to the Portfolio Holder for Social Housing & Homelessness Prevention to approve any final amendments to the tenancy agreement as necessary.

2. Accepted the recent High Court of Appeal decision on flexible tenancies in the case of Croydon London Borough Council V Kalonga (Appendix B), which had forced Councils to review their tenancy management policies.

3. Endorsed consultation on the basis of the tenancy management options for fixed term tenancies, detailed within the report, starting with the Housing & Homelessness Sub Committee and the Tenant Consultative Group.

4. would receive a further report on the future of fixed term tenancies in March 2022, as part of an updated Tenancy Management Policy (2022-2025).

(Moved by Councillor A Farrell and seconded by Councillor M Bailey)

To consider excluding the Press and Public from the meeting by passing the following resolution:-

“That in accordance with the provisions of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meeting and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, and Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and/or 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public  interest in disclosing the information to the public”

At the time this agenda is published no representations have been received that this part of the meeting should be open to the public.

(Moved by Councillor J Oates and seconded by Councillor R Pritchard)

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Social Housing and Homelessness Prevention)

RESOLVED that the recommendations within the Report be approved.

(Moved by Councillor A Farrell and seconded by Councillor S Doyle)