Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M Bailey and A Farrell.

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2022 were approved as a true record.

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

There were no Declarations of Interest.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NO. 1 Under Schedule 4, 13, Mr M Hall will ask the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jeremy Oates the following question:-

My question relates to the FHSF of £40M and the plans for the regeneration of Tamworth - Can the leadership of Tamworth Borough Council outline the level of experience which exists within the leadership team in planning, management (of the council team, advisers contractors) and delivery of a project of this value and complexity?

In the absence of Mr Hall the Question and Answer are set out in the Minutes.

Answer

The Assistant Director Growth and Regeneration, Anna Miller, is a Chartered Town Planner with 25+ years’ experience in the planning and development industry working both in the public and private sectors. As the senior responsible officer within the Borough Council for the FHSF project, Anna is supported with additional Governance, officer resource and an external multidisciplinary team.

The Wider Executive Leadership team along with three Members of Cabinet form the majority of the FHSF Programme Board which provides the strategic leadership for the project and meets monthly, to ensure that progress is made. In addition to this the project also supported by a scrutiny committee, cabinet and an audit and Governance sub committee, all of which meet quarterly.

Officer support for the project includes a dedicated project officer and a Programme Manager. The Programme Manager works for a Construction Project Management consultancy which leads on the delivery of construction projects for a range of clients across the West Midlands region including local authorities. Additionally, there is a delivery team comprising officers across the authority who meet monthly.

External support is provided by McBains, a multi-disciplinary property and construction consultancy that supports the FHSF project including architectural services, project management, engineering services, cost management and civil and structural services, to name a few. 

It should be noted that the £40M FHSF programme comprises the flagship college project which is being delivered by South Staffordshire College.

To respond to the request for information relating to the delivery of complex projects with high value, I can only reflect on that part of the programme that the Borough Council are delivering.

Therefore, in relation to the refurbishment of the TEC, the demolition and rebuild of Middle Entry and the various heritage projects associated with the castle gateway, I can confirm that McBains have delivered both complex projects and projects to this value as evidenced during the procurement process.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NO. 2 Under Schedule 4, 13, Mr R Bilcliff will ask the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jeremy Oates the following question:-

Can the Leader of the Council give Tamworth residents assurances that it has undertaken due-diligence regarding any health impacts from the 5G Network Rollout in Tamworth?

Answer

5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband mobile phone networks, which mobile phone companies began deploying worldwide in 2019, and is the planned successor to the 4G networks to provide  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

None.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

The Report of the Leader of the Council provided Cabinet with a performance update and financial Healthcheck. The report was considered by Corporate Scrutiny Committee at their meeting on 21^st June 2022.

RESOLVED that Cabinet endorsed the contents of the Report.

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

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

The Report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Risk and Customer Services advised Members of the final outturn of the Authority’s Capital Programme for 2021/22 (subject to audit confirmation) and requested formal approval to re-profile specific programme budgets into 2022/23.

This report was a key decision due to expenditure in excess of £100k requiring approval.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

1. received the final outturn position of the 2021/22 capital programme as summarised in Appendix A; and
2. approved for each of the projects detailed in Appendix B the re-profiling of the budget into the Authority’s Capital Programme 2022/23 (total £30.528m).

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

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

The Report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Risk and Customer Services for  Members to endorse the amount of debt written off for the period 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.

RESOLVED that Members endorsed the amount of debt written off for the period of 1st April 2021 to 31 March 2022 – Appendix A-E

(Moved by Councillor R Pritchard and seconded by Councillor S Doyle)

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Skills, Planning Economy and Waste)

The Report of the Portfolio Holder for Skills, Planning, Economy and Waste updated Cabinet on UK Shared Property Fund (UKSPF / SPF) and the approach recommended for the Council in order to submit an investment plan and develop a process for awarding funding for agreed interventions.

The Head of Economic Development and Regeneration provided updated revenue cashflow profiles provided by central Government, which updated the figures shown at page 90 of the Agenda pack such that:

·         Financial year 2022 / 2023: 12.14% of allocation

·         Financial year 2023 / 2024: 24.5% of allocation

·         Financial year 2024 / 2025: 63.59% of allocation.

RESOLVED that:

1. Cabinet approved the outline approach to delivering Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF), to invest in local priorities, targeting funding where it is most needed:

·         building up pride in place in Tamworth,

·         supporting the development of high quality skills training,

·         supporting improved pay, employment and productivity growth opportunities

·         increasing improved life chances of the residents of Tamworth.

2. Cabinet delegated authority to the Assistant Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive and the Section 151 Officer, to submit the investment plan to central Government by the submission deadline. 
3. That a report be brought back to Cabinet setting out detailed resource requirements, governance including scrutiny, monitoring and evaluation processes and an update on the SPF programme by the end of 2022.

(Moved by Councillor S Doyle and seconded by Councillor R Pritchard)