Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S Claymore, C Cooke, J Goodall, T Madge, J Oates and P Thurgood.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12^th September 2017 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Moved by Councillor D Cook and seconded by Councillor Dr S Peaple)

The minutes of the Extraordinary Council meeting held on 12th September 2017 were approved and signed as a correct record.

The following announcements were made:-

Councillor D Cook:-

Apologies for not making this announcement on 12^th September, Councillor M Gant will replace Councillor J Chesworth on the Audit and Governance Committee.

Councillor Dr S Peaple:-

Announce that Councillor S Peaple will take up the place of the late Councillor Seekings on the Licensing Committee and replace Councillor Dr S Peaple on the Infrastructure, Safety and Growth Scrutiny Committee.

Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Barratt:-

At a special meeting of the Tamworth Borough Council held on Tuesday 12th September 2017, it was resolved that, pursuant to section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 this Council do hereby confer the Honorary Alderman of the Borough Posthumously upon Mr Peter Seekings, in recognition of his eminent services to Tamworth, whilst he was a member of Tamworth Borough Council.

The Mayor called upon the Leader of the Council, Councillor D Cook and the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Dr S Peaple to speak prior to the official presentation.

Councillor D Cook – “All I can really do Mr Mayor is reiterate the words that I used on the 12^th September, words that I have continued to use since.  Councillor Peter Seekings was a giant of Tamworth politics.  As I joked about on 12^th September Councillor Seekings was a long standing Leader of this Council as I have now been, we both are Yorkshiremen, we used to regularly joke about two Yorkshiremen that came South to conquer the World.  We might have had opposite political opinions but we were Yorkshiremen through and through.  The best way that I could possibly describe Peter from my own experience was a worth friend, a worth foe.  He was always good in the pub, after a meeting, for a pint moving away from politics to talk about the things that genuinely mattered in life and while we did have some political differences I believe we both came to the same place, we both wanted the best for the people of Tamworth.  As I am fundamentally aware no matter where Peter’s life took him, he gave back to his local community, he was a civic dignitary wherever he was Peter was a well-respected member of this chamber who will be fondly remembered by the people of Tamworth.”

Councillor Dr S Peaple – “Can I first of all say thank you again to Councillor Cook.  On the night that the presentation took place it was convention that we don’t have the person or recipient of the award or relatives present, so you weren’t able to hear that said at the time and I wanted you to hear it now before I spoke.  On that night what was so nice was that virtually every member of the Council on both sides spoke from the heart, Councillor Lunn entertained us on that sad occasion but none the less entertained us, with his stories of standing with Peter on the terraces of Tamworth, of variation of language that might  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO. 1

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor Bishop will ask the Portfolio Holder for Housing Services, Councillor M Thurgood, the following question:-

"How as a Council are we ensuring that our rents are being paid, to both ourselves and private landlords, by the people who are receiving housing benefit and being paid through the new universal credit benefit?"

Councillor M Thurgood gave the following reply:-

Thank you Mr Mayor. And thank you to Cllr Bishop for your question.

As you will be aware from the briefing note supplied to all Councillors by the Leader of the Council on 29^th November, which I note was sent after our question had been submitted, Tamworth Borough Council has been working hard to ensure that we are as prepared as we can be for the changes surrounding Universal Credit. This includes not only ensuring that we are clear of the changes ourselves and how this may impact us on things such as rent collection, but also working with our partners and service users.

There are a number of schemes available to support people, depending on their personal needs. These include:

-       Referrals for the most vulnerable customers to Personal Budgeting Support, which offers money advice and help on the prioritisation their bills, including their rent or mortgage payments.

-       Tamworth Borough Council and Private Sector Landlords can apply for Managed Payments, which means payment of Universal Credit can be paid directly to the landlord. There is of course a strict criteria for this as ultimately Universal Credit is about giving people control of their money and getting used to a monthly income. Anyone who was having their Housing Benefit paid directly to the Landlord will continue to have their Universal Credit paid to them, thus reducing defaults.

-       Discretionary Housing Payments will also be considered for those most in need.  These will be considered as part of a Personal Budget Support meeting and can also be applied for via our website and are available to both Private Sector and Social Sector tenants in receipt of either Housing Benefit or Universal Credit with the Housing element included. This payment gives the claimant additional financial support so that they can meet a rent shortfall or other housing costs.

-       As stated in the members bulletin, we are working with other agencies including Tamworth Job Centre who has confirmed that they have been engaging with private landlords by offering support and education in understanding what Universal Credit is and the impact it may that this may have on their tenants.  The Job Centre is also working with customers to encourage, educate and ensure that when they go onto UC that they are aware how important it is to verify their claims.

-       Referrals can be made to the Tamworth Advice Centre for debt and general advice.  Members of the Housing Solutions Team will also be able to provide advice and assistance to Private Rental Sector tenants to ensure they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Finance)

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Finance to present to Members the Mid-year Review of the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy.

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Finance)

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Finance to advise Members of the results and feedback from the recently undertaken consultation on the proposed Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme from 2018 onwards and to review the consultation feedback when considering potential changes to be applied in the 2018/19 onwards Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme;

The report will also advise members that the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for working age customers for 2018/19 should include continued alignment to Applicable Amounts with those of Housing Benefit and ask that Council endorses the proposed change, moderately supported by the consultation results that Council Tax Reduction awards will disregard in full Bereavement Support Payments.

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Finance)

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Finance to advise Members of the proposed amendments to the Corporate Policy governing the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in light of the recent inspection by the Office of Surveillance Commissioner and seeks their consideration and recommendations in relation thereto.

(Report of the Solicitor to the Council and Monitoring Officer)

Report of the Leader and Solicitor to the Council & Monitoring Officer to obtain Council comments, endorsement and approval of the reviewed Constitution and Scheme of Delegation as provided in the link at Appendix 1 to the Report.