Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 20^th May 2021 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Moved by Councillor Dr S Peaple and seconded by Councillor J Oates)

Councillor J Oates made the following announcements;

“Thank you Mr Mayor under announcements I would like to move a motion under ‘rule 4 .13 q Motion Without Notice’ that should a Councillor receive a ping as it’s been referred to or a notification that they should self-isolate and as a result they have to miss any meetings that that this is not taken into account when doing their attendance allowance, so they are exempt from that ruling should they receive the appropriate ping text message or email.

Mr Mayor the reasoning behind this, it’s something that is beyond their individual control, they are merely following legislation and guidance going forward.”

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

“That was the motion and I’m pleased it was carried. I would like to raise something else under announcements.

 I’m sure members are aware and I would like everyone to be informed and pass on their congratulations to former Councillor Lee Bates and current Councillor Paul Brindley who were awarded Birthdays Honours last month.

I thought it would be appropriate that the council pass on their congratulations and support the good work that they did during the pandemic. They are not the only ones in Tamworth, there are two other people who also received Honours and I think as Mayor It would be fitting if you were to write to all four people and congratulate them on being recognised nationally. Thank you Mr Mayor.”

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO.1

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor T Jay will ask the Portfolio Holder for Environment and leisure, Councillor R Pritchard, the following question:-

“Over the past 18 months Street Scene has had to cope with significantly reduced staff numbers due to coronavirus, and we also lost the services of the probation board in maintaining Tamworth's public spaces. At the same time we have had a warm and wet few months, ideal for the growth of plants, grass and bushes.

Could the portfolio holder update the council and residents on actions being taken to address the general maintenance in our estates and residential areas?”

Councillor R Pritchard gave the following reply:-

“This question demonstrates all too clearly just how difficult the last 18 months have been for all Council front line services.

On behalf of all members of the Council can I extend my deepest thanks to All Street Scene officers for their work during the pandemic, and all officers involved in continuing to deliver vital services during the pandemic.

Members will be pleased to hear that the current burden placed on Street scene from the Covid 19 pandemic is easing and whilst the teams continue to work in ‘bubbles’ we are hopeful that this will limit further disruption to front line services following the lifting of national restrictions this week.

All the news is not good, normally we would have an significant contingent of community payback workers to supplement our efforts maintaining a clean and beautiful borough, however the probation service still have not resumed work in the borough and currently we have no date when they intend to do so.

Support has remained in the form of the army of volunteers who pick up litter in their own time and the council owes them a huge debt of thanks. Without the help of the public the council would have surely sunk during the height of the pandemic. Thank you to each and every single resident who works to help keep our town clean and tidy

Jurisdictions around the different paths, open spaces and roads in the Borough can lead to some confusion over who is responsible for what. Weeds in roads, public footpaths and moving of verges are usually the responsibility of Staffordshire County Council. Parks, public spaces, and paths on HRA estates are usually Tamworth Borough Council. Canal tow paths are the Canal and River trust, major A-roads and motorways is Highways England.

As part of the development of the housing maintenance offer in our HRA service, we are looking at how we can maximise efficiency in relation to ensuring our clean and green ambitions are joined up and consistently delivered across all of the Councils assets, particularly those that sit in the housing revenue account.

Yesterday I again raised with officers we need to do more weed spraying on Housing Revenue Account land. This is currently being investigated by street scene staff to determine the level of resourcing required.

It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

(Report of the Chair of the Audit & Governance Committee)

The Chair of Audit and Governance presented the Annual Report of the Audit & Governance Committee 2020/21 for Council’s endorsement

(Moved by Councillor M Summers and seconded by Councillor D Cook)

(Reports of the Chairs of the three Scrutiny Committees)

The Chairs of Corporate Scrutiny, Infrastructure, Safety & Growth and the former Chair of Health & Wellbeing presented the Annual reports to Council to formally update Council on the activities of the Committees over the year 2020/21 which included,

·         Chair’s overview

·         Working Groups

·         Recommendations made in the year to Cabinet

·         Committee Terms of Reference

·         Membership and Attendance

·         Training & Effectiveness

·         Work Plan

·         Resource implications

Corporate Scrutiny

(Moved by Councillor T Jay and seconded by Councillor B Price)

Health and Wellbeing

The former Chair of Health and Wellbeing also thanked all members of the Committee for their invaluable contributions and a mention of thanks was given to the Democratic Services Officer.

A special thanks was also given to Councillor T Clements for her role as County Councillor representative on the Committee and the Vice Chair Councillor P Brindley.

(Moved by Councillor R Ford and seconded by Councillor P Brindley)

Infrastructure, Safety & Growth

The Chair of Infrastructure, Safety & Growth thanked all members of the Committee, Officers and cabinet members for their attendance and also the Democratic services officer.

(Moved by Councillor S Goodall and seconded by Councillor Dr S Peaple)