Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 25^th August 2021 were approved and signed as a correct record.

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

The Chief Executive Mr Andrew Barratt made the following announcement-

“Thank you Mr Mayor at the meeting of Tamworth Borough Council held on Tuesday, 20^th July 2021 it was resolved that pursuant to section 249 sub section 5 of the Local Government Act 1972 this Council does hear by confer the title of Honorary Alderman of the Borough upon Mr John Faulkner In recognition of his eminent service to the Borough of Tamworth whilst he was an elected member of the Borough Council, with that I would ask Mr Faulkner to join the Mayor on stage to receive his certificate thank you.”

Mr John Faulkner made the following announcement –

“Thank you for this honour, but more than thank you for putting up with me over the last 23 years.

It has been said that democracy begins in conversation and debate. Good decisions are made taking in to account all view points.

It is a sad fact in the age of social media that we seek out views which only support our way of thinking; even sadder that there are those who seek to silence and trivialise those with whom they do not agree.

Some think that politics is about personalities, or between goodies and baddies. To my mind is it about the future and how we can best get there together.

 I wish you all the best in your deliberations, those here now and those who will follow. Thank you.”                               

Councillor J Oates made the following announcements  -

“Thank you Mr Mayor I do have a number of announcements so I will go through those.

If you will remember Mr Mayor, not at the last Council meeting but the one previous to that we congratulated and thanked Councillor Paul Brindley , Mr Lee Bates , Zoe Adelle Clark-Coates and Eric Horabin on their awards under the Queen Honours that they received for services and efforts made in Tamworth, well this evening Mr Mayor I would like to add another congratulations to a local individual and on the 23rd July this year the German Ambassador in London presented local politician Terence Alec Dix or Terry or uncle Terry as some of us know him with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. This was for his tireless work and effort since he was Mayor of Tamworth and in forging Twinning links with Bad Laasphe and also for the effort‘s and the work he’s done around the war graves in Cannock Chase where there are nearly 5000 fallen German and Austrian soldiers are buried so for these two things and the amount of work he’s done over the last 40 years he received the Federal Cross of Merit. For those who are not aware of what this is I believe it’s on par with the honours that we receive in this country for the Queens honours and it is awarded for achievement in the field of political, socio-economic and intellectual activity that has served  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO. 1

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor Daniel Maycock will ask the Leader of the Council Councillor Jeremy Oates, the following question:-

“Tamworth Borough Council became a co-signatory of the Armed Force Covenant in 2015, enshrining the Councils commitment to support the Armed Forces Community within Tamworth, whether that be serving members, service families or Veterans.   Since then, there has been a review by the Local Government Association in 2016, which sets out best practice for Local Authorities in achieving the commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant.my question is has Tamworth Borough Council implemented any of this Best Practice guidance, ensuring they are servicing in the best way they can the Armed Force Community in Tamworth?”

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply –

“Thank you Mr Mayor and thank you Councillor Maycock.

Tamworth Borough Council is committed to supporting veterans and serving members of the armed forces and their families through a variety of different ways, and if I may Mr Mayor, I will list these.

• Priority award is given under the Councils Allocations policy and access to the housing register and that seeks to accelerate re-housing

• The homelessness Strategy also identifies current and former members of the armed forces, partnering with organisations such as SSAFA to prevent homelessness and crisis

•  We Recently received an award from  MHCLG which funded tackling rough sleeping and that award was £100k and will help signpost vulnerable applicants, including veterans, through a range of social and health pathways

• In 2018 Mr Mayor, The government introduced the Homelessness Reduction Act and this requires the Secretary of State for Defence to refer members of the Regular Forces, who may be considered to be homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, to a housing authority of their choice, this is an accelerated path which we are keen to provide support for and also to provide priority accommodation.

• Subject to the Councils policies, additional leave is given to voluntary members of the Non-Regular armed Forces allowing them to attend training camps etc., there is a maximum of two weeks paid leave on offer with our employment framework.

• A Reservist Policy is in place recognising that many of the skills that reservists gain during their training are transferable to the workplace, and we look to support them whilst also taking advantage of those skills.

• The Council actively support a number of celebrations including Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal and other Remembrance activities, and I’m sure you be aware recently we gave the Mercian regiment the Freedom of the Borough to parade as it was the place where that regiment was formed. We celebrate with those as often as possible. Thank you Mr Mayor.”

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO. 2

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor Dr S Peaple will ask the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jeremy Oates, the following question:-

“Following the assurance he recently gave to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee, would the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

The Report of the Leader details Tamworth Borough Council’s Pay Policy Statement so that statutory guidance as set out in S38 of the Localism Act is adhered to.

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

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

The Report of the Leader to seek approval to change the current Nominations Committee to Nominations and Grants Committee

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

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

The Annual Treasury report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Customer Services is a requirement of the Council’s reporting procedures.

It covers the Treasury activity for 2020/21, and the actual Prudential Indicators for 2020/21.

The report meets the requirements of both the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities. The Council is required to comply with both Codes in accordance with Regulations issued under the Local Government Act 2003. It also provides an opportunity to review the approved Treasury Management Strategy for the current year and enables Members to consider and approve any issues identified that require amendment.

(Moved by Councillor M Bailey and seconded by Councillor Dr S Peaple)

Councillor R Pritchard mentioned that this was the first time in 16 years he had not presented this report he wanted his thanks noted to all the staff past and present for their help over the years to prepare and produce these reports.

(The updated Outside Bodies list for 2021/22)

The list of appointees for Outside Bodies had been circulated to Members

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