Agenda and minutes
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Media
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J Chesworth, J Harper, P Thurgood & J Wade |
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To receive the Minutes of a previous meeting Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 22nd February 2022 were approved and signed as a correct record.
(Moved by Councillor Dr S Peaple and seconded by Councillor J Oates) |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of Members’ interests (pecuniary and non-pecuniary) in any matters which are to be considered at this meeting.
When Members are declaring a pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest in respect of which they have dispensation, they should specify the nature of such interest. Members should leave the room if they have a pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest in respect of which they do not have a dispensation. Minutes: There were no Declarations of Interest. |
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To receive any announcements from the Mayor, Leader, Members of the Cabinet or the Chief Executive Minutes: The Mayor announced the funeral details of Alderman, former Mayor and Councillor Ken Lewis.
Councillor Dr. Simon Peaple paid tribute to Ken Lewis.
Councillor Dr. Simon Peaple gave a tribute to Councillor Ken Norchi who is retiring from Council in May. Tributes were also received from Councillor S Pritchard, the Leader Councillor J Oates, Councillor D Cook and Councillor R Pritchard.
The Leader Councillor J Oates gave a tribute to Councillor Dr. S Peaple who is retiring form the Council in May. Tributes were also received from Councillor D Cook, Councillor A Cooper, Councillor S Peaple and Councillor A Farrell
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(i) To answer questions from members of the public pursuant to Procedure Rule No. 10.
(ii) To answer questions from members of the Council pursuant to Procedure Rule No. 11
Minutes: QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO.1
Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor Dr. Simon Peaple will ask the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jeremy Oates , the following question:-
“Would the Leader of the Council explain why Marmion House reception remains closed to the public and what progress is being made to identify an alternative base for the Council?”
Councillor Oates gave the following reply:
Throughout the pandemic we have continued to deliver all of our services and remain committed to supporting the most vulnerable in our community.
Although Marmion House remains closed, face-to-face help is available from our staff at Tamworth Information Centre in Tamworth Assembly Rooms. This will continue until we find a new Town Centre base.
The pandemic has led us to look at more efficient, effective and targeted methods of delivering services, and we have seen changes in the demand for those services in terms of numbers seeking services and the change in the profile of when our services are accessed. What we saw when we had Marmion House reception was that our busy periods were when reception was open, what we now see is that we have busy periods outside traditional office hours and we need to respond to that increasing demand.
All our services are available via the phone or various online methods, as they have been throughout the pandemic. In the last 12 months, for example, the customer contact centre handled more than 45,000 enquiries and strive to have all queries resolved during the first contact.
With respect to future location a number of properties have been identified and viewed within the town centre area. An outline options appraisal is being produced for these that addresses factors such as size, location, condition and cost. This options appraisal will be used as the basis of making a recommendation to Cabinet in April for further discussion and a final position in June this year.
Mr Mayor, it has been said a number of times and I repeat the commitment that when Tamworth Borough Council moves out of Marmion House we are looking for a town centre premise and we are committed to opening a reception within the Town Centre in a new location.
Supplementary
Would the Leader of the council confirm that on the website it says that if you’re a struggling to fill in forms you can come into reception and use computers would the Leader of the Council please confirm that that will still be maintained, and could the Leader deal with the comment which is sometimes made that the goal of this is not a brand new headquarters, the goal is an efficient, effective and demonstrably cost efficient building for this Council to be based in.
Councillor Oates gave the following reply:
In terms of the offer on the reception we should always help people by helping them to help themselves so if someone is able to come in and we can provide access to a computer so they can do ... view the full minutes text for item 62. |
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Petition to Stop the Netting of Hedges in Tamworth (Presentation of the Petition by the Petition Organiser and debate by full Council)
Minutes: A petition was submitted to the Council on 1st March 2022 seeking to stop the netting of hedges in Tamworth. The petition contained over 4,600 signatures
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Permanent Appointment of the Monitoring Officer (Report of the Chief Executive) Minutes: Report of the Chief Executive to seek Council approval to appoint the Information Governance Manager to the statutory post of Monitoring Officer in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and local government legislation.
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