Agenda and minutes

You are invited to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, and the nature of that interest.

You are also invited to disclose any dispensation in relation to any registerable and/or non-registerable interests that have been granted to you in respect of any matters appearing on the agenda.

Please complete the Declarations of Interests card available at the meeting and return it to the Democratic Services Officer before leaving the meeting.

Councillor K Clark declared a registerable personal interest in agenda Item 6: 2023-24 Performance and Financial Management Report to 31 March 2024 (CAB18/24), as she was a Director and Employee at Justice Prince CIC which had contracts with North Tyneside Council and received funding from the Authority.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on 20 May 2024 and 10 June 2024 respectively.

Resolved that the minutes of the previous meetings held on 20 May (Ordinary meeting) and 10 June 2024 (Extraordinary meeting) be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

To receive a verbal report on the latest activities of the Young

Mayor and Young Cabinet.

The Young Mayor reported on the following activities in which he and Young Cabinet Members and/or Youth Councillors had been involved:

• At Youth Council this month young people had the opportunity to test out some resources from public health to help children and young people understand the dangers of alcohol and drugs.  Games and activities had been tested to see if there were any were liked and that could be used as part of the young mayor’s pledge across schools.  The session was enjoyed by youth councillors who had suggested some good ideas to use moving forward with his campaign.
• Youth Councillors would be focusing on John’s pledge around spending smarter at their next meeting.
• The Young Mayor had been working with members of public health and communications to create a fun and interesting film to be shown in schools to young people.  The aim of the film was to be young people friendly and show young people where they could go to for help and support.
• On 30 May young people had attended the North East Youth Alliance Youth Awards Festival.   Cameron Quinn, Sharon Zeng, Connor Burns and Darren Renforth had all been shortlisted for awards and although unsuccessful on this occasion they were very positive on being nominated.
• The Young Mayor had also been nominated by North Tyneside Young Carers separately and won for something he felt very strongly about.

·        North Tyneside’s Children in Care Council delivered a regional corporate parenting session in Durham with lots of senior leaders in attendance.  This was really well received and had been an opportunity for the young people to follow up with their key messages from the conference in April.

• A young people’s neurodiversity steering group had been set up to inform adults on how they wanted the project to run as it developed.  The group had created a video of young people’s views on neurodiversity and were carrying out research on social media and the messages that were shared to young people.  They will use this to inform adults of the positives and negatives from a young person’s perspective.

The Elected Mayor thanked the Young Mayor for his update and congratulated him on his recent Young Carers award also the other young people who had been shortlisted for separate awards, she was also looking forward to seeing their video on neurodiversity.

Local Authorities are required by the Gambling Act 2005 (“the Act”) to publish a Statement of Licensing Policy and to revise the Policy at least every three years.  Cabinet are being asked to endorse the initial proposals for the draft revised Statement of Licensing Policy (Gambling)  and approve the consultation on the draft revised statement.

Cabinet received a report seeking approval for the initial proposals of the Draft Statement of Licensing Policy (Gambling) 2025-2028 attached to the report at Appendix 1 and to undertake a public consultation exercise.

The report outlined the initial proposals to Cabinet before the public consultation of the revised draft Policy, which formed part of the Authority’s Budget and Policy Framework.

Local authorities were required by the Gambling Act 2005 to publish a Statement of Licensing Policy and to revise the Policy at least every three years.  The Statement of Licensing Policy provided guidance as to how the Authority would exercise its functions under the Act.  It was a legal requirement that the Statement of Licensing Policy was consulted on in accordance with the 2005 Act before it was approved by the Authority.

Section 153 of the Act set out the principles to be applied by the Authority as Licensing Authority when considering an application for a Premises Licence. 

Section 153(1)(d) of the Act therefore emphasised the importance of the Authority’s Statement of Licensing Policy (Gambling) in determining any application for a Premises Licence made to the Authority as Licensing Authority.

Under the Act, the Authority as a Licensing Authority was responsible for issuing Premises Licences and Permits. Premises Licences were specific to the type of premises offering gambling to the public and include Casino Premises; Bingo premises; Adult Gaming Centre Premises; Family Entertainment Centre Premises;

Betting Premises.

In terms of Permits, the Authority as a Licensing Authority could issue Unlicensed Family Entertainment Centre Gaming Machine Permit; Club Gaming Permit; Club Machine Permit; Alcohol Licensed Premises Gaming Machine Permits; Prize Gaming Permits.

The Authority did not have the authority from the Secretary of State to issue

Casino Premises Licences.  Section 175 of the Act limits the overall numbers of

types of casinos that would be permitted in Great Britain and, until such time as

the current limit on the number of casinos is increased, no further Casino

Premises Licences would be issued.

The draft revised Statement of Licensing Policy (Gambling) attached to this Report at Appendix 1contained the information that The Gambling Act 2005 (Licensing Authority Policy Statement) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 had prescribed should be included in the policy document as outlined in the report.

Full Council on 22 November 2021 passed a ‘no casino’ resolution which meant that the Authority would not grant any Casino Premises Licences in the Borough if it was given the power to do so. This resolution remained in place for the duration of the Policy, even if the number of national Casino licences increased.  The decision on whether or not to pass a further ‘no casino’ resolution would form part of the consultation on the draft revised Statement of the Licensing Policy.  If Council passes a further ‘no casino’ resolution, then it will bind the Authority for a further three years (unless another resolution is passed in the interim) and will prohibit the Authority from issuing Casino Premises Licences in that period.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB17/24

The report summaries both the performance and financial outturn position across the Authority as at 31 March 2024.  It also deals with a number of procedural matters as the Authority moves into the new financial year.

Cabinet received a report which summarised both the performance and financial outturn position across the Authority as at 31 March 2024.  It also dealt with a number of procedural matters as the Authority moved into the new financial year.

For performance, the report set out the key areas of service delivery for Cabinet to note, including where this impacted on the Authority’s budget.  In terms of the budget, it set out the outturn position at 31 March 2024 for both revenue and capital.  Cabinet noted that following the changes in the structure of the Senior Leadership Team, the budget monitoring report had been restated compared to earlier in the year.

The Authority’s draft Statement of Accounts (the Accounts) for 2023/24 was due to be presented to the Audit Committee for approval on 29 May 2024.  However, as reported to the Audit Committee, there had been a number of national accounting matters that had delayed the audit of the 2022/23 Statement of Accounts and consequently, would delay the auditing of the 2023/24 Statement of Accounts.  Therefore, the outturn figures contained in this report were provisional until the completion of the 2022/23 and 2023/24 accounts.

The Accounts were a statutory document that set out the Authority’s financial position and performance for the year in a series of formal statements prepared according to a specific statutory and regulatory framework, which made it a very technical document.  As in previous years, this report sets out the Authority’s financial performance in an outturn report which reflected the Authority’s structure and the reports presented to Cabinet throughout the year.

From a performance point of view, service delivery overall across the Authority remained strong.  The Authority continued to manage high levels of demand in a number of areas including Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), children in care, children in need, home care provision, residential and nursing care placements all of which had financial implications. Key areas of strength were delivery of the Our North Tyneside Plan 2021-2025 priorities such as the affordable homes programme and carbon net zero.  The Ambition for North Tyneside Programme was progressing well with regeneration projects across the four areas of the borough.  Capital investment continued to deliver planned improvement works helping maintain council homes at the decent homes standard.  Council Tax and Business Rates collection also remained on track.  

The Authority continued to see areas of pressure across Adult and Children’s Social Care, but there were also significant impacts on income particularly across Home to School Transport and Catering Services.

Since the last report, the number of children in the Authority’s care had decreased by 15.  There were 352 Children in the Authority’s care at the end of March, including 15 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. This was a reduction from 367 in January 2024.  However, this remained higher than the 330 children budgeted for.  Although the number of children in the Authority’s care had decreased as stated above, there had been a further increase in the number of external residential placements which,  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB18/24

The Housing Act 1996 was amended by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 which meant that from September 2023 the Housing Ombudsman (HO) was empowered to issue a code of practice about procedures for handling housing complaints to members of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. As a social landlord the Authority is by law a member of the HO Scheme. A further amendment to the Housing Act placed a duty on the HO to monitor landlord compliance with the code of practice.

The HO will monitor compliance in three ways to ensure that the landlord:

·        Has scrutinised and challenged the compliance with the Code, complaints handling performance and learning from complaints at its governing body and published the outcome on its website.

·        Complies with the Code in policy, and that any deviations are explained and reasonable.

·        Complies with the Code in practice.

Cabinet is requested to Agree the Housing and Property Services Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report 2023-24.

Cabinet considered a report seeking approval for the Housing and Property Services Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report 2023 -2024 appended to this report.

There was a statutory requirement for the Housing Ombudsman (HO) to consult with the Regulator of Social Housing, members of the HO Scheme, and individuals who may make complaints under the Scheme before the publication of the Code.

In partnership with the Local Government Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), a national, joint consultation on their respective codes of practice took place late 2023, with the intention, at that time, to produce one joint complaint handling code of practice.

On 8 February 2024, both Ombudsmen announced that there would be two separate codes of practice, that would be aligned to each other.  The Code was a statutory code which must be followed, whereas the LGSCO Code of practice was guidance only.

The revised HO Complaint Handling Code was launched on 1 April 2024. Amongst other things, the Code placed a requirement on the Authority as a landlord to produce an annual complaints performance and service improvement report for scrutiny and challenge.  The report must include:

• The annual self-assessment against the Code to ensure complaint handling policy, remains in line with its requirements.
• Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the landlord’s complaint handling performance.  This must include a summary of the types of complaints the landlord has refused to accept.
• Any findings of non-compliance with the Code by the Ombudsman.
• The service improvements made because of the learning from complaints.
• Any annual report about the landlord’s performance from the Ombudsman.
• Any other relevant reports or publications produced by the Ombudsman in relation to the work of the landlord.

The annual complaints performance and service improvement report must 

be reported to the landlord’s “governing body” and published on the section of their website relating to complaints.  The governing body’s response must be published alongside this.  In the case of a local authority which was a social landlord, and which operated with executive arrangements, such as this Authority, the “governing body” was Cabinet.

In addition to the HO annual self-assessment being published on the landlord’s website, it must now be submitted to the HO by 30 June 2024.  The self-assessment must also be completed following any change in service procedures and/or an Ombudsman investigation.  The completed self-assessment included as an Appendix to the report demonstrated the Authority’s compliance with the HO Complaint Handling Code.

Landlords would be expected to use complaints as a source of intelligence to identify issues and themes and introduce positive change to service delivery.  Landlords must also report back on wider learning and service improvements from complaints to stakeholders, including resident panels, staff, and relevant committees.

A member of the governing body (or equivalent) must be appointed to have lead responsibility for complaints to support a positive complaint handling culture.  This person was referred to as the Member Responsible for Complaints (the MRC).  For Housing and Property Services this was the Lead Member with responsibility for Housing.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB19/24

The report seeks consent to the making of Regulations by central government to provide the new Mayoral Combined Authority (“NECA”), with borrowing powers in line with the Devolution Deal and Scheme, the latter of which was subject to public consultation.

A report was received seeking consent to the making of Regulations by central government to provide the new Mayoral Combined Authority, (“NECA”), with borrowing powers in line with the Devolution Deal and Scheme, the latter of which was subject to public consultation.

In December 2022, HM Government announced a minded to Devolution Deal with the seven local authorities across the North East. To implement the Deal, the local authorities needed to establish a new Mayoral Combined Authority for the region.  Following the making of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2024 (referred to below as “the 2024 Order”) and the election of the Mayor, the new Combined Authority – NECA – came into existence on 7 May 2024.

As part of the Devolution Deal, it was envisaged that NECA would have borrowing powers to support its functions.  This was set out in the Scheme which was published by the seven local authorities for consultation as part of the process of making the 2024 Order.  Borrowing powers for NECA’s transport functions were included in the 2024 Order.  However, central government’s legislative procedures meant that the borrowing powers for other functions must be conferred on NECA by a separate statutory instrument (referred to in this report as “the Regulations”).  NECA and its seven constituent local authorities must each provide their consent before the Regulations can be made.  It was therefore recommended that the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Elected Mayor and Head of Law, was authorised to give formal consent to the making of the Regulations when requested by central government.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: To approve the recommendations set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report, or alternatively, to not agree the recommendations.

Resolved that (1) Cabinet agree in principle to the making of the Regulations; and

(2) the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Elected Mayor and Head of Law, be authorised to issue the Authority’s formal consent to the making of the Regulations to the Secretary of State when requested.

(Reasons for Decision:  The Devolution Deal and the Scheme which was published for consultation envisaged that NECA would have the proposed borrowing powers. Securing borrowing powers will help NECA to properly discharge its functions and assist in delivering its vision, policies, and priorities.) 

Garden waste collections are currently provided to residents free of charge.  Brown bins are collected between the months of March and November.  The introduction of a £30 charge to households as an opt-in garden waste collection service was approved by full Council at its budget setting meeting on 15 February 2024.  The report seeks Cabinet approval of the Terms and Condition for the garden waste collection service.

Cabinet considered a report seeking approval for the Terms and Conditions for the Garden Waste Collection Service.  

Inflation, housing growth and sustainable waste management commitments, including the new government 'Simpler Recycling’ reforms, were increasing contract costs and creating additional pressure on the Authority’s delivery of its waste collection services.

As part of the 2024-2028 Financial Planning and Budget Process, the Authority analysed financial and performance data and identified key areas of demand on waste budgets going forwards.

As a result of that process, the introduction of a charge of £30 for garden waste collections was approved by full Council on 15 February 2024 at the budget-setting meeting. Currently, a brown bin for garden waste is provided to residents and was collected free of charge by the Authority.  Brown bins were collected between the months of March and November, and collections stopped between December to February.  From March 2025, the same service would be provided, but only to those residents who subscribed to the service for £30 per annum.  The introduction of a charge brings the Authority into line with other waste collection authorities around the region who charged for the collection of garden waste, although the proposed fee of £30 was the lowest across the seven North East local authorities. 

Officers had established a working group comprising representatives from across the Authority to deliver the project, including a communication and marketing campaign, the reorganisation of collection rounds, development of payment methods and a set of Terms and Conditions for the new subscription service. The Terms and Conditions were appended to the Report and covered key areas such as service description, application and payment process, refunds and information on which materials were eligible for collection.

It was forecast that approximately 22,000 households would subscribe for the chargeable garden waste collection service, which would generate a gross income of £0.660m per annum.

A communication plan was in place to support the introduction of the subscription service. This would include briefings for Members, promotional materials, letters to residents, information in the Our North Tyneside Magazine and social media, and community engagement events across the borough and throughout summer 2024.  A “Frequently asked questions” document had been prepared and would be added to the Authority’s website and would be updated regularly to enable customer queries to be answered efficiently and effectively.

It was intended that letters to residents would be distributed in July 2024 shortly after approval of the Terms and Conditions and residents would be given until the end of November 2024 to subscribe to the garden waste collection service.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: To approve the recommendations set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report, or alternatively, to not agree the recommendations.

Resolved that (1) the draft Terms and Conditions for the Garden Waste Collection Service, attached as an Appendix and as set out in section 1.5 of the report, be approved;

(2) the Director of Environment to keep under review the Terms and Conditions for the garden waste collection  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB21/24

The report is presented to Cabinet with an update on the delivery of the Authority’s ‘Ambition for North Tyneside’ which was agreed by Cabinet on 26 November 2018 as a framework for the regeneration of the borough in line with the then ‘Our North Tyneside Plan’.

Cabinet received a report on the delivery of the Authority’s ‘Ambition for North Tyneside’ which was agreed by Cabinet on the 26 November 2018 as a framework for the regeneration of the borough in line with the then ‘Our North Tyneside Plan’.

An update was last provided to the Cabinet in June 2023. Since then, the Deputy Mayor and officers had been working closely with a range of partners to unlock potential and opportunity and progress key projects and activity.

An Ambition for North Tyneside considers the borough as four areas namely;

·        The South West area around Wallsend, including the communities who live in Howdon, Willington Quay, Hadrian Park, High Farm and Battle Hill

·        The North West including Benton and Longbenton, Forest Hall and Killingworth, Dudley, Weetslade, Burradon, Camperdown and Fordley

·        The North East area around Whitley Bay, including Monkseaton and Earsdon, Shiremoor, Backworth and West Allotment; and

·        The South East area around North Shields, including Cullercoats and Tynemouth, Chirton and Percy Main.

The Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s ambitions for the borough were set out in the ‘Our North Tyneside Plan’. Specific commitments had been made and were being met in terms of a thriving, family-friendly, caring, secure and green Borough.

To deliver the ambition and pay for delivery, the Authority had allocated £2m per year for five years (2021-26) through its budget setting process. This had enabled the Authority to use this as ‘match funding’ and attract external funding from the North of the Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA), the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (at the time of their existence), Government and the private sector.

The report explained in more detail progress that had been made on the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s ambitions for each part of the borough. It set out what had been achieved over the last 12 months, what was currently planned and what would happen next (subject to funding) and what the Authority would do if it could and when it could.

Subject to agreement by Cabinet, the next steps would include:

§  Project development including refining delivery plans and funding mix;

§  Options on the major projects moving through appropriate governance;

§  Finalise the Investment Programme based on a £10m budget, developing proposals and priorities for post 2025; and

In the next 12 months activity would focus on delivering already approved projects and identifying additional funding to deliver the following:

§  Agree the Village plans for the North West, secure funding for and begin delivery on the early priority projects;

§  Secure funding to upgrade the visitor offer at Segedunum;

§  Work with delivery partners and stakeholders to take forward projects adopted within the Wallsend Masterplan; and

§  Agree policy priorities and a plan for Whitley Bay.

Cabinet considered the following decision options:  Whereas the majority of this report was for information purposes only, Cabinet was requested to agree to recommendation (3) at paragraph 1.2 of the report, or alternatively, to not approve that recommendation.

Resolved that (1) the progress made in delivering the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB22/24

The Housing Delivery Test Action Plan (“Action Plan”) in necessary because of the results of the 2022 Housing Delivery Test published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) show that the Authority’s housing delivery has fallen below 95% of its requirement over the previous three years.  This means that in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework the Authority is required to prepare an Action Plan which assesses the causes of the under-delivery and identifies actions that will be taken to increase delivery in future years.

The Action Plan will provide an ongoing framework for the Authority that will be reviewed annually, until housing returns above 95% of the Authority’s requirement.

Cabinet considered a report seeking approval on the proposals for the first North Tyneside Housing Delivery Test Action Plan.

The Action Plan was necessary because the results of the 2022 Housing Delivery Test (HDT) published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) showed that the Authority’s housing delivery had fallen below 95% of its requirement over the previous three years. This meant that in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework the Authority was required to prepare an Action Plan which assessed the causes of the under-delivery and identified actions that would be taken to increase delivery in future years.

The Action Plan would provide an ongoing framework for the Authority that would be reviewed annually, until housing returned above 95% of the Authority’s requirement. This would consider the effectiveness of the actions identified and included in the Action Plan and to assess the success in achieving an increase in the overall level of housing delivery across the borough.

In summary, the actions within the HDT Action Plan included:-

·        Strategic allocations – all relevant services are in place to support consideration and progress of relevant planning applications. Agreement and discharge of any relevant conditions and agreements to enable development to commence are recognised as a priority.

·        Local Plan allocations – Engagement and discussion with the housing industry both private developers and registered providers to establish potential interest and confirm ongoing support for delivery of sites of interest.

·        Site frameworks – To increase potential certainty for planning applicants the Authority will consider preparation of development frameworks for key sites that may present complex challenges.

·        Area Wide Design Code - Development of a North Tyneside Area Wide Design Code to align with latest National Planning Policy Framework is expected to create a useful tool for residents, partners, and developers to improve the quality of planning applications for development and potential speed for their consideration.

·        Affordable homes – Delivery of 5,000 affordable homes remains a Council priority, with over 2,000 homes already built. The Authority continues to seek and progress opportunities to increase the pace and scale of affordable housing delivery.

The Housing Delivery Test Action Plan would become a living document that would require review and update for each year that housing delivery in North Tyneside remained below 95% of the housing requirement. Whilst the actions identified were expected to see substantial recovery in housing delivery, the three-year time frame for the HDT and lead in time for new sites to come forward and significant completions at Murton Gap and Killingworth Moor meant delivery was likely to remain below 95% for at least the next 12 months.

The Authority would continue to monitor the effectiveness of the actions identified, underlying conditions of the housing market in the borough and evidence of improvement in supply and delivery.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: To approve the recommendations set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report, or alternatively, to not agree the recommendations and request a revised Action Plan be prepared.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB23/24

Monday 29 July 2024 at 6.00pm.

Monday, 29 July 2024 at 6.00pm.