Agenda and minutes

Cabinet - Monday, 23rd May, 2022 6.00 pm

Venue: 0.02 Chamber - Quadrant, The Silverlink North, Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY. View directions

Contact: Yvonne Harrison  Email: democraticsupport@northtyneside.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

CAB1/22

To Receive any Declarations of Interest and Notification of any Dispensations Granted

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.

 

Minutes:

CAB2/22

Minutes

Minutes:

Resolved that the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 March 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

 

CAB3/22

Report of the Young Mayor

To receive a verbal report on the latest activities of the Young Mayor and Young Cabinet.

Minutes:

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

 

·         The Young People’s Conference held on 31 March 2022 with 100 young participants in attendance, focussed on young people’s issues around the environment and emotional wellbeing and mental health. The conference also helped recruit more Youth Councillors from a variety of schools. The committees would use the findings to shape projects moving forward and to feedback and discuss activities with Lead Members and Senior Leaders on Thursday of this week.

·         The Young Mayor had begun his term of office with Member of UK Youth Parliament (MYP) Hannah who had met with key decision makers including the Elected Mayor, Chief Executive, Cabinet Member for Environment, and Director of Environment, who had all spent time with the young people to help support them to achieve their objectives.

·         The Young Mayor had begun planning his strategy for gathering support from schools to join the Eco Green Flag Awards which involved researching primary and secondary schools who were already committed to the scheme with the intention of these being examples of good practice for other schools, supported by the Authority’s Sustainable Environment Team.

·         MYP Hannah had pledged to Work on improving PD/PSHE Lessons to prepare students with the necessary skills for the future such as a course on basic first aid skills or education surrounding how to apply for a mortgage etc.  Mental Health assistance for students too.  The newly created ‘Ready for Life’ Committee and the Youth Council members would be working closely with Hannah on achieving her pledge.

·         Hannah’s work would be driven by the national campaigns.  The Make Your Mark Ballot count showed in North Tyneside that the top issues for young voters were Health and Wellbeing, close second is Jobs, Money, Homes and Opportunities and the third issue was the Environment!  Hannah would ensure that she represented the issues for the young people in North Tyneside when she joined the wider forums and hopefully able to speak in the House of Commons. As a Youth Council they would also be working locally on these top issues.

·         Youth Councillors Poppy Chaplin, and Daniel Taylor had visited some of the Ease into Activities as part of the Holiday Activity and Food Programmeduring the Easter break.

·         MYP Hannah and the Young Mayor had visited Shiremoor Adventure Playground Trust’s Annual General Meeting.

·         Youth Councillors would resume their fundraising for a local charity this year and had for their preference which was ‘Walking With’, who provided a support service for Refugees and Asylum Seekers who were living in North Tyneside. 

·         North Tyneside SEND Youth forum supported sixth form students from Woodlawn, Beacon Hill, and Ignite Your Potential to take part in a national consultation on Annual Health Checks for those with a learning disability.  Two students were asked to take part in a video which would be used as teaching tool for GPs across England delivering Annual Health Checks to young people.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB3/22

CAB4/22

The Home Care Scrutiny Study Group pdf icon PDF 283 KB

To consider a report of the Home Care Study Group which was appointed by the Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing Sub-committee of the Overview, Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet received a report which presented the findings and conclusions of the Home Care Study Group which carried out an in-depth review of home care in North Tyneside on behalf of the Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing Sub-Committee of the Overview, Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee.

 

Councillor J O’Shea, Chair of the Home Care Study Group, presented the report.

 

The Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing Sub-Committee originally established a study group in early 2020 to review home care provision in the Borough.  The Study Group began the review, but the review was suspended at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic in March 2020.  In July 2021, the Sub-Committee agreed to re-establish the Study Group with a revised remit and membership, and the Study Group began meeting in early October 2021.

 

The remit of the Study Group was agreed as follows:

 

To review the current provision of home care in North Tyneside and monitor the introduction and progress of the Home Care Pilot, with a view to:

 

·         Understanding whether the provision of Home Care in the borough is currently meeting the needs of residents;

·         Identifying those things that are working well and any areas of concern;

·         Monitoring the implementation of the Health and Care Pilot.

 

The Study Group received information from officers from the Commissioning Team and other teams within the Authority, as well as a range of interested parties including home care providers, front line staff, carers, North Tyneside Carers’ Centre, North Tyneside Healthwatch, UNISON and the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care.

 

The recommendations of the Study Group were summarised in section 1.5.5 of the report. The full report which outlined the key findings, conclusions and recommendations of the review was attached to the report at Appendix 1.  

 

The report was considered and agreed by the Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing Sub-Committee on 30 March 2022.  The Chair of the Overview, Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee, Councillor Janet Hunter, had waived the requirement that the report be submitted to and approved by the Overview, Scrutiny and Development Committee because its next scheduled meeting was not until 13 June 2022.

 

In accordance with section 9FE of the Local Government Act 2000, Cabinet was required to provide a response to the recommendations of the Overview, Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee within two months.

 

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care thanked the Study Group for its report.

 

Resolved that the report of the Overview, Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee on the Home Care Study Group’s review of home care in North Tyneside be noted; and a detailed response to the recommendations be submitted to a future Cabinet meeting, no later July 2022.

 

(Reason for decision – Cabinet has a statutory duty to respond to the Overview, Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee recommendations within two months of receiving them).

 

 

CAB5/22

Green Skills for Retrofit Jobs Sub-Group pdf icon PDF 272 KB

To consider a report of the Green Skills Retrofit Jobs Sub-Group which was appointed by the Economic Prosperity Sub-Committee of the Overview, Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet received a report which presented the findings of the Green Skills Sub Group appointed by the Economic Prosperity Sub-Committee of the Overview, Scrutiny and Development Committee to consider how the local training market could be stimulated to ensure local people had the skills and qualification required to deliver the retrofitting of energy efficient measures to homes and buildings.   

 

Councillor M Wilson, Chair of the Economic Prosperity Sub-Committee, presented the report.

 

In determining its work programme for 2021/22 the Economic Prosperity Sub-Committee agreed to appoint a sub-group to examine the Authority’s approach to adapting to a green industrial revolution and ensuring people have the right skills for the future green jobs.

 

The Sub-Committee subsequently appointed the Green Skills Sub Group, drawn from members of the Economic Prosperity Sub-Committee, Environment Sub Committee and Children, Education and Skills Sub-Committee, to:

 

a)    consider the steps required to ensure residential, public, commercial and industrial buildings in the borough have the lowest possible carbon emissions to support the Council’s 2030 net zero ambition;

b)    analyse the skills, qualifications and accreditations that will need to be gained by the local workforce so that:

i.         they are equipped to deliver energy efficient buildings;

ii.        the need for imported skills is avoided; and

iii.       the borough benefits from the low carbon economic growth;

c)    identify sources of funding that could be accessed for skills and training from a variety of sources to support the local economy; and

d)    make recommendations to the Elected Mayor and Cabinet on how the Authority and its partners might stimulate the local training market so that the required skills, qualifications and accreditations can be taught to our residents by North Tyneside based providers.

 

The Sub-Group held a series of evidence gathering meetings with officers and key stakeholders during January and February 2022 and also had regard to a wealth of policy documents and research papers which had been published in relation to decarbonising the built environment and the skills and jobs that would be required to deliver it.

 

The Sub-Group had prepared a report setting out its findings, conclusions and recommendations and this was attached at Appendix 1. The report was considered and agreed by the Economic Prosperity Sub-Committee on 10 May 2022. 

 

The Chair of the Overview, Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee, Councillor Janet Hunter, had waived the requirement that the report be submitted to and approved by the Overview, Scrutiny and Development Committee because its next scheduled meeting was not until 13 June 2022. It was hoped that by presenting the report and recommendations to Cabinet at the earliest opportunity this would assist the Cabinet review and revise its Climate Emergency Action Plan.   

 

The recommendations of the Sub Group were summarised in Section 1.5.5 of the report. The full report which outlined the key findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Economic Prosperity Sub-Committee was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

 

In accordance with section 9FE of the Local Government Act 2000, Cabinet was required to provide a response to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB5/22

CAB6/22

Land at Newsteads Drive, Monkseaton pdf icon PDF 510 KB

To consider public representations that have been made to the Authority in relation to a statutory advertisement confirming the Authority’s intention to dispose an area of land within its ownership at Newsteads Drive in Monkseaton, as shown on the site plan at Appendix 1, and which is classed as public open space.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet received a report which presented public representations that had been made to the Authority in accordance with a statutory advertisement confirming the Authority’s intention to dispose an area of land within its ownership at Newlands Drive in Monkseaton, and which was classed as public open space. 

 

The Land which was shown by dark outline on the plan at Appendix 1 was declared surplus to the Authority’s requirements on 14 December 2021, in accordance with the Officer Delegation Scheme. Approval was also given for it to be made available for disposal by private treaty.

 

The proposed disposal of the land was to facilitate the construction of a new medical centre to replace Beaumont Park Medical Centre. The existing building dates back to 1984 and no longer complies with current NHS design standards. The design of the building was prohibiting service delivery to patients as the building is 70% smaller than it should be based on the NHS size requirements for health care premises linked to the number of patients a practice has registered with it.

 

Over the last ten years the Practice had modernised and reconfigured the existing building as much as possible, but it was no longer feasible for it to carry out any further work that would help to meet patient needs.  Therefore, the only option currently available for the Practice was to relocate into a new purpose-built medical centre and the Land at Newsteads Drive had been identified as being capable of accommodating a building that can meet the latest NHS standards with improved accessibility for all patients.

 

As the Land was classed as public open space it was subject to the relevant provisions of the Local Government Act 1972. The Authority must therefore advertise its intention to dispose of the Land in accordance with Section 123 of the Act and formally consider any representations made.

 

This must be done by placing Notices advertising the proposed disposal for two consecutive weeks in a local newspaper. The Authority’s intentions were advertised in the Journal newspaper on 22 December 2021, and 29 December 2021, respectively. The closing date for the receipt of representations was set as 21 January 2022.

 

Prior to the closing date, 46 representations were made to the Authority either by letter or email of which 42 were objections to the proposed disposal and 4 were in support of it.  These were categorised as follows: -

 

·         Representations objecting to the proposed disposal of the Land.

 

·         Representations in support of the proposed disposal of the Land. This included details of a representation received from the North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group, (NTCCG), as the commissioner of NHS services for the local area.

 

In addition to this, details were also given regarding the outcome of consultation with the Ward Members for Monkseaton North.

 

An additional 12 objections were received after the closing date for the receipt of representations referred to in the advertisements, namely 21 January 2022 and whilst these had not been formally considered, it was noted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB6/22

CAB7/22

Review of the North Tyneside Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy pdf icon PDF 408 KB

To seek approval to the adoption of the revised North Tyneside Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy at Appendix 1 to the report which has been developed following the conclusion of a six-week consultation period; and that the Policy comes into effect on the 24 May 2022 save for the Age/Emissions standards.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report was considered on the review of the North Tyneside Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy following a six-week consultation on a draft policy.

 

The review of the Policy took into account the statutory taxi and private hire vehicle minimum standards to licensing authorities published by the Department for Transport in July 2020 entitled, ’Statutory Taxi & Private Hire Vehicle Standards’ (“the Standards”). The Standards outlined how licensing authorities should carry out their licensing functions in relation to Hackney Carriage (taxis) and Private Hire vehicles, drivers and operators.

A comprehensive six-week consultation process was undertaken commencing on 28 February 2022.  An online survey was developed for responders to make consultation responses as well as written responses. Information was made available on the Engagement Hub in addition to members of the Residents Forum advised of the consultation exercise. The consultation was publicised using press and social media and correspondence to all licensed drivers and operators.

 

The consultation had included residents, local businesses, Elected Members and members of the trade.  In total, 64 responses were received with 58 made through the online survey and 6 through written responses. The online survey asked for comments about the draft Policy.

 

The responses were considered with oversight by the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Public Protection.

 

A breakdown of the responses received were included in Appendix 2 to this report.  The responses did not object to the new National Standards that had been introduced being incorporated into the Authority’s revised Policy. Some responses made comments about their impact however not about the revised Policy.

 

Some comments were received about other areas of the Policy that had not been amended and these have been considered and where appropriate amendments had been made to the Policy. If was not possible at this time to make suggested amendments because further work or additional views were required these suggestions would be considered when the Policy was next updated.

 

It was anticipated that a number of responses would concern the age standards that were approved by Cabinet in February 2020 and which were to be become part of the Policy on 1 April 2022. Of the 64 responses received, 45 specifically referred to the age standard and requested that it be delayed or removed. Of the 45 responses relating to the age standard section of the Policy, 8 responses were from residents, 8 from Operators and 29 from licensed drivers.

 

1 response from an Operator was in agreement with the age standards and the importance of an updated vehicle fleet. 

 

Following consideration of these responses the Policy had been updated and it was proposed that the age standards part of the draft Policy would not be implemented until 1 April 2024 for new vehicle licences and renewals.

 

It was proposed that the timetable for the implementation of the age standards was as follows: -

 

(i) From 1 April 2024 no new vehicle licence will be granted for the vehicle unless it is less than 4 years old  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB7/22

CAB8/22

North Shields Cultural Quarter - North of Tyne Combined Authority Culture and Creative Zones Acceptance of Grant pdf icon PDF 419 KB

To seek approval to accept £1,695,000 grant funding from the North of Tyne Combined Authority to enable the establishment of North Shields Cultural Quarter in line with the North Shields Master Plan aspiration and Our North Tyneside Plan; and to enter into a Grant Funding Agreement; and procure any goods, works of services to deliver to the investment plans detailed in the report.

 

Minutes:

Cabinet received a report seeking approval to accept £1,695,000 grant funding from the North of Tyne Combined Authority in relation to Culture and Creative Zones for the North Shields Cultural Quarter; and to enter into a Grant Funding Agreement.

 

North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) approved investment of £1.7m of Culture and Creative Zones funding for North Tyneside Council at its Cabinet Meeting on 22nd March 2022.

 

Funding had been approved to support the development of a Cultural and Creative Zone (CCZ) in North Shields which will be known as North Shields Cultural Quarter.

 

The North Shields Cultural Quarter would be located in and around Howard Street and Saville Street, in the heart of North Shields, creating a ‘cultural corridor’ and stronger connections between the town centre and the Fish Quay. The heart of the Cultural Quarter will be the cluster of buildings at the crossroads of Howard Street and Saville Street including The Exchange, the Globe Gallery, and the Business Centre, and would include the North Shields Customer First Centre.

 

Investment in a Cultural and Creative Zone provided the opportunity to stimulate the economy in North Shields town centre, this ‘cultural corridor’ would play a pivotal role in reinvigorating the place and creating social and economic benefits for the people who lived, worked and visited there - building social inclusion and helping to create a sense of pride.

 

The project would fund the internal building works within the Exchange building, to deliver affordable and fit for purpose spaces and installation of digital infrastructure across the CCZ area (in the Exchange, Business Centre, Globe Gallery and the Customer First Centre). These would be ‘quick wins’ delivered in the first 18 months, and it was anticipated that the majority of the outputs would be delivered from 2023/24 onwards.

 

The project was broken down into the following 5 work packages; 

·         WP1: Place

·         WP2: Support

·         WP3: Skills

·         WP4: Promotion

·         WP5: Community Engagement

 

Once the internal works were completed on The Exchange the Authority would undertake an expression of interest (EOI) process to identify an operator to manage the building going forward.

 

The opportunity to create a place-based approach to investing in the development, sustainability and growth of the culture and creative sector has been articulated in both ‘Our North Tyneside Plan’ and the Ambition for North Shields and the Fish Quay. The focus of the proposal was predominantly within the music, performance and visual arts sub-sector to meet the following key requirements;

 

       Work and performance space - which was accessible, bespoke, affordable and fit for purpose.

       Shared facilities and resources – including rehearsal space, making space, social and networking space, exhibition space, digital equipment, green screen and editing facilities, dark room, printing and framing facilities.

       Skills development opportunities – skills needs focused particularly on the skills needs of the music, performance and visual arts sub sector (e.g musicians, music producers, theatre producers, dance and theatrical studies, painting, sculpting, photography and supporting skilled technicians).

       Greater Diversity – of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB8/22

CAB9/22

Exclusion Resolution

This is to give further notice in accordance with paragraphs 5(4) and 5(5) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 of the intention to consider item (11) below in private.

 

Cabinet is requested to consider passing the following resolution:

 

Resolved that under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and having applied a public interest test as defined in Part 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

 

Reasons for taking the item in private: The report in item (11) below contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding the information).

 

 

Minutes:

Resolved that under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and having applied a public interest test as defined in Part 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

 

 

CAB10/22

Corporate Risk Management Summary Report

To consider the latest review of key corporate risks undertaken by the Senior Leadership Team.

 

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report which detailed the corporate risks that had been identified for monitoring and management by the Authority’s Senior Leadership Team and relevant Cabinet members. The report also provided detailed information on each risk and how it was being managed.

 

Cabinet considered the following decision options:   To consider the information provided for each of the corporate risks and endorse the outcome of the latest review by the Authority’s Senior Leadership Team; and after consideration of the detailed information provided for the corporate risks, suggest changes to the corporate risks and their controls.

 

Resolved that the latest review of key corporate risks undertaken by the Senior Leadership Team be endorsed.

 

(Reasons for decision: Each of the corporate risks has undergone substantial review and challenge as part of the corporate risk management process. This is designed to provide assurance that corporate risks and opportunities are being identified and appropriately managed.)

 

 

CAB11/22

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Monday 27 June 2022 at 6.00pm.

Minutes: