Agenda and minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting and read out the Fire Evacuation

Procedure.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 27 November 2024 were submitted and approved as a correct record, subject to the following amendment:

Councillor T Mohan to be added to the list of attendees present at the meeting.

The Chair announced that, as per Motion 171, carried at the last Council meeting, she wrote to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to request that consideration was given to amending current legislation to allow for all local Councillors to be eligible for enhanced DBS checks.  A response had been received from the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution.

The Minister had indicated that he was giving further consideration to Middlesbrough Council’s recommendation for expanding eligibility for mandatory enhanced DBS checks to all Councillors.

A copy of the letter would be circulated to all Councillors following the meeting.

NOTED

Following a request from Councillor Morrish, Councillors observed one minute’s silence to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day which would take place on 27 January 2025.

There were no valid questions submitted from members of the public, within the required timescale for this meeting.

The Mayor was pleased to announce that at a recent meeting of the TVCA Cabinet, one of the transport strategies had been approved.  The strategy included a commitment of £3.2 million for a third platform at the Middlesbrough Railway Station.

The Mayor wished everyone a Happy New Year.   The Mayor also welcomed the Erik Scollay, Chief Executive, and Andrew Humble, Director of Finance and Transformation to their first Council meeting in their new roles, wished them good luck and thanked all those who had taken part in their appointment process.

The Peer Review Team had been working at the Council this week and would produce a report in two to three months’ time with their recommendations.  The Mayor thanked everyone involved in the peer review process.

The Mayor announced that Housing would be his priority for this year.  There were two policies that were being developed which had been outlined to the Place Scrutiny Panel recently.  The Mayor indicated his intention to involve the Overview and Scrutiny Board in the formulation of the new policies.  Housing was a crucial factor for many families and one of the cornerstones of making sure people had an improved life.  It was important to regulate those providers who were not giving a good service, or good accommodation for Middlesbrough residents.

The draft Budget would be presented to the next Council meeting and the Mayor was quite confident that the Council was turning the corner.  There was some growth in the draft budget in key areas such as Area Care and Culture.  Work was continuing on the preparation of the draft budget and the settlement from Government.  Ways of further consultation with Members and an ongoing process were being examined.  This year’s settlement was likely to be the last one that would not be a multi-year settlement.  It was important to make this year’s budget last and invest in key infrastructure to help in the future.

Responding to a Member’s request, the Mayor confirmed that all Members would receive a copy of the Peer Review Report.

A Member paid tribute to everyone involved in the project to regenerate the old town hall and asked the Mayor to commit to ensuring that Middlesbrough’s iconic buildings and heritage were not disrespected in future.

The Mayor responded that although funding had been sourced and allocated to regenerate the old town hall building, it was still a risk to the Council as work had not yet started and ongoing work would be required to make it secure.  The Mayor added that it was not only heritage assets, but others such as the depot where staff worked, that were in need of repair.  The Mayor added that all those involved deserved a huge amount of recognition and an email would be sent to those who had worked on this project thanking them.

The Chair informed Council of an error on the Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability’s Report as follows:

Paragraph 2.12 - heading to read as follows: Canon Street Interchange Newport instead of:  A66 Hartington East and West Overbridges.

Question in relation to the Report of the Executive Member for Finance.

Councillor Morrish on the Forecast Year-end Outturn position at Quarter Two 2024/25 and accountability of Directorates.

The Executive Member reminded Council that a similar question had been asked in September in relation to accountability for Directorates and budget management.  The Executive Member stated that her aim was to return in-budget and avoid having to use any of the £3.5 million exceptional support that had been added as 25% of the total savings required to deliver.  Those savings could be accessed if needed.  The Executive Member invited Councillor Morrish to congratulate all officers if they did return in budget and Councillor Morrish was in agreement that he would.  The Executive Member requested that the Monitoring Officer clarify the Councillors’ role in relation to Officers.

Question in relation to the Report of the Executive Member for Development.

Councillor Wilson on the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum.

The Executive Member confirmed that the Council was working with Middlesbrough Football Club (MFC) in relation to the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum and also the new Southlands Centre.  No decision had been taken with as to whether there would be a new building or whether the existing Museum would be demolished.   The current funding had been secured to enable the Museum to continue operating while the Council continued to work with MFC to secure the Museum’s future.

Question in relation to the Report of the Executive Member for Children’s Services

Councillor Saunders on Cared for Children.

The Executive Member explained that the number of cared for children was in his report along with 4 other key numbers which would remain in the report going foward.  A great deal of work was ongoing in terms of the budget and keeping track on that number.  The current number was 505 now and 503 in June, so although there had been some pressures on the Service the situation was relatively stable.  The key to reducing the overspend was investment in early help and fostering which were not only less costly but delivered better outcomes for young people.  The Service was also reviewing Care Orders to ensure whether they were still appropriate or whether a young person no longer needed to be in the care system or whether early help or special guardianship were valid options.  In terms of oversight, the Executive Member regularly met with the Executive Member for Finance to review budgetary savings, pressures and whether additional support was needed to meet those savings.

Question in relation to the Report of the Executive Member for Neighbourhoods.

Councillor Jones on Community Hubs.

The Executive Member responded that the Council was currently exploring alternative uses for a former rehabilitation near to Norfolk Shops.  One of those options could potentially include  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/92

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board presented a report, the purpose of which was to provide an update on the current position regarding progress made by the Overview and Scrutiny Board and the individual Scrutiny Panels.

The Chair invited Members to note the report.

ORDERED that the report was noted.

There were no urgent items submitted within the specified deadlines for this meeting.

There were no Members’ Questions submitted within the specified deadlines for this meeting.

There were no Notice of Motions submitted within the specified deadlines for this meeting.

There were no Notice of Urgent Motions submitted within the specified deadlines for this meeting.

A joint report of the Chief Executive, Director of Finance and Director of Legal and

Governance Services was presented that set out the key activities, progress and impact of the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan since last reported to Council on 27 November 2024.

The report also set out an update against the Section 24 recommendations made by the Council’s External Auditors and a recommendation to close that plan following delivery of all actions and the outcome of the latest Value for Money judgement made by the Council’s new External Auditors which contained no statutory recommendations.

On a vote being taken it was ORDERED as follows that Council:

1.     Agreed that the Section 24 Action plan was formally closed.

2.     Approved the change control outlined in the report at paragraph 6.1 to close CT5.07 in the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan: Monitoring of Appraisal completions - 95% of staff in work to have had an appraisal.

3.    Noted the progress against the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan.

4.    Noted that the Corporate Peer Challenge was currently underway and would  inform the Council’s future continuous improvement activity.

Council received a report which sought nominations for appointment, following resignations from Committees and Outside Bodies and vacancies that remained outstanding following the Annual meeting.

The report included a list of current vacancies on various Committees and Outside Bodies and nominations were put forward at the meeting by individual members.

ORDERED that the following vacancies allocated in accordance with the wishes of the political groups, be approved by Council:

Committee Vacancies:

Corporate Health and Safety Steering Group

1 vacancy – no nominations

Staff Appeals Committee

1 vacancy for Vice Chair – Councillor Livingstone appointed.

Outside Bodies Vacancies:

JOINT COMMITTEES AND OUTSIDE BODY APPOINTMENTS BY COUNCIL:

River Tees Port Health Authority

1 vacancy – no nominations

JOINT COMMITTEE AND OUTSIDE BODY APPOINTMENTS BY EXECUTIVE:

Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

1 vacancy – Councillor Clynch appointed.