Agenda item

To receive reports from Cabinet Members on their portfolios.

Cllr T Adams - Executive Support & Legal Services

Cllr H Blathwayt – Coast

Cllr J Boyle – Housing and People Services

Cllr A Brown – Planning & Enforcement

Cllr C Ringer – IT, Environmental & Waste Services

Cllr L Shires – Finance, Estates & Assets

Cllr J Toye – Sustainable Growth

Cllr A Varley – Climate Change & Net Zero

Cllr L Withington – Community, Leisure & Outreach (Including Health & Wellbeing)

Members are reminded that they may ask questions of the Cabinet Member on their reports and portfolio areas but should note that it is not a debate.

No member may ask more than one question plus a supplementary question, unless the time taken by members’ questions does not exceed 30 minutes in total, in which case, second questions will be taken in the order that they are received (Constitution, Chapter 2, part 2, section 12.2)

The Chair said that Cllr C Ringer would like to make a statement regarding the collection of food waste. Cllr Ringer reminded members that Full Council had already approved funding to purchase vehicles for food waste collections. The Council had engaged constructively with DEFRA about the challenges anticipated but always with a clear commitment to deliver. One of the concerns raised had been about the rush to market for such vehicles. The original timeframe would have seen NNDC take delivery of vehicles in the late summer with rollout of the service aimed for the Autumn. Unfortunately, the Council had now been informed of delays to the production of vehicles and implementation would now move to early 2027. He would keep members updated as matters progressed.

Cllr J Toye then showed a short film about the ‘High Street Matters’ initiative and the North Norfolk High Streets Matter scheme. He thanked officers for their support and work on this project and County colleagues for use of the video and said it showed the benefits of good collaboration and hoped the same approach would be taken to LGR.

The Chair invited members to ask questions:

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett asked Cllr C Ringer about the reference in his report to 59 cases of bio-crime in January. She wondered why there had been an increase. Cllr Ringer replied that he didn’t believe that it was a long-term increase. It covered the Christmas period.

Cllr V Holliday asked Cllr J Boyle for more detail on the 48 homes proposed for disposal by Flagship Housing Association. Cllr Boyle replied that a meeting had been arranged with Flagship to discuss the homes that had been disposing of. The intention was to sell one property and make two new ones available. Due to difficulties with nutrient neutrality in Norfolk, some of the properties had been built outside of North Norfolk. However, this year, a significant number of new homes would be provided.  She added that NNDC always looked into the possibility of purchasing such properties for temporary accommodation, but this was not always financially viable. She said that she would provide more information when she had been updated by Flagshio. Cllr V Holliday said that there used to be monthly meetings between the Council’s Strategic Housing Team and the Housing providers. She asked whether these had lapsed. She added that she was concerned that villages were losing properties due to the Housing Association’s disposal programmes but that any replacements were often out of the District. Cllr Boyle agreed but said that the Council could only influence the situation as they had no financial stake. She reiterated that there were more new properties in the pipeline.

Cllr K Bayes asked Cllr A Brown about there being no mention of neighbourhood plans in his portfolio report. He said that Stalham had submitted one a while ago and he asked for the current situation. Cllr Brown replied that neighbourhood plans that had been submitted were proceeding but there was no funding made available in the recent Government spending review. Any submitted before the spending review would not be affected. He added that he believed there were 4 or 5 plans that had been validated.

Cllr N Dixon asked Cllr J Toye about recent national employment indicators which showed little or no growth and with the additional burdens of national insurance increases, minimum wage and business rate increases on employers as well as the cessation of the Rural Prosperity Fund. He asked how North Norfolk’s economy had been affected and what the Council was doing to provide additional support to support the rural economy and businesses. He went onto say that if the local economy had not been impacted, could proof be provided, especially for the hospitality and youth sectors.  Cllr Toye replied that it was a mixed view out there. It was not just about business rates, it was about the unequal playing field for VAT and the cost of employing staff. Assistance was being provided where possible on a case by case basis. In general terms, high streets were looking positive. The biggest challenge at the moment was persuading employers to take on apprentices and focus on growing their business. The Council remained committed in supporting local business and helping them find solutions to the challenges they were facing.

Cllr P Neatherway asked Cllr C Ringer about contingency plans were in place to ensure that Council services could continue to operate in the event of a serious cyber attack. Cllr C Ringer said that there were back-up servers based at Fakenham but he would IT to provide a more detailed response.

Cllr J Punchard asked the Leader, Cllr Adams for an update on 9 Norwich Street in Fakenham. Cllr Adams replied that he could not share a response at the current time as negotiations were ongoing and remained confidential.