Cabinet Decisions

A petition was received in June 2020 with 147 valid signatures. The petition Prayer reads:

“We the undersigned petition the council to hold a thorough review of the facilities available around the Thanet beaches to ensure the safety and wellbeing of both visitors and residents and to invest in adequate infrastructure to meet the outcomes.”

Cabinet agreed:

To note the concerns raised and respond to confirm that toilet facilities serving Thanet beaches will be reviewed by officers and members over the winter season with the review and recommendations to be reported back to Cabinet in March 2021.

TDC is the collection authority for domestic waste, KCC is the disposal authority. An existing inter authority agreement describes the collection methodology and a mechanism for payments (known as enabling payments) associated with the waste service to be made by KCC to TDC The current 10 year agreement is between the 4 East Kent districts and KCC. This existing agreement expires on 15 January 2021. The existing agreement includes the standards required for collection and transfer of the various domestic waste streams along with waste from street bins, dog bins, bulky waste collections and street cleansing arisings.

A new agreement has been drafted with the intention of this coming into force on 16th January 2021 thereby avoiding a gap between the old and new agreements. This agreement will also set out the model for the sharing of income and savings by KCC with TDC for waste recycled and therefore diverted from landfill. This report therefore seeks Cabinet’s agreement to enter into the agreement and delegated authority for the Director of Operations to negotiate and agree final terms and enter into this new agreement.

Cabinet approved Option 1 which is as detailed below:

1.  That the Council enters into a new Inter Authority Agreement with Kent County Council for a period of 5 years from 16 January 2021;

2.  That the Director of Operations is given delegated authority to undertake all steps to negotiate and agree the final terms of the agreement (in consultation as necessary with the Portfolio Holder);

3.  That the Director of Law and Democracy is given delegated authority to sign the final agreement.

The council has a statutory duty to enforce The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 in respect of domestic private rented property. Since 01 April 2020, private landlords have been prohibited from renting out homes that are subject to an Energy Performance Certificate (“EPC”) with an energy efficiency rating of F or G, unless they have registered a valid exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register.

As the enforcement authority, the council is empowered to impose financial and publication penalties on private landlords who breach their duties under the regulations. However, before the council can impose such penalties it must first adopt a just and proportionate policy which provides a framework for determining the penalties that should be imposed for each breach identified.

Cabinet agreed:

1.  To approve the adoption of the proposed “Policy for imposing financial and publication penalties under The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015” annexed to this report; and

2.  To delegate authority to the Director of Housing and Planning, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Services, to approve minor amendments to the policy.

The council has a statutory duty to enforce The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 01 June 2020. The regulations place mandatory duties on private landlords to maintain electrical safety standards in privately rented homes.

Local housing authorities have been empowered to impose financial penalties of up to £30,000 on private landlords who breach their duties under the regulations. However, before the council can impose such penalties it must first adopt a just and proportionate policy which provides a framework for determining the level of penalty that should be imposed for each breach identified.

Cabinet agreed:

1.  To approve the adoption of the proposed “Policy for imposing financial penalties under The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020” annexed to this report; and

2.  To delegate authority to the Director of Housing and Planning, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Services, to approve minor amendments to the policy.