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(1)          
That the Cabinet agreed to the creation of a Reserve of up to
£3 million for the purposes of investing in the
Council’s Fit for the Future Portfolio. The Reserve was to be
created using part of the initial windfall of interest income
created from the sale of part of the employment land at North
Weald. Funding would be taken from the Revenue Budget over a period
of two years, as far as delivering a balanced budget allowed.
 

(2)          
That the Cabinet agreed that funding in 2024/25 of up to
£40,000 would be considered as part of the 2024/25 budget
process, for the purposes of establishing a post to collectively
represent North Essex Councils (appendix A) and to establish a
detailed terms of reference for NEC and develop a clear programme
of work.
 

(3)          
That the Cabinet agreed the Council should work with Braintree
District Council and Colchester City Council to develop a full
business case and proposed approach to delivery for a single shared
back office for the corporate services referenced in this report
and to approve the release of £180K from the Transformation
Reserve to support development of the business case.
 

(4)          
That the Cabinet noted that a full governance proposal for the Fit
for the Future transformation reserve would be presented to the
Cabinet for agreement in March 2024.