Agenda and minutes

Venue: West Lindsey Leisure Centre, The Avenue, Gainsborough

Contact: Katie Storr  Senior Democratic and Civic Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

29.

Chairman's Welcome and Minute's Silence for Former Councillor Reg Shore

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed all Members to the Leisure Centre, as the Authority continued to hold its Full Council meetings away from the Guildhall due to ongoing capacity restraints. The Chairman reminded Members of the fire procedures and Covid measures in place before formally opening the meeting.

 

Having offered Prayers for former Councillor and former Leader of the Council, Councillor Reg Shore, prior to the start of the meeting, in opening the meeting the Chairman asked that Members join him in a minute’s silence, as a mark of respect.  Following which, numerous tributes were made across the Chamber with former colleagues from all political persuasions speaking not only of Councillor Shore’s impact in local democracy, his passion, dedication and strong principles, but also of the work he had undertaken and the impact of this work, in his teaching career.  An enabler, able to assist people in fulfilling their potential; Reg would be sadly missed by all who knew him, and would be remembered fondly.

 

The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised the meeting of apologies received (stated above).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 524 KB

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the previous Full Council Meeting held on 28 June 2021.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(a)     Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 28 June 2021

 

Having being moved and seconded, and with no questions raised, it was: -

 

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 28 June 2021 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

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31.

Members' Declarations of Interest

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

No declarations were made.

 

 

32.

Matters Arising pdf icon PDF 168 KB

Matters Arising Schedule as at 26 August 2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman introduced the report advising Members that the report would be taken “as read” unless Members had any questions.

 

With no comments or questions and with no requirement for a vote, the Matters Arising were DULY NOTED.

 

 

33.

Announcements

i)              Chairman of Council

ii)             Leader of the Council

iii)           Chief Executive

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Chairman

 

The Chairman addressed Council and was pleased to advise that, with the gradual lifting of restrictions, he had been able to carry out some civic duties.

 

The Chairman had had the opportunity to visit the site of the new memorial garden at Lea Fields Crematorium and had also had the pleasure of presenting a cheque to the children’s hospice, the money had been raised from the kindness of bereaved relatives.

 

The Chairman had had the honour of raising the red ensign outside the Guildhall to honour our merchant seamen and women who were so vital to our island nation. That same day the Chairman had visited Bransby Home for Horses to witness the remarkable work they undertake with beautiful animals, in many cases, from less than ideal circumstances. The Chairman joked about the friend for the day he had made in Womble a rescued Welsh pony with fancy for mints! He encouraged all Members to visit this amazing place.

 

 

Leader

 

The Leader made the following address to Council:-

 

“Firstly and reflecting on the recent distressing events in Afghanistan, in particular from Kabul airport, may I give an absolute assurance that we, as a Council (and working collectively and collaboratively with partner organisations) will seek to play as full a part as possible in supporting the Afghan Resettlement Scheme.  This has been titled ‘Operation Warm Welcome’.

 

I’m pleased to report that an application to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for a substantial part of West Lindsey to be designated as a Rural Area under section 157(1) of the Housing Act 1985, as amended, has been successful.  The principal advantage of this is to help secure the continuing provision of appropriate affordable homes.

 

It is especially pleasing to report that West Lindsey’s Crematorium and Operational Services teams have each been announced as finalists in the 2021 Annual Service Awards by APSE, the Association for Public Service Excellence.  Almost four hundred nominations were received for the awards this year. Our Crematorium team will be defending in the category they won in 2020.

 

In July the Housing, Health and Care Delivery Group published an important new document called ‘Lincolnshire Homes for Independence’.  It contains a wealth of data and insight into the fundamentally important role appropriate housing provision, that is homes meeting the needs of individuals and communities, plays in supporting peoples’ lifelong health and well-being.

 

The consultation on the draft Central Lincolnshire Local Plan closed on Tuesday, 24th August, with huge thanks due to all those who took part in it. A pre-submission plan will now be prepared by the Joint Planning Unit, based on the responses received, ready for a second public consultation next spring, after which the document will be finalised for its Examination in Public.

 

As colleagues will be aware the Council’s budget consultation for the financial year 2022-23 opened on Monday, 2nd August and will run until 9.00 am on Monday, 27th September.  I’m really pleased that we are able  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

34.

Public Question Time

Questions, if received, under this Scheme will be published by way of supplement.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman advised the meeting that no public questions had been received.

 

 

 

 

35.

Questions Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No. 9 pdf icon PDF 325 KB

Questions submitted by Members Under Procedure Rule No.9 will be published as a supplement following closure of the deadline.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman advised the meeting that one question pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No.9 had been submitted to the meeting.  This had been circulated to all Members, separately to the agenda.

 

The Chairman invited, Councillor Anne Welburn, Ward Member for Cherry Willingham, to put her question to the Leader, as follows: -

 

“1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem in any given year. The World Health Organisation predicts that depression will be the second most common health condition worldwide in the coming years. Mental ill health costs some £105 billion each year in England alone. People with a severe mental illness die up to 20 years younger than their peers in the UK. There is often a circular relationship between mental health and issues such as housing, employment, family problems or debt.

 

As a local authority, we have a crucial role to play in improving the mental health of everyone in our community and tackling some of the widest and most entrenched inequalities in health. Mental health should be a priority across all the local authority’s areas of responsibility, including housing, community safety and planning. All Councillors can play a positive role in championing mental health on an individual and strategic basis.”

 

Please can the Leader outline the principal actions we, as a Council, are taking to:

 

           Support positive mental health in our community, including in local schools, neighbourhoods, and workplaces.

           Work to reduce inequalities in mental health in our community

 

Thank you

Councillor Anne Welburn”

 

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Owen Bierley, responded as follows: -

 

“Thank you for your question Councillor Welburn.

 

As a district council we have no statutory responsibility for health, which includes mental health – this responsibility lies with the NHS Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust known across the system as LPFT. However as providers of key services including housing, leisure, and environmental health services and key enablers including economic development, planning and community engagement, all of which impact on the wider or social determinants of health, we play an important role in supporting the physical and mental health and well being of our residents.

 

The Health and Social Care White paper published earlier this year sets out the legislative proposals for the Health and Care Bill building on strong collaborations formed during the Coronavirus pandemic. District Councils have long recognised the importance of collaboration and some of the work we are currently engaged in in relation to mental health embraces a system wide approach.

 

Officers and Members are engaged in a number of forums and partnerships that provide opportunities to influence across the system to reduce health inequalities.

 

We are members of the Gainsborough Mental Health Partnership – coordinated by local Neighbourhood team (NHS)

 

We have Member and Officer representation at the Housing, Health and Care Delivery group.

 

We have a place on the Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Partnership Board.

 

Gainsborough is a pilot site for the LPFT Mental Health Transformation Programme working closely with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

36.

Motions Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No. 10

No motions have been submitted for this meeting.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman advised the meeting that no Motions, under Council Procedure Rule No.10, had been submitted to the meeting.

 

 

37.

Annual Treasury Report pdf icon PDF 838 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee presented the annual Treasury Management Report for 2020/2021report to Council which stood  recommended by her Committee.

 

The report detailed the outturn position for Treasury activities, and highlighted compliance with the Council’s Treasury Management Policy previously scrutinised by Governance and Audit Committee and approved by Council. 

 

The prudential indicators, which had been monitored throughout the year by the Committee, were detailed in section 3 of the report.

 

Whilst interest returns had remained low and were projected to remain low for the foreseeable future, the Council had maintained an average balance of £21m in investments and had earned an average return of 0.896% resulting in interest of £0.185m, mainly due to the £3m investment in the CCLA Property Fund (£0.152m).

 

The Capital Financing Requirement, which represented the Council’s underlying borrowing need, at the end of March was reported at £38.525m, of which external borrowing had remained consistent at £20m.

 

Whilst the Council policy was not to charge an annual Minimum Revenue Provision(MRP) for its investment properties, during the year a voluntary revenue provision of £707,000 had been made. The MRP made for the year against other borrowing was £0.251m, and Members noted these payments effectively reduced the Council’s borrowing need.

 

Debate ensued and whilst accepting the report was primarily related to finance, a Member of Climate and Sustainability Working Group considered all activities had an impact on the climate, and as such, Officers should consider these matters and report the implications accordingly. For example the investments held with other banks and money markets could have climate related risks, investing in property brought with it a climate impact.

 

The S151 Officer responded accordingly. A Member commented on the success of CCLA investments, an opportune discovery which had paid dividends.

 

In response to questions, regarding promotion of recommendations, referencing comments in the earlier debate, a former Leader of the Council, outlined press activity he had undertaken in his role. Given the previous response of the Head of Paid Service, he questioned if he acted inappropriately, citing the role description of the Leader of the Council in Article 12 of the Constitution.

 

The Chief Executive clarified his comments, indicating they related to motions submitted under procedure rule 10, as opposed to motions arising from recommendations within reports, confirming the actions of the previous Leader in respect of promotion, had been acceptable within his role.

 

The response was challenged and the Chief Executive undertook to look into the matter outside of the meeting.

 

The Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee, reminded Members that reports style and content was under review this year with the opportunity for Members to be engaged.  Furthermore, should the constitution need revision, given the comments expressed, such matters would be considered as part of the Annual Review.

 

Having being moved, seconded and on being put to the vote it was: -

 

RESOLVED that the Annual Treasury Management Report and actual Prudential Indicators 2020/21 be approved.

 

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38.

Appointment to Vacancy on the Governance and Audit Committee pdf icon PDF 146 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council gave consideration to a report which sought to appoint a Member to serve on the Governance and Audit Committee, on which there was currently a vacancy, following an unconstitutional appointment having been made at the previous meeting.

 

RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs Caralyne Grimble be appointed to serve on the Governance and Audit Committee for the remainder of the 2021/22 Civic Year.

 

 

Note: - The Deputy Monitoring Officer left the meeting prior to consideration of the next item of business.

 

 

39.

Appointment of Monitoring Officer pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members gave consideration to a report which sought the re-designation of the statutory position of Monitoring Officer under the provisions of the Local Government Act Housing Act 1989.

 

Assurance was sought that the Officer would be supported appropriately in carrying out the role and were referred to the staffing implications section of the box.

 

Members commented positively on the capability of the Officer proposed for appointment and offered her congratulations in her absence.

 

Thanks were expressed to the outgoing Monitoring Officer, for the work he undertaken in the role, both as Monitoring Officer and Deputy.

 

On being put to the vote it was RESOLVED that: -

 

 

(a)       In accordance with the terms of Part I, 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended) and all subsequent related legislation, Emma Redwood be appointed as the Council’s Monitoring Officer, with immediate effect; and

 

(b)       the Constitution be amended, as necessary, to reflect this revised appointment.

 

 

Note:  The newly appointed Monitoring Officer returned to the meeting.