i) Chairman of Council
ii) Leader of the Council
iii) Chief Executive
Minutes:
Chairman
The Chairman started his announcements advising that due to the continued restrictions in place many events that would have taken place were either cancelled or postponed.
However with the wonders of technology, he been able to attend some events virtually, especially Armed Forces Day and Merchant Navy Day, the latter accompanied by the Leader and Chief Executive.
The Chairman had been able to attend, in person, the public opening of the superb new facility at Market Rasen where he had been joined again by the Leader and Ward Members.
On the 25th of August, along with Councillors Rodgers and Grimble the Chairman had welcomed the Chief Executive for a tour of the Dunholme and Welton Ward which he hoped had been both informative and useful for the Chief Executive.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, accompanied by the Leader, the Chairman had had the pleasure of visiting the Continental Market in Gainsborough. It had been great to speak to many of the stallholders and customers and have the opportunity to purchase some of the “goodies” on offer. He made special mention of one particular stall holder, and daughter of a fellow Councillor who had been manning a stall selling bird boxes to fund a trip next year to Ecuador.
In concluding his announcements, the Chairman commented on her remarkable commitment, her adventurous spirit and wished her well, before handing over to the Leader.
Leader
The Leader made the following address to Council: -
“Chairman, when this Council last met, some ten weeks ago, at the end of June we were three months into lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic was upon us. Whilst lockdown has loosened, we continue to confront this emergency. I had hoped that we might have made more progress and be able to hold meetings once again in the Chamber. This has not been possible.
The impact on the Council’s finances of this pandemic is significant, with reduced income and additional costs, a portion of which are still not being met by HM Government. I have regular contact at ministerial level and will continue to press the Secretary of State on this point.
I remain tremendously proud of our Officers at the Guildhall, who have changed their ways of working, changed the work they are doing, and the overwhelming majority have decamped to their homes to work remotely. These changes were handled with considerable agility and in a way that minimised disruption to our residents.
We are now faced with increased financial uncertainty from the long-term effects of Covid-19 in addition to the impact of the, once again, delayed Fairer Funding Review and Business Rates Retention Review. Whilst it is right that we should all be deeply concerned at any reduction in overall funding levels, this administration remains dedicated to continue with delivery of our plans to build a brighter future for everyone in West Lindsey; through effective and efficient delivery of our services and ensuring that every penny of public money is spent wisely.
Nevertheless, despite the difficulties that we face, as the district lead on the Recovery Cell, I can report that West Lindsey is probably the best placed district, in the county, to withstand the challenges of this pandemic.
I regret that we have not yet published and debated the LGA Peer Review. I have discussed this with our Chief Executive in our weekly meetings and I am pleased to say that progress is being made on a number of the recommendations in the report. I am pleased to announce that the LGA Review will be on the agenda for our next meeting of Full Council on Monday, 2nd November.
Since I last reported on my activities to Council work has intensified on Devolution. A meeting was held with Simon Clarke MP, Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government, with all local authority Leaders and Chief Executives from the Greater Lincolnshire. It has become clear that any new devolution deal for Lincolnshire will only be on the basis of the reorganisation of local government – or unitarisation. This administration remains resolutely committed to resisting such a reorganisation. However, should such a reorganisation be forced upon us, it would be foolish to take no action. We have a responsibility to take any and all appropriate actions to ensure the best possible outcomes for our residents.
Chairman, like you, I was enormously pleased to attend the opening of our stunning new West Lindsey Leisure Centre in Market Rasen on Saturday, 25th July. Everyone Active, our partners who deliver leisure services on behalf of the Council, have done a tremendous job in opening only a few weeks after the scheduled date, and in a way that is Covid-secure.
With phase 2 of our investment in leisure facilities now complete and concluded I will begin, in the coming months, the process of looking at forming policy around what might constitute new phases for the future. In line with my Group’s manifesto the next phase will include reassessing the viability of building the swimming pool module at the West Lindsey Leisure Centre, Market Rasen.. Chairman, I want to go further, I believe that for too long the villages and communities of West Lindsey on the periphery of Lincoln have not benefited from the investment in new facilities that other areas have. Today I commit my administration to ensure that a future phase of our investment in new leisure facilities will look at options to establish a West Lindsey Leisure Centre in the Lincoln Fringe; looking for a viable option in Torksey, Saxilby, Sudbrooke, Nettleham, Cherry Willingham or Bardney.
Members will be aware of HM Government’s planning white paper ‘Planning for the Future’ that was published last month and is currently being consulted upon. I am confident that we will submit a comprehensive response to the consultation
that closes at the end of October.
I attended a virtual roundtable meeting with the Rt. Hon. Christopher Pincher MP, Minister of State for Housing, four weeks ago. I subsequently submitted several questions and I am pleased to report that last Friday, I received a response, which I have passed to our Planning department.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, I was very pleased to see the return of the Continental Market to Gainsborough. I visited the stalls in Marshall’s Yard and the Market Place with you Chairman and it was very pleasing to see the town looking so vibrant. You have mentioned the stall being run to raise funds for the Leader of Opposition’s daughter’s trip to Ecuador – I would like to wish her every success in her fundraising efforts; and will shortly tweet a link to her fundraising site, should anyone wish to make a donation.
Chairman, I am looking forward to attending the virtual Community Awards event at some point in the future. I look forward to rewarding and acknowledging the tremendous contributions that so many volunteers and community groups do to make West Lindsey such a special district.
I was pleased to announce, at the end of July, the formation of the RAF Scampton Partnership Board, which replaces the Scampton Strategic Steering Group. The new board will bring together key partners from across the local community, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Lincolnshire County Council. The Board will work together to support and develop long terms plans for Scampton following the Ministry of Defence’s withdrawal.
I started my announcements by restating my desire to return to meetings in the Guildhall. Last Friday, the Chief Executive, the Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Leigh MP and I met with representatives of Scampton Holdings, a group that have ambitious plans for the base and are looking at making a bid for RAF Scampton. This was the first meeting in the Guildhall since lockdown, with strict social distancing measures in place. Following the meeting Sir Edward met with myself and the Chief Executive and then the various Committee Chairmen to update him on the Council’s activities and programmes. I hope that these tentative steps will help us to begin to return to some limited meetings in the Guildhall in the coming months and begin the process of normalisation as we increasingly move out of full lockdown.
With the August hiatus behind us, in the coming weeks we will return to our normal schedule of committee meetings. The Core and Full Leaders’ Panels will meet in three weeks’ time and will consider a number of issues; particularly the recent announcement by Lincolnshire County Council regarding the roll-out of collecting recyclable paper & card, separate from other recyclate, which I would hope we can align to the new Central Depot at Glentham becoming operational – which we will be breaking ground on in the very near future.
Chairman, I have had numerous meetings with Councillors, Officers, stakeholders, and the media, and will have further such meetings prior to the next meeting of Council on Monday, 2nd November. “
Chief Executive
The Chief Executive addressed Council, and started his announcements by providing an update in respect of COVID-19. A total of 1599 grants had been completed with the amount paid totalling £17,043k.The Town centre opening was progressing well with few incidents and the hosting of a successful continental market, mentioned by both the Chairman and the Leader in their announcements.
WLDC continued to be the lowest area for infections in Lincolnshire, which itself was a low area of incidence nationally. Employees had been advised that they will continue to work from home until January 2021 and Management Team would consider any requests to work from the Guildhall on a needs basis.
An appointments system was being implemented for residents to arrange a face to face visit with certain services. The Management Team had held its first face to face meeting earlier in the day, using both Ancholme and Trent meeting rooms for a meeting of seven people. We will be looking at how more meetings can be held, but clearly capacity was going to be greatly reduced.
The Chief Executive then turned to the Organisational Structure, and was pleased to advise that as of the end of July the structure below Chief Executive had been implemented and the Authority was currently out to advert for two remaining vacancies. Interviews would be held on the 30th September and 1st October. The Chief Executive would be implementing interim arrangements to cover those posts for the next six months.
The Authority had also taken all necessary steps to close down the Customer First project, which was to be replaced by T24. Both this and the organisational re-structure were issues raised within the Peer Challenge and the Chief Executive was pleased to advise that progress had been made on both. He would be bringing forward the final report to the Full Council meeting on the 2nd November. This would allow the report to be published which had been delayed since March due to the Covid Pandemic Emergency.
The Chief Executive’s programme of ward visits had continued on a socially distanced basis and he thanked those Members for their hospitality. Having visited six out of the 20 Wards, the Chief Executive had covered 30% of the District and was looking to finalise dates for two final visits which would mean all ward visits would be completed by the end of January 2021.
Turning to Devolution, over the summer, and as mentioned by the Leader, there had been a number of meetings amongst districts. However work was ongoing and a letter from the Secretary of State was awaited. This would likely require an Extraordinary Council meeting should the letter be received and a response was to be submitted.
Finally, the Chief Executive concluded his announcements, by stating he was delighted to advise, that having made a submission to the MJ Awards for the Senior Team of the Year for 2020, West Lindsey had been shortlisted by the Judges. The submission was based on the achievements of the previous management team under the executive model, in order to mark the contributions of colleagues who had now left the organisation. It also provided a line in the sand to determine the successes of the new management team moving forward.