i) Chairman of Council
ii) Leader of the Council
iii) Chief Executive
Minutes:
Chairman
The Chairman started his announcements advising that Civic commitments for obvious reasons had been limited, and due to the continuing restrictions many of the face-to-face events he would have had the pleasure of attending, on the run-up to Christmas had sadly not been possible.
Due to the wonders of modern day technology and the assistance of the Communications Team, to whom thanks were expressed, the Chairman had been able to contact “virtually” all of those organisations, when in normal times, he would have visited in person. The Chairman had also had the pleasure in attending his first virtual Carol Service.
The Chairman had however had the pleasure and honour to attend at an outdoor service at Scampton church,which had been most moving, joining Councillor Patterson as Ward Member and the Station Commander from RAF Scampton in paying respect to those who gave their lives in defence of freedom.
He also spoke of being delighted at being able to participate in the turf cutting ceremony for West Lindsey’s new depot facility, joined by the Leader, Deputy Leader and the Ward Member.
In concluding his announcements, the Chairman paid tribute to Alan Robinson, Monitoring Officer, who would be leaving the authority shortly to take up a new role with South Kesteven District Council. On congratulating Mr Robinson, the Chairman expressed his personal thanks for the support and guidance Mr Robinson had provided to him during his Office and for the support he provided to all Members.
Leader
The Leader echoed the comments of the Chairman, expressing thanks to Mr Robinson for his support over the years, before making the following address to Council: -
“2021 has begun every bit as busy as 2020 ended and it really is a privilege to be involved at a time of such rapid progress and transition. Although responding to the coronavirus pandemic remains the key priority, Members can be assured that consideration is also being given to understanding and realising the opportunities for our economy, our communities and residents alike to emerge from the current circumstances stronger and more vibrant than ever.
The Lincolnshire Outbreak Engagement Board normally meets fortnightly, bringing Members and Officers from local government together with professionals from NHS organisations and key partners from other front line services to share news, co-ordination and support. Regular weekly meetings of Lincolnshire’s District Council Leaders and Chief Executives have resumed following the Christmas and New Year break. Significant progress is also being made on the review of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan. The first formal public consultation (Regulation 18) is scheduled to begin in June and will include proposed site allocations and significantly strengthened policies in response to the environment and sustainability imperatives.
West Lindsey District Council continues to work with the Rural Services Network whose Revitalising Rural campaign (which includes fairer funding) is of such fundamental importance to rural areas. As Members will be aware, partner organisations including the Local Government Association, the District Councils’ Network and East Midlands Councils currently offer enhanced programmes of focused events to help share up-to-date information and best practice, thereby also helping to promote ongoing Member development.
Specifically within our District, planning and preparation is well underway for elections day on Thursday, 6th May and indeed applications for postal or proxy votes can be submitted now. Support for those West Lindsey businesses that have been impacted by the restrictions introduced in response to the Coronavirus pandemic remains an absolute priority and continues to be delivered both responsively and efficiently. It is especially pleasing that West Lindsey won the award for Best Service Team of the Year – Cemetery and Crematorium Service in the Association for Public Service Excellence Awards for 2020. In addition we were finalists in three other categories, these being for the Best Efficiency and Transformation Initiative, Best Street Cleansing and Streetscene Service (Public Realm) and Best Sports, Leisure and Cultural Service. This reflects huge credit on individuals and services throughout the organisation, especially as APSEs awards are open to member Councils throughout the United Kingdom!
Chairman I remain firmly of the view that, whilst we should never underestimate what we have achieved so far as a Council during a time of unprecedented challenge and change, much remains to be done and will be done on behalf of all those we represent. My heartfelt thanks go to each and every one of you, to our colleagues in local government and to each of our many partners in the community.”
Chief Executive
The Chief Executive addressed Council, and started his announcements by providing an update in respect of COVID-19 infections in West Lindsey were on a downward trend and continued to be significantly lower than the national average.
The Chief Executive was pleased to advise that two vaccination sites were up and running across two of the District’s Primary Care Networks and an additional mass vaccination centre was expected to open in Lincolnshire in the next few weeks. An announcement from NHS England was awaited.
The Strategic and Tactical Group, established to review the expected rain and snow forecasts which could have led to flooding had met the previous week. Thankfully, there was no significant flooding and the threat at Scotter had been supported by our operations team.
The Chief Executive advised that since national lockdown, there had been a review of current project work and projects paused where necessary. This allowed colleagues to focus on the work in hand including additional duties as a result of the pandemic
Over recent months Members of the Central Lincs Joint Strategic Planning Committee and the West Lindsey Environmental and Sustainability Working Group have been meeting together to consider the potential for the revised Local Plan to contribute to the Authority’s climate change initiative. A final position was expected to be reached by the end of March.
There had been some changes to the Management Team since the last Full Council. The Chief Executive was pleased to advise that the Assistant Director for Change Management and Regulatory Services had commenced employment with West Lindsey on the 7th December 2020. As mention by both the Chairman and Leader Members had been notified that the Director of Corporate Services would be leaving the Authority by the end of March.
Finally, all Members were reminded of the Strategic Leaders Panel taking place Friday with a focus on Rurality and Housing, Health and Care. All Members were welcome and encouraged to attend.