Agenda item

i)             Chairman of Council

ii)            Leader of the Council

iii)           Head of Paid Service

Minutes:

i)       Chairman

 

The Chairman addressed Council advising Christmas, and the lead up to it, had been a very busy, but enjoyable period.

 

She had had the pleasure of attending a number of Events, and Ceremonies, as well as holding her own events, making particular note of the following: -

 

·         local people, who had reached 70 years old or more, had been invited to afternoon tea and a natter at the Guildhall. to help celebrate the 70th birthday of Prince Charles, it had been a most enjoyable afternoon.

 

·         A reception had been held in the Guildhall, hosted by the Chairman, to thank volunteers for all their work making parks and woodlands around Gainsborough a cleaner and tidier place to visit.

 

·         Involvement in two lantern processions in Gainsborough – the Illuminate Parade.  The Parade and proceeding service celebrates Gainsborough’s role in the Pilgrim’s story – next year marked the 400th anniversary with events already in the planning; and the ‘Light up a Life’ procession for St Barnabas’s Hospice, a very moving Parade.

 

·         It had been a pleasure to be presented to HRH The Princess Royal at the Official Opening of the Market Rasen Station Community Project – restoring the building into heritage rooms, offices and a café.

 

·         The run up to Christmas saw the Chairman visiting local care homes to spend time with the staff and residents plus receptions for West Lindsey staff at the Trinity Arts Centre, Guildhall and depots. As well as presenting several long service certificates and a retirement certificates.

 

·         The Gainsborough Musical Theatre Group staged a marvellous panto at the Trinity Arts Centre of “Sleeping Beauty” and it had been lovely to see so many families and groups of children enjoy themselves.

 

·         Also at the Trinity Arts Centre, the Chairman had had the pleasure of attending a very moving performance of ‘It’s a Mad World’ from the very talented mental health group, Stepping Stone.

 

·         The highlight of Christmas had been seeing over 60 children from the Parish School sing beautifully at the Civic Carol Service at All Saints Parish Church and thanks were expressed to all those who attended and supported the event.

 

·         Finally Carol singing had been in full flow, again at All Saints Parish Church, with yet another wonderful performance from the Gainsborough Choral Society together with the Choir and Orchestra from the Queen Elizabeth’s High School Gainsborough, both the group and solo performances were fantastic!

 

 

 

ii)      Leader of Council

 

The Leader addressed Council and in opening, having offered thoughts in prayers prior to the meeting, offered his heartfelt sympathies to Mark Dransfield and his two daughters, on the recent loss of his wife Deborah.

 

He spoke of his admiration for Mr Dransfield, helping to deliver an agenda for Gainsborough, whilst all the time dealing with some very difficult personal circumstances.

 

The Leader went on to outline the work he had undertaken in recent weeks with the Gainsborough & Scunthorpe and the Ancholme Internal Drainage Boards, outlining his real concerns in respect of the Environment Agency’s approach, particularly to issues being caused by the erosion of the East Coast of Yorkshire.  This was having a severe detrimental impact on outlets which the Ancholme Drainage Board relied upon and the Leader of the Council was of the view that the root cause was not being addressed.  He vowed to continue to voice his opinions strongly.

 

He further advised that due to the lack of grant funding for necessary capital expenditure, drainage rates would have to increase in the future, potentially similar to council tax.

 

The Pensions Committee continued to work well.

 

There was little to report in respect of Scampton Air base.  Further talks were expected with Councillor Hill of LCC and The Right Honourable Sir Edward Leigh MP, and the Leader would keep the Council abreast of developments as they arose.

 

A discussion had taken place at the Lincolnshire Leaders and Chief Executives’ meeting the previous week when the Group had been advised that Lincolnshire were behind in the housing of refugees.  It was anticipated five families would be housed in the County by March.

 

The Group had also discussed possible direct investment into the housing market, as there were real concerns about the lack of developer action, and the Government’s desire for LEP’S to merge with neighbours to create larger organisations with greater objectivity.

 

 

The Chairman thanked the Leader for his updates and invited announcements from the Head of Paid Service on behalf of the Management Team 

 

 

iii)     Head of Paid Service

 

The Head of Paid Service addressed Council on behalf of the Management Team during which the following points were made: -

 

·         Officers were working closely with Partners to ensure the Council were prepared for any eventualities arising from Brexit.  At this stage it was difficult to predict the exact impact this may have on the County or District.  All partners were and would continue to consider the possible outcomes and scenarios and how they could make the transition as smooth as possible. 

 

·         The Local Government Finance Settlement was due out in early February.  It was expected that the final figure would be in line with the draft settlement published in December 2018

 

·         The Head of Paid Service, accompanied by a group of Members, had visited North Kesteven District Council’s new depot facilities.  This was part of preparation work into reviewing the Council’s own depot provision across the District.