Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs. Bosworth, Brailsford, Carpenter, Mrs. Kaberry-Brown, Kirkman, Nicholson, Steptoe and Mrs. Wheat.

Members are asked to declare any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

No declarations were made.

                                                                                                            (Enclosure)

The minutes of the meeting held on 25^th January 2007 were signed as a correct record by the Chairman, subject to the following points being noted:

• Reference should be made to opposition over a motion over a Councillor who was not present to defend himself.

It was also noted that on future minutes, Strategic Directors should be identified in name, rather than by quantity.

                                                                                                            (Enclosure)

A list of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman’s engagements had been circulated with the agenda.

Councillors Thompson and Hurst thanked members of the Council for their kind wishes during their respective periods of indisposition.

Councillor Williams thanked members who had supported the Chairman’s concert. He was duly thanked by the Chairman for the work he had done facilitating the concert.

(A) Budget Setting 2007/2008

Report number CHF35 by the Corporate Head of Finance & Resources. 

                                                                                                      (Enclosure)

[Budget Book for 2007/2008    - separate enclosure]

(B)  Council Tax setting 2007/2008

DECISION:

PART A

1.            That a general fund budget requirement of £15.137 million for 2007/2008 (inclusive of special expenses)

2.            To approve a 4.94% Council Tax increase (excluding special expenses and parish precepts) for 2007/2008 which equates to an average increase of 4.88% when including special expenses for comparative purposes.

3.            To approve the revised revenue estimate for 2006/2007; original base estimate for 2007/2008; an indicative base estimate for 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 as detailed Appendix A page 1 (as re-issued to the meeting to take account of the Local Authority Business Growth Initiative (LABGI) funding awarded for 2006/7).

4.            To approve increases for fees and charges for 2007/2008 in accordance with the fees and charges strategy and summarised in Report CHFR26 to Cabinet and provided in detail within the council’s budget book.

5.            To approve the following within the 2007/8 revenue estimates (in light of the revised balances as at 31^st March 2007 following confirmation of LABGI funding on 27^th February 2007):-

                                                  i.            an estimate of £250,000 to support one off bids for “invest to save” which will be allocated according to the submitted business case, the proposed efficiency and CIPFA council’s priorities.

                                                ii.            an estimate for one off bids totalling £215,000 made up of one off bids as identified in paragraph 5.3 plus a contribution of £30,750 to Lincolnshire Police Authority to meet the cost of year two agreement towards the cost of the Police Community Support Officers

                                              iii.            a revenue contribution of £400,000 to capital programme to be applied to town centre development schemes in accordance with Category A priorities.

6.            To approve the revised capital programme for 2006/2007 and programme for 2007/2008, 2009/2010, details Appendix A page 10 - 12

7.            To authorise the capital programme funding proposals subject to an annual review of financial options by the Corporate Head of Finance and Resources, in consultation with the portfolio holder, during the preparation of the Statement of Accounts to optimise the use of the council’s resources.

8.            To approve the forecast balances of revenue and capital reserves contained at Appendix A page 2 as re-issued to the meeting to take account of LABGI

9.            To approve the adoption of prudential indicators and limits for 2007/2008 to 2009/2010 contained within part A of Appendix B to this report.

10.       To approve the treasury management strategy for 2007/2008 and the treasury prudential indicators contained within part B of Appendix B to this report.

11.       To approve the investment strategy 2007/2008 contained in the treasury management strategy (part b of appendix b) and the detailed criteria included in annex B1 to appendix B of this report.

Housing Revenue Accounts (HRA)

12.       To approve that dwelling rents are increased in accordance with government guidance.  The average rent will increase by 4.1% (a maximum increase of 4.1% plus £2 for individual cases).

13.       To approve an increase of 4.1% for garage rents and services charges.

PART B: COUNCIL TAX SETTING

1.            That the following amounts be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

Report number CEX367 by the Chief Executive.              (Enclosure)

[A copy of Cabinet minute number CO92 follows this report.]

DECISION:

The Council approves the Local Area Agreement and delegates authority to the Leader to be consulted about, and agree, any further changes necessary to secure sign-off of this Agreement from GOEM.

The Leader of the Council moved the recommendations in CEX367. This was seconded. Members were generally in favour of the document, although concern was expressed that Grantham would not be the geographic focus until the third year of the agreement and the interest of other parties would have waned. Members also emphasised potential dangers of pooling funds. South Kesteven would benefit from Lincolnshire-wide schemes prior to the third year focus on Grantham. The accountability of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) was debated; regular updates would be provided to the relevant portfolio holder.

Reference was made to targets within the document; no action plan had been provided on how the targets would be achieved. Actions to tackle health inequality should include short-term arrangements and acute health. More should be done to promote energy sustainability and the reduction of the carbon footprint.

In summing up, the Leader stated that the preparation of the document had been based on compromise. Concerns over targets had been raised with Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM), however no feedback on these had been received.

On being put to the vote, the proposal was carried.

The Council to consider the following recommendation from the committee meeting held on 13^th December 2006. [amendment in italics]

Minute 42:  Appeals Panel Membership

To recommend to Council that Part 3, page 62, point 1 of the Constitution relating to the Appeals Panel be amended to read: “3 members of the Licensing Committee or the Resources development and scrutiny panel.”

DECISION:

That Part 3, page 62, point 1 of the Constitution relating to the Appeals Panel be amended to read: “3 members of the Licensing Committee or the Resources Development and Scrutiny Panel.”

The Leader of the Council as Chairman of the Constitution and Accounts Committee moved the recommendation that the articles of the constitution related to the membership of the appeals panel be amended to read “3 members of the Licensing Committee or the Resources Development and Scrutiny Panel.” This was seconded and put to the vote. The proposal was carried.

Report number CHF34 by the Corporate Head of Finance & Resources.

                                                                                                             (Enclosure)

[This report is to be considered by the Constitution and Accounts Committee at its meeting on 26^th February 2007.  The recommendation of that committee will be circulated at the Council meeting.]

DECISION:

1)                 That a Governance and Audit Committee be established with the terms of reference contained in Appendix 1 to report CHFR034 and come into effect at the annual meeting of the Council 2007;

2)                 That the Governance and Audit Committee be compromised of five members and be the subject to political balance with the Chairman retaining a casting vote. A quorum of the committee to be three members. An external individual to be co-opted to the committee with voting rights;

3)                 Membership of the Committee will be subject to having the appropriate skills as set out in Appendix 2 to report CHFR034 and there will be a requirement for mandatory training of members of the Committee;

4)                 That the role and function of the Constitution and Accounts Committee, as set out in article 10 of the Constitution be amended to delete points f) to j) and the name of the committee be changed to ‘Constitution Committee’.

An extract of the minutes from the meeting of the Constitution and Accounts Committee held on 26^th February 2007 had been circulated. The Leader of the Council and Chairman of that Committee moved the recommendations, which were seconded.

Members debated the political balance aspect of the Committee. It was suggested that membership be based on skills sets rather than political group. While nomination rights to seats would be done according to the political balance of the Council, it was not mandatory for a party to nominate people from their own political group. Training for those appointed to the committee would be mandatory. The proposals were put to the vote and carried.

Report number HR&OD87 by the Service Manager, Human Resources and Organisational Development.                                                (Enclosure)

DECISION:

1.                  That the Council agree to the proposed mandatory core training programme to underpin the essential competencies for all members who sit on any committee or the Cabinet;

2.                  That the Council requires the core training programme to be offered 3 times in the year following an election, to enable all Cabinet and Committee members to attend;

3.                  A record should be kept of all training events members attended and this information should be made available on the Council’s website.

The Portfolio Holder for Organisational Development and Housing Services moved:

“That the Council agree to the proposed mandatory core training programme to underpin the essential competencies for all members who sit on any committee or the Cabinet,” and “That the Council requires the core training programme to be offered 3 times in the year following an election, to enable all Cabinet and Committee members to attend.”

While speaking for the motion, she referred to the Council’s aspiration to become a brilliant council. Training sessions would provide members with the knowledge necessary to fulfil their roles and updates on legislative developments. This was seconded.

An amendment was moved:

“A record should be kept of all training events members attended and this information should be made available on the Council’s website”.

The amendment was seconded. The Portfolio Holder for Organisational Development and Housing Services agreed to encompass the amendment in her motion.

The motion was put to the vote and carried.

Report number CEX369 by the Chief Executive.                   (Enclosure)

DECISION:

That Duncan Kerr, the Chief Executive, is appointed as the Electoral Registration Officer in fulfilment of the requirement of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 and the Returning Officer under the requirements of Section 41 of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Chief Executive advised members of the Council that his appointment as Returning Officer and Registration Officer needed to appear as a clear decision of the Council. The recommendation that he be so appointed was moved, seconded and put to the vote, which was carried.

Report by the Electoral Registration Officer.                               (To follow)

DECISION:

That approval be given to the use of the premises appended to report CEX370, for the purposes of polling places under S.16 of the Electoral Administration Act.

The Council had before them the report of the Returning Officer which sought the approval by Council of a number of changes made in the use of premises as polling stations for the May 2007 district and parish elections. It was the role of the Council to identify the polling places and the responsibility of the Returning Officer to specify polling stations.

The list of premises to be used as polling places was moved and seconded. Brief discussion followed on changes to some of the polling places. In his role as Returning Officer, the Chief Executive was mandated to carry out a full review of polling stations in 2007/8 to ensure that they were fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Some members expressed concerns over the accessibility of some polling stations, those specified were within St. John’s Ward, Grantham and Greenhill Ward, Grantham.

The proposed polling places were put to the vote and carried.

Report number DLS94 by the Service Manager, Democracy.       (Enclosure)

DECISION:

To appoint Councillor John Kirkman as the District Council’s representative on the County Council Primary School Provision Review Panels.

Based on his previous experience as a former County Councillor and school governor, Councillor John Kirkman was nominated. Councillor Fereshteh Hurst was also nominated based on her experience as a governor at a local school. Both nominations were seconded. On being put to the vote, Councillor Kirkman was appointed as the District Council’s representative on the body.

Five questions had been submitted prior to the meeting. Verbatim details of the question, together with supplementary question and answer, are set out in the appendix to these minutes.

(1)    From Councillor Mike Taylor:

“This Council deplores the total disregard and disrespect the Minister

for Communities and Local Government Yvette Cooper is showing, in

failing to respond in any way to a legitimate request from this Council,

which, if implemented would be of great benefit to the rent paying residents of the district.”

          (2)  From Councillor Terl Bryant:

“This council requests that the constitution and accounts committee debates and determines what steps can be taken on dealing with members who fail to fulfil their role as councillors as clearly envisaged by the remuneration panel. To assist in the debate and provide some guidance to the committee the council recommends a minimum level of full attendance of 10  council run meetings a year before sanctions are imposed.  The committee are reminded to be cognisant of the allocation of seats.  Extenuating circumstances for non attendance such as Cllr Moore’s accident would be the prerogative of the Chairman of the Council.”

          (3)  From Councillor Mrs Linda Neal, Leader of the Council

          “This Council condemns the pre-emptive action of the ULNHS Trust

          in withdrawing emergency general surgery from Grantham hospital

          without any prior consultation with the local community.  This Council

          calls on the Trust to explain why a business plan has not been put

          into place to recruit new consultants and develop a service that could

          attract and receive the number of patients needed to make the service

          viable.

          Bearing in mind the importance of these services to a town that has

          been granted “Growth Status”, this Council demands the immediate

          re-instatement of these services and their full continuation whilst an

          independent, appropriately qualified, agency undertakes a full review

          of the situation and reports accordingly.”

          (4)  From Councillor Mrs Linda Neal, Leader of the Council

“This Council resolves to:-

1.      Support the Sustainable Communities Bill which will devolve more power from Whitehall to Councils and communities by 

·        giving councils more power over money spent by national agencies on local matters in their areas; and

·        giving councils and their communities the power to drive government policy to assist them in promoting sustainable communities

 And thereby help councils to protect the wellbeing of their communities and citizens.

2.      Note that the Bill is promoted in Parliament by a cross party group of MPs led by Nick Hurd MP, David Drew MP, and Julia Goldsworthy MP  and is supported by 363 MPs, well over half the  House of Commons.

3.      Write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government urging

her to support the Bill and to inform the leading MPs of this decision.”

(5)    From Councillor Stephen O’Hare

“That this Council has no confidence in councillors Neal, Bryant

and Cartwright as members of the executive Cabinet being

respectively the Leader of the Council, portfolio holder for Finances

and portfolio holder for Housing.  This is due to their continued

failure, individually and jointly, over a period of at least one and a

half years between May 2005 and 15^th November 2006.  The  ...  view the full agenda text for item 127.

(1)               by Councillor Mike Taylor

DECISION:

This Council deplores the total disregard and disrespect the Minister for Communities and Local Government Yvette Cooper is showing, in failing to respond in any way to a legitimate request from this Council, which if implemented would be of great benefit to the rent paying residents of the district.

The motion was moved and seconded. The letter to the Minister for Communities and Local Government had been followed-up and a further copy had been sent, however, no response had been received. Reference was made to compliance with the council’s own customer service standards; government offices had similar standards enumerating the deadline by which correspondence should be dealt with.

The accuracy of the letter’s content was challenged and refuted. In summing up, Councillor Taylor emphasised that the motion was about money being taken from the residents of South Kesteven and being diverted to inner city areas. The motion was put to the vote and carried.

2)         by Councillor Terl Bryant

            DECISION:

This council requests that the constitution and accounts committee debates and determines what steps can be taken on dealing with members who fail to fulfil their role as councillors as clearly envisaged by the remuneration panel. The committee are reminded to be cognisant of the allocation of seats. Extenuating circumstances for non attendance such as Cllr Moore’s accident would be the prerogative of the Chairman of the Council.

The following motion had been submitted by Councillor Bryant:

This council requests that the constitution and accounts committee debates and determines what steps can be taken on dealing with members who fail to fulfil their role as councillors as clearly envisaged by the remuneration panel. To assist in the debate and provide some guidance to the committee the council recommends a minimum level of full attendance of 10 council run meetings a year before sanctions are imposed. The committee are reminded to be cognisant of the allocation of seats. Extenuating circumstances for non attendance such as Cllr Moore’s accident would be the prerogative of the Chairman of the Council.

The motion had been submitted to counter the perceived disparity in reward and a member’s commitment to their role. Members who attended very few meetings would receive the same remuneration as those with high attendance rates. The motion was seconded.

Members speaking against the motion challenged that the measure of a good councillor could be quantified through attendance at meetings alone. Ward members from rural areas felt that working with their local parish councillors was more rewarding. Concerns were also expressed over members who did attend meetings but did not engage in any debate. Opposition members often felt their role at meetings was limited because of pre-determination of issues.

The suggestion was made that attendance at meetings would improve if meetings were held at times that were more convenient for more members; this could also help encourage a wider range of people to stand for election as a local councillor. To this end, an amendment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 127.

There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 18:39.