Agenda item

A 45-minute period in which members may ask questions of the Leader, Cabinet Members, the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and opposition group leaders excluding the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Planning Committee, Licensing and Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing Committees and Governance and Audit Committee.

Question 1 – Councillor Mark Whittington to Councillor Paul Stokes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture

Councillor Whittington asked the Cabinet Member for an update on progress at the Deepings Leisure Centre.

Councillor Paul Stokes awaited news and updates on the centre. As the Chairman of the Deepings Community Interest Company, Virginia Moran could give Councillor Whittington a further update outside of the meeting.

Question 2 – Councillor Max Sawyer to Councillor Ashley Baxter, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, HR and Economic Development

Councillor Sawyer asked whether spending c£50,000 on external solicitors was the best way of dealing with Councillor Code of Conduct complaints.

The Leader of the Council would have preferred that the money hadn’t been spent, however it was for statutory officers to ensure that investigations were conducted properly. Informal discussions had taken place to try and resolve issues. There were an unprecedented number of complaints from both sides of the Council Chamber. Of those complaints scheduled to go to a Hearing Review Panel, one was from the administration, and the others were from the opposition.

Question 3 – Councillor Charmaine Morgan to Councillor Rhys Baker, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste

Councillor Morgan asked the Cabinet Member whether he could work with other organisations to make a commitment to public safety in relation to fly tipping and bins.

Councillor Rhys Baker was thankful for ongoing dialogue with Councillors and other groups. Local input was required when discussing public safety. Officer time was being set aside to ensure these issues were discussed, and there was a commitment to finding a bespoke solution. Fly tipping was a blight on the district and its borders. A multi-agency approach had been agreed, involving staff from the Council’s waste, street scene and environmental protection teams. The first priority was to organise a community event to aid solutions; Lincolnshire County Council would also be involved with this event.

Question 4 – Councillor Paul Wood to Councillor Lee Steptoe, Chairman of the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Paul Wood asked the Chairman of the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee how housing services would be actively scrutinised.

Councillor Steptoe asked Councillor Paul Wood to clarify what information he was searching for at that committee. On the issue of voids, these had been discussed at a previous Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting under an item related to Key Performance Indicators. Councillor Steptoe urged Councillor Paul Wood to remain for the whole of a committee meeting rather than leaving prior to the end.

Question 5 – Councillor Ben Green to Councillor Ian Selby, Chairman of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Green asked the Chairman of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee whether the Council should be contacting National Highways to co-ordinate litter collections from verge sides, as they were planning nighttime rolling road closures from January to March 2025.

Councillor Selby highlighted that the A1 was a treacherous stretch of road. He asked that the issue be brought forward to be added onto the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee workplan.

Question 6 – Councillor Helen Crawford to Councillor Paul Stokes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture

Councillor Crawford asked why activities in Bourne and the Deepings were not featured in the summer edition of SK:Today.

Councillor Paul Stokes pointed to the work that had been carried out with Grantham Town Council and Stamford Town Council in collating that section of SK:Today. Thoughts, ideas and communications from Bourne Town Council and Market Deeping Town Council were welcomed in order to produce lists for their towns.

Question 7 – Councillor Gareth Knight to Councillor Phil Dilks, Cabinet Member for Planning

Councillor Knight asked the Cabinet Member how concerned he was that Vistry Group were causing issues with residents, and whether their behaviour was threatening jobs and housing supply.

Councillor Dilks did not want to speculate at this time. The situation was under review.

Question 8 – Councillor Zoe Lane to Councillor Paul Stokes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture

Councillor Lane asked the Deputy Leader how the Council intended to support other football clubs across the district, in light of the £100,000 that had been awarded to Grantham Town FC for repairs.

Note:  Councillor Mark Whittington declared that he was a member of the Grantham Town Supporters’ Club.

Councillor Paul Stokes highlighted that the money had been awarded to repair the stadium that Grantham Town FC played in, which was not owned by them. The money had not been given directly to Grantham Town FC.    

Question 9 – Councillor Graham Jeal to Councillor Ashley Baxter, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, HR and Economic Development

Councillor Jeal set out 4 points he had suggested be met in order to informally resolve code of conduct complaints within the system, these were:

1.    The deletion of offending material deemed a breach of the Councillor Code of Conduct by external solicitors;

2.    Publication of the reports produced by external solicitors

3.    The dropping of any complaints against officers by Councillors.

4.    Compliance with ongoing criminal investigations

Councillor Jeal asked why these resolutions had not yet been accepted.

The Leader of the Council had received this information by email the day before this meeting of Council, to which he had sent a reply. He asked that the Leader of the Opposition respect the advice of the Monitoring Officer given on 15 October that these complaints were confidential and ongoing. The Leader did not know the details of any complaints not involving himself that were ongoing as they were confidential.

The Leader of the Opposition was referred to an email sent by the Leader of the Council in June, where he suggested that everybody involved in these complaints withdraw the social media posts that others had found offensive. In some cases, those posts were inaccurate. If everyone complied with that request, then the code of conduct complaints would likely be closed.

Question 10 – Councillor Ian Selby to Councillor Ashley Baxter, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, HR and Economic Development

Councillor Selby asked the Leader of the Council to join him in congratulating Deeping Rangers FC for their victory in the SK Charity Cup, which had been dedicated to Mick Massingham.

The Leader of the Council was happy to celebrate Deeping Rangers’ victory and was delighted that the SK Charity Cup continued to go from strength to strength. Thanks must go to Councillor Ian Selby for this – tribute was also paid to the amount of time that volunteers gave to the project.