Meeting documents

No apologies for absence were received.

No interests were declared.

The Chairman made the following announcements:-

- He thanked all those concerned in the organisation and planning of the carol service which was held in December.

- He reminded Members that the meeting of the Opportunities for People with Disabilities Group due to be held on Wednesday night had been postponed until Wednesday 6 February 2013.

- Members were invited to attend the Chairman's Dinner to be held on 26 April 2013 and urged them to purchase tickets early as they were selling fast.

The Chairman then invited Councillor Johnson to say a few words.

Councillor Johnson thanked the Chairman for allowing him the opportunity to speak and went on to thank all those who had supported him over the past year. He advised that since the passing of his wife a year ago, the last 12 months had been very difficult and he could not have got through it without the support he had received from staff and fellow Members. He extended particular thanks to Councillors Nigel and Alison Smith and David Stevenson for their kind words and also to Christine Fisher, Chief Executive, and her staff for their support at such a difficult time.

Councillor Blunt extended his thanks to the staff who had endured difficult conditions in order to get into work during the recent bad weather. He advised that the majority of staff had managed to get into work, the biggest issue being childcare arrangements when schools are closed. As a result, services had remained opened and he gave particular thanks to the refuse staff who had maintained a service during bad weather conditions and advised that they were a credit to the Authority. He told Members that he hoped the daily bulletins had been helpful and warned that once the snow had thawed, it may bring with it more problems relating to flooding.

Councillor Woodward advised that he was pleased to hear that most of the staff had been able to get in and, on behalf of his group, extended his thanks to them all.

Councillor A Smith advised that she was pleased to report that for the second year running the Council had won a national award at the Keep Britain Tidy Annual Awards. She advised that she had the pleasure of attending the awards ceremony in Sheffield last year and was very proud to receive an award on behalf of the authority and on behalf of two students from Castle Rock High School who had led a group of students who had volunteered to run a project focussing on Dog Fouling.

The campaign was delivered with support from the Street Environment Managers and involved the Castle Rock students taking presentations and lessons in local primary schools aimed at educating young people as to the hazards of dog fouling and encouraging them to spread the message of ‘Bag it and Bin it'. The students came up with a range of ideas including a poster competition, badges, leaflets, word search, surveys and memory tests; even producing their own dog fouling DVD.

Councillor A Smith invited Alice Jackson and Millie Fairbrother to receive certificates on behalf of the Council in recognition of their hard work.

Councillor Woodward congratulated both students on behalf of his group.

Councillor Spence advised that he was the Vice-Chair of Governors at Castle Rock and he was extremely proud of them.

There were no questions received.

Councillor De Lacy put the following question to Councillor Bayliss:-

"In April 2013 changes to Housing Benefit will mean a significant number of residents in Council properties as well as residents in other social housing will face a substantial reduction in their Housing Benefit mainly, but not solely, due to the bedroom tax. These reductions in Housing Benefit will be implemented at the same time as some residents will be required either to pay Council Tax for the first time or have increased Council Tax bills. Some residents will have both significant reductions in their Housing Benefit and significant increases in their Council Tax payments.
In respect of the Housing Benefit changes in April 2013, could you tell me:
a) The number and also the proportion of Council tenants who are going to be affected by these changes broken down by Ward?
b) The number of Social Housing tenants, who are not Council House tenants, who will be affected by these changes again broken down by Ward?
c) What have the Council done and what are the Council planning to do both to communicate and assist those tenants who are inevitably going to find themselves in financial difficulty as a result of these changes?

Councillor Bayliss gave the following response:-

"The number of tenants affected by the new benefits regulations changes based on claimant circumstance almost daily. Our ongoing assessment has currently identified 788 tenants who will have their Housing Benefit reduced as a result of the introduction of Under Occupation charge being introduced in April 2013 through changes to national policy.

In response to Councillor De Lacy's specific points
a. There are 568 Council tenants affected, which represents 12.7% of the total number of tenants. The table circulated with the written response to this question details the breakdown of these tenancies by Ward.
b. There are 220 tenants of Housing Associations currently affected, and a breakdown by Ward is not available as the benefits system does not currently hold ward data.
c. The Council is planning a variety of activities in addition to some actions already taken, to communicate the changes and to assist those tenants who are likely to find themselves in financial difficulty. The activities include:

• The Housing Service is currently making personal contact with all of its tenants affected by the changes.
• Where appropriate, referrals will be made for tenants to receive financial advice.
• Information, advice and assistance will also be provided to those tenants who indicate a preference to move to smaller accommodation.
• Customer Services and the Housing Advice Team have received training to ensure they are appropriately equipped to advise and signpost customers to the appropriate agencies/services for further information.
• Information on the changes is available on the Council's website.
• Additional capacity is being brought in to ensure we can deal promptly with the anticipated volume of enquiries we expect to receive.
• Information articles are being included in both the "Vision" magazine and the tenants newsletter "In touch" to increase awareness.
• Specific leaflets are being produced for distribution to tenants affected giving them advice and contact details for further information.

This will undoubtedly be a difficult time for some customers, and we intend to offer appropriate levels of support and guidance to tenants and benefit claimants affected by the changes to help minimise the impact on them".

Councillor De Lacy thanked Councillor Bayliss for his response and took the opportunity to ask a supplementary question. He asked Councillor Bayliss whether he agreed that by increasing Council Tax and reducing Housing Benefit on the same day as the most wealthy will be receiving tax cuts demonstrates that this is a country led by the rich for the rich?

Councillor Bayliss replied that he did not agree and that his question was simply a matter of opinion. The significant increase of 60% in the welfare bill and those who are earning seeing only a 12% increase whilst under Labour control has resulted in a £3,000 per annum per household financial burden. Therefore those who are working are financially worse off.

Councillor Everitt put the following question to Councillor A Smith:-

"At the March Full Council meeting last year I asked a question regarding the neglect of the derelict house opposite the junction of Brook Lane and Church Lane Whitwick. I was assured that the Council were pursuing the problem with a possible positive result in the future of removing this eyesore. No action has taken place at the site and I share the concern of local residents about the continuing deterioration of the building as a safety hazard. The gable end and chimney stack brickwork is in need of emergency attention. There seems to be little mortar left between the bricks. I suggest with the winter weather, wind, rain, frost and snow, the wall may be in danger of collapse. Should this happen it is just possible a passing member of the public may be injured. Is it now time for the council to consider compulsory purchase of the site with a view to enabling the building of much needed affordable houses?"

Councillor A Smith gave the following response:-

"The Council is still actively progressing this particular case. Since this is a live open case and in order not to prejudice any future action it is not considered appropriate to comment further. Due to the specific question raised about the safety of the building, the Council's Building Control Team will visit and assess the property. The Portfolio Holder is happy to update Councillor Everitt on the outcome of the inspection and on progress to date outside of the meeting".

Councillor Everitt thanked Councillor A Smith for her response adding that it was virtually the same as her response when he had asked this question previously. Despite assurances that he would be kept up to date, no information has been forthcoming. He advised that he brought the question to Council again as the issues had been raised by a local resident and he wanted to prompt a response and felt that this was not good enough.

Councillor A Smith responded by stating that while it may appear that nothing has happened, work has been going on and apologised that Councillor Everitt had not been kept informed of this. She advised that an Empty Homes Working Group had been established back in September 2012 and, as this was a live case, she would be happy to speak with Councillor Everitt outside the meeting.

There were no petitions received.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 30 October 2012.

It was moved by Councillor M Specht, seconded by Councillor G Jones and

Councillor Rushton presented a report on the Localisation of Council Tax Support and moved the recommendations therein en bloc. He reported that the recommendations took into account the Government's desire to reduce the burden on the tax payers stating that we were all in this together and should all share the burden equally. He went on to advise that the recommendations also took account of the transitional grant, the proposed discretionary discount fund and any additional administrative costs. He further added that he agreed with the principle of this report and the Coalition's proposals to reduce the benefit bill of this country. He advised that he would not accept Labour's argument unless they could come up with a proposal on finding the money.

The recommendations were seconded by Councillor Blunt.

The Chairman invited Members to speak.

Councillor Sheahan likened the reference to 'everyone should pay something' to the poll tax principle. He added that they would propose to absorb the costs for this year and stated that they were a democratic socialist party whereas the administration was crony capitalism.

Councillor Spence agreed there was a major deficit which would have been faced by any party which won the election. As we approach a triple dip recession, he considered that the Coalition would carry on hurting the poorest in society. He felt that it was right that those with the broadest shoulders should carry the extra burden. He added that whilst he did not object to welfare reform, he did not agree to cuts in benefits. He stated that he could not vote for this proposal.

Councillor Neilson advised that he was going to say a lot on this matter but felt there was little point arguing his views as it was clear to him that the other side did not care. He added that the economy was still in a mess and there had been no assessment on the affordability of these proposals. He did not feel his words would have much effect and chose to say nothing more.

Councillor Bayliss stated that we cannot make the poor rich by making the rich poor adding that there was nothing vindictive about this report and his sympathy lay with those trapped in the benefit system with little hope of getting out of it and paying them more in benefits will not help.

Councillor Clarke reported that these proposals would have a huge impact on local residents and gave a number of examples of residents in his Greenhill ward who would face further hardship.

Councillor Everitt referred to an earlier point that everyone should pay something but argued that some people were not in a position to pay, such as the poor, disabled and desperate.

Councillor Ruff advised that this report was a kick in the teeth for the vulnerable and unemployed and she likened it to the poll tax. She added that every additional pound which had to be found meant a reduction in the standard of living.

Councillor De Lacy reported that the proposals will see same sex children sharing bedrooms and children of different sexes sharing up to the age of ten. He considered that the bedroom tax should be applied to all those with many spare bedrooms in large mansions and that the deficit should be reduced by addressing tax evasion and avoidance.

Councillor Massey advised that she works in the Marlene Reid Centre where she meets people facing severe hardship every day. She invited Members to spend a day or two to see for themselves the sorts of issues she has to deal with.

Councillor Adams referred to the Coalition Government's policies stating that these were driving child poverty.

Councillor Rushton urged Members to vote for the recommendations stating that the principle that everyone should pay something is a sound one. He also stated that the financial mess was one which was inherited from the previous Government.

At this point in the meeting, the Chairman sought order in the Chamber.

Councillor Rushton continued by stating that the opposition was advocating a 2% council tax increase and again asked Members to support the report on the localisation of council tax support.

Following a request from Councillor Spence that a recorded vote be taken, the vote was as follows:-

For the motion:
Councillors G Allman, R Bayliss, R Blunt, A Bridges, J Bridges, J Cotterill, J Coxon, T Gillard, R Holland, J Hoult, G Jones, C Large, C Meynell, T Pendleton, V Richichi, N Rushton, A Saffell, A Smith, N Smith, M Specht and D Stevenson (21).

Against the motion:
Councillors R Adams, N Clarke, P Clayfield, D De Lacy, D Everitt, J Geary, D Howe, P Hyde, R Johnson, J Legrys, L Massey, T Neilson, J Ruff, S Sheahan, L Spence, R Woodward and M Wyatt (17).

The motion was declared CARRIED.