Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Coalville

Contact: Democratic Services  01530 454512

Items
No. Item

29.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R Boam, G Hoult and D J Stevenson.

 

T Gillard informed members that Councillor D J Stevenson was absent due to him being called into hospital for a serious operation.  He expressed best wishes to him on behalf of all members.

 

The Chairman hoped that Councillor D J Stevenson would make a swift recovery.  He requested that a letter be sent from the Council sending best wishes from all members.

30.

Declaration of Interests

Members are reminded that any declaration of interest should be made having regard to the code of conduct.  In particular, members must make clear the nature of the interest and whether it is 'pecuniary' or ‘non pecuniary'.

Minutes:

There were no interests declared.

31.

Chairman's Announcements

Minutes:

The Chairman announced that his wife had completed a charity bike ride from London to Brighton, a total of 54 miles.  He thanked all members and colleagues who had helped, donated and supported her in this event.

 

The Chairman announced that his charity meal taking place on 17 September was sold out.

 

The Chairman referred to the numerous events which had been attended by himself and his deputy over the last few weeks.

32.

Leader's and Portfolio Holders' Announcements

Members are reminded that under paragraph 11.1 of part 4 of the Constitution, questions can be asked of the Leader and Cabinet Members without notice about any matter contained in any address.  Questions shall be limited to five minutes in total for each announcement.

Minutes:

The Leader made reference to the Syrian crisis and the quote in the local news.  He commented that the situation in Syria was unprecedented in our lifetime in Europe, and he had said that the Council would be on standby to help, as he felt it was right to do so.  He added that this matter was being led on by the Government and would need co-operation with the County Council to provide for the needs of any refugees coming into the area.  He added that he would provide updates as necessary.

 

The Leader referred to his previous announcement in June in respect of the bid to Government in conjunction with the County and City Council to create a combined authority, with a view to bringing about improvements in transport and planning.  He advised that this was work in progress, and the next stage was a public consultation starting in the next few weeks.  He added that more detail would be available to members as this work progressed. 

 

The Leader reiterated the commitment of the administration to helping businesses grow in the area.  He advised that he had met with three of the major employers in the District since June, and the theme for all three was the same, in that they all felt growth was happening, they were short of key staff, and they wanted to work with the Council to tackle those needs.  They also welcomed the link with the County Council to connect people in Coalville to the jobs in Castle Donington.  He added that they were keen to work with colleges to make sure we produced people that had the skills to help these businesses to grow.

 

Councillor T Neilson echoed the Leader’s comments in respect of the situation in Syria and stated this was a human tragedy.  He stated that the Labour group fully stood by the Leader’s commitment, should the Council be called upon to assist.  He added that the announcement on the combined authority was welcome and he looked forward to receiving more detail as the work progressed.

 

The Chairman echoed the Leader’s views on the tragedy in Syria.

 

Councillor G A Allman sought to make a statement unrelated to the announcements made and was reminded by the Chairman to confine his comments to the matters contained in the address.

 

The Regeneration and Planning Portfolio Holder made reference to the renaming of the A453 as Remembrance Way and had been privileged to attend the official opening of the new dual carriageway.  He commented that this was a major project, costing £170 million in total.  He highlighted that the project had taken two years to deliver, and had been delivered ahead of schedule, including the provision of 7 new bridges, which was a remarkable feat.  He highlighted the improvements this had brought about. 

 

Councillor J Legrys welcomed the formal naming of the A453 as Remembrance Way.  He referred to some comments made on Twitter about the number of people killed in Afghanistan, which he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

Question and Answer Session

To receive questions from members of the public under procedure rule no.10.  The procedure rule provides that members of the public may ask members of the Cabinet any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

Minutes:

There were no questions received.

34.

Questions from Councillors pdf icon PDF 53 KB

To receive members’ questions under procedure rule no.11.  The procedure rule provides that any member may ask the chairman of a board or group any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

Minutes:

Councillor N Clarke put the following question to Councillor R D Bayliss:

 

In light of the recent High Court decision in respect of R Hardy v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, in which, it was ruled unlawful to take disability living allowance (DLA) into account as an income when assessing discretionary housing payments (DHP's), is this Council planning to review its policy when assessing DHP's for those in receipt of DLA?”

 

Councillor R D Bayliss gave the following response:

 

The High Court decided that a local authority's decision to take the care component of disability living allowance (DLA) into account when assessing a discretionary housing payment (DHP's) was unlawful. The Court has decided to quash the local authority decision and ordered them to make a fresh one.

 

Following the ruling by the high court  we have amended our calculations for DHP cases (income versus essential expenditure) to exclude the care component of Disability Living Allowance as a form of income, thus giving those in receipt of this benefit a greater chance of qualifying for additional help.  This has been implemented from 1 April 2015 for all new claims as well as renewals”.

 

Councillor N Clarke reiterated that this issue had been raised by a member of the public at Council and subsequently had been debated at Policy Development Group.  He reminded members that the Council had refused to change the policy at that time.  As a supplementary question, he asked if the Portfolio Holder considered that this decision not to change the policy relating to DHP had put the Council at unnecessary risk of incurring costs.

 

Councillor R D Bayliss stated that he did not believe this decision had put the Council at unnecessary risk, as the provisions of the Act at that time were quite ambiguous.  He stated that the Council had established a policy based on an interpretation of the provisions the act.  He commented that he was pleased that this had now been tested in court and he awaited advice on whether any further action was required.

35.

Motions

To consider any motions on notice under procedure rule no. 12.

Minutes:

No motions were received.

36.

Petitions

To receive petitions in accordance with the Council’s Petition Scheme. 

Minutes:

No petitions were received.

37.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 242 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 30 June 2015.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2015.

 

It was moved by Councillor J Bridges, seconded by Councillor J Cotterill and

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2015 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

38.

Update to the Council's Constitution pdf icon PDF 224 KB

Report of the Head of Legal and Support Services

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

Minutes:

Councillor N J Rushton presented the report to members.

 

Councillor J Geary made reference to the issue he had raised previously in respect of procedure rule 9 relating to smoking in the building, which had been deleted, and whether the legislation would cover the use of e-cigarettes. 

 

Councillor N J Rushton stated that he would undertake to provide a written response to Councillor J Geary on this matter, and assured members that this would be duly considered if it had been missed.

 

It was moved by Councillor N J Rushton, seconded by Councillor T Gillard and

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

a)    The amendments to the Constitution set out in paragraph 3 and appendices 1-3 of the report to Policy Development Group be approved.

 

b)    The Head of Legal and Support Services be authorised to make those agreed amendments to the Constitution and re-issue the document.

39.

Draft North West Leicestershire Local Plan pdf icon PDF 270 KB

Report of the Director of Services

Presented by the Regeneration and Planning Portfolio Holder

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman clarified the process he intended to follow during consideration of the report as below:

 

Councillor Pendleton would speak to the report, and would hand over to Steve Bambrick, Director of Services, who would give a presentation.  The Director of Services would then answer any technical questions arising from the presentation.  The debate would then follow.  Members were reminded that the usual rules of debate would apply and each member would have 5 minutes in total to speak.  Members were also reminded that the usual rules in respect of the duration of meetings would apply.  The Chairman would be ensuring that the procedure rules were adhered to throughout the meeting to provide all members who wished to speak a fair opportunity to do so.  Members were advised that one the debate had concluded, a vote would then be taken on each recommendation in turn.

 

Councillor T J Pendleton introduced the report to members.  He stated that he was delighted to be recommending the draft Local Plan and he was pleased to have reached the point where the Council could agree this future blueprint for consultation.  He made reference to the amount of work that went into preparing such a document and stated that this had been a positively prepared plan, which sought to provide growth to all parts of the district.  He stated that he made no apology for focussing on development in Coalville, as this was the district’s main town and was a key Conservative priority.  He stated that delivering growth in Coalville would bring investment to the town and support the investments being made to improve Coalville.    He added that the plan would also deliver important jobs in the district, which would provide for the needs of the residents and safeguard prosperity for future generations.  He urged members not to be fooled by those who would argue that this was a developer’s charter.  He reminded members that as a responsible Planning Authority, it was recognised that the Council must provide and plan for the needs of the district, and adhere to government guidance, or the plan would not be found to be sound.  He added however this did not mean development at any cost, as there were some very valuable environmental assets within the district, and the Local Plan contained strong policies to protect these assets, such as the countryside, the National Forest and the green wedges.  He commended the preparation of the plan through the cross-party Local Plan Advisory Committee, which had been supported by some excellent external advisors, Malcolm Sharp and Simon Stanion.  He thanked them for their support throughout this process and referred members to the advice note prepared by them which gave assurance on the process so far.  He concluded that throughout the consultation process the Council would remain alert to any necessary changes.  He commended the draft Local Plan to members and expressed confidence that delivering it would leave a strong legacy and a prosperous district.

 

Councillor J Bridges stated that he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

Councillor N J Rushton left the meeting at 7.25pm during consideration of the item entitled Draft North West Leicestershire Local Plan and returned to the meeting at 7.36pm.