Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A Bridgen, D Everitt, M Hay and M French.

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'.

There were no interests declared.

The Chairman invited Council to observe a minute’s silence to remember Jason Summerfield, a past serving member who passed away at the end of last year. Jason was a Conservative member for the Measham Ward between June 2009 and December 2010.

He then announced that this was the last scheduled meeting of Council which would be attended by Bev Smith, Chief Executive. He complimented Bev on her management style and advised that she would be a very hard act to follow. On behalf of Council, the Chairman presented Bev with flowers and a gift in recognition of her support to members. 

The Chief Executive conveyed her thanks and referenced the feeling of being valued and supported by members from all sides. She gave special thanks to the Leader and Cabinet for having the trust in her to enable her to get on with her role; and to the Group Leaders for dealing with challenging issues with mutual respect and understanding. Without wishing to embarrass individual members, Bev thanked those who had taken the time to get to know her as a person and stated that she really appreciated this. 

The Chairman invited comments from the floor. Several comments were made which echoed the Chairman’s sentiments and which highlighted, in particular, Bev’s people skills and her humanity throughout her five years with the Authority.

The Chairman thanked Councillor R Boam for his deputising role during recent events and to members who had attended his charity event; and he invited attendance at his next event where it was hoped that the amount raised for his charities would exceed the £8,000 mark.

The Chairman referred to an award for outstanding contribution which he had presented to Lee Mansfield, Licensing Team Manager for the way he had dealt with the challenges faced by the organisation in the past two years as a consequence of Covid. He advised that Lee had been invited to the Royal Garden Party to thank him for his efforts. 

The Chairman referenced the aggressive political dialogue which had taken place at the previous meeting and urged councillors to refrain from this unacceptable behaviour. 

He then went on to deliver a very poignant address reflecting on the atrocities in Ukraine and invited Council to observe a minute’s silence to consider the fallout out of the situation and to remember those that had already fallen.

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.

Councillor R Blunt referred to the new Leisure Centre and Newmarket as examples of how Coalville is changing for the better. He provided an update on the progress in respect of Marlborough Square accepting that the risks and the costs were high. Funding for additional works had been included in the budget to be agreed later in the meeting. Finally, the Leader referred to the impressive work currently being undertaken in the Belvoir Centre and advised that he hoped to announce further improvements in the coming months.

Councillors were broadly supportive of the initiatives, but a question was asked about the deliverance of a cinema in the town. Councillor Blunt advised that he could not provide any details at this stage due to continentality issues. Questions were raised about the suitability of the Leisure Centre for the disabled, particularly with regard to noise; and the accessibility to it by walkers and cyclists given the proximity of the main road and there being no direct access.  

Councillor A Woodman advised that he was hugely encouraged to see the Leisure Centre was already being well used. In response to the question of access, he referred to the two nearby crossings and the fact that walkers and cyclists were using the facility; adding that any issues can be addressed in the forthcoming walking and cycling strategy. He advised that he would feed back the comments regarding any disability issues to the Everyone Active Steering Group. Finally, Councillor Woodman referred to several health and wellbeing initiatives taking place across the district including the £300,000 new purpose-built fitness room at Ibstock Leisure Complex which is due to open in the next few weeks, the £300,000 extension to the fitness room at Measham Leisure Centre and the community access arrangement which has been facilitated between the parish council and Castle Donington College to the schools’ grass football. In summary he advised that there was no greater investment a Council can make than in the health and wellbeing of its residents, and the total investment of around £25m demonstrates that is what we continue to do.

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 Commercial Services.

There were no questions received.

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 Commercial Services.

The Chairman advised that he had received one question ahead of the meeting and invited Councillor R Johnson to ask his question addressed to Councillor A Woodman.

Councillor R Johnson asked “on April 16th we are to have an official opening of our New Leisure centre with Colin Jackson and former footballers to name but a few.  Can the Portfolio holder explain to me this Council’s rationale to omit a local international athlete Gemma Steele; and how much will this council have to pay out for the sports personality’s appearance?”

The Chairman invited Councillor A Woodman to respond.

Councillor A Woodman replied “although the date has now been set for the official opening there are a lot of preparations to be put in place for the programme of activities on the day itself.  Our partner Everyone Active is leading on the organisation for the day and a press release along with relevant publicity will be shared nearer the date.  Everyone Active is responsible for securing and paying the sporting VIP’s who will have a key role interacting with those attending the activities. Each of the stars is expected to lead sessions with customers and speak to the media as ambassadors for the new centre. They are all from the region and Anthony Clark is from Coalville. The stars already lined up are the following:

Colin Jackson CBE – GB Athletics – 1 x Silver Olympic Medallist and 2 x Commonwealth Gold Medallist + Frequent appearances on national TV in reality shows and as a commentator.

Anthony Clark – GB Badminton – Commonwealth Gold Medallist

Ross Davenport – GB Swimming - 2 x Commonwealth Gold Medallist

Ollie Hynd MBE – GB Swimming – 3 x Olympic Gold Paralympian

Charlotte Henshaw MBE – GB Swimming & Canoeing – Paralympian Gold, Silver and Bronze Medallist

Steve Walsh – Former Leicester City FC 2 x League Cup Winner

Muzzy Izzet – Former Leicester City FC 2 x League Cup Winner

Hannah Ward – Captain, Derby County FC Women

We can of course put Gemma Steele in touch with the relevant lead at Everyone Active to explore this further”.

The Chairman invited Councillor R Johnson to ask a supplementary question.

Councillor R Johnson asked again why Gemma Steele had not been invited to join the line-up.

Councillor A Woodman responded by stating that it was a shame that Councillor R Johnson had not taken the time to contact him directly about this as he would have been able to advise him that Gemma Steele had been contacted and subsequently added to the line-up.

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

No motions were received.

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

No petitions were received.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 16 November 2021.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2021.

It was moved by Councillor V Richichi, seconded by Councillor R Boam and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2021 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Report of the Section 151 Officer

Before handing over to Councillor N Rushton as portfolio holder, the Chairman set out how he intended to deal with this item given the complexities and detail of the report.

Councillor N Rushton then presented the report to members and thanked the Finance Team for all their hard work. He referred to the route the budget had taken to get to this stage where members’ comments were invited; and whilst a number of comments were made, no amendments had been proposed.

Councillor N Rushton moved the recommendations as set out in the report. The motion was seconded by Councillor R Blunt.

The Chairman referred to the amendments to the motion, which had been circulated in the additional papers. He invited Councillor S Sheahan to put forward his amendment.

Councillor S Sheahan outlined the amended budget as detailed in the additional papers and echoed Councillor N Rushton’s thanks to the Finance Team in assisting with the amended budget. The motion was seconded by Councillor J Legrys.

A full and lengthy debate was held before the Chairman put the motion to the vote. A recorded vote being required, the voting was as detailed below:

The amendment was declared LOST.

The Chairman referred members to a second amended budget and invited Councillor Wyatt to present it. Councillor Wyatt duly set out his budget amendment which was seconded by Councillor A Black. A further debate was held before the Chairman put the amendment to the vote. A recorded vote being required, the voting was as detailed below:

The amendment was declared LOST.

The Chairman referred members to the substantive motion as set out in the agenda.

A further debate was held which received wide support for the budget.

The Chairman then put the substantive motion to the vote. A recorded vote being required, the voting was as detailed below:

The motion was declared CARRIED.

It was therefore

RESOLVED THAT:

1.         The S151 Officer’s comments on the robustness of the estimates and adequacy of reserves, as set out in paragraph 1.3 of the report and as required by Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003, be noted.

2.         The Medium Term Financial Plan approved by Cabinet on 1 February 2022, as detailed in paragraph 1.2 and the associated background paper, be noted.

3.         The General Fund Revenue Budget for 2022/23 as summarised in section 2 of the report approved. This includes

(a)  Freezing the District Council’s share of the Council Tax in 2022/23

(b)  Changes to the Fees and Charges, as detailed in Appendix 1B, effective from 1 April 2022.

4.        The Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2022/23, as summarised in section 3 of the report, be approved. This includes

(a)  Increasing rents by up to 4.1%

(b)  Changes to Fees and Charges and Service Charges, as detailed in Appendices 2B and 2C.

5.         The proposed General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Capital Programmes for 2022/23 and planned financing, as set out in Section 4 of the report, be approved.

6.         The fleet replacement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

Report of the Section 151 Officer

Councillor N Rushton presented the report to members.

It was moved by Councillor N Rushton, seconded by Councillor K Merrie and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED THAT:

The Capital Strategy 2022-23 (Appendix 1); The Treasury Management Statement 2022-23 (Appendix 2); The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement 2022-23 (Appendix 3) and the Investment Strategy 2022-23 (Appendix 4), be approved.

Report of the Monitoring Officer

Councillor R Ashman presented the report to members.

A question was raised about the omission of a provision which allows for councillors to be investigated even when they are not acting in their capacity as a councillor, as included in the LGA model Code. The Monitoring Officer advised that the Localism Act provides that a member must be acting in their capacity as a councillor and, whilst the LGA did extend this to include those who were not, it was the view of the Monitoring Officers across the county that this went beyond the limits of the current legislation.  

It was moved by Councillor R Ashman, seconded by Councillor J Clarke and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The work of the Standards Working Group in respect of the draft Members’ Code of Conduct be noted;
   
   
2. The new Members’ Code of Conduct (as detailed in Appendix A) be adopted with effect from 1 April 2022;
   
   
3. The arrangements for dealing with complaints about member conduct (as detailed in Appendix B) be adopted with immediate effect.

Report of the Strategic Director (Place)

Councillor A Woodman presented the report to members.

It was moved by Councillor A Woodman, seconded by Councillor J Clarke and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED THAT:

The retention of the Cumulative Impact Assessment, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Report of the Chief Executive

Councillor R Ashman presented the report to members.

A question was asked about the car allowance policy and when this would be changed to reflect the use of only electric vehicles to reflect the zero-carbon agenda. Councillor Ashman advised that work was still ongoing on this matter.

It was moved by Councillor R Ashman, seconded by Councillor N Rushton and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED THAT:

The Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23, as attached at Appendix 1 of the report be approved.

Report of the Chief Executive

Councillor R Ashman presented the report to members.

A member expressed dismay that traditionally male roles were still being undertaken by 100% males and when females did take up certain roles, there was evidence that pay fell. She also stated that that there appeared to be a distinct lack of female apprentices. A suggestion was made that future reporting on this issue includes references to the measures being taken to address this.

The Portfolio Holder considered that these issues should be flagged up and addressed through the Equalities Group.

Following objections from the floor, the Chairman apologised for a comment he made about the ability of women carrying out jobs on building sites.

It was moved by Councillor R Ashman, seconded by Councillor N Rushton and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED THAT:

The report be noted.

Report of the Chief Executive

Councillor R Blunt presented the report to members.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor R Ashman and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED THAT:

The report be noted.

Report of the Chief Executive

Councillor R Blunt presented the report to members.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor R Ashman and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The process and timeline for the appointment of the new permanent Chief Executive be noted.

2. The process and timeline for the appointment of an Interim Chief Executive and the delegation of authority to make that appointment to the current Chief Executive, in consultation with the Appointments Committee, be noted

3.    It be agreed that the post of Interim Chief Executive be designated as the Head of Paid Service, Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer.