Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors G A Allman, J Geary, L Massey, C Meynell and L Spence.

Councillor D J Stevenson requested that a letter be sent from the Council to Councillor G A Allman sending best wishes from all Members.

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 made the following announcements:

-        The Civic Service had taken place at St. Helen’s Church in Ashby de la Zouch on Sunday, 16 March and had been very well attended.

-        The Civic dinner and Green Footprints awards would take place on Friday, 4 April.

-        The Chairman thanked all Members who had attended the tree planting event at the Jubilee Woods on Friday, 14 March to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Council.

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 A V Smith announced that following development by a task and finish group and consideration at Policy Development Group, the measures to be contained in the Armed Forces Community Covenant had been agreed.  She reported that the covenant would be signed on Friday, 2 May by the Leader of the Council, Andrew Bridgen MP, the Chief Executive of the Council, Lt Col. David Dawber representing the Armed Forces and David Atterbury as County Chairman of the Royal British Legion Groups.  She added that by signing the covenant the Council were making a public statement and commitment to working with the armed forces community in North West Leicestershire, which was supported by all.

Councillor A V Smith advised that in her role as the Council’s Armed Forces Champion, she had been made aware that this year’s Normandy Veterans service was unfortunately to be the last one organized by the Normandy Veterans Association due to the age of the veterans.  She urged all members to support this last service which would take place on Saturday, 31 May at Holy Rood Church in Packington.  She asked all Members to let her know if they were able to attend.

Councillor R D Bayliss gave an update on the Green and Decent Homes project, which invited tenants to participate in a trial of alternative energy forms to identify the most suitable types of technology for the Council’s housing stock.  He reported that nearly 60 families had expressed an interest in participating, and after reviewing all applicants, this had been reduced to 12 properties. He added that the Energy Trust had recommended the following technologies:

Solar thermal heating (4 properties).

Solar photovoltaic system (3 properties).

Air source heat pumps (2 properties).

Hybrid air source heat pump and gas system (1 property).

Biomass system (1 property).

Ground source heat pump (1 property).                                                         

Councillor R D Bayliss explained that all participating tenants had agreed to allow the Council to monitor the technologies for 12 months. Smart meters and similar monitoring equipment would be installed to keep track of monthly fuel usage.  He stated that work would hopefully start in April / May 2014.  He thanked everyone who had taken part in the project.

Councillor R D Bayliss reiterated that he had promised to keep Members informed on progress in respect of the loophole regarding the under-occupancy charge.  He referred to information from the Revenues and Benefits partnership which had been received today and summarised the actions taken as follows:

•   System reports were produced for North West Leicestershire which identified 288 people from the electronic records available.  This list of 288 people included Council tenants and Housing Association tenants affected by the under-occupancy changes, who appeared to meet the main criteria for the exemption.

•   A letter was drafted and approved and was loaded onto the Document Management System on 26 February 2014.

•   The Partnership’s Welfare Reform Officers went through the list of 288 people, filtering each case and checking against the Council Tax records  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

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.

No questions were 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 Support Services.

No questions 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 25 February 2014.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 2014.

Councillor T Gillard stated that at the last meeting he had indicated that he would give an update on Formula E.  However as 3 announcements had already been made, he intended to provide a written update to all Members.

It was moved by Councillor G Jones, seconded by Councillor D J Stevenson and

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 2014 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Report of the Head of Finance

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder and Housing Portfolio Holder

Councillor R D Bayliss presented the report to Members, drawing their attention to the report to Cabinet attached as Appendix 1 which highlighted the results of the 100% condition survey of the housing stock and the costs associated with the additional work required.  He referred to the call-in of the item following the Cabinet meeting and advised that Policy Development Group had resolved that no further action be taken. 

Councillor S Sheahan stated that he would be supporting the recommendations, however he felt there were some important lessons to be learned.  He added that this was not a case of tax and spend, but rather spend and bend the rules as was demonstrated by the fact that the prudential indicators and the Housing Revenue Account budget were being revised so soon after being agreed.  He stated that tighter control on spending was necessary, as well as more accurate surveys and better budgetary planning.

Councillor P Hyde referred to the use of windfall income and sought clarification on how a windfall could be predicted for 2014/15.

Councillor N J Rushton stated that he was proud of what had been achieved and felt that residents would agree at the next election.  He referred to the funding provided by the Coalition Government to deliver improvements to the worst housing stock in the country and added that in four years all of the Council’s housing stock would have been renovated with no exception.  He stated that he was proud of what the officers had delivered.

In response to Councillor S Sheahan, Councillor R D Bayliss stated that the impact on the business strategy was unknown.  He explained however that the accumulation of current balances in the Housing Revenue Account budget would be offset against the maturation of loans in 9 years, which was why the additional funding could be safely drawn down to support the programme.  He added that if additional borrowing was subsequently required, this could be accommodated as there was considerable financial headroom due to careful estimating.  He stated that the housing condition surveys were accurate and explained that data had been extrapolated from a survey of a percentage of the Council’s housing stock.  In the final year of the programme, all remaining properties were surveyed and this had identified the additional work required.  He stated that he felt confident in the standard of the surveys.  He thanked Councillor S Sheahan for expediting the call-in process, and the Chief Executive for facilitating the urgent item to Policy Development Group, which enabled the report to be considered at this meeting of the Council.  He also thanked Policy Development Group for their effective review of the issue.  He urged Members to keep their promises to tenants and ensure that all properties could be made decent.

It was moved by Councillor R D Bayliss, seconded by Councillor N J Rushton and

RESOLVED THAT:

a)     The projected increase in costs associated with completing the 2014/15 Decent Homes Programme of Improvements as detailed in the report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

Councillor R Blunt presented the report to Members, outlining the Council’s priorities for the forthcoming year.

Councillor S Sheahan referred to the long term future of housing schemes and expressed the importance of ensuring the remaining tenants were properly looked after and communities were consulted.

Councillor T Neilson stated that these were nice words but there was no bold vision.  He added that there were lots of vague promises and felt that there was much more that could be done.

Councillor D J Stevenson stated that the document was far more exciting than the budget presented by the Opposition at the previous meeting.  He felt that without a budget proposal, these statements were pie in the sky.

Councillor J Legrys sought clarification that the Council Delivery Plan was under discussion rather than the budget.

Councillor J Legrys commented that any forward plan would fail when it was considered in retrospect.  He felt that the document was anodyne.  He expressed annoyance that the document contained a bold statement about investing in local Councillors when three of his Members were having their IT equipment taken away because the software was extinct and there was no money to replace them.  He asked how such a statement could be made and stated that he would be scrutinising the document in some detail next year.

Councillor R Blunt stated that the issue of sheltered housing schemes was taken very seriously indeed and agreed this was a very sensitive issue.  He felt that the document was not anodyne.  He added that there was nothing clever or brave, but it was about what was possible and would ensure the promises made would be kept.  He concluded that the Council as an organisation was professional, well-run and highly motivated to deliver.  He challenged the Opposition to prove they could do a better job.  In respect of computers, he stated that the world had moved on and it was generally considered that most people would have their own computers.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor A V Smith and

RESOLVED THAT:

a)     The proposed Council Delivery Plan 2014/15 be approved.

b)     The Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be authorised to make any final technical amendments to the targets for 2014/15.

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Community Services Portfolio Holder

Councillor A V Smith presented the report to Members, drawing their attention to the process which had been undertaken and the proposed changes to the cumulative impact policy in Ashby de la Zouch town centre.

Councillor P Hyde stated that there had been a lot of debate on this item.  He expressed frustration that the Police were still not producing an evidence base but were relying on the special policy.  He asked if a meeting could be arranged to ensure that time was not wasted.

Councillor N Smith concurred with Councillor P Hyde and added that this had been raised repeatedly.  He stated that a meeting would be arranged and Councillor P Hyde would be invited to attend.

Councillor T Neilson stated that contrary to what Members had heard earlier, the Council was not working well with the Police in this case, and despite several pleas for them to provide an evidence base, this was not forthcoming.  He felt the changes to the policy made it better and more robust.  He pleaded for consistency across the Council in partnership working with the Police.

Councillor M Specht stated that it was good to see common sense prevail in that the Shoulder of Mutton had not been added to the special policy area. 

Councillor A C Saffell referred to the outdoor music events which had caused disturbance in his Ward and felt that nothing had been done about this issue.  He stated that if these licences were granted this year, there would be a huge number of complaints.  He stated that the issues needed to be resolved in advance to keep the noise levels down.  He explained that a change in the wind direction could mean that the noise was much louder, and felt that restrictions should be in place in advance to prevent this.  He added that there was never a problem with the Download festival as it was controlled properly.  He stated that officers had not demonstrated that they could control events and the policy had not been changed to take account of that.

Councillor J Legrys expressed support for the policy.  He took issue with Councillor A C Saffell’s statement and highlighted the social and economic benefits of festivals.  He added that staff worked hard to ensure the District was a pleasant place to live, and he did not want to hear officers being denigrated.

Councillor A V Smith stated that officers would continue to work hard to ensure that noise was kept down as much as possible.

It was moved by Councillor A V Smith, seconded by Councillor N Smith and

RESOLVED THAT:

The draft Statement of Licensing Policy be approved.

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

Councillor R Blunt presented the report to Members, drawing their attention to the reduction in ratio, which was a step in the right direction.

Councillor S Sheahan referred to the motion at Leicestershire County Council in respect of the living wage and felt that there were inconsistencies as this was not carried.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor N J Rushton and

RESOLVED THAT:

The Council’s Pay Policy Statement 2014/15, as attached at Appendix 1 of this report, be approved.