Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

Councillor R Blunt presented the report to members.  He stated that the proposal was simply a bid to the government for the authorities to formally agree to work more closely together on areas where there should already be collaboration in any case.  He made reference to the public consultation which had been undertaken, showing that 68.8% of respondents were in favour of creating a combined authority.  He explained that the creation of a combined authority would not result in a loss of sovereignty.  He advised that this issue would be debated across Leicestershire in the coming weeks.  He commended the Chief Executive for her work on the project.

Councillor R Blunt moved the recommendations as set out in the report.  The motion was seconded by Councillor A V Smith who reserved her comments.

Councillor S McKendrick stated that in principle, a combined authority could provide benefits with opportunities to share good practice, and devolution was positive for local councils.  She added that it was imperative that this was structured to provide support to local people, and therefore governance and scrutiny became even more important.  She stated that this was an area of concern.  She asked whether there would be an opposition representative involved in scrutiny, and how local people could have an influence upon any issues raised through scrutiny.  She commented that there was little in the scheme to reassure members in this respect.  She made reference to the interest in collaboration from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and asked if the bid would be strengthened if Leicestershire had been interested in working with these authorities.  She commented that the scrutiny arrangements were not sufficient and created too much distance for local people.  She acknowledged that a consultation had been undertaken but questioned how robust this had been as she was not convinced that 4 weeks was sufficient to ensure a broad representation had been made.

Councillor S McKendrick moved an amendment to the motion as follows:

Recommendation 4 to be reworded to read; That Council authorises the Chief Executive, following consultation with the Leader, to make any final minor amendments to the scheme and governance review prior to their submission to the Department for Communities and Local Government in December 2015 or January 2016.

Recommendation 6 to be deleted.

Councillor R Blunt welcomed Councillor S McKendrick as the new leader of the Labour Group.  He indicated that he was happy to accept the amendment to recommendation 4; however it was not possible to delete recommendation 6.

Councillor A C Saffell commented that as someone who lived in the northern parishes, he was much closer to Derby and Nottingham than Leicester.  He felt that it would be more beneficial to combine with Derby and Nottingham as North West Leicestershire would then be in the centre if a larger combined authority was created covering the whole of the East Midlands.  He expressed disappointment that Leicester did not want to collaborate with Derby and Nottingham.

Councillor J Legrys sought clarification as to why the Chairman had not called for a seconder in respect of Councillor S McKendrick’s amendment and allowed a debate on the amendment.

The Head of Legal and Support Services explained that the Leader had accepted the insertion of the word ‘minor’ in respect of recommendation 4, and as such she saw no need to debate this amendment.  She advised that the removal of recommendation 6 would nullify that recommendation and was therefore not a valid amendment.

Councillor J Legrys expressed disappointment that this amendment was not to be debated.  He stated that most members had a very clear understanding about how these proposals had developed.  He felt that the project was unravelling and that he could remain sceptical whether the Department for Communities and Local Government would allow this proposal.  He expressed concerns that sharing services would save money in the short term, but would remove democratic accountability in the long term.  He stated that he could not vote for the proposals as the Council did not want any democratic accountability on its outside bodies.

Councillor N Clarke commented that the airport was the centre of economic growth and had far more in common with Derby and Nottingham.  He added that this was something he would support exploring further.  He expressed concerns in respect of the consultation which had taken place over four weeks.  He reported that 161 members of the public had taken part in the consultation across Leicestershire, and only 4.3% of those were from North West Leicestershire.  He commented therefore that members were being asked to make a decision today on the basis of 7 people’s opinions.

Councillor A V Smith expressed disappointment in respect of some of the comments as this was the way forward and councils had to work together across Leicestershire.  She urged members to vote in support of the recommendations.

Councillor R Blunt felt that some of the comments made were very helpful and thought provoking.  He stated that he believed that this was the best way forward, as Leicester was not taken into consideration when it came to the East Midlands as a whole.  He commented that by definition it was necessary to have good relationships with our neighbours.  He added that the co-operation that currently existed between the main authorities in Leicestershire was the highest it had been for a long time, which had made this project possible.  He stated that he felt strongly that the proposals were the best way forward.  He urged members to support this cross party initiative.

Councillor J Legrys requested a recorded vote.

The Chairman then put the motion to the vote.  A recorded vote having been requested, the voting was as follows:

For the motion:

Councillors R Ashman, R D Bayliss, R Blunt, J Bridges, R Boam, R Canny, J Clarke, J Cotterill, J G Coxon, S Gillard, T Gillard, L Goacher, D Harrison, G Hoult, J Hoult, G Jones, K Merrie, T J Pendleton, P Purver, V Richichi, N J Rushton, A V Smith and M Specht and M B Wyatt (24).

Against the motion:

Councillors R Adams, N Clarke, D Everitt, F Fenning, R Johnson, J Legrys, S McKendrick, T Neilson and A C Saffell (9).

Abstentions:

None (0).

The motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED THAT:

a)    The scheme for the combined authority be approved;

b)    The governance review be approved;

c)    The publication of the scheme and its submission to the Department for Communities and Local Government be authorised;

d)    The Chief Executive, following consultation with the Leader, be authorised to make any final minor amendments to the scheme and governance review prior to their submission to the Department for Communities and Local Government in December 2015 or January 2016;

e)    The Chief Executive, following consultation with the Leader, be authorised to enter into discussions with the Department for Communities and Local Government and such other government departments and other persons as are considered necessary by the Chief Executive to agree the terms of the order establishing the combined authority and to approve the final form of the order on behalf of the district council; and

f)     The Chief Executive, following consultation with the Leader, be authorised:

(I)           To negotiate, agree and execute all ancillary documents in support of the operation of the combined authority, including (without limitation) the constitution of the combined authority; and

To take all decisions and actions necessary to enable the establishment of the combined authority.