Agenda item

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 announced that the redevelopment of the former Pick and Shovel site in Coalville, known as Royal Oak Court, had been shortlisted for a major award.  The site had been recognised in the residential and regeneration categories of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors East Midlands awards.  He reminded members that the council had worked closely with East Midlands Homes and the scheme would not have gone ahead without this support.  He highlighted the major positive impact on Memorial Square and on the town centre, adding that the scheme had transformed a derelict site, created needed affordable housing in the town and set the highest possible benchmark for a quality new building on a very difficult site.  He advised members that the awards ceremony would take place on 28 April and regardless of whether the site won an award, simply being shortlisted was a very useful reminder of the difference that was beginning to be made in Coalville.

Councillor R Blunt referred to the announcement he had made at the last full Council meeting that Christine Fisher had decided to stand down from the post she had held since 2004.  He advised members that tonight would be Christine’s last full Council meeting before she left the council on 12 May. He felt it was fair to say that Christine would be a hard act to follow and that her leadership had turned the district council from what he considered to be one of the poorest performing district councils into the very best.  He added that whenever there was a difficult issue, Christine was the ‘go to’ person, no more so than with the government planning agenda; she went from knowing nothing about planning to leading the agenda on behalf of all seven district councils in Leicestershire in a very short time.  He said that during his ten years as Leader it had been a real pleasure to work with her, not least because of her enthusiasm and strong work ethic.  He referred to the trust they had in each other, which had made the impossible achievable; nowhere was this more evident than with the Coalville project.  He added that without her 100% commitment, the progress made so far would not have been possible. 

Councillor R Blunt acknowledged that Christine would not have wanted a big fuss at tonight’s Council meeting; however he could not allow the occasion to pass without marking it in some way.  He stated that one of Christine’s greatest legacies at the council was the work she had done to develop our staff.  She had introduced the Best Employee Experience programme to help all employees reach their full potential.  He added that she had encouraged all staff and many employees would remember her simply as the person who gave them a chance.  He added that he knew Christine had always been proud to embrace the green agenda and was especially proud to support the Green Footprints awards and the National Forest.  He announced that with that in mind, something special had been arranged which reflected her style and ethos; Christine would be planting an oak tree in the National Forest.  He hoped that this would be a meaningful legacy for her time at the council.  In addition, a local craftsman had created a beautiful handmade bench as a reminder of her time at North West Leicestershire District Council.  The bench had been made from sustainable fallen oak from the National Forest and bore the inscription “from little acorns mighty oaks grow” as a tribute to her legacy.  He hoped it would remind her of the contribution she had made to this council.      

Councillor J Legrys stated that he never thought the day would come when members would be saying goodbye to Christine Fisher.  He wished her well in her new careers beyond North West Leicestershire.  He commented that Christine was a Labour appointment and he believed she was the first female Chief Executive of this council and perhaps in Leicestershire.  He stated that as an individual within the Labour party he had been very strong on the message of providing all-women shortlists.  He added that one of the things which always stuck in his mind about Christine was her mentoring of other women for promotion and encouraging women to achieve senior officer commitments.  He congratulated her on this and commented that he also wanted to see her mentoring other women playing golf as he believed women in sport needed to be an example to other women.  He commended her and thanked her for what she had done for this council.

Councillor N Smith commented that when he had first joined the council about 30 years ago, people had asked him what it was like at North West Leicestershire District Council.  His reply had been that it was like trying to steer a vast ocean-going boat; when you turned the wheel, about 10 miles later it started to move.  He commented that since Christine came, the council had become a bit more like the American yachts; it turned very quickly and responded almost immediately, and Christine coming to North West Leicestershire District Council was like the man in the street winning the lottery rollover.  He thanked her.

Councillor M Specht referred to a fantastic experience he had had with Christine as a comparatively new Councillor.  They greeted the Princess Royal at the Jubilee Wood and he had very soon found out what a brilliant sense of humour Christine had. He stated that it was an experience that no-one in the vehicle would ever forget.  He commented that despite being somewhat out of sync with the timetable, Christine wasn’t flustered and had retained her composure and sense of humour, which had made the day.  He thanked Christine for the great support she had given him, which he would never forget. 

Councillor J Geary stated that he had been a member of this council for a number of years when Christine was appointed, and he had to say the appointment was like a breath of fresh air, and had certainly given the council new enthusiasm and direction.  He personally thanked Christine for all the help, support and guidance she had given him as a Councillor.  He referred to the two or three occasions when they may have had a difference of opinion; he would be invited into her office, and 20 minutes later he would leave convinced he was wrong and that once again she was right.

Councillor A C Saffell reminded members that Christine had been our Chief Executive since October 2004 and had come from Dacorum Borough Council in Hertforshire where she was the Strategic Director of Community Services and Assistant Chief Executive.  He first remembered meeting Christine in September that year in a hotel along with the other shortlisted candidates.  He added that the thing he remembered about Christine was that she was very direct and her answers were relevant to the job; which was very much as she is now.  He relayed an early rumour he had heard that Christine was holding a meeting that was running over well into the lunch break, and people were fidgeting and looking at the clock.  Christine stopped what she was saying and remarked that tea breaks and lunch breaks were for wimps, and glared at everyone.  The meeting carried on until Christine declared it was over.  He stated that he had also had the pleasure of taking Christine on a ward walk around Castle Donington, taking in some of the more notable attractions.  He was pleased to say that she had always tried to be helpful ever since and he appreciated the work she had undertaken to help not just Castle Donington but the district as a whole.  He hoped members would all join him in wishing her well in whatever she decided to do in the future.

The Chairman invited the Chief Executive to speak.

The Chief Executive commented that 12 years had passed quickly and it was a well-known fact that she had actually only intended to stay at North West Leicestershire District Council for three years before moving on to something different.  What happened was that North West Leicestershire had caught her heart. She felt her tenure at the council could be considered as having three parts, the first of which was recovery, as in 2004, this council was on the verge of intervention by the government.  She had worked with a recovery team to restore confidence that the council could become efficient and effective, and deliver what was promised. The next phase was the tough phase of austerity, making lots of savings.  She reminded members that over a period of 4 to 5 years, the only tough decision they had to make was to close the Coalville toilets; which members had then reopened last month.  All the savings were made in-house by staff reviews, service transformation, redundancies, removing and implementing systems, and becoming more and more efficient.  The third phase was growth and the council had not grown in size, hence why members had the opportunity of giving money back to the community through community grants, twenty for 7, business grants, shop front improvement schemes amongst others.  She highlighted the strengthening of the Community Focus Team, whose achievements she was so proud of, and the Business Focus Team.  She stated that this was possible because of the tough decisions made in the second phase of her tenure. 

The Chief Executive stated that clearly her main target had been that whenever she left, people would be able to be proud of having been part of North West Leicestershire.  She remembered that when she arrived, members of staff would take off their name badges because they were so embarrassed to be associated with the council.  She added that this did not happen now. She acknowledged that the council was not perfect and there were things that could be done better, however she felt that members should be very proud of what they and the staff had achieved over the past 12 years and she said that it had been an honour to have been part of that journey.  She reminded members that the council was now recognised as a respected partner of choice amongst external partners and other local authorities, of which she was very proud.  She stated that her learning and belief was to surf the setbacks, of which there had been plenty.  She acknowledged that at times she had taken things too personally, because she was a value driven person and reflected that the one thing she truly regretted was not celebrating achievements enough. The council had not won as many national awards as it could have because of the focus on delivering results.  She felt that she had tried to encourage officers to listen carefully and to understand differing points of view. 

The Chief Executive said that she had never promised anything she couldn’t deliver; she had forgotten a few things along the way and had made mistakes, but she had always tried to deliver what she had promised and had spent public money very wisely.  She stated that she was so proud of the Best Employee Experience and her officers and it had been an honour to work with them.  She concluded that she had always tried to be true to herself, although it hadn’t always stood her in good stead, it had always been done with positive intent.  She thanked members and wished them all the best and she knew she was leaving an organisation with a very bright future.

Councillor V Richichi proposed three cheers to the Chief Executive.

Councillor R D Bayliss referred to the Tenant Scrutiny Panel which had been established in 2012 as a result of the duty in the Localism Act to evolve a system of scrutiny of the housing service.  The panel comprised of 8 self-selected tenants who did not operate under the influence of the council, its officers or members.  The Panel had scrutinised the implementation of the decent homes improvement programme and had developed themselves, undertaking training and acquiring a range of skills in the process.  He expressed his high regard for the members of the Panel who worked hard without remuneration.  He announced that the work of the panel had just been recognised by winning a Tenant Participation Advisory Service Excellence in Scrutiny award at the Central region awards ceremony on 3 March.  The Panel would now go forward to the national finals in July.  He congratulated the Chair of the panel, Janet Higgins, and all the members.