Agenda for Council on Tuesday 13 December 2022, 7.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Chamber, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3YU

Contact: Claire Skoyles: Democratic Services Officer  Email: claire.skoyles@westsuffolk.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

251.

Remembrance

Minutes:

Before commencing business, all members were asked to stand and observe a minute’s silence in remembrance of former Forest Heath District Councillors Warwick Hirst and Alan Chapman who had both sadly died recently. The Chair made a statement of condolence, reflecting on the late Councillors’ contributions during their time on the Council.

252.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 166 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2022 (copy attached).

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2022 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

253.

Chair's announcements pdf icon PDF 131 KB

To receive announcements (if any) from the Chair.

 

A list of civic events/engagements attended by the Chair and Vice-Chair since the last ordinary meeting of Council held on 27 September 2022 are attached.

Minutes:

The Chair reported on the civic engagements and charity activities which he and the Vice-Chair had attended since the last ordinary meeting of Council on 27 September 2022.

 

Attention was specifically drawn to the various Remembrance events attended throughout the district by the Chair.

254.

Apologies for absence

To receive announcements (if any) from the officer advising the Chair (including apologies for absence).

 

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Trevor Beckwith, Simon Brown, Jason Crooks, David Nettleton, David Palmer, Karen Richardson, Clive Springett, Sarah Stamp, Peter Thompson, Jim Thorndyke and Don Waldron.

 

Councillor Nick Wiseman was also unable to attend the meeting.

255.

Declarations of interests

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary or local non pecuniary interest which they have in any item of business on the agenda no later than when that item is reached and, when appropriate, to leave the meeting prior to discussion and voting on the item.

Minutes:

Members’ declarations of interest are recorded under the item to which the declaration relates.

256.

Leader's statement (Paper number: COU/WS/020) pdf icon PDF 522 KB

Paper number: COU/WS/22/020

 

Council Procedure Rules 8.1 to 8.3. The Leader will submit a report (the Leader’s Statement) summarising important developments and activities since the preceding meeting of the council.

 

Members may ask the Leader questions on the content of both his introductory remarks and the written statement itself.

 

A total of 30 minutes will be allowed for questions and responses. There will be a limit of five minutes for each question to be asked and answered. A supplementary question arising from the reply may be asked so long as the five minute limit is not exceeded.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the Council, presented his Leader’s Statement as outlined in paper number: COU/WS/22/020.

 

In his introductory remarks, Councillor Griffiths:

 

a.       Staff awards: paid tribute to those that had been recognised during the virtual annual staff awards event, and to all staff across the organisation for their achievements as they continued to deliver for the people of West Suffolk.

 

b.       County Deal: updated members on the latest position regarding the signing of a formal agreement between Suffolk authorities for a ‘minded to’ County Deal (Suffolk Devolution Deal).

 

c.       Environment: announced that for the second time, West Suffolk had been named Regional Council of the Year in the Energy Efficient Association, East of England Energy Efficiency Awards.

 

d.       Helping the most vulnerable: explained that acknowledging the challenges facing communities and businesses, West Suffolk and its partners were implementing a range of initiatives to help mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the current national economic situation.     

 

e.       Winter provision: with the agreement of the Chair, invited Councillor Sara Mildmay-White, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Strategic Health to update members on the Council’s winter provision for those facing homelessness or were rough sleeping. This also included an update on Havebury Housing Association’s decision to sell the flats known as Goodfellows in Bury St Edmunds and the associated implications of this.

 

The Leader responded to a range of questions relating to:

 

a.       Elected Leader of Suffolk County Council: As part of the proposed Suffolk Devolution Deal, a directly elected leader would be elected in 2024, ahead of the Suffolk County Council member elections in 2025. The previous devolution deal mooted a few years ago had pursued a model of governance that required a directly elected mayor. The Government was committed to a single figure being directly accountable to the electorate and whilst it had its own implications, if approved, the present deal would offer better governance arrangements removing a layer of bureaucracy that a directly elected mayor would bring. Under the directly elected leader model, the Suffolk partnership arrangements already in place would be largely unaltered. The new devolution deal would empower West Suffolk to be in an even stronger position, building on the work already being achieved and would help to accelerate the vision for even more prosperous, healthier and greener district.

 

b.       Voter ID: In the context of reading reports in the national press regarding electoral changes where it was reported that senior people in local government had apparently asked ministers to delay the introduction of Voter ID, Councillor Diane Hind asked whether the Leader or West Suffolk Council had been involved in requesting a delay in introducing Voter ID, and whether this would in fact be the case.

 

c.       Civil parking enforcement (CPE): In the context of quoting from paragraph 36. of the Leader’s written statement, where it states, ‘We introduced civil parking enforcement after public support to help improve safety, reduce pollution and traffic jams, grow the economy and make sure emergency services get through’,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 256.

257.

Public participation

Council Procedure Rules Section 6. Members of the public who live or work in the district may put questions about the work of the council or make statements on items on the agenda to members of the Cabinet or any committee.

 

(Note: The maximum time to be set aside for this item is 30 minutes, but if all questions/statements are dealt with sooner, or if there are no questions/statements, the Council will proceed to the next business.)

 

Each person may ask one question or make one statement only. A total of five minutes will be allowed for the question to be put and answered or the statement made. If a question is raised, one supplementary question will be allowed provided that it arises directly from the reply and the overall time limit of five minutes is not exceeded.

 

If a statement is made, then the Chair may allow the Leader of the Council, or other member to whom they refer the matter, a right of reply.

 

The Constitution allows that a person who wishes to speak must register at least 15 minutes before the time the meeting is scheduled to start.  We urge anyone who wishes to register to speak to notify Democratic Services by 9am on the day of the meeting so that advice can be given on the arrangements in place.

 

As an alternative to addressing the meeting in person, written questions may be submitted by members of the public to the Monitoring Officer no later than 10am on Monday 12 December 2022. The written notification should detail the full question to be asked at the meeting of the Council.

Minutes:

The following member of the public spoke under this agenda item:

 

1. Frank Stennett, a resident of the district, made a statement in connection with:

 

a.    Agenda Item 8 – Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel: Members’ Allowances Scheme

b.    Agenda Item 7C3 – Cabinet Referral: Western Way Project Review – December 2022

 

With the challenges facing residents with the cost-of-living crisis, Mr Stennett felt that an uplift in the members’ basic allowance was inappropriate at the present time and urged members not to accept the recommendation of the Independent Remuneration Panel.

 

Attention was then drawn to b. above where Mr Stennett expressed a number of concerns with the proposals, namely the proposed build costs; that he felt the development should proceed on an alternative, more climate friendly, energy efficient site; and that in the present economic climate against a backdrop of rising interest rates, the project should be deferred until the outlook regarding the national economic situation was more encouraging.

 

Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the Council, duly responded to points raised in Mr Stennett’s statement accordingly. He then invited Mr Stennett to remain in the meeting to hear the debate on the two agenda items referred to above where his points would be addressed in detail.

258.

Referrals report of recommendations from Cabinet (Report number: COU/WS/22/021) pdf icon PDF 336 KB

Report number: COU/WS/22/021

 

A.      Referrals from Cabinet: 18 October 2022

 

There are no referrals emanating from the Cabinet meeting held on 18 October 2022.

 

B.      Referrals from Cabinet: 8 November 2022

 

1.       West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy

 

Portfolio holder: Councillor Andy Drummond

 

C.      Referrals from Cabinet: 6 December 2022

 

These referrals have been compiled before the decisions have been taken by the Cabinet and are based on the recommendations contained within each of the reports listed below.  Any amendments made by the Cabinet to the recommendations within these reports will be notified to members in advance of the meeting accordingly.

 

1.       Delivering a Sustainable Medium Term Budget

 

Portfolio holder: Councillor Sarah Broughton

 

 

2.       Treasury Management Report (September 2022)

 

Portfolio holder: Councillor Sarah Broughton

 

 

3.       Western Way Project Review – December 2022

 

Portfolio holder: Councillor Joanna Rayner

 

 

4.       West Suffolk Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme (LCTRS) 2023 to 2024

 

Portfolio holder: Councillor Sarah Broughton

 

 

5.       Council Tax Base for Tax Setting Purposes 2023 to 2024

 

Portfolio holder: Councillor Sarah Broughton

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered the referrals report of recommendations from Cabinet, as contained within report number: COU/WS/22/021.

 

A.      Referrals from Cabinet: 18 October 2022

 

There were no referrals from Cabinet emanating from the meeting held on 18 October 2022.

 

B.      Referrals from Cabinet: 8 November 2022

 

1.      West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy

 

Approval was sought for a revised West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy to cover the period 2022 to 2027.

 

The Licensing Act 2003 required a licensing authority to prepare and publish a statement of its licensing policy at least every five years. The policy must be kept under review during the five-year period and the licensing authority may make any revisions as it considered appropriate, such as those relating to feedback from the local community on whether the licensing objectives were being met, so it continued to be relevant and fit for purpose throughout the relevant time period.

 

As set out in section 1.5 of the referral report, the proposed substantive changes to the statement were minimal and they were primarily dictated by changes in guidance and legislation.

 

Members noted that there was a statutory duty to undertake a consultation to gauge impact and opinion among key stakeholders. This was held between 21 June and 22 July 2022. Further details of the consultation and the three responses received were set out in section 4 and 5 of the Cabinet report (Report number: CAB/WS/22/060), and Appendix A attached to that report. No comments received resulted in necessary changes to the Statement of Licensing Policy.

 

Councillor Andy Drummond, Portfolio Holder for Regulatory and Environment, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council.

 

On the motion of Councillor Drummond, seconded by Councillor Robert Everitt, it was put to the vote and with the vote being 49 for the motion, none against and one abstention, it was

 

Resolved:

 

That the revised West Suffolk Statement of Licensing Policy 2022 to 2027, as contained in Appendix B to Report number: CAB/WS/22/060, be adopted.

 

 

C.      Referrals from Cabinet: 6 December 2022

 

Following the publication of the agenda and papers for this meeting, which took place before the Cabinet meeting was held on 6 December 2022, the Chair confirmed that no changes had been made to the recommendations contained in the referral report.

 

1.      Delivering a Sustainable Medium Term Budget

 

Approval was sought for proposals for inclusion in the medium-term financial plans.

 

On 17 November 2022, the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee (PASC) considered proposals for delivering a sustainable balanced budget for 2023 to 2024 and for developing the medium-term plans. This included a number of key budget assumptions proposed and the rationale behind those assumptions, as set out in section 2 and Table 1 of Report number: PAS/WS/22/021.

 

The recommendations, which had been endorsed by Cabinet on 6 December 2022, were now presented for approval by Council. These, together with any further recommendations emanating from PASC and Cabinet in the coming weeks, would be incorporated into the budget setting process, the composite report for which would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 258.

259.

Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel: Members' Allowances Scheme (Report number: COU/WS/22/022) pdf icon PDF 182 KB

Report number: COU/WS/22/022

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered this report, which presented a recommendation of the Independent Remuneration Panel following its consideration of whether to recommend an uplift in the members’ basic allowance.

 

Local authorities were required by the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 (the Regulations) to establish and maintain an independent remuneration panel to make recommendations on the level of basic and special responsibility allowances and associated matters that were paid to councillors.

 

In February 2020 Council approved the Members’ Allowances Scheme (the Scheme) which could be found under Part 6 of the Constitution (Appendix 1 attached to the report). Paragraph 2.2 of the Scheme provided ‘The sum of £6,291.71 shall be uplifted each year by the same rate as the Annual Pay Award provided to the majority of Council staff. Should this be 3% or higher, then the Remuneration Panel should consider the level of increase and make recommendations to the Council accordingly.’

 

The Local Government Services Pay Agreement 2022 to 2023 was reached on 1 November 2022 and implemented from 1 April 2022 resulting in the sum of £1,925 per annum being added to all payscales agreed under the terms of conditions of the National Joint Council (NJC). The mean average of this increase across all NJC pay grades was 6.9 percent.  Accordingly, the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) was required to consider the level of increase to members allowances and make a recommendation to Council.

 

The IRP met on 24 November 2022 and considered it appropriate for the members’ basic allowance to be uplifted by 6.9 percent to £6,725.83 being the mean average of the Annual Pay Award for staff, with effect from 1 April 2022. This uplift would also affect the Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs), which were calculated as multiple factors of the basic allowance, as set out in Appendix 2. If approved, this would create an additional budget impact of £37,147. The IRP’s rationale for recommending this uplift was set out in section 2 of the report.

 

Unfortunately, Richard Cooper, Chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel was unable to attend the meeting, therefore in his absence, the Monitoring Officer read out a statement on his behalf, which primarily set out the IRP’s rationale in reaching its decision to recommend that provided in the report.

 

The Chair called upon Councillor Carol Bull, Portfolio Holder for Governance to speak on the item. She duly thanked Richard Cooper and the IRP for the work undertaken on this matter. However, whilst the IRP’s rationale for its recommendation was understood, she and members of the Conservative Group, felt this could not be accepted, particularly in the current economic climate. Councillor Bull subsequently proposed an alternative motion as follows:

 

“I would like to thank the panel for their work; however, we have reviewed this as an administration and my proposal is to defer any uplift in the basic allowance for members until the Members’ Allowances Scheme is reviewed in full, which will be next year (2023) as the existing scheme expires in February  ...  view the full minutes text for item 259.

260.

West Suffolk Council Constitution: non-executive licensing functions (Report number: COU/WS/22/023) pdf icon PDF 226 KB

Report number: COU/WS/22/023

Minutes:

Council considered this report, which sought approval for proposed changes to the Constitution in connection with non-executive licensing functions.

 

The Constitution Review Group (CRG) periodically assessed potential changes to the Constitution and met on the 30 November 2022 to consider two areas recommended for amendment, both being non-executive licensing functions which could be found in Part 3, Section 2 of the Constitution under B - Licensing:

 

a.       Membership and meeting arrangements

b.       Delegation of functions

 

The CRG considered it appropriate to align the training requirements for members of the Licensing and Regulatory (L&R) Committee with those for members of the Council’s other statutory committee, the Development Control Committee (DCC).

 

The West Suffolk Licensing Code of Practice, which could be found in Part 5e of the Constitution expanded the training requirement for members of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee and was stated in full under paragraph 1.6 of the report.

 

Although the training was mandatory, there was no requirement for untrained members to step down as a member of the L&R Committee which had resulted in untrained members remaining on the committee but unable to be appointed to any hearing by a sub-committee. The change would mean that members of the L&R Committee would be unable to sit on the Committee if they had not completed the compulsory training requirements set out in the West Suffolk Licensing Code of Practice, and this would align with the training requirements for those sitting on DCC.

 

It was also considered appropriate to amend the wording of paragraph 3.2 (Delegation of Functions) of the aforementioned section of the Constitution, to that set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report. This would provide additional flexibility within the Constitution to allow the Director for HR, Governance and Regulatory to consult with another trained member of the L&R Committee where the Chair or Vice Chair may be unavailable.

 

Councillor Carol Bull, Portfolio Holder for Governance, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council.

 

On the motion of Councillor Bull, seconded by Councillor Sara Mildmay-White, it was put to the vote and with the vote being 45 for the motion, none against and one abstention, it was

 

Resolved:

 

That Part 3, Section 2 – Responsibility for Council (Non Executive) Functions - Part B (Licensing) of the Constitution be amended to:

           

1.       align the training requirements for members of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee with those for members of the Development Control Committee such that members of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee will be unable to sit on the Committee if they have not completed the compulsory training requirements set out in the West Suffolk Licensing Code of Practice.

 

2.       Change the wording under paragraph 3.2 (Delegation of Functions) of the aforementioned section of the Constitution to that set out within the paragraph 2.1 of Report number: COU/WS/22/023.

 

(Councillor Paul Hopfensperger left the meeting at the conclusion of this item.)

261.

Interim polling places review 2022 (Report number: COU/WS/22/024) pdf icon PDF 139 KB

Report number: COU/WS/22/024

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered this report, which sought approval for an interim review of polling places in the district to be undertaken.

 

The Elections Act 2022 introduced changes which impacted the voting process at polling stations and as a result the Electoral Services Team had undertaken an audit of polling station facilities to make sure they complied.

 

The feedback gathered had identified some polling stations which were not available on 4 May 2023 and some polling stations which did not provide electors with reasonable facilities for voting or were not accessible to electors who were disabled. The list of polling stations was included at Appendix A attached to the report.

 

As a result, an interim polling places review was required and would be focussed only on changes to the polling scheme where venues were no longer available or suitable. The aims of this tailored review, which would be undertaken in accordance with the timetable summarised in paragraph 2.1, would be to:

·         Seek to ensure that all electors had reasonable facilities for voting as were practicable in the circumstances; and

·         Ensure that so far as was reasonable and practicable, every polling place was accessible to electors who had a disability.

 

Given the relatively short timescales involved with preparing for the May 2023 elections, authorisation was also sought to enable the Returning Officer to approve the amended scheme of polling places. This would be undertaken following the completion of a thorough process set out in paragraph 2.3.

 

Councillor Carol Bull, Portfolio Holder for Governance, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, which included responding to the following questions raised:

 

·         that portacabins were no longer used as polling stations

·         it was a legal requirement to ensure disabled access was provided at all polling stations. Discussions would be held with parish councils where their expertise was required to ensure premises designated as a polling station provided the appropriate access and facilities for all disabled people entitled to vote within their parishes.

 

On the motion of Councillor Bull, seconded by Councillor John Burns, it was put to the vote and with the vote being 45 for the motion, none against and no abstentions, it was

 

Resolved: That

 

1.       The commencement of an interim review of polling places, as set out in section 2 of Report number: COU/WS/22/024, be agreed.

2.       The Chief Executive, as Returning Officer, be authorised to approve the amended scheme of polling places, following consultation on proposals with electors and other interested persons and bodies, including elected representatives and those with expertise in relation to access to premises or facilities for disabled people.

262.

Motion on notice

Under section nine of the Council Procedure Rules, Councillor Julia Wakelam has given notice of a motion, as set out below:

 

“Council is asked to note:

 

1.        That there is growing evidence that glyphosate is a higher health risk than previously assumed.  In 2015 the World Health Organisation identified it as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’.  A 2019 study found the use of Roundup increased the risk of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma by 41 percent.

2.        A 2018 study found that glyphosate, the most used agricultural chemical ever, may be contributing to the global decline in bees and other pollinators, both by poisoning them and through loss of habitat.

3.        Glyphosate, and other pesticides, impact on the environment more generally by decreasing biodiversity

4.        Council should also acknowledge the work of the Environment and Climate Change Task Force in this connection.  However, over 30 local authorities in Britain have already decided to ban the use of glyphosate from all their own operations and this Council should take immediate steps to do likewise.

In light of this, Council resolves to ask the officers to follow the precautionary principle and:

 

1.        Pledge to stop the use of glyphosate completely from all its in-house operations (including in Parks and the streetscene) by April 2023 without increasing the use of other chemical weedkillers. If thought absolutely necessary, an exception could be granted regarding the control of Japanese knotweed, or other specified invasive species, where there are currently no effective mechanical techniques available. However, in this case glyphosate will be sparingly sprayed in the case of young soft growth and otherwise it will be stem-injected, rather than sprayed, to reduce its spread in the environment. A Register, open to Members, shall be kept of all areas where glyphosate is used and this will be reported on in the annual Environmental Statement

2.        Officers are instructed not to spray round trees and in other public areas in spring and autumn 2023.  If thought absolutely necessary, then weeds round trees could be removed by other, non chemical, means but ideally they should be left to promote biodiversity.

3.        Early in 2023, officers will embark upon a publicity and awareness campaign explaining why the spring and autumn sprays will not take place and highlighting the benefits to human health and biodiversity of not spraying.  Officers will provide template responses for councillors to respond to residents to assist this campaign.”

 

It has been previously indicated that the motion will be seconded by Councillor Joe Mason.

 

Paragraphs 9.6 to 9.11 of the Council Procedure Rules states:

 

Each member may put one motion on notice at each Council meeting.  A maximum of three motions may be considered at each Council meeting unless the Chair agrees, by virtue of special urgency, that additional motions may be considered. Any motions that cannot be considered at the meeting will be deferred for consideration at a future meeting of Council.

 

The motion on notice can be moved and seconded at the meeting by any member.  If the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 262.

Minutes:

Under section nine of the Council Procedure Rules detailed in the Constitution, Council had been given written notice of a motion submitted by Councillor Julia Wakelam, as set out in the agenda accordingly.

 

The Chair called upon Councillor Wakelam to introduce and move the motion. Councillor Wakelam drew attention to a number of issues relating to the adverse impact that glyphosate, and other pesticides were having on the environment by decreasing biodiversity. By implementing the measures proposed in the motion, she felt the Council would be making a very real contribution to improving the environment and promoting biodiversity. She urged members to support the motion, which was duly seconded by Councillor Joe Mason.

 

The Chair opened the debate and an amendment to the substantive motion was immediately proposed by Councillor Rachel Hood, Chair of the former Environment and Climate Change Taskforce. Councillor Hood highlighted that this was a matter the Taskforce had discussed at length and was included in the Taskforce’s action plan adopted by Cabinet. Emphasis was placed on the fact that a motion was not required to commit to something that was already being done as the Taskforce, and subsequently Cabinet had been very clear that the Council needed to end the use of glyphosate but a viable alternative also needed to be sought. Officers had been testing alternatives and, as announced in the press last week, the Council would be ceasing use of glyphosate for all but the most resistant weeds from 2023.

 

The amendment was as follows as shown by strikethrough of text in the original motion and bold text to show the amended text. The amendment to the substantive motion, which was duly seconded by Councillor Joe Mason, was read out in full by the Monitoring Officer to all persons present:

 

“Council is asked to note:

 

1.       That there is growing evidence that glyphosate is a higher health risk than previously assumed. In 2015 the World Health Organisation identified it as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’. A 2019 study found the use of Roundup increased the risk of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma by 41 percent.

 

2.       A 2018 study found that glyphosate, the most used agricultural chemical ever, may be contributing to the global decline in bees and other pollinators, both by poisoning them and through loss of habitat.

 

3.       Glyphosate, and other pesticides, impact on the environment more generally by decreasing biodiversity.

 

4.       Council should also acknowledge the work of the Environment and Climate Change Task Force in this connection. However, over 30 local authorities in Britain have already decided to ban the use of glyphosate from all their own operations and this Council should take immediate steps to do likewise.

 

In light of this, Councilresolves to ask the officers to follow the precautionary principle and:is asked to note the following action is already committed to by the Portfolio Holder and Cabinet:

 

1.       Pledge to stop the use of glyphosate completely from all its in-house operations (including in Parks and the streetscene) by April 2023  ...  view the full minutes text for item 262.

263.

Any other urgent business

To consider any business, which by reason of special circumstances, should in the opinion of the Chair be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no matters of urgent business considered on this occasion.

 

 

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