Agenda and minutes
Venue: Virtual Meeting only - Facilitated by MS TeamsLive meeting platform
Contact: Claire Skoyles: Democratic Services Officer
Email: claire.skoyles@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Media
Items
No. |
Item |
65. |
Welcome
Minutes:
The Chair formally opened the meeting and
welcomed all persons present including those that were viewing the
meeting externally via the live broadcast, to the Council’s
first virtual meeting of Council.
|
66. |
Remembrance
Minutes:
Before commencing business, all Members were
asked to ensure their microphones were muted and observe a
minute’s silence in respect for the thousands of lives lost
during the Coronavirus pandemic, and to their families and friends
that had been affected by such loss.
Members also joined the Chair in remembrance of former St
Edmundsbury Borough Councillor and Mayor, Stefan Oliver, who had
sadly died recently.
|
67. |
Meeting Facilitation
Minutes:
Leah Mickleborough, Service Manager
(Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officer, was acting as
facilitator for the meeting, and upon being invited to do so by the
Chair, detailed a number of housekeeping matters and guidance to
help those present and viewing to familiarise themselves with how
the meeting would operate within the virtual setting.
|
68. |
Minutes PDF 425 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
25 February 2020 (copy attached).
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 25 February
2020 were confirmed as a correct record.
|
69. |
Chair's Announcements PDF 116 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 25 February 2020 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 25 February 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions,
from mid-March 2020 onwards, attendance was either stopped or held
remotely. Some engagements were starting to be re-introduced for
the Chair and Vice-Chair to attend in person, albeit with COVID-19
safety measures in place.
The Chair took the opportunity to personally
thank West Suffolk Council staff for their sterling efforts in
responding to the impacts of the pandemic. He particularly
acknowledged those that had undertaken additional duties to support
residents and businesses in this unprecedented time of need.
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70. |
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 Michael Anderson, Joe Mason and Robert Nobbs.
In addition, the Chair reported that the Chief
Executive had exercised his urgency powers to grant Councillor
David Gathercole a dispensation which would allow him to be exempt
from attending meetings for the time being due to ill health (see
Minute 79. below). Wishes of good
health were expressed to Councillor Gathercole.
|
71. |
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.
|
72. |
Leader's Statement (Paper No: COU/WS/20/007) PDF 232 KB
Paper No: COU/WS/20/007
Council Procedure Rules 8.1
– 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.
Minutes:
Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the
Council, presented his Leader’s Statement as outlined in
Paper No: COU/WS/20/007.
In his introductory remarks, Councillor
Griffiths:
a. paid tribute to the
lives lost during the Coronavirus pandemic and to former St
Edmundsbury Borough Councillor and Mayor, Stefan Oliver (see Minute
66. above);
b. acknowledged the
outstanding work of NHS staff, other key workers and of West
Suffolk councillors and staff for their tireless efforts during the
pandemic;
c. explained that with
partners, the Council was lobbying Government on fairer funding,
which was particularly critical for West Suffolk Council and other
rural councils for continuing their hard work in tackling the
impacts of COVID-19 and the recovery process;
d. explained the
support the Council, which had exceeded national efforts, had given
to local businesses through the delivery of small business grants
and rate relief to eligible businesses, together with helping
businesses and traders to introduce COVID-19 safety measures in
preparation for re-opening, where appropriate;
e. specifically
recognised the work of the Council’s Families and Communities
team for their support to residents and communities during the
crisis, together with the Town and Parish Councils and raft of
volunteers that had demonstrated effective cohesive partnership
working throughout lockdown and as restrictions began to lift;
f. specifically
recognised the work of the Housing team that had worked tirelessly
to accommodate rough sleepers and persons in need during the
crisis; and
g. Civil Parking
Enforcement (CPE) was now operating as planned across West Suffolk
(and parts of Mid Suffolk and Babergh).
A range of questions were asked of the Leader,
namely:
a. Whether payment
methods utilised by car parking ticket machines were aligned across
West Suffolk car parks and whether risk assessments were undertaken
to ascertain if the means by which payments could be made catered
for all, including those with disabilities or impairments. In
response, Councillor Griffiths, assisted by Councillor Peter
Stevens, Portfolio Holder for Operations, stated that machines were
in line with national standards and whilst compliant, any variances
identified were assessed and mitigated where possible to achieve
consistency across the district. All the Council’s car parks
were independently ‘Park Marked’, which was an award
given under the Safer Parking Scheme for meeting a national
standard aimed at reducing crime, the fear of crime, cleanliness
and accessibility. Ringo could be used in all car parks obviating
the need to interact with a ticket machine.
b. In the context of referring to West Suffolk Council
(WSC) needing to intervene in the last tax year to prevent 393
households from becoming homeless and as the present COVID-19
related moratorium on evictions was due to end on 23 August 2020,
which, unless WSC intervened, would potentially result in 47
households being made homeless, Councillor Clarke asked what
support was being given regarding this matter. A written response would be provided by Councillor
Sara Mildmay-White, Portfolio Holder for Housing, and this would be
shared with all Members in due course.
c.
Councillor Clarke then expressed how he
felt that ...
view the full minutes text for item 72.
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73. |
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.
As the meeting is taking place
virtually, a person who wishes to
speak must register by 9am on Monday 13 July 2020
to ensure that there is time to brief them on how
they can speak at the meeting.
This can be done by sending the request to
democratic.services@westsuffolk.gov.uk or telephoning one of the
numbers provided on the Public Information Sheet at the start of
this agenda. Members of the public will
either be set up as a ‘Guest Speaker’ or provided with
a telephone number they can call when prompted to do so during the
meeting to enable them to participate.
If a member of the public
cannot attend the meeting remotely, they may submit a written
question or statement to Democratic Services by midday at the very
latest on the day of the meeting and this will be read out on their
behalf during the meeting.
Minutes:
There were no members of the public present
within the virtual setting. No members of the public viewing the
live broadcast had registered to speak.
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74. |
Referrals Report of Recommendations from Cabinet
There were no referrals
emanating from the Cabinet meetings held on 26 May 2020 and 23 June
2020.
Minutes:
Council noted that there were no referrals
from Cabinet from the meetings held on 26 May 2020 or 23 June
2020.
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75. |
Pay Policy Statement 2020/2021 (Report No: COU/WS/20/008) PDF 132 KB
This item was due to be considered by Council
on 31 March 2020; however, that meeting was cancelled due to the
impacts of COVID-19.
Report No: COU/WS/20/008
Additional documents:
Minutes:
(Although the Pay
Policy Statement 2020/2021 did not make specific reference to
individual employees' pay, Councillors Richard Alecock and Lisa
Ingwall-King declared pecuniary interests in this item as their
spouses were employed by West Suffolk Council. Both members
remained in the meeting but did not take part in the discussion or
the vote.)
Council considered this report, which sought
approval for the Pay Policy Statement 2020/2021.
The Localism Act 2011 and
supporting guidance provided details of matters that must be
included in this statutory pay policy, but, also, emphasised that
each local authority had the autonomy to take its own decisions on
pay and pay policies. The Pay Policy
Statement must be approved formally by Council each
year. The statement could be amended in
year, must be published on the Council’s website and must be
complied with when setting the terms and conditions of Chief
Officers.
Set out in paragraph 1.2 of the
report, were details of what was included in the Pay Policy
Statement 2020/2021, which was attached at Appendix A.
Councillor Carol Bull,
Portfolio Holder for Governance, drew relevant issues to the
attention of Council. In response to questions, Councillor Bull
stated that the Council was significantly below the national
average pay ratio and in Suffolk, of the data sourced, West
Suffolk’s ratio compared extremely well with only Ipswich
Borough Council faring better. She added that in respect of whether
the same differential increase between the national living wage and
the Council’s minimum pay of £9.00 per hour that was
awarded last year would be added this year and if this would also
be applicable to the under 25’s was subject to
review.
In the context of
the provision of figures within the Pay Policy Statement 2020/2021
relating to whether a gender pay gap was evident within the
Council, Councillor Karen Soons asked Councillor Bull whether any
figures were available in respect of a potential
diversity/ethnicity pay gap. A
written response would be provided by Councillor Bull and this
would be shared with all Members in due course.
On the motion of Councillor Carol Bull,
seconded by Councillor Patrick Chung, it was put to the vote and
with the vote being 56 for the motion, 1 against and 2 abstentions,
it was
RESOLVED:
That the Pay Policy Statement
for 2020/2021, as detailed in Appendix A to Report No:
COU/WS/20/008, be approved.
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76. |
Amendments to the Constitution (Report No: COU/WS/20/009) PDF 164 KB
This item, which includes recommendations from
the Constitution Review Group, was due to be considered by Council
on 31 March 2020; however, that meeting was cancelled due to the
impacts of COVID-19.
Report No: COU/WS/20/009
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Council considered this report, which sought
approval for a number of amendments to
the Council’s Constitution.
The Constitution Review Group met periodically
to review the effectiveness of the Constitution, which following
adoption by West Suffolk Shadow Council, came into effect for the
creation of West Suffolk Council on 1 April 2019. The Review Group
was established to identify any areas that could be developed
further to improve the way the Council made decisions while
ensuring that processes remained efficient and transparent.
Councillor Carol Bull, Portfolio Holder for
Governance, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council,
including that the Constitution Review Group was satisfied that the
Constitution was generally operating as intended. However, the
Group was suggesting changes should be made in the following
areas:
a. The procedure for
handling Motions on Notice: as proposed in Appendix A;
b. Adding a standing
agenda item in respect of ‘Declarations of Interests’
at meetings: as set out in paragraphs 2.7 and 2.8;
c. Gambling Act Scheme
of Delegation: as proposed in Appendix B; and
d. Delegation Panel
Notification: as set out in paragraphs 2.12 and 2.13.
It was noted that if approved, the changes
would take effect immediately, therefore the handling of the motion
on notice contained later on the agenda
at Item 12. would be considered in accordance with the new
procedure set out in Appendix A.
On the motion of Councillor Carol Bull,
seconded by Councillor Diane Hind, it was put to the vote and with
the vote being unanimous, it was
RESOLVED:
That with immediate effect:
1. the revised
procedure for Motions on Notice in the Council Procedure Rules, as
attached at Appendix A to Report No: COU/WS/20/009, be
approved;
2. the adding of
“declaration of interests” as a standing item on all
committee and Cabinet meeting agendas, be approved;
3. the revisions to the
Gambling Act Scheme of Delegation, as attached at Appendix B to
Report No: COU/WS/20/009, be approved; and
4. it be agreed to
remove the requirement for officers to call Parish / Town Councils
within two days of a Delegation Panel meeting taking place.
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77. |
West Suffolk Annual Scrutiny Report: 2019/2020 (Report No: COU/WS/20/010) PDF 356 KB
Paragraph 7.5.1 of Article 7 of the
Council’s Constitution requires that:
‘The Overview and
Scrutiny Committee and the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee
must report annually to the Council on their workings and make
recommendations for future work programmes and amended working
methods if appropriate’.
Report No: COU/WS/20/010
Minutes:
Council received and noted the West Suffolk
Annual Scrutiny Report for 2019/2020.
Article 7 of the Council’s Constitution
required that ‘the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee and Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee must report
annually to the Council on their workings and make recommendations
for future work programmes and amended working methods if
appropriate.’
Councillor David Nettleton, Chair of the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2019/2020, drew relevant issues
to the attention of Council. He placed
his thanks on record to the Committee, its Parking Review Group and
to Cabinet during his appointment as Chair, and acknowledged the
work of officers that had supported him and the Committee, with
particular recognition given to Christine Brain, Democratic
Services Officer (Scrutiny), and to Darren Dixon, Service Manager
(Property) and Rachael Mann, Assistant Director (Resources and
Performance) for their support with the parking review.
Councillor Brian Harvey, Chair of the Council
and Councillor Ian Shipp, present Chair of the Overview and
Scrutiny Committee, placed their thanks on record to Councillor
Nettleton for his informative report and for his Chairmanship of
the Committee during 2019/2020.
Councillor Ian Houlder,
Chair of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, drew
attention to the specific work of that Committee and its two
sub-committees. He placed his thanks on record to the Committee and
to Rachael Mann, Assistant Director (Resources and Performance) and
to her teams in Finance and Internal Audit for their continuing
support.
No questions were asked.
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78. |
The Use of Chief Executive Urgency Powers during COVID-19 (Report No: COU/WS/20/011) PDF 139 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Council received and noted this report, which
summarised a number of decisions taken
by the Chief Executive during the COVID-19 crisis by exercising his
urgency powers.
The COVID-19 pandemic required
the Council to work rapidly to respond to the emerging threat, and
associated Government guidance, as the situation evolved.
In the vast majority of
cases, officers throughout the organisation were empowered through
the Council’s business continuity plans and scheme of
delegation to make decisions to support the Council’s
response. This enabled the Council to
continue to deliver vital services to its communities whilst
ensuring appropriate measures were taken to safeguard staff and our
stakeholders.
In a small number of cases,
decisions had to be taken that fell outside the scope of the scheme
of delegation, or the terms under which decisions were delegated to
officers, and therefore it was necessary to employ the Chief
Executive’s Urgency Powers, as set out in Part 3 of the
Constitution.
Some urgent decisions taken by
the Chief Executive that fell within the scope of
‘executive’ functions, were reported to Cabinet on 26
May 2020. The report presented at this meeting, informed of those
decisions that were ‘non-executive’ (Council-led) in
nature, as follows:
Appendix
A: To exempt Councillor David Gathercole from
attending a meeting of Council until 31 December 2020, or until he
was able to do so, whichever was sooner
Appendix
B: To grant planning permission for the construction of a skatepark
in Newmarket
Appendix
C: To appoint Councillor Ian Shipp as Chair of the Overview and
Scrutiny Committee
Appendix
D: To make modifications to the Statement of Community
Involvement
Councillor John Griffiths,
Leader of the Council, drew relevant issues to the attention of
Council.
The Chair wished to place his
sincere thanks on record to Councillor Griffiths and specifically
to Ian Gallin, Chief Executive and to his team for the ongoing
response of the Council to this extremely fast moving,
unprecedented crisis
situation.
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79. |
Motion on Notice
Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the
Council, has given notice under the Council Procedure Rules of the
following motion. The motion will be seconded by Councillor Ian
Shipp, Leader of the Independent Group and Chair of the Overview
and Scrutiny Committee:
Motion of Thanks for
those who have supported the efforts in West Suffolk in response to
the Coronavirus outbreak
The motion is proposed as follows:
“That West
Suffolk Council gives its thanks to all those that have supported
the efforts across West Suffolk to respond to the Coronavirus
outbreak”.
This includes thanks to the Council’s
staff, who have risen to the challenge magnificently, finding new
ways of working to deliver support to our residents and businesses
when they have needed it the most.
We would like to pay tribute to all those
people in our communities who have worked tirelessly within our
towns and villages to help each other.
Whether that be a village shop that has made vital deliveries to
vulnerable residents stuck at home, those individuals who have
queued at pharmacies to collect life saving prescriptions or Parish
and Town Councils and community groups who have set up support
networks to ensure people know they have someone they can call on
in their time of need.
We recognise and value the hard work and
dedication of our partner organisations to support communities in
their time of need. Whether that be
charitable organisations who have advised and supported individuals
and their families or business groups, the work of carers and
members of staff of the social services team at Suffolk County
Council, or business support groups that have mobilised to advise
and support each other as the challenge of safe social distancing
has arisen.
We welcome the work undertaken by many key
workers throughout our area such as teachers who have kept schools
open to help other key workers and staff in local shops and
supermarkets who have continued to service customers or adapted the
way they work to respond.
Finally, we would like to particularly to pay
tribute to the wonderful NHS staff throughout West Suffolk who have
provided services with dignity and care during the greatest
challenge the service has faced in its history.
We are very proud and humbled by the efforts
of everyone doing such a great job, while supporting themselves and
their families through a very difficult time.
Minutes:
Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the
Council, had given notice under the Council Procedure Rules of the
Constitution of a motion set out in the agenda. The motion would be
seconded by Councillor Ian Shipp, Leader of the Independent Group
and Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The motion was to give thanks to those who had
supported the efforts in West Suffolk in response to the
Coronavirus outbreak, the terms of which were contained in the
agenda.
Members noted that earlier in the meeting
under Agenda Item 9, Council approved recommendations relating to
making amendments to the Constitution. These were to be effective
immediately, which meant the procedure rules regarding the handling
of motions on notice had changed. The Chair invited Leah
Mickleborough, Monitoring Officer and facilitator for the meeting,
to reiterate how the rules had changed, as set out in Appendix A to
Report No: COU/WS/20/009.
Councillor Griffiths was duly invited to put
his motion, which included reiterating his sincere thanks to a raft
of organisations, volunteers and individuals across West Suffolk,
as well as the NHS and key workers for their responses to the
crisis.
Councillor Ian Shipp was duly invited to
second the motion, where he added his thanks to a similar extensive
range of organisations, volunteers and individuals that had
provided truly outstanding contributions to their communities in
response to the outbreak. He expressed his pride at being a
councillor and resident of West Suffolk as he witnessed the
excellent co-ordination and partnership working to support those in
need.
In accordance with the new procedure rules for
handling motions on notice, the first five Members that had
indicated a wish to speak on the motion were invited to do so for
three minutes in turn. Each acknowledged the outstanding work of
specific organisations, volunteers and individuals within their own
wards and across West Suffolk as a whole.
Specifically, Councillor Mary Evans drew
attention to the meaning of ‘sustainable communities’
and how this was often termed in relation to buildings and service
provision; however, since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis,
communities across a range of populated areas including those in
very small hamlets had demonstrated resilience and cohesiveness
which had made them ‘sustainable’.
On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths,
seconded by Councillor Ian Shipp, it was put to the vote and with
the vote being unanimous, it was
RESOLVED:
That West Suffolk Council gives its thanks to
all those that have supported the efforts across West Suffolk to
respond to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Supporting text:
This includes thanks to the Council’s
staff, who have risen to the challenge magnificently, finding new
ways of working to deliver support to our residents and businesses
when they have needed it the most.
We would like to pay tribute to all those
people in our communities who have worked tirelessly within our
towns and villages to help each other.
Whether that be a village shop that has made vital deliveries to
vulnerable residents stuck at home, those ... view
the full minutes text for item 79.
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80. |
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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81. |
Conclusion
Minutes:
On conclusion of the meeting, the Chair
thanked all present for their attendance at this first virtual
meeting of Council. The live broadcast subsequently ended at this
point.
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