Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Democratic Services
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Apologies Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies had been received from Councillors Ray Theodoulou, Rachel Coxcoon, Roly Hughes and Steve Trotter |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members and Officers, relating to items to be considered at the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no Declarations of Interest from Members
There were no Declarations of Interest from Officers |
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To confirm the minutes of the meeting of Council held on Wednesday 16th November 2022. Additional documents: Minutes: Minutes of Council 16 November 2022 were considered and a small number of typographical errors had been reported and corrected.
The Chair stated that the introduction of Electronic Voting would enable the number of Councillors voting to be seen as how they had voted.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED the Minutes of Council 16 November 2022 as a correct record, subject to the correction of minor errors being made.
Voting Record – For 30, Against 0, Abstentions 0, Absent 4, |
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Announcements from the Chair, Leader of Chief Executive (if any) Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair welcomed all Members, Officers and Members of the Public watching in person and on-line and introduced the Officers present.
The Chair provided an overview of how the Council meeting would be conducted and the protocols and conventions that would be observed when items were being discussed and voted upon.
The Chair and Councillor Tony Berry sent best wishes on behalf of all Members to to Councillor Ray Theodoulou, a devoted and long serving and resilient Councillor who could not attend Council due to poor health.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris, added his best wishes to Councillor Theodoulou on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group and congratulated council Officer Caleb Harris on his appointment as Senior Democratic Services Officer.
The Leader of the Council provided an update on the Shared Prosperity Fund that the UK Government had provided to replace some of the European Union Funding that was no longer available. Council was provided with details of a number of projects that would benefit from the total fund of £1m that that would be provided over 3 years.
The Leader of the Council also referred to the ‘Devolution Agenda’ and how the Council would work with Gloucestershire County Council to take advantage of any benefits that this may be realised.
The Chief Executive echoed his best wishes to Councillor Theodoulou and congratulations to Senior Democratic Services Officer Caleb Harris. |
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Public Questions To deal with questions from the public within the open forum question and answer session of fifteen minutes in total. Questions from each member of the public should be no longer than two minutes each and relate to issues under the Council’s or Committee’s remit. Additional documents: Minutes: QUESTION 1a: from Mr Gibson, to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance: Mr Gibson stated that he had questions from the Council’s 2022/2023 accounts. Could you please explain the payment of £130,000 listed in the Council’s accounts spread over January , February and March to Aldi Store Ltd, and also a payment of £2200 to Market Garden marked against ‘Christmas gifts’?
RESPONSE 1a: from the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance. The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for finance stated that 2022/2023 was the current year and as such February and March payments did not yet exist, however the Chief Finance Officer would investigate the Council’s accounts to identify the items referred to and a written response would be provided.
QUESTION 1b: from Mr Gibson, to the Leader of the Council Mr Gibson stated that at the last Council meeting, a member of the Public raised a question about the autumn issue of Cotswold News, which had cost taxpayers about £15,000, and was completely full of stories about Liberal Democrat characters, in short a Lib Dem document. The Leader of the Council had refuted this and claimed that other political parties had been given the opportunity to contribute but Mr Gibson stated this had been completely rejected by the other groups. In the coming spring issue, cross party stories had been re-introduced along with the Members Directory with their contact details. Why this change of heart, and do you now admit that the last issue was biased and you were wrong in excluding the other political groups and their information?
RESPONSE 1b: from the Leader of the Council On behalf of the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services responded by rejecting the claim that Cotswold News was biased, and stated that it was a fantastic way of communicating with all Cotswold residents, especially those hardest to reach. The last edition had focussed on the Cost of Living Crisis and had provided important information where support and advice could be found. The Cabinet member expressed surprise that Mr Gibson had received early details of the content of the spring edition, as an outline draft had only recently become available, and confirmed Cotswold News would continue to contain a wide variety of stories from a variety of authors that would be of interest to Cotswold residents.
QUESTION 2a: from Mrs Hilditch to the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning Mrs Hilditch stated that it was recognised that the Administration had signed up to the Climate Energy Emergency and the Clean and Green Agenda, and stated that in the current digital age where most people have a computer, it was surprising that so much was being spent by CDC on paper and printing e.g. £12,000 on photocopier paper, £50,000 on photocopying, £4,000 on shredding paper and £60,000 on external printers: a total of £127,000 and local taxpayers were footing this bill through Council Taxes. Can you not consume less, or consume better?
RESPONSE 2a: ... view the full minutes text for item 63. |
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The following questions have been submitted:
Question from Councillor Julia Judd to Councillor Lisa Spivey, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services
The Calendar option associated with our email accounts, can quickly schedule meetings and events and get reminders about upcoming activities, so you always know what's next. Calendar is designed for teams, this Council, both officers and members, is a perfect model for its use. It makes it easy to share schedules with others, is easy to navigate and can be viewed by day, week, or month. One of the main advantages is its sharing abilities and it's easy use from mobile phones.
Calendar tells us who has been invited, where the meeting is, who has accepted and could give us quick and easy access to documents and attachments, if they are attached. Amendments made by the host are automatically fed through. The Calendar facility makes appointments and meeting arrangements faultless, easy to manage and efficient.
It would be helpful if all officers are trained to use Calendar for all invitations, appointments and meetings and desist from sending just email invitations. All the meetings on the Council’s Website Calendar of Meetings link should feed through to members’ personal calendars where appropriate. Email reminders are automatically generated directly from Calendar, firstly when the invitation is generated and then when amendments are made, saving the need to ‘double deal’, and reducing human error.
Question from Councillor Sue Jepson to Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council
In the Peer Review report, they state that staff morale is really low. Over many months/years the Conservative group has questioned you about staff morale and the constant turnover since 2019. Cllr Harris, you have always stated that staff morale is good and that there are no problems, very happy or words to that effect.
Will you please agree now we have questioned this many times and now the peer review has highlighted the situation.
Question from Councillor Gina Blomefield to Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council
It was very interesting to read through the Peer Group Review report and whilst other members will also be picking up on other aspects contained within it, I would like to highlight the difficulties noted that Members can experience in getting their casework progressed due to the lack of clarity around prioritisation and timescales for responses to their queries on behalf of a resident. I am sure we all have experienced this at some point and indeed discovering the most appropriate officer to approach on a particular problem can also lead to delays in obtaining an answer for the resident concerned.
Will the system of how queries by Members are prioritised and timescales for responses be addressed as a matter of urgency so that all officers have an understanding of this framework?
Question from Councillor Stephen Andrews to Councillor Jenny Forde, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing and Armed Forces Champion
In November last year, following extensive consultation with service providers, the Government published Statutory Guidance on how ... view the full agenda text for item 64. Additional documents: Minutes: Question 1 from Councillor Julia Judd to Councillor Lisa Spivey, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services The Calendar option associated with our email accounts, can quickly schedule meetings and events and get reminders about upcoming activities, so you always know what's next. Calendar is designed for Teams, and at this Council, both officers and members, use this so it is perfect model to use. It makes it easy to share schedules with others, is easy to navigate and can be viewed by day, week, or month. One of the main advantages is its sharing abilities and it's easy use from mobile phones. Calendar tells us who has been invited, where the meeting is, who has accepted and could give us quick and easy access to documents and attachments, if they are attached. Amendments made by the host are automatically fed through. The Calendar facility makes appointments and meeting arrangements faultless, easy to manage and efficient. It would be helpful if all officers are trained to use Calendar for all invitations, appointments and meetings and desist from sending just email invitations. All the meetings on the Council’s Website Calendar of Meetings link should feed through to members’ personal calendars where appropriate. Email reminders are automatically generated directly from Calendar, firstly when the invitation is generated and then when amendments are made, saving the need to ‘double deal’, and reducing human error.
Response 1 from Councillor Lisa Spivey, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services to Councillor Judd I’m not quite sure what the question is. This appears to be a statement of opinion on particular IT software.Officers are well-aware of the calendar function as it is a core part of managing day to day tasks and responsibilities. All members have been sent invites to their calendar for meetings of Council, and Committee Members have been sent the dates for meetings to the end of this current Council year. The new meeting dates for 2023/24 will be made available on the Council’s website shortly. These can be downloaded directly into members Google Suite calendar from the website (there is a link above the calendar of meetings). For Member briefings provided by officers, these invites are sent with 4-6 weeks of notice unless there are external timescales which prevent this from happening. There is a system in place for officers to request additional training if required.
Question 2 from Councillor Sue Jepson to Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council In the Peer Review report, they state that staff morale is really low. Over many months/years the Conservative group has questioned you about staff morale and the constant turnover since 2019. Cllr Harris, you have always stated that staff morale is good and that there are no problems, very happy or words to that effect. Will you please agree now we have questioned this many times and now the peer review has highlighted the situation.
Response 2 from Councillor Joe Harris the Leader of the Council to Councillor Jepson The Council and Publica acknowledge the ... view the full minutes text for item 64. |
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Purpose To consider the Local Government Association’s Feedback Report and to note the Action Plan that details how the recommendations within the report will be implemented.
Recommendations That Council: · Notes the Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback Report at annex A · Approves the Action Plan detailed at annex B. Additional documents:
Minutes: The purpose of the report was to enable Council to consider the Local Government Association’s Feedback Report and to note the Action Plan that details how the recommendations within the report would be implemented.
Councillor Joe Harris, the Leader of The Council introduced the report that provided feedback from the Council’s recent external Peer Review and the recommendations within its Action Plan.
Council noted that this was the second Peer Review conducted during the term of the current Administration.
Council noted that the key recommendations from the previous (2019) review had been implemented these included: developing a comprehensive Corporate Plan, strengthened the Senior Leadership Team and development of a Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)
Council welcomed the recent Peer Review report that both recognised areas of good practice as well as identifying issues and areas requiring improvement.
Some Council expressed concern that, should the Administration or the Executive not agree with any of the ‘areas or issues requiring improvement’, it was unlikely that these issues would be addressed or resolved.
Council noted the report compared a variety of CDC services and measurements with 15 similar councils across the UK and this had shown strong performance with External Communications, Waste Collection and Recycling and Affordable Housing, but less well with Council Tax and NNDR collection and Planning Applications.
Council noted that the Peer Review recommended that the relationship between CDC and Publica needed to be reviewed and more clearly defined and understood.
Council noted that it was important that a good relationship should exist between CDC and Gloucestershire County Council, and ongoing effort should be made to ensure this partnership continued and was strengthened.
Council noted the importance of the Overview and Scrutiny committee in providing an ongoing review of the Council and Administrations policies, decisions and performance.
The Council recognised the value of regular Peer Reviews acting in the role of an external ‘critical friend’ and dispassionately reviewing Council’s culture policies and performance.
Council recognised that there were issues with poor morale and recommended that the Employee Recognition Scheme was relaunched to enable Officers’ exceptional work to be recognised. The Chief Executive stated that this was already underway and in the next week staff would be invited to recommend their colleagues for additional recognition.
RESOLVED: That Council noted the Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback Report at annex A and APPROVED the Action Plan detailed at annex B.
Voting Record – For 19 , Against 0, Abstentions 8, Absent 0, |
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Draft Programme of Meetings - Follow up report Purpose To set a programme of Council and committee meetings for 2023-24.
Recommendation That Council resolves to: Agree to holding a meeting of the Planning and Licensing Committee on 19 April 2023
Additional documents:
Minutes: The purpose of the report was to set the programme of Council and Committee meetings for 2023-24.
Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council introduced the report and summarised the reasons for holding an additional Planning and Licensing Committee meeting in April 2023.
Council noted that the start time of future Planning and Licensing Committee meetings would be 2.00pm.
Council requested start times of all committee meetings should be included with dates in all meeting plans and schedules. Democratic Services agreed that this would be done.
Council noted that Planning and Licensing Site Inspection Briefings would usually take place one week before committee meetings.
Council noted that Planning and Licensing Committees were not political meetings and the Chair did not permit political discourse to take place during the committee.
RESOLVED: That Council AGREED to holding a meeting of the Planning and Licensing Committee on 19 April 2023.
Voting Record – For 27, Against 0, Abstention 0, Absent 1, |
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Amendments to the Constitution Purpose To consider proposals from the Constitution Working Group for amendments to the Constitution to adopt –
· Amended Articles 7, 8 and 9 to remove the requirement for each political group to provide an annual statement that demonstrates the necessary freedom of its Members from the whipping process on these Committees; · Amended Council Procedure Rules to include electronic voting and changes to public questions; · Approve the Protocol for Electronic Voting for inclusion in the Constitution; · Approve the Protocol for Cabinet Member Decision Making for inclusion in the Constitution.
Recommendations That Council resolves to:
a) agree that the following Articles of the Constitution:- Article 7, The Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Article 8, The Audit Committee, and, Article 9, The Planning and Licensing Committee, are amended with immediate effect to remove the requirement for each political group to present to the Proper Officer, at the start of each municipal year, a statement that demonstrates the necessary freedom of its Members from the whipping process on these Committees.
b) approve the amended Council Procedure Rules (section 16) incorporating the provision for electronic voting.
c) approve the Protocol for Electronic Voting for inclusion in the Constitution.
d) approve the amended Council Procedure Rules (section 10) changing the management of public questions.
e) approve the Cabinet Member Decision Meeting Protocol for inclusion in the Constitution.
f) delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to make minor and consequential amendments to the Constitution. Additional documents:
Minutes: The purpose of the report was to enable Council to consider proposals from the Constitution Working Group for amendments to the Constitution and in particular to adopt, amended Articles 7, 8 and 9 to remove the requirement for each political group to provide an annual statement that demonstrates the necessary freedom of its Members from the whipping process on these Committees, amended Council Procedure Rules to include electronic voting and changes to public questions, approve the Protocol for Electronic Voting for inclusion in the Constitution and approve the Protocol for Cabinet Member Decision Making for inclusion in the Constitution.
Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council introduced the report and summarised the recommendations of the Constitution Working Group following their work updating the Constitution, and proposed an amendment to the original recommendations regarding Electronic Voting and how Public Questions would be handled at Council, Cabinet and Committee Meetings.
Council noted that the recommendation to improve openness and transparency by making Individual Cabinet Member Decision Meetings public was made following consultation with other Councils.
Council noted that the word ‘ORAL’ more accurately described questions that were spoken and would therefore replace ‘VERBAL’ in the recommendation.
Council noted that the aim of permitting only oral questions at Council, Cabinet and Committee Meetings was to simplify the Public Questions process and encourage public engagement.
Council noted that the Constitution Working Group would be asked to consider options for Public Questions from those unable to attend meetings in person.
Councillor Joe Harris proposed and Councillor Mike Evemy seconded that the following amendments to Agenda item 9: ‘Amendments to the Constitution’ should be agreed
*RESOLVED: Council AGREED the following Amendment to Agenda item 9: Amendments to the Constitution
A. Amendment to the proposal on Public Questions: 10.1 Open forum questions at Council, Cabinet and Committees Members
of the public may ask An
answer to an ORAL question
B Amendment to the protocol for Electronic Voting: E10: DRAFT Protocol for Electronic Voting Electronic Voting,
where available, will be used when votes are taken on resolutions
at meetings of Cabinet, |
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Purpose To approve a number of general dispensations to councillors under the Localism Act 2011 for a period of four years.
Recommendation(s) That Council resolves to approve, under Section 33 of the Localism Act 2022, the general dispensations listed at paragraph 2.1, for all elected members and co-opted members of Cotswold District Council, until 17 January 2027. Additional documents: Minutes: The purpose of the report was to approve a number of general dispensations to Members under the Localism Act 2011 for a period of four years.
Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council introduced the report that recommended an update to the Constitution to enable Members to make decisions and vote on recommendations when they could not fully declare ‘no pecuniary interest’ e.g. vote on Council Tax changes whilst being a Council Tax payer.
Council noted that the Dispensations did not remove the requirement for all Members to declare a pecuniary interest when this was required.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to approve, under Section 33 of the Localism Act 2022, the general dispensations listed at paragraph 2.1, for all elected members and co-opted members of Cotswold District Council, until 17 January 2027.
Voting Record – For 30, Against 0, Abstentions 0, Absent 0, |
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Notice of Motions In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12, the following Motions have been received:-
Motion Regarding the Climate and Ecology Bill
Proposed by Councillor Nikki Ind, and seconded by Councillor Andrew Maclean
Humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt in the UK and around the world. The global temperature has already increased by 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels, and the natural world has reached crisis point, with 28% of plants and animals (ICUN Red List) threatened with extinction. Climate change Unless we drastically change course, the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit. Pledges, such as the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Pact—and updated emissions targets—are not legally-binding. This gap between pledges and policy leaves the world on course for catastrophic warming of near 3°C (Climate Action Tracker). Following the “now or never” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in April 2022, the UN Secretary General António Guterres stated that “we are on a fast track to climate disaster. This is not fiction or exaggeration. It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies”. In addition, the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy stated that “if we fail to limit global warming to 1.5°C, we risk reaching climatic tipping points, we could lose control of our climate for good”. The 1.5°C goal is ‘on life support’ and only ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities will help us realise it. Biodiversity loss The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world (WWF). More than one in seven of our plants and animals face extinction, and more than 40% are in decline. We therefore welcome the Leaders' Pledge for Nature, signed by the UK Government, which states that—if we fail to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030—we increase the risk of further pandemics, rising global temperatures and loss of species. In order to achieve this, the UK needs a legally-enforceable nature target so that, by 2030, nature is visibly and measurably on the path of recovery—in line with the Global Goal for Nature(Nature Positive). Cotswold District Council notes that: The Climate and Ecology Bill—which has been introduced in the UK Parliament on several occasions since 2020—would require the development of a strategy to ensure that the UK’s environmental response is in line with the latest science. The strategy would ensure that: · the ecological crisis is tackled shoulder to shoulder with the climate crisis via a joined-up approach; · the Paris Agreement aim is enshrined into law to ensure that the UK does its full and fair share to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C; · we halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 to ensure that the UK’s ecosystems are protected and restored; · the UK takes responsibility for its greenhouse gas footprint, including international aviation and shipping—and by accounting for consumption emissions related to the goods and services that are imported ... view the full agenda text for item 69. Additional documents: Minutes: Humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt in the UK and around the world. The global temperature has already increased by 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels, and the natural world has reached crisis point, with 28% of plants and animals (ICUN Red List) threatened with extinction. Climate change Unless we drastically change course, the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit. Pledges, such as the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Pact—and updated emissions targets—are not legally-binding. This gap between pledges and policy leaves the world on course for catastrophic warming of near 3°C (Climate Action Tracker). Following the “now or never” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in April 2022, the UN Secretary General António Guterres stated that “we are on a fast track to climate disaster. This is not fiction or exaggeration. It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies”.In addition, the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy stated that “if we fail to limit global warming to 1.5°C, we risk reaching climatic tipping points, we could lose control of our climate for good”. The 1.5°C goal is ‘on life support’ and only ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities will help us realise it. Biodiversity loss The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world (WWF). More than one in seven of our plants and animals face extinction, and more than 40% are in decline. We therefore welcome the Leaders' Pledge for Nature, signed by the UK Government, which states that—if we fail to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030—we increase the risk of further pandemics, rising global temperatures and loss of species. In order to achieve this, the UK needs a legally-enforceable nature target so that, by 2030, nature is visibly and measurably on the path of recovery—in line with the Global Goal for Nature (Nature Positive). Cotswold District Council notes that: The Climate and Ecology Bill—which has been introduced in the UK Parliament on several occasions since 2020—would require the development of a strategy to ensure that the UK’s environmental response is in line with the latest science. The strategy would ensure that: · the ecological crisis is tackled shoulder to shoulder with the climate crisis via a joined-up approach; · the Paris Agreement aim is enshrined into law to ensure that the UK does its full and fair share to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C; · we halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 to ensure that the UK’s ecosystems are protected and restored; · the UK takes responsibility for its greenhouse gas footprint, including international aviation and shipping—and by accounting for consumption emissions related to the goods and services that are imported and consumed in the UK; · the UK takes responsibility for its ecological footprint in order to better protect the health and resilience of ecosystems—including along domestic and global supply chains; and · an independent, ... view the full minutes text for item 69. |
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Next meeting The next meeting of Full Council will be on Wednesday 15th February 2023 at 6pm Additional documents: Minutes: 15 February 6.00pm |