Agenda and minutes
PDF 292 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Trinity Road, Cirencester
Contact: Democratic Services
Media
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Apologies Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Lisa Spivey, Claire Bloomer, David Cunningham, Richard Keeling and Roly Hughes. |
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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: Angela Claridge, Interim Monitoring Officer declared an interest in agenda item 8 ‘Appointment of Monitoring Officer’. She would leave the room when this item was discussed by Council.
Councillor Clive Webster declared an interest as the CDC representative to the Cotswold National Landscape Board. The Interim Monitoring Officer confirmed that Councillor Webster could participate in discussions during agenda item 7 where this organisation was referenced.
Councillor Stephen Andrews declared an interest as the CDC representative of the Cotswold Canal Partnership Board. The Interim Monitoring Officer confirmed that Councillor Andrews could participate in discussions during agenda item 7 where this organisation was referenced.
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To confirm the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 22 September 2021. Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2021 were agreed as a true record subject to the following amendments:
Minute number 31: The word ‘exasperated’ should read ‘exacerbated’.
At page 12 of the minutes, item E, Councillor Jenny Forde expressed a view that where motions are discussed, the comments of the Councillor proposing the motion are captured appropriately.
Members noted the importance of capturing the wording of any resolutions agreed at the meeting if different from the recommendations outlined in reports.
Council noted that e-mails had been sent to all Members in relation to the proposal to move the November 2021 Council date so that the meeting instead took place on 15 December. The discussions held in relation to this matter were not had as part of a Council meeting, but were facilitated via e-mail following the completion of the September 2021 Council meeting.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2021 were agreed as a true record subject to the above amendments being made.
Record of Voting – for: 27, against: 0, abstentions: 2, absent: 5. |
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Announcements from the Chair, Leader or Chief Executive (if any) Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair of the Council, Councillor Dilys Neill welcomed Members, Officers and those public present and watching the meeting online to the meeting.
The Chair of the Council outlined the importance of brevity.
Members noted that agenda item 9 ‘Cotswold District Council Draft Schedule of Meetings 2022-23’ would be deferred to the 19 January 2022 Council meeting so that further work could be undertaken to ensure that the 2022-23 schedule of meetings avoided clashes other events/meetings wherever possible. This decision had been taken following the agreement of the Chair of Council, the Leader of the Council, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Executive.
The following announcements were made by the Chair of the Council:
Members noted that the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer wished to inform the Council that due to the illness of a key member of the external audit team, it would not be possible to issue the external audit opinion on the Council’s 2020-21 statement of accounts before Christmas 2021.
Council noted that the external auditor had provided a form of words which outlined that that there no issues with the draft statement of accounts. The Deputy Chief Executive would keep Members informed of the progress in relation to this matter during the early stages of 2022.
The Council noted the tributes to former CDC Councillor Tim Royle made by the Chair of Council, Councillor Dilys Neill.
Councillor Sue Jepson also paid tribute to former CDC Councillor Tim Royle.
The Chair of Council also paid tribute to Sir David Amess following his tragic murder.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris paid tribute to Sir David Amess, acknowledging the threats posed to elected officials at all levels across the United Kingdom and emphasised the importance of Members taking all necessary precautions to remain safe as they served their communities.
The Chief Executive paid tribute to former CDC Officer Sally Davies who had recently passed away who would be sadly missed by all of her colleagues. Members noted the words provided by two of Sally’s former line managers praising her personality and all of the work undertaken during her service to the Council.
The Leader of the Council also paid tribute to former CDC Officer Sally Davies.
The Leader wished to place on record his congratulations to Councillor Tony Berry on being appointed as the new Leader of the Conservative Group and placed on record his thanks to Councillor Richard Morgan for all of the work he had undertaken whilst serving as the previous Conservative Group Leader.
The Chief Executive wished to place on record his thanks to all CDC and Publica employees long with all Members for all of their work in supporting him over the previous 12 months which had been made more challenging due to the continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following completion of the tributes and announcements, the meeting attendees rose to observe a minute’s silence to former CDC Councillor Tim Royle, Sir David Amess and former ... view the full minutes text for item 40. |
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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. Any member of the public wishing to ask a public question is requested to contact Democratic Services by no later than 5.00pm the working day before the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: Mr Gibson attended the meeting to pose two questions which had not been submitted in advance of the meeting.
The first question related to a complaint which Mr Gibson had submitted on 2 October and was directed to the Chief Executive, Rob Weaver. Mr Gibson requested that a response was provided by Mr Weaver at the meeting.
The Interim Monitoring Officer informed the meeting that it was unusual for members of the public to pose questions directly to Officers at Council meetings. Standard practice was that public questions should be directed to Elected Members as they were the democratically elected representatives of residents.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris informed Mr Gibson that a written response to the points made by him at the meeting would be provided.
The second question related to funding in relation to road repairs and was directed to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris.
Councillor Harris informed Mr Gibson that the responsibility for the maintenance of highways within the District lay with Gloucestershire County Council. Mr Gibson was informed he would receive an appropriate response if he directed the question to the County Council.
Mr David Fowles attended the meeting to pose two questions which had not been submitted in advance of the meeting.
The first question related to the Council spend on the rugby club car park which in Mr Fowles’ view was not being used. The question was directed to the Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Mike Evemy.
Councillor Evemy informed the Council that the car park became available for use in early 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Members noted was the car park would be made available on a permit holder basis only. Due to low demand for the car park due to the pandemic, the car park was now available for public use. A report on Council car park fees and charges would be considered by the Cabinet in January 2022.
The second question related to the relationship between Elected Members and Officers where Mr Fowles requested specific information on the number of staff who had left the Council since May 2019, how many of these staff had had their posts terminated, how many new posts which had been created as a result and the total cost of these changes to Council tax payers.
Councillor Evemy informed the Council that he did not recognise the statement that Council staff worked in fear. The overall portfolio responsibility for Council staff rested with the Leader of the Council who would respond with the factual information information requested by Mr Fowles. The Council worked closely with Publica to ensure that the Council was a great place to work.
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Member Questions The following questions have been submitted:
Question from Councillor Sue Jepson to Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council:
As you know, one of the statutory responsibilities of a local authority is to provide a dedicated planning function. When Publica was created, we collectively as elected members, insisted that the CDC planning function was kept discrete and separate.
Can the Leader please confirm that Publica has no involvement in planning and if so, why in many instances do our case officers have Publica email addresses?
Question from Councillor Sue Jepson to Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council:
As a long serving member of the Planning Committee, I share the concerns voiced by other members that the individual caseloads of officers are beyond breaking point which could affect their well-being and result in excessive delays in decision making.
Can the Leader please explain why the department appears to be under-resourced and provide details of the current structure, staffing levels and staff vacancies?
Question from Councillor Ray Theodoulou to Councillor Mike Evemy, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance:
The Pandemic has irrevocably changed working practices so that individuals will continue to work from home for at least part of their working life. Has Cllr Evemy estimated the impact these changes will bring to the Council’s green agenda and how this Council can facilitate this impact.
Question from Councillor Gina Blomefield to Councillor Andrew Doherty, Cabinet Member for the Environment, Waste and Recycling:
I learnt from a local resident that the long-standing service allowing them to buy CDC paper sacks for storing their autumn leaves before being collected by Ubico was no longer available. Through Rob Weaver’s intervention it has now been re-instated but only for residents who used it in the past.
Why was this valuable and surely very green service, cancelled without notification, despite the administration’s principles of openness and transparency, both for the residents concerned and the customer service team who were unaware of it.
Question from Councillor Stephen Hirst to Councillor Juliet Layton, Cabinet Member for Development Management and Licensing:
The efficiency of the Planning Department is subject to continuous query by those who submit applications and have to wait many weeks before there is any engagement from the Planners. There would appear to be a continuous list of personnel vacancies in the department, the result of which is a continuing deterioration in the service.
What plans are in hand to effect an acceptable level of service in the Planning Department.
Additional documents: Minutes: A record of Member questions and answers are available in the schedule attached to these minutes.
Questions were asked by:
Councillor Sue Jepson to Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council (two questions).
Councillor Ray Theodoulou to Councillor Mike Evemy, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance.
Councillor Gina Blomefield to Councillor Andrew Doherty, Cabinet Member for the Environment, Waste and Recycling.
Question from Councillor Stephen Hirst to Councillor Juliet Layton, Cabinet Member for Development Management and Licensing. |
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Treasury Mid-Term Report 2021-22 Purpose To receive and discuss details of the Council's Treasury Management performance for the period 1 April to 30 September 2021.
Recommendation(s) That the Council’s Treasury Management performance for the period 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021 is considered.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Mike Evemy introduced the report and informed Council that reports in relation to treasury management would be considered twice per year.
Council noted that the report which covered treasury management activity and the financial performance of the Council up until 30 September 2021 had been considered and reviewed by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee had resolved to submit the report to Full Council for consideration and approval.
Council noted that all of the Council’s treasury management functions complied with the strategy as agreed by the Council in February 2021.
Council noted the format and matters covered by the report in relation to treasury management activity.
Members noted the potential impact of inflation which was currently rising.
At the end of the previous financial year, Members noted that the Council was debt-free and held nearly £23.6 million of investments.
Council noted that the value of investments held had increased significantly due to Government funding being provided to support small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Members noted that the value of investments could rise and fall, although at the current time, the investment position remained stable.
Council noted that emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 could have an impact on the Council’s finances with the leisure and hospitality sectors likely to be significantly impacted.
Council noted the importance of effective partnership working between Members and also between Officers and external organisations such as Arlingclose.
Council noted the importance of ensuring that that the correct balance was continually struck in relation to investments and easy access to funding.
In relation to ethical investments, Council noted that an all-Member session for Members would be facilitated by Arlingclose on a future date which was yet to be confirmed but would which cover this topic. The Council noted that the Council did not yet have a dedicated ethical investment policy. Members further noted that there were also commercial confidentiality agreements which would precvent the sharing of certain investment information between authorities.
With regards to the overall performance of investments, specifically if anything could be learned from the best performing authorities, Members noted that local authorities each had their own investment strategy which resulted in investment performance changing over time depending on where funds were invested.
In relation to the meetings of the Capital Investment Board, Council noted that this group looked at which investments might be made at future points. All decisions made at these meetings would be considered by Cabinet and/or Council before any final decisions were made.
RESOLVED that the Council’s Treasury Management performance for the period 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021 was noted.
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Appointment of Monitoring Officer Purpose To consider an appointment to the Monitoring Officer role. Full Council needs to agree new arrangements to cover the statutory responsibilities as set out in Section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Recommendation(s) That Council agrees to appoint Angela Claridge as the Council’s Monitoring Officer under the provisions of section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended) from 16th December 2021. Additional documents: Minutes: The Interim Monitoring Officer left the room before Council considered this item as she had previously declared an interest.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris introduced the report which recommended the appointment of Angela Claridge as the permanent Monitoring Officer.
Council noted that an extensive recruitment process had been undertaken before this recommendation had been made to Council.
The appointment had been made following discussions between the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council along with other senior Offices which had resulted in agreement being reached that the Council did require a permanent Monitoring Officer to support the business and the senior leadership team.
This role, along with the role of the Democratic Services played an important role in supporting Members in ensuring they could fulfil their roles and obligations as elected officials. Council further noted the importance of ensuring that sufficient resources were allocated to the area of governance.
The Leader wished to place on record his thanks to the Appointments Panel who had assisted in the recruitment process related to this position (where agreement on Angela Claridge’s appointment was unanimous).
Council noted that Angela Claridge had performed well whilst fulfilling this role on an interim basis.
Council further noted that in relation to the job description for the role, the Monitoring Officer would work closely with the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive to ensure that all relevant functions were covered.
Members noted that the permanent appointment would enable the work already undertaken around governance to be continued and completed by the same Officer which was important for business continuity purposes.
Council noted that the additional costs associated with the recruitment to this post would be funded via utilising a budget underspend to cover the forthcoming civic year.
Councillor Harris proposed that Council agrees to appoint Angela Claridge as the Council’s Monitoring Officer under the provisions of section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended) from 16th December 2021.
This was seconded by Councillor Andrew Maclean.
RESOLVED that Council agrees to appoint Angela Claridge as the Council’s Monitoring Officer under the provisions of section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended) from 16th December 2021.
Record of Voting – for: 29 , against: 0, abstentions: 0, absent: 5
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Cotswold District Council Draft Schedule of Meetings 2022-23 Purpose To receive the draft Schedule of Meetings for the civic year 2022-23.
Recommendation(s) That the Council approves the schedule of meetings for 2022-23. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair of the Council, Councillor Dilys Neill informed Council that as stated earlier in the meeting, agreement had been reached to defer this item for consideration at the January 2022 Council meeting. |
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Notice of Motions In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12, the following Motions have been received:-
a) E-Petition Tab on the Council website
Proposed by Councillor Julia Judd, Seconded by Councillor Tony Berry
In support of this Council’s ambition to be open and transparent, residents need a facility to inform the Council of concerns, especially when they are shared by many people, which is visible to all across the District.
An e-Petition tab on the front of the Council’s website would make it easier for residents to raise issues which are the responsibility of this Council, to be raised in an open and transparent forum. Petitions would have a clear statement, the name and contact details of the petition organiser or clerk to whom the correspondence can be sent. Details would be required to login to sign an e-petition as a safeguard against bogus petitions.
An e-petition facility supports this Council’s ambition to be open and transparent and are successfully used by other councils. b) Virtual and Hybrid Council Meetings
Proposed by Councillor Nick Maunder, Seconded by Councillor Garry Selwyn
Council notes: A) The temporary enabling of virtual Council meetings in response to the coronavirus pandemic allowed the Council to continue making democratic decisions efficiently, transparently and safely without the need for physical meetings in one place. We welcomed the return to in-person meetings where they can safely and efficiently take place, but also recognise the benefits to democracy of providing flexible meeting options, including opening up local democratic decision-making and creating a more accessible experience for councillors and the public.
B) The following advantages of being able to hold remote and hybrid council meetings: 1) Some councillors and prospective councillors have work or caring commitments, or mobility or accessibility issues limiting their ability to attend meetings in person. Virtual meeting options provide more flexibility and accessibility for councillors to attend Council meetings. In the future, this flexibility and increased accessibility could help to attract a wider range of potential councillors. 2) Many councillors have to travel a long distance from their homes to the Council meeting place. This can make it more difficult for councillors to attend every meeting they would wish to attend. In addition, long travel time for short meetings may not be the most efficient use of councillor time; remote attendance on occasion may help maintain high levels of councillor attendance and be more efficient. 3) A reduction in travel by attending some meetings virtually rather than driving would reduce emissions and cut down on the Council’s carbon footprint. 4) Virtual meetings can save money for the Council in terms of travel expenses and venue costs. 5) Some councillors are also councillors for other Councils in the area, and virtual meetings options can help them attend more meetings, even meetings taking place on the same day. This increases engagement in the various tiers of government, which is an advantage for this Council and others affected. 6) Providing virtual meeting options can make Council meetings more accessible and ... view the full agenda text for item 46. Additional documents: Minutes: Members had been given notice of a number of Motions, detailed on the agenda.
a) Motion - E-Petition Tab on the Council website
Proposed by Councillor Julia Judd, Seconded by Councillor Tony Berry
In support of this Council’s ambition to be open and transparent, residents need a facility to inform the Council of concerns, especially when they are shared by many people, which is visible to all across the District.
An e-Petition tab on the front of the Council’s website would make it easier for residents to raise issues which are the responsibility of this Council, to be raised in an open and transparent forum. Petitions would have a clear statement, the name and contact details of the petition organiser or clerk to whom the correspondence can be sent. Details would be required to login to sign an e-petition as a safeguard against bogus petitions.
An e-petition facility supports this Council’s ambition to be open and transparent and are successfully used by other councils.
Councillor Judd provided further context around the Motion, highlighting the importance for members of the public being able to easily view and access historic and current petitions.
Councillor Berry expressed agreement that it was important for petitions to be easily accessible.
Council noted that the CDC petitions scheme was available on the website. The Monitoring Officer informed Council that further work needed to be undertaken to determine how the functionality around e-petitions operated and how it may be made available on the CDC website.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris informed the Council that the Liberal Democrat Group would be supporting the motion but that one amendment to the wording was requested which was that the word ‘tab’ be amended to read ‘link’. This would result in the essence of the motion remaining but reflected that it might not be possible to place a tab on the front page of the Council website.
Council agreed that a link to ensure that e-petitions could be easily accessed on the CDC homepage would be beneficial.
Councillor Evemy seconded the amendment.
Council noted that there was a facility in Modern.gov which was a system utilised by CDC which could be used to service e-petitions and was a feature currently used by other Councils.
The proposer of the Motion agreed to the proposed amendment to the wording and acknowledged that the link to access e-petitions easily via the front page of the Council website was important and was the essence behind the submission of the Motion.
Council voted to support the Motion.
Record of Voting – for: 29 , against: 0, abstentions: 0, absent: 5
b) Motion - Virtual and Hybrid Council Meetings
Proposed by Councillor Nick Maunder, Seconded by Councillor Garry Selwyn Council notes:
A) The temporary enabling of virtual Council meetings in response to the coronavirus pandemic allowed the Council to continue making democratic decisions efficiently, transparently and safely without the need for physical meetings in one place. We welcomed the return to in-person meetings where ... view the full minutes text for item 46. |
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Next meeting 19 January 2022 – 2pm Additional documents: Minutes: 16 February 2022 – 6pm |