Venue: Parkside, Station Approach, Burton Street, Melton Mowbray LE13 1GH
Contact: Democratic Services
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Illingworth, Pearson and Posnett. |
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To confirm the minutes of the
Council meeting held on 4 November 2019 – to follow Minutes: The minutes of the meeting
held on 4 November 2019 were confirmed and authorised to be signed by the
Chair. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 50 KB Members to declare any
interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: Councillor Orson declared a personal interest in any matters relating to the Leicestershire County Council due to his role as a County Councillor. |
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MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Minutes: The Mayor: a) Thanked
Members that had attended the Mayor’s Christmas Carol Service and/or the
Mayor’s Christmas Lunch; b) Noted
that he had attended many festive events including starting the Santa Fun Run
and Switching on the Town’s Christmas lights; c) Noted
that he had assumed the role of Returning Officer for the General Election on
12 December, with the Chief Executive
acting as his ‘deputy’ being the Acting Returning Officer, where the
Chief Executive and his team had done all the work but he had had all the glory
by announcing the result; d) Noted
that Sally Renwick, Elections Manager, would be leaving the Council on
Christmas Eve. The Council owed her a
great debt in the way she had run numerous elections over the years and the
assistance she had provided to Parish Councils.
The Mayor expressed his thanks for Sally’s hard work and dedication; e) Reminded
Members that there would be light refreshments following the meeting and wished
everyone in attendance a Merry Christmas. |
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LEADER'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Minutes: The Leader gave the
following announcements: a) Wished a Merry Christmas to
Reverend Ashby and all the church leaders; b) Following approval of the
Housing Improvement Plan at the last Council meeting, the Council had started
to implement the agreed actions. The
recruitment of the new Director for Housing and Communities was underway and
there had been a really strong response to the advert with a significant number
of applications received. Members of the
Employment Committee would be meeting the next day to agree the long list of
candidates for the first stage interviews in early January. The Council looked forward to a successful
appointment by the end of January; c) Over the last month the
Council had been in dialogue with the Social Housing Regulator, providing
additional information as requested.
Their response was awaited and the Council would continue to work with
them over the coming months. He was
pleased to report that the actions being taken were improving the position in
relation to health and safety compliance on a daily basis, with more and more
properties having new or updated assessments for electrical and asbestos
safety. Risk assessments were complete
and the Council was developing work packages to implement any required
actions. A more detailed update in
relation to fire safety would be reported to Cabinet in January. This had been a long standing serious issue and he was
concerned that some Members may not have grasped the gravity of the
situation. In the current HRA Business
Plan, the risk register identified “Insufficient knowledge of current stock
causes unknown liabilities” as the first risk with “critical” impact and
“significant” liability. But the plan,
considered by the old Community & Social Affairs Committee in January 2012,
did not include enough emphasis on how to mitigate this nor did it allocate any
budget to address it, nor did it return to this issue on the HRA Business
Plan. This was another prime example of
how the old committee system failed to grip the issues faced quickly enough and
failed to show the leadership and strategic direction necessary to bring about
the change required. The new Cabinet had
shown they were ready to grip and lead this issue and the Housing Improvement
Plan demonstrated that. It should not be
underestimated that there were still some challenging times ahead as the
findings of the Regulator were awaited and this Council would have to account
for its past failings. d) The Council had a history of celebrating diversity and he and the Chief Executive would be exploring how they might develop this further over the coming months. The Council had been a Disability Confident Employer for some time but recent efforts to champion and support mental health within the council had seen the Council secure the highest possible recognition as a Disability Confident Leader. The Council were only the 4th organisation to gain this accreditation in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire and certainly the first local authority. Only 11 other Councils had achieved this across ... view the full minutes text for item CO48 |
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PUBLIC QUESTION TIME In accordance with the Constitution, Members of the Council may answer questions from the public of which notice has been given. No questions
were received by the deadline Minutes: No questions had been received from members of the public. |
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RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES There were no recommendations or reports received from Committees. Minutes: There were no recommendations or reports from Committees. |
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QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS In accordance with
the Constitution, a Member may
ask the Leader, the Chair of the Council or a Committee Chair, a question on
any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which
affects the Borough. No questions were received by the deadline Minutes: There were no questions received from Members. |
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MOTIONS ON NOTICE In accordance with the Constitution, motions on notice must be signed by at least two Members and be about matters for which the Council has a responsibility or which affect the Melton Borough. No motions were received by the deadline Minutes: There were no motions on notice. |
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EQUALITY SCHEME AND EQUALITY OBJECTIVES (2020 TO 2024) PDF 165 KB The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Access and Engagement to submit a new Equality Scheme for approval. The covering report sets out the background and legislative requirements together with the results from the recent consultation exercise on the new draft Equality Scheme and its objectives Additional documents:
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for
Corporate Governance, Access and Engagement, Councillor Freer-Jones, introduced the report and provided a brief
summary. Councillor Freer-Jones
highlighted that equalities was a legal and statutory duty and should be at the
forefront of decision making and policy development. Councillor Freer-Jones moved
the recommendations in the report and Councillor Orson seconded the
recommendations. During debate the following
points were noted:
RESOLVED 1) To APPROVE the Equality Scheme and Equality Objectives at Appendix A
and Appendix B of the report covering the period 2020 to 2024. 2) To DELEGATE authority to Portfolio for Corporate Governance, Access
and Engagement to approve any subsequent changes to the Equality Scheme or
Actions to deliver the objectives should the need arise in line with
legislative and/or corporate priority changes over the next four years. |
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DECLARATION OF A CLIMATE EMERGENCY : UPDATE REPORT PDF 120 KB The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regulatory Services to provide the Council with information regarding the progress made since the declaration of a “Climate Emergency” and establishment of a Policy Development Group to develop an action plan in July 2019 Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader introduced the report and moved
the recommendations. The Deputy Leader
seconded the recommendations in the report. The Leader, Councillor
Orson, provided a brief summary of the report as the Portfolio Holder for
Environment and Regulatory Services had been unable to attend the meeting. Councillor Orson detailed the progress made
since the Council’s declaration of a “Climate Emergency” and the establishment
of a Policy Development Group. The
report, at Appendix A, detailed short-term and long-term proposals which would
be developed further and progressed through the appropriate decision making
channels of Cabinet and/or Council. This
was a long-term programme and recommendations which may not be affordable or
practical in the immediate term, may be achievable later in the programme. During debate the following
points were noted:
RESOLVED To NOTE the progress to date made by the Climate Emergency Policy
Development Group. |
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REVIEW OF POLLING DISTRICTS AND POLLING PLACES PDF 110 KB The Chief Executive to submit a report which notes that every council in England and Wales must
undertake and complete a review of all of the polling districts and polling
places in its area every five years. This report seeks authority to approve the proposals made as a result of the Polling Place Review which was undertaken In accordance with the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chief Executive
introduced the report and provided a brief summary. He also thanked the staff that supported the
recent election and in particular Adele Wylie, Director for Governance and
Regulatory Services, who had provided exceptional leadership and support. The Chief Executive thanked Sally Renwick,
Elections Manager, who would be leaving the Council on Christmas Eve following
30 years of dedicated service. Councillor Freer-Jones moved
the recommendations in the report and Councillor Orson seconded the
recommendations. RESOLVED 1) To APPROVE the proposals in respect of this review as set out in
Appendix A. 2) To DELEGATE authority to the Returning Officer to make, where necessary
alterations to the designation of any Polling Place prior to the next full
review in consultation with Ward Members and Group Leaders. |
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APPOINTMENT OF SUBSTITUTES 2019 20 PDF 104 KB The Director for Governance and
Regulatory Services and Monitoring Officer to submit a report which requests approval for nominations for substitutes on the Audit and
Standards Committee and an amendment to the Substitute Procedure Rules Minutes: The Director for Governance
and Regulatory Services introduced the report and provided a brief summary. Councillor Freer-Jones moved
the recommendations in the report and Councillor Orson seconded the
recommendations. RESOLVED 1) To APPROVE the Group Leaders’ nominations of substitutes for Audit
and Standards Committee for 2019/20 as set out at paragraph 3.4 of the report. 2) To APPROVE the minor amendment to the Substitute Procedure Rules as
detailed in paragraph 3.3 of the report. |
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CABINET RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL PDF 102 KB To receive a report from the Cabinet on
recommendations referred to the Council for determination Additional documents:
Minutes: 1)
Mid-Year Report on the
Treasury Management Activities and Prudential Indicators 2019/20. The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Resources
introduced and moved the recommendations in the report. The Portfolio Holder highlighted the continuing
difficult economic environment; the introduction of the statutory override to
mitigate the effect of any fluctuations in investments on the General Fund; the
higher than expected return on investments due to higher reserves than
predicted; and that the Capital Funding requirement remained static and total
debt position remained unchanged. The recommendations were seconded by Councillor Orson. During debate the following points were noted: ·
The conclusion of the General Election had had a positive
impact on the Stock Market, this would take some time to filter through to the
return on investments and would have some impact on the return currently being
achieved, but it was unlikely to be significant. RESOLVED To APPROVE the recommendations from Cabinet: a) That the mid-year position
on treasury activity for 2019-20 be noted. b) That the mid-year position
on the prudential indicators for 2019-20 be approved. c) To approve that a new
Treasury Management Provision Reserve be established from 2019/20, with delegated
authority given to the Director for Corporate Services to determine the
affordable amount to contribute into this each year during the statutory
override period. 2)
Infrastructure Funding with
Leicestershire County Council The Leader introduced and moved the recommendations in the
report. The Leader highlighted that for
generations people had been talking about the congestion in Melton. In 2016 the Council started working with the
County on submitting a business case to Government. Two years later £50 million was secured to
support construction of the Northern and Eastern sections. In February this year a further £15million
had been secured to support the Southern section. The Leader paid tribute to the former MP, Sir
Alan Duncan who played a pivotal role in securing both bids. The total cost of the road would be
approximately £100million, the significant local contribution of £35million
would be funded through income generated by growth and developer contributions. Over the last year the Council had been
working with Leicestershire County Council to agree an infrastructure funding
agreement to support and share the risks associated with meeting these
costs. The report set out the components
of the agreement that had been reached.
It meant that Melton Borough Council would make a contribution of
£6million up to 2035 from the benefits of growth from income received from new
homes. He confirmed that there was
protection for the Medium Term Financial Strategy as only income over and above
that required to support core services would be used and there would be the
opportunity to review the agreement should funding streams change. The agreement balanced the desire to support
infrastructure investment in Melton with prudence and protection for the future
of the Council. All members had had the
opportunity to understand the details of discussions and the basis of the
agreement through informal meetings. Councillor Higgins seconded the recommendation in the ... view the full minutes text for item CO57 |