Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Chandler, Higgins, Holmes, Illingworth, Pearson and Posnett.

To confirm the minutes of the Council meeting held on 26 May 2021.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 26 May 2021 were approved as a correct record.

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

A personal interest in respect of County Councillor Orson, was noted as being on record for any matters which related to the Leicestershire County Council.

A disclosable pecuniary interest was declared by Councillors Faulkner (Mayor) and Hewson (Deputy Mayor) in relation to item CO28, Review of Member Allowances Scheme. It was confirmed that they will leave the meeting for the debate and vote when that item is being considered. The Mayor confirmed that a Chair will be elected for that item only.

The Leader commented that as it is recommended that the position of Cabinet Support Member should receive a renumeration, it would be expected that the Member fulfilling the role would have to declare an interest. However, as no Member has agreed to carry out the role, there are no further declarations of interest in relation to item CO28.

The Mayor announced that after a slow start he is now attending more events. In June he attended the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie making event, which was also attended by the Lord Lieutenant and the Deputy Mayor. The next event the Mayor attended was the flying of the Armed Forces Flag for Armed Forces Day, which took place at Parkside.

Members were also informed that the Mayor had attended the following in June and July: the Belvoir Hunt Puppy Show at Belvoir Castle; the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Challenge at Stapleford Miniature Railway; the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Air Challenge; Mowbray Court to present farewell gifts to the manager. In August the Mayor attended no events.

The Mayor announced that he had attended the following in September: Melton Mowbray Lions Club in order to celebrate a members ten year service and hand out certificates to people who had volunteered at the vaccination centre; the Beat the Retreat at Oakham; the selection of the Mayor’s Cadet at the Cadet Centre; judging at the British Pie Awards; Summer Social Event at Parkside; house and home charity fundraiser held at Eye Kettleby; Melton Mowbray Ram Show followed by the British Pie Awards Lunch and prize giving; the Best of Melton Awards and the Battle of Britain memorial.

On the same evening as the Best of Melton Awards, the Deputy Mayor attended a charity dinner in Stamford.

After his announcements, the Mayor invited the outgoing Mayor’s Cadet, Cadet Warrant Officer (CWO) Alexia Agrafioti, to make a speech.

The Mayor then announced the new Mayor’s Cadet, Cadet Corporal (CC) Daniel Bartram, and outlined to Council why he chose him. The Mayor stated that there were two applications for the role but that CC Bartram was chosen because the he believed that CC Bartram would get the most out of the position. The Mayor then presented a certificate each to CC Bartram and CWO Agrafioti.

The Leader provided the following announcement:

“Good evening Members, this is our first council meeting since the [meeting] 26 May. I hope everyone has had a great summer break, […] I'm delighted that once again we are able to meet in the Chamber and you will have noticed that we have reverted to a more typical layout, […] with restrictions having eased, we are attempting to get the balance right between enabling more normal operations whilst still being mindful that the virus has not gone away. In the last week in Melton there were 313 cases per 100 000, which is still high and across the country around 200 people lose their lives every day. We cannot be complacent but we must be thankful of the incredible vaccination effort and it is worth reminding ourselves that through our partnership with the CCG, Melton had one of the first vaccination centres open in the region and over 83 percent of residents are now double jabbed. Members we have talked many times about the way the Council responded to the pandemic and I remain incredibly proud of our team and all they achieved.

I look forward to Cabinet receiving the findings of the review undertaken by the Scrutiny Task and Finish Group into the impacts of the pandemic on people and considering how we can do more to help. I'm also delighted that we were the first council in the region to provide kickstart placements introduced by the government as part of the response to the pandemic. [The placements] seek to provide job opportunities and skills development for young people. We currently have four colleagues and placements across a range of services including housing repairs, lifeline, assistive technology and the Melton lottery [and] they are making a real valuable contribution in some important areas and hopefully acquiring some great skills for the future too.

I am equally proud of the way in which the Council has stepped in as a catastrophe was unfolding in Afghanistan. This Borough has a proud association with our armed forces and given so many Afghans support over the years, [so] it was only right that Melton Borough Council led the early response in offering to help those most in need. We look forward to welcoming the two families we have pledged to resettle alongside those who are likely to make use of the MOD housing in the area. The groundswell of support for our actions and offers of assistance from the local community has also been extremely heartening.

Another impact of the pandemic has been a significant increase in the use of digital media and following the launch of our new accounts system last year, I’m delighted that, earlier this month, we launched our new council website. The new platform is far more accessible than the old one and meets the highest quality standard which is great to see. On our agenda this evening we have a number of important matters to attend too, but I wanted  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO22

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.

No questions from the public had been received.

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.

No questions from Members had been received.

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.

No motions on notice had been received.

To receive a report from the Cabinet on recommendations referred to the Council for determination. (Report to follow)

The Leader introduced the report and moved the recommendations. In doing so, the Members were informed that the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) before them represented another significant landmark in providing the necessary assurances to Leicestershire County Council regarding their investment in Melton Mowbray’s infrastructure. The SPD had been out for public consultation between late July and early September 2021 and the comments received were constructive and are reflected within the SPD. It was presented to Cabinet at the meeting on 21 September 2021, where it received unanimous support to recommend to Council that it is formally adopted. The Deputy Leader seconded the motion.

During debate the following points were noted:

• A Member commented that it was pleasing to see that environmental and climate considerations included within the report.
• It was noted that it is pleasing to see how local communities are featured within the SPD.
• The comment was made that the SPD is an important document which underpins Local Plan policy IN3, the delivery of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road and new schools. It provides early and clear picture of the Council’s priorities and will be valuable at early stages of the planning application process.  The Council have previously relied on consultation responses during the application process; however this SPD removes any doubt about the determination process. 
• In addition, there was positive recognition that the SPD includes infrastructure requirements in support of sustainable communities. 

RESOLVED

Council

APPROVED the adoption of the final version of the Developer Contributions SPD, as at Appendix A of the report.

(Unanimous)

To receive a report on the recommendations of Cabinet referred to Council in relation to the Treasury Management Annual Report 2020/21.

Councillor de Burle, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, moved the recommendations and introduced the report. He informed Members that no additional borrowing was required and that external debt had remained unchanged throughout the year which, at £31.413m, was below the authorised limit of £46m. Also, Members were informed that the Council was able to raise the level of investment from the forecast £15m to £21.1m.

Councillor de Burle stated that there had only been a minor shortfall as funds are held in short term investments, so in order to balance this more diversity is being introduced into the portfolio. There is uncertainty which means that long-term investments, aside from the property fund, will not be fully utilised.

The Leader seconded the motion.

During debate the following point was noted:

• A concern was raised that the Council had invested £2m with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC for 364 days but are only receiving 0.11% interest.

RESOLVED

Council

1. APPROVED the Treasury Management Annual Report for 2019/20.

2. NOTED the actual position on Prudential Indicators for 2020/21.

(Unanimous)

To receive a report from the Assistant Director for Governance and Democracy on the Members Allowance Scheme.

(Before the commencement of this item, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor left the meeting.)

The Council elected Councillor Cumbers to Chair the meeting for this item only.

(17 in favour, 4 abstentions)

Councillor Cumbers in the Chair.

The Assistant Director for Governance and Democracy introduced the Review of Members Allowance Scheme and informed Members that an Independent Renumeration Panel (IRP) was established to review the Mayor’s and Deputy Mayor’s allowance and review whether a special responsibility allowance (SRA) should be established for the role of Cabinet Support Member. Mr John Cade Chaired the IRP and, in conjunction with his colleagues, wrote a report with the Panel’s recommendations.

Councillor Cumbers invited Mr John Cade of the Independent Renumeration Panel, to present the report.

Mr Cade informed Council that the IRP was requested to review the allowances for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor and the new post of Cabinet Support Member and ascertain whether that post warranted a SRA. Mr Cade thanked the Officers and Members who provided evidence and also thanked the Democratic Services Manager and the Senior Democratic Services and Scrutiny Officer for the support they had given to the IRP.

Members were informed that with respect to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the issues were resources and money. The IRP were informed that the support given to the Mayor had been increased to 1.5 days per week and that additional support would be given for Remembrance Day and the Carol Service. Any further increase in resources would be a matter for Council to decide. The IRP’s remit was money, however the issue had not been reviewed by previous IRPs as the Mayor’s Allowance was dealt with by a different provision to other Member’s Allowances. When reviewing the Mayor’s Allowance, it came to the attention of the IRP that the allowance had not been reviewed since 2011. The IRP therefore believe that the allowance should be index linked to account for inflationary rises. The Council was informed that the IRP concluded that the Mayor should receive an SRA for chairing Council meetings and that this should be the equivalent to a basic allowance.

In terms of the Cabinet Support Member, the IRP understood that the idea had emerged from recent review by the Local Government Association. The IRP was informed that the post was in a primitive form and that it would be supporting a large Portfolio. The IRP didn’t see a dilution in the post holder responsibility and therefore thought it would be justified that the Cabinet Support Member would receive a renumeration equivalent to a third of a Cabinet Member SRA. At this point, Mr Cade stated that it was recommended by the IRP that the renumeration would be for this particular post and that renumeration for any further Cabinet Support Members should be considered separately.

The Leader moved the recommendations of the IRP. In doing so, the Leader thanked the IRP for their review and stated that he was told that if an IRP is appointed then  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO28

The Monitoring Officer is to present a report which reviews the political balance.

The Mayor in the Chair.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the Review of Political Balance report. Members were informed that the report outlines the new political balance of the Council and Committees as result of the changes which are that Councillor Pritchett has joined the Conservative Group and Councillor Higgins has left the Conservative Group.

The Leader moved the recommendations and the Deputy Leader seconded the motion.

RESOLVED

Council

1. APPROVED the political balance calculations at paragraph 5.1 of the report; and

2. APPROVED the allocation of seats to Political Groups shown at paragraph 5.3 of the report.

(18 in favour, 2 against, 1 abstention)

(At 7:21pm, during the consideration of this item, Councillor Child left the meeting.)

(At 7:22pm, during the consideration of this item, Councillor Child returned to the meeting.)

To receive a report from the Chief Executive on the Boundary Commission review.

The Chief Executive introduced the Boundary Commission Review and in doing so stated that the Boundary Commission have consulted on the proposal to replace the Rutland and Melton Constituency with Melton and Syston Constituency. Rutland will join a Rutland and Stamford Constituency and areas from Harborough will join Harborough Constituency. The Boundary Commission will publish all representations in early 2022 and their final report and recommendations will be published in June 2023. The Government will consider the recommendations and will decide on whether the new boundaries should take effect from the next general election. It was confirmed that Officers will keep Members appraised of the ongoing situation.

The Leader moved the recommendation and the Deputy Leader seconded the motion.

RESOLVED

Council

1. NOTED the proposals from the Boundary Commission for England.

(At 7:29pm, during the consideration of this item, Councillor Evans left the meeting and did not return.)

The Leader of the Council is to submit a report on the Performance and Risk Framework.

The Leader introduced the report on the Performance and Risk Framework and moved the recommendations. In doing so, the Council was informed that the report sets out the performance and risk framework and explains how it will support the development of the budget and policy. The report also covers the services that need to be invested in and how effective the Council is in meeting corporate priorities. The Deputy Leader seconded the motion.

RESOLVED

Council

1. APPROVED the Performance and Risk Framework, and

2. DELEGATED to the Director for Corporate Services in consultation with the Leader of the Council to make minor updates to the Framework as appropriate.

(Unanimous)