Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bains, Glancy, Graham MBE, Higgins and Hurrell.

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

Councillors Orson, Pearson, Posnett and Rhodes each declared a personal interest in any matters relating to the Leicestershire County Council due to their roles as County Councillors.

Minute CO72 - Council Tax Discretions

The Mayor, Councillor Chandler, declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in this item due to receiving a rental income from a second property and would leave the meeting when this item was considered.

Councillors Holmes, Orson, Rhodes and Simpson declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in this item due to having landlord responsibilities and advised that they would leave the meeting when this item was considered.

Minute CO73 - Pay Policy and Pension Discretions

The Chief Executive declared a personal interest for all officers present in this item due to the report directly referencing the salary and pension arrangements for officers of the Council. 

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2018.

Acceptance of the minutes as a true record was proposed by the Leader and seconded by Councillor Freer-Jones.  Following a vote the minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2018 were confirmed and authorised to be signed by the Mayor.

The Mayor led the tributes for both Councillor Michael Blase and  Honorary Alderman Colin Chapman.  The Mayor said that she had attended the funeral of Colin that day along with the Leader and Councillors Botterill, Holmes and Rhodes.  She referred to Colin’s early army service and his police career which spanned 26 years and earned him 5 commendations.  He was elected to the Council in 1987 and served until 2011 when he was made Alderman. He had old fashioned values and was known to stand up for what he believed was right and always spoke his mind but had a good sense humour too that made him approachable by all across generations.

The Mayor stated Councillor Blase had served on the Council since 2016 and had quickly made his mark as a proactive ward Councillor on the Egerton Ward.  He was never afraid to ask questions and due to his contributions it was clear he was always well prepared for meetings.  He was a keen allotment gardener and had been a football referee for a local club.  He left behind a partner and loving family and was a decent, quiet, loyal, hardworking and compassionate man who would be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Other Councillors paid tribute to Honorary Alderman Chapman referring to his long Council service, his sense of humour and approach to canvassing as being so well known on the ward and in the town that he didn’t feel the need to hand out leaflets.  He was a larger than life character who gave good counsel and would be sadly missed.

Other Councillors paid tribute to Michael Blase’s very sad and sudden passing and that he had been a thoroughly decent and positive person who wanted to be helpful and was a great loss to his partner, family, ward residents and the Council.  He was not strongly political in his Council work and was a well respected colleague who showed great support for his  ward and its residents and that was why he had stood for election.  

Mayoral activities

The Mayor gave a brief summary of the engagements she had attended since the December Council meeting as follows :-

December

Carol services both locally and countywide with the highlight being the Melton Choral Society Concert at St. Mary’s Church as well as a farewell lunch for the public convenience attendants

January

Rotary Club’s lunch meeting, Grantham’s Civic Service, the rededication of St. James’ Church at Burton Lazars, the 1279 Melton Mowbray Squadron Air Training Corps dining in night and the Holocaust Memorial event at Kettering.  She had also met with the new Principal at Brooksby Melton College and attended the Melton Stroke Club which highlighted the commitment of volunteers who give so much to such organisations.

February

Melton Guides World Thinking Day Celebrations in St. Mary’s Church which again she felt highlighted the work of volunteer leaders and helpers.

The Mayor referred to her Mayoral awards which would be presented on 8 April and thanked the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO60

The Leader stated that

(a)  it had been a couple of months since the Council took a huge step to move to a cabinet and scrutiny model from May this year.  He believed this would make a big difference as the Council looked to become a more commercial and agile organisation and address some of the governance challenges identified by the LGA and recognised by all at the Council.  He was delighted that the change received such strong support from the Council and thought it gave a clear platform to build on;

(b)  since that time the Director for Legal and Democratic Services and colleagues had been working tirelessly on writing a brand new, streamlined and more effective constitution.  At that meeting the Council was to consider the first set of documents which would ultimately form the new constitution from May.  The Governance Development Group had continued to meet and was joined by Councillor Blase who made some excellent contributions to help shape and develop the early drafts. These were shared with all members enabling wider comments to be fed in.  Last week the Governance Committee considered all the documents before the Council and the views expressed and any proposed amendments made as a consequence of the discussion, had been shared with the Council for consideration and approval at this Council meeting.  The constitution would always need to be a live document and would continue to adapt over time. It was anticipated that some further sections would be presented to the Council for consideration later in the month and then again in April, so a fully approved, new constitution was ready for the new Council in May;

(c)  another area the Council had been focussing on for improvement was planning; as the Council looked to deliver the housing and jobs Melton needed.  Through the recent service prioritisation exercise members made the planning service one of their top three priorities and for this reason the Council wanted to ensure it had the most effective planning service possible.  This may mean an increase in resources, but first the Council needed to ensure its structures, processes and procedures were as effective as they could be.  The Council was awaiting the final review report and as a consequence was starting to consider how it might want to develop and how the Planning Committee operated.  He looked forward to discussing the findings with members in due course and any proposed changes as to how it operated would be fed into the constitutional changes considered in April;

(d)  he was delighted the Corporate Committee recently approved its new Fire Safety Policy alongside additional resources for a new Compliance Officer as the Council looked to continue its investment into its housing stock.  Over the last year he had made improving the quality of housing a priority and was delighted the Council had been joined by two new Housing Tenancy Officers to strengthen how the Council managed both its assets and the tenants who live within them.  There  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO61

The Leader and Chairs of Policy Committees to answer any questions from the public of which notice has been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 of the Constitution.

No questions were received by the deadline.

There were no public questions submitted for this meeting.

In accordance with Procedure Rule 24.1, the Chief Executive shall report the receipt of a petition to the next meeting of the Council where there shall be no debate or comment thereon: 

In accordance with Procedure Rule 24.1 a petition was received on 4 February 2019 containing 362 signatures, and as required more than 20 of these are residents of the Borough.  The petition was received from the Chair of the Bottesford Youth Club Committee and will be presented to the Council meeting.  The purpose of the petition is as follows:

“We really need your help to ensure that Melton Borough Council continues to fund a Youth Worker for 10 hours a week to guarantee that our local Youth Club can stay open after February 2019. Bottesford is a village in the Vale of Belvoir and forms part of the Borough of Melton in Leicestershire. Bottesford Youth Club is the ONLY youth provision for young people in this area.

Melton Borough Council created this funded role in 2007 to (successfully) address the significant amount of anti-social behaviour coming from local young people - specifically the increase in vandalism, graffiti, criminal damage such as damage to cars, arson and antisocial behaviour in the village.

We were informed on Tuesday 11th December 2018 that the funding for the Youth Worker role is likely be stopped by Melton Borough Council and that you, the Melton Borough Councillors, will be voting on this issue in February 2019.

Without this Youth Worker role we are also specifically concerned about the following issues;

•           That a significant amount of anti-social-behaviour in the villages will return.

•           That the Young People of Bottesford and Vale of Belvoir villages will be at an increased risk of being involved in “County Lines” drug dealing/taking and other serious organised crime.

•           That the young people in the villages will not have a safe and fun environment to meet up, play, and talk about any issues affecting them.”

In accordance with Procedure Rule 24.1 the Chief Executive reported on a petition which was received on 4 February 2019 containing 362 signatures, and as required, more than 20 of those were residents of the Borough. 

The petition was received from the Chair of the Bottesford Youth Club Committee and Mr Brian McInerney, Treasurer of the Youth Club was in attendance to present the petition to the Mayor. 

The purpose of the petition was as follows:

“We really need your help to ensure that Melton Borough Council continues to fund a Youth Worker for 10 hours a week to guarantee that our local Youth Club can stay open after February 2019. Bottesford is a village in the Vale of Belvoir and forms part of the Borough of Melton in Leicestershire. Bottesford Youth Club is the ONLY youth provision for young people in this area.

Melton Borough Council created this funded role in 2007 to (successfully) address the significant amount of anti-social behaviour coming from local young people - specifically the increase in vandalism, graffiti, criminal damage such as damage to cars, arson and antisocial behaviour in the village.

We were informed on Tuesday 11th December 2018 that the funding for the Youth Worker role is likely be stopped by Melton Borough Council and that you, the Melton Borough Councillors, will be voting on this issue in February 2019. Without this Youth Worker role we are also specifically concerned

about the following issues:

• That a significant amount of anti-social-behaviour in the villages will return.

• That the Young People of Bottesford and Vale of Belvoir villages will be at an increased risk of being involved in “County Lines” drug dealing/taking and other serious organised crime.

• That the young people in the villages will not have a safe and fun environment to meet up, play, and talk about any issues affecting them.”

Before presenting the petition Mr McInerney explained the work and outcomes of the youth club in Bottesford and that the Youth Club Leader was exceptionally talented in his role.  The club met 3 nights per week and up to 30-40 young people attended from Bottesford and other villages around the Vale.  There were many different types of activities for young people such as dancing, football as well as a place to get together.  He gave examples of areas of support needed by young people as being low self-esteem,  bullying, fitting in with peers as well as support to those from unstable backgrounds.  The Youth Club Leader used role models as a means of support and had received many testimonials to his approach and had built a good reputation for the club.  Mr McInerney was aware that the Parish Council valued the club as did the older generation of the village as it had helped to reduce anti-social behaviour such as vandalism and graffiti in Bottesford and other villages in the Vale.  He felt that £100 per week was not a lot to ask the Council to continue  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO63

No recommendations to be reported.

There were no recommendations or reports from Committees other than the budgetary and governance matters listed as separate items on the agenda.

In accordance with Procedure Rules 10.3 and 10.5, a Member may ask the Mayor, Leader or the Chairman of any committee or sub-committee, a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Melton Borough.

No questions were received by the deadline.

There were no questions from members received.

There were no Motions  received in accordance with

Procedure Rule 11.1 

There were no motions received.

The Director for Legal & Democratic Services to submit a report which

(1)  informs members of the Independent Remuneration Panel’s recommendations contained within a report and to seek approval of the recommended changes to Special Responsibility Allowances; and

(2)  asks members to note any changes will be incorporated into the Member Allowances Scheme which forms part of the Council’s Constitution.

The Mayor welcomed Mr John Cade, Chair of the Welland Independent Remuneration Panel and invited him to present the panel’s report on the Member Allowances Scheme for 2019/20 following approval of the Council’s new governance arrangements. 

Mr. Cade explained that

(a)  as legally required the panel was  convened to consider any changes to the Member Allowances Scheme mainly relating to the Special Responsibility Allowances for those Members who would hold a position within the new governance structure but they also considered comments from 4 other Councillors.  The panel met on 9 January and invited the Leader, Chief Executive and Director for Legal and Democratic Services to present their views. He thanked the Director for Legal and Democratic Services and the Senior Democracy Officer for their support;

(b)  the timing of the new arrangements gave the panel some certainties for instance that a Scrutiny Committee Chair was needed to be in place.  However some other areas of responsibility were still being worked through around the roles of the Leader and Cabinet members and how decisions would be made; whether these were by the Cabinet, delegated to Cabinet members or delegated to officers, and these levels of decision-making needed to be in place for the panel to be able to work out the demand and responsibility attributable to each of the different roles;

(c)  therefore the panel felt that a follow up review 6 months on from May 2019 eg. January 2020, would allow time for the new arrangements to be embedded and any change proposed at that time to the existing allowances could be backdated to May 2019 if required;

(d)  the panel recommended that the Leader and Cabinet members remain at the same rate (Cabinet member to have parity with the existing Chairs) and the Scrutiny Chair and Vice Chair align with the current Chair and Vice Chair allowances;

(e)  the panel was pleased to note that scrutiny was to be a key factor of good governance in the new arrangements and this was reflected in the Chair allowance being set at the same level as the  Cabinet member;

(f)   the panel felt that the Deputy Leader role did show a clear increase in responsibility in taking on a portfolio as well as the Deputy Leader role and therefore recommended an increase of 1.85 of the basic allowance;

(g)  the panel was requested to review the workload of the Planning Committee Chair and this was considered alongside the Chair for Licensing and Regulatory matters and it was felt that the  responsibility levels were similar and therefore no change was recommended however if requested the panel could review this position in January alongside the impact of the Cabinet member responsibility on these areas;

(h)  the panel was asked to look at the Chair of the Community Safety Partnership and was subsequently advised that this role would be incorporated into the relevant Cabinet member’s responsibilities therefore this was not pursued.

There was concern expressed by a Councillor that planning was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO67

The Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Corporate Services jointly to submit a report recommending that the Council set the rents of Council dwellings, following consultation with the Place Committee, approve the HRA estimates for 2019-20 and set the working balance for 2019-20.

In a report jointly prepared by the Director for Corporate Services and the Deputy Chief Executive the Council was asked to set the rents of Council dwellings, following consultation with the Place Committee, approve the HRA estimates for 2019-20 and set the working balance for 2019-20.

The report was presented by Councillor Pearson who moved the recommendations and stated that since the Place Committee meeting held on 9 January it had become evident that the report for that meeting did not reflect the 53 week rent year for 2019/20.  As a consequence the rent decrease per week should be 1.56% in order to adhere to the Government policy on rent reductions, as opposed to the 1% in the original report.  For this reason the report had been resubmitted to this meeting showing the correct figures. 

The motion was seconded by Councillor de Burle.

On being put to the vote, the motion was unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that

(1)       a weekly rent decrease of 1.56% for all Council dwellings for 2019-20 with effect from 1 April 2019 be approved and that when a property is re-let the rent continues to be brought into line with the Governments formula rent;

(2)       the estimates for 2019-20 be approved subject to the receipt of the limit rent Determination, with delegated authority being given to the Director for Corporate Services in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive to amend the estimated working balance based on any changes to this determination;

(3)       approval of a working balance of £975,079 be budgeted for at 31 March 2020 based on a 1.56% rent decrease.

The Director for Corporate Services to submit a report to approve the Council’s Capital Programme for 2018/2023 for all funds and the sources from which that funding will be taken as proposed by the Strategic Planning Development Day held on 16 January 2019 and the Corporate Committee.

Members had before them a report prepared by the Director for Corporate Services which sought approval for the Council’s Capital Programme for 2019/20.

The Leader moved the recommendations in the report and stated that

(a)  he was pleased to present the proposed Capital Programme for 2019/20 which had been recommended for approval by the Corporate Committee following the review at its meeting on 30 January 2019.  These capital schemes were also presented to Members at the Strategic Planning Development Day held on 16 January 2019. The report outlined the proposed capital schemes for the forthcoming year along with how the schemes would be funded.  This covered the capital programmes for both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account; 

(b)  the Capital Programme was integral to the budget framework and sat alongside the other key strategies presented to members at this meeting such as the Treasury Management and Capital Strategies; 

(c)  in particular the requirement for an undated Capital Strategy had been a key focus for the Council over recent months in order to provide an overarching document which set the policy framework for the development, management and monitoring of capital investment.  The Capital Strategy sought to align with the priorities set out in the Council Plan. The Strategy aimed to drive the authority’s capital investment ambition whilst ensuring capital expenditure and capital financing were sustainable in the long term;

(d)  however, Members may have noticed that the Capital Programme was relatively light which was a reflection of the need for condition surveys to be undertaken on Council’s assets to help inform the future capital requirements.  Officers would prioritise this work during 2019 with any associated capital requirement arising from the work being presented to Members in due course as the Capital Programmes and Strategies were further developed. 

The motion was seconded by Councillor de Burle. 

There was a Councillor query relating to the £2m loan and external funding in respect of Gretton Court Extra Care listed on Appendix B and whether this was in partnership with the County Council. The Director for Corporate Services advised that the project needed a business case which would assess the loan and the work to be done.

There were questions asked by a Councillor relating to a new ICT system for Customer Services and would that be forthcoming over the coming year, the Councillor also requested an update on the Country Park Masterplan and the S106 agreement to ensure this money was not lost through being out of time.  The Councillor referred to a previous instance on the Doctors Lane development when S106 contributions expired due to agreement not being reached within the time limit. 

The Leader requested that officers respond to the Councillor after the meeting and copy in all Councillors to the response.

There was a general discussion around S106 agreements being out of time and a particular reference to a County Council highways scheme and it was noted that this was due to issues in reaching agreement with all the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO69

The Director for Corporate Services to submit a report to provide information on the budget issues facing the Council in 2019/20 and beyond, seek a decision on the level of the budget including growth and savings and agree the level of Council Tax for Borough Council purposes.

A verbal update will be provided at the meeting.

(Councillor Cumbers here left the meeting due to her pecuniary interest declared at Minute CO60.)

Previously circulated with the agenda was a report prepared by the Director for Corporate Services which provided information on the budget issues facing the Council in 2019/20 and beyond, and which sought a decision on the level of the budget including growth and savings, and asked the Council to agree the level of Council Tax for the Borough Council purposes.  With regard to paragraph 11.5 of the budget report, Members received an update on the  position for Bottesford Youth Club, CAB and other Community Grants.

The Leader moved the motions contained within the report but altered recommendation 2.1 to add the wording shown in italics  The meeting’s consent to the alteration was signified without discussion:-

‘2.1      The proposals for General Expenses and Special Expenses MM as set out in Appendix A (i) and (ii) and summarised in para 3.5.1 be approved for inclusion in the 2019/20 budget resulting in the estimates set out in Appendix B subject to an adjustment to the saving from the CAB from £17k to £13k (for 2019/20 only) the shortfall being met as a first call from any savings identified in the financial year and the saving referenced PPL02 Community Grants for £6,440 be not implemented unless alternative and adequate arrangements are negotiated with other agencies or bodies to provide an equivalent level of funding for one year only, and that any shortfall be funded from the Corporate Priority Reserve for one year only.’

The Leader explained that with regard to the above addition he felt the Community Safety Partnership may be able to fund the Bottesford Youth Club for one year only from an underspend in its anti-social behaviour budget but this decision was down to the partnership and if agreement was not forthcoming, funding would be met from the Council’s reserve; again for one year only; thus ensuring the Council delivered both the required ongoing savings, whilst providing sufficient time for the youth club to make alternative longer term funding arrangements.

The Leader stated that

(a)  before the Council was a budget designed not only to ensure support of the priorities but also one which sought to ensure support of the core services.  It was a budget which recognised the Council could no longer do everything and therefore had to focus on those things which matter most to Melton’s communities; ensuring new affordable homes get built, transforming the high street, attracting new jobs and investment and ensuring services become more customer focussed.  Over the last 8 years the Council had lost significant amounts of government funding and in this budget, revenue support grant drops to £0 for the first time.  The Council’s funding was now much more dependent on housing and business growth and whilst the Council now had a number of building blocks in place, up to now it had had relatively little growth and it would take some time for the council to realise  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO70

The Director for Corporate Services to submit a report which outlines the Council’s prudential indicators for 2019/20–2021/22 and sets out the expected treasury operations for this period. 

The Leader presented the report of the Director for Corporate Services which outlined the Council’s prudential indicators for 2019/20 – 2021/22 and set out the expected treasury operations for this period.  This met with the key legislative requirements and provided an approved framework within which officers undertook the day to day capital and treasury activities.

The Leader stated that

(a)  he was pleased to present the annual Treasury Management Strategy for 2019/20 alongside the prudential indicators which was a key strategy for the Council that sat alongside the annual budget report and capital strategy which were also presented at this meeting;

(b)  it was a requirement that this be scrutinised in advance which this Council had delegated to the Corporate Committee.  Members of that Committee scrutinised the Treasury Strategy for the forthcoming financial year at their meeting on 30 January 2019 and recommended that the Council approve this key document;

(c)  this report outlined the Council’s prudential indicators for 2019/20-2021/22 and sets out the expected treasury operations for this period covering the legislation requirements placed upon the Council to manage its treasury function effectively.  These policies and parameters provided an approved framework within which the officers undertook the day to day capital and treasury activities;

(d)  he was not proposing to go through all of the indicators and information in detail but the Director for Corporate Services and the Corporate Services Manager were available to answer any specific queries;

(e)  the Treasury Management Strategy covered the operation of the treasury function and its activities for the forthcoming year and reflected the Council’s capital and commercial investment strategies.  Officers had reviewed and taken advice from the Council’s treasury management advisors when developing the strategy;

(f)   he drew attention to the Director for Corporate Services’ reports that the Council had complied with this prudential indicator in the current year and did not envisage difficulties for the future which recognised the good financial management at this Council;

(g)  he also highlighted in terms of investment performance that the Council was currently achieving an average rate of return of nearly 1% which was very good in the current economic environment with bank rates remaining low.  Through effective management of the treasury portfolio officers were forecasting an additional £40k in additional investment returns during 2018/19 compared to the original budget.

The Leader moved the recommendations contained in the Order Paper circulated at the meeting and the motion was seconded by Councillor de Burle.

On being put to the vote, the motion was unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that

(1)  the prudential indicators and limits be adopted and approved;

(2)  the Treasury Management Strategy and treasury management prudential indicators be adopted and approved;

(3)  the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement which sets out the Council’s policy on MRP be approved,

(4)  the linkages to the Capital Strategy due to the integral nature of how the Councils manages its treasury finances to support capital development be noted.

The Deputy Chief Executive to submit a report which asks the Council to consider:

(1)   a number of proposed changes for discretionary aspects that impact upon charging for council tax in respect of unoccupied properties following a period of consultation; and

(2)  a proposal for council tax relief in respect of Care Leavers and to consider the development of a Care Leavers Policy.

(Councillors Chandler, Holmes, Orson, Rhodes and Simpson here left the meeting due to their pecuniary interests declared at Minute CO58.)

(Deputy Mayor in the Chair.)

In a report previously circulated, the Deputy Chief Executive requested the Council to consider a number of proposed changes for discretionary aspects that impact upon charging for council tax in respect of unoccupied properties following a period of consultation, and also to consider a proposal for council tax relief in respect of Care Leavers and to consider the development of a Care Leavers Policy.

Councillor de Burle stated that the report was about the use of discretionary powers, firstly in respect of empty properties and secondly to exempt care leavers from council tax up to the age of 25.  The Council had used the empty homes discretions available since 2013. In 2018 further legislation was introduced that gave the Council the opportunity to review these discretions.  He considered all were aware of the negative effect that empty properties could have on any area.  Empty homes that were left empty for too long contributed to the overall pressures on housing and could be a blight on communities. There was national evidence that the proposals in the report could have a positive impact on the number of empty properties.  The Council was also proposing the development of an empty homes policy to look at what else could be done to expedite the return of uninhabitable properties back into occupation.  He moved the recommendations in the report.

Councillor Pearson seconded the motion and added that empty homes put pressure on the housing stock. 

It was suggested by a Councillor that Councillors should be vigilant in looking out for empty homes on their wards and reporting these to ensure there were no long-term vacancies.

Also on being commercially minded a Councillor mentioned that it was often cheaper to renovate than to build new therefore when properties came to the market, the Council should consider whether it was interested. 

On being put to the vote, the motion was unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that

(1)  the current 100% discount for the first month for Class C properties be removed with effect from 1 April 2019 be approved;

(2)  Council Tax Empty Home Premium charges be applied to properties that have remained empty and unfurnished, as shown below :-

100% extra (for properties empty for 2-5 years) from 1st April 2019

200% extra (for properties empty for 5-10 years) from 1st April 2020

300% extra (for properties empty for 10+ years) from 1st April 2021

(3)  an Empty Homes policy with a particular focus on homes that are uninhabitable be developed and which includes the use of Class D Council Tax Discount, the Empty Homes Premium as well as any other appropriate council services be approved;

(4)  care leavers be exempted from paying 100% council tax up until the age of 25 with effect from 1 April 2019;

(5)  delegation is granted to the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Director for  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO72

The Director for Corporate Services to submit a report

(1)  to gain Full Council approval for the Annual Pay Policy Statement for 2019/20 so that it can be published in line with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011; and

(2)  to review the Council discretions in relation to the Local Government Pensions Scheme (LGPS) to ensure they are fit for purpose.

The Director for Corporate Services had previously provided Members with a report which sought the Council’s approval for the 2019/20 Annual Pay Policy Statement so that it could be published in line with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011.  In addition, Members were asked to review the Council discretions in relation to the Local Government Pensions Scheme. (LGPS) to ensure they were fit for purpose.

The Leader stated that the pay policy report was in two parts.  The first related to the Council’s requirement under the Localism Act to agree and publish a Pay Policy Statement for the forthcoming year.  This had been in place since 2011.  There had been no major changes to the policy this year other than refreshing current pay rates and making reference to a new pay spine which would be implemented in April 2019 and was part of the National Employers’ pay negotiations.  The second part of the report related to the Council’s responsibilities to the pensions regulator where the Council was required to formulate and publish policies in respect of certain areas of the pension scheme where the Council could apply discretion.  As well as the review of the current arrangements, for which there was a proposal that no changes were made, the Council was asked to consider discretion in two new areas affecting former members of the pension scheme.  The proposals were that the new discretions were not applied and that any changes to this could have a significant financial impact.  The Leader proposed the recommendations in the report.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Freer-Jones.

On being put to the vote, the motion was unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that

(1)  the Pay Policy Statement for 2019/20 at Appendix A to the report  be approved and published;

(2)  the revisions to the pensions discretions at Appendix B be adopted.

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report which seeks approval for a set of documents which will form part of the new Constitution, following approval of the Council’s new governance arrangements at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council held on 21 November 2018.

A verbal update will be provided at the meeting.

Previously circulated with the agenda was a report prepared by the Monitoring Officer which referred to the  approval of the Council’s new governance arrangements at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council held on 21 November 2018.  As a consequence, the Council was now asked to approve a set of documents, as listed and appended to the report, which would form part of the new Constitution to take account of the change in decision-making structure to the Leader and Cabinet model.  Following the Governance Committee on 5 February 2019, some proposed changes had been made to the published Appendix A7 – Access to Information Procedure, which was circulated to Members at the meeting.

Councillor Cumbers thanked the Director for Legal and Democratic Services for her work on the new Constitution as well as the Members who had contributed.  She referred to an updated Appendix A7 that had been circulated to Members at the meeting.  Councillor Cumbers proposed the recommendations including the updated Appendix A7.

Councillor Simpson seconded the motion and endorsed the hard work that had gone into producing these parts of the Constitution.

On being put the vote, the motion was unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that

(1)       Appendix A1 - Introduction, Summary & Explanation be approved effective  from the  Annual Meeting in May 2019;

(2)       Appendix A2 - Introduction to Decision-making be approved effective from the Annual Meeting in May 2019;

(3)       Appendix A3 - Diagrammatic explanation of Decision-making be approved effective from the Annual Meeting in May 2019;

(4)       Appendix A4 - Council/Committees Procedure Rules be approved effective from the Annual Meeting in May 2019;

(5)       Appendix A5 - Call In Procedure Rules be approved effective from  the Annual Meeting in May 2019;

(6)       Appendix A6 - Substitute Procedure Rules be approved effective from the Annual Meeting in May 2019;

(7)       Updated Appendix A7- Access to Information Rules be approved effective from the Annual Meeting in May 2019;

(8)       Appendix A8 - Employment Procedure Rules be approved and adopted following the conclusion of the Annual Meeting in May 2019;

(9)       delegated authority be given to the Director for Legal and Democratic Services for

(a)  amendments to the constitution as a result of comments received by Members;

(b)  changes to the structure and layout of the constitution;

(c)   minor amendments (as and when required) that in her opinion do not substantially alter the content of the constitution; and/or

(d)  any changes to the Constitution as required by the law.