To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies had been received from Mr K Thomas.

The Chairman confirmed that his list of engagements had been circulated.

None were received.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any disclosable interests under the Code of Conduct and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members were invited to declare any disclosable interests under the Code of Conduct and the nature of those interests in respect of items on the Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them.

Mr A Walters declared a pecuniary interest in Item 7 3) a) of the agenda and confirmed that he would not take part in any debate/discussion which related to wedding charges.

Mr M Oxley declared a pecuniary interest in Item 7 3) a) of the agenda and confirmed that he would not take part in any debate/discussion which related to Registrar fees concerning burials.

To receive any petitions, deputations or questions received from members of the public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 24 which provides that any petition, deputation or question received shall only be considered if it relates to an item on the agenda.

The total time allowed for this is 30 minutes. Petitions, deputations and questions will be dealt with in the order in which they are received and any which are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting.

There were no petitions, deputations or questions from members of the public.

To receive any questions submitted from Members of the Council in

accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 24, 30 and 30A. Any

question received shall only be considered if it relates to an item on the

agenda.

There were no questions received from members of the council.

To receive Report No. 50/2017 from the Cabinet on recommendations referred to the Council for determination and to note the Key Decisions taken at its meetings held on 10 January 2017, 17 January 2017 and 14 February 2017.

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The Chairman reminded members of the mandatory requirement to record votes on budgetary matters.

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Report No. 50/2017 from the Cabinet was received to consider the recommendations of Cabinet referred to the Council for determination and to note the Key Decisions made by Cabinet at its meetings held on 10 January 2017, 17 January 2017 and 14 February 2017.

1)    Council NOTED the Key Decisions made by Cabinet since the publication of the agenda for the previous ordinary meeting of the Council on 9 January 2017 as detailed in Appendix A to Report No. 50/2017.

2)     17 January 2017

Decision No. 495

Report No. 22/2017

Placement for Pupils with Special Education Needs or Disabilities

Mr Wilby introduced and moved the recommendations in the report.  Mr Mathias seconded the recommendations.

During his introduction, Mr Wilby explained that the recommendation to use grant funding would enable a review of the SEND provision with the aim of reducing the need to send children out of County which would reduce costs and improve the service.

During debate of the recommendation, points raised included:

               i.        Miss Waller supported the recommendation as it would be a great improvement for children and their families for them to be educated closer to home.  Miss Waller requested that ordinary schools were approached to give their perspective regarding the support provided to children with Education, Health and Care plans; and

              ii.        Mr Wilby clarified that the aim would be to avoid placing children several miles away, but where a child lived near the Rutland border and a suitable placement could be found just over the border in another County, this would still be considered.

RESOLVED

Council APPROVED that £15.5k of grant funding in 2016/17 for High Needs Strategic Planning and the Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) reform grant funding for 2017/18 of £28k be used to support delivery of the action plan.

The above resolution was voted as follows:

FOR THE MOTION (24)

Mr Baines, Mr Begy, Mr Bird, Mr Bool, Mrs Burkitt, Mr Callaghan, Mr Clifton, Mr Conde, Mr Cross, Mr Dale, Mr Foster, Mr Gale, Mr Hemsley, Mr Lammie, Mrs MacDuff, Mr Mann, Mr Mathias, Mr Oxley, Mr Parsons, Mrs Stephenson, Mr Stewart, Miss Waller, Mr Walters, Mr Wilby.

AGAINST THE MOTION (0)

ABSTAINING FROM VOTING (0)

3)     17 January 2017

Decision No. 498

Report No. 23/2017

Fees and Charges 2017/18

Mr Mathias introduced and moved the recommendations in the report.  Mr Hemsley seconded the recommendations.

During debate of the recommendation, points raised included:

               i.        Mr Oxley was concerned that the recommendation to increase the parking charges in Uppingham to bring them in line with Oakham car parking charges could dissuade people from visiting Uppingham to do their shopping.  Mr Oxley stated that it would have been useful to have debated this item more fully as part of the Scrutiny process;

              ii.        Clarification was provided by Mr Mathias that this item was debated as part of the Budget Scrutiny meetings on 18 January 2017;

            iii.        Mr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 619.

To receive reports about and receive questions and answers on the business of any joint arrangements or external organisations.

      i.        Mr Baines – Annual Meeting of the Court of Leicester University

Attended meeting on 10 February 2017, will be commencing the planning of Centenary celebrations from 2018 and are keen for Rutland to be involved.  The University, formerly Leicester College which was founded in memory of those that fell in the Great War from Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

     ii.        Mr Bool – Combined Fire Authority (CFA)

Just over a week ago it had been agreed that to provide a balanced budget a 2% annual increase would be required in order to give a balanced budget by 2020. The budget for the CFA was £35 Million.  On Band D the increase will mean 2 pence per week.  The CFA had the third smallest fees in the country despite the Revenue Support Grant being reduced from 7.2 million to 4.3 million for 2017/18.  The CFA were continuing to seek reductions and the appointment of the new Chief Fire Officer has led to a reduction of this salary figure to £30,000, which show his commitment.  Fire reduction in last 10 years has gone down by 42% for house fires, but there was an increase in road accidents.  The Leader of Leicestershire, Mr Rushton, was giving a report to Councillors on March 3^rd in Glenfield and Rutland Councillors were also invited.

    iii.        Miss Waller – East Midlands Councils

Attended meeting last Wednesday where the issues regarding the lack of a combined authority in the East midlands were highlighted, combined authorities were likely to be higher priority for capital funding.  Members were requested to highlight that the East Midlands is a separate entity should they have any contact with Local MP’s.  Sustainability and Transformation Plans were also discussed along with the holistic approach taken in some areas for example linking living conditions to health.  The Local Government Association had also developed tools to help Health and Wellbeing Boards to assess their own efficiency and Miss Waller could provide further details regarding this.

   iv.        Mr Oxley – Trustees of Cory Environmental Trust

Confirmation that the trust would be wound up due to the takeover by Biffa.  There were 6 projects currently being funded by the Trust, once these were finalised a decision would be made regarding any balances.

    v.        Mr Mathias – East Midlands Councils

Adult Social Care costs had also been discussed at the meeting last Wednesday.  Mr Mathias confirmed the discussion regarding the absence of any move towards forming a combined authority in the East Midlands and the fact that the Local Enterprise Partnership for this area is outside the East Midlands would not strengthen this position.

To receive  Report No. 20/2017 that seeks Council’s approval of the calculation and level of Council Tax for 2017/18 in accordance with legislative requirements.

Report to follow

Report No. 20/2017 from the Director for Resources was received to enable the Council to calculate and set the level of Council Tax for 2017/18 in accordance with legislative requirements.

The Leader, Mr Mathias, introduced the report and moved the recommendations.  Mr Foster seconded the recommendations.

During debate of the recommendations, points raised included:

      i.        It was confirmed that the fact that Rutland was low cost per head of population across the services it provides  was highlighted in the Council Tax booklet sent out to residents; and

    ii.        The Chairman encouraged Councillors to publicise this fact by highlighting it to Parish Councils and Meetings or writing to the press.

RESOLVED

1.1 Council APPROVED the formal Council Tax resolution shown at Appendix A to Report 20/2017; and

1.2 Council NOTED that there were no changes to the Local Council Tax Support Scheme (LCTS) for 2017/18.

The above resolution was voted as follows:

FOR THE MOTION (24)

Mr Baines, Mr Begy, Mr Bird, Mr Bool, Mrs Burkitt, Mr Callaghan, Mr Clifton, Mr Conde, Mr Cross, Mr Dale, Mr Foster, Mr Gale, Mr Hemsley, Mr Lammie, Mrs MacDuff, Mr Mann, Mr Mathias, Mr Oxley, Mr Parsons, Mrs Stephenson, Mr Stewart, Miss Waller, Mr Walters, Mr Wilby.

AGAINST THE MOTION (0)

ABSTAINING FROM VOTING (0)