A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Council and councillors

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6HP

Contact: Natasha Taylor, 01572 720991  Email: ntaylor@rutland.gov.uk

Link: Audio recording

Items
No. Item

314.

APOLOGIES

To receive any apologies from Members.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Mr Begy, Mr Callaghan, Mr Lowe, and Mr Parsons.

315.

CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

To receive any announcements by the Chairman.

Minutes:

The Chairman announced that the list of engagements had been circulated.

 

It was noted there would be a briefing for Members on St George’s Barracks after the Council meeting.

 

The Council was due to host a Prospective Councillor Event on Saturday 10 November. The event would comprise of presentations from the Chief Executive and Elected Members, a question and answer session, followed by an opportunity for prospective members to meet members of the Strategic Management Team and senior managers to find more information about the work of the Council, Key Projects, and Strategic Direction.

 

The Council meeting was being recorded to give prospective councillors opportunity to view the process of a Full Council meeting.

 

 

 

316.

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE LEADER, MEMBERS OF THE CABINET OR THE HEAD OF PAID SERVICE

To receive any announcements by the Leader, members of the Cabinet or the Head of Paid Service.

Minutes:

Mrs Stephenson announced that the Local Transport Plan and gone for consultation and asked that members pass on details to their Ward. The Local Transport Plan would cover up to 2036.

317.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

318.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

To confirm the Minutes of the 275th meeting of the Rutland County Council District Council held on 10 September 2018.

Minutes:

The minutes of the 275th meeting of the Rutland County Council District Council held on 10 September 2018 were confirmed by the council and signed by the Chairman.

319.

PETITIONS, DEPUTATIONS AND QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

To receive any petitions, deputations or questions received from members of the public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 28. 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.

Minutes:

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

320.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL

To receive any questions submitted from Members of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 30 and 30A.

Minutes:

There were no questions from members of the council.

321.

REFERRAL OF COMMITTEE DECISIONS TO THE COUNCIL

To determine matters where a decision taken by a Committee has been referred to the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 110.

Minutes:

No committee decisions had been referred.

322.

CALL-IN OF DECISIONS FROM CABINET MEETINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM 10 September 2018 to 5 October 2018 (INCLUSIVE)

To determine matters where a decision taken by the Cabinet has been referred to Council by the call-in procedure of Scrutiny Panels, as a result of the decision being deemed to be outside the Council’s policy framework by the Monitoring Officer or not wholly in accordance with the budget by the Section 151 Officer, in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 206 and 207.

Minutes:

No call-ins were received.

323.

REPORT FROM THE CABINET pdf icon PDF 49 KB

To receive Report No. 181/2018 from the Cabinet to note the Key Decisions taken at its meeting held on 18 September 2018.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No. 181/2018 from the Cabinet was received, the purpose of which was to report to Council the Key Decisions made by Cabinet since the publication of the agenda for the previous ordinary meeting of the Council on 10 September 2018.

 

RESOLVED

 

Council NOTED the Key Decisions made since the publication of the agenda for the previous ordinary meeting of the Council on 10 September 2018, as detailed in Appendix A to report 181/2018.

324.

REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL pdf icon PDF 56 KB

a.             To receive reports from Committees on matters which require Council approval because the Committee does not have the delegated authority to act on the Council’s behalf.

b.             To receive reports from Council Committees on any other matters and to receive questions and answers on any of those reports.

 

i.      Report No. 183/2018

Annual Report of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No. 186/2018 was received from the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.

 

The purpose of the report was to set out the work of the Committee in an annual report in line with best practice.

 

Miss Waller introduced the report as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and thanked members for their diligence at meetings which reassured that the Committee was doing as best a job as elected members could do. Credit was given to Mr Sav Della Rocca – Strategic Director for Resources, and his team.

 

Mr Lammie thanked Miss Waller for her work as Chair of the Committee.

 

RESOLVED

 

To NOTE the Annual Report of the Audit and Risk Committee.

325.

REPORTS FROM SCRUTINY COMMISSION / SCRUTINY PANELS

To receive the reports from the Scrutiny Commission / Scrutiny Panels on any matters and to receive questions and answers on any of those reports.

Minutes:

There were no reports from Scrutiny Commission / Scrutiny Panels.

326.

JOINT ARRANGEMENTS AND EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS

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

Minutes:

      i.        Miss Waller

 

1.    East Midlands Councils

Miss Waller noted she had attended the Employer’s Board, Brexit Summit, and Housing Conference, all of which were set up by East Midlands Councils. Notes for all meetings would be circulated to all members.

 

2.    Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Joint Health Scrutiny Panel

Miss Waller attended the conclusion of the Panel on that was adjourned on 4 September 2018. Details of which had been circulated to members.

 

    ii.        Mr Conde – Centre for Public Scrutiny (CFPS) – Annual National Health Scrutiny

Mr Conde would filter information gained from the Scrutiny through Scrutiny commission to the relevant Scrutiny Panels on the hints that were picked up on the best practices from various authorities.

 

   iii.        Mr Oxley – Uppingham in Bloom

Uppingham in Bloom had won gold again in the East Midlands in Bloom competition and had also won a number of medals in categories at a community level. Thanks was given to Miranda Jones, the Chair of Uppingham in Bloom and all the team’s hard work. Uppingham in Bloom had also entered into a national competition which would be judged next year.

 

Mr Conde noted that Oakham in Bloom had won silver in the same competition.

 

   iv.        Mr Baines – Rutland Water Partnership

There was a meeting on 5 October 2018. Issues raised by Ward Members were put to Anglian Water, who were happy to co-operate. Minutes from the meeting would be distributed to Members.

 

    v.        Mr Foster

 

1.     Trustees of Carlton Hayes Charity

It was noted that the Out of Hours Club in Rutland were awarded a substantial grant from the Carlton Hayes Charity. The Out of Hours Club were a drop-in discussion group for those with mental stresses between the ages of 18 and early 30s. Mr Foster reminded Members that most grants go to Leicester and Leicestershire and should they know of any groups that may fulfil the criteria to talk to him.

 

2.     Armed Forces Officer

The new Armed Forces Officer, Michelle Woolman-Lane had attended the Reserve Cadets Association, and had been working hard to get the best deal for those in services and ex-services in Rutland.

 

The Armed Forces Officer had been spending time with the Veterans Breakfast Club, and had also been providing support on a one-to-one basis.

The Armed Forces Discount Scheme introduced by the Chief Executive was looking to be extended to veterans as well as those currently serving. This had encouraged more businesses to sign up.

 

3.     World War 1 Centenary

The Lord Lieutenant would be leading the events for the centenary. Information would be available on the RCC website as well as the Lord Lieutenant and the WW1 event website.

 

   vi.        Mr Hemsley

 

1.     East Midlands Councils – Executive Board Meeting

Discussions were had on the public investment in the East Midlands in relation as to what went into the West Midlands, and the fact that the East Midlands was not doing as well. Mr Hemsley would have a meeting with the Chief Executive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 326.

327.

NOTICES OF MOTION pdf icon PDF 36 KB

To consider the Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Marc Oxley and seconded by Councillor Ben Callaghan in accordance with Procedure Rule 34, the text of which can be found in the agenda pack.

Minutes:

The Notice of Motion submitted by Mr M Oxley in accordance with Procedure Rule 34 was received.

 

Mr Oxley introduced the motion and moved the recommendation below. Mr Bool seconded the recommendation.

 

That Rutland County Council supports the motion that Councillor Oliver Bird be offered the vacant seat on the Oakham Town Task and Finish Group following the resignation of Mr Richard Clifton from Rutland County Council.

 

During debate points raised included:

 

      i.        Mr Bird stated it was not his intention to de-rail the process and criticise the final report, which had been claimed by others. Mr Bird noted he had previously written praise in regards to the work that the Oakham Town Task and Finish Group had undertaken.

    ii.        It was questioned whether the Council had the authority to change the membership. Mr Horsfield, Monitoring Officer, confirmed that as the Council was the parent body, it could make the decision if members saw fit.

   iii.        Mrs Stephenson noted that with experience in task and finish groups since 2011, it was felt that coming into a task and finish group late into the process may not work despite potential valuable contributions Mr Bird may be able to bring to the group.

   iv.        There was concern that the motion involved party politics which the task and finish group was setup to be politically neutral. Mr Oxley denied that was the case, it was simply to help another member of the Independent Group.

    v.        A statement from Mr Callaghan, Chair of the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Panel, was read by Mr Oxley which stated:

 

“There are number of compelling reasons why Councillor Bird should be on the task and finish group. Contrary to statements made, the process which is formulating the plans for Oakham Town Centre are far from over. In reality it falls in to two main parts: Gathering the evidence in which recommendations can be made, and then consulting, designing and implementing the desired plans. This is equally as important as the first part and requires experience and commitment, both of which are possessed and have been exhibited by Councillor Bird. There is one meeting left of the task and finish group, and at this meeting, one of the key tasks will be to agree, form and populate the groups that will carry the project through to its conclusion. Councillor Bird is ideal for this stage. There has been criticism that he has not been involved in the process, this is unfair and not quite true. He has kept himself updated throughout, reading all documentation emanating from the meetings. Councillor Bird was one of the founding members that initiated the cross party group that was the precursor to the group we see today. He was only not involved due to his conflict of interests and desire to allow Councillor Fox to be on it.”

 

RESOLVED

 

Council AGREED to support the motion that Councillor Bird be offered the vacant seat on the Oakham Town Task and Finish Group following the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 327.

328.

PLANNING REFERRAL PROCESS pdf icon PDF 57 KB

To receive Report No. 189/2018 from the Director for Resources.

Minutes:

Report No. 189/2018 was received from the Strategic Director for Resources.

 

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

 

Mr Lammie had concern on the removal of the referral process for Committee or Sub-committee exercising a regulatory function as he felt it took out of the democratic avenue. Mr Lammie asked that each recommendation be taken separately.  

 

The Chairman confirmed that each recommendation would be voted on separately.

 

RESOLVED

 

      i.        To APPROVE the increase of number of members on the Planning and Licensing Committee to 12.

    ii.        To APPROVE the amends to the Constitution to require that the quorum for the meeting be 50% of the membership.

   iii.        To APPROVE the amends to the Constitution to remove the option to substitute Members should a member of the committee not be able to attend.

   iv.        To APPROVE the appointment of membership in line with the overall balance of the Council treating any non-aligned members as a group for the purpose of the calculation.

    v.        To APPROVE Procedure Rule 110 be amended to remove the referral process for Committee or Sub-committee exercising a regulatory function.

 

---oOo---

In accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 11, paragraph 2 – Recording of Votes – Mr Lammie requested that his vote against resolution v) be recorded.

---oOo---

 

 

   vi.        To AUTHORISE the Monitoring Officer to incorporate the revisions and changes above into the Council’s Constitution.

 

 

329.

ANY URGENT BUSINESS

To receive items of urgent business which have been previously notified to the person presiding.

Minutes:

There was no other urgent business.