Venue: Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6HP
Contact: Governance Email: governance@rutland.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES Minutes: Apologies for absence were received form Councillors A MacCartney, L Toseland, A Walters and S Webb.
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CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Minutes: The Chairman informed Members that since the last meeting of Council he or the Vice-Chairman had attended the following events:
The Chairman had also attended the Oakham Rugby Club Centenary celebration and congratulated them on their longevity when many similar sized clubs had struggled in recent times.
Members were also reminded of the upcoming events taking place across the county on the upcoming weekend to commemorate Remembrance.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE LEADER, MEMBERS OF THE CABINET OR THE HEAD OF PAID SERVICE Minutes: Councillor L Stephenson, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Policy, Strategy, Partnerships and Economy, informed Members that nominations for the Multum Awards had recently closed and judging of the nominations would be taking place later in the week.
Councillor R Powell, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Highways and Transport informed Members that discussions were ongoing with South Kesteven District Council regarding the proposed Stamford North Development, and it was expected that any developments within Rutland would count towards the county’s housing supply, it was noted that this was important to confirm given the current stage of the Local Plan process and the application already submitted to the Council.
Councillor M Oxley updated Members on the situation at Fosters Bridge following an incident over the previous weekend, warm space provisions being made at all the Council operated libraries in Rutland over winter, and Councillor Oxley informed Members a display of poppies homemade by military veterans at HMP Stocken was on display at Oakham Castle.
Councillor S Harvey updated members on the work underway to support the 104 Ukrainians currently settled in the county going into the winter, on ongoing meetings held with the NHS regarding their work in the county and upcoming changes to Adult Social Care.
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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: There were no declarations of interest.
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MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING PDF 122 KB To confirm the Minutes of the 243rd meeting of the Rutland County Council District Council held on 5th September 2022. Minutes: Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 5 September 2022.
It was moved by Councillor L Stephenson and
seconded that the minutes of Council held on 5 September be
approved. Upon being put to the vote, with
RESOLVED
a) That the minutes of Council on 5 September 2022 be APPROVED.
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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 Procedures Rule 25 and 26. 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: No petitions, deputations or questions from members of the public had been received.
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QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL PDF 78 KB To receive any questions submitted from Members of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 27 and 28. Minutes: Two questions had been received from Members and the Chairman took these in the order they were received.
Councillor P Browne then put his question as set out in the agenda supplement to Councillor S Harvey, Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care. In response Councillor Harvey confirmed that a strategic group of the Integrated Care Board was tasked with reviewing primary care within Rutland and was regularly updated with approved applications, with regard to Stamford North. Although health colleagues were disappointed in the lack of a masterplan for the proposed development it was confirmed the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and Lincolnshire ICBs were meeting with the local authorities and developers for the site monthly.
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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 89. Minutes: There had been no referrals to Council.
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CALL-IN OF DECISIONS FROM CABINET MEETINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM 5 SEPTEMBER TO 7 NOVEMBER 2022 (INCLUSIVE) To determine matters where a decision taken by the Cabinet has been referred to Council by the call-in procedure of the Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 149 and 150. 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, or otherwise not in accordance with Article 12. Minutes: No call-ins had been received.
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REPORT FROM THE CABINET To receive Reports from the Cabinet on recommendations referred to the Council for determination. Minutes: Two reports had been received from the Cabinet for Council’s consideration.
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FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY PDF 69 KB To receive Report No. 173/2022 from the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation. Additional documents: Minutes: Report No. 173/2022 was introduced by Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation, the report recommended Council’s approval of a financial strategy as set out in the accompanying Report No. 158/2022 considered by Cabinet. In moving the recommendations Councillor Payne made an alteration to add the following additional recommendations:
The motion as altered was seconded. During debate several Members expressed concerns regarding the proposals for use of reserves in the short terms citing their wish for savings and referenced work that had previously taken place with Members to identify potential savings that could be supported by a majority of Members.
Councillor G Brown moved the following amendment as an additional recommendation:
The amendment was seconded, and several Members spoke in support of the amendment citing the wish for further engagement. Members opposed to the amendment explained their view that the Council’s financial circumstances had changed considerably since the previous engagement had taken place and the strategy as presented before Council presented the right approach to managing these circumstances.
Upon the amendment being put to the vote, with 10 votes in favour, 11 against and 1 abstention, the motion was defeated, and debate returned to the substantive motion.
Following further debate, the original motion was put to the vote, with 13 votes in favour, 5 against and 5 abstentions, the motion was carried.
RESOLVED
a) That Council APPROVED the recommendation from Cabinet to approve a financial strategy for closing the financial gap as detailed in Report No. 158/2022.
b) Council understands that the calculations in this strategy are based on the best information available this time, and for the purposes of the calculations (and only for that purpose) make reference to raising council tax by the maximum allowed (under the current rules) each year during the period of the strategy. However:
c) Nothing in this strategy should be taken to predetermine the level of council tax (or rise in Council tax) in any year. The actual level of council tax will be calculated each year in the normal way according to need and will then be subject to approval by a meeting of Full Council.
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EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC Council is recommended to determine whether the public and press be excluded from the meeting in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, and in accordance with the Access to Information provisions of Procedure Rule 239, as the following item of business is likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.
Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). Minutes: ---o0o--- Councillor S Harvey left the meeting at 20:08 ---o0o---
The Chairman explained to Members that although efforts had been made to make a public report available on the next item, the clear advice from officers was that the following item in its seniority should be considered in a private session.
It was then moved by Councillor L Stephenson and seconded that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the reasons set out in the agenda. Upon being put to the vote, with 22 votes in favour the motion was unanimously carried.
RESOLVED
a) That the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as the following item of business was likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.
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WASTE AND STREETSCENE SERVICES (INCLUDING WASTE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL) - CONTRACT OPTIONS To receive Report No. 174/2022 from the Portfolio Holder for Communities, Environment and Climate Change. Additional documents:
Minutes: ---o0o--- Councillor S Harvey returned to the meeting at this point. ---o0o---
Consideration was given to Report No. 174/2022 from the Cabinet, details of the debate are contained in an exempt annex to the minutes.
RESOLVED
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REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL 1) 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. 2) To receive reports from Council Committees on any other matters and to receive questions and answers on any of those reports. Minutes: No reports from Committees of the Council had been received.
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REPORTS FROM SCRUTINY To receive reports from the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee on any matters and to receive questions and answers on any of those reports. Minutes: No reports from Scrutiny had been received.
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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: Councillor G Waller updated Members on a recent meeting of the Carlton Hayes Mental Health Charity which considered grant applications from small mental health charity and explained there was a lack of applications from organisations working in Rutland and encouraged Members and officers to refer any groups they were aware of to Carlton Hayes.
Councillor P Ainsley updated Members on his work as Armed Forces Champion, including visits to 7 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, and announced the scheduling of meetings for the Rutland Veterans Wellbeing Hub and the Forces Family Forum. Councillor Ainsley also referenced the placement of hand-made poppies at Oakham Castle made by veterans at HMP Stocken and reminded Members of the upcoming events to commemorate Remembrance.
Councillor K Bool updated Members on several community outreach projects that had been undertaken by Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and confirmed he would provide a more detailed report following several meetings of the Combined Fire Authority due later in the year.
Councillor E Baines updated Members on two recent meetings of the Rural Community Council for Leicestershire and Rutland. At the first meeting there had been a round-up of activity in the previous year including 23 people from 13 households helped across Rutland with offering support services and supporting voluntary action in rural communities. At the second meeting there had been an awards ceremony with approximately a third awarded to Rutland based organisations and individuals.
Councillor M Oxley informed Members that the annual Rutland Fairtrade Market would be taking place at Oakham castle on Saturday 19th November.
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NOTICES OF MOTION To consider any Notices of Motion submitted by Members of the Council in accordance with Procedure Rule 31 in the order in which they are recorded as having been received. Minutes: No notices of motion had been received.
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APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT PERSON PDF 75 KB To receive Report No. 175/2022 from the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation. Additional documents:
Minutes: Report No. 175/2022 was introduced by Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation, the report recommended the appointment of Gordon Grimes as the Council’s Independent Person to advise and support the Council’s standards processes following an open selection process.
Several Members spoke of their positive experience with Mr Grimes as the previously appointed Independent Person and spoke in support of his reappointment.
The recommendation to appoint Mr Grimes as an Independent Person was moved by Councillor K Payne and seconded. Upon being put to the vote, with 23 votes in favour the motion was unanimously carried.
RESOLVED
That APPROVED the appointment of the recommended Independent Person. |
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POLITICAL BALANCE AND ALLOCATION OF SEATS TO POLITICAL GROUPS PDF 94 KB To receive Report No. 176/2022 from the Monitoring Officer. Additional documents: Minutes: Report No. 176/2022 was introduced by Councillor L Stephenson. The report set out the required changes to the political balance calculations following the resignation of Councillor A Walters from the Independents and Green Group and set out revised allocations to Committees that had been shared and discussed with Group Leaders and non-aligned Members prior to the meeting.
The recommendations of Report No. 176/2022 were moved by Councillor L Stephenson and seconded. Upon being put to the vote, with 23 votes in favour the motion was unanimously carried.
RESOLVED
That Council:
a) ADOPTED the political balance calculation for the Council at Table A.
b) APPROVED the allocation of seats to Political Groups, as determined by the political balance, as set out in Appendix A of the report.
c) NOTED the revised group’s nominations for Committees in Appendix A based on the seats allocated.
d) APPROVED the appointment of non-aligned Members to Committees as outlined in Appendix A.
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ANY URGENT BUSINESS To receive items of urgent business which have been previously notified to the person presiding. Minutes: There was no urgent business for consideration, but congratulations were expressed to Uppingham on having recently been awarded a Gold award in the small town category of East Midlands in Boom.
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING 5 December 2022 Minutes: 5 December 2022.
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