Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber Town Hall. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services 

Items
No. Item

57.

Welcome

Minutes:

The Mayor welcomed all those present to the meeting.

58.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Pattie Hill and Yvonne Smith.

59.

Declarations of Interest

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

60.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 464 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED that

 

the minutes of the meeting of Council held on Monday 17th September 2018 be held as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

61.

Announcements

To consider Announcements under Procedure Rule 10:

 

a)           Mayor’s Announcements

 

b)           The Leader’s Announcements

 

c)           Chief Executive’s Announcements.

 

 

Minutes:

a)        Mayor’s Announcements

 

The Mayor noted that the 11th November 2018 Remembrance Sunday commemorations had marked one hundred years since the end of World War One.  Many people in the local community had participated in the commemorative events and had raised funding for the poppy appeal.  One local fund raiser in particular, Mr Gerry Marsden, had excelled as a Poppy Appeal organiser.  The Mayor presented Mr Marsden with a certificate in recognition of his contribution.  In return Mr Marsden presented the Mayor on behalf of the Council with a limited edition poppy appeal medal as a token of appreciation.  Members were advised that during the Poppy Appeal campaign in Redditch in 2018 residents had donated £41,000 to date, though it was anticipated that this would not be the final figure for the year.

 

Members were advised that there had been a number of civic events since the previous meeting of Council.  The Mayor thanked the Deputy Mayor for his assistance during that period and explained that she would email Members a list of her engagements.  She also extended her thanks to Councillor Joe Baker for his assistance with the organisation of a recent bake sale in aid of the Mayor’s charities which had raised £100.  Similarly the Mayor expressed her gratitude for the help that Councillors David Bush and Anthony Lovell had provided at a charity event at an Italian restaurant where they had helped with fund raising activities.

 

The Mayor informed Members that she would be hosting a Christmas Quiz.  All Members were invited to participate in this quiz.

 

b)        Leader’s Announcements

 

The Leader noted that the Council had received responses from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) and Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to correspondence in respect of the Motion considered at the previous meeting of Council.  The responses had been circulated amongst Members for consideration.

 

There was an ongoing review of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) taking place.  The leader of the opposition had been notified of this and further updates would be provided to Members in due course.

 

c)         Chief Executive’s Announcements

 

The Chief Executive confirmed that he had no announcements to make.

62.

Questions on Notice (Procedure Rule 9) pdf icon PDF 107 KB

Minutes:

The Leader responded to a question that had been submitted by Mr and Mrs Underwood in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.2.

 

Mr Underwood asked the following question of the Leader:

 

Charlotte and Craig Saving Hearts Foundation would like to ask the council if they would be willing to support a petition being run by US (CCSHF) and the town’s MP Rachel Maclean to lobby the government for first aid and CPR to be taught in schools and will the council permit the petition to be available for signatures in its reception areas?”

 

The Leader responded as follows:

 

“We are more than happy to support the proposal set out in your question as we think this is very worthwhile.”

63.

Motions on Notice (Procedure Rule 11)

No motions have been received for this meeting.

Minutes:

There were no Motions on Notice for consideration at this meeting.

64.

Executive Committee pdf icon PDF 134 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Voluntary and Community Sector Grants Programme 2019/20

 

The proposed trial changes to the Voluntary and Community Sector Grants Programme in 2019/20 were discussed in detail.  During the debate around this item the following matters were raised for consideration:

 

·                The arrangements for the current grants process, the role of the cross-party Grants Panel and the length of time that these arrangements had been in place.

·                The efficiency of professional bid writers who were in a strong position to secure grant funding for their groups.

·                The availability of support from the Council’s Grants Officer who could help smaller groups which lacked that expertise.

·                The need for the Council to have a transparent process in place whereby funding would be provided to local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) groups.

·                The potential for more Members than at present to get involved in providing funding to VCS groups during the trial.

·                The impact that the proposed trial arrangements would have on the distribution of grant funding across the Borough.

·                The risk that some groups might apply for funding from a number of Councillors and the important role of Officers in monitoring such activities.

·                The administrative implications of the trial and how these compared to the Council’s existing grants programme.

·                The reduction of £20,000 overall in funding for the grants programme that would arise should the trial be agreed.

·                The different number of VCS groups in each ward and the extent to which Members could provide funding for appropriate causes.

·                The consultation that had been undertaken prior to proposing the scheme and whether further consultation was needed.

·                The potential for Councillors to pool resources to support initiatives.

·                The need for Members to be provided with training before grants were approved for VCS groups.

 

Shareholders’ Committee – Local Authority Trading Company

 

Members noted that the Shareholders’ Committee would be a cross-party group responsible for many of the governance arrangements in relation to Rubicon Leisure Limited.

 

Council Housing Growth Programme – Proposed Development Sites

 

The proposal to develop particular sites as part of the Council’s Housing Growth Programme was discussed in detail.  During the debate the following points were considered:

 

·                The plans detailed in the report to develop 67 properties on the proposed development sites.

·                The size of the Council’s housing stock.  Members noted that the Council had 5,800 properties.

·                The demand for social housing within Redditch and the need to expand the Council housing stock in order to meet this demand.

·                The 41 properties added to the Council’s housing stock between May 2012 and May 2018, which had been obtained through a variety of means including buying back properties and the mortgage rescue scheme.

·                The sale of Council Houses under right to buy and the need to use the finances generated from these sales within particular timeframes to fund the provision of replacement properties.

·                The need for the Council to improve turnaround on void properties in order to make houses available to those in need.

 

RESOLVED that

 

the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

65.

Regulatory Committees pdf icon PDF 194 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Roger Bennett, who had chaired the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 5th November in the absence of the Chair, presented a recommendation arising from that meeting in respect of the Statement of Principles for the Gambling Act 2005.  Members advised that following the meeting Licensing Officers had requested that an amendment be made to the recommendation detailed in the minutes of the Licensing Committee to note that the proposed action would take effect on 31st January 2019.  Members confirmed that they agreed with this proposed amendment.

 

RESOLVED that

 

the Revised Draft Statement of Principles be approved and published to take effect on 31st January 2019.

66.

Political Balance Report pdf icon PDF 161 KB

Minutes:

Members were advised that the introduction of a Shareholders’ Committee for Rubicon Leisure Limited, as agreed during consideration of the recommendations received from the Executive Committee meeting held on 23rd October 2018, impacted on the Council’s political balance.  A list of nominations to the Shareholders’ Committee, including the Chair and Vice Chair, was tabled at the meeting for Members’ consideration (Appendix 1).

 

Members agreed the proposals detailed in the report with nobody voting against.

 

RESOLVED that

 

1)        the political balance of the Committees of the Council be agreed as set out in paragraph 3.5 of the report;

 

2)      the arrangement where the seats on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee are not allocated in accordance with the political balance requirements be continued;

 

2)        the arrangement where the seats on the Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Panel are not allocated in accordance with the political balance requirements be continued;

 

4)      appointments by political group leaders to the places on the Shareholders’ Committee be approved; and

 

5)      the Council appoints a Chair and a Vice-Chair of the Shareholders’ Committee.

67.

Urgent Business - Record of Decisions

To note any decisions taken in accordance with the Council’s Urgency Procedure Rules (Part 6, Paragraph 5 and/or Part 7, Paragraph 15 of the Constitution), as specified.

 

(None to date).

Minutes:

There were no urgent decisions to note.

68.

Urgent Business - general (if any)

To consider any additional items exceptionally agreed by the Mayor as Urgent Business in accordance with the powers vested in him by virtue of Section 100(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

(This power should be exercised only in cases where there are genuinely special circumstances which require consideration of an item which has not previously been published on the Order of Business for the meeting.)

Minutes:

There was no general urgent business for Members’ consideration.

Political Balance report - appendix handout pdf icon PDF 135 KB