Agenda and minutes

The Mayor welcomed those present to the meeting.

Apologies were received on behalf of Councillors Joanne Beecham, Wanda King and Gareth Prosser.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of Council held on Monday 19^th November 2018 be held as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

To consider Announcements under Procedure Rule 10:

a)           Mayor’s Announcements

b)           The Leader’s Announcements

c)           Chief Executive’s Announcements.

a)        Mayor’s Announcements

The Mayor paid tribute to Mr Brian Parkinson, who had worked for many years in support of the Royal British Legion.  Mr Parkinson had undertaken fund raising work on behalf of the Royal British Legion over a period of many years and had previously served in the Royal Engineers.  During this time with the Royal British Legion Mr Parkinson had helped to raise £234,000.  The Mayor presented Mr Parkinson with a certificate in honour of his achievements.

Mr Parkinson thanked Members and commented that he viewed this as an award for all of the people who volunteered with the Royal British Legion.  Members were asked to note that Mrs Parkinson had helped Mr Parkinson throughout that time and he thanked her for her support.  Mr Parkinson also thanked the public for providing donations, particularly for the Poppy Appeals.

The Mayor also outlined the civic events that she had attended since the previous meeting of Council and included the following activities in her update:

·                The Mayor had attended a range of carol concerts and Christmas events during the festive period.

·                The Mayor had switched on the lights in Redditch town centre and at the Alexandra Hospital.  She had also switched on some pink lights in Matchborough.

·                The Redditch Association for the Blind’s Christmas Party had taken place.  The Mayor had attended alongside other Councillors who had enjoyed the evening.

The Holocaust Memorial commemorations had taken place on Saturday 26^th January.  The theme of the event had been ‘Torn from Home’ and there had been a number of touching speeches, including from Mr Sokphal Din, a survivor of the Cambodian genocide.  The Mayor had written to the young people who had taken part in the commemorations to thank them for their help.  Thanks were also extended to the other Members who had served on the Holocaust Memorial Steering Committee; Councillors Anita Clayton, Bill Hartnett, Antonia Pulsford and Pat Witherspoon.

b)        The Leader’s Announcements

Members were informed that the national review of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) remained ongoing.  Worcestershire and Staffordshire LEPs had both agreed that the boarders of the LEPs should not overlap and they had each been awarded £100,000 by the Government.  The Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBSLEP) had not agreed with this proposal and had not received any extra funding.

The Leader had recently attended a meeting with representatives of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT).  During the meeting the Leader had been advised that a business case for the Alexandra Hospital would be submitted in June 2019, though it was acknowledged that this document had originally been scheduled for publication in June 2018.

The West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) various committees were currently focusing on the budget.  The Leader continued to attend these meetings on a regular basis.

c)         Chief Executive’s Announcements

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

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

No motions have been received for this meeting.

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

Finance Monitoring Report Quarter 2 2018/19

Members were asked to note that the financial details within the report were accurate as of December 2018 and the figures would be superseded by those that would be included in the final Medium Term Financial Plan 2019/20 to 2022/23.  The financial position for the Council would alter by £16,000 to take into account additional Section 106 monies that had been received. 

Joint Discussion – A Joint Payscale

The proposals detailed within the report would ensure that there was parity in terms of the pay received by Officers employed by Redditch Borough and Bromsgrove District Councils.  The Council had needed to amend the pay scales for Officers to comply with changes at a national level.  There would be a slightly detrimental impact as a result of the changes in respect of the gender pay gap but Officers were identifying actions to address this.

It was noted that the unanimous support of all Members was contingent on proper consultation being conducted, in line with the Council’s moral and legal obligations.  The potential to dismiss staff and then re-employ them under the new pay scales would only be undertaken as a last resort.

Fees and Charges 2019/20

Members noted that the fees and charges for some of the sheltered accommodation and housing complexes managed by the Housing Department had been reissued in an additional papers pack.  It had been identified by Officers that some incorrect charges had been loaded onto the Housing software and the figures detailed in the reissued papers were correct.

8^th January Executive Committee Minutes

Councillor Baker, in his capacity as Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, commented that the minutes should have highlighted that the recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in respect of Minute Item No. 73, for the redevelopment of Matchborough and Winyates District Centres, had received unanimous support.  The Mayor confirmed that this amendment would be approved.

RESOLVED that

1)        the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on Tuesday 11^th December 2018 be received and all recommendations adopted subject to, in respect of Minute 77 – Fees and Charges 2019/20, it being RESOLVED that

a)    the fees and charges for the sheltered housing schemes, St David’s House, Mendip House, Bredon House and Malvern House and the Home Support Service, as detailed in Additional Papers 1, being approved; and

2)        subject to the amendment detailed in the preamble above, the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on Tuesday 8^th January 2019 be received and all recommendations adopted.

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).

There were no urgent decisions to note.

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.)

There was no general urgent business for Members’ consideration.