Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Jess Bayley
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To receive apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors S. Baxter, A. Beaumont, A. Kent, J. King, R. Laight and S. Webb. Council was also advised that Councillor R. Jenkins would be arriving late.
In the absence of both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman, Councillor H. Jones was nominated as Chairman for the meeting.
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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: Councillors C. Hotham, A. Kriss, M. Middleton, P. Thomas and J. Till declared pecuniary interests in Minute Item No. 52/21 – Recommendations from Cabinet – Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 – due to their position, or their spouse’s position, as private sector landlords. They left the room during consideration of this item and took no part in the debate or vote thereon.
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Minutes: The minutes of the Council meeting held on 29th September 2021 were submitted.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 29th September 2021 be approved as a true and correct record.
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To receive any announcements from the Chairman and/or Head of Paid Service Minutes: Members were advised that, since the previous meeting of Council, the Chairman’s consort, Mrs Lynne Laight, had passed away. In addition, Members were informed that former District Councillor, Alan Dent, had also passed away. Members paid their respects by observing a minute’s silence in their memory.
The Deputy Chief Executive confirmed that there were no announcements on behalf of the Head of Paid Service on this occasion.
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To receive any announcements from the Leader Minutes: The Leader confirmed that she had no announcements to make on this occasion.
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To receive comments, questions or petitions from members of the public A period of up to 15 minutes is allowed for members of the public to make a comment, ask questions or present petitions. Each member of the public has up to 3 minutes to do this. A councillor may also present a petition on behalf of a member of the public.
Minutes: Council was informed that no comments, questions or petitions had been received from the public for consideration at the meeting.
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Additional documents: Minutes: Members were advised that two urgent decisions had been taken since the previous meeting of Council, on the subject of the Worcestershire Business Rates Pool and the Waste Collection crew. These urgent decisions had been published on the Council’s website and were not subject to debate at the meeting.
During consideration of this item, concerns were raised about the frequency with which urgent decisions were taken at the Council. Whilst it was recognised that urgent decisions had been necessary during the lockdown period of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was commented that, following the return to meetings in person, it should be easier to arrange for decisions to be taken at Council meetings. Officers were urged to consider the frequency with which urgent decisions occurred and Members were asked to note that there might be a need to hold more frequent meetings of Council in order to reduce the need for urgent decisions.
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Recommendation from the Constitution Review Working Group Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling presented a report detailing the background to a recommendation that had been made at a recent meeting of the Constitution Review Working Group. Members were advised that the group had discussed the membership arrangements for the Climate Change Working Group during this meeting. The subject had been discussed, following comments at the previous Council meeting raising concerns about the performance of the Climate Change Working Group. There was recognition that the Climate Change Working Group needed to be effective, due to the importance of taking action to tackle climate change. The Constitution Review Working Group had concluded that a change to the membership of the Climate Change Working Group, to ensure that this reflected, though did not form part of the formal political balance at the Council, would help to ensure that the group worked effectively.
During the Constitution Review Working Group meeting, reference had also been made to the terms of reference for the Climate Change Working Group. Members had suggested a number of changes that could be made to strengthen the work of the Climate Change Working Group, including a restriction on the number of times a member of the group could send a substitute to attend meetings in his/her absence. The Climate Change Working Group would be reviewing its terms of reference at the next meeting of the group and all of the suggestions that had been made by members of the Constitution Review Working Group would be considered at that meeting.
Council subsequently discussed the proposal to change the membership of the Climate Change Working Group in some detail. Members commented that during the international COP26 summit the Council needed to demonstrate its commitment to tackling climate change. Concerns were raised by some Members about the effectiveness of the Climate Change Working Group to date and it was suggested that action needed to be taken to improve the output from this group in order to have a constructive impact on tackling climate change moving forward. The Climate Change Working Group had existed for 2 years but recommendations had only been made by the group relatively recently. It was suggested that a change to the membership of the group might help to ensure that recommendations were brought forward more frequently in future.
However, concerns were also expressed by some Members about the proposed changes to the membership of the Climate Change Working Group. It was noted that attendance at meetings of the group had varied over time, but some Members had consistently attended meetings and suggested items for discussion. The suggestion was made that, whilst action needed to be taken to improve the performance of the Climate Change Working Group, the proposed action would not necessarily result in the outcomes intended.
Members noted that a reduction in the total number of members of the Climate Change Working Group to 9 Councillors would inevitably result in a reduction in the number of Members from opposition groups who could serve on the ... view the full minutes text for item 50\21
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Overview and Scrutiny Board Membership Members are asked to note Councillor H. Jones’s appointment to the Overview and Scrutiny Board to replace Councillor M. Thompson.
Members are also asked to note Councillor M. Glass’s appointment as a substitute for the Overview and Scrutiny board replacing Councillor S. Hession.
Minutes: The Leader confirmed that Councillor H. Jones had been appointed to the vacant position for the Conservative Group arising from Councillor M. Thompson’s appointment to the Cabinet. In addition, Councillor M. Glass had been appointed as a named substitute for the Board in place of Councillor S. Hession.
During consideration of this item, reference was also made to the membership of the Planning Committee. The Leader advised that Councillor C. Spencer was being appointed to the Committee to replace Councillor S. Hession. Members were also advised that Councillors M. Glass, A. Kriss and M. Thompson were being added to the Conservative Group’s list of named substitutes for the Committee. In addition, Councillor R. Hunter informed Council that he was being appointed as an additional named substitute for the Liberal Democrat Group on the Planning Committee.
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Recommendations from the Cabinet To consider the recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 20th October 2021.
Minutes: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling Services presented a report on the subject of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. Members were advised that this recent legislation introduced a requirement for all privately rented properties to have an electrical installation safety check every 5 years, similar to the requirement already applicable to Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs). Under the terms of the legislation, landlords were required to have undertaken a safety check by 1st April 2021. Where the safety check identified any failure of electrical safety standards, the landlord was required to notify the local authority, to provide a copy of the report and to submit evidence demonstrating that they had addressed the issues within 28 days of the failures being identified. Members were informed that, to date, this appeared to be taking place as required.
The legislation included the provision to impose penalty charges for non-compliance by landlords in addition to the local authority undertaking work in default if necessary. The penalty charge structure that had been proposed by Officers would be for landlords to pay £1,000 for a first offence and £3,000 per offence for any subsequent offences. This penalty charge structure had been determined in conjunction with other Worcestershire authorities as a level sufficient to present a deterrence to non-compliance but unlikely to justify an appeal. Members were advised that the Government had set a maximum charge that could be levied in instances where a portfolio landlord who would be expected to be informed of statutory standards applying to rented accommodation, or engaging reputable agents for managing their properties, had consistently failed to address electrical safety in a number of their properties. The fee proposed for subsequent offences by Officers would be proportionate in cases involving a single property or a small portfolio landlord failing in his or her legal duties and who were less likely to risk further breaches.
The recommendation detailed in the report was proposed by Councillor G. Denaro and seconded by Councillor M. Sherrey.
Members subsequently discussed the report and in so doing welcomed the introduction of a change in legislation that would have a positive impact on the safety of tenants in the private rented sector.
During consideration of this item, an amendment was proposed by Councillor R. Hunter which was seconded by Councillor S. Robinson. The amendment was as follows:
“Instead of capping the penalty for second offences at £3,000 the Council should set a cap of £29,000.”
In proposing the amendment, Councillor Hunter explained that he was concerned that Officers were proposing to cap the charge for later offences at £3,000 when the legislation permitted Councils to charge up to £30,000. The charges would be levied against landlords who had been found guilty of serious breaches of electrical safety standards. This had implications for the safety of tenants in their homes. Councillor Hunter commented that a recent National Housing ... view the full minutes text for item 52\21 |
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To note the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 20th October 2021 Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 20th October 2021 were noted.
During consideration of this item, reference was made to Minute Item No. 27/21, concerning the debate in respect of Bromsgrove District Council’s Approach to the Draft Black Country Plan. Questions were raised about whether this minute provided clarity about the debate at Cabinet in respect of the Council’s response to the black country authorities, especially in relation to the proposed development outside the District’s borders, north of Hagley. Members were advised that the Cabinet minutes had not yet been approved by the Cabinet and the accuracy of the minutes would need to be discussed at Cabinet. |
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Questions on Notice To deal with any questions on notice from Members of the Council, in the order in which they have been received.
A period of up to 15 minutes is allocated for the asking and answering of questions. This may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman with the agreement of the majority of those present.
Minutes: The Chairman explained that 9 Questions on Notice had been received for consideration at the meeting. These questions would be considered in the order in which they had been received. There would be no supplementary questions.
Question submitted by Councillor P. McDonald
"How many employees are being paid less than the Living Wage Foundation’s £9.50?"
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling responded by explaining that the Council paid the Foundation Living Wage, which was set at £9.50 per hour. There were no employees who were being paid less than £9.50, other than one apprentice post, which was being paid at the appropriate apprentice rate for the age of the employee. This was in line with the national apprentice pay rates.
Question submitted by Councillor C. Hotham
“This council has five strategic purposes. Three make no mention of climate change. Of the remaining two, there is a brief mention of making recycling easier and improving home energy efficiency. There is also a brief vague mention of a “green thread” running through council policy. I don’t think this now demonstrates sufficient commitment to fighting climate change. We have a newly appointed Climate Change Cabinet Member, a climate change working group and a general strong consensus across the council that time is running out and that now is the time to act.
Does the Climate Change Cabinet Member agree with me that tackling climate change should become a strategic purpose of this council in its own right and will he undertake to make sure this happens?”
The Portfolio Holder for Climate Change commented that he was delighted that the importance of climate change had been highlighted. The Council had agreed that the ‘green thread’ should run throughout the Council Plan, as it was not something that stood on its own. Responsibility for climate change cut across all services and portfolios and was something that everyone had responsibility for, as opposed to being a distinct stand-alone purpose. In this respect, the Portfolio Holder for Climate Change had a co-ordinating role across all of the strategic purposes.
The Council was fully committed to the authority’s climate change duties and as such the Portfolio Holder for Climate Change invited Councillor Hotham to highlight this again when the Council Plan was due a review in a year’s time.
Question submitted by Councillor S. Baxter
“Please could the leader provide an update on the redistribution of the many surplus Council ipads to schools.”
The Leader responded by commenting that in April 2021, contact was made with Worcestershire Children First, which was responsible for the delivery of services to children and young people in Worcestershire. Worcestershire Children First were offered Members’ old ipads for distribution amongst children attending local schools. In response, the Council was advised that there was no scheme operated for this purpose by Worcestershire Children First. However, they suggested that contact be made with the social enterprise NewStarts about donation of the equipment, as NewStarts operated a recycling scheme where they repurposed donated ... view the full minutes text for item 54\21 |
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A period of up to one hour is allocated to consider the motions on notice. This may only be extended with the agreement of the Council.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman explained that prior to Council the Group Leaders had met to discuss the Motions. Group Leaders had agreed that the first Motion submitted for Members’ consideration by Councillor H. Rone-Clarke should be referred to the Monitoring Officer and would not be debated during the meeting. In addition, Group Leaders had agreed that the second Motion submitted by Councillor S. Robinson would be referred to the Finance and Budget Working Group for discussion as part of the budget setting process and would not be debated at the meeting. Consequently, there were no Motions to debate at the meeting.
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To consider any urgent business, details of which have been notified to the Head of Legal, Democratic and Property Services prior to the commencement of the meeting and which the Chairman, by reason of special circumstances, considers to be of so urgent a nature that it cannot wait until the next meeting Minutes: The Chairman advised that Councillor C. Hotham had requested that Council should consider an item of urgent business in respect of the discharge of sewage into waterways. In line with the constitution requirements, advice had been taken from officers and whilst there were concerns regarding the recent reports that sewage might be entering the District’s waterways and the impact that this might have on the people and wildlife of the District, the responsibility for this function fell to a number of external agencies.
Therefore, Councillor Hotham had been advised that Officers from the Council and North Worcestershire Water Management would urgently establish a multi-agency review into the issues that had been identified.
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Carried