Agenda and minutes
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Tributes to Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, including observing a period of silence in her memory Minutes: The Chairman opened the meeting by leading Members in observing two minutes’ silence as a mark of respect following the death of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Chairman subsequently paid tribute on behalf of the Council by commenting that the sudden death of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had been a great loss to the country and to the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II had lived a life of extraordinary service, driven by duty and sustained by her faith. It had been the Chairman’s civic duty to send sincere condolences to the Royal Family on behalf of Bromsgrove District Council and the residents of Bromsgrove District. The Chairman commented that many people had mourned Queen Elizabeth II’s death and he expressed the hope that she would rest in peace.
Following the Chairman’s comments, Members paid tribute to Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, noting that she had served as monarch for 70 years and was the only Head of State that many citizens had ever known. Members commented that Queen Elizabeth II had set a positive example, through her values of openness, tolerance, listening to others and working together. The discussions concluded with Members thanking Queen Elizabeth II for her service.
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To receive apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors G. Denaro, A. English, M. Glass, S. Hession, L. Mallett, P. McDonald, M. Middleton and C. Spencer.
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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: Councillor A. Kent declared a pecuniary interest in Minute Item No. 57/22 – Motions on Notice – due to his role as the lead Portfolio Holder at Worcestershire County Council with responsibility for the Ryland Centre, which was the subject of one of the Motions. As he had left the meeting by the time that Members considered the item, he took no part in the debate nor vote thereon.
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 20th July 2022 were submitted.
Reference was made to Minute Item No.40/22 – Recommendations from the Cabinet – in which Members’ debate in respect of the Memorandum of Understanding with Redditch Borough Council in relation to a duty to co-operate had been recorded. Members questioned whether the Memorandum of Understanding would be implemented as discussed at that Council meeting, given that work on the Council’s Local Plan had been postponed. Council was advised that, as this did not relate to an issue with the accuracy of the minutes and matters arising were not discussed when considering the minutes, this issue could not be debated at this time and would need to be considered outside the meeting.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 20th July 2022 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: There were no announcements from the Chairman or from the Deputy Chief Executive, who attended the meeting 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 advised that Councillors M. Glass and J. Till were being appointed as named substitutes for the Conservative group on the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee.
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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: The Chairman confirmed that no comments, questions or petitions had been received for consideration at the Council meeting on this occasion.
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Additional documents: Minutes: Members were informed that there had been one urgent decision taken since the previous meeting of Council on the subject of appointments to Hunnington Parish Council.
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To receive and consider a report from the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item; no longer than 10 minutes for presentation of the report and then up to 3 minutes for each question to be put and answered.
Minutes: In the absence of the Portfolio Holder, the Leader presented the annual report for the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance.
Council was advised that the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance was the lead Cabinet Member for Finance, Customer Services, Business Transformation and Organisational Development, Democratic, Electoral and Legal Services.
The annual report was extremely detailed. The following key points were highlighted for Members’ consideration:
· The financial issues that had led to the non-delivery of the 2020/21 accounts and Government returns. During 2021/22, the Council had lost a significant number of staff in the Finance Department and this, alongside development of the Tech1 finance system, had led to a deterioration in the financial reporting of the Council’s position. There had been a recovery process in place since March 2022 and, aligned to this, there had been two phases of recruitment for the team which had resulted in a reconstituted finance team with a wider range of skills than had previously been the case. The Cabinet and Audit, Standards and Governance Committee had both been updated on the situation and had been informed that, although a lot of the short-term deficiencies had been rectified and solutions were being embedded, there was still a significant issue with the 2020/21 accounts having not yet been completed. The main problem remained with the Tech1 finance system and the cash receipting solution, which was holding up the completion of the accounts, although a solution was expected imminently. · Revenue collection rates had returned to a level similar to that in place prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. · In total £8 million of Covid-19 grants had been distributed to 1,895 recipients in the District. · There were 27,460 households who had received payments under the Energy Rebate Scheme. · The Council’s ICT team had used robotics to extract 350,000 invoices and purchase orders from the Council’s old finance system and to correct 40,000 records in the Uniform system. · The Human Resources team had developed an Agile Working Policy and supported its implementation. The team had also conducted a full staff survey and implemented a corporate training programme, including delivery of training in HR and health and safety. · A new Equalities Strategy 2022 – 2026 had been developed for the Council, which had set the direction for equalities work over the following four year period. In total, 12 local organisations had received financial support under the Bromsgrove Equality Small Grants scheme to support community activities. · There had been increased participation in the Bromsgrove Community Panel’s activities, comprising a list of Bromsgrove District residents who had agreed to participate in Council engagement and consultations. In 2021, an additional 159 people had joined the panel, meaning that there were 366 members in total by the date of the meeting. · The MS Power BI dashboard was in the process of being introduced, which would provide a visual platform with a primary focus on business intelligence. The content of the dashboard would complement the Council’s existing measures dashboard, the content of which was reported ... view the full minutes text for item 52\22 |
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Outside Bodies Council is invited to make nominations to the following Outside Body appointments:
· Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Partnership Assembly · Worcestershire Health and Wellbeing Board (Nominations are required for both a lead Member and a named substitute).
Minutes: Council debated and agreed appointments to the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Partnership Assembly and the Worcestershire Health and Wellbeing Board.
During consideration of this item, questions were raised about the reasons for the timing of the appointments as well as the names of the Councillors who had previously been appointed to these outside bodies. The Leader clarified that the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Partnership Assembly was a new group and the Council had been invited to make an appointment to the Assembly. In respect of the Worcestershire Health and Wellbeing Board, previously the District Councils in north Worcestershire had been required to appoint one Councillor to represent the north of the county, which had mirrored arrangements for the south of the county. However, a decision had recently been taken to invite all the District Councils in Worcestershire to appoint a lead Member and named substitute to serve on the Board on behalf of their Councils.
The nominations were proposed by Councillor K. May and seconded by Councillor M. Thompson.
RESOLVED that
1) Councillor S. Webb be appointed as the Council’s representative on the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Partnership Assembly; 2) Councillor S. Webb be appointed as the Council’s lead representative on the Worcestershire Health and Wellbeing Board; and 3) Councillor M. Sherrey be appointed as the Council’s named substitute on the Worcestershire Health and Wellbeing Board.
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Recommendations from the Cabinet To consider the recommendations from the meetings of the Cabinet held on 27th July and 12th October 2022.
The recommendations from the Cabinet meeting held on 27th July 2022 have been attached. The recommendations from the Cabinet meeting held on 12th October 2022 will follow in a supplementary pack.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman explained that recommendations had been made at meetings of Cabinet held on 27th July and 12th October 2022 respectively.
UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The Leader presented the recommendation that had been made at the meeting of Cabinet held on 27th July 2022 on the subject of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Members were advised that Bromsgrove had been allocated £2.8 million under the scheme. The funding would be allocated to projects and the Council had agreed criteria against which bids for funding would be assessed. The criteria had been submitted for the Government’s consideration in August 2022. Local organisations would be encouraged to submit bids, which would be assessed by the Bromsgrove Partnership.
The recommendation was proposed by Councillor K. May and seconded by Councillor M. Thompson.
During consideration of this item, an amendment was proposed by Councillor C. Hotham.
The amendment read as follows:
“This fund should be allocated by North Worcestershire Economic Development and Regeneration (NWEDR) after consultation with a politically balanced UK Shared Prosperity Fund Board, who will determine how this funding should be allocated.”
In proposing the amendment, Councillor Hotham expressed concerns about the process for determining whether to approve bids to fund projects under the scheme and he questioned the transparency of the process. Councillor Hotham commented that the Bromsgrove Partnership, which had been allocated this responsibility, had one elected Member representative: the Leader. The suggestion was made that there needed to be a greater level of elected Member oversight, particularly given the amount of money involved.
Consideration was given to this proposed amendment and as part of this process, advice was provided by the Monitoring Officer. Members were informed that the proposed amendment actually related to matters that had already been resolved by Cabinet. The role of the Council meeting was to consider whether to amend the authority’s Medium Term Financial Plan to incorporate the UK Shared Prosperity funding allocation. The Government’s intention for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund had been for there to be community involvement in the process. The governance arrangements required the Council’s Section 151 Officer to sign off any grants. For these reasons, the amendment was not accepted for debate.
Questions were subsequently raised about the membership of the Bromsgrove Partnership and the extent to which this information was available in the public domain. Members also commented on the need for members of the partnership to be transparent in respect of declaring interests, given the amount of money that would be distributed under the scheme. The Leader explained that the Bromsgrove Partnership Manager maintained a list of partner organisations that were represented on the Bromsgrove Partnership. Members of the partnership were required to declare interests at every meeting they attended and any declarations were recorded in the minutes of those meetings. The Bromsgrove Partnership was involved in engagement and enablement and focused on the needs of the local community. Council was advised that most Councils in the country in receipt of funding ... view the full minutes text for item 54\22 |
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The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 27th July 2022 have been attached to the main agenda. The minutes of the meeting of Cabinet scheduled to take place on 12th October 2022 will follow in a supplementary pack.
Additional documents: Minutes: Reference was made to the Cabinet’s debate in respect of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and questions were asked about the potential risk that the funding in this scheme might be withdrawn or reduced, following changes at the national Government level since the scheme was introduced. The Leader explained that no information had been received suggesting that this funding would be removed.
The minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 27th July and 12th October 2022 were noted.
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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 30 minutes is allocated for the asking and answering of questions at this meeting. This may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman with the agreement of the majority of those present.
The Questions will be published in a supplementary pack.
Minutes: The Chairman explained that nine Questions on Notice had been received in advance of the meeting. Due to recent changes to Council meeting arrangements, group leaders and the Chairman had agreed that the time dedicated to consideration of Questions on Notice at this meeting should be extended from the usual time of 15 minutes to 30 minutes.
Question submitted by Councillor H. Rone-Clarke
“Many residents will already be aware that our MP holds an annual jobs fair in Bromsgrove. However, there are many young people seeking part-time employment in our town, in order to support themselves and their families. For these young people, it can be difficult to find part time roles that suit their school or college timetable.
In order to overcome this difficulty, will the leader support either a jobs fair tailored more towards younger people, or perhaps consider devoting a section of BDC's website/social media to advertising part time jobs that are better suited to this section of the population?”
The Leader responded by commenting thatthe Jobs Fair held by the local MP was always welcomed and important for those seeking employment opportunities. The last successful jobs fair took place in April 2022, and if the next was to be held in 2023, the Council would fully support the event, alongside the many businesses and agencies who could showcase and provide the opportunity and offer for people in the community, including young people, who were seeking both full time and part time employment.
Having been in contact with the MP’s office, the Leader explained that they had confirmed they always welcomed suggestions for the job fair and were aware of this matter being raised as a question at the Council meeting.
With regards to the use of the Council’s website and social media, whilst the authority advertised Council jobs, through West Midlands Employers, it would be unable to act as a ‘jobs hub’ as it would be difficult to both source ‘suitable jobs’ and thereafter promote links to individual employers or agencies in equitable terms without due regard to their suitability.
However, the Council’s website and social media would be used to fully promote the jobs fair in future, in line with practice in previous years.
Question submitted by Councillor R. Hunter
“Have all eligible households in Bromsgrove now received their April council tax rebate?
The Leader explained that the Government’s Council Tax Energy Rebate scheme provided a £150 payment to households that, on 1st April 2022, occupied properties in Council Tax valuation bands A to D or valuation band E if the Council taxpayer was eligible for the Council Tax reduction for disabilities. If a home was unoccupied, classed as a second home, or the owner was liable for Council Tax but was not the occupier – for example houses in multiple occupation – then the property was not eligible for the payment.
The Council had identified 27,458 eligible households and had written to, emailed, or sent SMS messages to the households advising ... view the full minutes text for item 56\22 |
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A period of up to an hour and a half is allocated to consider the motions on notice at this meeting. This may only be extended with the agreement of the Council.
The Motions will be published in a supplementary pack.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman explained that four Motions on Notice had been received for consideration at this meeting. For the first of these, submitted by Councillor R. Hunter, the wording of the Motion had been amended after the main agenda had been published and this had therefore been reissued in a supplementary pack. As agreed by group leaders prior to the meeting, following changes to Council meetings, an extended time of one and a half hours had been allocated to the consideration of Motions on Notice at the meeting.
The Local Plan
Council considered the following Motion on Notice that was submitted by Councillor R. Hunter:
“This council believes that the local plan preferred options paper should have been published this autumn as previously planned and should be published as soon practicably possible with or without further infrastructure assessment to avoid any further unnecessary delays to the completion of our next local plan.”
The Motion was proposed by Councillor Hunter and seconded by Councillor S. Robinson.
In proposing the Motion, Councillor Hunter commented that the Motion focused on the decision that had been taken to delay publication of the preferred options paper for the Council, which would have identified potential sites for development. It was suggested that this delay would cause anxiety for many residents, due to uncertainty about whether particular land might be identified as suitable for development. In addition, Members were asked to note that the deferral would delay the provision of affordable housing in the District. Members were asked to note that the original wording of the Motion had been amended at the suggestion of Officers.
Reference was made to the Strategic Transport Assessment for the District, which had been postponed, however, Councillor Hunter suggested that the delay of this document did not justify deferring the preferred options paper. Other Councils in Worcestershire were proceeding with their work on their Local Plans and Councillor Hunter suggested that it would be more transparent and appropriate to proceed at a similar pace in Bromsgrove.
In seconding the Motion, Councillor Robinson stated that, whilst Members might have different views about the reasons for the deferral, it had been unfortunate that there had been limited notice provided to Councillors of the delay. Members had been working to a particular deadline and Councillor Robinson suggested that any concerns about meeting this deadline should have been raised at an earlier stage in the process with Members. Should the preferred options plan be deferred, it was suggested that clarification would need to be provided as soon as possible about the new deadline.
The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services responded to the Motion by explaining that, as advised and explained at a meeting of the Strategic Planning Steering Group, the plan had been delayed for further infrastructure work to be undertaken. The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services expressed the view that providing residents and businesses with more certainty over the infrastructure required to support the plan was key, which was why a decision ... view the full minutes text for item 57\22
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Rejected
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