Agenda and minutes

The Chair noted that a revised version of the Medium Term Financial Plan (Item 8) had been circulated to Members.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors K Bone, P Bone, M Emmens, A Foster, M Foster, B Hill, A Holmes, C Huckerby, C Hunt, J Kenyon,  M Potts, J Ridgway, L Stone, K Tait, R Welton and N Whitehead.

Members are requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interest and/or other interests, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time. 

Members were requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interest and/or other interest, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

Councillors C Cupit, A Dale and A Powell declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in the Medium Term Financial Plan report to Council for the recommendations from 6.7 to 6.13, because this part of the report related to Rykneld Homes and they were remunerated members of the Board of Rykneld Homes Ltd.  They indicated that they would not remain in the meeting when the part of the report was discussed and would not participate in the debate or determine Council’s decision on it.

The Leader of the Council declared a significant other interest in the motion relating to fireworks causing distress to people and animals, because of his role as President of the RSPCA branch for Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire.

For Item 8 (Medium Term Financial Plan), Councillors J Lilley and P Windley declared a disclosable pecuniary interest as tenants of Council properties. Councillor R Hall declared a disclosable pecuniary interest because of being both a garage plot leaseholder and a leaseholder with Rykneld Homes, and Councillor S Pickering declared a disclosable pecuniary interest because of being both a Council tenant and a garage plot leaseholder. The Monitoring Officer gave advice that an automatic dispensation on this matter was applied, allowing these four Members to remain in the room to both speak and vote on Item 8.

No further declarations were made at this meeting of Council.

To approve as a correct record and the Chair to sign the attached Minutes of the Council meeting held on 13 January 2020. 

Councillor S Cornwell wished to amend the minutes to indicate that it was her to speak in the second and third paragraphs of the discussion about pest control motion a), instead of Councillor N Barker as stated in the minutes.

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Council held on 13 January 2020 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair gave a warm welcome to Cadet Lance Corporal Noah Thackeray, who would be sworn in as a Civic Cadet later in the meeting. The Chair explained that along with Cadet Lance Corporal John Martin, Cadet Lance Corporal Thackeray would be supporting the Council at future Civic events.

The Chair explained how it was a great privilege to visit a resident in Clay Cross on 31 January 2020 celebrating his 100^th birthday. The Chair also went to the Clay Cross Angling Club last week to present the award at their annual fishing competition, and she thanked the Club for their generous donation of £300 to the Chair’s charity appeal.

The Chair indicated she was looking forward to attending the Derbyshire Amateur Swimming Association Championship on 23 February 2020 at the Arc Leisure Centre in Matlock.

The Chair reminded Members that when they submit expenses claims, they must be submitted within two months of the activity in line with the Members’ Allowance Scheme. The Chair suggested that Members should submit expenses claims once a month to stay within this threshold, and any queries about this should be directed towards the Governance department.

The Chair advised that from 1 March 2020, the modern.gov committee system would be going live. She urged Members to contact the Members ICT and Training Officer before this date to receive face-to-face modern.gov iPad training and install any outstanding iPad updates.

The Chair extended Council’s warmest congratulations to Councillor R Shipman for the recent birth of his son.

The Chair handed to the Leader of the Council for an update on the Council’s position regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The Leader informed Council that:

(1)      The Council was fully engaged with the County-wide Local Resilience Forum regarding preparedness for Coronavirus. Public Health England and the County's Director of Public Health were also fully engaged at a County level.

(2)      So far, there were no confirmed cases within Derbyshire.

(3)      A sub-group led by health agencies was also meeting weekly to ensure that the County was prepared in the event of any confirmed cases in the future.

(4)      The Council’s Joint Strategic Director Karen Hanson would be the Council's Emergency Planning Lead and would continue to participate in all multi-agency preparedness.

(5)      Business continuity plans were being reviewed to ensure that they were effective and appropriate.

(6)      Information was available on the Council's website with links to Government information and advice.

The Chair of the Council will make the appointment of a Civic Cadet, and present them with a badge and a certificate.

The Chair made an appointment for a Civic Cadet whose role would be to support the Chair and the Authority at future civic events. Cadet Lance Corporal Noah Thackeray was in attendance and the Chair presented him with a Civic Cadet badge, pledge and certificate. Members offered Cadet Lance Corporal Noah Thackeray their congratulations, and the Chair handed over to the Leader of the Council for more information about Civic Cadets.

The Leader of the Council explained the intentions behind the Council appointing Civic Cadets and the reasons for selection. He informed Members that the appointment of Civic Cadets was a tradition with a number of Councils, including Chesterfield Borough Council. The reasons behind North East Derbyshire Council appointing them were: to restore civic pride, to reiterate the Council’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, to promote youth organisations in the District and to support the Chair of the Council in fundraising activities.

In response to a query, the Leader of the Council sought to clarify if the Cadets chosen were from North East Derbyshire. He explained that when the Council decided to begin appointing Civic Cadets, it approached all Cadet detachments in Derbyshire. The Army Cadet Force (including a detachment in Clay Cross) were approached, but said they did not want to support Mayors or Civic Cadets, because they gave exclusive support to the Lord Lieutenant’s Cadets. This meant the Council had to look towards Air Force Cadets, Army Cadets and Sea Cadets that might not work within North East Derbyshire or have a detachment there, but were based in North East Derbyshire or had links to the area.

Councillor T Reader thanked the Leader for the explanation, and as a proud mother of two Air Cadets in Clay Cross, found the clarification very useful and reassuring.

In accordance with Council Procedure rule No 8 to allow members of the public to ask questions about the Council’s activities for a period up to fifteen minutes.  The replies to any such questions will be given by the appropriate Cabinet Member.  Questions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon seven clear working days before the meeting. 

Question submitted to Councillor C Cupit, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change from Anne Thoday

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 8, members of the public were allowed to ask questions about the Council’s activities for a period of up to 15 minutes. The replies to any such questions would be given by the appropriate Cabinet Member. Questions must have been received in writing or by e-mail to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon seven clear working days before the meeting.

The Chair advised that one question had been submitted to Councillor C Cupit (Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change) from Anne Thoday, but because Anne Thoday was unable to attend, this question would be deferred until a future Council meeting.

To consider reports (if any) from Members nominated to represent the Council on outside bodies. 

The Leader of the Council will report to Members on the Clay Cross Town Board.

The Chair passed to the Leader of the Council for an update on the work of the Clay Cross Town Board. The Board had been established in response to the Government’s Towns Fund prospectus, which proposed 101 towns across the country should set up a Board to potentially secure £25m of investment for each town.

The Leader of the Council explained that the Board held its inaugural meeting on 24 January 2020. As directed by the Government’s prospectus, the meeting was attended by representatives from local businesses, Clay Cross Parish Council, the NHS, Derbyshire County Council, Derby University, Chesterfield College and other local stakeholders.

The prospectus also required the Chair of the Board to be someone from the private sector, which is why the Technical Engineering Manager from Worcester Bosch had been asked to take the role after the first meeting.

The Leader of the Council reported that the meeting was positive, with all attendees providing input into production of an eventual Town Investment Plan. He added that all attendees agreed that the Plan should prioritise:

(1)      Making Clay Cross a 21^st century town, whilst also preserving its industrial legacy.

(2)      Making Clay Cross a centre for learning, research and climate change innovation, to make it attractive to students.

(3)      Increasing future employment opportunities for local people.

The Leader of the Council explained that there were discussions about a number of potential developments, initiatives and improvements, and the Town Investment Plan would have to be submitted to the Government by Summer 2020. The strands discussed at the first meeting included health, connectivity, education, transport, highways, innovation, economic development, zero carbon opportunities and housing.

Members were informed that the next meeting of the Clay Cross Town Board would be on 28 February 2020, which would encompass a site visit to Clay Cross and a workshop to discuss the strands in more detail.

Councillor N Barker thanked the Leader of the Council for the update, and expressed his belief that this presented a marvellous opportunity for the residents of Clay Cross.

Report of Councillor Paul Parkin, Portfolio Holder for Finance. 

The Chair invited the Monitoring Officer to explain how this item would be handled by Council.

The Monitoring Officer advised that the Medium Term Financial Plan report to Council would be voted on and dealt with in two parts. The first part would include recommendations 6.1 to 6.6, and the second part would include recommendations 6.7 to 6.13. This meant that the second part would encompass the recommendations that three Members had declared a displaceable pecuniary interest in because of their roles on the Rykneld Homes Board. The Members in question would be unable to participate or vote on the second part.

Councillor Paul Parkin (Portfolio Holder for Finance) presented the Medium Term Financial Plan 2020/21 to 2023/24 report to Council for recommendations 6.1 to 6.6. He paid tribute to the hard work of Finance officers in producing the Plan and helping him to achieve a balanced budget. The proposals had been approved by Cabinet on 13 February 2020 and were now being presented to Council. He informed Members that a number of efficiencies and savings being identified had allowed the Council to balance the budget.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance continued by warning Members that because of the budget shortfalls forecast for the next few years in Table 1 of the 13 February 2020 report to Cabinet, even more hard work would be required in future to balance the budget. He drew attention to paragraphs 1.9 and 1.10, which explained how the Government’s settlement had been planned to come in the form of the Spending Review for 2019, but this had instead become a one year rollover of the current four year settlement with a new medium term settlement due for 2021 onwards. This meant that the impact of national funding changes (including the Fair Funding Review and Business Rates reset that were expected to affect the 2020/21 budget) had been delayed until 2021/22. This relieved some of the pressure on the 2020/21 budget, but assumptions had continued to be made where sufficient information was available.

Recommendations 6.1 to 6.6 in the report were moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by Councillor A Dale. As the seconder, Councillor A Dale congratulated the Portfolio Holder on finding the line-by-line savings necessary to achieve a balanced budget, particularly since this would allow a Council Tax freeze to be delivered.

Councillor P Kerry spoke on the contents of the report segment under consideration. He acknowledged that Local Government finance was in a difficult place and different people would have their own ideas on how to address it, but he believed that this proposed budget put corporate image before the needs of the vulnerable. This was because he felt the budget would fail to fund organisations that had been helped in previous years, like the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Law Centre, the Unemployed Workers’ Centre and Links CVS.

Councillor P Kerry continued and made reference to how non-domestic rates appeared to be the Council’s main source of funding, and how  ...  view the full minutes text for item 533.

Report of Councillor Paul Parkin, Portfolio Holder for Finance. 

The Portfolio Holder for Finance presented the Treasury Management Strategy 2020/21 to 2023/24 report to Members. The report outlined the Council’s proposed suite of Treasury Strategies for the period2020/21 to 2023/24 for consideration andapproval by Council. It contained:

(1)      The Treasury Management Strategy, which provided the framework for managing the Council’s cash flows, borrowing and investments for the period.

(2)      The Capital Strategy, which was intended to provide a high level, concise overview of how capital expenditure, capital financing and treasury management activity contributed to the provision of the Council’s services.

(3)      The Investment Strategy, which focused on investments made for service purposes and commercial reasons, rather than those made for treasury management.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance moved the recommendations in the report. This was seconded by Councillor A Dale, who reserved the right to speak.

The Chair put the motion to the vote, and advised that a recorded vote would be taken in line with the Council’s Constitution, which directed that when matters affecting the setting of the Council’s budget or Council Tax were considered by Council, then a recorded vote must take place as a matter of course.

For the motion – 35

(Councillors P Antcliff, WA Armitage, N Barker, J Barry, J Birkin, A Cooper, S Cornwell, C Cupit, A Dale, L Deighton, J Funnell, O Gomez Reaney, R Hall, D Hancock, L Hartshorne, A Hutchinson, M Jones, P R Kerry, B Lewis, H Liggett, J Lilley, G Morley, P Parkin, S Pickering, A Powell, T Reader, C Renwick, M Roe, K Rouse, D Ruff, R Shipman, M Thacker MBE JP, P Windley, B Wright and P Wright.)

Against the motion – 0

Abstentions – 0

The motion was carried.

RESOLVED – That:-                  

(1)    Council approves the Treasury Management Strategy at Appendix 1 and in particular:

a)              Approves the Borrowing Strategy

b)              Approves the Investment Strategy

c)              Approves the use of the external treasury management advisors Counterparty Weekly List – or similar - to determine the latest assessment of the counterparties that meet the Council’s Criteria before any investment is undertaken.

d)              Approve the Prudential Indicators

(2)      Council approves the Capital Strategy as set out in Appendix 2 and in particular:

a)          Approves the Capital Financing Requirement

b)          Approves the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement for 2020/21

c)          Approves the Prudential Indicators for 2020/21 detailed in the Capital Strategy, in particular:

Authorised Borrowing Limit          £199,485,000

Operational Boundary                  £194,485,000

Capital Financing Requirement     £189,485,000

(3)      Council approves the Investment Strategy as set out in Appendix 3.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.2 to allow Members to ask questions about Council activities.  The replies to any such questions will be given by the Chair of the Council or relevant Committee or the appropriate Cabinet Member.  Questions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon seven clear working days before the meeting. 

No questions have been submitted under Procedure rule No 9.2 for this meeting.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 9.2 Members were permitted to ask the Chair of the Council or relevant Committees or the appropriate Cabinet Member questions about Council activities. 

No questions had been submitted under Procedure Rule No 9.2 for this meeting. 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 10 to consider motions on notice from Members.  Motions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon seven clear working days before the meeting. 

(a)       Motion proposed by Councillor Pam Windley and seconded by             Councillor Ross Shipman

“North East Derbyshire District Council believes the law is failing as it does not prevent or sufficiently reduce the risk of fireworks causing distress, injury or anxiety to people, as well as death, injury or distress to animals.

The Council believes that further research is needed to properly understand the impact of noise on animals and vulnerable people, and a number of things can be done to improve the situation for animals and people by:- 

·                Introducing a limit on the public use of fireworks on or close to specific dates and times;

·                Tightening restrictions on the sale of fireworks in the run up to Bonfire Night;

·                Reducing the maximum noise level of fireworks sold to the public, ensuring they are labelled accurately;

·                Licensing all public firework displays – and ensuring displays are better advertised to the public. 

This Council resolves:-

·                To require all public firework displays within the local authority boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people;

·                To actively promote a public awareness campaign about the impact of fireworks on animal welfare and vulnerable people – including the precautions that can be taken to mitigate risks;

·                To encourage local suppliers of fireworks to stock “quieter” fireworks for public display”.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 10 to consider Motions on notice from Members.  Motions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon seven clear working days before the meeting. 

Motion proposed by Councillor P Windley and seconded by Councillor R Shipman

“North East Derbyshire District Council believes the law is failing as it does not prevent or sufficiently reduce the risk of fireworks causing distress, injury or anxiety to people, as well as death, injury or distress to animals. 

The Council believes that further research is needed to properly understand the impact of noise on animals and vulnerable people, and a number of things can be done to improve the situation for animals and people by:-

·                 Introducing a limit on the public use of fireworks on or close to specific dates and times;

·                 Tightening restrictions on the sale of fireworks in the run up to Bonfire Night;

·                 Reducing the maximum noise level of fireworks sold to the public, ensuring they are labelled accurately;

·                 Licensing all public firework displays – and ensuring displays are better advertised to the public.

This Council resolves:-

·                 To require all public firework displays within the local authority boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people;

·                 To actively promote a public awareness campaign about the impact of fireworks on animal welfare and vulnerable people – including the precautions that can be taken to mitigate risks;

·                 To encourage local suppliers of fireworks to stock “quieter” fireworks for public display”.    

The motion was moved by Councillor R Shipman and seconded by Councillor P Windley. Councillor P Windley reserved the right to speak.

As mover of the motion, Councillor R Shipman stated that this was an issue flagged up to him by one of his ward residents. He explained that the motion sought to make provisions for people (such as those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and animals that might be at risk at times when loud fireworks were let off. He believed the proposals in the motion could lead to a culture change in North East Derbyshire District in terms of firework noise.

Councillor R Shipman acknowledged that the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change had recently presented a report to Cabinet on the same subject.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change spoke on the motion. She thanked Councillor R Shipman for proposing a motion about an issue she agreed was very important, particularly since it was a subject many residents had complained about and an RSPCA campaign had been underway to protect animal welfare when using fireworks.  She added that the vast majority of firework users were using them responsibly, so she felt it was a delicate balance between protecting people and animals, but not being too strict.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change explained that the RSCPA’s campaign had set out a model motion specifically for Councillors to submit to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 536.

To consider any other matter which the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair advised that there was one item of urgent business, which was appointment of the Chair for the Licensing Committee.

The Leader of the Council nominated Councillor H Liggett. This was seconded by Councillor A Dale.

On being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

RESOLVED – That Councillor H Liggett be appointed as Chair of Licensing Committee.