- 66 -

NUNEATON AND BEDWORTH BOROUGH COUNCIL

COUNCIL 6th December, 2017

The meeting of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council was held at the Town Hall, Nuneaton, on Wednesday, 6th December, 2017.

Present

The Mayor (Councillor W.J. Hancox) The Deputy Mayor (Councillor C.M. Watkins)

Councillors D. Aldington, C. Bennett, I.C. Bonner, K. Brindley, R.G. Copland, G. Daffern, D. Gissane, J. Glass, C. Golby, S. Gran, J. Gutteridge, D. Harvey, J. Haynes, J.A. Jackson, K.A. Kondakor, A.A. Lloyd, I.K. Lloyd, S.J Margrave, C.S. Phillips, N.J. P. Phillips, G.D. Pomfrett, M. Pomfrett, J. Sheppard, T. Sheppard, J. Tandy, R. Tromans and K.D. Wilson.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J.B Beaumont, P.M. Elliott and R.T Smith.

An address was given by the Rev. Mark Turner, the Mayor’s Chaplain.

CL38 Minutes

The minutes of the Ordinary Council meeting held on the 13th September, 2017 and the minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting held on the 13th September 2017 were confirmed and signed by the Mayor.

CL39 Interests

The Declarations of Interest for this meeting are as set out in the Schedule attached to these minutes.

CL40 Announcements

The Leader of the Council made the announcement that he would not be standing at the next election in May 2018 and that he would be retiring but would remain Leader until then.

The Mayor made the following announcements:

Thanked everyone for their support for his sponsored Wing Walk in October and can all sponsor money be handed in to the Mayor as soon as possible.

- 67 -

There are two quiz nights being held in January. The first is on the 12th January 2018 at the Anchor Inn, Nuneaton. The second is being held at the Griff and Coton Club in Nuneaton on the 19th January 2018.

With plenty of notice on the 20th April 2018 there is an Elvis Night being held at the Saunders Club in Bedworth and is set to be a very enjoyable evening.

Lastly the Mayor wished everyone a Happy Christmas.

CL41 Public Participation

a) Kyle Evans asked the following question to the Portfolio Holder for Health and Environment;

Many months ago myself, Cllr Seb Gran and Cllr Bhagwant Pandher took part in a litter pick along Griff Lane the old disused road connecting the Griff to the Bermuda Industrial Estate, it was a very successful litter pick, and we collected around 30 bags of litter, of course NBBC's Environmental Team were on hand to assist us and they did a fantastic job as usual. I'd like to thank them and the other members of the public for coming along, I think we did a great job.

During this litter pick I was amazed that there were no litter bins whatsoever along the route, I walked back a few nights ago along Griff Lane to find that all the rubbish has come back again, I' am sure that me and other Conservative Councillor's in the Borough will conduct another litter pick along the route again soon, but It would make a lot of sense for the Council to invest in some litter bins to put along the route, to limit the amount of litter dropped.

People walk back from MacDonald’s, KFC and Subway, finish what they're eating, and because there are no bins, they drop there litter. So could I please ask the Cabinet Member to consider getting some bins along the Griff Lane route, so that we can help make the Borough look at cleaner and more vibrant place?

Councillor B.J. Longden, Portfolio Holder for Health and Environment, responded as follows:

Thank you for raising this issue. Griff Lane itself has been built over, roads have been changed and deviated but I assume the section you are talking about is the bit that goes down to Coventry Road and across to where the Bowling Alley is by the Cinema, the others go off into Arbury Hall estate. Unfortunately this issue does highlight the highly inappropriate behaviour that some of our residents take. They are clearly prepared to discard litter as and when they want to, they don’t give any thought to the detrimental effect it has on the environment and the quality of life to other residents. If people have packaging from fast food outlets then they should really be taking home with them, not just dumping it where they think it’s convenient to them and if they do pass a litter bin on the way home they can always put it back into that. The fact is as we always keep saying with limited resources and ever decreasing resources that the Borough Council have - 68 -

at its disposal to deliver the wide range of services that we provide to our residents means that our cleansing teams are able to walk the litter pick, all the areas they want to within the Borough and Griff Lane is one of them. However I have asked for a litter bin to be installed at the point where Griff Lane meets the Coventry Road and hopefully the provision of that bin will encourage some of them, not all of them I very much doubt it will get all of them to amend their behaviour and we will see how we go with that.

I have to say Mr Mayor that the public spiritedness in this of Mr Evans and his Tory colleagues over there is all very well but the old cynic in me does say that it forms a nice photo opportunity for the election leaflets in 2018.

At the end of the day Chair it’s really down to residents to behaviour responsibly and have some pride in their Borough. b) Kevin Moore asked the following question;

Democracy is by far the best way of governance in all aspects of politics in the United Kingdom. A key part of the democratic process is that the individual has the right to have their say and when people are excluded from the democratic process, as at Newcastle under Lyme recently, democracy is threatened.

Online petitions are one of the many ways for people to express their views or opinions. Many members of this Council chamber, from all political parties, have signed online petitions, and they are used by various Councils across the country including Warwickshire County Council. The Leader of the Council may be aware that members of this Council have signed online petitions at the County Council such as the one relating to Children's Centres.

Given that online communication is the most commonly used form of communication today, especially amongst younger people, will the Leader of the Council agree to lift the Council's ban online petitions so that more people are encouraged to take part in the democratic process of the Borough.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor D. Harvey responded as follows;

Mr Mayor,

I do not wish to comment on the situation at Newcastle under Lyme, which is an ongoing legal matter and clearly not the remit of this Council.

I can also tell Mr Moore that I do not have the power, as leader to lift a ‘ban’ as he calls it, on Online Petitions. This is a matter for Full Council.

This was a decision of Council due to complexities of running an e-petition scheme, along with the expense at a time of possible cuts in services due to lower government grant. The conservative government repealed the duty to have a e-petition scheme when they came to power in 2010. To - 69 -

have an effective scheme would require investment into specialist software to ensure that only genuine signatories agreed to the petition. Because of the cost, the Council took the decision not to implement the scheme when the government changed the law.

As we are now faced with yet more cuts to our grant in the coming year, such a use of resources can hardly be justified for us as a small district council as opposed to a large organisation such as County but I do have to add Mr Mayor that the public are entitled to speak at all our council meetings, cabinet meetings and committee meetings and we were one of the first councils in the country to do that and I believe at Warwickshire County Council that still doesn’t apply to every meeting. c) Anne Llewellyn-Nash asked the following question:

In the light of businesses like HSBC and Barclays moving out of Bedworth and the number of empty shops in the town centre, how many new businesses have the Borough Council succeeded in attracting to Bedworth Town Centre in the last six months?

The Leader of the Council responded as follows:

First of all I would like to clarify the position in relation to the two Bedworth banks. Barclays has not been closed but is opening reduced hours, opening 9.30am to 4pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday only.

HSBC closed earlier this year as part of a national programme – this is far from a localised issue. Indeed, over 1700 High Street branches have closed throughout the UK over the past five years, as customers increasingly move to online banking.

It is important to point out that our vacant unit rate in both Nuneaton and Bedworth remains below the national average. In fact this Council has very few of its own premises vacant.

I would also highlight the fact that there have been two new store openings in Bedworth over the past six months – the carpet store adjacent to Costa Coffee re-opened earlier this year as Karpet Kingdom and Poundstretcher has taken on a prime retail location in Bedworth as part of its UK – wide expansion.

Poundstretcher is set to open its doors as ‘Poundstore’ this weekend, having taken out a ten year – lease on 6 All Saints Square. David Walton, Head of Retail commented that the team was particularly pleases with the latest store in Bedworth, describing the position as a first class position.

I have to say Mr Mayor we are very happy that Bedworth has largely weathered the storm in terms of retailing and you can go to Bedworth any day of the week and find that the major car parks are full of cars and that is a very good sign when retail has been hit all over the country. d) Sam Croft asked the following question to the Leader of the Council; - 70 -

Appendix D, on page 89 of the agenda for today's meeting reveals a downward spend pressure of £55,000 due to reduced car park income for 2018/19. What action is the controlling group taking to address this shortfall in car parking charges which has arisen since they were raised against opposition advice?

Councillor D. Aldington, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development responded as follows;

We have indeed built in a spend pressure of £55,000 in terms of decreased gross income from our car parks into our budgeting work for 2018/19, as we want to be prudent, sensible and realistic in the way we approach setting the 2018/19 budget.

The reduction in our car parking income reflects a national trend up and down the country of fewer people visiting town centres to shop as on line shopping continues to grow in popularity. I am sure most people in here have probably shopped online at some point during the year.

We are of course striving to deliver a wider offer of services and entertainment in our town centres to attract people into them and we will continue to invest in our town centres, but we don’t want to pretend that the changes in national shopping habits aren’t actually happening.

In order to mitigate the effects of reduced likely gross income from our car parks in the future, we are working hard to reduce the costs we incur in actually operating the car parks to try and maintain the net income we receive from our car parks.

Our work on keeping a tight control on operating costs in the current financial year means that at the end of October the net income from our car parking operation was a modest £6,000 below budget. e) Owen Reed asked the following question:

A few months ago, Councillor Tricia Elliot, the Labour representative for the Barpool Ward, said on the Facebook page ‘Living in Nuneaton’, whilst addressing the concerns of residents concerned about the planned developments ‘I recognise the concerns being expressed but have faith it will all turn out fine in the end’. Does the Cabinet Member agree with me that local councillors should be giving more reassurances to their residents when it comes to the disastrous Borough Plan, just telling residents to ‘have faith’ simply doesn’t cut it!

Councillor D. Aldington, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development responded as follows:

I cannot comment on a post made by another councillor, however what I can tell Mr Reed is that the Council have submitted a robust Borough Plan that will deliver over the next 20 years a housing, employment and infrastructure that the entire Borough needs. - 71 - f) Mike Bannister submitted the following statement:

We were obviously shocked when we heard the news that the Labour Council of NBBC proposed to cease all funding to Advice Rights. The only opportunity available to protest this decision was at Cabinet on 22 November 2017.

I pointed out to the Cabinet that in making this decision the Authority had totally failed to meet the aspirations set out in the Council’s Code of Corporate Governance and Constitution.

Was this good decision-making? Well let’s consider that!  ‘Was the decision taken on the basis of due consultation’  ‘Was the decision taken on the basis of professional advice of Officers’  ‘Was everything relevant taken into account’  ‘Has the decision been well explained’  ‘What were the reasons for the decision’  ‘What alternative options were considered’

Where does this leave the Council?

Well they have driven a coach and horses through their own Code of Corporate Governance and Constitution; they have totally sidelined their own Overview and Scrutiny Committee to whom we report outcomes. There are no reports that we know of, no impact assessment has been carried out.

The Council, who says it respects the rule of law, acts with integrity, ensures openness and comprehensive stakeholder engagement should walk the walk and not talk the talk.

To date our concerns in respect of the failure to follow a fair and reasonable process have been dismissed.

Dawn Dawson the Director of Housing and Communities on behalf of the Portfolio Holder Councillor Jackson, dismisses our concerns and tells us that it would not be appropriate to consult before a decision is made. Clearly a new way of thinking and one which I am sure will concern all the residents of this Borough.

Apart from being told that of course, these were difficult times for the Council and that huge savings needed to be made, the only other explanation we received in respect of this decision was when Councillor Harvey said if you are ‘Warwickshire Employment Rights Service, let Warwickshire pay for it.’

If Councillor Harvey or indeed Councillor Jackson had carried out an appropriate consultation, had they consulted with their Officers, or indeed carried out stakeholder engagement they would have understood that as a Service we were required to seek alternative funding sources as a condition of our Service Level Agreement. - 72 -

All additional funding secured by Advice Rights has directly benefitted the people of Nuneaton and Bedworth.

Had we not used the name Warwickshire Employment Rights Service we would not have been able to secure that additional funding.

I still hold out hope that this Authority will listen to what we have had to say, will reconsider, and will do the right thing.

But if that is not the case then I have to tell this Authority Mr Mayor that very reluctantly we will have no other recourse than to seek a Judicial Review in relation to the Council’s ‘decision making process.’

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council responded as follows:

In response to Mr Bannister, Mr Mayor, I would clarify that the organisation for which he works has been advised by the Director of Housing and Communities that consultation would take place with the organisation and at no point have concerns been dismissed.

He was reminded that his employer has a two year agreement with this Council and this ends on March 31st 2018. This agreement specifically refers to whether or not the Council has the available finance.

The decision by Cabinet triggers the consultation process and no final decision will be made until Council in February 2018 in line with the Council’s constitution.

Councillor Kondakor moved that the proposal to cease all funding to Warwickshire Advice Rights be referred to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

Councillor Bonner seconded the motion.

A vote was taken on the matter above.

The vote was lost. g) Tasib Mughal asked the following question:

Thanks Mr Mayor. My question is to the Leader of the Council. Is he like me disgusted by the way the Tory County Council ignored their consultation process on Children Centres which found in favour of the current set up? Just an ongoing example of the North South divide supported by Tory County Counsellors sitting in this Chamber to night. Shame on them!

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council, responded as follows:

I can tell Mr Mughal that I agree with his sentiments entirely.

- 73 -

CL42 Questions by Members

a) Councillor S. Margrave asked the following question;

Last weekend saw Small Business Saturday.

Local small businesses and start ups are critical to a thriving economy and creating new jobs. They also provide services for local people, and are important in the success of the high street.

Can the leader of the Council tell us how we are supporting local small businesses and start-ups, including those in our town centres?

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council responded as follows;

We will shortly be launching a town centres website and highlighting the events throughout the area. This will advertise all of our town centre businesses and showcase the offer of our town centres online.

We are also launching our new NBBInvest website. This showcases the offer of the Borough to prospective businesses and investors and again will advertise the opportunities to businesses to set up and grow within the Borough.

We are finalising the infrastructure for the Wi-Fi, which will attract more people into the town centres of the Borough and help small businesses through increasing footfall.

We continue to maintain our excellent relationship with our partners at the CWLEP growth hub to aid businesses when they are looking to start up or to grow.

The recent Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival was a great success, with events happening throughout the sub region. Borough businesses hosted events and our businesses were able to attend all events to network and learn new skills.

In addition to this we run the Chilvers Coton Craft Centre for small businesses, the Attleborough Industrial Estate units as well as lock up units in Bedworth market which provide an excellent opportunity for small business start up. – Incidentally they are all full.

b) Councillor C.S Phillips asked the following question;

The Tory government shook the magic money tree to pay for an EU referendum. They then shook it to pay for a general election. This backfired, so they had to shake it again to pay a bribe to the DUP. Currently the tree is being constantly shaken to pay for an ever increasing Brexit divorce bill.

Does the Leader agree that the proceeds from the magic money tree could have been better spent on vital public services? - 74 -

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council, responded as follows:

Councillor Phillips has hit the proverbial nail on the head.

How is it that millions, to be exact 1000 million extra can be found for Northern Ireland when the rest of the UK continues to suffer from slashed Government grants.

Not only are the people of Nuneaton and Bedworth suffering as a result of lower budgets but are now being asked to see more services hit so that Arlene Foster and DUP friends can be rewarded for the loyalty.

We have all seen this week what sort of loyalty this is! And now the whole country is threatened with further chaos, possibly having no Brexit deal at all, thanks to the DUP.

How long do the rest of us have to suffer financial cuts to our public services so Theresa May can pay further monies to Ulster, monies she repeatedly says cannot be afforded in the rest of the UK. c) Councillor S. Gran asked the following question;

Since the borough council recently confirmed that they have not ruled out paying for a solicitor to represent them at February’s borough plan examination, will the portfolio holder tell us if the Council will be again spending £19,000 on a solicitor to defend the third rate borough plan?

Councillor D. Aldington, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development, responded as follows;

The decision whether to use specialist legal support is an operational decision for officers who, using their skill and judgment, have to determine what is in the best interests of this Council. Given the importance of the Borough Plan to the Borough and its impact which will be felt for many years to come, it is imperative that Councillors have the best plan possible for adoption. Given that many developers and land owners employ specialist lawyers to promote their sites, it is not unreasonable for the Council to do the same to retain a balance of power in the hearings.

The costs of external legal advisers is fully budgeted for in the Borough Plan budget and no decision has yet been taken as to when and in connection with which issues, specialist counsel will be employed.

In connection with stage 1 of the process, counsel’s comment is being completely taken out of context by Councillor Gran. The point made by counsel was that the threshold to satisfy the duty to co-operate was low and assessed on a pass/fail basis. Counsel commented that even a third rate plan could pass that test. That was not intended to suggest that the borough Plan is third-rate.

- 75 - d) Councillor R. Tromans asked the following question;

The standard of grounds maintenance across large parts of the Borough continues to be poor, yet despite the pressure from myself, my colleagues and the Council Tax paying residents, the leadership of the Council appear incapable of getting this poor performance rectified. Indeed, page 93 of their last Cabinet Report showed again how poor service delivery continues to be:

“PEOPLE AND SERVICE DELIVERY – the standard of grounds maintenance work (informal areas). 56% currently against the 65% – 75% benchmark as there have been issues specifically with path overhangs, lack of path and obstacle weed spraying and grass cut and removal operations.”

With the leader throwing in the towel, will the Portfolio Holder now finally step up and get these grounds maintenance failings sorted once and for all – or will he also admit to a legacy of failure and resign too?

Councillor I. Lloyd, Portfolio Holder for Arts and Leisure, responded as follows;

The report Cllr Tromans is referring to was presented to the recent Environment Scrutiny Panel and was attended by senior directors from Glendale. This gave all members the opportunity to attend and ask questions or for members of the committee to scrutinise and question Glendale’s performance over the last year.

There were very few questions from conservative members and none from Cllr Tromans. Officers and I had been surprised that so few questions had been asked of Glendale management.

Whilst the report did identify poor performance in relation to informal areas which can be defined as natural environment type areas, you would have noted from the report that formal areas which make up our parks, sports facilities, cemeteries, housing sites etc. consistently performed in excess of the bench mark figure with a figure of 80% + month on month. Councillor Tromans you conveniently forget to mention this.

The current contract as members will be aware has been extended to November 2019, Glendale having worked within the Nuneaton since 1997. The remainder of the borough was contracted with them in 2009 which I believe was under a Conservative administration.

Officers are currently working on a new contract and as a part of this are exploring all avenues in relation to future delivery, but it is not an easy task to balance public expectations, standards and cost given that the grounds maintenance budget has reduced by 58% since 2009 due to government cuts. It is more and more difficult to deliver the same service.

I can also confirm that Glendale’s senior management team, met with members of the councils management team and have provided the - 76 -

council with an improvement plan to ensure service delivery reaches the required standard for the remainder of the contract period.

This will include Glendale appointing two new members of staff to specifically ensure works are undertaken to the required standard and to proactively identify issues.

Glendale are also introducing their electronic management system which was presented at the previously mentioned scrutiny panel. This system will give live updates to the exact whereabouts of any teams, including works undertaken and when they are due in an area again. Officers will have a log-on system and will be able to offer members up to date relevant information at any point in time.

At a previous Full Council I asked members to use the official reporting system. Officers have looked at the period of August 2016 through to Aug 2017 – they have recorded 40 complaints from councillors with 31 of those from myself and Councillor Jackson and the rest from a number of other mainly Labour members. I do not know where you get your information from you Cllr Tromans, so can I ask you again to use the proper reporting process, challenge Glendale at the relevant scrutiny committees whilst they are present and report the issues in real time not wait until full council.

In a nut shell I am suggesting you do your job as a councillor or will you be the one throwing in the towel and concentrate doing your other role as deputy crime commissioner as it is obvious you cannot do both. e) Councillor K. Brindley asked the following question

Could the portfolio holder please give an update on the total revenue that the climbing wall has brought in to date, and what the total costs have been to date?

Councillor I. Lloyd, Portfolio Holder for Arts and Leisure, responded as follows

The Climbing Tower team replaced the Play Rangers with the aim to encourage healthy living and provide access to an exciting and challenging activity for Borough residents.

The Sports developments climbing tower is a tool used to help encourage fitness in the community and is no different to any other service the council delivers it is operated within the approved delivery budget for that service. As such it was not intended to make a profit but to provide a service to local residents at a concessionary hire charge, to enable community access.

In comparison the Play Ranger service that the Climbing tower service took over from cost in its last full year 2015/16 £105,000.

- 77 -

This cost excluded the re-alignment of supervisory post costs from the play ranger service of around £30,000, making it in real terms £135,000 real cost for the delivery of the Play Ranger service with no Income.

The total revenue cost for delivery of the climbing tower in 2016/17, a full financial year, was £78,000 with a nominal income of £1,852 for the same period. A further £2,000 income will be received for the 2017/18 year end.

So Councillor Brindley in my book that’s a service saving of £57,000 on the cost of delivering the Play Rangers.

We will of course continue look at ways for an improved service delivery and are looking at partners that can help us with this.

Councillor Wilson moved the following motion:

“This Council believes that the implementation of the Climbing Wall has been a disaster for the residents of Nuneaton and Bedworth and has not provided both the level of service or value for money that the service it replaced – the play rangers- provided. This Council therefore resolves to remove the Climbing Tower from the budget immediately and invest the savings made into reinstating the Play Rangers service.”

Councillor C. Golby seconded the motion.

A recorded vote was taken on the motion

For: Councillors I.C. Bonner, K.L. Brindley, D.A. Gissane, C. Golby, S. Gran, J. Gutteridge, K.A. Kondakor, R. Tromans and K.D. Wilson.

Against: Councillors D. Aldington, C. Bennett, R.G. Copland, G. daffern, J. Glass, W.J. Hancox, D. Harvey, J. Haynes, J.A. Jackson, A.A. Lloyd, I.K. Lloyd, B.J. Longden, S.J. Margrave, C.S. Phillips, N.J.P. Phillips, G.D. Pomfrett, M. Pomfrett, J. Sheppard, T.E. Sheppard, J.A. Tandy, C.M. Watkins

The motion was lost. f) Councillor J. Gutteridge asked the following question;

Now the new borough depot at Gresham road has been officially opened by the mayor this week could you please tell me if the depot has all the relevant licences required for it to be fully operational? If not when will the depot be fully operational.

Councillor G.D. Pomfrett, Portfolio Holder for Central Services, responded as follows;

The Borough Council’s front line services that previously operated from St Mary’s Road depot, most notably refuse collection, street cleansing and housing maintenance, are now operating from Gresham Road and have been doing for a number of months.

- 78 -

St. Mary’s Road depot is only being used as a waste transfer site. We are currently still waiting to hear from the Environment Agency in terms of our application for Gresham Road depot to operate as a waste transfer site. We are confident that our application, and the way in which we have set out our approach to operating a waste transfer site at Gresham Road, will mean that we will very shortly receive approval from the Environment Agency.

Service continuity has not been effected by the move. This is down to the thought and planning that went into it and to the willingness of many of our employees to often go the extra mile and more.

Most residents are unaware that this move has even taken place despite efforts by some to imply that there is some sort of crisis – the same people who conveniently forget to mention that £10ks and more will be saved, in fact are being saved and be available to maintain and improve services for many years to come.

Councillor Wilson moved the following motion:

“This Council expresses its dismay that contrary to promises made by the controlling group that the new Gresham Road depot would be fully operational by autumn, a deadline that has now been and gone, and the vast overspend that taxpayers have paid for, we are still without a fully functional depot. This Council therefore call upon the Leader to replace the Portfolio Holder with immediate effect”

Councillor C. Golby seconded the motion

A recorded vote was taken as follows:

For: Councillors K.L. Brindley, D.A. Gissane, C. Golby, S. Gran, J. Gutteridge, K.A. Kondakor, R. Tromans and K.D. Wilson.

Against: Councillors D. Aldington, C. Bennett, R.G. Copland, G. Daffern, J. Glass, W.J. Hancox, D. Harvey, J. Haynes, J.A. Jackson, A.A. Lloyd, I.K. Lloyd, B.J. Longden, S.J. Margrave, C.S. Phillips, N.J.P. Phillips, G.D. Pomfrett, M. Pomfrett, J. Sheppard, T.E. Sheppard, J.A. Tandy, C.M. Watkins

Abstentions: Councillor I.C. Bonner g) Councillor K. Kondakor asked the following question:

Your budget proposal includes plans to externalise the operation of the Climbing wall and stop £32,470 support for Warwickshire Advice rights.

What service, in terms of cost and hours of operation, do we expect to get from the climbing tower (if operated externally) and from Warwickshire Advice Rights (if we carried on with our funding) in the next year?

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council, responded as follows:

- 79 -

As a result of placing the climbing tower out for procurement and a successful partner being awarded, we are requesting 25 sessions to be delivered within Nuneaton and Bedworth between April and the end of November each year for the next two years 2018/19 and 2019/20.

These delivery sessions will include; town centres, destination parks, summer holiday provision and at local events such as carnivals and the Christmas lights’ switch-ons.

Over 200 hours of climbing tower delivery will be undertaken by the successful organisation over the two year partnership. For this delivery the cost will be circa £40,000 over a two year period April 2018 – March 2020. When the potential organisation is not delivering the agreed NBBC programme, it is hoped that the successful organisation will utilise the tower at many more local events, school and community activities in Nuneaton and Bedworth.

As regards the Warwickshire Employment and Advice Rights all such matters would be discussed during the consultation period in the months to come. I would remind Councillor Kondakor that the Council is struggling to balance the budget in 2018 and we are still well short of the sums needed to avoid a deficit. h) Councillor K. Wilson asked the following question:

The Council has recently taken a decision to allow Poundland to remain in their Council-owned store at a peppercorn rate of £1 a year, which is now costing the taxpayer £250,000 in subsidy, being funded by Council reserves, and is therefore unsustainable moving forward. This decision sets a very worrying precedent.

Should other tenants in council-owned premises face a similar difficulty, is it now this Council’s policy to subsidise rents indefinitely? Or is it the case that the decision is at the whim of the Leader and other shops in our town centres will be left to go under depending on who is in favour with the Council leadership at the time?

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council, responded as follows:

I think Councillor Wilson misunderstands the agreement that has been made Mr Mayor and I am sure that Simone Hines will be only to happy to give him the details again.

I am surprised at Councillor Wilson. Firstly he should know that such financial decisions cannot be taken on the ‘whims’ of the Leader, but are taken on sound financial advice from our property and finance teams. Each case is considered on its merits.

Secondly I am surprised that he should know, in his position, that the impact on the Council would have been much greater should the property not remain occupied, as the Council would be liable for Business Rates, Insurance and Void costs, such as security, electricity, water, etc because - 80 -

there are standing charges. The decision to allow Poundland to occupy the property on a temporary basis while a long term occupier can be secured is in the best interests of the Council, the town centre, and residents of the Borough.

We still get the business rates from these premises. Perhaps Councillor Wilson would prefer that we forego these and leave the premises empty, right in the heart of the town? What effect would that have on surrounding businesses?

We are, Mr Mayor, currently seeking a new tenant and if and when negotiations are complete, Poundland, by agreement, will leave.

CL43 Special Urgency Decisions

RESOLVED that it be noted there have been no special urgency decisions under the Special Urgency rule.

CL44 Cabinet

The Leader of the Council submitted his report on behalf of Cabinet highlighting several issues which had been dealt with since the last meeting.

CL45 Recommendations from Cabinet or other Committees

a) Audit and Standards Committee – Anti Money Laundering Framework

Councillor J. Tandy, Chair of Audit and Standards Committee reported on the recommendations made at Audit and Standards Committee on the 14th November 2017 in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that the constitution be updated accordingly.

b) Audit and Standards Committee – Amendments to Audit & Standards Committee Terms of Reference to allow for approval of Annual Accounts

Councillor J. Tandy, Chair of Audit and Standards Committee reported on the recommendations made at Audit & Standards Committee on the 14th November 2017 in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that the constitution be updated accordingly.

c) Audit and Standards Committee – Appointment of Independent Persons

Councillor J. Tandy, Chair of Audit and Standards Committee, reported on the recommendations made at Cabinet on the 14th November 2017 in respect of the above.

- 81 -

RESOLVED that Mumtaz Goolam be appointed as an Independent Person for a four year term of office, expiring in July 2021. d) Cabinet – General Fund and HRA Draft Budgets for 2018/19

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council, reported on the recommendation made at Cabinet on the 22nd November 2017 in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that the revised General Fund Capital Programme for 2017/18 be approved. e) Cabinet – Treasury Management 2017/18 – Mid Year Review

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council, reported on the recommendations made at Cabinet on the 22nd November 2017 in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that

i) the report be noted

ii) the changes to the prudential indicators as detailed within the report and summarised at Appendix A of the report be approved.

f) Cabinet – Local Council Tax Support 2018/19

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council, reported on the recommendations made at Cabinet on the 22nd November 2017 in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that

i) the proposed Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 1st April 2018 onwards be approved; an

ii) the Director of Finance and Procurement be given delegated authority to make minor amendments to the scheme in consultation with the portfolio holder for Finance and Civic Affairs. g) Cabinet – Private Sector Housing Shared Service

Councillor D. Harvey, Leader of the Council, reported on the recommendations made at Cabinet on the 22nd November 2017 in respect of the above.

RESOLVED that

i) the Council enter into a shared services arrangement with North - 82 -

Warwickshire Borough Council to discharge North Warwickshire Borough Council functions related Housing Acts and other relevant functions in accordance with Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 and of the Local Government (Arrangements for the Discharge of Functions) (England) Regulations 2000; ii) Delegated Authority be given to the Director – Housing and Communities, in consultation with the Portfolio-Holder for Housing & Communities, to agree the terms for the provision of the functions on behalf of the partner authorities. iii) the vacant Senior Private Sector Housing post is increased from 30 hours to 37 hours to help accommodate the additional work on a temporary basis using a reserve previously created to mitigate HEART risks during its establishment

______Mayor Council - Schedule of Declarations of Interests

Name of Disclosable Other Personal Dispensation Councillor Pecuniary Interest Interest General Granted to all members of dispensations the Council in the areas of: granted to all - Housing matters members - Statutory sick pay under s.33 of under Part XI of the the Localism Social Security Act 2011 Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 - An allowance, payment given to members - An indemnity given to members - Any ceremonial honour given to members - Setting council tax or a precept under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 - Planning and Licensing matters - Allotments - Local Enterprise Partnership D. Gissane Member of Warwickshire County Council

C. Golby Member of Warwickshire County Council

S. Gran Member of Warwickshire County Council

D. Harvey Director on the Pride of Camphill Board

D. Harvey Non Executive Director Dispensation to speak & vote with Nuneaton and Bedworth Community Enterprises Limited

J.A Jackson Any matter Dispensation to speak and relating to the vote on matters that do not Employment relate specifically to her policies and husband’s contract of procedures of employment or the service unit Nuneaton & in which he is employed. Bedworth Borough Council or SLM Community Leisure (by reason of her husband’s employment with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and Sport and Leisure Management)

J.A. Jackson Non Executive Director Dispensation to speak and with Nuneaton and vote Bedworth Community Enterprises Limited

K.A. Member of Warwickshire Kondakor County Council

A.A Lloyd Governor of George Eliot hospital

A.A Lloyd Representative on the Hospice Charity

B.J. Longden Daughter and son-in- law work in the NHS B.J. Longden Member of the Stockingford Community Centre B.J. Longden Ex Officiate of the Veterans Contact Point Board S. Margrave A Non Executive Director with Orbit Group Ltd S. Margrave Share Holder of Orbit Heart of England Ltd trading as Orbit Living S. Margrave Lecturer with Worcester Business School

S. Margrave Member of the General Synod of the Church of England C.S Phillips Member of Warwickshire County Council

G. Pomfrett Warwickshire Police and Crime Panel

J. Sheppard Partnership member of the Hill Top and Caldwell Big Local.

J. Sheppard Director of Wembrook Community Centre.

J.A. Tandy Partnership member of the Hill Top and Caldwell Big Local. R. Tromans Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire K.D Wilson Non Executive Director Dispensation to speak and with Nuneaton and vote Bedworth Community Enterprises Limited

K.D Wilson Employee of the courts service