Extraordinary Meeting of the Council
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EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE COUNCIL Tuesday, 3 November 2020 at 6.30pm (Online meeting) Members of the Council are summoned to consider the following business AGENDA Please note that due to Covid-19, this meeting will be held remotely and will be livestreamed here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdfb6ZRbYnZ1-rRliLmjUwg 1. Apologies for absence – To receive any apologies for absence. 2. Minutes – To confirm the minutes of the Council meeting held on 13 October 2020. 3. Public Participation – In the event that questions are received, the Chairman will conduct the public participation session for a period of up to fifteen minutes. Where questions are asked, one related supplementary question may be permitted at the Chairman’s discretion. 4. Declarations of Interest – All Members are invited to declare at this point any interests they have on items appearing on this agenda, including the nature of those interests and whether they wish to apply the exception below. Note: Declarations should be in the form of either: • a “disclosable pecuniary interest” under Appendix A to the Code of Conduct, in which case the Member must leave the meeting room; or • an “other interest” under Appendix B of the Code. For these interests, the Member may stay in the meeting room, although they must leave if membership of the organisation results in a conflict of interest. Exception: Where a member of the public has a right to speak at a meeting, a Member who has a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest and must leave the room, has the same rights and may make representations, answer questions or give evidence, but at the conclusion of that, must then leave the room and not take part in the discussion or vote. 5. Local Government Reform in York and North Yorkshire – To receive and consider a report from the Chief Executive seeking approval to submit the York and North Yorkshire Local Government Reorganisation Case for Change to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government. 6. Lead Member for Planning – To receive and consider a report from the Solicitor of the Council and Monitoring Officer seeking the appointment of a new Lead Member role for Planning. 7. Recommendations for Confirmation – Minutes containing recommendations for debate and confirmation by Council arising from meetings of Committees. 8. Any other items which the Chairman decides are urgent in accordance with Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972. 9. Date of Next Meeting – Tuesday, 15 December 2020 at 6.30pm Agenda Contact Officer: Guy Close, Democratic Services Manager Tel: (01756) 706226 E-mail: [email protected] COUNCIL MEETING 13 October 2020 Present – The Chair (Councillor Harbron) and Councillors Barrett, Brockbank, Brown, Foster, Heseltine, Hull, Ireton, Jaquin, Lis, Madeley, Metcalfe, Moorby, Morrell, Mulligan, Myers, Noland, Place, Pringle, Rose, Shuttleworth, Solloway, Staveley, Sutcliffe, Welch, Wheeler and Whitaker. Officers – Chief Executive, Director of Services, Chief Finance Officer (s151 Officer), Strategic Manager for Planning and Regeneration, Solicitor to the Council and Monitoring Officer and Democratic Services Manager. Start: 6.30pm Finish: 7.15pm Apologies for Absence – Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillors Handley and Mercer. Minutes – The minutes of the Annual Council meeting and the Ordinary Council meeting held on 5 August 2020 were confirmed as a correct record. Matters Arising from the Minutes – In relation to minute CL.1178, one Member sought clarification in relation to the amount spent on consultants by planning services. The Strategic Manager for Planning and Regeneration undertook to provide this information. Public Participation – There were no members of the public in attendance. Declarations of Interest – There were no declarations of interest. CL.1179 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONFIRMATION Recommendations of Policy Committee held on 11 August 2020 were submitted. For each minute, the motion was proposed and seconded “That the recommendations in the minute are confirmed”. • POL.1074 – Final Outturn Revenue Budget Monitoring Report – Quarter 4 – 2019/20 Resolved – That the recommendations at Minute POL.1074 are confirmed. • POL.1075 – Capital Programme Outturn Report – 2019/20 Resolved – That the recommendations at Minute POL.1075 are confirmed. CL.1180 ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION The Solicitor to the Council and Monitoring Officer submitted a report which presented amendments to the Craven District Council Constitution 2020/21. Resolved – a) That the amendments made to the Council’s Constitution during the 2019/20 municipal year are noted b) That the Council’s Constitution for 2020/21 is formally adopted and authorised for publication. CL.1181 STATEMENT FROM THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL The Leader of the Council reported that the figures for Covid-19 in the Craven area remained a concern although there had been some improvement to the 7-day average. He emphasised the need for residents to stay vigilant and to keep sharing key messages to stay safe. An update was provided on local government reorganisation. It was agreed to schedule an Extraordinary Council on Tuesday, 3 November 2020 at 6.30pm to consider KPMGs report on the District Council’s submission. In relation to the Peer Review of Planning Services it was reported that initial feedback had been disappointing. One of the key recommendations was likely to be that a lead member for planning was required. One member referred to the useful and informative planning session recently delivered by Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and suggested that Craven District Council delivered something similar. The Democratic Services Manager undertook to follow this up and report back in consultation with the Chair of Planning Committee and Lead Member for Internal Services. (Councillor Solloway joined the meeting at 6.50pm and Councillor Lis at 6.55pm during the consideration of this item) CL.1182 STATEMENT FROM LEAD MEMBERS, CHAIRMEN OF COMMITTEES AND COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES Councillor Myers reported that Cultural Recovery funding had been secured for Skipton Town Hall to help put in place appropriate Covid-19 infrastructure and develop e- commerce. He particularly thanked David Smurthwaite and Danielle Daglan for their hard work in securing the funding. Councillor Mulligan reported that the Council was projecting a loss of £800,000 as a result of Covid-19. It was advised that the Council’s finances were stable, although it was approaching a period of significant risk. Councillor Staveley advised that the Select Committee had received an interesting and informative update on Absence Management. In relation to Crime and Disorder, a response had been provided by North Yorkshire County Council on various highways issues. In relation to Licensing Committee, Councillor Myers reported that one of the key areas of focus was to review the arrangements for caravan site licensing across the Craven area. Councillor Brockbank thanked all Members and officers that had contributed to the Peer Review of Planning Services. It was anticipated that the outcome of the review and recommendations was to be made available next week. CL.1183 GENERAL QUESTION / STATEMENT TIME The following question was submitted by Councillor Brown to Councillor Foster, Leader of the Council: “Is the council spraying any chemicals onto its land and in particular are any of its staff exposed to Glyphosates (a common trade name for this is Roundup)” The following response was provided: “As part of the grounds maintenance contract, the contractor sprays herbicide containing glyphosate to control broad leaved and grass weeds. Craven District Council staff do not undertake this function. The Grounds Maintenance contractor ensures the application of this substance is undertaken by City & Guilds Land Based Services qualified personnel. There is a COSHH assessment in place for the Grounds Maintenance operatives who undertake this which includes what personal protective equipment should be worn, how it should be used and the control measures in place.” CL.1184 ANY OTHER ITEMS Members were advised that there was a late item of business to consider under agenda item 12 in relation to the ‘Re-appointment of the Independent Member of Audit and Governance Committee’. CL.1185 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING It was advised that an Extraordinary Council Meeting was to take place on Tuesday, 3 November 2020 to consider and agree the Council’s submission in relation to Local Government Reorganisation. CL.1186 REAPPOINTMENT OF THE INDPENDENT MEMBER OF AUDIT AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE The Chief Finance Officer (s151 Officer) submitted a report which sought approval of Greg Robinson as the Independent Member on Audit and Governance Committee. The Chair of Audit and Governance Committee highlighted the professionalism and valuable contribution that Greg Robinson had made to the Committee. Other Members also highlighted the positive contribution that Greg had made. Resolved – a) That the reappointment of Greg Robinson as an Independent Member of the Audit and Governance Committee in a non-voting capacity for a final 3-year term, effective from the Annual Council Meeting on 5 August 2020, be approved. b) That the position be unremunerated with the exception of travel and subsistence allowances as laid down in the Council’s scheme of members’ allowances. Chairman AGENDA ITEM 5 Extraordinary Council Meeting- 3rd November 2020 Local Government Reform in York and North Yorkshire Report of the