Agenda and minutes

The Bishop of Ely, the Right Reverend S Conway opened the meeting with prayer.

(a)  Charter for Elected Member Development

  The Chairman welcomed to the meeting, Ms C Tredget, Director of Improvement East, who was in attendance to formally present to the Council the East of England Local Government Association Charter for Elected Member Development.  The current Chairman of the Member Development Group, Councillor R G Tuplin accepted the Charter on behalf of the Council and thanked former and current Members and Officers who had contributed to the success of the Member Development Programme.

(b)  Merchant Navy Day

  Having advised the Council of the success of the event which had been arranged to commemorate Merchant Navy Day on 4th September 2011, the Chairman remarked that the relocation of the flagpole into Samian Court would help to facilitate this and other future events.

(c)  Anglia In Bloom

  On behalf of the Council, the Chairman congratulated the various towns and groups in Huntingdonshire on their success in the recent Anglia in Bloom Awards.  Particular mention was made to Huntingdon who had received a Gold Award in the 2011 RSH Britain in Bloom National Awards.  The Chairman urged his colleague Members to encourage residents and businesses in their respective Wards to take part or sponsor the event in future years.

(d)  Events

  The Chairman was pleased to announce that he had raised £700 for his charities since the last Council meeting.  The Chairman also gave notice that he would be hosting a cabaret evening at Wood Green Animal Shelter on 7th October and that his Christmas Carol Service would be held at St. Mary’s Church, Huntingdon on 13th December 2011.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 June 2011.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 29th June 2009 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillors I C Bates, K J Churchill, S J Criswell, J J Dutton, P J Downes, R S Farrer, N J Guyatt, D Harty, P D Reeve and R J West declared a personal interest in Minute No. 29 post by virtue of their membership of Cambridgeshire County Council.

Councillor R B Howe, declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Minute No. 29 post as a former Governor of Upwood Primary School and given his family relationship with an employee of the School and left the room during discussion and voting thereon. 

The Chairman reminded Members of the decision by the Council to suspend Council Procedure Rule 11 (Rules of Debate) to enable headline debates and “white paper” proposals to be discussed by Members in an open manner.  The Council therefore

RESOLVED

  that Council Procedure Rule 11 (Rules of Debate) be suspended for the duration of the discussion on Minute No. 27 during which time the common law rules of debate be observed by Members and applied by the Chairman.

To invite, the Chief Constable, Simon Parr to address the Council on the future structure of the Constabulary and changes taking place within the Force.

The Chairman invited the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, Mr S Parr to address Members on the “Future Structure of the Constabulary and Changes Taken Place within the Force”.

The Chief Constable opened his address by reminding the Council that some 15/20 years ago, it was considered that the performance and profile of police forces was such that indicators/targets were introduced against which performance was measured.  Police forces also were encouraged to work within their communities.

More recently, the Government has encouraged greater control of funding by authorising Chief Constables to administer their force as self contained business units responsible to local communities.  This ethos has led to reviews of the infrastructure which existed within every county constabularly.

 Mr Parr described how he had, on his appointment, faced a scenario whereby the Government had announced a £20m reduction in the Cambridgeshire budget and the force had achieved less successful results in detecting crime than it had previously.  Mr Parr suggested that he had to consider how to work differently to ensure no further loss in performance.  Freedom from numerical measures and performance management meant he could look differently at policing in Cambridgeshire and the challenges in particular in Huntingdonshire as opposed to those in Cambridge and Peterborough.  Mr Parr explained how he had approached communities to discuss what, realistically, the Police could continue to offer and what communities considered to be the most important aspect of police work.

As a first step, he described the changes to the management structure which were being put in place and which would result in the appointment of a Chief Inspector responsible for policing in Huntingdonshire.  A more senior Chief Superintendent would hold to account those officers who were responsible for district areas.  He referred to the various crimes which had most impact locally and the new ways by which the police would respond to them.  For example, a greater use of community speed watch schemes to monitor speeding in villages and increased liaison with schools over parking and speeding issues.  Mr Parr also indicated his wish to work in a different way with young offenders and outlined his belief in “restorative justice” and his willingness to seek to engage with difficult families to solve difficult issues in partnership with other agencies.

As re-structuring also offered the opportunity to create a centre of expertise to respond to more serious crime, Mr Parr added that he was working with partner forces in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire to seek to deliver more specialist services.  He anticipated delays in answering telephone calls because operators had been asked to establish how the police could best respond to any incidents that were being reported.

Lastly Mr Parr concluded by stating that the force had already identified £9m savings from rationalisation of the infrastructure and back office support, that next year’s budget had been balanced and that plans had been made for the next 3 to 4 years with the ultimate objective to retain as many operational Police Constables in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The Executive Councillor for Resources and Customer Services to present a report by the Head of Financial Services on the process leading towards approval of the 2012/13 Budget/Medium Term Plan at the meeting of the Council in February 2012.

With the assistance of a report by the Head of Financial Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) and referring to Minute No. 30, Item No. 21 post, the Executive Councillor for Resources and Customer Services updated Members on issues which would impact upon the process leading to approval of the 2012/2013 budget and medium term plan at the Council meeting in February 2012.  The Executive Councillor also invited the views of the Council on the basis on which the Minimum Revenue Provision should be calculated.

Against a background of continued uncertainty, the Council was reminded that there was still a shortfall of savings equivalent to £2m and that for a variety of reasons the 2010/2011 outturn was £1m below that forecast.  Councillor Rogers drew Members’ attention to savings which had been identified already, those areas where potentially savings could be made and others where work to achieve savings was still in progress.

The Council was informed of the Government’s intention to replace the rate support, Council tax reward and the new homes reward grants with a formula grant which also was intended to fund any additional tasks that had been transferred to local authorities over  time.  This, in turn, was to be replaced by an alternative scheme which would permit a local authority to retain a proportion of business rates from April 2013. The Council noted the potential for this latest initiative to be beneficial to the authority and, in the short term, for the new homes bonus to be higher than originally forecast. 

However, given the difficulty in forecasting the impact of the economic downturn of several significant issues and the outcome in terms of net spending or funding, Councillor Rogers presented two options to the Council in terms of the level of council tax which might be recommended later in the budget process. 

Having commended to Council the annuity basis as the means of calculating the Minimum Revenue Provision, Councillor Rogers invited the Council to debate the financial forecast.

Before doing so and on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor P J Downes thanked Councillor Rogers for his contribution as Executive Councillor for Resources & Customer Services and for the manner in which he had presented reports to the Council on financial matters.  Councillor Downes reminded Members that, in his view, the Council’s financial position was largely related to the decisions taken, in the past, to support the sale of council houses and not to raise council tax and that he was hopeful that the Council would take advantage of the opportunity presented to use maximum flexibility in setting future council tax levels to protect reductions in service and minimise the impact upon the most vulnerable in society.  In support of his colleague, Councillor M F Shellens expressed his appreciation to Councillor Rogers for his thoughtfulness and careful presentations to Council and welcomed the various council tax options which had been proposed for consideration.  These sentiments also were endorsed by Councillors I  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

To consider a report by the Planning Service Manager (Development Management) in conjunction with the Report of the Development Management Panel - Item No. 4.

In conjunction with the Report of the Development Management Panel (Minute No. 30 (f) refers), the Planning Service Manager (Development Management) introduced a report (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) regarding an application for the erection of a six bay modular classroom on part of the grass playing field to the rear of the main complex of Upwood Primary School, Ramsey Road, Upwood.  It was explained that the unit was required to provide additional accommodation for use by the pre-school and out of school groups and that the application had been placed before the Council because Sports England had raised an objection to it having expressed the view that the loss of approximately 230 metres of school playing field would have a negative impact on sport contrary to policy E3 of the Sport England Playing Fields policy. 

In response to Members’ comments on the application, Councillor D B Dew, as Chair of the Development Management Panel, undertook to write on behalf of the Council to the Secretary of State to question the grounds upon which Sport England had made their recommendation and to contend that such decisions should be made locally by the Planning Authority and not by the Secretary of State.  It having been proposed and seconded, the Council

RESOLVED

  that the application be approved for a temporary period of five years only, after which the classroom is to be removed and the land reinstated to its former condition and use as a playing field and the application referred to the Secretary of State in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Directive 2009.

(a)  Cabinet

Councillor J D Ablewhite, Executive Leader and Chairman of the Cabinet presented the Report of the meetings of the Cabinet held on 21st July and 22nd September 2011.

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Upon being put to the vote, the recommendation contained in Item No. 14 was declared to be CARRIED.

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In connection with Item No. 21, it was noted that the Financial Forecast had previously been considered by the Council under Minute No. 28.

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  Whereupon, it was

RESOLVED

  that, subject to the foregoing paragraphs, the Report of the meetings of the Cabinet held on 21st July and 22nd September 2011 be received and adopted.

(b)  Standards Committee

Councillor D L Hall presented the Report of the meetings of the Standards Committee held on 7th July and 8th September 2011.

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Whereupon, it was

RESOLVED

  that the Report of the meetings of the Standards Committee held on 7th July and 8th September 2011 be received and adopted.

(c)  Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Economic Well-Being)

Councillor D M Tysoe presented the Report of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Economic Well-Being) held on 7th July and 8th September 2011.

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Whereupon, it was

RESOLVED

  that the Report of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Economic Well-Being) held on 7th July and 8th September 2011 be received and adopted.

(d)  Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environmental Well-Being)

Councillor P M D Godfrey presented the Report of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environmental Well-Being) held on 12th July and 13th September 2011.

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Councillor Godfrey reminded the Council that the date for the next meeting of the Panel had been changed to 12th October 2011.

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Whereupon, it was

RESOLVED

  that the Report of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environmental Well-Being) held on 12th July and 13th September 2011 be received and adopted.

(e)  Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Social Well-Being)

Councillor S J Criswell presented the Report of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Social Well-Being) held on 5th July and 6th September 2011.

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Councillor Criswell drew the Council’s attention to Item No. 13 and reported that Town and Parish Councils had been invited by letter to express their views on the operation of the Neighbourhood Forums.  He also encouraged Members of the Council to respond to a request for comments on the present arrangements and to attend a seminar on the pilot GP Commissioning consortia in Huntingdonshire which was to take place on 4th October 2011 as referred to in Item No. 17 of the Report.

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In connection with Item No. 15 and in response to a question from Councillor P J Downes regarding the composition of a new county wide health and well-being board, Councillor Criswell was of the view that in order for the Board to be effective it needed to be manageable in terms of the number of Councillors appointed to its membership.  Councillor Ablewhite added that he was confident that the Group of Cambridgeshire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

In accordance with the Council Procedure Rules (Paragraph 8.3 of the Rules), the Chairman proceeded to adopt a period of Oral Questions addressed to Executive Councillors and Panel Chairmen as follows:-

Question from Councillor P D Reeve to the Executive Leader, Councillor J D Ablewhite

In response to questions regarding the use of stickers on the Council’s wheeled bins to promote the speed watch operation, Councillor Ablewhite replied that “speed watch” was an essential deterrent in seeking to prevent speeding, as anti-social behaviour, particularly in the rural areas of the District.  As relevant Executive Councillor, Councillor J A Gray added, in response to a suggestion from Councillor Reeve, that there was no evidence that speed watch stickers on the Council’s wheeled bins had influenced the speed at which cars travelled through the rural towns and villages.  However, he added that, in his view, the placing of stickers on wheeled bins was inappropriate, distracting to motorists and not conducive to a harmonious street scene and he encouraged Speed Watch representatives to discuss more appropriate means of influencing traffic speed with the Head of Operations.

Question from Councillor R S Farrer to the Executive Leader, Councillor J D Ablewhite

In response to a question regarding the scheme of car parking charges at St. Neots Riverside Park and the suggestion that current arrangements were a cost to the Council, Councillor Ablewhite responded that it was his intention to review car parking charges and that he would welcome the views of the Councillors in St. Neots on this subject at the appropriate time.

Question from Councillor Mrs M Banerjee to the Deputy Executive Leader and Executive Councillor for Strategic Planning and Housing, Councillor N J Guyatt

In response to a question regarding alleged social issues at the Loves Farm development in St. Neots, Councillor Guyatt replied that although he had spoken to Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association, as landowners, at Loves Farm about the appearance of the development, the Council had no control over the management of the housing scheme.

Question from Councillor P D Ward to the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Social Well-Being), Councillor S J Criswell

In response to a question regarding the ability of Circle Health, recommended bidder for Hinchingbrooke Hospital, to be able to meet the financial demands arising from the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Agreement undertaken to provide for the construction of the hospital’s treatment centre, Councillor Criswell replied that he had no knowledge of the arrangements but he undertook to raise the matter at a future Panel meeting and inform the questioner of the outcome.

Question from Councillor S Greenall  to the Executive Councillor for Resources and Customer Services, Councillor T V Rogers

In response to a question regarding the use of mobile telephones and the  level of expenditure in 2011/2012 given the budget suggested that only £11,000 of an estimated outturn of £49,000 currently had been spent, Councillor Rogers requested his successor, Councillor J A Gray to respond to the questioner in writing.

Question from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

In the light of the resignation of Councillor T V Rogers from the Cabinet, the Executive Leader, Councillor J D Ablewhite confirmed the following variations in the membership of the Cabinet.

Councillor D M Tysoe appointed as Portfolio Holder for the Environment; and

Councillor J A Gray appointed as Portfolio Holder for Resources.

Regarding the consequential and other changes to Panels and Committees, it was

RESOLVED

  (a)  that Councillor J A Gray be appointed to the Employment and Corporate Governance Panels in the place of Councillor T V Rogers;

  (b)  that Councillor T V Rogers be appointed to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Economic Well-Being) in the place of Councillor D M Tysoe;

  (c)  that Councillor G J Harlock be appointed to the Standards Committee in the place of Councillor K J Churchill;

  (d)  that Councillor C R Hyams be appointed to the Licensing and Protection Panel/Licensing Committee in the place of Councillor K J Churchill; and

  (e)  that Councillor K J Churchill be appointed to the Corporate Governance Panel in the place of Councillor G J Harlock.

The meeting ended at 9.41pm