| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Council Chamber, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor Tricia Cowley (Chairman), Councillor R.L. Shakespeare - Smith (Vice-Chairman) ,Councillor Mrs A.G. Ashley, Councillor Alan Bardett, Councillor Clare Billing, Councillor Judi Billing, Councillor John Bishop, Councillor John Booth, Councillor Paul Clark, , Councillor Julian Cunningham, Councillor Bill Davidson, Councillor Jane Gray, Councillor John Harris, Councillor Steve Hemingway, Councillor Cathryn Henry, Councillor Fiona Hill, Councillor T.W. Hone, Councillor Tony Hunter, Councillor S.K. Jarvis, Councillor Sal Jarvis, Councillor David Kearns, Councillor Lorna Kercher, Councillor Joan Kirby, Councillor David Leal - Bennett, Councillor David Levett, Councillor Ben Lewis, Councillor Bernard Lovewell, Councillor Sandra Lunn, Councillor Ian Mantle, Councillor Jim McNally, Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, Councillor Deborah Segalini, Councillor Adrian Smith, Councillor Mrs C.P.A. Strong, Councillor R.A.C. Thake and Councillor M.E. Weeks. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Chief Executive, Strategic Director of Customer Services, Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance, Acting Corporate Legal Manager & Monitoring Officer, Democratic Services Manager, Contracts & Project Manager, Cultural Services Manager, PA to Strategic Director of Customer Services and Committee and Member Services Officer. |
| ALSO PRESENT: | 5 members of the public. |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 76 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D.J. Barnard, P.C.W. Burt, Faye S Frost, Jean Green, Simon Harwood, Alan Millard, Gerald Morris, M.R.M. Muir, Mike Rice, Deepak Sangha and A.D. Young. |
Noted | ||
| 77 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) Recording the Meeting The Chairman advised that, following a request from a Member, an audio recording was being made of this meeting. A Member asked for clarification regarding the rules and guidance surrounding the recording of meetings. The Acting Corporate Legal Manager informed Members that changes had come into effect from 5 August 2014, when the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 came in to force, which allowed any person attending a meeting of a Council to report on the meeting. Reporting included filming, photographing or making an audio recording of proceedings. The request, and the facilitation of it, was fully in accordance with that legislative requirement. The Democratic Services Manager asked Members to speak clearly into the microphones. (2) Declarations of Interest The Chairman reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question. |
Noted | ||
| 78 |
NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY FACILITY AT HITCHIN TOWN HALL - PROJECT UPDATE Report The Chairman advised that this was an extraordinary meeting of the Council and that the item of business was regarding the progression of the North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall. She reminded Members that, at the Council meeting held on 12 February 2015, an item regarding this subject had been withdrawn prior to consideration. A revised report was to be considered at this meeting. The Chairman stated that she was aware that there may be Members present who had interests to declare and invited them to declare their interests. Councillors Bernard Lovewell, and Julian Cunningham declared that they would withdraw from the Chamber, as they were Members of the Cabinet Sub-Committee (Council Charities), which was responsible for making decisions on the North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility on behalf of the Hitchin Town Hall: Gymnasium and Workmans Hall Trust. The Chairman asked Councillor Leal-Bennett if he had an interest to declare in this matter. Councillor Leal-Bennett stated that he did not have a declaration of interest to make. The Chairman asked for advice from the Monitoring Officer. The Monitoring Officer asked that Members of the Standards Committee leave the room for a short period of time. Councillors Judi Billing, Paul Clark, Bill Davidson, David Kearns, Steve Hemingway and Ben Lewis withdrew from the Chamber. The Monitoring Officer read out a statement regarding Declarations of Interest as follows: "Members will be aware from the recent Council meeting and that of the Overview and Scrutiny meeting on this project, and subsequent press coverage, that Cllr Leal-Bennett was advised that in the view of myself as Monitoring Officer he had a close association with Hitchin Town Hall Limited as set out in paragraphs 4.6 (a) and/or (b) of the Code of Conduct adopted by Full Council. The Code of Conduct applies when councillors are present at committee meetings even if they are not a member of that committee. As I advised previously the requirements of the Code of Conduct are that whilst he can speak as a member of the public and listen to any other public speeches, he must leave the room prior to the item being presented and debated. My advice has not changed in that I consider that, if Cllr Leal-Bennett is present for the debate tonight, he is potentially breaching the Code of Conduct. As the decision tonight is a financial one I would be failing in my duty as Monitoring Officer if I did not raise concerns at a Member taking part in that decision, potentially in breach of the Code of Conduct. This would put any Council decision at risk. I would therefore advise that Cllr Leal-Bennett is asked to leave the Council Chamber for this item." The Chairman stated that, in light of the advice given, which was the same as the advice previously received, Councillor Leal-Bennett could speak to the item, as a member of the public, at this point. Councillor Leal-Bennett advised that he wished to respond to the advice given by the Monitoring Officer. He reminded Members that this matter had been discussed before. He drew attention to the introduction to the Code of Conduct which stated that "The Council has therefore adopted this Code of Conduct to promote and maintain high standards in public life" and referred to Paragraph 3.1 of the Code of Conduct that required Councillors to have regard to the seven principles of public life, these being selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. Councillor Leal-Bennett continued by referring to the section on openness which stated "Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for doing so" and the section on Leadership which stated "They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and be willing to challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs". The Code of Conduct section 3.1 concluded "These general principles are the underlying principles behind the rules of conduct set out below". He stated that there were lots of interpretations regarding this and that he had received a communication from Alan Mabbutt OBE of the Conservative Councillors Association dated 3 March 2015 which said: "My view has not changed. I have also consulted with a senior councillor with planning experience. To reiterate, we certainly do not think you have a disclosable interest and our view is you never did. On the declarable interest point of view, a past association does not apply to a current situation and you would therefore not have a declarable interest either. We can see no reason why you cannot attend the Council meeting as a full voting member." Councillor Leal-Bennett said that this meeting was not about Hitchin Town Hall, but about the budget. He then read an extract from a letter sent by the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP to the Rt Hon Peter Lilley MP as follows: "Council Monitoring Officers can offer advice, but the final decision about whether it is right to participate in discussion or voting remains one for elected members. Councillors should take decisions with full consciousness of the consequences of their actions. The goal of the Localism Act was to inject some common sense whilst allowing for genuine debate, freedom of speech and democratic representation. It would appear that such common sense may be lacking in the case you cite." The Chairman asked if the Monitoring Officer wished to respond to Councillor Leal-Bennett. The Monitoring Officer advised that he had not seen the full exchange of correspondence, but that his advice had not changed. A Member questioned what Councillor Leal-Bennett's close association was, when he was no longer a Director of Hitchin Town Hall Limited. The Monitoring Officer advised that he was aware that Councillor Leal-Bennett had attended a recent Hitchin Town Hall Limited board meeting and he continued to be in correspondence with Hitchin Town Hall Limited and the Council regarding the project. Councillor Leal-Bennett asked whether he could respond to the Monitoring Officer's statement. The Chairman advised that she did not wish to hear further from Councillor Leal-Bennett and that he should have any further discussions directly with the Monitoring Officer. Councillor Lynda Needham advised that the information regarding Councillor Leal-Bennett's attendance at Hitchin Town Hall Limited board meeting had come from her. The Monitoring Officer advised that the close association point had first been raised at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 18 December 2014 and that he had received no correspondence from Councillor Leal-Bennett in the three months since that meeting. The Chairman asked that Councillor Leal-Bennett leave the meeting in accordance with the advice received. Councillor Leal-Bennett asked if the Chairman was giving an instruction. The Chairman advised that it was a request and not an instruction. Councillor Leal-Bennett stated that he saw no reason to leave and asked the Monitoring Officer to confirm whether he would be in breach of the Code of Conduct. The Monitoring Officer informed Members that the advice, as previously stated, was that his presence was potentially a breach of the Code of Conduct. He made a further statement as follows: "The decision that Council is being asked to make tonight is a financial one and I have already commented upon that. The matter requires a decision from Council tonight as the Council has to meet its contractual obligations. Therefore the advice to you is as given previously, however, the circumstances are that we need to have a decision to enable the obligations of our construction contract to be fulfilled. It is a matter of weighing up the risks to the Council. You may legitimately conclude that the greater risk to the Council would be posed from not making a decision tonight rather than from Councillor Leal-Bennett remaining present." The Chairman made the following statement: "Councillor Leal-Bennett you place the Council in a very difficult position. Having considered the Monitoring Officers advice, I will continue with the item. Please be clear that you have had your opportunity to address Members in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct so you will not be heard further, nor will you be entitled to vote on the item." Councillor Leal-Bennett responded that he thought this was disgraceful, however he would leave the Chamber under protest. A Member questioned whether the Council was entitled to prevent one Councillor from voting. The Monitoring Officer advised that there was a need to consider the robustness of any decision and the soundness of the decision making process, the statutory officers have a responsibility in that regard and that the Chairman had ultimate discretion over the conduct of the meeting. Councillor Leal-Bennett left the Chamber. The Standards Committee Members returned to the Chamber. The Strategic Director of Customer Services informed Members that there was a correction to the report, in that Recommendation 2.1 should read: "Agree increase of capital budget up to a maximum of £253,392 [£223,392 project budget (paragraph 8.4) plus £30,000 for treatment of moisture in basement (paragraph 8.6)]." The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs, Councillor Tony Hunter, presented the report entitled North Hertfordshire Museum & Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall: Project Update and reminded Members that this was the fifth special meeting held regarding the Hitchin Town Hall. He drew attention to Paragraph 1.3 of the report which laid out the consequences of not making a decision at this meeting, including that failure to make adequate budgetary provision to meet the Council's contractual obligations would result in significant additional cost and delay and may require the Chief Financial Officer to issue a S114 report under the local Government Finance Act 1988. The Chief Executive, under Special Urgency Provisions, had authorised the expenditure of £68,539 which covered the eight week delay on construction. The table at Paragraph 8.3 of the report outlined the financial summary of each category and illustrated the likely costs, which were reported to Cabinet on 27 January 2015. The table at Paragraph 8.5 of the report provided an overview of project expenditure, project budget and the effect of the additional costs. The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs reminded Members of the additional works, which included: asbestos removal, additional demolition and work associated with the listed building consent. He commented that this had been a demanding project for the Council, but that Hitchin would have an excellent Community Facility and the District an excellent museum. It was moved by Councillor Tony Hunter, and seconded by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, that the recommendations contained in the report, as corrected, be approved. Following a question, the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance confirmed that, in agreeing to Recommendation 2.2, the Council would be agreeing to make funds available, should it be required, to cover the financial contribution of £490,000 due to be paid by Hitchin Town Hall Limited at the likely completion of the construction contract. Following further debate, and upon the motion being put to the vote, it was RESOLVED: (1) That the Capital Budget be increased by a maximum of £253,392 [£223,392 project budget (paragraph 8.4) plus £30,000 for treatment of moisture in basement (paragraph 8.6)]; (2) That, in the event of Hitchin Town Hall Limited not being in a position to make its contractual financial contribution of £490,000 at the likely completion of the construction contract in May 2015 (paragraph 8.3), this additional proportion of the capital cost of the project will need to be funded from Council resources; (3) That any implications on 2014/15 and 2015/16 capital budgets as a result of profiling project spend be reported in the third quarter capital monitoring report; and (4) That further reports be submitted in due course identifying any additional budgets necessary to complete the project. REASON FOR DECISION: To comply with the Council's contractual commitments to complete the development to a specified standard and timescale. |
Agreed | ||