| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Council Chamber, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor John Booth (Chairman), Councillor Alan Millard (Vice-Chairman), Councillor Ian Albert, Councillor Mrs A.G. Ashley, Councillor D.J. Barnard, Councillor Clare Billing, Councillor Judi Billing, Councillor Paul Clark, Councillor Julian Cunningham, Councillor Steve Deakin - Davies, Councillor Jane Gray, Councillor Jean Green, Councillor Simon Harwood, Councillor Steve Hemingway, Councillor Cathryn Henry, Councillor Fiona Hill, Councillor T.W. Hone, Councillor Tony Hunter, Councillor S.K. Jarvis, Councillor Lorna Kercher, Councillor David Levett, Councillor Ben Lewis, Councillor Bernard Lovewell, Councillor Ian Mantle, Councillor Paul Marment, Councillor Jim McNally, Councillor Gerald Morris, Councillor M.R.M. Muir, Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, Councillor Janine Paterson, Councillor Frank Radcliffe, Councillor Mike Rice, Councillor Deepak Sangha, Councillor Valentine Shanley, Councillor Harry Spencer - Smith, Councillor Mrs C.P.A. Strong, Councillor R.A.C. Thake and Councillor M.E. Weeks. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance, Strategic Director of Customer Services, Senior Lawyer, Democratic Services Manager and Committee and Member Services Manager. |
| ALSO PRESENT: | 2 members of the public. |
| Meeting attachments |
Agenda Front Pages Audio Recording of Meeting |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 48 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors John Bishop, P.C.W. Burt, Bill Davidson, Elizabeth Dennis, Faye S. Frost, Nicola Harris, Sandra Lunn, Adrian Smith, Terry Tyler and Simon Watson. |
Noted | ||
| 49 |
MINUTES Minutes It was moved by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, seconded by Councillor T.W. Hone, and RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Council held on 14 July 2016 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 50 |
MINUTES Minutes It was moved by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, seconded by Councillor T.W. Hone, and RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the scheduled meeting of the Council held on 14 July 2016 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 51 |
MINUTES Minutes It was moved by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, seconded by Councillor T.W. Hone, and RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Council held on 20 July 2016 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 52 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No additional business was presented for consideration by the Council. |
Noted | ||
| 53 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) Long Service Award - Julie Liddiard The Chairman advised that Julie Liddiard started work at NHDC as a clerk/typist in the Local Land Charges department in July 1991. Originally she was employed on a 6 month contract which was extended to 1 year and then became permanent. Over the last 25 years, not only had she seen changes within NHDC, but also in her own personal life. She met and married her husband Mark, who in the past had also worked for NHDC. They now had 3 lovely children, Charlotte 14, Thomas 11 and Oliver 6. The Chairman stated that Julie was a Senior Officer in the Council's Management Support Unit and was still involved with Local Land Charges. She was hard working and always willing to support her team in whatever was required. Julie was a pleasure to work with and a real asset to NHDC. It was moved by the Chairman, seconded by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, and RESOLVED: That the Council places on record its sincere thanks to Julie Liddiard for her long and valuable service to local government in North Hertfordshire. (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 | ||
| 54 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There was no public participation. |
Noted | ||
| 55 |
ITEM REFERRED FROM CABINET: 26 JULY 2016 - MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY 2017-2022 Referral Appendix A - Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017-2022 The Council considered the Minute of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 26 July 2016, in respect of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2017-2022 (Minute 38 refers). A copy of the report considered by the Cabinet was included with the agenda, as was the following appendix: Appendix A - Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017-2022. The Executive Member for Finance and IT (Councillor T.W. Hone) referred to Paragraph 8.4 of the Cabinet report, regarding the submission of a 4 year efficiency plan to the Government. The Council was still awaiting final details of what was required, but the deadline for submission of such plans was by 14 October 2016, and there had been suggestions that there may be a requirement for Council endorsement of the Plan. As there was no Council meeting scheduled for October 2016, he proposed that, in adopting the MTFS 2017-2022, the Council should delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance, in consultation with him, to submit the 4 year efficiency plan based on the contents of the MTFS. It was therefore moved by Councillor T.W. Hone, and seconded by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham: "That the updated Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017-2022 outlined in Appendix A to the report be adopted and communicated to officers as the medium term financial framework for the Corporate Business Planning process, and delegate to the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and IT, its use in the submission of the 4 year efficiency plan to Central Government." Following debate and upon the motion being out to the vote, it was RESOLVED: That the updated Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017-2022 outlined in Appendix A to the report be adopted and communicated to officers as the medium term financial framework for the Corporate Business Planning process, and delegate to the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and IT, its use in the submission of the 4 year efficiency plan to Central Government. REASON FOR DECISION: To assist in the process of forward planning the use of Council resources and in budget setting for 2017/18 to 2021/22 culminating in the setting of the Council Tax precept for 2017/18 in February 2017; and to allow the Council to comply with the Government timetable for submission of efficiency plans by 14 October 2016. |
Agreed | ||
| 56 |
ITEM REFERRED FROM CABINET: 26 JULY 2016 - CORPORATE PLAN 2017 TO 2021 Referral Appendix A - Corporate Plan 2017-2021 The Council considered the Minute of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 26 July 2016, in respect of the Corporate Plan 2017 to 2021 (Minute 39 refers). A copy of the report considered by the Cabinet was included with the agenda, as was the following appendix: Appendix A - Corporate Plan 2017-2021. It was moved by Councillor Julian Cunningham, and seconded by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, that the Corporate Plan 2017-2021, as attached at Appendix A to the report, be adopted. As an amendment, it was moved by Councillor Paul Clark, and seconded by Councillor S.K. Jarvis, that the following words be added at the end of the motion: "…with the addition of the following item to the list of items that will be delivered to achieve objective 1: - Ensuring a satisfactory conclusion to the Hitchin Town Hall project." Following debate, and upon being put to the vote, this amendment was lost. Following further debate, and upon the substantive motion being put to the vote, it was RESOLVED: That the Corporate Plan 2017-2021, as attached at Appendix A to the report, be adopted. REASON FOR DECISION: To put in place a suitable high level strategic policy document to inform the Council's Corporate Business Planning process. |
Agreed | ||
| 57 |
ITEM REFERRED FROM CABINET: 26 JULY 2016 - REVISED POLICY FOR SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND SAFEGUARDING VULNERABLE ADULTS Referral Appendix 1 - Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy: revised 2016 The Council considered the Minute of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 26 July 2016, in respect of the revised Policy for Safeguarding Children and Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults (Minute 40 refers). A copy of the report considered by the Cabinet was included with the agenda, as was the following appendix: Appendix 1 - Safeguarding Children and Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Policy, revised 2016. It was moved by Councillor Bernard Lovewell, seconded by Councillor Julian Cunningham and, following debate and upon being put to the vote, it was RESOLVED: That the revised Policy for Safeguarding Children and Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be adopted. REASON FOR DECISION: To fulfil statutory obligations and to ensure robust practices are in place for the protection of children and vulnerable adults throughout the Council and services conducted on its behalf by partners and contractors. |
Agreed | ||
| 58 |
QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS Report (A) North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall - 14/15 Brand Street In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(b), the following question had been submitted by Councillor Ian Albert to Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham (Leader of the Council): "In the light of the Council's unsuccessful bid for 14/15 Brand Street, does the Leader agree that the proposal sent on 24th August 2016 by Hitchin Initiative offering to act as an independent mediator should be welcomed and accepted by NHDC?" Before replying, Councillor Needham made it clear that NHDC had not been unsuccessful as the bidding process was abandoned by Social Investment Business (SIB) without reference to the Council. Councillor Needham advised that she had seen the letter sent by Hitchin Initiative to the Chairman of the Hitchin Area Committee, and that she welcomed any assistance to help resolve this complex matter from wherever it came. The Council was currently considering a wide range of approaches and had made it clear that it would be happy to meet with HTH Ltd as soon as they had provided information about what they and HTH Finance Ltd were proposing. Councillor Needham stated that it was a great disappointment that this scheme had been delayed yet again, but she remained determined to complete the project to deliver the benefits the Council's investments promised at the outset, namely to provide a hugely improved museum service and to significantly reduce the cost of operating the museum and town hall. Councillor Needham looked forward to hearing more from Hitchin Initiative about how it might help in breaking the current deadlock, but for now the Council's primary focus was on establishing the full details of what Hitchin Town Hall Ltd and HTH Finance Ltd were trying to achieve so this could be reported to Council for a decision on the way forward. Councillor Needham undertook to ensure that Members continued to be regularly updated through the Members' Information Service. As a supplementary question, Councillor Albert asked: "Does the Leader of the Council agree that, provided HTH Limited submitted their proposals, there was a need to put all of the "past baggage" aside and enter into these detailed negotiations that can then come back to the Council for approval of a possible final settlement? Councillor Needham absolutely agreed with Councillor Albert that all "past baggage" needed to be put aside. It was fair to say that the Council had never refused to speak to anybody on this matter. The Council had received a number of requests and had said "yes" to all of them. There had been no comeback, and so the Council was currently awaiting responses. (B) North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall - Review of scheme In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(b), the following question had been submitted by Councillor Frank Radcliffe to Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham (Leader of the Council): "When will Members of the Council receive details of the terms of reference, scope and timetable for the proposed scrutiny review of the North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall project?" Councillor Needham replied that this was a matter for the Chairman of the all-party Overview and Scrutiny Committee who would be carrying out the review. Although, given the interest and concern in respect of the project, and as Councillor Henry had said on a number of occasions, this would be a wide ranging review which would involve all Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. As a supplementary question, Councillor Radcliffe asked: "Where is the capacity within the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to hold an enquiry that will be a thorough and effective way of proceeding with the Hitchin Town Hall project? Councillor Needham was sure, once the scope for the review of the project was agreed, that if the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee felt that the Committee required some support in terms of capacity, then the Council would consider a request from her to devote appropriate resources to assist in this regard. |
Noted | ||
| 59 |
NOTICE OF MOTIONS Report There were no notices of motions. |
Noted | ||